Technology
press releases.

Technology9 Jan 2025

Pioneering new mathematical model could help protect privacy and ensure safer use of AI

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 10 AM GMT / 5 AM ET THURSDAY 9 JANUARY 2025 Pioneering new mathematical model could help protect privacy and ensure safer use of AI AI tools are increasingly being used to track and monitor us both online and in-person, yet their effectiveness comes with big risks. Computer scientists at the Oxford Internet Institute, Imperial College London, and UCLouvain have developed a new mathematical model which could help people better understand the risks posed by AI and assist regulators in protecting peoples’ privacy. The findings have been published today (9 January) in Nature Communications. For ...

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Technology8 Jan 2025

ISS National Lab announces up to $650,000 in funding for technology advancement in low Earth orbit

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), January 7, 2025 – The International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory is soliciting flight concepts for technology advancement that utilizes the space-based environment of the orbiting laboratory. This solicitation, “Technology Advancement and Applied Research Leveraging the ISS National Lab,” is open to a broad range of technology areas, including chemical and material synthesis in space, translational medicine, in-space edge computing, and in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. It also encompasses the application of space station remote sensing data to improve geospatial analytics ...

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Technology8 Jan 2025

Researchers develop new technology for sustainable rare earth mining

Ion-adsorption rare earth deposits (IADs) are primary sources of heavy rare earth elements (HREE), supplying over 90% of the global demand for HREE. However, the current ammonium-salt-based in-situ mining technique has led to severe environmental impacts. To facilitate sustainable REE mining, Professors ZHU Jianxi and HE Hongping’s team from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has developed a green and efficient electrokinetic mining (EKM) technology. Their work was published in Nature Sustainability on Jan. 6, 2025. To address the challenges of sustainable and efficient REE extraction, ...

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Technology8 Jan 2025

Discovery of new class of particles could take quantum mechanics one step further

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Amid the many mysteries of quantum physics, subatomic particles don’t always follow the rules of the physical world. They can exist in two places at once, pass through solid barriers and even communicate across vast distances instantaneously. These behaviors may seem impossible, but in the quantum realm, scientists are exploring an array properties once thought impossible. In a new study, physicists at Brown University have now observed a novel class of quantum particles called fractional excitons, which behave in unexpected ways and could significantly ...

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Technology8 Jan 2025

Scientists leverage artificial intelligence to fast-track methane mitigation strategies in animal agriculture

BUSHLAND, Texas, Jan. 8, 2025 –A new study from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Iowa State University (ISU) reveals that generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help expedite the search for solutions to reduce enteric methane emissions caused by cows in animal agriculture, which accounts for about 33 percent of U.S. agriculture and 3 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. "Developing solutions to address methane emissions from animal agriculture is a critical priority. Our scientists continue to use innovative and data-driven strategies to help ...

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Technology8 Jan 2025

Harnessing AI to respond to the global threat of antimicrobial resistance

AMR is when microorganisms that cause infections, such as bacteria and viruses, change over time and no longer respond to antibiotic medicines. It makes serious conditions such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria more difficult to treat and increases the risk of severe illness, disease spread and death. AMR particularly impacts low-to-middle-income countries where water quality is often poor and the spread environmental spread of AMR via wastes can be high. In 2015 the World Health Organization (WHO) formulated a Global Action Plan to co-ordinate efforts to tackle AMR. As a result, 194 WHO member states committed to developing country-specific ...

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Technology8 Jan 2025

Advanced wearable robot eases heavy lifting and other injury-causing tasks for workers

In research published in Advanced Intelligence Systems, scientists have developed an innovative, soft, wearable robot to help workers avoid job-related injuries while lifting, lowering, and carrying objects. While many available wearable robots are limited to supporting a single degree of freedom of the body (meaning the body can only move in one direction at a given joint), the new robot, called WeaRo, operates through multiple degrees of freedom, allowing for complex movements. In tests, WeaRo effectively reduced the muscle activation levels of lumbar, biceps, and triceps muscles by a maximum of 18.2%, 29.1%, and ...

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Technology8 Jan 2025

Artificial intelligence–based method assesses depression in business leaders

Researchers have developed a novel method to assess depression in CEOs by using machine learning models (a type of artificial intelligence) to analyze vocal acoustic features from conference call recordings. This innovative approach, detailed in an article published in the Journal of Accounting Research, provides insights into a mental health issue that often remains hidden in high-pressure executive roles. The researchers examined how CEO depression is related to career outcomes, compensation, and incentives. Their findings suggest ...

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Technology8 Jan 2025

For many low-income single moms, government aid serves as their paid family leave, study shows

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The majority of low-income single mothers in Oregon who rely on federal cash assistance around the time of childbirth are in the program for less than a year, suggesting they’re using it as a form of paid family leave, Oregon State University research shows. The first-of-its-kind study has important implications in the state, which in 2023 established a taxpayer-funded paid family leave program, and throughout the United States as poverty has a particularly high incidence among young children. “Understanding how mothers ...

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Technology7 Jan 2025

Earth’s air war: Explaining the delayed rise of plants, animals on land

New Haven, Conn. — If you like the smell of spring roses, the sounds of summer birdsong, and the colors of fall foliage, you have the stabilization of the ozone layer to thank for it. Located in the stratosphere, where it shields the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation, the ozone layer plays a key role in preserving the planet’s biodiversity. And now we may have a better idea of why that took so long — more than 2 billion years — to happen. According to a new, Yale-led study, ...

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Technology7 Jan 2025

Smart food drying techniques with AI enhance product quality and efficiency

URBANA, Ill.– Food drying is a common process for preserving many types of food, including fruits and meat; however, drying can alter the food’s quality and nutritional value. In recent years, researchers have developed precision techniques that use optical sensors and AI to facilitate more efficient drying. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign discusses three emerging smart drying techniques, providing practical information for the food industry. “With traditional drying systems, you need to remove samples to monitor the process. But with smart drying, or precision drying, you can continuously ...

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Technology7 Jan 2025

Photonic nanojet-regulated soft microalga-robot

Micro/nanorobots hold exciting prospects for executing different tasks in complex microenvironments due to their small size, high flexibility, controllability, and environmental adaptability. However, traditional rigid micro/nanorobots are still difficult to perform different biomedical tasks in complex and unstructured narrow microenvironments due to their limited flexibility and insufficient deformability. To address this problem, in a new paper published in PhotoniX, a team of scientists led by Professor Hongbao Xin from Institute of Nanophotonics, Jinan University, China, has developed a new soft microalga robot (saBOT). They innovatively used microalga, ...

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Technology6 Jan 2025

New method tracks the 'learning curve' of AI to decode complex genomic data

Introducing Annotatability—a powerful new framework to address a major challenge in biological research by examining how artificial neural networks learn to label genomic data. Genomic datasets often contain vast amounts of annotated samples, but many of these samples are annotated either incorrectly or ambiguously. Borrowing from recent advances in the fields of natural language processing and computer vision, the team used artificial neural networks (ANNs) in a non-conventional way: instead of merely using the ANNs to make predictions, the group inspected the difficulty with which they learned to label ...

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Technology6 Jan 2025

Acoustic sensors find frequent gunfire on school walking routes

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study used acoustic sensors that detect the sound of gunfire to show how often children in one Chicago neighborhood are exposed to gunshots while walking to and from school. Results showed that nearly two-thirds of schools in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago had at least one gun incident within 400 meters (about one-quarter mile) of where children were walking home during the 2021-22 school year. These findings suggest a need to redefine federal definitions of school gun violence to include indirect forms of violence that take place near schools, not only on school grounds, in order to more appropriately ...

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Technology6 Jan 2025

New quantum sensing technology reveals sub-atomic signals

Since the 1950s, scientists have used radio waves to uncover the molecular “fingerprints” of unknown materials, aiding in tasks as varied as scanning the human body with MRI machines and detecting explosives at airports. These methods, however, rely on signals averaged from trillions of atoms, making it impossible to detect tiny variations between individual molecules. Such limitations hinder applications in fields like protein research, where small differences in shape control functionality and can determine the difference between health and disease. Sub-Atomic Insights Now, engineers at the University of Pennsylvania ...

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Technology3 Jan 2025

Integrated spin-wave quantum memory

The synchronization function of quantum memories can be employed to connect multiple short-distance entanglement into long-distance entanglement, so that to effectively overcome the transmission loss of photons and enable the construction of large-scale quantum networks. The rare-earth ions doped crystals is a candidate system for implementation of quantum memories with excellent performances, and integrated solid-state quantum memories have been successfully demonstrated with various micro- and nano- fabrication techniques. All previous demonstrations of integrated quantum memories for light are limited to the storage ...

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Technology3 Jan 2025

New nanocrystal material a key step toward faster, more energy-efficient computing

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Scientists including an Oregon State University chemistry researcher have taken a key step toward faster, more energy-efficient artificial intelligence, and data processing in general, with the discovery of luminescent nanocrystals that can be quickly toggled from light to dark and back again. “The extraordinary switching and memory capabilities of these nanocrystals may one day become integral to optical computing – a way to rapidly process and store information using light particles, which travel faster than anything in the ...

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Technology2 Jan 2025

New research aims to improve bridge construction in Texas

A groundbreaking method for bridge construction is set to enhance performance, reduce construction time, and cut costs for future bridges across Texas. Dr. Kinsey Skillen, assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Texas A&M University, was named Principal Investigator (PI) of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) research project titled “Develop/Refine Design Provisions for Headed and Hooked Reinforcement.” The 42-month project, which received nearly $1 million in funding, is a joint effort between the Texas Transportation Institute and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) exploring more efficient methods ...

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Technology2 Jan 2025

Building better infrared sensors

Detecting infrared light is critical in an enormous range of technologies, from remote controls to autofocus systems to self-driving cars and virtual reality headsets. That means there would be major benefits from improving the efficiency of infrared sensors, such as photodiodes. Researchers at Aalto University have developed a new type of infrared photodiode that is 35% more responsive at 1.55 µm, the key wavelength for telecommunications, compared to other germanium-based components. Importantly, this new device can be manufactured using current production techniques, making it highly practical for adoption. ‘It ...

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Technology2 Jan 2025

New method to measure 5G radiation from mobile phones and base stations

A team of researchers from Project GOLIAT has developed and applied a new protocol to measure exposure to mobile phone radiation, in particular from 5G. The researchers measured radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) levels during three different scenarios: when the mobile device is in flight mode (non-user), when the mobile phone is used intensively by either downloading or uploading data. The study demonstrates that e. The research was conducted in Switzerland, one of the first countries in Europe to roll out 5G networks on a large scale. The results have now been published in Environmental Research and provide relevant data for epidemiological ...

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Technology1 Jan 2025

Artificial Intelligence Predicts Deutsche eMark (DEM) as the 2025 Crypto Sensation

What Is Deutsche eMark (DEM)? Deutsche eMark, often referred to by its abbreviation DEM, is a cryptocurrency that draws inspiration from reviving the legacy of the German Mark—Germany’s official currency before the introduction of the euro. The creators of DEM aimed to leverage the recognition of the traditional German currency by combining it with innovative blockchain technology. The primary mission of the project is to enable fast and efficient transactions both within Germany and on the international market. By using a peer-to-peer network, Deutsche eMark seeks to offer low transaction costs while maintaining a high level of security.

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Technology1 Jan 2025

A tour de force: Columbia engineers discover new “all-optical” nanoscale sensors of force

New York, NY—January 1, 2025—Mechanical force is an essential feature for many physical and biological processes. Remote measurement of mechanical signals with high sensitivity and spatial resolution is needed for a wide range of applications, from robotics to cellular biophysics and medicine and even to space travel. Nanoscale luminescent force sensors excel at measuring piconewton forces, while larger sensors have proven powerful in probing micronewton forces. However, large gaps remain in the force magnitudes that can be probed remotely from subsurface ...

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Technology31 Dec 2024

Revolutionizing fragrance design using deep neural networks (DNNs) scent profiles from chemical data

Scientific research explores the potential of DNNs in transforming fragrance design. By analyzing the sensing data of 180 essential oils, the DNN was trained using the odor descriptor data from 94 essential oils to generate fragrance profiles, validated through sensory evaluations to align with human olfactory perceptions. The study underscores the technological ability to streamline fragrance creation, reduce costs, and foster innovation, opening up exciting possibilities for personalized and scalable scent development. Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have become an essential driver of innovation across various industries, ...

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Technology30 Dec 2024

Coming AI economy will sell your decisions before you take them, researchers warn

The near future could see AI assistants that forecast and influence our decision-making at an early stage, and sell these developing “intentions” in real-time to companies that can meet the need – before we even realise we have made up our minds. This is according to AI ethicists from the University of Cambridge, who say we are at the dawn of a “lucrative yet troubling new marketplace for digital signals of intent”, from buying movie tickets to voting for candidates. They call this the "Intention Economy". Researchers from Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence ...

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Technology27 Dec 2024

Are we ready for the ethical challenges of AI and robots?

Fukuoka, Japan―Artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-enabled robots are becoming a bigger part of our daily lives. Real-time, flexible interactions between humans and robots are no longer just science fiction. As robots become smarter and more human-like in both behavior and appearance, they are transforming from mere tools to potential partners and social entities. This rapid evolution presents significant challenges to our legal and ethical frameworks, including concerns about privacy, safety, and regulation in the context of AI and robots. The Cambridge Handbook of the Law, Policy, ...

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