California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Using 3-D printing and novel semiconductors, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a power inverter that could make electric vehicles lighter, more powerful and more efficient. At the core of this development is wide bandgap material made of silicon carbide with qualities superior to standard semiconductor materials. Power inverters

What happens in the early days of organ development? How do a small group of cells organize to become a heart, a brain, or a kidney? This critical period of development has long remained the black box of developmental biology, in part because no sensor was small or flexible enough to observe this process without

A multidisciplinary Brazilian research team has developed a biosensor to measure pesticide content on food produce, water and soil. The technology is in its development phase, but if developed into a commercial product it could provide a cheap, affordable and portable method to monitor this type of contamination. The biosensor is the result of a

Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology teamed up with colleagues from the U.S. and Switzerland and returned the state of a quantum computer a fraction of a second into the past. They also calculated the probability that an electron in empty interstellar space will spontaneously travel back into its recent past. The study comes

Light-based devices could be used as biomedical sensors or as flexible connectors for electronics. Researchers at MIT and several other institutions have developed a method for making photonic devices — similar to electronic devices but based on light rather than electricity — that can bend and stretch without damage. The devices could find uses in

The company lays out five unsolved challenges that need to be addressed if smart machines such as domestic robots are to be safe. Could machines become so intelligent and powerful they pose a threat to human life, or even humanity as a whole? It’s a question that has become fashionable in some parts of Silicon

Schools and universities are embracing technology that tailors content to students’ abilities and takes teachers out of the lecturing business. But is it an improvement? When Arnecia Hawkins enrolled at Arizona State University last fall, she did not realize she was volunteering as a test subject in an experimental reinvention of American higher education. Yet

Image via Wikipedia Headsets could make many office landline phones unnecessary HEADSETS are staples for call-center workers, travel agents and many other people who have to talk frequently on the phone. With a headset to listen and speak through, both hands are free to work, and a shoulder needn’t stiffen to cradle the phone. Now,

Researchers are now developing personalised food for elderly people with chewing or swallowing problems, by working on printable versions of meat and vegetables In Europe, the population is ageing. In 2010, about 17% of the population were 65 or older. This number is projected to increase to 30% of the population by 2060. New services