ScienceDaily: Technology - November 27, 2023
Top technology research news
Separating out signals recorded at the seafloor
Research shows that variations in pyrite sulfur isotopes may not represent the global processes that have made them such popular targets of analysis and interpretation. A new microanalysis approach helps to separate out signals that reveal the relative influence of microbes and that of local climate.
'Dolomite Problem': 200-year-old geology mystery resolved
For 200 years, scientists have failed to grow a common mineral in the laboratory under the conditions believed to have formed it naturally. Now, researchers have finally pulled it off, thanks to a new theory developed from atomic simulations. Their success resolves a long-standing geology mystery called the 'Dolomite Problem.' Dolomite -- a key mineral in the Dolomite mountains in Italy, Niagara Falls, the White Cliffs of Dover and Utah's Hoodoos -- is very abundant in rocks older than 100 million years, but nearly absent in younger formations. The lessons learned from the Dolomite Problem can help engineers manufacture higher-quality materials for semiconductors, solar panels, batteries and other tech.
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AI recognizes the tempo and stages of embryonic development
How can we reliably and objectively characterize the speed and various stages of embryonic development? With the help of artificial intelligence! Researchers present an automated method.
'Strange metal' is strangely quiet in noise experiment
Experiments have provided the first direct evidence that electricity seems to flow through 'strange metals' in an unusual liquid-like form.
Telescope Array detects second highest-energy cosmic ray ever
In 1991, an experiment detected the highest-energy cosmic ray ever observed. Later dubbed the Oh-My-God particle, the cosmic ray’s energy shocked astrophysicists. Nothing in our galaxy had the power to produce it, and the particle had more energy than was theoretically possible for cosmic rays traveling to Earth from other galaxies. Simply put, the particle should not exist. On May 27, 2021, the Telescope Array experiment detected the second-highest extreme-energy cosmic ray. The newly dubbed Amaterasu particle deepens the mystery of the origin, propagation and particle physics of rare, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
Revolutionary breakthrough in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells
Engineers have achieved a world first by manufacturing the first back-contact micrometric photovoltaic cells.
Chemists use oxygen, copper 'scissors' to make cheaper drug treatments possible
Researchers have devised a way to produce chemicals used in medicine and agriculture for a fraction of the usual cost. Using oxygen as a reagent and copper as a catalyst to break organic molecules' carbon-carbon bonds and convert them into amines, which are widely used in pharmaceuticals. Traditional metal catalysis uses expensive metals such as platinum, silver, gold and palladium, but the researchers used oxygen and copper -- an abundant base metal.
Drones enabled the use of defibrillators before ambulance arrival
Researchers have evaluated the possibility of alerting drones equipped with automated external defibrillators (AED) to patients with suspected cardiac arrest. In more than half of the cases, the drones were ahead of the ambulance by an average of three minutes. In cases where the patient was in cardiac arrest, the drone-delivered defibrillator was used in a majority of cases.
Autonomous excavator constructs a 6-meter-high dry-stone wall
Researchers taught an autonomous excavator to construct dry stone walls itself using boulders weighing several tons and demolition debris.
Hybrid transistors set stage for integration of biology and microelectronics
Researchers create transistors combining silicon with biological silk, using common microprocessor manufacturing methods. The silk protein can be easily modified with other chemical and biological molecules to change its properties, leading to circuits that respond to biology and the environment.
AI for perovskite solar cells: Key to better manufacturing
Tandem solar cells based on perovskite semiconductors convert sunlight to electricity more efficiently than conventional silicon solar cells. In order to make this technology ready for the market, further improvements with regard to stability and manufacturing processes are required. Researchers have succeeded in finding a way to predict the quality of the perovskite layers and consequently that of the resulting solar cells: Assisted by Machine Learning and new methods in Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is possible assess their quality from variations in light emission already in the manufacturing process.
First experimental evidence of hopfions in crystals opens up new dimension for future technology
Hopfions, magnetic spin structures predicted decades ago, have become a hot and challenging research topic in recent years. New findings open up new fields in experimental physics: identifying other crystals in which hopfions are stable, studying how hopfions interact with electric and spin currents, hopfion dynamics, and more.
NASA's Webb reveals new features in heart of Milky Way
The latest image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope shows a portion of the dense center of our galaxy in unprecedented detail, including never-before-seen features astronomers have yet to explain. The star-forming region, named Sagittarius C (Sgr C), is about 300 light-years from the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*.
Medical AI tool gets human thumbs-up
A new artificial intelligence computer program can generate doctors' notes so well that two physicians couldn't tell the difference, according to an early study from both groups.
'Triple star' discovery could revolutionize understanding of stellar evolution
A ground-breaking new discovery could transform the way astronomers understand some of the biggest and most common stars in the Universe. Research by PhD student Jonathan Dodd and Professor René Oudmaijer, from the University's School of Physics and Astronomy, points to intriguing new evidence that massive Be stars -- until now mainly thought to exist in double stars -- could in fact be 'triples'. The remarkable discovery could revolutionise our understanding of the objects -- a subset of B stars -- which are considered an important 'test bed' for developing theories on how stars evolve more generally.
Toward sustainable energy applications with breakthrough in proton conductors
Donor doping into a mother material with disordered intrinsic oxygen vacancies, instead of the widely used strategy of acceptor doping into a material without oxygen vacancies, can greatly enhance the conductivity and stability of perovskite-type proton conductors at intermediate and low temperatures of 250--400 °C.
Discovery of structural regularity hidden in silica glass
Glass is a fundamental material. Yet its atomic structure still baffles scientists to this day. Researchers have developed a new way to quantify ring shapes in chemically bonded networks of glass, chipping away at some of the mysteries behind glass's atomic structure.
Tiny beads preserve enzymes for biocatalysis
Some enzymes, such as the one derived from fungi and investigated in this study, are able to produce valuable substances such as the fragrance (R)-1-phenylethanol. To this end, they convert a less expensive substrate using a co-substrate. A research team came up with the idea of supplying them with this co-substrate using a plasma -- a somewhat crazy idea, as plasmas generally have a destructive effect on biomolecules. However, by employing several tricks, the researchers did indeed succeed. They have now refined one of these tricks and thus improved the process: They attach the enzymes to tiny beads in order to hold them in place at the bottom of the reactor, where they are protected from the damaging effects of the plasma.
New method for determining the water content of water-soluble compounds
Researchers have developed a new method for the accurate determination of the water content of water-soluble compounds. This plays a significant role in various areas, including determining drug dosages.
Psychologists are using EEG to research what games reveal about our ability to cooperate.
How bloodstain 'tails' can point to significant, additional forensic details
Scientists demonstrate how bloodstains can yield valuable details by examining the protrusions that deviate from the boundaries of otherwise elliptical bloodstains. The researchers studied how these 'tails' are formed using a series of high-speed experiments with human blood droplets less than a millimeter wide impacting horizontal surfaces at various angles. They found that the tail length can reflect information about the size, impact speed, and impact angle of the blood drop that formed the stain.
Effect of aerosol particles on clouds and the climate captured better
Global measurements and model calculations show that the complex relationship between the chemistry and climate impact of aerosol particles can be successfully captured by a simple formula.
Long in the Bluetooth: Scientists develop a more efficient way to transmit data between our devices
Researchers have developed a more energy efficient way of connecting our personal devices. New technology consumes less power than Bluetooth and can improve battery life of tech accessories, including earbuds and fitness trackers. Future applications could see us unlocking a door by touching its handle or shaking hands to exchange phone numbers.
Outlook on scaling of carbon removal technologies
The research makes it clear that ensuring the sustained well-being of our planet requires a more serious commitment toward new carbon dioxide removal technologies, and a faster scale-up of their production.
Dwarf galaxies use 10-million-year quiet period to churn out stars
If you look at massive galaxies teeming with stars, you might be forgiven in thinking they are star factories, churning out brilliant balls of gas. But actually, less evolved dwarf galaxies have bigger regions of star factories, with higher rates of star formation. Now, University of Michigan researchers have discovered the reason underlying this: These galaxies enjoy a 10-million-year delay in blowing out the gas cluttering up their environments. Star-forming regions are able to hang on to their gas and dust, allowing more stars to coalesce and evolve. In these relatively pristine dwarf galaxies, massive stars--stars about 20 to 200 times the mass of our sun--collapse into black holes instead of exploding as supernovae. But in more evolved, polluted galaxies, like our Milky Way, they are more likely to explode, thereby generating a collective superwind. Gas and dust get blasted out of the galaxy, and star formation quickly stops.
AI finds formula on how to predict monster waves
Using 700 years' worth of wave data from more than a billion waves, scientists have used artificial intelligence to find a formula for how to predict the occurrence of these maritime monsters. Long considered myth, freakishly large rogue waves are very real and can split apart ships and even damage oil rigs.
Why the vast supergalactic plane is teeming with only one type of galaxy
Our own Milky Way galaxy is part of a much larger formation, the local Supercluster structure, which contains several massive galaxy clusters and thousands of individual galaxies. Due to its pancake-like shape, which measures almost a billion light years across, it is also referred to as the Supergalactic Plane. Why is the vast supergalactic plane teeming with only one type of galaxies? This old cosmic puzzle may now have been solved.
New percussion method to detect pipeline elbow erosion
An engineering research team is pioneering a new method, based on percussion, to detect pipeline elbow erosion to prevent economic losses, environmental pollution and other safety issues.
Study reveals bias in AI tools when diagnosing women's health issue
While artificial intelligence tools offer great potential for improving health care delivery, practitioners and scientists warn of their risk for perpetuating racial inequities. A new study evaluates fairness among these tools in connection to a women's health issue.
Personalized cancer medicine: Humans make better treatment decisions than AI
Treating cancer is becoming increasingly complex, but also offers more and more possibilities. After all, the better a tumor's biology and genetic features are understood, the more treatment approaches there are. To be able to offer patients personalized therapies tailored to their disease, laborious and time-consuming analysis and interpretation of various data is required. Researchers have now studied whether generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT can help with this step.
People watched other people shake boxes for science: Here's why
'Teenage galaxies' are unusually hot, glowing with unexpected elements
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, CECILIA Survey receives first data from galaxies forming two-to-three billion years after the Big Bang. By examining light from these 33 galaxies, researchers discovered their elemental composition and temperature. The ultra-deep spectrum revealed eight distinct elements: Hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur, argon and nickel. The teenage galaxies also were extremely hot, reaching temperatures higher than 13,350 degrees Celsius.
AI system self-organizes to develop features of brains of complex organisms
Scientists have shown that placing physical constraints on an artificially-intelligent system -- in much the same way that the human brain has to develop and operate within physical and biological constraints -- allows it to develop features of the brains of complex organisms in order to solve tasks.
Want better AI? Get input from a real (human) expert
Input from humans helps when deciding whether to trust the recommendations and decisions of a machine-learning system.
High-power fiber lasers emerge as a pioneering technology
Optical scientists have created a high-power 'Star Wars' style-laser, boosting their use in defense and for remote sensing applications.
Gold now has a golden future in revolutionizing wearable devices
Scientists have pioneered a novel approach to develop intelligent healthcare sensors using various gold nanowires.
AI: Researchers develop automatic text recognition for ancient cuneiform tablets
A new artificial intelligence (AI) software is now able to decipher difficult-to-read texts on cuneiform tablets. Instead of photos, the AI system uses 3D models of the tablets, delivering significantly more reliable results than previous methods. This makes it possible to search through the contents of multiple tablets to compare them with each other. It also paves the way for entirely new research questions.
Research reveals rare metal could offer revolutionary switch for future quantum devices
Quantum scientists have discovered a rare phenomenon that could hold the key to creating a 'perfect switch' in quantum devices which flips between being an insulator and superconductor.
Nostalgia and memories after ten years of social media
As possibilities have changed and technology has advanced, memories and nostalgia are now a significant part of our use of social media.
New computer code for mechanics of tissues and cells in three dimensions
Biological materials are made of individual components, including tiny motors that convert fuel into motion. This creates patterns of movement, and the material shapes itself with coherent flows by constant consumption of energy. Such continuously driven materials are called 'active matter'. The mechanics of cells and tissues can be described by active matter theory, a scientific framework to understand shape, flows, and form of living materials. The active matter theory consists of many challenging mathematical equations. Scientists have now developed an algorithm, implemented in an open-source supercomputer code, that can for the first time solve the equations of active matter theory in realistic scenarios. These solutions bring us a big step closer to solving the century-old riddle of how cells and tissues attain their shape and to designing artificial biological machines.
Infection-resistant, 3D-printed metals developed for implants
A novel surgical implant was able to kill 87% of the bacteria that cause staph infections in laboratory tests, while remaining strong and compatible with surrounding tissue like current implants. The work could someday lead to better infection control in many common surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, that are performed daily around the world. Bacterial colonization of the implants is one of the leading causes of their failure and bad outcomes after surgery. Using 3D-printing technology, the researchers added 10% tantalum, a corrosion-resistant metal, and 3% copper to the titanium alloy typically used in implants. When bacteria come into contact with the material's copper surface, almost all of their cell walls rupture. Meanwhile, the tantalum encourages healthy cell growth with surrounding bone and tissue leading to expedited healing for the patient.
Investigating the contribution of gamma-ray blazar flares to neutrino flux
Gamma-ray flares from blazars can be accompanied by high-energy neutrino emission. To better understand this phenomenon, an international research team has statistically analyzed 145 bright blazars. They constructed weekly binned light curves and utilized a Bayesian algorithm, finding that their sample was dominated by blazars with low flare duty cycles and energy fractions. The study suggests that high-energy neutrinos of blazars might be produced mainly during the flare phase.
Breakthrough in tackling increasing demand by 'internet of things' on mobile networks
A novel technology to manage demands on mobile networks from multiple users using Terahertz frequencies has been developed by computer scientists.
