Hacking and computer security. Read today's research news on hacking and protecting against codebreakers. New software, secure data sharing, and more.
Updated: 6 hours 34 min ago
Fri, 03/14/2025 - 8:38am
Digital voice recordings contain valuable information that can indicate an individual's cognitive health, offering a non-invasive and efficient method for assessment. Research has demonstrated that digital voice measures can detect early signs of cognitive decline by analyzing features such as speech rate, articulation, pitch variation and pauses, which may signal cognitive impairment when deviating from normative patterns. However, voice data introduces privacy challenges due to the personally identifiable information embedded in recordings, such as gender, accent and emotional state, as well as more subtle speech characteristics that can uniquely identify individuals. These risks are amplified when voice data is processed by automated systems, raising concerns about re-identification and potential misuse of data.
Thu, 03/13/2025 - 12:18pm
Researchers have advanced a decades-old challenge in the field of organic semiconductors, opening new possibilities for the future of electronics. The researchers have created an organic semiconductor that forces electrons to move in a spiral pattern, which could improve the efficiency of OLED displays in television and smartphone screens, or power next-generation computing technologies such as spintronics and quantum computing.
Thu, 03/13/2025 - 10:08am
Researchers have performed the first imaging of embryos using cameras designed for quantum measurements. The academics investigated how to best use ultrasensitive camera technology, including the latest generation of cameras that can count individual packets of light energy at each pixel, for life sciences.
Thu, 03/13/2025 - 10:05am
Some of the world's most advanced AI systems struggle to tell the time and work out dates on calendars, a study suggests.
Thu, 03/13/2025 - 10:05am
A modulator has now broken the terahertz mark. The ultrafast component efficiently transmits large volumes of data into the fiber-optic network in a short space of time.
Thu, 03/13/2025 - 10:05am
With today's data rates of only a few hundred megabytes per second, access to digital information remains relatively slow. Initial experiments have already shown a promising new strategy: Magnetic states can be read out by short current pulses, whereby recently discovered spintronic effects in purpose-built material systems could remove previous speed restrictions. Researchers are now providing proof of the feasibility of such ultrafast data sources. Instead of electrical pulses, they use ultrashort terahertz light pulses, thereby enabling the read-out of magnetic structures within picoseconds.
Wed, 03/12/2025 - 10:46am
Scientists have achieved the first real-time visualization of how 'excited-state aromaticity' emerges within just hundreds of femtoseconds and then triggers a molecule to change from bent to planar structure in a few picoseconds. By combining ultrafast electronic and vibrational spectroscopies, the team captured these fleeting structural changes at the molecular level and showed that aromaticity appears before -- and then drives -- the structural planarization. Their findings lay the groundwork for designing more efficient photoactive materials, such as sensors and light-driven molecular switches, by leveraging the power of aromaticity in excited states.
Wed, 03/12/2025 - 9:41am
Physicists have created a new computer code that could speed up the design of the complicated magnets that shape the plasma in stellarators, making the systems simpler and more affordable to build.
Wed, 03/12/2025 - 9:38am
Researchers have announced the creation of the first operating system designed for quantum networks: QNodeOS. The research marks a major step forward in transforming quantum networking from a theoretical concept to a practical technology that could revolutionize the future of the internet.
Wed, 03/12/2025 - 9:38am
Scientists have developed a compact optical amplifier based on a photonic chip that vastly outperforms traditional optical amplifiers in both bandwidth and efficiency. This breakthrough could reshape data center interconnects, AI accelerators, and high-performance computing.
Wed, 03/12/2025 - 9:38am
Researchers have demonstrated that phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs) exhibit both magnetic and semiconducting properties at room temperature. The research establishes PNRs as a unique class of low-dimensional materials that challenges conventional views on magnetic semiconductors, and could provide a stepping stone to unlocking new quantum technologies.
Tue, 03/11/2025 - 4:07pm
Scientists are using artificial intelligence to better capture how healthy cells surrounding tumors influence cancer cell behavior and how those interactions can inform treatments.
Tue, 03/11/2025 - 9:26am
Researchers are working on artificial muscles that can keep up with the real thing. They have now developed a method of producing the soft and elastic, yet powerful structures using 3D printing. One day, these could be used in medicine or robotics -- and anywhere else where things need to move at the touch of a button.
Tue, 03/11/2025 - 9:13am
Researchers combine acoustic monitoring with a neural network to identify fish activity on coral reefs by sound. They trained the network to sort through the deluge of acoustic data automatically, analyzing audio recordings in real time. Their algorithm can match the accuracy of human experts in deciphering acoustical trends on a reef, but it can do so more than 25 times faster, and it could change the way ocean monitoring and research is conducted.
Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:07pm
Physicists developed simplified formulas to quantify quantum entanglement in strongly correlated electron systems. Their approach was applied to nanoscale materials, revealing unexpected quantum behaviors and identifying key quantities for the Kondo effect. These findings advance understanding of quantum technologies.
Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:07pm
Originally described in the context of particles drifting through liquid, Levy walk has been found to accurately describe a very wide range of phenomena, from cold atom dynamics to swarming bacteria. And now, a new study has found Levy walk in the movements of competing groups of organisms: football teams.
Mon, 03/10/2025 - 1:40pm
In a new study, researchers explored how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance performance and trust in knowledge work environments. They found that when AI systems provided feedback in real-time, performance and trust increased.
Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:45am
Over 120 years ago, Henry Ernest Dudeney posed the famous dissection problem of transforming a triangle into a square by cutting it into as few pieces as possible. In a new study, researchers have finally proved that the original solution, which involves only four pieces, is optimal by using a new proof technique. This technique shows for the first time that it is possible to prove the optimality of the solution to a dissection problem.
Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:42am
Researchers have developed PhyloFrame, a machine-learning tool that uses artificial intelligence to account for ancestral diversity in genetic data.
Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:41am
Researchers have developed an AI-based learning system that recognizes strengths and weaknesses in mathematics by tracking eye movements with a webcam to generate problem-solving hints. This enables teachers to provide significantly more children with individualized support.
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