Computers

Scientists at Osaka University, Panasonic Corporation, and Waseda University used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy to determine which additives induce crystallization in supercooled aqueous solutions. This work may lead to the development of new energy storage materials based on latent heat. If you put a bottle of water into the freezer, you … [Read more...] about A way to surmount supercooling

Because corporations and governments rely on computers and the internet to run everything from the electric grid, healthcare, and water systems, computer security is extremely important to all of us. It is increasingly being breached: Numerous security hacks just this past month include the Colonial Pipeline security breach and the JBS Foods ransomware attacks where hackers … [Read more...] about Making our computers more secure

A challenging frontier in science and engineering is controlling matter outside of thermodynamic equilibrium to build material systems with capabilities that rival those of living organisms. Research on active colloids aims to create micro- and nanoscale "particles" that swim through viscous fluids like primitive microorganisms. When these self-propelled particles come … [Read more...] about Microspheres quiver when shocked

Researchers have developed a method to make previously hardly accessible properties in quantum systems measurable. The new method for determining the quantum state in quantum simulators reduces the number of necessary measurements and makes work with quantum simulators much more efficient. In a few years, a new generation of quantum simulators could provide insights that would … [Read more...] about Quantum simulation: Measurement of entanglement made easier

Crude oil production and natural gas withdrawals in the United States have lessened the country's dependence on foreign oil and provided financial relief to U.S. consumers, but have also raised longstanding concerns about environmental damage, such as groundwater contamination. A researcher in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences, and a team of scientists from … [Read more...] about Environmental impact of hydrofracking vs. conventional gas/oil drilling: Research shows the differences may be minimal: Study is one of the first to use machine learning techniques to holistically assess general water quality data

Using methods from conservation science, a new analysis suggests that the first case of COVID-19 arose between early October and mid-November, 2019 in China, with the most likely date of origin being November 17. David Roberts of the University of Kent, U.K., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens. The origins of the ongoing COVID-19 … [Read more...] about When did the first COVID-19 case arise? Novel analysis suggests much earlier, more rapid spread than confirmed cases imply

'Precision agriculture' where farmers respond in real time to changes in crop growth using nanotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI) could offer a practical solution to the challenges threatening global food security, a new study reveals. Climate change, increasing populations, competing demands on land for production of biofuels and declining soil quality mean it is … [Read more...] about Nanotech and AI could hold key to unlocking global food security challenge

Most models explaining how viruses are transmitted focus on viral particles escaping one person to infect a nearby person. A study on the role of microscopic particles in how viruses are transmitted suggests pollen is nothing to sneeze at. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, Talib Dbouk and Dimitris Drikakis investigate how pollen facilitates the spread of an RNA virus … [Read more...] about Tree pollen carries SARS-CoV-2 particles farther, facilitates virus spread, study finds: Computer model recreates a willow tree and nearby crowd to provide new perspective on social distancing measures

According to the American Burn Association, burn injuries affect approximately 250,000 children in the United States each year. The pain associated with burn injuries extends beyond the injury itself; there is also significant pain from dressing changes, which can be exacerbated by the anxiety of anticipating this additional pain. Although opioids relieve burn injury-related … [Read more...] about Virtual reality as pain relief: Reducing dressing change pain in pediatric burn patients

Stem cell therapy is at the cutting edge of regenerative medicine, but until now researchers and clinicians have had to painstakingly evaluate stem cell quality by looking at each cell individually under a microscope. Now, researchers from Japan have found a way to speed up this process, using the power of artificial intelligence (AI). In a study published in February in Stem … [Read more...] about AI spots healthy stem cells quickly and accurately