Technology
press releases.

Technology17 Aug 2023

Bigger and better quantum computers possible with new ion trap, dubbed the Enchilada

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has produced its first lot of a new world-class ion trap, a central component for certain quantum computers. The new device, dubbed the Enchilada Trap, enables scientists to build more powerful machines to advance the experimental but potentially revolutionary field of quantum computing. In addition to traps operated at Sandia, several traps will be used at Duke University for performing quantum algorithms. Duke and Sandia are research partners through the Quantum Systems Accelerator, one of five U.S. National Quantum Information Science Research Centers funded by the Department of Energy’s ...

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Technology17 Aug 2023

Accelerating discovery in artificial intelligence for science

What if artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to spur discovery in areas such as biotechnology, drug discovery and fluid dynamics? Using geometric graphs and innovative methodologies, AI can solve fundamental problems in basic natural science. The possibilities are endless in this relatively new field known as AI for science. Dr. Shuiwang Ji, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, recently received a National Science Foundation grant to ...

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Technology17 Aug 2023

How old are you, really? AI can tell your true age by looking at your chest

Osaka, Japan - What if “looking your age” refers not to your face, but to your chest? Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have developed an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) model that utilizes chest radiographs to accurately estimate a patient’s chronological age. More importantly, when there is a disparity, it can signal a correlation with chronic disease. These findings mark a leap in medical imaging, paving the way for improved early disease detection and intervention. The results are set to be published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity. The research team, led by graduate student ...

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Technology16 Aug 2023

Switching ‘spin’ on and off (and up and down) in quantum materials at room temperature

Researchers have found a way to control the interaction of light and quantum ‘spin’ in organic semiconductors, that works even at room temperature. Spin is the term for the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons, which is referred to as up or down. Using the up/down spin states of electrons instead of the 0 and 1 in conventional computer logic could transform the way in which computers process information. And sensors based on quantum principles could vastly improve our abilities to measure and study the world around us. An international team of researchers, led by the University of ...

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Technology16 Aug 2023

Layered and traditional semiconductors heterogenous integration open door for post Moore era

Scientists in NEXT Lab, Tsinghua University have revealed the fabrication and engineering techniques of TMDs and provided a comparative view between TMDs and traditional semiconductors, demonstrating the benefit of combining TMDs with traditional semiconductors. The research, published in IJEM, shows how to fabricate layered semiconductors modulated with various methods, including phase engineering, defect engineering, doping, and alloying. Then the authors discuss various possibilities to combine layered semiconductors with traditional semiconductors. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with suitable ...

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Technology16 Aug 2023

Novel lateral data storage: Two-dimensional ferroelectric semiconductor memory with a bottom contact 100 nm channel using in-plane polarization

Traditional memory technologies face limitations in terms of speed, scalability, and power consumption, making them unsuitable for future data-intensive applications. Ferroelectric memory has garnered immense interest in recent years due to its potential for non-volatile storage, enabling data retention even when the power is turned off. The development of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals material α-In2Se3 has also opened new opportunities for advancing memory technologies. Interestingly, ferroelectric memory takes a giant step forward by incorporating the remarkable properties ...

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Technology16 Aug 2023

Clever coating turns lampshades into indoor air purifiers

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 16, 2023 — Indoor air pollution may have met its match. Today, scientists will report that they have designed catalyst-coated lampshades that transform indoor air pollutants into harmless compounds. The lampshades work with halogen and incandescent light bulbs, and the team is extending the technology so it will also be compatible with LEDs. The researchers will present their results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2023 is a hybrid meeting being held virtually and in-person ...

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Technology16 Aug 2023

Racism, poverty, and illiteracy increase the risk of contracting and succumbing to AIDS in Brazil

Social determinants of health —the social conditions in which people grow up, live and work— can influence the risk of contracting AIDS and the mortality associated with the disease. This is the main conclusion of a new study carried out by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, and published in The Lancet Regional Health. The research team evaluated a cohort of 28.3 million people, representative of the low-income Brazilian population, based on data collected between 2007 and 2015. This is the largest evaluation of social determinants of health ...

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Technology15 Aug 2023

An AI coach that improves your golf swing

A University of Texas at Arlington researcher is working on the prototype of a golf swing training system that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with portability and can be used at home or on the driving range. Nicholas Gans, a UT Arlington principal research scientist and division head for the UT Arlington Research Institute (UTARI), leads the project, which is funded by a nearly $53,000 grant from the University and Fort Worth-based IGSC.AI LLC. Gans’ initial work is considered a preliminary proof of concept. “We’ll use a camera-based ...

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Technology15 Aug 2023

Novel hardware approach offers new quantum-computing paradigm

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Aug. 15, 2023 — A potentially game-changing theoretical approach to quantum computing hardware avoids much of the problematic complexity found in current quantum computers. The strategy implements an algorithm in natural quantum interactions to process a variety of real-world problems faster than classical computers or conventional gate-based quantum computers can. “Our finding eliminates many challenging requirements for quantum hardware,” said Nikolai Sinitsyn, a theoretical physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He is coauthor of a paper on the approach in the journal Physical Review A. “Natural systems, such as the electronic ...

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Technology15 Aug 2023

New algorithm captures complex 3D light scattering information from live specimens

BOSTON - Researchers have developed a new algorithm for recovering the 3D refractive index distribution of biological samples that exhibit multiple types of light scattering. The algorithm helps optimize a new imaging approach called intensity diffraction tomography (IDT). Jiabei Zhu from Boston University will present this research at the Optica Imaging Congress. The hybrid meeting will take place 14 – 17 August 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. “3D quantitative phase imaging (QPI) has superior features for various applications in the field of biomedical imaging. As a label-free technique, QPI ...

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Technology15 Aug 2023

Decoding how molecules "talk" to each other to develop new nanotechnologies

Two molecular languages at the origin of life have been successfully recreated and mathematically validated, thanks to pioneering work by Canadian scientists at Université de Montréal. Published this week in the Journal of American Chemical Society, the breakthrough opens new doors for the development of nanotechnologies with applications ranging from biosensing, drug delivery and molecular imaging. Living organisms are made up of billions of nanomachines and nanostructures that communicate to create higher-order entities able to do many essential things, such as moving, thinking, surviving and reproducing. “The key to life’s emergence ...

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Technology14 Aug 2023

Department of Energy announces $112 million for research on computational projects in fusion energy sciences

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science (SC), announced $112 million in funding for 12 projects that focus on collaborations among fusion scientists, applied mathematicians, and computer scientists to maximize the use of high performance computing, including exascale computers. The Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program pairs the Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program with the Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program to explore solving complex ...

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Technology14 Aug 2023

Digital puzzle games could be good for memory in older adults, study shows

Older adults who play digital puzzle games have the same memory abilities as people in their 20s, a new study has shown. The study, from the University of York, also found that adults aged 60 and over who play digital puzzle games had a greater ability to ignore irrelevant distractions, but older adults who played strategy games did not show the same improvements in memory or concentration. It is known that as humans age, their mental abilities tend to decrease, particularly the ability to remember a number of things at a single time - known as working memory. Working ...

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Technology14 Aug 2023

Worcester Polytechnic Institute researcher receives $599,815 grant to develop 3D printable robots for search-and-rescue operations

Worcester, Mass. – August 10, 2023 – Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Markus Nemitz is the recipient of a $599,815 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to develop an innovative architecture for low-cost custom robots capable of traversing challenging terrains by swimming, crawling, climbing, and diving through hostile and confined spaces as part of search-and-rescue operations. Nemitz, an assistant professor in WPI’s Department of Robotics Engineering, will focus on developing ...

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Technology11 Aug 2023

Zhong named Institute of Food Technologists fellow

Qixin Zhong, professor in the University of Tennessee Department of Food Science, has been named an Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Fellow. The honor was bestowed as a result of Zhong’s years of contribution to food science and to IFT through his scientific, engineering and leadership efforts. In his research enhancing food quality, safety and healthfulness, Zhong creates multilength scale structures to improve the function of food ingredients. His cutting-edge innovations and research developments have impacted countless producers and consumers. Zhong says he is honored to be named a Fellow, and ...

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Technology11 Aug 2023

Arrays of quantum rods could enhance TVs or virtual reality devices

Cambridge, MA – Flat screen TVs that incorporate quantum dots are now commercially available, but it has been more difficult to create arrays of their elongated cousins, quantum rods, for commercial devices. Quantum rods can control both the polarization and color of light, to generate 3D images for virtual reality devices. Using scaffolds made of folded DNA, MIT engineers have come up with a new way to precisely assemble arrays of quantum rods. By depositing quantum rods onto a DNA scaffold in a highly controlled way, the researchers can regulate their orientation, which is a key factor in determining the polarization of light emitted by the array. This makes it easier ...

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Technology11 Aug 2023

Artificial intelligence designs advanced materials

In a world where annual economic losses from corrosion surpass 2.5 trillion US Dollars, the quest for corrosion-resistant alloys and protective coatings is unbroken. Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly pivotal role in designing new alloys. Yet, the predictive power of AI models in foreseeing corrosion behaviour and suggesting optimal alloy formulas has remained elusive. Scientists of the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung (MPIE) have now developed a machine learning model that enhances the predictive accuracy by up to 15% compared to existing frameworks. This model uncovers new, but realistic corrosion-resistant alloy compositions. ...

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Technology11 Aug 2023

A roadmap to help AI technologies speak African languages

From text-generating ChatGPT to voice-activated Siri, artificial intelligence-powered tools are designed to aid our everyday life — as long as you speak a language they support. These technologies are out of reach for billions of people who don’t use English, French, Spanish or other mainstream languages, but researchers in Africa are looking to change that. In a study published August 11 in the journal Patterns, scientists draw a roadmap to develop better AI-driven tools for African languages. “It doesn’t ...

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Technology11 Aug 2023

A quantum leap in mechanical oscillator technology

Over the past decade, scientists have made tremendous progress in generating quantum phenomena in mechanical systems. What seemed impossible only fifteen years ago has now become a reality, as researchers successfully create quantum states in macroscopic mechanical objects. By coupling these mechanical oscillators to light photons - known as “optomechanical systems”-, scientists have been able to cool them down to their lowest energy level close to the quantum limit, “squeeze them” to reduce their vibrations even further, and entangle them with each other. These advancements have opened up new opportunities in quantum sensing, ...

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Technology11 Aug 2023

Femtosecond laser technique births "dancing microrobots": USTC's breakthrough in multi-material microfabrication

A research team led by Prof. WU Dong from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) proposed a femtosecond laser 2-in-1 writing multi-material processing strategy to fabricate micromachined joints composed of temperature-sensitive hydrogels and metal nanoparticles, and developed multi-jointed humanoid micromachines with multiple deformation modes (>10). The results were published in Nature Communications. In recent years, femtosecond laser two-photon polymerization, as a true three-dimensional fabrication technique ...

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Technology10 Aug 2023

Tool finds bias in state-of-the-art generative AI model

Text-to-image (T2I) generative artificial intelligence tools are increasingly powerful and widespread tools that can create nearly any image based on just a few inputted words. T2I generative AI can create convincingly realistic photos and videos which are being used more and more for a multitude of purposes, from art to political campaigning. However, the algorithmic models that power these tools are trained on data from humans, and can replicate human biases in the images they produce, such as biases around gender and skin tone. These biases can harm marginalized populations, reinforcing stereotypes and potentially leading to discrimination. To address these implicit biases, ...

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Technology10 Aug 2023

Researchers discover a potential application of unwanted electronic noise in semiconductors

Random Telegraph Noise (RTN), a type of unwanted electronic noise, has long been a nuisance in electronic systems, causing fluctuations and errors in signal processing. However, a team of researchers from the Center for Integrated Nanostructure Physics within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), South Korea has made an intriguing breakthrough that can potentially harness these fluctuations in semiconductors. Led by Professor LEE Young Hee, the team reported that magnetic fluctuations and their gigantic RTN signals can be generated in a vdW-layered semiconductor by introducing vanadium in ...

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Technology10 Aug 2023

SwRI micropatch algorithm improves ground-to-spacecraft software update efficiency

San Antonio – August 10, 2023 – Southwest Research Institute developed an algorithm to remotely update and repair spacecraft software using less time and data than conventional techniques. The tool not only improves the overall efficiency of satellite software transmissions but also can recover data from failed over-the-air updates and malicious cyberattacks. It works by identifying missing bytes and other errors before deploying a custom “micropatch” to the damaged or missing software. “Instead of updating an entire file or operating system, which is typically required with over-the-air satellite software updates, our ...

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Technology10 Aug 2023

Space weather and satellite security: Graz University of Technology and University of Graz supply new forecasting service for the ESA's Space Safety Programme

After a successful test phase, the Satellite Orbit DecAy (SODA) service, which was jointly developed by TU Graz and the University of Graz, officially became part of the ESA’s Space Safety Programme in mid-July. SODA provides accurate forecasts of the effects of solar storms on low Earth orbiting satellites. This makes TU Graz only the third Austrian institution contributing to this ESA programme. Seibersdorf Laboratories, and the University of Graz, through the Kanzelhöhe Observatory and the Institute of Physics, ...

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