Technology
press releases.

Technology12 Nov 2024

Digital twins and complexity data science

A Perspective suggests that “digital twins” are not simply tools for science but are an example of the integration of complexity science and data science into a new scientific field. A “digital twin” is a digital representation of a real-world object or system. The idea emerged from manufacturing but has been adopted by science, especially by the fields of medicine, immunology, and epidemiology. Digital twins are typically frequently or continuously updated and improved with real data from the real object the digital twin mirrors, allowing ...

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Technology12 Nov 2024

Microneedle sensors for dermal interstitial fluid analysis

The rapid advancement in personalized healthcare has driven the development of wearable biomedical devices for real-time biomarker monitoring and diagnosis. Traditional invasive blood-based diagnostics are painful and limited to sporadic health snapshots. To address these limitations, microneedle-based sensing platforms have emerged, utilizing interstitial fluid (ISF) as an alternative biofluid for continuous health monitoring in a minimally invasive and painless manner. The team led by Wei Gao from California Institute of Technology providea a comprehensive overview of microneedle sensor technology, covering microneedle design, fabrication methods, ...

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Technology11 Nov 2024

AI-based software 'guide' childbirth by ‘seeing’ the baby’s position in real time

A new AI-based software has been developed that can be integrated with an ultrasound device to ‘guide’ childbirth by providing precise, real-time information on the baby’s head position. It can clearly indicate to operators—using a traffic light system—whether to proceed with a natural descent in the birth canal, whether to use a vacuum extractor, or even if an emergency cesarean is needed. This tool, which could be available in delivery rooms starting in 2028, was developed and validated as part of a ...

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Technology11 Nov 2024

Call for applications: Participation in the 12th Heidelberg Laureate Forum for Outstanding Young Researchers in Mathematics and Computer Science

The application process for the 12th Heidelberg Laureate Forum has begun! Young researchers in mathematics and computer science from all over the world can apply for one of the 200 exclusive spots to participate in the Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF), an annual networking conference. The HLF offers all accepted young researchers the unique opportunity to interact with the laureates of the most prestigious prizes in the fields of mathematics and computer science. Traditionally, the recipients of the Abel Prize, the ACM A.M. Turing Award, the ACM Prize in Computing, ...

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Technology8 Nov 2024

New quantum encoding methods slash circuit complexity in machine learning

A recent study by researchers from CSIRO and the University of Melbourne has made progress in quantum machine learning, a field aimed at achieving quantum advantage to outperform classical machine learning. Their work demonstrates that quantum circuits for data encoding in quantum machine learning can be greatly simplified without compromising accuracy or robustness. This research was published Sept.12 in Intelligent Computing, a Science Partner Journal. The team’s results, validated through both simulations and experiments on IBM quantum devices, show that their innovative encoding methods reduced circuit ...

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Technology8 Nov 2024

Chimpanzees perform better on challenging computer tasks when they have an audience

When people have an audience watching them, it can change their performance for better or worse. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal iScience on November 8 have found that chimpanzees’ performance on computer tasks is influenced by the number of people watching them. The findings suggest that this “audience effect” predates the development of reputation-based human societies, the researchers say. “It was very surprising to find that chimpanzees are affected in their task performance by ...

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Technology8 Nov 2024

Artificial intelligence: a double-edged sword for the environment?

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology progresses, the energy demands of training complex models have surged, raising widespread concerns about associated carbon emissions. This rapid growth is fueled by global demand across industries and academia, leading to exponential increases in computing power that carry significant environmental consequences. Given these challenges, in-depth research is essential to fully understand AI's carbon footprint and develop strategies for mitigating its environmental impact. In a view (DOI: 10.1007/s11783-024-1918-y) by ...

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Technology8 Nov 2024

Wide-incident-angle wideband radio-wave absorbers boost 5G and beyond 5G applications

5G wireless communication services have rapidly expanded worldwide, leveraging millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies in the 24 GHz to 71 GHz range (referred to as frequency range 2, or FR2). Looking ahead, Beyond 5G and 6G services, projected to offer ultra-fast connectivity exceeding 100 Gbit/s, are expected to be introduced in the 2030s. Frequencies in the 150-GHz to 300-GHz range are being considered as potential candidates for these future networks. However, critical components such as radio-wave absorbers, essential for packaging and modularization, still need to be developed. These absorbers play a key role in reducing ...

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Technology7 Nov 2024

Mechanosensory origins of “wet dog shakes” – a tactic used by many hairy mammals – uncovered in mice

“Wet dog shakes” – a common reflex behavior shared among many hairy mammals and designed to expel water and irritants from their coats – happens when particular mechanoreceptors are activated, researchers studying mice report. Many furry mammals engage in rapid body twists known as "wet dog shakes" to effectively remove water from their fur, as well as to eliminate irritants like tangles or parasites, particularly in areas on the neck and back that are largely unreachable by self-grooming or licking. However, despite the commonality of this behavior ...

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Technology7 Nov 2024

New PFAS removal process aims to stamp out pollution ahead of semiconductor industry growth

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study is the first to describe an electrochemical strategy to capture, concentrate and destroy mixtures of diverse chemicals known as PFAS — including the increasingly prevalent ultra-short-chain PFAS — from water in a single process. This new development is poised to address the growing industrial problem of contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, particularly in semiconductor manufacturing. A previous U. of I. study showed that short- and long-chain PFAS can be removed from water using electrochemically driven adsorption, referred to as ...

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Technology7 Nov 2024

Fabrication of 4-inch wafer-scale heterostructure via PECVD drives AI semiconductor performance innovation!

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances, the demand for higher-performing semiconductors is rapidly growing. The development of new materials and innovative structures to achieve high-performance semiconductors has become crucial. For the first time globally, a 4-inch heterostructure fabrication technology using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) has been developed. This breakthrough enables the production of low-power, high-performance semiconductors, surpassing the capabilities of traditional silicon-based technology. The research team led by Senior Researcher Hyeong-U Kim of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Research Center of the ...

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Technology6 Nov 2024

$2.1M aids researchers in building chemical sensors to safeguard troops

The U.S. Army has awarded a team of researchers led by Judith Su, University of Arizona associate professor of biomedical engineering and optical sciences, $2.1 million to build a handheld version of her record-breaking FLOWER sensing device for active military personnel. The device picks up target compounds at zeptomolar (10 to the power of negative 21) concentrations, an astonishingly minuscule amount of 600 particles per liter. FLOWER is useful for drug testing and a wide variety of other applications, such as health diagnostics. The military ...

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Technology6 Nov 2024

Coping and resilience aids parents of disabled children, study says

OXFORD, Miss. – For parents of children with disabilities, finding time to focus on themselves may be difficult. However, a new study finds that the right coping strategies and resilience can significantly help manage the challenges of raising children with special needs. That is the key finding from research published in the International Journal of Developmental Disabilities that studied families with neurodevelopmentally disabled children in Ghana to see what helps parents cultivate healthy, happy lives for themselves and their children. “Our main interest ...

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Technology6 Nov 2024

AI-driven mobile robots team up to tackle chemical synthesis

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have developed AI-driven mobile robots that can carry out chemical synthesis research with axtraordinairy efficiency. In a study publishing in the journal Nature, researchers show how mobile robots that use AI logic to make decisions were able to perform exploratory chemistry research tasks to the same level as humans, but much faster. The 1.75-meter-tall mobile robots were designed by the Liverpool team to tackle three primary problems in exploratory chemistry: performing the reactions, ...

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Technology5 Nov 2024

Ensuring a bright future for diamond electronics and sensors

Researchers are developing new ideas about the best ways to make lab-grown diamonds while minimizing other forms of carbon, such as soot. These diamonds aren’t destined for rings and necklaces, though. These are the kinds that are needed for the computers, optics and sensors of the future. One new study, conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University, investigated ways to reliably grow diamond at lower temperatures than those currently used. Diamond has properties ...

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Technology4 Nov 2024

Argonne to help drive AI revolution in astronomy with new institute led by Northwestern University

The U.S. National Science Foundation and Simons Foundation have selected a group of institutions, including Argonne, to receive funding to establish an AI and astronomy institute called the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI). Part of a groundbreaking effort to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory is a key collaborator in the newly launched NSF-Simons AI Institute ...

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Technology4 Nov 2024

With the help of AI, UC Berkeley researchers confirm Hollywood is getting more diverse

With recent box office hits like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Little Mermaid and Everything Everywhere All at Once, the average viewer might assume that the casts of Hollywood films are more diverse now than they were 10 or 20 years ago. But verifying these perceptions can be tricky. Even before the #OscarsSoWhite social media campaign in 2015 brought much-needed attention to the lack of diversity in Academy-nominated films, film scholars had begun documenting the lack of representation of women and actors of color in Hollywood. Doing so requires that they watch ...

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Technology4 Nov 2024

Not the usual suspects: Novel genetic basis of pest resistance to biotech crops

If left unchecked, insect pests can devastate crops. To minimize damage and reduce the need for insecticide sprays, crops have been genetically engineered to produce bacterial proteins that kill key pests but are not harmful to people or wildlife. However, widespread planting of such transgenic crops has led to rapid adaptation by some pests. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals a novel genetic basis of resistance to transgenic crops in one of the most important crop pests in the United States. Researchers from the University of Arizona Department of Entomology in the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences used genomics to investigate the ...

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Technology4 Nov 2024

Influence of tool corner radius on chip geometrical characteristics of machining Zr-based bulk metallic glass

Different from traditional alloys, BMGs exhibit a unique atomic arrangement characterized by short-range order and long-range disorder at the atomic level. Such atomic structure leads to the absence of defects such as grain boundaries and dislocations, resulting in exceptional mechanical properties. The promising properties of BMGs have rapidly positioned them as a new class of structural and functional materials, showing great application potential in various fields including structural, energy and chemical engineering. In order to facilitate their engineering applications, research has reported their cutting characteristics from various aspects, ...

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Technology4 Nov 2024

SwRI receives $23 million in U.S. Air Force contracts to sustain aging aircraft

SAN ANTONIO — November 4, 2024 —Southwest Research Institute has received two contracts totaling $23 million from the U.S. Air Force for a program to address aging aircraft structures and material degradation. Under these contracts, the Institute will help the Air Force modernize methods to sustain the T-38 Talon, the A-10 Thunderbolt and the B-52 Stratofortress. All three military aircraft first came into service more than 45 years ago. “SwRI will assist with the full spectrum of structural sustainment for these aircraft,” said Luciano Smith, manager of SwRI’s Structural Integrity Group. “Our analyses will help the Air Force know ...

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Technology4 Nov 2024

Security in quantum computing

Alongside artificial intelligence, quantum computing is one of the fastest-growing subsets in the high-performance computing community. But what happens when this relatively new and powerful computing method reaches the limit of the cyberinfrastructure and network security capabilities of today? Researchers at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications are addressing this issue before it becomes a problem. “The problem is urgent because practical quantum computers will break classical encryption in the next decade,” ...

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Technology4 Nov 2024

Noninvasive choroidal vessel analysis via deep learning: A new approach to choroidal optical coherence tomography angiography

Researchers from Peking University have developed a novel noninvasive choroidal angiography method that enables layer-wise visualization and evaluation of choroidal vessels using deep learning. This new approach, published in Health Data Science, employs an advanced segmentation model that can handle varying quality of optical coherence tomography (OCT) B-scans, making it a promising tool for clinical applications in diagnosing retinal diseases. Choroidal Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (C-OCTA) offers a significant improvement in the analysis of choroidal vessels, a critical component in the ...

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Technology1 Nov 2024

Auburn University hosts 62nd Hands-On Workshop on Computational Biophysics, featuring the new VMD 2.0

AUBURN, Ala. – The NIH Center for Macromolecular Modeling and Visualization and Auburn University are pleased to announce the 62nd Hands-On Workshop on Computational Biophysics, taking place from December 16-20, 2024, at Auburn University’s Department of Physics. This prestigious workshop series, first launched in June 2003 by the Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has become a premier global training event in molecular modeling. Supported by NIH, the workshop provides a unique platform for researchers across disciplines to master the latest computational biophysics techniques. This year’s ...

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Technology1 Nov 2024

Exposure to particular sources of air pollution is harmful to children’s learning and memory, a USC study shows

A new USC study involving 8,500 children from across the country reveals that a form of air pollution, largely the product of agricultural emissions, is linked to poor learning and memory performance in 9- and 10-year-olds. The specific component of fine particle air pollution, or PM2.5, ammonium nitrate, is also implicated in Alzheimer’s and dementia risk in adults, suggesting that PM2.5 may cause neurocognitive harm across the lifespan. Ammonium nitrate forms when ammonia gas and nitric acid, produced by agricultural activities and fossil fuel combustion, respectively, react in the atmosphere. The findings appear in Environmental Health Perspectives. “Our study ...

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Technology31 Oct 2024

Virginia Tech researcher finds AI could help improve city planning

Traditional city planning methods require significant technical expertise and manual work. A Virginia Tech researcher is working to change that. New research shows the potential of large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, for assessing the human-made environment using street-view images. By comparing LLM performance with traditional city planning deep learning methods, the study from the College of Natural Resources and Environment found that LLM-based performance is similar with established approaches. Unlike ...

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