ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


A new solid-state battery surprises the researchers who created it

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 01:59 PM PDT

Engineers created a new type of battery that weaves two promising battery sub-fields into a single battery. The battery uses both a solid state electrolyte and an all-silicon anode, making it a silicon all-solid-state battery. The initial rounds of tests show that the new battery is safe, long lasting, and energy dense. It holds promise for a wide range of applications from grid storage to electric vehicles.

Scientists develop artificial intelligence method to predict anti-cancer immunity

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 01:48 PM PDT

Researchers and data scientists have developed an artificial intelligence technique that can identify which cell surface peptides produced by cancer cells called neoantigens are recognized by the immune system.

Mapping words to colors

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 12:33 PM PDT

While the range of colors your eyes may perceive extends beyond the words language provides, languages around the globe are remarkably similar in how they partition the space of colors into a vocabulary. Yet differences exist. In a study examining 130 diverse languages around the world, researchers developed an algorithm to infer the communicative needs that different linguistic communities place on colors.

Carbon dioxide reactor makes 'Martian fuel'

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 10:26 AM PDT

Engineers are developing new ways to convert greenhouse gases to fuel to address climate change and get astronauts home from Mars.

Engineers introduce a new approach for recycling plastics

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 09:24 AM PDT

Engineers have come up with a revolutionary new method for tackling plastic pollution by harnessing the inner workings of proteins. The result? A whole new way of looking at plastic recycling.

Physicists control the flow of electron pulses through a nanostructure channel

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 08:56 AM PDT

Particle accelerators are essential tools in research areas such as biology, materials science and particle physics. Researchers are always looking for more powerful ways of accelerating particles to improve existing equipment and increase capacities for experiments. One such powerful technology is dielectric laser acceleration (DLA). In this approach, particles are accelerated in the optical near-field which is created when ultra-short laser pulses are focused on a nanophotonic structure. Using this method, researchers have succeeded in guiding electrons through a vacuum channel, an essential component of particle accelerators.

How tactile vibrations create illusions

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 08:56 AM PDT

Among the traditional five human senses, touch is perhaps the least studied. Yet, it is solicited everywhere, all the time, and even more so in recent years with the widespread daily use of electronic devices that emit vibrations. Indeed, any moving object transmits oscillatory signals that propagate through solid substrates. Our body detects them by means of mechanoreceptors located below the skin and transmits the information to the brain similarly to auditory, olfactory or visual stimuli. By studying how mice and humans perceive tactile vibrations, researchers discovered that the brain does not reliably perceive the frequency of a vibration when its amplitude varies. An illusory phenomenon is thereby created, which highlights how far our perception of the world around us can deviate from its physical reality.

Observation of energy-difference conservation in optical domain

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 08:56 AM PDT

A research team proposes an efficient experimental platform for non-Hermitian physics research.

A new method for removing lead from drinking water

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 08:56 AM PDT

Engineers designed a relatively low-cost, energy-efficient approach to treating water contaminated with heavy metals such as lead.

Switching on a superfluid

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 07:20 AM PDT

We can learn a lot by studying microscopic and macroscopic changes in a material as it crosses from one phase to another, for example from ice to water to steam. A new study examines systems transitioning from 'normal' fluid to a quantum state known as a superfluid, which can flow with zero friction, with a view to future, superfluid-based, quantum technologies, such as ultra-low energy electronics.

Artificial intelligence may be set to reveal climate-change tipping points

Posted: 23 Sep 2021 05:29 AM PDT

Researchers are developing artificial intelligence that could assess climate change tipping points. The deep learning algorithm could act as an early warning system against runaway climate change.

Researchers mimic how water and wind create complex shapes in nature

Posted: 22 Sep 2021 11:32 AM PDT

Researchers have found a way to mimic the natural processes that create complex shapes and landscapes with the help of a vibrating plate and resulting energy fields.

Theory of bubbles lifts cell biology into a new, more quantitative era

Posted: 22 Sep 2021 09:18 AM PDT

A new study details how an established physics theory governing bubble and droplet formation led to a new understanding of the principles organizing the contents of living cells. The work marks a seismic shift in researchers' ability both to understand and control the complex soft materials within our cells.

Tuning flexible circuits with light

Posted: 21 Sep 2021 09:51 AM PDT

Researchers created flexible integrated circuits precisely tuned by illuminating an organic polymer with ultraviolet light. This work may allow for inexpensive electronics to be incorporated into wearable sensors or computers.