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Innovations

Recent Innovations Stories

Two spinners inside a circular container and surrounded by liquid with bubbles that help to visualize the flows. The left spinner is actively driven to rotate with a motor (not shown) and the right one passively rotates due to the flows.
NYU researchers develop gears that use fluid instead of teeth, offering flexible, durable alternatives to traditional mechanics.
Joshua Shavitupda
Images of PDLC/TW as one side of the showcase during the day and at night.
Green ImpactScientists develop smart transparent woods that block UV and save energyShy Cohen
By copying how natural polymers fold and fall apart, researchers created materials that stay strong in use, then break down under everyday conditions without heat or harsh chemicals
Green ImpactNew smart plastics can be programmed to break down on scheduleRebecca Shavit
A new NYU tool turns your language history into a multilingualism score and a dominance measure, aiming to standardize how multilingualism is described.
InnovationsAre you truly multilingual? A new calculator has the answerMelanie Livingstone
USC Roski Eye Institute researchers are launching a phase 2b trial of a stem cell retinal implant designed to replace damaged retinal support cells in advanced dry age-related macular degeneration.
HealthTiny eye implant could restore vision lost to macular degenerationJoseph Shavit
A new building system made from cardboard, soil, and water slashes carbon emissions and reimagines how sustainable construction can work.
Green ImpactEngineers turn waste cardboard into a low-carbon building materialRebecca Shavit
A team at Brown University and partner institutions has created CaBLAM, a bioluminescent sensor that turns neurons into tiny light sources. By glowing in sync with calcium signals, it lets researchers watch single brain cells fire for hours without lasers, opening a safer window into how the brain and body work in real time.
HealthNew bioluminescent tool lets scientists watch live neural activity for hoursMac Oliveau
A Finnish electric motorcycle maker says it is bringing solid-state batteries to production vehicles, years ahead of major automakers.
InnovationsIntroducing the world’s first production motorcycle powered by solid-state batteriesShy Cohen
Tomatoes grow in clusters, with stems and leaves that confuse harvest robots. Osaka Metropolitan University’s Takuya Fujinaga developed a system that estimates how likely a successful pick will be, then chooses the best approach direction. In tests, the model helped robots reach an 81% success rate, with many wins coming after the robot switched from a failed front approach to a side approach. The work points to a future where robots handle easy picks and humans tackle the toughest fruit.
InnovationsSmarter tomato-picking robots learn to judge each fruit before harvestJoshua Shavit
InnovationsDevice smaller than a grain of dust looks to supercharge quantum computersShy Cohen
The members of the BEC team at Columbia, from left to right: associate research scientist Ian Stevenson, doctoral student Niccolò Bigagli, doctoral student Weijun Yuan, undergraduate student Boris Bulatovic, doctoral student Siwei Zhang, and principal investigator Sebastian Will.
InnovationsScientists create Bose-Einstein condensate leading to a new fifth state of matterJoshua Shavit
This is a graph of recorded temperatures (left) and a model of temperatures (right) around the globe for a fixed latitude over time.
AINew AI system helps scientists understand complex systems that change over timeShy Cohen
Engineers at UC San Diego have created a water based, spray on polymer that coats plant leaves, kills harmful bacteria and even helps plants withstand short droughts. By triggering whole plant defenses from a small treated area, the gas permeable polynorbornene coating could become a powerful, plant friendly tool to protect crops in a warming, more disease prone world.
Green ImpactSpray on polymer shield helps plants fight bacteria and survive droughtJoshua Shavit
Artistic impression of the Electrostatic Tractor during an Earth encounter.
SpaceScientists build an electrostatic ‘tractor beam’ to move space junk safelyShy Cohen
Archaeologists at the University of Copenhagen used AI, Unreal Engine and YouTube tutorials to build a low cost 3D game that lets you wander a real Neolithic burial site and talk with an AI driven Stone Age woman and archaeologist in real time.
AIAI helps archaeologists build low-cost stone age video games in daysShy Cohen
Researchers developed an AI system that anticipates pedestrian behavior before it happens
AIOmniPredict AI can help cars accurately predict pedestrian behaviorsShy Cohen
Living fungi grow a self-assembling hydrogel that mimics human tissue.
HealthLiving hydrogel grown by fungi could revolutionize wound healingMac Oliveau