Technology

The movement of radiant heat -- felt when a hot surface warms our bodies and homes -- between buildings and their surroundings at ground level makes buildings with less skyward-facing surfaces harder to cool. A research team has demonstrated a new passive cooling technology that coats walls and windows with materials that can better manage

Two new studies introduce AI systems that use either video or photos to create simulations that can train robots to function in the real world. This could significantly lower the costs of training robots to function in complex settings. Two new studies introduce AI systems that use either video or photos to create simulations that

Scientists overturned long-held assumptions in that finds water can be a help for adhesion. The implications of this research are particularly in biomedical applications such as bandages, health monitoring sensors for moist skin, and advanced adhesives that could replace sutures. The insights gained into leveraging surface roughness and material properties could revolutionize industries worth billions

Quakes and meteor impacts on Mars generate seismic waves that can help map the interior. A new study analyzed seismic waves detected by the Insight lander and concludes that 11-20 kilometers beneath the surface, a zone of pores and fractures is filled with liquid water -- more than was thought to fill Mars' surface oceans

With GROVER, a new large language model trained on human DNA, researchers could now attempt to decode the complex information hidden in our genome. GROVER treats human DNA as a text, learning its rules and context to draw functional information about the DNA sequences. DNA contains foundational information needed to sustain life. Understanding how this

New research shows that programming robots to create their own teams and voluntarily wait for their teammates results in faster task completion, with the potential to improve manufacturing, agriculture and warehouse automation. New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that programming robots to create their own teams and voluntarily wait for their teammates

Common push puppet toys in the shapes of animals and popular figures can move or collapse with the push of a button at the bottom of the toys' base. Now, a team of engineers has created a new class of tunable dynamic material that mimics the inner workings of push puppets, with applications for soft

Large Language Models (LLMs) are entirely controllable through human prompts and lack 'emergent abilities'; that is, the means to form their own insights or conclusions. Increasing model size does not lead LLMs to gain emergent reasoning abilities, meaning they will not develop hazardous abilities and therefore do not pose an existential threat. A new study

Researchers have introduced a new advancement in the fight against climate change. Their study showcases a novel method for understanding the mechanisms of carbon dioxide re-utilization leading to fuels and chemicals. This work paves the road for the further optimization of this catalytic process driven by renewable electricity. A recent publication in Nature Communications by

Polymers can be thought of like trains: Just as a train is composed of multiple cars, polymers are made up of multiple monomers, and the couplings between the train cars are similar to the chemical bonds that link monomers together. While polymers have myriad applications -- from drug delivery to construction materials -- their structures

A research team has recently developed a novel artificial compound eye system that is not only more cost-effective, but demonstrates a sensitivity at least twice that of existing market products in small areas. The system promises to revolutionize robotic vision, enhance robots' abilities in navigation, perception and decision-making, while promoting commercial application and further development

The control of artificial double-helical structures, which are essential for the development of high-order molecular systems, remains difficult. In a new study, researchers have developed novel double-helical monometallofoldamers that exhibit controllable helicity inversion and chiral information transfer, in response to external stimuli. These monometallofoldamers can lead to novel artificial supramolecular systems for molecular information transmission