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Researchers use lead recycled from car batteries to make photodetectors
As lithium-ion batteries continue to decrease in price, they are quickly replacing the lead-acid batteries traditionally used in cars and other vehicles. This is creating a sudden abundance of used lead-acid batteries, which would be harmful to the environment and people if not recycled properly. To help deal with this... Read more
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ChatGPT takes on real estate: Agents say the AI could be a game changer in the industry
Century 21 Beggins Enterprises on its website lists a "beautiful" three-bedroom condo in Madeira Beach, Florida with "large spacious balconies to enjoy the warm, beautiful views."... Read more
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NASA spinoffs bolster climate resilience, improve medical care and more
JPL-developed technologies, including VITAL, FINDER, 3D-printing methods, and Voyager spacecraft communications, are featured in the agency's technology publication.... Read more
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Bot gives non-native speakers the floor in videoconferencing
Native speakers often dominate the discussion in multilingual online meetings, but adding an automated participant that periodically interrupts the conversation can help non-native speakers get a word in edgewise, according to new research at Cornell.... Read more
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Rats with backpacks sniff for victims under rubble
Rats are commonly known as pests and spreaders of disease and many people's worst nightmare. Yet they are very clever creatures, and can be trained just as well as dogs. The Belgian aid organization APOPO trains African hamster rats to search for earthquake victims under rubble, using a backpack on... Read more
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New type of solar cell is being tested in space
Physics researchers at Lund University in Sweden recently succeeded in constructing small solar radiation-collecting antennas—nanowires—using three different materials that are a better match for the solar spectrum compared with today's silicon solar cells. As the nanowires are light and require little material per unit of area, they are now to... Read more
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Under pressure: Breakthrough new material solves problem of wearable sensors
A team of researchers, led by Trisha L. Andrew, professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recently announced that they have synthesized a new material that solves one of the most difficult problems in the quest to create wearable, unobtrusive sensitive sensors: the problem of... Read more
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Harvesting big energy from small movement
Since the ancient Greeks, humankind has known that if you bring two things into contact, a small amount of electricity is created. One example is that we can rub a balloon with our hair and generate enough electricity to stick it to the ceiling.... Read more
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Salt-rejecting microchannels help make seawater drinkable using the power of the sun
A solar distillation device can purify brine from reverse osmosis plants with over 10 percent salinity, as well as water taken directly from the Red Sea. The technology offers double the freshwater production rate of existing salt-rejection solar stills.... Read more
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Self-cooling tent runs using just water and sunshine
For many avid outdoorspeople, summertime and camping go hand in hand. But as climate change continues to drive summer temperatures higher, outdoor recreation could become less relaxing—and cooling technologies like fans and portable air conditioners require electricity that is seldom available at the average campsite.... Read more
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Amsterdam unveils its largest bike garage. It's underwater
Plagued by ever-shrinking space to park its hundreds of thousands of bicycles, Amsterdam opened Wednesday the first of its largest-ever bicycle parking complexes, built underwater in a pioneering engineering project.... Read more
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ChatGPT bot passes US law school exam
A chatbot powered by reams of data from the internet has passed exams at a US law school after writing essays on topics ranging from constitutional law to taxation and torts.... Read more
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Can artificial skin go beyond the sensing features of natural skin?
Investigators have developed an artificial skin that is even more sensitive than human skin in its ability to detect pressure applied by an object as well as its approach.... Read more
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A three-stage authentication system for the metaverse
In recent years, many computer scientists have been exploring the notion of metaverse, an online space in which users can access different virtual environments and immersive experiences, using VR and AR headsets. While navigating the metaverse, users might also share personal data, whether to purchase goods, connect with other users,... Read more
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New antennas and microchips help electronics blur the line between science and sci-fi
Sophisticated antenna arrays paired with high-frequency wireless chips act like superpowers for modern electronics, boosting everything from sensing to security to data processing. In his lab at Princeton, Kaushik Sengupta is working to expand those powers even further.... Read more