news 2018

Research news Many chemical processes run so fast that they are only roughly understood. To clarify these processes, a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now developed a methodology with a resolution of quintillionths of a second. The new technology stands to help better understand processes like photosynthesis and develop faster computer chips.

To improve diagnosis and treatment of children under five, Swiss TPH together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) developed the electronic decision support tool ALMANACH.

Scientists at Imperial College London have become the first in the world to test how pathogens interact with artificial human organs. Artificial human organs, or organ-on-chip technologies, simulate a whole organ's cell make up and physiology. They act as alternatives to animal models in drug safety testing, but until now they have not been used to test how infectious diseases interact with the organs.

How much impact does research carried out at individual universities have on innovation globally? To find out, a team of scientists from several schools developed a ranking system based on citations in patent literature. And on that score, EPFL sits in seventh place, just behind Stanford and above the California Institute of Technology.

A map created by Stanford geophysicists can help predict which parts of West Texas and New Mexico may be at risk of fracking-induced earthquakes. The map could guide oil discovery efforts in the region. Stanford geophysicists have developed a detailed map of the stresses that act in the Earth throughout the Permian Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, highlighting areas of the oil-rich region that could be at greater risk for future earthquakes induced by production operations.

Using augmented reality in the operating theatre could help surgeons to improve the outcome of reconstructive surgery for patients. In a series of procedures carried out by a team at Imperial College London at St Mary's Hospital, researchers have shown for the first time how surgeons can use Microsoft HoloLens headsets while operating on patients undergoing reconstructive lower limb surgery.

Technology that accurately monitors food intake could help to better distribute food resources to communities and vulnerable people around the world. A new project to research the underlying technology - funded by a $US 1.5 million grant the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - will see researchers from the Hamlyn Centre at Imperial College London developing wearable and wall mounted sensors and AI technology to monitor how households consume food.

A type of battery first invented nearly five decades ago could catapult to the forefront of energy storage technologies, thanks to a new finding by researchers at MIT and other institutions. The battery, based on electrodes made of sodium and nickel chloride and using a new type of metal mesh membrane, could be used for grid-scale installations to make intermittent power sources such as wind and solar capable of delivering reliable baseload electricity.

TU Wien can now produce porous structures in monocrystalline silicon carbide. This opens up new possibilities for the realization of micro-and nanomachined sensors and electronic components, but also for integrated optical mirror elements to filter certain colours. Extremely fine porous structures with tiny holes - resembling a kind of sponge at nano level - can be generated in semiconductors.

People are more likely to go with their gut and trust personal opinions irrespective of evidence that might be presented during an election or referendum campaign, according to an important new economic study. A new paper, published by our Department of Economics , shows that voters tend to retain strong attachment to their own opinions even when this is challenged by evidence.

A prototype device for gauging patients' immunity to Ebola has been developed by a multi-institutional team of experts led by Imperial College London. The device, which was developed in collaboration with UCL , works in a similar way to a pregnancy test. However instead of detecting hormones, it looks for an antibody called Immunoglobulin G (IgG), which is released following exposure to certain viruses.

People are more likely to go with their gut and trust personal opinions irrespective of evidence that might be presented during an election or referendum campaign, according to an important new economic study. A new paper, published by our Department of Economics , shows that voters tend to retain strong attachment to their own opinions even when this is challenged by evidence.

Researchers at EPFL have developed a system that can be installed in a building to collect data on people's energy usage. The aim is then to send this data directly to a smart electric grid that will allocate resources optimally. A smart grid that decides how best to distribute energy based on availability, cost and customers' needs - that's the energy concept being developed by researchers in the School of Engineering's Electronics Laboratory.

A promising new approach to detect immunity to Ebola virus infection has been developed by researchers from i-sense in a collaboration between UCL and Imperial College London. Published in ACS Nano , the new approach uses lateral flow technology, similar to that of a pregnancy test, coupled with smartphones to provide a promising alternative to lab-based testing.

In everyday life we look and touch things to find out what they are made of. A powerful scientific technique does the same using lasers - and in two years' time it will fly in space for the first time. A researcher working with ESA has been investigating how lasers might be used in future space missions.

Potentially life-saving 'health monitor' technology designed by University of Sussex physicists Sick babies in remote parts of the world could be monitored from afar, thanks to new wearable technology designed by physicists at the University of Sussex. And parents at home, concerned about the risk of cot death, could keep track of their new babies' heart and breathing rates with automatic updates to their smartphones, using 'fitness tracker'-style technology built into baby sleep suits.

25 spin-offs were founded at ETH Zurich last year. This equals the previous year's record level for new ETH spin-offs.

An international team of astronomers has revealed an 'astonishing' overabundance of massive stars in a neighbouring galaxy. The discovery, made in the gigantic star-forming region 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy, has 'far-reaching' consequences for our understanding of how stars transformed the pristine Universe into the one we live in today.

People are more likely to go with their gut and trust personal opinions irrespective of evidence that might be presented during an election or referendum campaign, according to an important new economic study. A new paper, published by our Department of Economics , shows that voters tend to retain strong attachment to their own opinions even when this is challenged by evidence.