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Energy & Green Tech

Successfully commercializing novel solar cells: When records are not enough

It is not easy to bring new technologies from the laboratory to market. Researchers and companies face very different demands for new developments and do not always find common ground. Scientists at Empa and other institutions ...

Computer Sciences

AI agents have their own social network: Moltbook study tracks topics and toxicity

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents, systems that learn to make predictions, generate content or tackle other tasks by analyzing large amounts of data, is becoming increasingly widespread. Some of these systems ...

Engineering

A heatshield for 'never-wet' surfaces: Engineers repel even near-boiling water with low-cost, scalable coating

Superhydrophobic surfaces—those famously "never-wet" materials that make water bead up and roll away—have a stubborn weakness: hot water. Once temperatures climb above roughly 40 degrees Celsius, many superhydrophobic ...

Engineering

Mixing generative AI with physics to create personal items that work in the real world

Ever had an idea for something that looked cool, but wouldn't work well in practice? When it comes to designing things like decor and personal accessories, generative artificial intelligence (genAI) models can relate. They ...

Technology news

Consumer & Gadgets

How eyes affect our perception of a humanoid robot's mind

Eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul. Eyes and gaze direction guide attention, evoke emotions and activate the brain's social perception mechanisms. Researchers at Tampere University and the University of Bremen conducted ...

Engineering

Bubble wrap bursts enable power-free acoustic testing

Non-destructive testing allows engineers to evaluate the integrity of structures such as pipelines, tanks, bridges, and machinery without dismantling them. Conventional approaches rely on loudspeakers, lasers, or electric ...

Energy & Green Tech

Framework reveals a smarter and faster way to retire US coal plants

Even as coal power continues its steady decline in the United States, more than a hundred plants still have no retirement plans—a gap large enough to derail national climate goals. A new study led by UC Santa Barbara researchers ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Novel carbon nanotube-based transistors reach THz frequencies

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), cylindrical nanostructures made of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, have proved to be promising for the fabrication of various electronic devices. In fact, these structures exhibit outstanding ...

Machine learning & AI

AI teaches itself and outperforms human-designed algorithms

Like humans, artificial intelligence learns by trial and error, but traditionally, it requires humans to set the ball rolling by designing the algorithms and rules that govern the learning process. However, as AI technology ...

Engineering

AI bots could match scientist-level design problem solving

Engineers at Duke University have constructed a group of AI bots that together can solve complex design problems nearly as well as a fully trained scientist. The results, the researchers say, show how AI might soon automate ...