科學 訊息

Using a fusion of traditional and novel technological methods, researchers are hoping to better quantify emotions to transform the face of the emotion quantification field

As someone that has always lived in the UK countryside, I am no stranger to the glory of a dark star-filled sky. Sadly, 60% of the world's population has already lost access to the night sky thanks to light pollution. Across Europe and the U.S., that number climbs to nearer 80%.

Ever wonder what happens to massive supercomputing systems when they're retired? Surprisingly, when it comes to the data, it's not too different from disposing of old documents—they go straight into a shredder and sent to recycling.

In recent years, electronics engineers have developed a wide range of wearable and implantable devices that can detect and record biological signals. These devices can help to keep track of various physiological processes, such as heart rate, arterial pulse, sleep patterns or calories burned throughout the course of the day, which can be valuable for both sports and health care-related applications.

The research groups led by Prof. Kei Sakaguchi from the School of Engineering at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Prof. Walid Saad from Virginia Tech have jointly realized a Smart Mobility Digital Twin that replicates physical space's traffic conditions in cyber space in real-time.

A research group at the Department of Energy Engineering of the University of Seville and collaborators at AICIA and Harbin Institute of Technology in China have achieved a better understanding of the cooling of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell stacks and the relationship with the temperature gradients in the membrane.

A new system aimed at improving the monitoring and detection of forest fires through advanced real-time image processing is reported in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology. The work could lead to faster and more accurate detection and so help improve the emergency response to reduce the environmental, human, and economic impacts.

A team of physicists and engineers affiliated with several institutions in China has developed an extremely small nuclear battery that they claim is up to 8,000 times more efficient than its predecessors. Their paper is published in the journal Nature.

Metal production is responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions, with iron production emitting two tons of CO2 for every ton of metal produced, and nickel production emitting 14 tons of CO2 per ton and even more, depending on the ore used.

A team of engineers from the Center for Nanoparticle Research, Seoul National University, the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, all in Korea, has developed a new type of artificial eye based on natural cat eyes.

While roboticists have introduced increasingly sophisticated robotic systems over the past decades, most of the solutions introduced so far are pre-programmed and trained to tackle specific tasks. The ability to continuously teach robots new skills while interacting with them could be highly beneficial and could facilitate their widespread use.

Researchers have developed a new organic thermoelectric device that can harvest energy from ambient temperature. While thermoelectric devices have several uses today, hurdles still exist to their full utilization. By combining the unique abilities of organic materials, the team succeeded in developing a framework for thermoelectric power generation at room temperature without any temperature gradient.

A new way of making ammonia, by harnessing the unique power of liquid metal, could lead to significant cuts in carbon emissions caused by production of the widely-used chemical.

The invasive Joro spider has been spotted in Pennsylvania as it continues to spread in the U.S. The giant species was first seen in Georgia a decade ago.

A new study lays out a wide range of options available to cost-effectively eliminate greenhouse gas production from the energy system in the United States by 2050. The findings give policymakers and industry leaders valuable insights on how to chart a path forward to address climate change.

Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) have developed hexagon-shaped robotic components, called modules, that can be snapped together LEGO-style into high-speed robots that can be rearranged for different capabilities.

To date, there are no uniform standards for research into solid-state batteries, which are also to be used in e-mobility in the long term—even though billions are being invested in this area worldwide. Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have identified the reasons for this and report on them in the journal Nature Energy.

A set of knee exoskeletons, built with commercially available knee braces and drone motors at the University of Michigan, has been shown to help counteract fatigue in lifting and carrying tasks. They helped users maintain a better lifting posture even when tired, a key factor in defending against on-the-job injuries, say the researchers of a new paper published in the journal Science Robotics.

Potassium metal batteries (PMBs) are gaining attention as a cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion batteries, thanks to potassium's abundance and similar chemical properties. However, issues like uncontrolled dendrite growth and interfacial instability undermine the performance and safety of PMBs, posing a major challenge that demands new solutions to stabilize the anode interface and prevent dendrite formation.

As solar PV and wind grow at an accelerated pace around the world, governments must act to ensure that they are well integrated into power systems—or risk losing out on significant benefits, according to a new report from the IEA.