ScienceDaily: Technology - July 22, 2024
Top technology research news
Cracking the code of hydrogen embrittlement
When deciding what material to use for infrastructure projects, metals are often selected for their durability. However, if placed in a hydrogen-rich environment, like water, metals can become brittle and fail. Since the mid-19th century, this phenomenon, known as hydrogen embrittlement, has puzzled researchers with its unpredictable nature. Now, a study brings us a step closer to predicting it with confidence.
Revolutionizing the abilities of adaptive radar with AI
Engineers have shown that using a type of AI that revolutionized computer vision can greatly enhance modern adaptive radar systems. And in a move that parallels the impetus of the computer vision boom, they have released a large dataset of digital landscapes for others to build on their work.
Waste Styrofoam can now be converted into polymers for electronics
A new study describes a chemical reaction that can convert Styrofoam into a high-value conducting polymer known as PEDOT:PSS. Researchers also noted that the upgraded plastic waste can be successfully incorporated into functional electronic devices, including silicon-based hybrid solar cells and organic electrochemical transistors.
Shining light on amyloid architecture
Researchers use microscopy to chart amyloid beta's underlying structure and yield insight into neurodegenerative disease.
Chemists design novel method for generating sustainable fuel
Chemists have been working to synthesize high-value materials from waste molecules for years.
The first rumblings of the Sun's next 11-year solar cycle have been detected in sound waves inside our home star -- even though it is only halfway through its current one. This existing cycle is now at its peak, or 'solar maximum' -- which is when the Sun's magnetic field flips and its poles swap places -- until mid-2025.
Image: Artsiom P/Shutterstock.com
New dawn for space storm alerts could help shield Earth's tech
Space storms could soon be forecasted with greater accuracy than ever before thanks to a big leap forward in our understanding of exactly when a violent solar eruption may hit Earth. Scientists say it is now possible to predict the precise speed a coronal mass ejection (CME) is travelling at and when it will smash into our planet -- even before it has fully erupted from the Sun.
Come closer: Titanium-48's nuclear structure changes when observed at varying distances
Researchers have found that titanium-48 changes from a shell model structure to an alpha-cluster structure depending on the distance from the center of the nucleus. The results upend the conventional understanding of nuclear structure and are expected to provide clues to the Gamow theory on the alpha-decay process that occurs in heavy nuclei, which has not been solved for nearly 100 years.
Can consciousness exist in a computer simulation?
A new essay explores which conditions must be met for consciousness to exist. At least one of them can't be found in a computer.
New humidity-driven membrane to remove carbon dioxide from the air
A new ambient-energy-driven membrane that pumps carbon dioxide out of the air has been developed by researchers.
'Secret' hidden structure paves new way of making more efficient and stable perovskite solar cells
Researchers has revealed the existence of surface concavities on individual crystal grains -- which are the fundamental blocks -- of perovskite thin films, and have unraveled their significant effects on the film properties and reliability. Based on this discovery, the team pioneered a new way of making perovskite solar cells more efficient and stable via a chemo-elimination of these grain surface concavities.
Converting wastewater to fertilizer with fungal treatment
Creating fertilizers from organic waste can help reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and promote sustainable production. One way of doing this is through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), which converts biomass into biocrude oil through a high-temperature, high-pressure process. Two studies explore the use of a fungal treatment to convert the leftover wastewater into fertilizer for agricultural crops.
How pollution may remain in water after oil spill cleanups
The way oil drops break up at the water's surface means some oil may not get cleaned up after a spill.
Solar farms with stormwater controls mitigate runoff, erosion, study finds
As the number of major utility-scale ground solar panel installations grows, concerns about their impacts on natural hydrologic processes also have grown. However, a new study by Penn State researchers suggests that excess runoff or increased erosion can be easily mitigated -- if these 'solar farms' are properly built.
Want privacy? You're just a stick figure to this camera
A new camera could prevent companies from collecting embarrassing and identifiable photos and videos from devices like smart home cameras and robotic vacuums. It's called PrivacyLens.
Exoplanet-hunting telescope to begin search for another Earth in 2026
Europe's next big space mission -- a telescope that will hunt for Earth-like rocky planets outside of our solar system -- is on course to launch at the end of 2026. PLATO, or PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars, is being built to find nearby potentially habitable worlds around Sun-like stars that we can examine in detail.
Study shows new efficiency standards for heavy trucks could boost energy use
A new study suggests that the U.S. government's push to increase heavy-duty trucks' energy efficiency could encourage more shipping by truck instead of rail, reducing the policies' anticipated effectiveness by 20%.
Another intermediate-mass black hole discovered at the center of our galaxy
So far, only about ten intermediate-mass black holes have been discovered in the entire universe. The newly identified black hole causes surrounding stars in a cluster to move in an unexpectedly orderly way.
Novel electrode for improving flowless zinc-bromine battery
The flowless zinc-bromine battery (FLZBB) is a promising alternative to flammable lithium-ion batteries due to its use of non-flammable electrolytes. However, it suffers from self-discharge due to the crossover of active materials, generated at the positive graphite felt (GF) electrode, to the negative electrode, significantly affecting performance. Now, researchers have developed a novel nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon-coated GF electrode that effectively suppresses self-discharge. This breakthrough can lead to practical applications of FLZBB in energy storage systems.
Analyzing internal world models of humans, animals and AI
Researchers have developed a new formal description of internal world models, thereby enabling interdisciplinary research. Internal world models help to make predictions about new situations based on previous experience and to help find one's bearings. The new formalized view helps to compare world models of humans, animals and AI and to eliminate deficits.
Using AI to scrutinize, validate theories on animal evolution
By harnessing the power of machine learning, researchers have constructed a framework for analyzing what factors most significantly contribute to a species' genetic diversity.
Does the type of workstation you use make a difference in your health and productivity?
Although devices such as standing desks have been found to alleviate physical symptoms and increase worker productivity, questions remain regarding the best use of the primary types of workstations -- stand-biased, sit-stand or traditional -- for increasing workers' physical activity and preventing health problems. To answer these questions, researchers measured the computer usage and activity levels of 61 office workers for 10 days to evaluate any discomfort and develop possible remedies.
Microbes found to destroy certain 'forever chemicals'
An environmental engineering team has discovered that specific bacterial species can cleave the strong fluorine-to-carbon bond certain kinds of 'forever chemical' water pollutants, offering promise for low-cost treatments of contaminated drinking water.
Ant insights lead to robot navigation breakthrough
Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the AI for tiny, autonomous robots. Drone-researchers felt inspired by biological findings on how ants visually recognize their environment and combine it with counting their steps in order to get safely back home. They have used these insights to create an insect-inspired autonomous navigation strategy for tiny, lightweight robots. It allows such robots to come back home after long trajectories, while requiring extremely little computation and memory (0.65 kiloByte per 100 m). In the future, tiny autonomous robots could find a wide range of uses, from monitoring stock in warehouses to finding gas leaks in industrial sites.
Soft, stretchy 'jelly batteries' inspired by electric eels
Researchers have developed soft, stretchable 'jelly batteries' that could be used for wearable devices or soft robotics, or even implanted in the brain to deliver drugs or treat conditions such as epilepsy.
New technique pinpoints nanoscale 'hot spots' in electronics to improve their longevity
Researchers engineered a new technique to identify at the nanoscale level what components are overheating in electronics and causing their performance to fail.
Want to spot a deepfake? Look for the stars in their eyes
In an era when the creation of artificial intelligence (AI) images is at the fingertips of the masses, the ability to detect fake pictures -- particularly deepfakes of people -- is becoming increasingly important. So what if you could tell just by looking into someone's eyes? That's the compelling finding of new research which suggests that AI-generated fakes can be spotted by analyzing human eyes in the same way that astronomers study pictures of galaxies.
Aussie innovation spearheads cheaper seafloor test for offshore wind farms
Australian engineers have unveiled a clever new device -- based on a modified speargun -- as a cheap and efficient way to test seabed soil when designing offshore wind farms.
A hydrogel implant to treat endometriosis
Researchers have developed a hydrogel implant that can help prevent endometriosis, a condition that affects a great many women. This innovation also acts as a contraceptive.
Powerful new particle accelerator a step closer with muon-marshalling technology
New experimental results show particles called muons can be corralled into beams suitable for high-energy collisions, paving the way for new physics.
An international team of physicists has proven new theorems in quantum mechanics that describe the 'energy landscapes' of collections of quantum particles. Their work addresses decades-old questions, opening up new routes to make computer simulation of materials much more accurate. This, in turn, may help scientists design a suite of materials that could revolutionize green technologies.
Opioid medications offer people relief from debilitating pain, but these drugs come with dangers: the risk for addiction, miserable withdrawal symptoms and the potential for fatal overdose. Researchers have now identified a strategy to design safer opioids. They showed that an experimental opioid, which binds to an unconventional spot in the receptor, suppresses pain in animal models with fewer side effects -- most notably those linked to fatal overdoses.
Completely stretchy lithium-ion battery for flexible electronics
When you think of a battery, you probably don't think stretchy. But batteries will need this shape-shifting quality to be incorporated into flexible electronics, which are gaining traction for wearable health monitors. Now, researchers report a lithium-ion battery with entirely stretchable components, including an electrolyte layer that can expand by 5000%, and it retains its charge storage capacity after nearly 70 charge/discharge cycles.
Smart soil can water and feed itself
A newly engineered type of soil can capture water out of thin air to keep plants hydrated and manage controlled release of fertilizer for a constant supply of nutrients.
Astronomers spot a 'highly eccentric' planet on its way to becoming a hot Jupiter
The newly discovered planet TIC 241249530 b has the most highly elliptical, or eccentric, orbit of any known planet. It appears to be a juvenile planet that is in the midst of becoming a hot Jupiter, and its orbit is providing some answers to how such large, scorching planets evolve.
Bridging the 'Valley of Death' in carbon capture
PrISMa is a new platform that uses advanced simulations and machine learning to streamline carbon capture technologies, by taking into account the perspectives of diverse stakeholders early in the research process.
Paving the way to extremely fast, compact computer memory
Researchers have demonstrated that the layered multiferroic material nickel iodide (NiI2) may be the best candidate yet for devices such as magnetic computer memory that are extremely fast and compact. Specifically, they found that NiI2 has greater magnetoelectric coupling than any known material of its kind.
The magnet trick: New invention makes vibrations disappear
Damping vibrations is crucial for precision experiments, for example in astronomy. A new invention uses a special kind of magnets to achieve this -- electropermanent magnets. They consist of a permanent magnet and a coil. In contrast to electromagnets, they do not have to be permanently supplied with energy. In contrast to permanent magnets, their strength can be tuned: Whenever necessary, a strong electric pulse is sent through the coil, adapting the properties of the magnet.
Chatbot Iris offers students individual support
Researchers have developed the chatbot Iris, which offers informatics students personalized assistance with programming assignments. A study has now confirmed the chatbot's success: Iris improves the understanding of programming concepts and represents a valuable complement to human tutors.
Enzyme-powered 'snot bots' help deliver drugs in sticky situations
Snot might not be the first place you'd expect nanobots to be swimming around. But this slimy secretion exists in more places than just your nose and piles of dirty tissues -- it also lines and helps protect the lungs, stomach, intestines and eyes. And now, researchers have demonstrated in mice that their tiny, enzyme-powered 'snot bots' can push through the defensive, sticky layer and potentially deliver drugs more efficiently.
A new addition to the CRISPR toolbox: Teaching the gene scissors to detect RNA
CRISPR-Cas systems, defense systems in bacteria, have become a plentiful source of technologies for molecular diagnostics. Researchers have now expanded this extensive toolbox further. Their novel method, called PUMA, enables the detection of RNA with Cas12 nucleases, which naturally target DNA. PUMA promises a wide range of applications and high accuracy.
Scientists develop new artificial intelligence method to create material 'fingerprints'
Researchers have developed a new technique that pairs artificial intelligence and X-ray science.
Scientists use machine learning to predict diversity of tree species in forests
Researchers used machine learning to generate highly detailed maps of over 100 million individual trees from 24 sites across the U.S. These maps provide information about individual tree species and conditions, which can greatly aid conservation efforts and other ecological projects.
How astronomers are using pulsars to observe evidence of dark matter
Tantalizing evidence of potential dark matter objects has been detected with the help of the Universe's 'timekeepers'. These pulsars -- neutron stars which rotate and emit lighthouse-like beams of radio waves that rapidly sweep through space -- were used to identify mysterious hidden masses. Pulsars earned their nickname because they send out electromagnetic radiation at very regular intervals, ranging from milliseconds to seconds, making them extremely accurate timekeepers.
How to assess a general-purpose AI model's reliability before it's deployed
A new technique estimates the reliability of a self-supervised foundation model, like those that power ChatGPT, without the need to know what task that model will be deployed on later.
Sun-like stars found orbiting hidden companions
Astronomers have uncovered what appear to be 21 neutron stars in orbit around stars like our Sun. The discovery is surprising because it is not clear how a star that exploded winds up next to a star like our Sun.
Transporting precious cargo using the body's own delivery system
Delivery systems in body continuously move materials between cells. Hijacking these systems allowed scientists to improve loading and delivery of therapeutic proteins. Biophysical principles could be used to enable more cost-effective loading of biological cargo into cell-derived delivery systems. Engineered molecules loaded up to 240 times more protein than other loading methods.
Unique characteristics of previously unexplored protein discovered
Research achieves scientific breakthrough in understanding cell division.
Immune system in the spotlight
Our immune system is always on alert, detecting and eliminating pathogens and cancer cells. Cellular control mechanisms cause diseased cells to present antigens on their surface like signs for the immune system. For analysis of the necessary complex antigen processing and transport processes in real time, researchers have developed a 'cage' that is opened with light to release trapped antigens at a specific place and time.
Metamaterials for the data highway
Researchers have been the first to demonstrate that not just individual bits, but entire bit sequences can be stored in cylindrical domains: tiny, cylindrical areas measuring just around 100 nanometers. As the team reports, these findings could pave the way for novel types of data storage and sensors, including even magnetic variants of neural networks.
Food aroma study may help explain why meals taste bad in space
A new study on common food aromas may help explain why astronauts report that meals taste bland in space and struggle to eat their normal nutritional intake. This research has broader implications for improving the diets of isolated people, including nursing home residents, by personalizing aromas to enhance the flavor of their food.
Capturing carbon with energy-efficient sodium carbonate-nanocarbon hybrid material
Carbon capture is a promising approach for mitigating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Different materials have been used to capture CO2 from industrial exhaust gases. Scientists developed hybrid CO2 capture materials containing sodium carbonate and nanocarbon prepared at different temperatures, tested their performance, and identified the optimal calcination temperature condition. They found that the hybrid material exhibits and maintains high CO2 capture capacity for multiple regeneration cycles at a lower temperature, making it cost- and energy-effective.
Ground surface conditions impact speed and distance of leaking natural gas
When natural gas leaks from a subsurface pipeline, a ground cover of water/snow saturation, asphalt paving or a combination of these can cause the gas to migrate away from the leak site up to three to four times farther than through dry soil, a new study has found. A research team also found that these surface conditions can impact the speed of the leaked gas, as well, traveling 3.5 times faster than an equivalent leak under dry soil conditions.
New research shows that ozone concentrations at Carlsbad Caverns National Park frequently exceed Environmental Protection Agency health standards, likely due to oil and natural gas development in the Permian Basin and surrounding region.
Local dragonflies expose mercury pollution patterns
A new study has unveiled surprising findings about mercury pollution: where it comes from and how it moves through the environment vary significantly depending on the ecosystem. In drier regions, most mercury is deposited through rain and snow. In wetter, forested areas, gaseous mercury from the air sticks to leaves, which then fall and carry the toxin into the ground.
AI tool successfully responds to patient questions in electronic health record
New analysis of Cassini data yields insights into Titan's seas
A new study of radar experiment data from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn has yielded fresh insights related to the makeup and activity of the liquid hydrocarbon seas near the north pole of Titan, the largest of Saturn's 146 known moons.
Breakthrough in quantum microscopy: Researchers are making electrons visible in slow motion
Physicists are developing quantum microscopy which enables them for the first time to record the movement of electrons at the atomic level with both extremely high spatial and temporal resolution. Their method has the potential to enable scientists to develop materials in a much more targeted way than before.
Bizarre 'garden sprinkler-like' jet is spotted shooting out of neutron star
A strange 'garden sprinkler-like' jet coming from a neutron star has been pictured for the first time. The S-shaped structure is created as the jet changes direction due to the wobbling of the disc of hot gas around the star -- a process called precession, which has been observed with black holes but, until now, never with neutron stars.
Making rechargeable batteries more sustainable with fully recyclable components
Rechargeable solid-state lithium batteries are an emerging technology that could someday power cell phones and laptops for days with a single charge. Offering significantly enhanced energy density, they are a safer alternative to the flammable lithium-ion batteries currently used in consumer electronics -- but they are not environmentally friendly. Current recycling methods focus on the limited recovery of metals contained within the cathodes, while everything else goes to waste.