ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


Surveys with repetitive questions yield bad data, study finds

Posted: 28 Jan 2022 12:35 PM PST

Surveys that ask too many of the same type of question tire respondents and return unreliable data, according to a new study. The study found that people tire from questions that vary only slightly and tend to give similar answers to all questions as the survey progresses. Marketers, policymakers, and researchers who rely on long surveys to predict consumer or voter behavior will have more accurate data if they craft surveys designed to elicit reliable, original answers, the researchers suggest.

Extreme exoplanet has a complex and exotic atmosphere

Posted: 28 Jan 2022 11:13 AM PST

An international team analyzed the atmosphere of one of the most extreme known planets in great detail. The results from this hot, Jupiter-like planet that was first characterized with the help of the CHEOPS space telescope, may help astronomers understand the complexities of many other exoplanets -- including Earth-like planets.

Precision machining produces tiny, light-guiding cubes for advancing info tech

Posted: 28 Jan 2022 11:13 AM PST

Drilling with the beam of an electron microscope, scientists have precisely machined tiny electrically conductive cubes that can interact with light and organized them in patterned structures that confine and relay light's electromagnetic signal. This demonstration is a step toward potentially faster computer chips and more perceptive sensors.

New approach transports trapped ions to create entangling gates

Posted: 28 Jan 2022 11:13 AM PST

Scientists have demonstrated the feasibility of a new approach that moves trapped ion pairs through a single laser beam, potentially reducing power requirements and simplifying the system for creating entangled qubits.

Artificial muscles made of proteins

Posted: 28 Jan 2022 11:12 AM PST

A research team has developed a material made of natural proteins that contracts autonomously.

Solving a superconducting mystery with more precise computations

Posted: 28 Jan 2022 07:07 AM PST

A new, more precise method of simulating quantum materials has revealed the basis for superconductivity in copper-based oxides known as cuprates. Researchers, using powerful supercomputers, found that phonons, vibrational energy from crystal structure, contribute to a key feature observed in cuprates, which may indicate their indispensable contribution to superconductivity. If true, the finding may pave the way for tunable superconductivity in materials.

Post-mortem interval of human skeletal remains accurately determined by means of non-destructive techniques

Posted: 28 Jan 2022 07:07 AM PST

A new study has determined the post-mortem interval of human skeletal remains using real samples, which has been made possible by the combination of two non-destructive analytical tools: Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics. This opens up new avenues for dating in the field of forensic medicine and anthropology.