Technology

A team from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) developed a novel nanostructure embedded into a semiconductor nanofibre that results in superb conductivity. The nanocomposite addresses a key inhibitor to conductivity, with the potential to improve a wide range of applications, from batteries and solar cells, to air purification devices. While semiconductors are widely used, […]

Hitting a material with laser light sends vibrations rippling through its latticework of atoms, and at the same time can nudge the lattice into a new configuration with potentially useful properties – turning an insulator into a metal, for instance. Until now, scientists assumed this all happened in a smooth, coordinated way. But two new […]

Quantum systems can be manipulated with extremely high precision, but not perfectly. Researchers in the Department of Physics at ETH Zurich have now demonstrated how to monitor and correct errors that occur during such operations. The field of quantum computation has seen tremendous progress in recent years. Increasingly, quantum devices are challenging conventional computers, at […]

Scientists are working to dramatically speed up the development of fusion energy in an effort to deliver power to the electric grid soon enough to help mitigate impacts of climate change. The arrival of a breakthrough technology—high-temperature superconductors, which can be used to build magnets that produce stronger magnetic fields than previously possible—could help them […]

To evaluate in vivo physiological functions, electrophysiological signals must be monitored with high precision and high spatial or temporal resolution. Ultraflexible, multielectrode arrays (MEAs) were recently fabricated to establish conformal contact on the surfaces of organs and to measure electrophysiological signal propagation at high spatial-temporal resolution. However, plastic substrates with a high Young’s modulus incorporated […]

Japan’s biotechnology company euglena is to start mass production of bio jet fuel and biodiesel out of algae and waste oil, with the aim of being the first company to fuel green commercial flights out of Japan. The company announced the completion of its refinery plant in Yokohama on Friday. The site can produce 125 […]

Oregon State University scientists have found a resource to increase agricultural production on dry, unirrigated farmland—solar panels. In a study published Thursday in the journal PLOS One, a research team in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences found that grasses favored by sheep and cattle thrive in the shade of a solar array installed in a […]

UK energy company Cuadrilla said Friday it has extracted a small but “encouraging” amount of shale gas for the first time since resuming fracking in Britain less than three weeks ago. The 11-year-old private firm has borne the brunt of protests for trying to test whether fracking—a process in which water and chemicals are used […]

More than four billion tons of crude oil are produced every year, and electricity from wind, solar and hydropower plants cannot entirely supplant fossil sources of energy. At best, renewables could cover the energy needed to power all electric cars and to generate hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles. Even then, gasoline would still be required […]

A consortium of 14 partners has developed technology demonstrators for what the compact and efficient electric vehicles of the future could look like. The three light vehicles, developed under the supervision of Piaggio and KTM, anticipate new design approaches for the sector. Compact electric vehicles (ELVs) may be a cornerstone of the transition towards smart […]