Machine learning algorithm brings long-read sequencing to the clinic
SAVANA uses a machine learning algorithm to identify cancer-specific structural variations and copy number aberrations in long-read DNA sequencing data. The complex structure of cancer genomes means that standard analysis tools give false-positive results, leading to erroneous clinical interpretations of tumour biology. SAVANA significantly reduces such errors. SAVANA offers rapid and reliable genomic analysis to better analyse clinical samples, thereby informing cancer diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
EV battery recycling key to future lithium supplies
Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries are crucial for the transition to electric vehicles, and global demand for lithium is set to grow rapidly over the next 25 years. A new analysis looks at how new mining operations and battery recycling could meet that demand. Recycling could play a big role in easing supply constraints, the researchers found.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Waste to foundation: Transforming construction waste into high-performance material
In a major advancement for sustainable construction, scientists have created a cement-free soil solidifier from industrial waste. By combining Siding Cut Powder and activated by Earth Silica, an alkaline stimulant from recycled glass, scientists produced a high-performance material that meets compressive strength standards exceeding the 160 kN/m construction-grade threshold and eliminates arsenic leaching through calcium hydroxide stabilization. The technology reduces landfill volumes and carbon emissions, offering a circular solution for infrastructure development worldwide.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Unlocking precise composition analysis of nanomedicines
Current regulations for nanomedicines overlook the effects of the different forms of the same element, such as ions, nanoparticles, and aggregates. In a recent study, researchers developed a new analytical method combining an asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation system and mass spectrometry to separately quantify these forms. This technique allows for better quality control and safety evaluation of metal-based nanomedicines, promoting their development and clinical use, with applications also extending to food, cosmetics, and the environment.
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Laser technique revolutionizes ultra-high temperature ceramic manufacturing for space, defense applications
Researchers have demonstrated a new technique that uses lasers to create ceramics that can withstand ultra-high temperatures, with applications ranging from nuclear power technologies to spacecraft and jet exhaust systems. The technique can be used to create ceramic coatings, tiles or complex three-dimensional structures, which allows for increased versatility when engineering new devices and technologies.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Portable sensor enables community lead detection in tap water
Lead contamination in municipal water sources is a consistent threat to public health. Ingesting even tiny amounts of lead can harm the human brain and nervous system -- especially in young children. To empower people to detect lead contamination in their own homes, a team of researchers developed an accessible, handheld water-testing system called the E-Tongue. This device was tested through a citizen science project across four Massachusetts towns.
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Electronic tattoo gauges mental strain
Researchers gave participants face tattoos that can track when their brain is working too hard. The study introduces a non-permanent wireless forehead e-tattoo that decodes brainwaves to measure mental strain without bulky headgear. This technology may help track the mental workload of workers like air traffic controllers and truck drivers, whose lapses in focus can have serious consequences.
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Thousands of sensors reveal 3D structure of earthquake-triggered sound waves
Earthquakes create ripple effects in Earth's upper atmosphere that can disrupt satellite communications and navigation systems we rely on. Scientists have now used Japan's extensive network of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers to create the first 3D images of atmospheric disturbances caused by the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake. Their results show sound wave disturbance patterns in unique 3D detail and provide new insights into how earthquakes generate these waves.
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A cheap and easy potential solution for lowering carbon emissions in maritime shipping
Reducing travel speeds and using an intelligent queuing system at busy ports can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oceangoing container vessels by 16-24%, according to researchers. Not only would those relatively simple interventions reduce emissions from a major, direct source of greenhouse gases, the technology to implement these measures already exists.
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Horses 'mane' inspiration for new generation of social robots
Interactive robots should not just be passive companions, but active partners -- like therapy horses who respond to human emotion -- say researchers.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Study deepens understanding of cell migration, important for potential medical advances
A new study integrated mathematical modeling with advanced imaging to discover that the physical shape of the fruit fly egg chamber, combined with chemical signals, significantly influences how cells move. Cell migration is critical in wound healing, immune responses, and cancer metastasis, so the work has potential to advance a range of medical treatments.
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Groundwork laid for designer hybrid 2D materials
Materials scientists have succeeded in creating a genuine 2D hybrid material called glaphene.
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Mid-air transformation helps flying, rolling robot to transition smoothly
Engineers have developed a real-life Transformer that has the 'brains' to morph in midair, allowing the drone-like robot to smoothly roll away and begin its ground operations without pause. The increased agility and robustness of such robots could be particularly useful for commercial delivery systems and robotic explorers.
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New method provides the key to accessing proteins in ancient human remains
A new method could soon unlock the vast repository of biological information held in the proteins of ancient soft tissues. The findings could open up a new era for palaeobiological discovery.
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Five things to do in virtual reality -- and five to avoid
A review of experimental research reveals how VR is best used and why it's struggled to become a megahit with consumers.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
New 2D quantum sensor breakthrough offers new opportunities for magnetic field detection
Physicists have unveiled a breakthrough in quantum sensing by demonstrating a 2D material as a versatile platform for next-generation nanoscale vectorial magnetometry.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Observing one-dimensional anyons: Exotic quasiparticles in the coldest corners of the universe
Scientists have observed anyons -- quasiparticles that differ from the familiar fermions and bosons -- in a one-dimensional quantum system for the first time. The results may contribute to a better understanding of quantum matter and its potential applications.
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Solitonic superfluorescence paves way for high-temperature quantum materials
A new study in Nature describes both the mechanism and the material conditions necessary for superfluorescence at high temperature.
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New chiral photonic device combines light manipulation with memory
Engineers have developed a multifunctional, reconfigurable component for an optical computing system that could be a game changer in electronics.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Electric buses struggle in the cold, researchers find
Researchers have released new insights on a pilot program involving all-electric buses in Ithaca, NY, USA -- with implications for cities, schools and other groups that are considering the electrification of their fleets, as well as operators, policymakers and manufacturers.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)