Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / Phase-changing VO₂ turns methane into propane and hydrogen more efficiently

Converting methane, the primary component of natural gas, into higher alkanes and hydrogen, could be highly advantageous. Alkanes, such as propane and butane, are easier to transport than methane and are used in a wider range ...

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / Revealing the hidden logic behind AI's judgments of people

In a world where artificial intelligence is quietly shaping who gets hired, who receives loans, and even how medical decisions are made, a new question is emerging: How does AI judge us? A new study by Prof. Yaniv Dover and ...

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / Kale, cabbage, and broccoli could turn toxic soil into a new source of critical thallium metal

University of Queensland geochemist Dr. Amelia Corzo-Remigio said powerful X-rays confirmed crops in the Brassicaceae family had strong "phytomining" potential because of the mechanisms they evolved to extract traces of the ...

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / Mechanical computers use springs and bolts to count, sort odd-even pushes and remember force

Published in Nature Communications, researchers from St. Olaf College and Syracuse University built a computer made entirely of mechanical components that can perform simple computations without electricity or batteries.

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / AI model simulates smartphone muscle effort, revealing which swipes are most tiring

Prolonged scrolling is bad for your well-being, but is it also physically tiring? Until now, we haven't really been able to say. This is why researchers from Aalto and Leipzig Universities created a new AI model that makes ...

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / This robot sees danger, decides its route and powers over obstacles while carrying loads

A KAIST research team has developed quadrupedal robot technology that not only enables walking by estimating terrain without visual information, but also allows the robot to perceive its surroundings through cameras and LiDAR ...

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / HarmonyGNN boosts graph AI accuracy on four tough benchmarks by up to 9.6%

Researchers have demonstrated a new training technique that significantly improves the accuracy of graph neural networks (GNNs)—AI systems used in applications from drug discovery to weather forecasting. GNNs are AI systems ...

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / Humanoid robots show off their language and boxing skills in Hong Kong

A humanoid robot about the size of a primary school student had something to share in Hong Kong—it sang songs and spoke to people in Mandarin and English, answering whatever questions they posed and delighting the audience ...

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / Quantum computers are coming to break our codes faster than anyone expected

Online data is generally pretty secure. Assuming everyone is careful with passwords and other protections, you can think of it as being locked in a vault so strong that even all the world's supercomputers, working together ...

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / Can hyper-real virtual worlds make us feel better?

Virtual reality tools have untapped potential to elicit positive emotions for use in education, health care, architecture and psychological therapy, according to a recent study from Murdoch University that looked at four ...

Apr 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / AI models can fake visual understanding of images that don't exist

It wasn't long ago that news headlines claimed that AI might soon assist radiologists in interpreting X-rays of broken bones and analyzing mammograms. We are still far from the destination, as a new study has brought to light ...

Apr 12, 2026
Tech Xplore / One tiny diode could shrink image sensors by adding memory and processing

P-n diodes are two-terminal devices that consist of two types of semiconductor materials (i.e., a p-type and an n-type material) joined together. These components allow electric current to only move in one direction, which ...

Apr 12, 2026