Bizarre Things: Computers & Math

January 26, 2025

Top Headlines

London Cabbies' Planning Strategies Could Help Inform Future of AI

Jan. 23, 2025 — Researchers have measured the thinking time of London taxi drivers -- famous for their knowledge of more than 26,000 streets across the city -- as part of a study into the future of AI ...

Scaling Up Neuromorphic Computing for More Efficient and Effective AI Everywhere and Anytime

Jan. 23, 2025 — Neuromorphic computing -- a field that applies principles of neuroscience to computing systems to mimic the brain's function and structure -- needs to scale up if it is to effectively compete with ...

Adding Bridges to Stabilize Quantum Networks

Jan. 23, 2025 — While entangled photons hold incredible promise for quantum computing and communications, they have a major inherent disadvantage. After one use, they simply disappear. In a new study physicists propose a new strategy to maintain communications in a ...

Why Are Most Companies Failing to Benefit from AI? It's About the People Not the Tech

Jan. 22, 2025 — Successful uptake of new technology is a matter of emotions -- and with 4 in 5 companies saying they're failing to capitalize on its potential, managers need to know how to deal with them, say ...

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New Tool Enables Phylogenomic Analyses of Entire Genomes

Jan. 23, 2025 — Electrical engineers have developed a better way to perform the comparative analysis of entire genomes. This approach can be used to study relationships between different species across geological ...

Physicists Pioneer Entanglement Microscopy Algorithm to Explore How Matter Entangles in Quantum Many-Body Systems

Jan. 23, 2025 — A research team has recently developed a novel algorithm in quantum physics known as 'entanglement microscopy' that enables visualization and mapping ...

'Unprecedented' Level of Control Allows Person Without Use of Limbs to Operate Virtual Quadcopter

Jan. 21, 2025 — A brain-computer interface, surgically placed in a research participant with tetraplegia, paralysis in all four limbs, provided an unprecedented ...

Neuromorphic Semiconductor Chip That Learns and Corrects Itself?

Jan. 21, 2025 — Scientists have developed a computing chip that can learn, correct errors, and process AI ...

Fine-Tuned Brain-Computer Interface Makes Prosthetic Limbs Feel More Real

Jan. 16, 2025 — Two new articles document progress in neuroprosthetic technology that lets people feel the shape and movement of objects moving over the 'skin' of a bionic ...

Brain-Inspired Nanotech Points to a New Era in Electronics

Jan. 9, 2025 — Imagine a future where your phone, computer or even a tiny wearable device can think and learn like the human brain -- processing information faster, smarter and using less energy. A breakthrough ...

This Fast and Agile Robotic Insect Could Someday Aid in Mechanical Pollination

Jan. 15, 2025 — New insect-scale microrobots can fly more than 100 times longer than previous versions. The new bots, also significantly faster and more agile, could ...

This Metaphorical Cat Is Both Dead and Alive -- And It Will Help Quantum Engineers Detect Computing Errors

Jan. 14, 2025 — Engineers have demonstrated a well-known quantum thought experiment in the real world. Their findings deliver a new and more robust way to perform ...

Revealing the 'True Colors' of a Single-Atom Layer of Metal Alloys

Jan. 10, 2025 — Researchers have demonstrated that the direction of the spin-polarized current can be restricted to only one direction in a single-atom layer of a thallium-lead alloys when irradiated at room ...

A Smart Ring With a Tiny Camera Lets Users Point and Click to Control Home Devices

Jan. 9, 2025 — Researchers have developed IRIS, a smart ring that allows users to point and click to control smart devices. The prototype Bluetooth ring contains a ...

Using Robots in Nursing Homes Linked to Higher Employee Retention, Better Patient Care

Jan. 8, 2025 — Facing high employee turnover and an aging population, nursing homes have increasingly turned to robots to complete a variety of care tasks, but few researchers have explored how these technologies ...

Electrohydraulic Wearable Devices Create Unprecedented Haptic Sensations

Jan. 8, 2025 — Scientists have invented compact wearable devices that deliver rich, expressive, and pleasant tactile sensations that go far beyond the buzzing vibrations of today's consumer ...

Advancements in Neural Implant Research Enhance Durability

Jan. 7, 2025 — Neural implants contain integrated circuits (ICs) -- commonly called chips -- built on silicon. These implants need to be small and flexible to mimic circumstances inside the human body. However, the ...

Scientists Develop Technology to Control Cyborg Insect Swarms

Jan. 6, 2025 — Scientists have developed an advanced swarm navigation algorithm for cyborg insects that prevents them from becoming stuck while navigating challenging terrain. The new algorithm represents a ...

Macroscopic Oscillators Move as One at the Quantum Level

Jan. 6, 2025 — Scientists have successfully achieved a quantum collective behavior of macroscopic mechanical oscillators, unlocking new possibilities in quantum ...

How Does a Hula Hoop Master Gravity? Mathematicians Prove That Shape Matters

Jan. 2, 2025 — Hula hooping is so commonplace that we may overlook some interesting questions it raises: 'What keeps a hula hoop up against gravity?' and 'Are some body types better for hula hooping ...

A Tour De Force: Engineers Discover New 'All-Optical' Nanoscale Sensors of Force

Jan. 1, 2025 — Researchers report that they have invented new nanoscale sensors of force. They are luminescent nanocrystals that can change intensity and/or color when you push or pull on them. These ...

Virus That Threatened Humanity Opens the Future

Dec. 27, 2024 — Scientists have developed an innovative therapeutic platform by mimicking the intricate structures of viruses using artificial intelligence ...

Crossing the Uncanny Valley: Breakthrough in Technology for Lifelike Facial Expressions in Androids

Dec. 27, 2024 — Even highly realistic androids can cause unease when their facial expressions lack emotional consistency. Traditionally, a 'patchwork method' has been used for facial movements, but it ...

Wind Sensing by Biomimetic Flexible Flapping Wing With Strain Sensors

Dec. 26, 2024 — Bio-inspired wind sensing using strain sensors on flexible wings could revolutionize robotic flight control strategy. Researchers have developed a method to detect wind direction with 99% accuracy ...

First Demonstration of Quantum Teleportation Over Busy Internet Cables

Dec. 20, 2024 — Quantum teleportation could provide near-instant communication over long distances. But, inside Internet cables, photons needed for teleportation are lost within the millions of light particles ...

Swarms of 'Ant-Like' Robots Lift Heavy Objects and Hurl Themselves Over Obstacles

Dec. 18, 2024 — Scientists have developed swarms of tiny magnetic robots that work together like ants to achieve Herculean feats, including traversing and picking up objects many times their size. The findings ...

Physicists 'Bootstrap' Validity of String Theory

Dec. 17, 2024 — String theory remains elusive as a 'provable' phenomenon. But a team of physicists has now taken a significant step forward in validating string theory by using an innovative mathematical ...

Tiny Robots, Big Impact: Revolutionizing Infertility Treatment With Magnetic Microrobots

Dec. 17, 2024 — Infertility affects an estimated 186 million people worldwide, with fallopian tube obstruction contributing to 11%-67% of female infertility cases. Researchers have developed an innovative solution ...

Physics and Emote Design: Quantifying Clarity in Digital Images

Dec. 16, 2024 — When analyzing artworks, understanding the visual clarity of compositions is crucial. Inspired by digital artists, researchers have created a metric to quantify clarity in digital images. As a ...

Breakthrough Brings Body-Heat Powered Wearable Devices Closer to Reality

Dec. 12, 2024 — A research team has developed an ultra-thin, flexible film that could power next-generation wearable devices using body heat, eliminating the need for ...

AI Thought Knee X-Rays Show If You Drink Beer -- They Don't

Dec. 11, 2024 — A new study highlights a hidden challenge of using AI in medical imaging research -- the phenomenon of highly accurate yet potentially misleading results known as 'shortcut learning.' The ...

Minuscule Robots for Targeted Drug Delivery

Dec. 11, 2024 — An interdisciplinary team has created tiny bubble-like microrobots that can deliver therapeutics right where they are needed and then be absorbed by the ...

Fast, Rewritable Computing With DNA Origami Registers

Dec. 11, 2024 — DNA stores the instructions for life and, along with enzymes and other molecules, computes everything from hair color to risk of developing diseases. Harnessing that prowess and immense storage ...

Uncovering the Pigments and Techniques Used to Paint the Berlin Wall

Dec. 11, 2024 — Street art takes many forms, and the vibrant murals on the Berlin Wall both before and after its fall are expressions of people's opinions. But there was often secrecy around the processes for ...