Technology
press releases.

Technology27 Nov 2023

Wave Devouring Propulsion: a revolutionary green technology for maritime sustainability

A new form of wave devouring propulsion (WDP) could power ships and help to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime industry. Academics from Cranfield University have worked on the concept of using wave energy for propulsion, and designed an inventive method of achieving greater thrust from the power of the waves by harnessing a vessel’s submerged flapping foils in an innovative way. Inspiration from whale fins Taking inspiration from the power of a whale's fins, the team studied the structure and movement of the tail fin to unravel how it effectively uses wave energy for propulsion. Through simulations and experiments, they developed ...

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Technology27 Nov 2023

Algorithmic recommendation technology or human curation? Study of online news outlet in Germany suggests both

Recommender systems are machine learning applications in online platforms that automate tasks historically done by people. In the news industry, recommender algorithms can assume the tasks of editors who select which news stories people see online, with the goal of increasing the number of clicks by users, but few studies have examined how the two compare. A new study examined how users of an online news outlet in Germany reacted to automated recommendations versus choices made by human editors. On average, the algorithm outperformed the person, but the person did better under certain conditions. The study’s authors suggest a combination of human curation and automated recommender ...

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Technology27 Nov 2023

New method uses crowdsourced feedback to help train robots

To teach an AI agent a new task, like how to open a kitchen cabinet, researchers often use reinforcement learning — a trial-and-error process where the agent is rewarded for taking actions that get it closer to the goal. In many instances, a human expert must carefully design a reward function, which is an incentive mechanism that gives the agent motivation to explore. The human expert must iteratively update that reward function as the agent explores and tries different actions. This can be time-consuming, inefficient, ...

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Technology27 Nov 2023

Hamburg collaboration paves the way to cleaner technologies for industry

During the nearly five decades of its operation, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Hamburg has developed many fruitful collaborations with other scientific institutions located in the Hamburg metropolitan area. One example is the long-lasting collaboration between researchers at EMBL Hamburg and the Center for Biobased Solutions (CBBS) at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), which has recently yielded new insights into the structure and function of a lipid-degrading enzyme found in a microbe adapted to living in extreme conditions. The findings could help improve ...

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Technology23 Nov 2023

FLSHclust, a new algorithm, reveals rare and previously unknown CRISPR-Cas systems

Using a new algorithm called FLSHclust (“flash clust”), researchers have discovered 188 rare and previously unknown CRISPR-linked gene modules – including a novel type VII CRISPR-Cas system – among billions of protein sequences. The approach and its findings provide novel opportunities for harnessing CRISPR systems and understanding the vast functional diversity of microbial proteins. CRISPR systems have been leveraged to develop a growing suite of novel biomolecular approaches, including CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing. The discovery ...

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Technology23 Nov 2023

AI recognizes the tempo and stages of embryonic development

Animal embryos go through a series of characteristic developmental stages on their journey from a fertilized egg cell to a functional organism. This biological process is largely genetically controlled and follows a similar pattern across different animal species. Yet, there are differences in the details – between individual species and even among embryos of the same species. For example, the tempo at which individual embryonic stages are passed through can vary. Such variations in embryonic development are considered an important driver of evolution, as they can lead to new characteristics, thus promoting evolutionary adaptations and biodiversity. Studying the embryonic ...

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Technology22 Nov 2023

Multi-synaptic photonic SNN based on a DFB-SA chip

A new publication from Opto-Electronic Science; DOI 10.29026/oes.2023.230021 overviews multi-synaptic photonic SNN based on a DFB-SA chip. Compared with traditional artificial neural networks, spiking neural networks (SNN) are more biologically authentic, more powerful, and less power-consuming due to their spatiotemporal coding and event-driven characteristics. In recent years, optical computing has been widely considered as a hardware acceleration platform, where nonlinear computing poses a challenge. Photonic SNN provides an ultra-fast and energy-efficient platform for high-performance ...

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Technology22 Nov 2023

What are the effects of workforce automation across race and gender in the United States?

Advances in areas such as robotics and artificial intelligence enable the automation of a range of occupational tasks, leading to fundamental changes in the nature of work. New research published in The American Journal of Economics and Sociology indicates that the effects of job automation vary across race and gender, and without targeted interventions, will likely result in increasing inequality. The research analyzes two distinct measures of automation job displacement risk for more than 1.4 million Americans across 385 occupations. The findings show that the intersection of race and gender has a significant effect on automation risks. For example, ...

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Technology21 Nov 2023

How AI could help optimize nutrient consistency in donated human breast milk

A team of University of Toronto Engineering researchers, led by Professor Timothy Chan, is leveraging machine learning to optimize the macronutrient content of pooled human donor milk recipes. The researchers introduce their data-driven optimization model in a new paper published in Manufacturing and Systems Operations Management. Chan and his team worked with Mount Sinai Hospital’s Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank — which provides donor milk to preterm and sick babies who are hospitalized across Ontario — as well as Dr. Debbie O’Connor, a professor at the Temerty ...

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Technology21 Nov 2023

Two new UW–Madison-led studies inform outlook on scaling of carbon removal technologies

MADISON, Wis., - Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies that could be critical tools to combat climate change have developed in line with other technologies from the last century. However, according to new studies led by Gregory Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, these technologies need to develop faster to meet policy targets aimed at limiting global warming. As policymakers, researchers and climate activists from around the world prepare to meet for the UN Climate Change Conference beginning on ...

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Technology20 Nov 2023

UCSB scientists will eliminate bottlenecks to breakthroughs with a newly acquired synthetic biology robotics system

Researchers in UC Santa Barbara’s newly designated Biological Engineering (BioE) Department have received a significant boost from the U.S. Army, which awarded the university a $9.85 million grant to design and purchase state-of-the-art equipment that project leader Michelle O’Malley, a professor of chemical engineering and biological engineering, says “allows UCSB scientists to do things that we never thought were possible.” The funding, awarded through the Department of Defense’s Defense University Research ...

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Technology20 Nov 2023

AI outperforms expert plastic surgeon in rhinoplasty consultations

In a new study, artificial intelligence in the form of ChatGPT outperformed an expert rhinoplasty surgeon in answering preoperative and postoperative patient questions related to nasal surgery. ChatGPT earned significantly higher ratings in accuracy, completeness, and overall quality, according to the study published in Facial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Medicine. Click here to read the article now. Kay Durairaj, MD, and Omer Baker, from Pasadena, California , Dario Bertossi, MD, from University of Verona, Steven Dayan, MD, from University of Illinois, Chicago, Kian Karimi, MD, from Los Angeles California, Roy Kim, MD, from San Francisco, California, Sam ...

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Technology20 Nov 2023

AI finds formula on how to predict monster waves

Long considered myth, freakishly large rogue waves are very real and can split apart ships and even damage oil rigs. Using 700 years’ worth of wave data from more than a billion waves, scientists at the University of Copenhagen and University of Victoria have used artificial intelligence to find a formula for how to predict the occurrence of these maritime monsters. The new knowledge can make shipping safer. EMBARGOED CONTENT UNTIL MONDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2023 3 PM US EASTERN TIME Stories about monster waves, called rogue waves, have been the lore of sailors for centuries. But when a 26-metre-high rogue wave slammed into the Norwegian oil ...

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Technology20 Nov 2023

Analysis of cyberstalking research identifies factors associated with perpetration, victimization

The widespread use of digital technologies and the Internet has spurred a new type of personal intrusion, known as cyberstalking. Incidences of cyberstalking have risen, with the U.S. Department of Justice estimating that more than 1.3 million people experience this type of victimization annually. A new study explored research to identify the factors associated with perpetration and victimization in cyberstalking. The study’s findings can inform the development of efforts to prevent and address cyberstalking. Conducted by a researcher at Sam Houston State ...

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Technology20 Nov 2023

Creativity in the age of generative AI: a new era of creative partnerships

Recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI) have showcased its potential in a wide range of creative activities such as to produce works of art, compose symphonies, and even draft legal texts, slide presentations or the like. These developments have raised concerns that AI will outperform humans in creativity tasks and make knowledge workers redundant. These comments are most recently underlined by a Fortune article entitled ‘Elon Musk says AI will create a future where ‘no job is needed’: ‘The AI will be able to do everything’. In ...

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Technology20 Nov 2023

Dere to make updates to CHIANTI atomic database & software

Dere To Make Updates To CHIANTI Atomic Database & Software Kenneth Dere, Research Professor, Physics and Astronomy, received funding from NASA for: "Updates to the CHIANTI atomic database and software." CHIANTI is a database that contains a large quantity of atomic data for the analysis of astrophysical spectra. Dere will also conduct maintenance on and make improvements to the ChiantiPy software package. ChiantiPy is the Python interface to the CHIANTI atomic database for astrophysical ...

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Technology20 Nov 2023

Want better AI? Get input from a real (human) expert

RICHLAND, Wash.—Can AI be trusted? The question pops up wherever AI is used or discussed—which, these days, is everywhere. It’s a question that even some AI systems ask themselves. Many machine-learning systems create what experts call a “confidence score,” a value that reflects how confident the system is in its decisions. A low score tells the human user that there is some uncertainty about the recommendation; a high score indicates to the human user that the system, at least, is quite sure of its decisions. Savvy humans know to check the confidence score when ...

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Technology20 Nov 2023

72% of Thai women persuade partners to seek genetic counseling if they are thalassemia carriers | BGI Insight

According to Thailand's Ministry of Public Health, approximately 18-24 million or 30-40 percent of the Thai population carries the thalassemia gene, with moderately severe thalassemia patients requiring regular treatment, including blood transfusion and chelation therapy to remove excess iron from the blood. To facilitate greater understanding of this hereditary hemoglobinopathy, BGI Genomics released its State of Thalassemia Awareness Report. This report assesses the level of knowledge and attitudes related to the associated ...

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Technology20 Nov 2023

Redefining the quest for artificial intelligence: What should replace the Turing test?

In a paper published Nov. 10 in Intelligent Computing, Philip Nicholas Johnson-Laird of Princeton University and Marco Ragni of Chemnitz University of Technology propose a novel alternative to the Turing test, a milestone test developed by computing pioneer Alan Turing. The paper suggests that it is time to shift the focus from whether a machine can mimic human responses to a more fundamental question: "Does a program reason in the way that humans reason?" The Turing test, which has long been a cornerstone of AI evaluation, involves a human evaluator attempting to distinguish between human and machine ...

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Technology17 Nov 2023

Idai vs. Impalas: New study shows in real-time what helps mammals survive a natural disaster

When Cyclone Idai swept through Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park in May 2019, one of nature‘s deadliest forces encountered one of the most technologically sophisticated wildlife parks on the planet. Princeton researchers and colleagues from around the world documented the effects using trail cameras and animal-tracking devices that had been in use before the storm. Thanks to the extensive network of cameras, GPS collars and other instruments, park staff and ...

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Technology17 Nov 2023

AI supporting creative Industries

NYC Media Lab (NYCML) and Bertelsmann unveiled the latest cohort joining the AI & the Creative Industries Challenge, a nine-week program in which teams explore new ways to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create digital content and reach new audiences for three Bertelsmann companies: Fremantle, Penguin Random House, and BMG. The teams are tasked with addressing how AI will impact these important creative industries. This ongoing partnership, NYCML’s third project with Bertelsmann, will continue to build on new business frontiers enabled by technology. The four selected teams, from around the globe, come from various multidisciplinary ...

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Technology17 Nov 2023

Accelerating the phase identification of multiphase mixtures with deep learning

Crystalline materials are made up of atoms, ions, or molecules arranged in an ordered, three-dimensional structure. They are widely used for the development of semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, photovoltaics, and catalysts. The type of structures that fall into the category of crystalline materials continues to expand as scientists design novel materials to address emerging challenges pertaining to energy storage, carbon capture, and advanced electronics. However, the development of such materials necessitates precise ways of identifying ...

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Technology16 Nov 2023

Three-pronged approach discerns qualities of quantum spin liquids

In 1973, physicist Phil Anderson hypothesized that the quantum spin liquid, or QSL, state existed on some triangular lattices, but he lacked the tools to delve deeper. Fifty years later, a team led by researchers associated with the Quantum Science Center headquartered at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has confirmed the presence of QSL behavior in a new material with this structure, KYbSe2. QSLs — an unusual state of matter controlled by interactions among entangled, or intrinsically linked, magnetic atoms called spins — excel at stabilizing quantum mechanical activity in KYbSe2 and other delafossites. These materials are prized for ...

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Technology16 Nov 2023

Theoretical computer scientists awarded the John von Neumann Theory Prize

Computer Science Professors Christos Papadimitriou and Mihalis Yannakakis received the John von Neumann Theory Prize for their research in computational complexity theory that explores the boundaries of efficiently solving decision and optimization problems crucial to operations research and management sciences. The recipients were presented with the prize at the 2023 INFORMS Annual Meeting in October in Phoenix, AZ. The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) first awarded the prize in 1975 to honor a body of work that has proven its lasting value in operations research and management sciences. ...

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Technology16 Nov 2023

Technique enables AI on edge devices to keep learning over time

Personalized deep-learning models can enable artificial intelligence chatbots that adapt to understand a user’s accent or smart keyboards that continuously update to better predict the next word based on someone’s typing history. This customization requires constant fine-tuning of a machine-learning model with new data. Because smartphones and other edge devices lack the memory and computational power necessary for this fine-tuning process, user data are typically uploaded to cloud servers where the model is updated. But data ...

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