Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / Biodegradable electronics can break down into harmful microplastics

Northeastern University researchers have discovered that materials used in the development of transient electronics—devices designed to biodegrade at the end of their life—can break down into microplastics, casting doubt ...

Dec 22, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Washing machine filter captures microfibers as small as 20 micrometers in size

A single laundry load containing synthetic clothing can release thousands of plastic microfibers from nylon, acrylic and polyester materials. Lab testing of an SA-made washing machine filter at Flinders University shows it ...

Dec 22, 2025 in Consumer & Gadgets
Tech Xplore / Who should get paid when AI learns from creative work?

As generative AI systems become more deeply woven into the fabric of modern life—drafting text, generating images, summarizing news—debates over who should profit from the technology are intensifying.

Dec 22, 2025 in Business
Tech Xplore / Shrinking AI memory boosts accuracy, study finds

Researchers have developed a new way to compress the memory used by AI models to increase their accuracy in complex tasks or help save significant amounts of energy.

Dec 22, 2025 in Computer Sciences
Tech Xplore / Uber and Lyft plan to bring robotaxis to London in partnerships with China's Baidu

Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft plan to bring robotaxi services to London next year in separate partnerships with Chinese tech giant Baidu, the companies said Monday.

Dec 22, 2025 in Hi Tech & Innovation
Tech Xplore / Ionic liquids slow perovskite degradation: Solar cells retain 90% performance at 90°C

Solar cells, devices that can generate electricity from sunlight, are already helping to reduce fossil fuel emissions in many countries worldwide. In recent years, energy engineers have been assessing the potential of materials ...

Dec 21, 2025 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / Industrial solar cells achieve 26.09% efficiency with reduced silver use and better bifacial performance

A research team led by Prof. Ye Jichun from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with partners, has proposed a synergistic technical solution ...

Dec 20, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Ultra-low power, fully biodegradable artificial synapse offers record-breaking memory

In Nature Communications, a research team affiliated with UNIST present a fully biodegradable, robust, and energy-efficient artificial synapse that holds great promise for sustainable neuromorphic technologies. Made entirely ...

Dec 19, 2025 in Robotics
Tech Xplore / Vapor-deposition method delivers unprecedented durability in perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells

NUS researchers have developed a vapor-deposition method that dramatically improves the long-term and high-temperature stability of perovskite-silicon (Si) tandem solar cells. The findings were published in Science.

Dec 19, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Creating realistic 3D scenes from everyday online photos

A new approach is making it easier to visualize lifelike 3D environments from everyday photos already shared online, opening new possibilities in industries such as gaming, virtual tourism and cultural preservation.

Dec 19, 2025 in Computer Sciences
Tech Xplore / Generative AIs fail at the game of visual 'telephone'

Generative AIs may not be as creative as we assume. Publishing in the journal Patterns, researchers show that when image-generating and image-describing AIs pass the same descriptive scene back and forth, they quickly veer ...

Dec 19, 2025 in Computer Sciences
Tech Xplore / New study reveals that AI cannot fully write like a human

A world's first study shows that AI-generated writing continues to display distinct stylistic patterns that set it apart from human prose. Led by researchers at University College Cork (UCC), the research explores whether ...

Dec 19, 2025 in Machine learning & AI