ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Process to customize molecules does double duty

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 01:45 PM PDT

Chemists developed a method to add two fragments to an alkene molecule in a single process. The discovery could simplify drug and materials design.

Flicker from the dark: Reading between the lines to model our galaxy's central black hole

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 11:19 AM PDT

Researchers have shown in a single model the full story of how gas travels in the center of the Milky Way -- from being blown off by stars to falling into the black hole.

Organic bipolar transistor developed

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 10:08 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a highly efficient organic bipolar transistor. The work opens up new perspectives for organic electronics -- both in data processing and transmission, as well as in medical technology applications.

When the world of nanotechnology and microbreweries meet

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 08:31 AM PDT

Researchers have shown that microbrewery waste can be used as a carbon source to synthesize quantum dots.

Research with a bite

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 08:31 AM PDT

How hard can insects bite? Having a strong chewing apparatus makes it easier to crush harder food and to succeed in fights with enemies. Biologists now present a mobile system (forceX) for measuring the bite forces of small animals, along with the software forceR to evaluate the data. This allows to understand how bite forces, for example of insects, evolved.

Engineers devise a recipe for improving any autonomous robotic system

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:14 AM PDT

Engineers devised a recipe for improving any autonomous robotic system. Their optimization code can automatically identify how and where to tweak a system to improve a robot's performance.

Optical microphone sees sound like never before

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:14 AM PDT

A camera system can see sound vibrations with such precision and detail that it can reconstruct the music of a single instrument in a band or orchestra. Even the most high-powered and directed microphones can't eliminate nearby sounds, ambient noise and the effect of acoustics when they capture audio. The novel system uses two cameras and a laser to sense high-speed, low-amplitude surface vibrations. These vibrations can be used to reconstruct sound, capturing isolated audio without inference or a microphone. 'We've invented a new way to see sound,' said Mark Sheinin, a post-doctoral research associate at the Illumination and Imaging Laboratory (ILIM) in the RI.

Scientists map sulfur residue on Jupiter's icy moon Europa

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:14 AM PDT

A team has used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe Jupiter's moon, Europa, at ultraviolet wavelengths, filling in a 'gap' in the various wavelengths used to observe this icy water world. The team's near-global UV maps show concentrations of sulfur dioxide on Europa's trailing side.

Organ storage a step closer with cryopreservation discovery

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Scientists have taken the first step towards improved storage of human cells, which may lead to the safe storage of organs such as hearts and lungs.

Custom suits for worms that really deliver

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Researchers have found that nematodes can be coated with a protective hydrogel sheath that can be engineered to carry functional cargo. This system could potentially be developed to deliver anti-cancer drugs to tumors using worms with a natural predilection for human cancer cells.

Topological superconductors: Fertile ground for elusive Majorana ('angel') particle

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT

A new review investigates the search of Majorana fermions in iron-based superconductors. The elusive Majorana fermion, or 'angel particle' simultaneously behaves like a particle and an antiparticle -- and surprisingly remains stable rather than being self-destructive. Majorana fermions promise information and communications technology with zero resistance, addressing the rising energy consumption of modern electronics (already 8% of global electricity consumption), promising a sustainable future for computing. Majorana zero-energy modes in topological superconductors makes those exotic quantum materials the main candidate materials for realizing topological quantum computing.

PICASSO technique drives biological molecules into technicolor?

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Pablo Picasso's surreal cubist artistic style shifted common features into unrecognizable scenes, but a new imaging approach bearing his namesake may elucidate the most complicated subject: the brain. Employing artificial intelligence to clarify spectral color blending of tiny molecules used to stain specific proteins and other items of research interest, the PICASSO technique, allows researchers to use more than 15 colors to image and parse our overlapping proteins.

Following ultrafast magnetization dynamics in depth

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT

The future development of functional magnetic devices based on ultrafast optical manipulation of spins requires an understanding of the depth-dependent spin dynamics across the interfaces of complex magnetic heterostructures. A novel technique to obtain such an 'in depth' and time-resolved view on the magnetization has now been demonstrated.

Nanostructured surfaces for future quantum computer chips

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Quantum computers are one of the key future technologies of the 21st century. Researchers have developed a new technology for manipulating light that can be used as a basis for future optical quantum computers.

Sniffing out your identity with breath biometrics

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Researchers have developed an artificial 'nose' that can identify individuals from their breath. Built with a 16-channel sensor array that can detect different compounds found in a person's breath, the olfactory sensor system has the potential to become another option in the biometric security toolkit. Combined with machine learning, the 'artificial nose' was able to authenticate up to 20 individuals with an average accuracy of more than 97%.

Technology helps self-driving cars learn from own 'memories'

Posted: 22 Jun 2022 07:13 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a way to help autonomous vehicles create 'memories' of previous experiences and use them in future navigation, especially during adverse weather conditions when the car cannot safely rely on its sensors.

Researchers make virus-fighting face masks

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 03:45 PM PDT

Researchers have developed an accessible way to make N95 face masks not only effective barriers to germs, but on-contact germ killers. The antiviral, antibacterial masks can potentially be worn longer, causing less plastic waste as the masks do not need to be replaced as frequently.

Quantum sensor can detect electromagnetic signals of any frequency

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 03:44 PM PDT

Researchers developed a method to enable quantum sensors to detect any arbitrary frequency, with no loss of their ability to measure nanometer-scale features. Quantum sensors detect the most minute variations in magnetic or electrical fields, but until now they have only been capable of detecting a few specific frequencies, limiting their usefulness.

Researchers derive new theory on behavior of new class of materials

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 03:44 PM PDT

Researchers have derived the governing equations that describe and explain the macroscopic mechanical behavior of elastomers filled with liquid inclusions directly in terms of their microscopic behavior.

Researchers harness the power of a new solid-state thermal technology

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 12:51 PM PDT

Researchers have discovered a way to make a versatile thermal conductor, with promise for more energy-efficient electronic devices, green buildings and space exploration. They have demonstrated that a known material used in electronic equipment can now be used as a thermal regulator, too, when it is in a very pure form. This new class of material gives engineers the ability to make thermal conductivity increase or decrease on demand, changing a thermal insulator into a conductor and vice versa.

How the brain interprets motion while in motion

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 12:51 PM PDT

New research provides insights into a neural mechanism involved in how the brain interprets sensory information. The research may have applications for treating brain disorders and designing artificial intelligence.

Modern wind turbines can more than compensate for decline in global wind resource

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 12:51 PM PDT

Wind energy contributes significantly to the energy sector's sustainable, low-CO2 transformation. However, the efficiency of wind turbines depends on available wind resources and the technical characteristics of the turbines.

Robotic lightning bugs take flight

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 11:18 AM PDT

Inspired by fireflies, researchers created soft actuators that can emit light in different colors or patterns. These artificial muscles, which control the wings of featherweight flying robots, light up while the robot is in flight, which provides a low-cost way to track the robots and also could enable them to communicate.

Robots turn racist and sexist with flawed AI, study finds

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 11:17 AM PDT

A robot operating with a popular Internet-based artificial intelligence system consistently gravitates to men over women, white people over people of color, and jumps to conclusions about peoples' jobs after a glance at their face. The work is believed to be the first to show that robots loaded with an accepted and widely-used model operate with significant gender and racial biases.

SeqScreen can reveal 'concerning' DNA

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 11:17 AM PDT

Computer scientists have developed a program to screen short DNA sequences, whether synthetic or natural, to determine their toxicity.

Scientists identify a possible source for Charon's red cap

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 07:56 AM PDT

Scientists combined data from NASA's New Horizons mission with novel laboratory experiments and exospheric modeling to reveal the likely composition of the red cap on Pluto's moon Charon and how it may have formed. This first-ever description of Charon's dynamic methane atmosphere using new experimental data provides a fascinating glimpse into the origins of this moon's red spot as described in two recent articles.

How elliptical craters could shed light on age of Saturn's moons

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 07:56 AM PDT

A new study describes how unique populations of craters on two of Saturn's moons could help indicate the satellites' age and the conditions of their formation. Using data from NASA's Cassini mission, researchers have surveyed elliptical craters on Saturn's moons Tethys and Dione for this study.

Sensor imperfections are perfect for forensic camera analysis

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 07:56 AM PDT

In a project aimed at developing intelligent tools to fight child exploitation, computer scientists have developed a system to analyze the noise produced by individual cameras. This information can be used to link a video or an image to a particular camera.

Natural mineral hackmanite can change color almost indefinitely enabling numerous applications

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 07:56 AM PDT

While investigating hackmanite, a natural wonder material, researchers found that it, in addition to two other minerals, can change their color upon exposure to UV radiation repeatedly without wearing out. The results show that the inexpensive hackmanite, which is easy to synthesise, is also an excellent material because of its high durability and applicability for different purposes.

A blueprint for life forms on Mars?

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 07:56 AM PDT

Microbes taken from surface sediment near Lost Hammer Spring, Canada, about 900 km south of the North Pole, could provide a blueprint for the kind of life forms that may once have existed, or may still exist, on Mars.

Magnetic superstructures resonate with global 6G developers

Posted: 21 Jun 2022 06:14 AM PDT

Scientists have detected collective resonance at remarkably high and broad frequency bands. In a magnetic superstructure called a chiral spin soliton lattice (CSL), they found that resonance could occur at such frequencies with small changes in magnetic field strength. The findings suggest CSL-hosting chiral helimagnets as promising materials for future communication technologies.

Fifth of global food-related emissions due to transport

Posted: 20 Jun 2022 09:23 AM PDT

Food transport constitutes 19 percent of food emissions, equivalent to 6 percent of emissions from all sources. High-income countries are responsible for nearly half of these emissions, leading researchers to conclude that among the rich, eating locally should be prioritised.