Technology
press releases.

Technology23 Jan 2025

Scale-up fabrication of perovskite quantum dots

Quantum dots are tiny semiconductor nano materials with color-tunable and high-efficiency photoluminescence, which have been successfully applied in different display technology such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and micro light-emitting diodes (Micro-LEDs). In 2023, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry rewards the discovery and development of quantum dots. Perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) are emerging display materials with high absorption coefficient, low cost and easy processability, and less environmental impact. ...

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Technology23 Jan 2025

London cabbies’ planning strategies could help inform future of AI

Researchers have measured the thinking time of London taxi drivers - famous for their knowledge of more than 26,000 streets across the city - as part of a study into the future of AI route-mapping. Unlike a satnav, which calculates every possible route until it gets to the destination, researchers at the University of York, in collaboration with University College London and the Champalimaud Foundation, found that London taxi drivers rationally plan each route by prioritising the most challenging areas first and filling in the rest of the route around these tricky points. Current computational models to understand ...

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Technology23 Jan 2025

Scientists develop new AI method to forecast cyclone rapid intensification

Rapid Intensification (RI) of a tropical cyclone (TC), defined as a maximum sustained wind increase of at least 13 m/s within 24 hours, remains one of the most challenging weather phenomena to forecast because of its unpredictable and destructive nature. Although only 5% of TCs experience RI, its sudden and severe development poses significant risks to affected regions. Traditional forecasting methods, such as numerical weather prediction and statistical approaches, often fail to consider the complex environmental and structural factors driving RI. While artificial intelligence ...

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Technology23 Jan 2025

Korea-US leading research institutes accelerate collaboration for energy technology innovation

The Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on January 9th to collaborate on key carbon-neutral technologies such as solar energy, hydrogen, and energy storage. The MOU was signed virtually via electronic signatures, with KIER President Chang-Keun Yi and NREL Director Dr. Martin Keller serving as the official signatories. * NREL is a DOE national laboratory focused on the research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, energy system integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL ...

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Technology23 Jan 2025

Microporous crystals for greater food safety – ERC proof of concept grant for researcher at Graz University of Technology

It is a result of his ERC Consolidator Grant-funded project POPCRYSTAL, with which Paolo Falcaro from the Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at TU Graz has now acquired an ERC Proof of Concept Grant (PoC). The new project called FRESCO, which is being funded to the tune of 150,000 euros over a period of 18 months, aims to increase food safety and reduce food waste. This is made possible by a microporous crystalline composite developed as part of the POPCRYSTAL project, which detects toxic chemical compounds that are produced when ...

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Technology23 Jan 2025

Seoultech researchers use machine learning to ensure safe structural design

In the quest for stronger, more resilient buildings and infrastructure, engineers are turning to innovative solutions, such as concrete-filled steel tube columns (CFST) strengthened with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). These advanced composite structures combine the robust load-bearing capabilities and strength of CFST columns with the lightweight, corrosion-resistant properties of CFRP. The result is a cutting-edge construction material that not only enhances structural performance but also offers increased durability and reduced maintenance. Given the potential of ...

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Technology23 Jan 2025

From root to shoot: How silicon powers plant resilience

Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, found in large quantities in soil. While Si is not essential for land plants, many plants, such as rice and grasses, have used Si to develop powerful defense mechanisms against various environmental stresses. Si accumulates in plant leaves and aerial organs as amorphous silica (SiO2), which offers protection against pathogens, herbivores, and environmental challenges like drought. Understanding the processes through which plants manage this beneficial element could enhance crop resilience and productivity, especially in the face of climate change. In a breakthrough study, ...

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Technology23 Jan 2025

HKU physicists pioneer entanglement microscopy algorithm to explore how matter entangles in quantum many-body systems

Quantum entanglement – a phenomenon where particles are mysteriously linked no matter how far apart they are – presents a long-standing challenge in the physical world, particularly in understanding its behaviour within complex quantum systems. A research team from the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and their collaborators have recently developed a novel algorithm in quantum physics known as ‘entanglement microscopy’ that enables visualisation and mapping of this extraordinary phenomenon at a microscopic scale. By zooming in on the intricate ...

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Technology23 Jan 2025

New, embodied AI reveals how robots and toddlers learn to understand

We humans excel at generalization. If you taught a toddler to identify the color red by showing her a red ball, a red truck and a red rose, she will most likely correctly identify the color of a tomato, even if it is the first time she sees one. An important milestone in learning to generalize is compositionality: the ability to compose and decompose a whole into reusable parts, like the redness of an object. How we get this ability is a key question in developmental neuroscience – and in AI research. The earliest ...

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Technology22 Jan 2025

Beyond ChatGPT: WVU researchers to study use and ethics of artificial intelligence across disciplines

Two West Virginia University researchers have designed a curriculum to engage liberal arts faculty in discussions on the social, ethical and technical aspects of artificial intelligence and its role in classrooms. Through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Erin Brock Carlson, assistant professor of English, and Scott Davidson, professor of philosophy, both at the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, have designed an interdisciplinary, cross-institutional program to facilitate conversations among faculty about the ...

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Technology22 Jan 2025

In the hunt for new and better enzymes, AI steps to the fore

Enzymes are crucial to life. They are nature’s little catalysts. In the gut, they help us digest food. They can enhance perfumes or get laundry cleaner with less energy. Enzymes also make potent drugs to treat disease. Scientists naturally are eager to create new enzymes. They imagine them doing everything from drawing greenhouse gases out of the skies to degrading harmful toxins in the environment. That age-old quest for new enzymes just got a whole lot easier. A team of bioengineers and synthetic biologists has developed a computational workflow that can design thousands of new enzymes, predict how they will behave in the real world, and test their performance ...

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Technology22 Jan 2025

Final synthetic yeast chromosome unlocks new era in biotechnology

Macquarie University researchers have worked with an international team of scientists to achieve a major milestone in synthetic biology by completing the creation of the final chromosome in the world's first synthetic yeast genome. This achievement represents the completion of the global Sc2.0 project to create the world's first synthetic eukaryotic genome from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast) and a new-to-nature tRNA neochromosome. Using cutting-edge genome-editing techniques, including the CRISPR D-BUGS protocol, the team identified and corrected genetic errors that impacted yeast growth. These changes restored the strain’s ability to grow on glycerol, ...

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Technology22 Jan 2025

How employee trust in AI drives performance and adoption

Many companies are making substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI), which can enhance decision-making processes, foster innovation, increase productivity, and have other advantages. New research published in the Journal of Management Studies shows that company employees’ perceptions of how well AI performs (cognitive trust) and feelings towards AI (emotional trust) vary, and that these perceptions can affect AI performance and adoption in organizations. Interviews with employees of a medium-sized software development firm revealed four different ...

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Technology22 Jan 2025

Biodegradable nylon precursor produced through artificial photosynthesis

Nylon, the durable and elastic material, is like other plastics made from chemicals found in fossil fuels. Biodegradable plastics based on biomass-derived compounds are attracting attention as an alternative to conventional plastics, and Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have now synthesized biodegradable nylon precursors. Professor Yutaka Amao’s team at the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis previously reported on a method for producing raw materials for biodegradable plastics from biomass-derived compounds. ...

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Technology22 Jan 2025

Fizzy water might aid weight loss by boosting glucose uptake and metabolism

Fizzy water might aid weight loss by boosting blood glucose uptake and metabolism—the rate at which the body uses and converts energy—but the effects are so small, drinking it can’t be relied on alone to shed the pounds, concludes a brief analysis published in the open access journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. There are no quick fixes to slimming down and keeping off the weight, says the author: regular physical activity and a healthy balanced diet are still essential, added to which the long term effects of drinking large amounts of carbonated water aren’t known. Because ...

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Technology22 Jan 2025

Trump clusters: How an English lit graduate used AI to make sense of Twitter bios

An English literature graduate turned data scientist has developed a new method for large language models (LLMs) used by AI chatbots to understand and analyse small chunks of text, such as those on social media profiles, in customer responses online or for understanding online posts responding to disaster events. In today’s digital world, such use of short text has become central to online communication. However, analysing these snippets is challenging because they often lack shared words or context. This lack of context makes it difficult for AI to find patterns ...

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Technology21 Jan 2025

SignGPT – Project awarded £8.45m to build a sign language AI model for the Deaf community

A large-language model (LLM) built to meet the needs of the Deaf community, translating between signed and spoken language, is the aim of a new project led by the University of Surrey. SignGPT: Building Generative Predictive Transformers for Sign Language has been awarded £8.45m from the UK Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council. The five-year project will build tools to allow spoken language to be automatically translated into photo-realistic sign language and video of sign language to be translated into spoken language – a complex translation problem that is yet to be solved. Surrey ...

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Technology21 Jan 2025

The importance of eco-friendly sensors in global food supply

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2025 – Greenhouses and open farms that welcome visitors to purchase locally grown produce and meat have become increasingly important to food productivity. Not only are farmers looking for ways to monitor conditions to help improve greenhouse crop growth and yield, but keeping harvested food fresh in storage conditions is also a major concern. Smart sensor technology, monitoring and controlling temperature and humidity, plays an essential role in producing enough food to meet the ever-increasing demand ...

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Technology17 Jan 2025

Development of a high-performance AI device utilizing ion-controlled spin wave interference in magnetic materials

A research team from NIMS and the Japan Fine Ceramics Center (JFCC) has developed a next-generation AI device—a hardware component for AI systems—that incorporates an iono-magnonic reservoir. This reservoir controls spin waves (collective excitations of electron spins in magnetic materials), ion dynamics and their interactions. The technology demonstrated significantly higher information processing performance than conventional physical reservoir computing devices, underscoring its potential to transform AI technologies. As AI devices become increasingly sophisticated, ...

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Technology17 Jan 2025

Technology for oxidizing atmospheric methane won’t help the climate

As the atmosphere continues to fill with greenhouse gases from human activities, many proposals have surfaced to “geoengineer” climate-saving solutions, that is, alter the atmosphere at a global scale to either reduce the concentrations of carbon or mute its warming effect. One recent proposal seeks to infuse the atmosphere with hydrogen peroxide, insisting that it would both oxidize methane (CH4), an extremely potent greenhouse gas while improving air quality. Too good to be true? University of Utah atmospheric scientists Alfred Mayhew and Jessica Haskins were skeptical, so they set out to test the claims behind this proposal. Their results, published on ...

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Technology17 Jan 2025

Research on past hurricanes aims to reduce future risk

Tropical storms like hurricanes are not only terrifying, but also incredibly costly for coastal regions across the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Beyond the immediate devastation, these storms contribute to significant economic losses and human displacement. In 2023 alone, climate migration linked to such events saw 2.5 million individuals attempt to cross the U.S. southern land border. New research led by The University of Texas at Arlington emphasizes that studying ...

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Technology17 Jan 2025

New study reveals AI’s transformative impact on ICU care with smarter predictions and transparent insights

New INFORMS Information Systems Research Study Key Takeaways: The AI model achieves approximately 90% classification precision in predicting ICU length of stay, enabling hospitals to more effectively optimize resource management. Clear, evidence-based explanations provided by the model empower ICU doctors to make better-informed decisions regarding patient care. Real-world testing with ICU clinicians demonstrated the model’s potential to enhance care efficiency, reduce hospital costs and improve patient outcomes. BALTIMORE, MD, January 16, 2025 – Intensive care units (ICUs) face mounting pressure to effectively manage resources while delivering ...

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Technology16 Jan 2025

Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors

The trick to creating a better quantum sensor? Just give it a little squeeze. For the first time ever, scientists have used a technique called “quantum squeezing” to improve the gas sensing performance of devices known as optical frequency comb lasers. These ultra-precise sensors are like fingerprint scanners for molecules of gas. Scientists have used them to spot methane leaks in the air above oil and gas operations and signs of COVID-19 infections in breath samples from humans. Now, in a series of lab experiments, researchers have laid out a path for making those kinds of measurements even more sensitive and faster—doubling the speed of ...

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Technology16 Jan 2025

Innovative 6D pose dataset sets new standard for robotic grasping performance

Accurate object pose estimation refers to the ability of a robot to determine both the position and orientation of an object. It is essential for robotics, especially in pick-and-place tasks, which are crucial in industries such as manufacturing and logistics. As robots are increasingly tasked with complex operations, their ability to precisely determine the six degrees of freedom (6D pose) of objects, position, and orientation, becomes critical. This ability ensures that robots can interact with objects in a reliable and safe manner. However, despite advancements in deep learning, the performance of 6D pose estimation algorithms largely depends ...

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Technology16 Jan 2025

Exposure to air pollution before pregnancy linked to higher child body mass index, study finds

In a study of more than 5,000 mothers and their children, exposure to air pollution during the three months before pregnancy predicted higher child body mass index (BMI) and related obesity risk factors up to two years of age. Findings from the study, which was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, were published in the journal Environmental Research. Past research has linked air pollution exposure during pregnancy to a broad range of health problems in children, including respiratory ...

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