Sunday 23 June 2019

Perovskite solar cells tested for real-world performance—in the lab

It was only ten years ago that metal-halide perovskites were discovered to be photovoltaic materials. Today, perovskite solar cells are almost as efficient as the best conventional silicon ones, and there is much hope that they will become a highly efficient and low-cost alternative, as they can be manufactured by rather simple and fast methods like printing.

* This article was originally published here

NVIDIA going full stack for ARM boosts supercomputing presence

NVIDIA and ARM make one power couple for supercomputing. NVIDIA has announced its chips will work with ARM processors. Outside observers got busy earlier this week assessing why this was a big deal to empower both companies and the effort to explain was not at all difficult.

* This article was originally published here

This assistive robot is controlled via brain-computer interface

Researchers at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, in Italy, have recently developed a cutting-edge architecture that enables the operation of an assistive robot via a P300-based brain computer interface (BCI). This architecture, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, could finally allow people with severe motion disabilities to perform manipulation tasks, thus simplifying their lives.

* This article was originally published here

Experts raise alarm over climate change threat to cultural heritage

Climate change could wreak "irreversible damage" on the world's most precious ancient monuments and other cultural sites, experts warned Saturday as they pushed for UN protection for major global sites.

* This article was originally published here

Metabolomic profiling of antibody response to periodontal pathogens

At the 97th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Jaakko Leskela, University of Helsinki, Finland, gave an oral presentation on "Metabolomic Profiling of Antibody Response to Periodontal Pathogens." The IADR/AADR/CADR General Session & Exhibition is held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West Building in Vancouver, BC, Canada from June 19-22, 2019.

* This article was originally published here

NASA helps warn of harmful algal blooms in lakes, reservoirs

Harmful algal blooms can cause big problems in coastal areas and lakes across the United States. When toxin-containing aquatic organisms multiply and form a bloom, it can sicken people and pets, contaminate drinking water, and force closures at boating and swimming sites.

* This article was originally published here

Advanced computational modeling of the gut for biodefense

The Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) has developed a high-resolution model of the gut immune system by using advanced computational systems. The new high-performance computing (HPC)-driven model of the gut predicts new emerging behaviors and responses to biological threats. The gut ecosystem includes trillions of interactions between host epithelial and immune cells, molecules (cytokines, chemokines and metabolites) and microbes is a massively and dynamically interacting network, similar to a multidimensional jigsaw puzzle with pieces that are constantly changing shape. These interactions with cooperativity and feedback lead to nonlinear dynamics and unforeseen emergent behaviors across spatiotemporal scales. The NIMML model of the gut facilitates discovering new knowledge within this complex system for biodefense applications.

* This article was originally published here

PSI imaging helps with rocket launches

Rockets from the European Space Agency (ESA) fly into space with support from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Imaging carried out at PSI in cooperation with Dassault Aviation ensures the quality of certain components of the Ariane 5 and Vega launch vehicles. With the help of the neutrons generated at the neutron source SINQ, PSI researchers are screening so-called pyrotechnic components that are installed in the ESA rockets. These components, which act like fuse cords and igniters, ensure, among other things, that the booster rockets are dropped at the right hundredth of a second. The Ariane launch on 20 June took place with components that had been examined at PSI.

* This article was originally published here

Waymo teams up with Renault, Nissan on robotaxis outside US

Self-driving car pioneer Waymo is teaming up with automakers Renault and Nissan to make its first journey outside the U.S. with a ride-hailing service that will dispatch a fleet of robotaxis in France and Japan.

* This article was originally published here

Multi-mobile (M2) computing system makes Android, iOS apps sharable on multiple devices

Computer scientists at Columbia Engineering have developed a new computing system that enables current, unmodified mobile apps to combine and share multiple devices, including cameras, displays, speakers, microphones, sensors, and GPS, across multiple smartphones and tablets. Called M2, the new system operates across heterogeneous systems, including Android and iOS, combining the functionality of multiple mobile systems into a more powerful one that gives users a seamless experience across the various systems.

* This article was originally published here

New e-tattoo enables accurate, uninterrupted heart monitoring for days

The leading cause of death in Texas is heart disease, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, accounting for more than 45,000 deaths statewide in 2017. A new wearable technology made from stretchy, lightweight material could make heart health monitoring easier and more accurate than existing electrocardiograph machines—a technology that has changed little in almost a century.

* This article was originally published here

Next-gen solar cells spin in new direction: Phosphorene shows efficiency promise

A nanomaterial made from phosphorus, known as phosphorene, is shaping up as a key ingredient for more sustainable and efficient next-generation perovskite solar cells (PSCs).

* This article was originally published here

Neural networks taught to recognize similar objects on videos without accuracy degradation

Andrey Savchenko, Professor at the Higher School of Economics (HSE University), has developed a method that can help to enhance image identification on videos. In his project, a network was taught by a new algorithm and can now make decisions on image recognition and classification at a rate 10 times faster than before. This research was presented in the paper "Sequential three-way decisions in multi-category image recognition with deep features based on distance factor" published in Information Sciences.

* This article was originally published here

National emergency alerts potentially vulnerable to attack

On October 3, 2018, cell phones across the United States received a text message labeled "Presidential Alert." The message read: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."

* This article was originally published here