Technology

Pre-programmed microfluidic systems offer new control capabilities

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Microfluidic systems have the power to revolutionize medicine, energy, electronics and even space exploration. But the sheer size of the external equipment required for controlling these quarter-sized devices has limited their use in portable, wearable technologies. Now Northwestern University researchers are pushing microfluidics closer to reaching its true potential. In a recent study, the researchers … Read more

Indiana University professor receives high performance computing award

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The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) have named Geoffrey C. Fox of Indiana University Bloomington as the recipient of the 2019 ACM-IEEE CS Ken Kennedy Award. Fox was cited for foundational contributions to parallel computing methodology, algorithms and software, and data analysis, and their interfaces with broad classes of applications. … Read more

Real texture for lab-grown meat

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Lab-grown or cultured meat could revolutionize food production, providing a greener, more sustainable, more ethical alternative to large-scale meat production. But getting lab-grown meat from the petri dish to the dinner plate requires solving several major problems, including how to make large amounts of it and how to make it feel and taste more like … Read more

UQ-developed text analytics app now available for all

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Text analytics software developed by The University of Queensland will be available as a ‘Software as a Service’ product to individual subscribers for the first time. TopicGuide is Leximancer’s new automated approach to text analytics that uses an algorithm developed by former UQ Health and Behavioural Sciences researcher and the company’s chief scientist Dr Andrew … Read more

UBC lab spins nanofibre ‘gold’ from waste fabrics

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In the materials engineering labs at UBC, surrounded by Bunsen burners, microscopes and spinning machines, professor Frank Ko and research scientist Addie Bahi have developed a simple process for converting waste cotton into much higher-value nanofibres. These fibres are the building blocks of advanced products like surgical implants, antibacterial wound dressings and fuel cell batteries. … Read more

3D imaging of computer chips for security, quality control and reverse engineering

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Any object, whether natural or not, has essential features that can range anywhere between millimeters to nanometers. For example, if we want to study a computer chip, we need to get a 3D view of its overall structure as well as its integrated circuits – and we need to do that without destroying it. However, … Read more

Squid-inspired robots might have environmental, propulsion applications

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Inspired by the unique and efficient swimming strategy of cephalopods, scientists developed an aquatic robot that mimics their form of propulsion. These high-speed, squidlike robots are made of smart materials, which make them hard to detect – an advantage that has potential military reconnaissance and scientific applications – while maintaining a low environmental footprint. Physicists … Read more

Stanford researchers have developed a gel-like fluid to prevent wildfires

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A preventive treatment developed by Stanford researchers could greatly reduce the incidence and severity of wildfires. The approach, outlined Sept. 30 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involves an environmentally benign gel-like fluid that helps common wildland fire retardants last longer on vegetation. Applied to ignition-prone areas, these materials retain their ability to prevent … Read more

Numbers limit how accurately digital computers model chaos

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The study, published today in Advanced Theory and Simulations, shows that digital computers cannot reliably reproduce the behaviour of ‘chaotic systems’ which are widespread. This fundamental limitation could have implications for high performance computation (HPC) and for applications of machine learning to HPC. Professor Peter Coveney, Director of the UCL Centre for Computational Science and study … Read more