ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Producing ammonia through electrochemical processes could reduce carbon dioxide emissions

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 11:30 AM PDT

Ammonia is commonly used in fertilizer because it has the highest nitrogen content of commercial fertilizers, making it essential for crop production. However, two carbon dioxide molecules are made for every molecule of ammonia produced, contributing to excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Differences between the Moon’s near and far sides linked to colossal ancient impact

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 11:29 AM PDT

New research shows how the impact that created the Moon's South Pole -- Aitken basin is linked to the stark contrast in composition and appearance between the two sides of the Moon.

Toward high-powered telecommunication systems

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 08:39 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a fully integrated high-power laser on a lithium niobate chip, paving the way for high-powered telecommunication systems, fully integrated spectrometers, optical remote sensing, and efficient frequency conversion for quantum networks, among other applications.

Better, faster, energy efficient predictions

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 07:31 AM PDT

Researchers have combined reinforcement learning with numerical methods to compute turbulent flows, one of the most complex processes in engineering. The researchers also used machine learning algorithms to accelerate predictions in simulations of complex processes that take place over long periods of time.

Dengue detection smartphone tech shows new hope for low-cost diagnostics

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 07:31 AM PDT

Accurate home testing could be used for a wider range of illnesses, as new research shows the capability of smartphone-powered tests for Dengue Fever.

Invisible helium atoms provide exquisitely sensitive test of fundamental theory

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 05:38 AM PDT

Physicists have developed the most sensitive method ever for measuring the potential energy of an atom (within a hundredth of a decillionth of a joule -- or 10-35 joule), and used it to validate one of the most tested theories in physics -- quantum electrodynamics (QED).

Engineered crystals could help computers run on less power

Posted: 08 Apr 2022 05:38 AM PDT

In a new study, University of California, Berkeley, engineers describe a major breakthrough in the design of a component of transistors -- the tiny electrical switches that form the building blocks of computers -- that could significantly reduce their energy consumption without sacrificing speed, size or performance.

Computerized, rolling DNA motors move molecular robotics to next level

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 01:19 PM PDT

Chemists integrated computer functions into rolling DNA-based motors, opening a new realm of possibilities for miniature, molecular robots. These DNA-based motors combine computational power with the ability to burn fuel and move in an intentional direction.

Hunting for gravitational waves from monster black holes

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 11:54 AM PDT

Our universe is a chaotic sea of ripples in space-time called gravitational waves. Astronomers think waves from orbiting pairs of supermassive black holes in distant galaxies are light-years long and have been trying to observe them for decades, and now they're one step.

Nano particle trapped between mirrors works as a quantum sensor

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 11:19 AM PDT

Sensors are a pillar of the Internet of Things, providing the data to control all sorts of objects. Here, precision is essential, and this is where quantum technologies could make a difference. Researchers are now demonstrating how nanoparticles in tiny optical resonators can be transferred into quantum regime and used as high-precision sensors.

AI predicts if -- and when -- someone will have cardiac arrest

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 11:19 AM PDT

A new artificial intelligence-based approach can predict, significantly more accurately than a doctor, if and when a patient could die of cardiac arrest. The technology, built on raw images of patient's diseased hearts and patient backgrounds, stands to revolutionize clinical decision making and increase survival from sudden and lethal cardiac arrhythmias, one of medicine's deadliest and most puzzling conditions.

Engineers describe how fluid suspensions exhibit different behaviors at different scales

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 11:18 AM PDT

Honey is already a pretty thick liquid, but let it begin to crystalize and it can become downright clumpy. The sugar crystals in suspension seem to increase its viscosity. This phenomenon occurs throughout the natural and constructed world: From mudflows to paint, suspensions of particles tend to behave like viscous fluids.

Most precise ever measurement of W boson mass to be in tension with the Standard Model

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 11:18 AM PDT

Scientists have achieved the most precise measurement to date of the mass of the W boson, one of nature's force-carrying particles. The measured value shows tension with the value expected based on the Standard Model of particle physics.

Researchers develop glass-in-glass fabrication approach for making miniature IR optics

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 09:15 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a new fabrication process that allows infrared (IR) glass to be combined with another glass and formed into complex miniature shapes. The new technique can be used to create virtually any interconnected 3D shape with features measuring a micron or less. The technique can be used to create complex infrared optics that could make IR imaging and sensing more broadly accessible.

Nanotechnology research: Faster, cheaper COVID tests

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 09:15 AM PDT

A nanotechnology research group entered the race to develop a rapid test for COVID-19 in August 2020, running experiments on a new sensor for an American manufacturing company. The group tested nanotechnology-based optical sensors designed for COVID-19 detection and saw the potential for their home-grown technology.

New discovery in animal exoskeletons leads to advances in designing construction materials

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:11 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered a new design motif derived from the rigid external covering of invertebrates that may help create more damage tolerant materials for future building and construction.

Astronomers have spotted the farthest galaxy ever

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:10 AM PDT

An international team of astronomers has spotted the most distant astronomical object ever: a galaxy. Shining only ~300 million years after the Big Bang, it may be home to the oldest stars in the universe, or a supermassive black hole.

Deep-sea osmolyte finds applications in molecular machines

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:10 AM PDT

The molecule trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) can be used to reversibly modulate the rigidity of microtubules, a key component of molecular machines and molecular robots.

Astronomers detect 'galactic space laser'

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 07:10 AM PDT

A powerful radio-wave laser, called a 'megamaser', has been observed by the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa. The record-breaking find is the most distant megamaser of its kind ever detected, at about five billion light years from Earth. The light from the megamaser has traveled 58 thousand billion billion (58 followed by 21 zeros) kilometers to Earth.

A mathematical shortcut for determining quantum information lifetimes

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 02:20 PM PDT

Scientists have derived an elegant equation that provides allows them to instantly calculate the quantum information lifetime for 12,000 different potential qubit materials.

Turmeric compound helps grow engineered blood vessels and tissues

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 01:06 PM PDT

Curcumin, a compound found in turmeric, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and is known to suppress angiogenesis in malignant tumors. Bioengineers have now discovered that when delivered through magnetic hydrogels into stem cell cultures this versatile compound paradoxically also promotes the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, that helps vascular tissues grow.

Study could usher in new paradigm for drug discovery

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 01:05 PM PDT

Researchers have revealed the impact of native lipids on rhodopsin signaling and regeneration, which may usher in a new paradigm for discovery of drugs that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

Reducing air pollution by changing the way we dry our laundry

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 01:05 PM PDT

A new study has revealed that tumble drying a load of laundry releases almost the same amount of potentially harmful microfibers into the air as those released down the drain during machine washing of the same load.

Wireless, high-speed, low-power communications for implantable devices

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 01:05 PM PDT

Implantable bioelectronics are now often key in assisting or monitoring the heart, brain, and other vital organs, but they often lack a safe, reliable way of transmitting their data to doctors. Now researchers have invented a way to augment implantable bioelectronics with simple, high-speed, low-power wireless data links using the body's naturally present ions.

Future catalytic converters could give more bang for your buck

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 01:04 PM PDT

The next generation of catalytic converters could have longer lifetimes and need fewer rare materials to operate, a new study suggests.

The side effects of quantum error correction and how to cope with them

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 01:04 PM PDT

It is well established that quantum error correction can improve the performance of quantum sensors. But new theory work cautions that, unexpectedly, the approach can also give rise to inaccurate and misleading results -- and shows how to rectify these shortcomings.

Wastewater provides a planet-wide laboratory for the study of human health

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 10:24 AM PDT

New research highlights a technique known as Wastewater-based Epidemiology (WBE), in which samples of municipal wastewater can be used as a diagnostic tool to explore a surprisingly broad range of community-wide health indices.

Abundant ‘secret doors’ on human proteins could reshape drug discovery

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 10:24 AM PDT

A groundbreaking new technique reveals the existence of a multitude of previously hidden therapeutic targets that control protein function and which could, in theory, be targeted to dramatically change the course of diseases as varied as dementia, cancer and infectious diseases. The approach, which finds that the 'secret doors' are abundant and identifiable, could be a game changer for drug discovery, leading to safer, smarter and more effective medicines. It enables research labs around the world to find and exploit vulnerabilities in any protein -- including those previously thought 'undruggable'.

Machine learning model could better measure baseball players' performance

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 07:18 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a machine learning model that could better measure baseball players' and teams' short- and long-term performance, compared to existing statistical analysis methods for the sport. Drawing on recent advances in natural language processing and computer vision, their approach would completely change, and could enhance, the way the state of a game and a player's impact on the game is measured.

'Robot scientist' Eve finds that less than one third of scientific results are reproducible

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 07:17 AM PDT

Researchers have used a combination of automated text analysis and the 'robot scientist' Eve to semi-automate the process of reproducing research results. The problem of lack of reproducibility is one of the biggest crises facing modern science.

High performance microscopy for non-invasive conjunctival goblet cell examination

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 07:17 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a high-speed extended depth-of-field (DOF) microscopy for non-invasive conjunctival goblet cell (CGC) examination.

Researchers find a new way to measure flying baseballs

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 07:16 AM PDT

A new laboratory method uses a high-accuracy ball delivery device and speed measurement system to provide better clues on exactly how high and far some of those baseballs will fly.

Artificial intelligence may improve diabetes diagnosis, study shows

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 07:28 AM PDT

Using a fully-automated artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning model, researchers were able to identify early signs of type 2 diabetes on abdominal CT scans, according to a new study.

Adding AI to Museum exhibits increases learning, keeps kids engaged longer

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 06:27 AM PDT

Researchers have demonstrated a more effective way to support learning and increase engagement at science-focused museum exhibits. They used artificial intelligence to create a new genre of interactive, hands-on exhibits that includes an intelligent, virtual assistant to interact with visitors. When the researchers compared their intelligent exhibit to a traditional one, they found that the intelligent exhibit increased learning and the time spent at the exhibit.

Shedding new light on controlling material properties

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 06:27 AM PDT

A scaling law that determines high-order harmonic generation in the solid-layered perovskite material, Ca2RuO4, was found. High-order harmonics in strongly correlated materials highly depend on the gap energy of the materials.