systems

The touchscreen technology used in billions of smartphones and tablets could also be used as a powerful sensor, without the need for any modifications. Researchers from the University of Cambridge have demonstrated how a typical touchscreen could be used to identify common ionic contaminants in soil or drinking water by dropping liquid samples on the screen, the first time this … [Read more...] about Smartphone screens effective sensors for soil or water contamination

It's not exactly X-ray vision, but it's close. In research published in the journal Optica, University of California, Irvine researchers describe a new type of camera technology that, when aimed at an object, can rapidly retrieve 3D images, displaying its chemical content down to the micrometer scale. The new tech promises to help companies inspect things like the insides of … [Read more...] about Scientists make X-ray vision-like camera to rapidly retrieve 3D images: Tech can visualize various materials, structures with detailed chemical information

Artificial intelligence tools and deep learning models are a powerful tool in cancer treatment. They can be used to analyze digital images of tumor biopsy samples, helping physicians quickly classify the type of cancer, predict prognosis and guide a course of treatment for the patient. However, unless these algorithms are properly calibrated, they can sometimes make inaccurate … [Read more...] about Artificial intelligence models to analyze cancer images take shortcuts that introduce bias

In the depths of space, there are celestial bodies where extreme conditions prevail: Rapidly rotating neutron stars generate super-strong magnetic fields. And black holes, with their enormous gravitational pull, can cause huge, energetic jets of matter to shoot out into space. An international physics team with the participation of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf … [Read more...] about Antimatter from laser pincers: Research team develops new method to study astrophysical processes in the laboratory

Many applications, from fiber-optic telecommunications to biomedical imaging processes require substances that emit light in the near-infrared range (NIR). A research team in Switzerland has now developed the first chromium complex that emits light in the coveted, longer wavelength NIR-II range. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, the team has introduced the underlying concept: a … [Read more...] about Infrared held in a pincer: A NIR-II-emitting chromium complex

Surpassing the biological limitations of the brain and using one's mind to interact with and control external electronic devices may sound like the distant cyborg future, but it could come sooner than we think. Researchers from Imperial College London conducted a review of modern commercial brain-computer interface (BCI) devices, and they discuss the primary technological … [Read more...] about Bleak cyborg future from brain-computer interfaces if we’re not careful: Researchers warn of the potential social, ethical, and legal consequences of technologies interacting heavily with human brains.

A team of scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory proposes that modulated quantum metasurfaces can control all properties of photonic qubits, a breakthrough that could impact the fields of quantum information, communications, sensing and imaging, as well as energy and momentum harvesting. The results of their study were released yesterday in the journal Physical Review … [Read more...] about New quantum research gives insights into how quantum light can be mastered: The breakthrough could have wide-reaching implications in quantum information, cryptography, and energy harvesting

To be useful, drones need to be quick. Because of their limited battery life they must complete whatever task they have -- searching for survivors on a disaster site, inspecting a building, delivering cargo -- in the shortest possible time. And they may have to do it by going through a series of waypoints like windows, rooms, or specific locations to inspect, adopting the best … [Read more...] about New algorithm flies drones faster than human racing pilots can

Northwestern University researchers have developed a new framework using machine learning that improves the accuracy of interatomic potentials -- the guiding rules describing how atoms interact -- in new materials design. The findings could lead to more accurate predictions of how new materials transfer heat, deform, and fail at the atomic scale. Designing new nanomaterials is … [Read more...] about New framework applies machine learning to atomistic modeling: Method could lead to more accurate predictions of how new materials behave at the atomic scale