Tech : Science World Report

Jan 31, 2014 10:40 PM EST

Computing With Silicon Neurons: Scientists Use Artificial Nerve Cells

Scientists in Germany are using artificial nerve cells to classify different types of data. These silicon 'neurons' could recognize handwritten numbers, or distinguish plant species based on their flowers.

Jan 31, 2014 09:47 PM EST

What Does Google Want With DeepMind? Here Are Three Clues

All eyes turned to London this week, as Google announced its latest acquisition in the form of DeepMind, a company that specialises in artificial intelligence technologies.

Jan 31, 2014 02:55 PM EST

Understanding the Function of a New Type of Solar Cell

Scientists have uncovered the mechanism by which novel, revolutionary solar cells based on lead iodide perovskite light-absorbing semiconductor transfer electrons along their surface.

Jan 31, 2014 11:47 AM EST

Research Overview: Graphene Prevents Icy Winter

In the unusually warm winter that bridges the years 2013 and 2014, graphene continues to be a hot topic of investigation - and we mean "hot" in the physics sense.

Jan 31, 2014 10:58 AM EST

World's First DNA Engineered Monkeys Crispr/Cas9 Born in Lab

Say hello to Crispr/Cas9--the world' first genetically modified monkeys birthed in a lab through the complexities of DNA engineering.

Jan 30, 2014 07:48 AM EST

Mollusk Inspired Glass That Bends and Does Not Break

Drawing inspiration from seashells, international scientists have created a glass that bends but does not break when dropped, rather it slights gets deformed.

Jan 29, 2014 11:58 PM EST

Machines Spell Change Rather Than Doom for White-Collar Work

If Google chairman Eric Schmidt is to be believed, the automation of jobs will be the “defining” problem of the next two to three decades. At a debate at Davos 2014, he warned that the constant development of new technology will put more and more middle class people out of work.

Jan 29, 2014 02:50 PM EST

GOTCHAs Outsmart Brute Force Password Thieves

Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, have developed a new password system that incorporates inkblots to provide an extra measure of protection when lists of passwords are stolen from websites.

Jan 28, 2014 11:42 PM EST

How Facebook Changed What it Means to 'Like'

The “like” is the predominant gesture on social media, whether you’re sticking to Facebook or shifting to Instagram. It may even be the most common gesture among humans nowadays. Some of us probably “like” content from our online friends more often than we communicate with them in real lif...

Jan 28, 2014 09:45 PM EST

Active Power Control of Wind Turbines Can Improve Power Grid Reliability

Researchers have completed a comprehensive study to understand how wind power technology can assist the power grid by controlling the active power output being placed onto the system.

Jan 28, 2014 06:58 PM EST

Crowdsourced RNA Designs Outperform Computer Algorithms

An enthusiastic group of non-experts, working through an online interface and receiving feedback from lab experiments, has produced designs for RNA molecules that are consistently more successful than those generated by the best computerized design algorithms, researchers report.

Jan 28, 2014 04:36 PM EST

New Quantum Dots Herald a New Era of Electronics Operating On a Single-Atom Level

The field of so-called solotronic structures enables experimental electronics and spintronics of the future, based on operations occurring on a single-atom level.