Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / How small can optical computers get? Scaling laws reveal new strategies

By studying the theoretical limits of how light can be used to perform computation, Cornell researchers have uncovered new insights and strategies for designing energy-efficient optical computing systems.

Tech Xplore / Machine learning algorithm rapidly reconstructs 3D images from X-ray data

Soon, researchers may be able to create movies of their favorite protein or virus better and faster than ever before. Researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have pioneered a new machine ...

Nov 20, 2025 in Computer Sciences
Tech Xplore / The cost of thinking: Reasoning models share aspects of information processing with human brains

Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT can write an essay or plan a menu almost instantly. But until recently, it was also easy to stump them. The models, which rely on language patterns to respond to users' queries, often ...

Nov 20, 2025 in Machine learning & AI
Tech Xplore / Nature-inspired hydrogel offers power-free thermal management

The poplar (Populus alba) has a unique survival strategy: when exposed to hot and dry conditions, it curls its leaves to expose the ventral surface, reflecting sunlight, and at night, the moisture condensed on the leaf surface ...

Nov 20, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Lightweight design benchmark enables direct comparison of different methods

How can components be designed for an optimal balance of minimal weight and maximum robustness? This is a challenge faced by many industries, from medical device manufacturing to the automotive and aeronautics sectors.

Nov 20, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / How modified robotic prosthetics could help address hip and back problems for amputees

Researchers have developed a new algorithm that combines two processes for personalizing robotic prosthetic devices to both optimize the movement of the prosthetic limb and—for the first time—also help a human user's ...

Nov 20, 2025 in Software
Tech Xplore / NASA's X-59 completes first flight, prepares for more flight testing

After years of design, development, and testing, NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft took to the skies for the first time Oct. 28, marking a historic moment for the field of aeronautics research and the agency's ...

Nov 20, 2025 in Hi Tech & Innovation
Tech Xplore / Study shows waste cardboard is effective for power generation

A new study has shown for the first time that waste cardboard can be used as an effective source of biomass fuel for large-scale power generation.

Nov 20, 2025 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / Microrobots overcome navigational limitations with the help of 'artificial spacetimes'

Microrobots—tiny robots less than a millimeter in size—are useful in a variety of applications that require tasks to be completed at scales far too small for other tools, such as targeted drug-delivery or micro-manufacturing. ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Robotics
Tech Xplore / New green homes in the UK put less strain on the grid than models predicted

A study of some of the first net-zero-ready homes in the UK has found that their peak grid power demand is far lower than planners had anticipated. The research confirms that these all-electric homes can significantly cut ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / AI agent learns to create 3D objects from sketches using CAD software

Computer-aided design (CAD) is the go-to method for designing most of today's physical products. Engineers use CAD to turn 2D sketches into 3D models that they can then test and refine before sending a final version to a ...

Nov 19, 2025 in Software
Tech Xplore / Half of novelists believe AI is likely to replace their work entirely, research finds

Just over half (51%) of published novelists in the UK believe that artificial intelligence is likely to end up entirely replacing their work as fiction writers, a new University of Cambridge report shows.

Nov 19, 2025 in Business