Every bit of technology fails eventually, whether time, wear-and-tear, adverse conditions, or perhaps a mixture of all three are the cause of its demise. Yet predicting when technology might fail is notoriously difficult. When designing equipment for clear-energy systems, engineers often over compensate for this by designing it to withstand more stress than needed. This generates waste, and can sometimes inadvertently increase the wear and tear on materials. Now, an international research team has developed a way to more accurately predict how long mechanical-equipment used in green technology will last, potentially leading to more efficient design processes.

Santino Cozza and a team have developed the Hearing Protection Optimization Tool, designed to move beyond traditional noise reductions ratings and highlight performance characteristics that matter in real-world conditions. This user-friendly software platform, which draws on years of research and operational insight, helps people select the appropriate hearing protection device for their specific environment. By combining noise exposure levels with algorithmic analyses of the benefits of different HPDs, HPOT matches users with a database of suitable, regulatory-approved HPDs.

Recently reported methane signatures detected by the James Webb Space Telescope could be a hint to it potentially harboring life, but a University of Arizona researcher urges caution. Sukrit Ranjan argues that it is not clear whether TRAPPIST-1e has an atmosphere at all and whether the methane signature could originate from its host star instead.

Researchers are exploiting the unusual hearing of wax moths to develop a sustainable and efficient pest control technique that does not harm bees. These moths can hear sounds four octaves higher than a human can, and this ultrasonic hearing helps them avoid bats food and hear male moth calls. By analyzing which patterns of bat echolocation calls elicited a stronger neural response in the moths, the researchers determined the best ultrasonic deterrent.

In a new article, scientists from UChicago and universities in the US and EU look to computing’s past to chart quantum’s future. Their conclusion: the technology is maturing rapidly, and the next challenges are related to scaling.

This week in Science, Michael K. Rosen and 10 other members of a large collaboration at the Marine Biological Laboratory, the Chromatin Consortium, propose a long-awaited model for how the properties of a condensate can emerge from the properties of the individual molecules that compose it.

Using sound measurements from NASA’s Mars missions to the best extent possible requires an accurate understanding of how sound propagates on the red planet. Focusing on the Jezero crater, the 2021 landing and exploration site of NASA’s Perseverance rover and its attached Ingenuity helicopter, Charlie Zheng and Hayden Baird have simulated how sound moves through and scatters off the region’s complex terrains, whether it comes from a moving or stationary source. They hope their model will help identify signals and patterns that indicate specific Martian atmospheric events.