ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Social media data could help predict the next COVID surge

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 12:09 PM PDT

New research suggests that a novel, short-term forecasting method, using machine learning and vast, anonymized datasets from social media accounts, significantly outperforms conventional models for projecting COVID trends at the county level.

Tiny, cheap solution for quantum-secure encryption

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 12:08 PM PDT

Engineers propose a new kind of encryption to protect data in the age of quantum computers.

Tackling large data sets and many parameter problems in particle physics

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 10:30 AM PDT

A new tool to break down and segment large data set problems and problems with many parameters in particle physics could have a wide range of applications.

The opto-ionic effect: Light may increase performance of fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 10:00 AM PDT

Lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells and many other devices depend on the high mobility of ions in order to work properly. But there a large number of obstacles to such mobility. Researchers have now shown that light can be used to increase the mobility of ions and improve the performance of such devices.

Quantum dots shine bright to help scientists see inflammatory cells in fat

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 10:00 AM PDT

To accurately diagnose and treat diseases, doctors and researchers need to see inside bodies. Medical imaging tools have come a long way since the humble x-ray, but most existing tools remain too coarse to quantify numbers or specific types of cells inside deep tissues of the body. Quantum dots can do that, according to new research in mice.

Using quantum methods to predict next-gen lithium-metal battery reactivity

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:28 AM PDT

Lithium-metal (Li-metal) batteries show great potential for packing more significant amounts of energy than the current lithium-ion batteries. For example, a Li-metal electric battery in a car could travel more miles, and a Li-metal phone battery could have longer battery life. However, the metal surface of Li-metal batteries is highly reactive, and there is limited understanding of the chemistry of these reactions.

New tool to accelerate drug discovery

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:28 AM PDT

New technology will accelerate drug development by allowing researchers a better look inside the cell membrane to observe how cells react to drugs.

Active video games provide alternative workout

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT

Working out isn't known for being fun. But new active video and virtual reality games may help change that. Exergaming, or active video gaming, may be the perfect introduction to helping people be more active, according to new research.

'Off label' use of imaging databases could lead to bias in AI algorithms

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT

Significant advances in artificial intelligence (AI) over the past decade have relied upon extensive training of algorithms using massive, open-source databases. But when such datasets are used 'off label' and applied in unintended ways, the results are subject to machine learning bias that compromises the integrity of the AI algorithm, according to a new study.

Study points to strategies for closing the participation gender gap in engineering courses

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT

Students' identities can play a key role in how comfortable they feel and how often they speak up in the classroom, especially in STEM fields. For instance, women generally speak far less than men in undergraduate engineering classes, but this is not always the case, according to Princeton researchers. When classes are taught by women instructors, the gender gap practically disappears.

Leveraging AI to work with cells

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT

New research is moving medical science closer to personalized care by using artificial intelligence to more efficiently engineer stem cells.

Bionic wing flaps improve wind energy efficiency

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT

Scientists show a bionic approach combining features of a seagull's wing with an engineered flow control accessory, known as a Gurney flap, can greatly improve wind turbine performance. To achieve the best aerodynamic performance, the scientists simulated the use of the combined flow control accessory in a variety of situations, including high and low angle of attack and pre- and post-stall scenarios. They compared their computational simulations to experimental results for an aircraft wing undergoing a dynamic stall.

Blowing bubbles in dough to bake perfect yeast-free pizza

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a method to leaven pizza dough without yeast. The team, which included its very own professional pizza-maker/graduate student, prepared the dough by mixing water, flour, and salt and placing it in a hot autoclave, an industrial device designed to raise temperature and pressure. From there, the process is like the one used to produce carbonation in soda. Gas is dissolved into the dough at high pressure, and bubbles form in the dough as pressure is released during baking.

Could the asteroid Ryugu be a remnant of an extinct comet? Scientists now answer

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT

The Hayabusa2 mission has recently uncovered information on the physical characteristics of the asteroid 'Ryugu,' which, according to the conventional theory, forms from a collision between larger asteroids. Now, a study by scientists from Japan suggests that Ryugu is, in fact, an extinct comet. With a simple physical model that fits currently available observations, the study provides a better understanding of comets, asteroids, and the evolution of our solar system.

Much more than average, single-cell analysis reveals heterogeneity in metal adsorption

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT

A research team has reported an in-depth analysis of precious metal adsorption onto Galdieria sulphuraria algae. The combination of X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and single-cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry allowed the cell population behavior to be related to chemical interactions that occurred between the metals and the cell surface. The insight is expected to contribute to the development of environmentally friendly cell-derived approaches for metal recycling and wastewater treatment.

Tomographic measurement of dielectric tensors?

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT

A research team reported the direct measurement of dielectric tensors of anisotropic structures including the spatial variations of principal refractive indices and directors. The group also demonstrated quantitative tomographic measurements of various nematic liquid-crystal structures and their fast 3D nonequilibrium dynamics using a 3D label-free tomographic method.

Novel quantum sensing possibilities with nonlinear optics

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT

Researchers used the nonlinear optical response of atom-like defects in a diamond to build a tiny thermometer. This research may lead to temperature sensors that can work inside living cells and other nanoscale applications.

Things are heating up for superconductors

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT

Researchers have, by way of a number of theoretical calculations, shown that magnesium diboride becomes superconductive at a higher temperature when it is stretched. The discovery is a big step toward finding superconductive materials that are useful in real-world situations.

Qubits: Developing long-distance quantum telecommunications networks

Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:12 AM PDT

Computers, smartphones, GPS: quantum physics has enabled many technological advances. It is now opening up new fields of research in cryptography (the art of coding messages) with the aim of developing ultra-secure telecommunications networks. There is one obstacle, however: after a few hundred kilometers within an optical fiber, the photons that carry the qubits or 'quantum bits' (the information) disappear. They therefore need 'repeaters', a kind of 'relay', which are partly based on a quantum memory. By managing to store a qubit in a crystal (a 'memory') for 20 milliseconds, a team has now taken a major step towards the development of long-distance quantum telecommunications networks.

Engineers develop a ‘magnetic tentacle robot’ to pass into the narrow tubes of the lung

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 05:54 PM PDT

Engineers and scientists have developed proof of concept for a robot that can reach some of the smallest bronchial tubes in the lungs - to take tissue samples or deliver cancer therapy. Known as a magnetic tentacle robot, it measures just 2 millimeters in diameter, about twice the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. Magnets on the outside of the patient will guide the tentacle robot into place.

Harnessing the power of AI to advance knowledge of Type 1 diabetes

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 12:04 PM PDT

An interdisciplinary team of researchers has used a new data-driven approach to learn more about persons with Type 1 diabetes, who account for about 5-10% of all diabetes diagnoses. The team gathered its information through health informatics and applied artificial intelligence (AI) to better understand the disease.

New enzyme discovery is another leap towards beating plastic waste

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 12:04 PM PDT

Scientists who helped to pioneer the use of enzymes to eat plastic have taken an important next step in developing nature-based solutions to the global plastics crisis. They have characterized an enzyme that has the remarkable capacity to help break down terephthalate (TPA), one of the chemical building blocks of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, which is used to make single-use drinks bottles, clothing and carpets.

Twisted vibrations enable quality control for chiral drugs and supplements

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 10:21 AM PDT

It's not easy to be sure that drugs and supplements with twisted -- or chiral -- structures are turning in the correct direction. Now, twirling infrared light can probe both the structures of molecular crystals and their twists.

Computational approach enables spatial mapping of single-cell data within tissues

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 10:21 AM PDT

A new computational approach successfully combines data from parallel gene-expression profiling methods to create spatial maps of a given tissue at single-cell resolution. The resulting maps can provide unique biological insights into the cancer microenvironment and many other tissue types.

Wind, solar could replace coal power in Texas

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 08:59 AM PDT

A fraction of the wind and solar projects already proposed in Texas could eliminate the state's remaining coal power plants and their emissions, according to engineers.

Tiny magnets could hold the secret to new quantum computers

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 08:58 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered a type of magnetic behavior that could help enable magnetically based quantum devices.

Bacteria-shredding insect wings inspire new antibacterial packaging

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 07:38 AM PDT

Inspired by the bacteria-killing wings of insects like cicadas, scientists have developed a natural antibacterial texture for use on food packaging to improve shelf life and reduce waste.

Characterizing super-semi sandwiches for quantum computing

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 07:38 AM PDT

Semiconductors are the foundation of modern technology while superconductors with their zero electrical resistance could become the basis for future technologies, including quantum computers. So-called 'hybrid structures' -- carefully crafted sandwiches made from superconductors and semiconductors -- may lead to new quantum effects. However, convincing observations have remained elusive. Now, researchers have found a way to probe such 'super-semi sandwiches' and to reveal what is going on.

Identifying toxic materials in water with machine learning

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 06:19 AM PDT

Waste materials from oil sands extraction, stored in tailings ponds, can pose a risk to the natural habitat and neighboring communities when they leach into groundwater and surface ecosystems. Until now, the challenge for the oil sands industry is that the proper analysis of toxic waste materials has been difficult to achieve without complex and lengthy testing. And there's a backlog. For example, in Alberta alone, there are an estimated 1.4 billion cubic meters of fluid tailings.

MRI innovation makes cancerous tissue light up and easier to see

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 06:19 AM PDT

A new form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that makes cancerous tissue glow in medical images could help doctors more accurately detect and track the progression of cancer over time.