A team of researchers from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Quebec, Canada, have developed an electrolytic process for treating wastewater, degrading microplastics at the source. Microplastics are fragments of plastic less than 5mm long, often contained in toiletries or shedding from polyester clothing. They are present in virtually every corner of the … Read more
Researchers from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology have led a project to develop a hard, electronic smartphone display material which can self-heal from cracks and other damage. Smartphone display repair can often cost so much that many owners decide it isn’t worth paying for and simply dump the phone for an entirely new handset … Read more
Researchers from University College London’s Sainsbury Wellcome Centre have devised a brain-machine interface (BMI) which allows mice to learn to move a cursor to a target using only their brain activity The study sheds light on how the brain represents causally-controlled objects. When a mouse was controlling the cursor, brain activity in the higher visual … Read more
Engineers from Rutgers University have developed a 3D-printed smart gel that changes shape when exposed to light and can be utilised as a colour-changing “artificial muscle”. The smart gel is inspired by the ability of cephalopods such as octopuses, squid and cuttlefish to change the colour and texture of their skins for camouflage and communication. … Read more
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have demonstrated that small quantum computers can be used to solve problems with real applications. Quantum computers hold the potential to exponentially expand computing power, transforming certain sectors such as cyber security and research. In 2019, Google researchers announced that they had reached “quantum supremacy”: a quantum computer … Read more
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have demonstrated that small quantum computers can be used to solve problems with real applications. Quantum computers hold the potential to exponentially expand computing power, transforming certain sectors such as cyber security and research. In 2019, Google researchers announced that they had reached “quantum supremacy”: a quantum computer … Read more
An MIT study has demonstrated that deterioration in the performance of InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) transistors at small scales is not an intrinsic property of the material. For computing power to continue to improve into the future, supporting more computationally expensive processes, engineers will need to develop ever-smaller and more densely packed transistors. For decades, … Read more
The Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) has awarded the winners of the Infosys Prize 2020 for their outstanding contributions to science and research in a virtual awards ceremony on 2 December. The pandemic has altered physical working conditions, yet technology has aided professionals to work from home. As well as this, the pandemic has urged us … Read more
Optical fibres, the cornerstone technology for high-speed data transfer, can be given a significant performance boost by hollowing out their centre, researchers from Southampton University have discovered. Optical fibres, which are made of silica glass, have long been the transmission medium of choice for high-speed optical communications as well as for other uses such as … Read more
A facility for testing 5G and satellite technology is to be created at the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, with £3m in government funding. The engineering hub, which is due for completion in 2021, will provide a base for UK researchers and businesses to experiment, and will allow teams to test the benefits of hybrid 5G … Read more