Astronomers have caught a supermassive black hole straying far from the centre of its galaxy using light from a star being ripped apart
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Single patch merges multiple physiological signals for simpler health monitoring
Wearable health monitors have grown increasingly capable, but most are still limited by the fact that tracking different types of body signals requires separate sensors, each with its own circuitry and patch of skin. That leads to bulkier devices, higher power consumption and greater discomfort for anyone who needs round-the-clock monitoring.
A research team led by Assistant Professor Liu Yuxin from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS CDE), has developed a cross-modal skin sensor that overcomes this constraint.
Named X-Sig, the device fuses the body’s electrical impulses, such as heart rhythms and muscle signals, with its mechanical signals, such as pulse pressure waves and the forces generated by muscle contractions, into a single composite waveform transmitted through one channel.
Plant polymer lignin shows promise for future bone regeneration
A new study reveals that lignin — a natural plant polymer — can be transformed into a bioactive material that promotes the formation of bone-like minerals while supporting the growth of bone-forming cells. Inspired by the natural partnership between lignin and silica in plants, the research offers a promising step toward sustainable, plant-based materials for future bone regeneration therapies.
A naturally abundant plant material best known for giving trees and crops their strength may one day help repair broken bones, according to a new study led by postdoctoral researcher Dr. Srinath Palakurthy and Prof. Rivka Elbaum of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The research demonstrates that lignin — a major structural component of plants — can be engineered into a bioactive material that encourages the formation of hydroxyapatite, the mineral that gives human bones and teeth their strength.
Published in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, the study offers a promising step toward more sustainable, plant-based alternatives to current bone graft materials, many of which are derived from animals or synthetic sources. Such materials are increasingly sought after as researchers work to develop safer, more environmentally friendly solutions for repairing damaged bone.
Intel Emerges as America’s Only LeadingEdge Chipmaker as RAMPC Hands the Department of War Domestic 18A Production
Intel has completed its RAMP-C program, which now aims to enable customers to move from test chips to domestic high-volume manufacturing.
Press Release: Intel Foundry has completed the Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes — Commercial (RAMP-C) program. Launched in September 2021, the program supported development of domestic, leading-edge CMOS technology and manufacturing in the United States, establishing a foundation for expanded trusted domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
New research shows how ‘hot electrons’ can reshape metals in billionths of a second
Researchers at The University of Manchester have revealed how intense electronic excitation can trigger rapid structural changes in metals—without heating the atomic lattice—offering new insight into ultrafast materials behavior.
When metals are exposed to powerful laser pulses, their electrons can heat up almost instantly, reaching extreme temperatures while the atoms themselves remain relatively cold. This study shows that, under these conditions, the behavior of the material is driven not by heat in the traditional sense, but by changes in the electronic system.
Published in Physical Review Materials, the research, led by Dr. Sam Azadi, demonstrates that this electronic “reheating” alone can cause metals to switch between different crystal structures in a fraction of a picosecond.
Hubble shows star formation in Andromeda galaxy is winding down
A new study using data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope finds that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years. Andromeda, a spiral galaxy comparable in size to our Milky Way, is close enough to be seen with the unaided eye from areas with dark skies. Located about 2.5 million light-years from Earth—practically our cosmic backyard—Andromeda offers an opportunity for astronomers to examine its stellar populations in detail, leading to a better understanding of the past of galaxies like our own.
The results were published Monday in The Astrophysical Journal.
Genesis chip may help AI with its memory problem
One of artificial intelligence’s most stubborn problems is enabling AI systems to accumulate new knowledge without losing what they previously learned. A team of researchers at the MATRIX AI Consortium at The University of Texas at San Antonio may have solved this issue with Genesis, a spiking neuromorphic accelerator chip that would enable on-device continual learning throughout its operational lifetime.
Imagine a security drone trained to patrol a dense forest to spot signs of wildfire. After months of honing its ability to identify smoke among pine trees, the drone is reassigned to a coastal region to watch for floods. The moment the drone learns to interpret these new types of images, it might completely lose its ability to detect a forest fire. In the world of artificial intelligence, this phenomenon is known as “catastrophic forgetting,” and it remains one of the biggest hurdles to creating truly intelligent, autonomous agents.
Commander Jessica Meir and Crew Check Spacesuits, Prep for Spacewalks
The seven-member Expedition 75 crew worked throughout Tuesday on spacesuit checks, eye exams, and exercise research aboard the International Space Station. Earth imagery and lab inventory duties rounded out the day for the orbital residents.
NASA has scheduled three spacewalks in August to continue upgrading solar arrays, replace a communications antenna, and connect power and data cables in support of space station operations. Station commander Jessica Meir and flight engineer Anil Menon, both from NASA, will conduct the first spacewalk beginning at 7:35 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Aug. 6. The duo will spend about six-and-a-half hours in the vacuum of space preparing the orbital outpost for its seventh roll out solar array to augment its power system. Mission managers will discuss the upcoming spacewalks during a news conference on NASA+ beginning a at 2 p.m. EDT, Thursday, July 30, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Meir and Menon joined flight engineers Jack Hathaway of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) in the Quest airlock and checked out a pair of spacesuits. The quartet first verified the suits for comfort, mobility, and fitness for the upcoming spacewalks. Next, they powered on the suits and tested the life support and electronics systems. NASA will soon announce the spacewalkers for the second and third spacewalks.
Generative Bionics’ smart robot skin prevents collisions
Humanoids and humans are increasingly sharing factory floors, but one is made of metal and the other of flesh and bones, a mismatch that rarely ends well for us in a collision. Italian startup Generative Bionics thinks it has a fix: a humanoid robot covered in sensing skin that feels people approaching and adjusts its movements before any contact occurs.
The robot, called Gene.01, is wrapped in a network of sensors running from its torso to its limbs. This smart skin tracks touch, temperature, proximity, and force simultaneously, letting the robot anticipate a person’s presence and react before and during contact. It’s a bit like pulling your hand away from a hot stove before you actually touch it. The heat you feel from a distance is enough to make you stop.
The same sensors let humans physically teach the robot new tasks. Rather than only showing Gene.01 a movement on video, a person can guide its arm directly, helping it learn exactly how much force to apply. Generative Bionics says this solves one of humanoid robotics’ persistent headaches: teaching a machine to grip an object firmly enough that it doesn’t drop it but gently enough that it doesn’t crush it – a skill that’s hard to learn from video alone.