ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


Ultrasounds for endangered abalone mollusks

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 11:21 AM PST

The world's abalone are threatened, endangered or otherwise vulnerable in nearly every corner of the planet. If only we could wave a magic wand to know when abalone are ready to reproduce, without even touching them. Scientists have now found that wand -- although it isn't magic, and it only looks like a wand. It's an ultrasound transducer, and it can be used to quickly and noninvasively detect when abalone are ready to spawn, they report in a study this week.

A new, inexpensive catalyst speeds the production of oxygen from water

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 10:56 AM PST

Researchers have developed a new type of catalyst material, called a metal hydroxide-organic framework (MHOF), which is made of inexpensive and abundant components. The catalyst speeds up the electrochemical reaction that splits apart water molecules to produce oxygen, which is at the heart of multiple approaches aiming to produce alternative fuels for transportation.

New imager microchip helps devices bring hidden objects to light

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 09:35 AM PST

Researchers have developed an innovative terahertz imager microchip that can enable devices to detect and create images through obstacles that include fog, smoke, dust and snow.

Using artificial intelligence to find anomalies hiding in massive datasets

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 09:35 AM PST

Researchers have developed a computationally efficient method that could be used to identify anomalies in the U.S. power grid in real time. The novel technique augments a special type of machine-learning model with a powerful graph structure, and does not require any labeled data to train.

A security technique to fool would-be cyber attackers

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 09:31 AM PST

Researchers developed a technique that effectively protects computer programs' secret information from memory-timing side channel attacks, while enabling faster computation than other security schemes.

Advancing our view at the subcellular level

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 08:39 AM PST

Researchers have developed a new pH probe and imaging technique to provide researchers more information when studying diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's.

Deep neural network to find hidden turbulent motion on the sun

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 07:02 AM PST

Scientists developed a neural network deep learning technique to extract hidden turbulent motion information from observations of the Sun. Tests on three different sets of simulation data showed that it is possible to infer the horizontal motion from data for the temperature and vertical motion. This technique will benefit solar astronomy and other fields such as plasma physics, fusion science, and fluid dynamics.

Death spiral: A black hole spins on its side

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 07:02 AM PST

Researchers found that the axis of rotation of a black hole in a binary system is tilted more than 40 degrees relative to the axis of stellar orbit. The finding challenges current theoretical models of black hole formation.

Faster, more efficient living cell separation achieved with new microfluidic chip

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 05:59 AM PST

A research team created a new way to sort living cells suspended in fluid using an all-in-one operation in a lab-on-chip that required only 30 minutes for the entire separation process. This device eliminated the need for labor-intensive sample pre-treatment and chemical tagging techniques while preserving the original structure of the cells. They constructed a prototype of a microfluidic chip that uses electric fields to gently coax cells in one direction or another in dielectrophoresis, a phenomenon or movement of neutral particles when they are subjected to an external non-uniform electric field.

New simulations refine axion mass, refocusing dark matter search

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 05:58 AM PST

Axions are today's most popular candidate for dark matter, and numerous experiments are trying to detect them in microwave cavities where the axion should rarely convert into an electromagnetic wave. But a new simulation of the production of axions in the early universe provides a more refined mass estimate, and higher frequency for the EM wave, that is outside the range of these experiments. The new mass comes from adaptive mesh refinement in supercomputer simulations.

Live wire: New research on nanoelectronics

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 03:03 PM PST

Researchers show that certain proteins can act as efficient electrical conductors. In fact, these tiny protein wires may have better conductance properties than similar nanowires composed of DNA, which have already met with considerable success for a host of human applications.

NASA's Roman Mission could snap first image of a Jupiter-like world

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 03:03 PM PST

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, now under construction, will test new technologies for space-based planet hunting. The mission aims to photograph worlds and dusty disks around nearby stars with detail up to a thousand times better than possible with other observatories.

New understanding of complex catalysis advances catalyst design

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 03:03 PM PST

Understanding the reaction pathways and kinetics of catalytic reactions at the atomic scale is critical to designing catalysts for more energy-efficient and sustainable chemical production, especially multimaterial catalysts that have ever-changing surface structures. Researchers have now peered into the black box to understand the evolving structures in a multimaterial catalyst at the atomic scale.

'Seeing' non-uniformities in 2D materials may lead to new medical sensors

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 03:03 PM PST

A novel and better approach at detecting non-uniformities in the optical properties of two-dimensional materials could potentially open the door to new uses for these materials.

Interaction with lung cells transforms asbestos particles

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 01:17 PM PST

Asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer and other diseases, often multiple decades following exposure. Many researchers have sought to elucidate disease mechanisms, but a new study took the opposite approach, using a high-tech microscope to look at how the mineral changed upon interaction with lung cells. Their findings suggest that the mineralogical transformations inside the cells may play a role in triggering disease.

Transparent ultrasound chip improves cell stimulation and imaging

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 01:15 PM PST

Ultrasound scans -- best known for monitoring pregnancies or imaging organs -- can also be used to stimulate cells and direct cell function. A team of researchers has developed an easier, more effective way to harness the technology for biomedical applications.

Researchers develop 3D imaging technique to understand how dendrites form in batteries

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 11:59 AM PST

As the world lessens its dependence on fossil fuels, industries and manufacturers are turning to lithium-ion batteries to power the machines that make modern life possible. These batteries power electric vehicles, mobile phones, drones, vacuum cleaning robots and other machines and will be an essential component to the energy transition. But there's a problem with lithium-ion batteries: as they age and are charged, they develop dendrites. A research team is trying to solve the dendrite problem by investigating how these structures grow on batteries. Dendrites are spiky structures that accumulate on the batteries' anodes. These structures reduce the life of the batteries, hinder their ability to hold a charge and can short-circuit machines potentially causing safety hazards like battery fires.

A new platform for customizable quantum devices

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 11:09 AM PST

Scientists have demonstrated a wide range of tunability in a family of qubits, an important step in designing custom qubits for specific applications.

More sensitive X-ray imaging

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 11:08 AM PST

Making nanoscale patterns in 'scintillator' materials that convert X-rays into light could allow a tenfold signal enhancement for medical or industrial imaging, researchers report. This method might lead to improvements in medical X-rays or CT scans, to reduce dose exposure and improve image quality.

Chemical synthesis yields potential antibiotic

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 11:08 AM PST

Chemists developed a new way to synthesize himastatin, a natural compound that has shown potential as an antibiotic. A new strategy for producing a natural compound could also be used to generate variants with even stronger antimicrobial activity.

Largest ever human family tree: 27 million ancestors

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 11:08 AM PST

Researchers have taken a major step towards mapping the entirety of genetic relationships among humans: a single genealogy that traces the ancestry of all of us.

A laser-quick and non-destructive method to detect cracks in concrete structures

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 11:08 AM PST

Large concrete structures need to be regularly tested for defects that may compromise their stability. While acoustic tests performed by certified inspectors are usually the inspection method of choice, these tests take longer to perform as the structure's size increases. In a new study, scientists developed a new method to identify defects using shock waves generated by laser-induced plasma. The new method is faster, completely non-destructive, and allows for timely evaluation of concrete infrastructure.

Direct 'uphill' isomerization of numerous olefin classes

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 11:06 AM PST

Researchers have used excited-state electron transfer events to 'pump' olefin molecules up and then have them fall back down through a series of favorable steps to ultimately transform into a less stable isomeric form. This essentially allows internal olefins, or alkenes, to migrate along the carbon chain to the terminal position -- a kind of musical chairs that shunts the double bond to a position of less overall stability.

Entanglement unlocks scaling for quantum machine learning

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 09:52 AM PST

The field of machine learning on quantum computers got a boost from new research removing a potential roadblock to the practical implementation of quantum neural networks.

Student's device enables researchers to easily track elusive insects

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 09:06 AM PST

With some home security software and a little ingenuity, researchers have developed an inexpensive device that will allow them to study the behavior and activity of insects in regions of the world where they're most diverse.

Error mitigation approach helps quantum computers level up

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 09:06 AM PST

Recent research has yielded a new approach to quantum error mitigation - 'noise estimation circuits' - that could help make quantum computing's theoretical potential a reality.

California's push for computer science education examined

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:37 AM PST

Despite California's computer science education policies, gender, racial and ethnic disparities persist among the high schools that offer these courses, the students enrolled in them and the faculty who teach them.

Development of a diamond transistor with high hole mobility

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:27 AM PST

Using a new fabrication technique, engineers have developed a diamond field-effect transistor (FET) with high hole mobility, which allows reduced conduction loss and higher operational speed. This new FET also exhibits normally-off behavior (i.e., electric current flow through the transistor ceases when no gate voltage is applied, a feature that makes electronic devices safer). These results may facilitate the development of low-loss power conversion and high-speed communications devices.

Rebooting evolution

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:26 AM PST

The building blocks of life-saving therapeutics could be developed in days instead of years thanks to new software that simulates evolution. Proseeker is the name of a new computational tool that mimics the processes of natural selection, producing proteins that can be used for a range of medicinal and household uses.

New methods for network visualizations enable change of perspectives and views

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:26 AM PST

Researchers have developed a new method for generating network layouts that allow for visualizing different information of a network in two- and three-dimensional virtual space and exploring different perspectives. The results could also facilitate future research on rare diseases by providing more versatile, comprehensible representations of complex protein interactions.

Visualization of the origin of magnetic forces by atomic resolution electron microscopy

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:26 AM PST

Scientists have observed atomic magnetic fields, the origin of magnetic forces, for the first time using an innovative Magnetic-field-free Atomic-Resolution STEM they developed.

How a single nerve cell can multiply

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:26 AM PST

Neurons are constantly performing complex calculations to process sensory information and infer the state of the environment. For example, to localize a sound or to recognize the direction of visual motion, individual neurons are thought to multiply two signals. However, how such a computation is carried out has been a mystery for decades. Researchers have now discovered in fruit flies the biophysical basis that enables a specific type of neuron to multiply two incoming signals. This provides fundamental insights into the algebra of neurons -- the computations that may underlie countless processes in the brain.

Fingertip sensitivity for robots

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:26 AM PST

Striving to improve touch sensing in robotics, scientists developed a thumb-shaped sensor with a camera hidden inside and trained a deep neural network to infer its haptic contact information. When something touches the finger, the system constructs a three-dimensional force map from the visible deformations of its flexible outer shell. This research invention significantly improves a robot finger's haptic perception, coming ever closer to the sense of touch of human skin.

'Workhorse' of photovoltaics in tandem with perovskite

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:26 AM PST

So-called PERC cells are used in mass production of silicon solar cells, they are considered the workhorses of photovoltaics, dominating the market. Now two teams have shown that such standard silicon cells are also suitable as a basis for tandem cells with perovskite top cells. Currently, the efficiency of the tandem cell is still below that of optimised PERC cells alone, but could be increased to up to 29.5% through targeted optimization. The research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics as part of a joint project.

Inorganic borophene liquid crystals: A superior new material for optoelectronic devices

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 06:11 AM PST

Liquid crystals derived from borophene have risen in popularity, owing to their immense applicability in optoelectronic and photonic devices. However, their development requires a very narrow temperature range, which hinders their large-scale application. Now, researchers have investigated a liquid-state borophene oxide, discovering that it exhibited high thermal stability and optical switching behavior even at low voltages. These findings highlight the strong potential of borophene oxide-derived liquid crystals for use in widespread applications.

Automation is fueling increasing mortality among U.S. adults, study finds

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 02:26 PM PST

The automation of U.S. manufacturing -- robots replacing people on factory floors -- is fueling rising mortality rate among America's working-age adults, according to a new study.

(Bio)sensing protein interactions

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:48 AM PST

Researchers have designed a highly sensitive sensor capable of identifying proteins in solution down to a single molecule.

Scientists develop long lasting anti-fogging coating for plastic surfaces that 'self-cleans'

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 05:58 AM PST

Scientists have developed a new type of coating that, when applied on a plastic surface, prevents fogging and 'self-cleans', overcoming the need for frequent reapplications.