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Machine learning & AI
AI training method helps robots carry lab-learned skills into real-world tasks
Robots are trained for specific tasks, such as cutting, using simulation. However, collecting real-world data is expensive, slow, and sometimes unsafe, particularly for tasks involving physical interaction. A new AI-based ...
10 hours ago
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Engineering
Scientists program materials just by spinning them
There is something universally appealing about the slap bracelet, and the way a simple tap causes it to switch between a straight shape and a curled one. What you probably didn't know is that a slap bracelet's satisfying ...
11 hours ago
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Chemical hardness engineering boosts perovskite tandem efficiency to 30.3%
All-perovskite tandem solar cells are promising candidates for next-generation photovoltaics, as they harvest sunlight more efficiently than single-junction devices and can be fabricated through low-temperature solution processing. ...
11 hours ago
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Silicon oscillators solve computer problems that would take thousands of years using semiconductors
In the era of big data and artificial intelligence, a new approach has emerged for solving combinatorial optimization problems, which involves finding the most efficient solution among many possible options and can otherwise ...
14 hours ago
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Stress-testing method for cloud computing algorithms helps avoid network failures
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed a more user-friendly and efficient method to help networking engineers identify potential system failures before they cause major problems, like a cloud service outage that ...
12 hours ago
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Engineering
Vanadium batteries could stabilize power grids and help prevent blackouts in Ecuador
The transition toward renewable energy is redefining the operation of power systems worldwide. However, this shift brings a growing technical challenge: the loss of grid stability. Unlike conventional power plants, renewable ...
9 hours ago
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Engineering
Recycled concrete slabs match or beat traditional builds, even at 100% replacement
Steel and recycled concrete composite slabs with equivalent—and in some cases superior—performances compared to traditional ones: This is the outcome of the SARCOS (Steel And Recycled Concrete Slab) project, conducted by ...
10 hours ago
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Technology news
Energy & Green Tech
Water-splitting catalyst unlocks cheaper hydrogen at significantly lower temperatures
University of Birmingham research published today has shown a new low-temperature method for producing hydrogen that is suitable for both centralized hydrogen production, and also local generation using waste heat from large-scale ...
May 5, 2026
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Engineering
Oyster cement: Scientists study shellfish to make stronger, faster-curing building material
Building upon the chemistry that oysters use in miles-long reefs, scientists have found a way to create cement that is stronger and cures faster. Jonathan Wilker, a professor of chemistry in Purdue University's College of ...
May 5, 2026
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Electronics & Semiconductors
Durable ionogel withstands 5,000 times its weight while staying soft on skin
The development of soft materials that can reliably function on the human body is important for the future of bioelectronics and wearable medical devices. These materials need to comfortably conform to the skin while being ...
May 5, 2026
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Telecom
Optical AI recovers distorted telecom signals at ultra-high speed, using less energy
Modern communication networks must handle ever-growing volumes of data, driven by cloud services, connected devices, and real-time applications. At the same time, they face a critical constraint: keeping energy consumption ...
May 5, 2026
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Engineering
3D-printed interlocking electrodes demonstrate optimization potential for energy storage
Good electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices such as rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors can store a lot of energy and release it quickly, but these design goals are often at odds with each other. Using design ...
May 5, 2026
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Consumer & Gadgets
Can AI ascertain our personality traits from our ChatGPT history?
Large language models (LLMs), the computational models underpinning the functioning of ChatGPT, Gemini, and similar conversational platforms, are now used daily by many people worldwide. As these models can rapidly answer ...
Engineering
Move over cassette tapes, adhesive tape has memory too
Materials can store information about their past—like a crease in a piece of paper that has been unfolded is a "memory" of being folded—that can be retrieved or read out and used for various purposes. In everyday life, combination ...
May 5, 2026
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Computer Sciences
A simple physics-inspired model sheds light on how AI learns
Artificial intelligence systems based on neural networks—such as ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek or Gemini—are extraordinarily powerful, yet their internal workings remain largely a "black box." To better understand how these systems ...
May 5, 2026
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Energy & Green Tech
This AI can read rivers almost anywhere in America, and utilities are paying close attention
Hydrology experts at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) used artificial intelligence and a physics-based understanding of streamflow to create a model that provides highly accurate ...
May 5, 2026
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Consumer & Gadgets
After a 40-year wait, technology finally enables three-sided zipper design
In 1985, the Innovative Design Fund placed an ad in Scientific American offering up to $10,000 to support clever prototypes for clothing, home decor, and textiles. William Freeman Ph.D., then an electrical engineer at Polaroid ...
May 4, 2026
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