Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed

Humans no longer have exclusive control over training social robots to interact effectively, thanks to a new study. The study introduces a new simulation method that lets researchers test their social robots without needing human participants, making research faster and scalable.

More than 400 underwater sites in the United States are potentially contaminated with unexploded ordnance -- weapons that did not explode upon deployment.

Researchers have developed a novel framework named WildFusion that fuses vision, vibration and touch to enable robots to 'sense' and navigate complex outdoor environments much like humans do.

A research team has developed a novel haptic device designed to enhance both safety and efficiency for workers in industrial settings.

Although glasses exhibit disordered atomic structures, X-ray and neutron scattering reveal a subtle periodicity. Researchers have demonstrated that this hidden periodicity -- referred to as 'invisible order' -- plays a critical role in determining vibrational fluctuations in the terahertz (THz) frequency range, which significantly influence the physical properties of glass.

A team of chemists has made significant strides in the field of mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs). Their work showcases the development of a compact catenane with tuneable mechanical chirality, offering promising applications in areas such as material science, nanotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.

A new discovery could mean more donor hearts are available for heart transplant, giving more people a second chance at life.

Underwater or aerial vehicles with dimples like golf balls could be more efficient and maneuverable, a new prototype has demonstrated.

An unprecedented international effort to decode how cells manage the transport of chemical substances has culminated in four groundbreaking studies This decade-long project provides the first comprehensive functional blueprint of chemical transport pathways in human cells.

A team was able to show that swimming movements are possible even without a central control unit. This not only explains the behavior of microorganisms, it could also enable nanobots to move in a targeted manner, for example to transport drugs to the right place in the body.

A new AI chip works without the cloud server or internet connections needed by existing chips. The AI Pro, designed by Prof Hussam Amrouch, is modelled on the human brain. Its innovative neuromorphic architecture enables it to perform calculations on the spot, ensuring full cyber security. It is also up to ten times more energy efficient.

If you've ever watched a flock of birds move in perfect unison or seen ripples travel across a pond, you've witnessed nature's remarkable ability to coordinate motion. Recently, a team of scientists and engineers has discovered a similar phenomenon on a microscopic scale, where tiny magnetic particles driven by rotating fields spontaneously move along the edges of clusters driven by invisible 'edge currents' that follow the rules of an unexpected branch of physics.

Researchers have developed a 3D micro-printed sensor for highly sensitive on-chip biosensing, opening new opportunities for developing high-performance, cost-effective lab-on-a-chip devices for early disease diagnosis.

Newly discovered weapons of bacterial self-defense take different approaches to achieving the same goal: preventing a virus from spreading through the bacterial population.

Millions of years of evolution have enabled some marine animals to grow complex protective shells composed of multiple layers that work together to dissipate physical stress. In a new study, engineers have found a way to mimic the behavior of this type of layered material, such as seashell nacre, by programming individual layers of synthetic material to work collaboratively under stress. The new material design is poised to enhance energy-absorbing systems such as wearable bandages and car bumpers with multistage responses that adapt to collision severity.

New research details how infrared thermography, high-definition imaging and neural network analysis can combine to make concrete bridge inspections more efficient. Researchers are hopeful that their findings can be leveraged by engineers through a combination of these methods to strategically pinpoint bridge conditions and better allocate repair costs.

Janus heterobilayers -- dual-sided materials with unique properties -- may be the key to efficiently creating clean hydrogen fuels.

Researchers have designed a high-performance, open-access continuous flow process to safely produce key antibacterial drugs from bio-based furfural.

Investigators are developing a new type of auditory brainstem implant that is designed to be soft, and flexible and address limitations of models currently in use. These implants may one day benefit people who can't receive a cochlear implant, such as those with Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) and other severe inner ear abnormalities. In a new preclinical study, researchers report on benefits in large animal models, and based on the results, hope for future trials in humans.

Molecules like DNA are capable of storing large amounts of data without requiring an energy source, but accessing this molecular data is expensive and time consuming. Researchers have now developed an alternative method to encode information in synthetic molecules, which they used to encode and then decode an 11-character password to unlock a computer.