Tech

Scientists from the University of Southampton, in partnership with the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), have developed a graphene-based sensor and switch that can detect harmful air pollution in the home with very low power consumption.

The sensor detects individual CO2 molecules and volatile organic compound (VOC) gas molecules found in building and interior materials, furniture and even household goods, which adversely affect our living in modern houses with good insulation.

HANOVER, N.H. - Clear-cutting loosens up carbon stored in forest soils, increasing the chances it will return to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and contribute to climate change, a Dartmouth College study shows.

The findings appear in the journal Soil Science. A PDF is available on request.

In the area of nano photonics, scientists for the first time succeeded in integrating a laser with an organic gain medium on a silicon photonic chip. This approach is of enormous potential for low-cost biosensors that might be used for near-patient diagnosis once and without any sterilization expenditure similar to today's strips for measuring blood sugar. The researchers now present the new laser in Nature Communications: DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10864

New York, NY--April 15, 2016--Last year, Columbia Engineering researchers were the first to invent a technology--full-duplex radio integrated circuits (ICs)--that can be implemented in nanoscale CMOS to enable simultaneous transmission and reception at the same frequency in a wireless radio. That system required two antennas, one for the transmitter and one for the receiver. And now the team, led by Electrical Engineering Associate Professor Harish Krishnaswamy, has developed a breakthrough technology that needs only one antenna, thus enabling an even smaller overall system.

California's investment in a social marketing campaign to reduce stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness may provide the state with positive economic benefits by increasing employment and worker productivity, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

DURHAM, N.C. - A modern twist on an old technology could soon help detect rogue methane leaks, hidden explosives and much more. A Duke University team is using software to dramatically improve the performance of chemical-sniffing mass spectrometers.

Conventional mass spectrometers separate compounds by giving them an electric charge and passing them through electric and/or magnetic fields. The lighter the compound, the more it bends in the field. By determining what compounds make up a given sample, these instruments can identify almost any substance.

WASHINGTON -- Nature is no doubt the world's best biological engineer, whose simple, exquisite but powerful designs have inspired scientists and engineers to tackle the challenges of technologies for centuries. Scientists recently mimicked the surface structure of a moth's eye, a unique structure with an antireflective property, to develop a highly light-absorbent graphene material. This is breakthrough in solar cell technology.

Scientists at Rice University have discovered that the strong force field emitted by a Tesla coil causes carbon nanotubes to self-assemble into long wires, a phenomenon they call "Teslaphoresis."

The team led by Rice chemist Paul Cherukuri reported its results this week in ACS Nano.

Cherukuri sees this research as setting a clear path toward scalable assembly of nanotubes from the bottom up.

New data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and WHO/Europe ahead of World TB Day show that an estimated 340 000 Europeans developed tuberculosis (TB) in 2014, corresponding to a rate of 37 cases per 100 000 population.

Methane is an abundant and inexpensive gas. Although it would be a suitable energy source and base material for the chemical industry, huge quantities of it are simply burnt off around the world - above all at oil fields and refineries. "On satellite images of Earth at night, the Middle East is brightly illuminated.

Scientists from MIPT have succeeded in growing ultra-thin (2.5-nanometre) ferroelectric films based on hafnium oxide that could potentially be used to develop non-volatile memory elements called ferroelectric tunnel junctions. The results of the study have been published in the journal ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces.

BINGHAMTON, NY - An international team of physicists has directly observed some unique characteristics of a superconductor for the first time, according to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Michael Lawler, a theoretical physicist at Binghamton University, contributed to the research, which he considers a great achievement for the experimentalists on the team.

The saying of philosopher René Descartes of what makes humans unique is beginning to sound hollow. 'I think -- therefore soon I am obsolete' seems more appropriate. When a computer routinely beats us at chess and we can barely navigate without the help of a GPS, have we outlived our place in the world? Not quite. Welcome to the front line of research in cognitive skills, quantum computers and gaming.

Consumers don't buy leafy greens and other healthy supermarket produce anticipating the food might make their families sick. Or at least, they didn't used to.

But high profile recalls of fruits and veggies seem to be a new normal in the American food landscape. The recalls follow outbreaks of foodborne illnesses caused by microbes like E. coli. These outbreaks can send unsuspecting veggiephiles rushing to the nearest toilet or, worse yet, the hospital. Some outbreaks can even result in deaths.

Stripping a big data set of names and personal details is no guarantee of privacy. Previous research has shown that individual shoppers, Netflix subscribers and even taxicab riders are identifiable in heaps of supposedly anonymous data.

Now, a team of computer science researchers at Columbia University and Google has identified new privacy concerns by demonstrating that geotagged posts on just two social media apps are enough to link accounts held by the same person. The team will present its results at the World Wide Web conference in Montreal on April 14.