news 2023

Researchers have developed a hybrid device that significantly improves existing, ubiquitous laser technology. The team at EPFL's Photonic Systems Laboratory (PHOSL) has developed a chip-scale laser source that enhances the performance of semiconductor lasers while enabling the generation of shorter wavelengths.

From clean energy technologies to an antenna on the moon, 2023 was a great year for science at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ÜBerkeley Lab). We made great leaps in fundamental research that will shape future discoveries for decades to come and developed new solutions and processes poised to make near-term impacts.

We put ChatGPT 4 to the test, asking it to read two scholarly studies produced at the university and summarize them in a pair of newsy articles for UdeM Nouvelles. The results were.. mixed. Credit: Miriam Beauchamp (Marc Antoine Charlebois) and Laurence Perreault-Levasseur (Mila Quebec) How good is ChatGPT at reading and synthesizing science, specifically the highly detailed science published as peer-reviewed studies in scholarly journals? To find out, we put the chatbot to the test, twice.

Sophisticated new analysis of the physical processes which create the sounds of speech could help empower people with speech impairments and create new applications for voice recognition technologies, researchers say. Sophisticated new analysis of the physical processes which create the sounds of speech could help empower people with speech impairments and create new applications for voice recognition technologies, researchers say.

How do chatbots based on the transformer architecture decide what to pay attention to in a conversation? They've made their own machine learning algorithms to tell them Chatbot users often recommend treating a series of prompts like a conversation, but how does the chatbot know what you're referring back to? A new study reveals the mechanism used by transformer models-like those driving modern chatbots-to decide what to pay attention to.

Researchers have trained an artificial intelligence to design the structure of so-called metamaterials with desired mechanical properties for a wide range of applications. Bike helmets that absorb the energy of an impact, running shoes that give you an extra boost with every step, or implants that behave just like natural bone.

Most people can relate to having a laptop charger break right where the flexible cable meets the solid adapter. This is just one example of how difficult it is to effectively interface hard and soft materials. Using a unique 3D printing process, TU Delft researchers produced hybrid multi-material interfaces that reached a remarkable closeness to nature's design of bone-tendon connections.

Heidelberg University and BASF continue research cooperation - One main area of research is the chemical recycling plastic waste BASF and Heidelberg University will do research together for another five years in the Catalysis Research Laboratory (CaRLa) founded in 2006. The two partners have signed an agreement to this effect, extending their successful research cooperation until 2028.

Imperial College London researchers speak to us about their work exploring animal-free methods for the future of testing cosmetics safety. Testing cosmetics on live animals was outlawed by the EU in 2013, but animal tissues continue to be used to test for dermal absorption, a measure of how much a chemical permeates the skin to reach the bloodstream.

Researchers use AI to identify toxic substances in wastewater with greater accuracy and speed An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Waterloo is using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify microplastics faster and more accurately than ever before. Microplastics are commonly found in food and are dangerous pollutants that cause severe environmental damage - finding them is the key to getting rid of them.

In 1941 Hans Jenny made a seminal contribution to Soil Sciences by proposing a mathematical equation within the so-called soil-landscape model, which, although essentially descriptive, constitutes the central paradigm of this discipline.

Surprisingly little is actually known about how the knee works. ETH professor Bill Taylor plans to change this with a unique technology and a new 22-metre-long experimental facility.   "The knee is the most exciting of all the joints in the human body," says Bill Taylor, Professor of Movement Biomechanics at the Department of Health Sciences and Technology.

Now that ChatGPT can "see" and "hear," could it be useful for people with mobility, sensory or cognitive disabilities? Whether it's a question of analyzing medical images, detecting drug interactions, or creating brain-computer interfaces, it seems like the potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare industry are endless.

Professor Benedetto Marelli develops silk-based technologies with uses "from lab to fork," including helping crops grow and preserving perishable foods. Growing up in Milan, Benedetto Marelli liked figuring out how things worked. He repaired broken devices simply to have the opportunity to take them apart and put them together again.

Integrating photons into electronic chips expands bandwidth and filter control New semiconductor architecture integrates traditional electronics with photonic, or light, components. Designed by Dr Alvaro Casas Bedoya in the School of Physics, the chip could have application in advanced radar, satellites, wireless networks and 6G telecommunications.

Remote teams are less likely to make breakthrough discoveries compared to those who work onsite, according to published in Nature [29 Nov], led by the universities of Oxford and Pittsburgh into the international rise of remote collaborations among scientists and inventors. The researchers' key finding was that, while remote collaboration has the potential to deliver new and creative scientific ideas through easier access to a global knowledge pool, it is harder for such teams to integrate effectively to deliver breakthroughs.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology More stable clocks could measure quantum phenomena, including the presence of dark matter. The practice of keeping time hinges on stable oscillations. In a grandfather clock, the length of a second is marked by a single swing of the pendulum. In a digital watch, the vibrations of a quartz crystal mark much smaller fractions of time.

University of Waterloo researchers are pioneering a method to detect breast cancer in women early enough for them to receive life-saving treatment. The innovative technology will be cheaper and safer than common cancer diagnostic tools. The innovative technology aims to be more accurate as well as cheaper to provide than today's most common diagnostic tools such as X-ray mammography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

McGill researchers have made a breakthrough in diagnostic technology, inventing a 'lab on a chip' that can be 3D-printed in just 30 minutes. The chip has the potential to make on-the-spot testing widely accessible. As part of a recent study, the results of which were published in the journal  Advanced Materials, the McGill team developed capillaric chips that act as miniature laboratories.

In the Christian Doppler Laboratory under his leadership, Franz Wotawa has developed test and monitoring procedures with company partner AVL that make common driver assistance systems safer. Intelligent Speed Assist, Emergency Brake Assist, Emergency Lane Keeping Assist, Driver Drowsiness Assist, Reversing Assist, Low Concentration Warning System or Emergency Brake Lights - from July 2024, a whole range of safety and driver assistance systems will be mandatory for all new cars in the European Union.