Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / Engineered yeast gives the US a green edge in the critical minerals market

There is a new, U.S.-based, environmentally friendly method for mining rare-earth elements used in consumer electronics, clean energy, defense and biomedical imaging. By using oxalic acid made by sugar-eating engineered yeast, ...

Mar 16, 2026
Tech Xplore / Cargo ships willing to travel farther reach greater efficiency, tanker tracking shows

In shipping, efficiency is everything. Take the shortest (safe) route between two points. Offload cargo as quickly as possible to the person who will pay you the most. Pick up your next load as fast as you can and start it ...

Mar 16, 2026
Tech Xplore / New chip lets robots see in 4D by tracking distance and speed simultaneously

Current vision systems for robots and drones rely on 3D sensors that, although powerful, do not always keep up with the fast-paced, unpredictable movement of the real world. These systems often struggle to measure speed instantly ...

Mar 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / Sulfide coating boosts lithium-ion battery lifespan past 1,000 cycles

Among the biggest complaints inhibiting growth in the electric vehicle market is the limited lifespan and range of lithium-ion batteries. Consumers fear being stranded far from home with long wait times at recharging stations. ...

Mar 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / Canine companion insights help robots locate objects with an 89% success rate

Whether in the kitchen or on a workshop floor, robot assistants that can fetch items for people could be extremely useful. Now, a team of Brown University researchers has developed a way of making robots better at figuring ...

Mar 13, 2026
Tech Xplore / A bicycle robot that can drive fast and jump over obstacles

Experienced human cyclists can perform a wide range of maneuvers and acrobatics while riding their bicycle, from balancing in place to riding on a single wheel or hopping over obstacles. Reproducing these agile maneuvers ...

Mar 12, 2026
Tech Xplore / How an acid found in grapes could help recycle battery metals

Cobalt and nickel are vital components for batteries, superalloys and catalysts, used in technologies ranging from smartphones to jet engines. But when it comes to recycling, they are notoriously difficult to separate because ...

Mar 12, 2026
Tech Xplore / Human brain and AI speech recognition decode speech in similar step-by-step stages, study finds

Over the past decades, computer scientists have developed numerous artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can process human speech in different languages. The extent to which these models replicate the brain processes ...

Mar 12, 2026
Tech Xplore / AI agents can autonomously coordinate propaganda campaigns without human direction

Imagine it is two weeks before a major election in a closely contested state. A controversial ballot measure is on the line. Suddenly, a wave of posts floods X, Reddit, and Facebook, all pushing the same narrative, all amplifying ...

Mar 12, 2026
Tech Xplore / Shortest paths research narrows a 25-year gap in graph algorithms

Most of you have used a navigation app like Google Maps for your travels at some point. These apps rely on algorithms that compute shortest paths through vast networks. Now imagine scaling that task to calculate distances ...

Mar 12, 2026
Tech Xplore / Microscopic metal 'thorns' shed light on how lithium-ion batteries short-circuit

For the first time, scientists have observed how tiny metal "thorns" called dendrites sprout inside lithium-ion batteries, which can cause the batteries to short-circuit. Their findings, published in the journal Science, ...

Mar 12, 2026
Tech Xplore / AI search robot uses 3D maps and internet knowledge to find lost items

A robot that can locate lost items on command, the latest development at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), combines knowledge from the internet with a spatial map of its surroundings to efficiently find the objects ...

Mar 12, 2026