A new study has estimated it would cost $15.6 billion per year for 30 years to prevent extinction for 99 of Australia’s priority species. The research, led by Griffith University’s Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security with WWF-Australia and the University of Queensland, highlights the urgent need for increased funding to combat threats such as habitat destruction, invasive species and climate change.

Berger’s project, Insights into the Martian Environment Through Pattern Analysis of Compound Dunes, focuses on studying dune formations on Mars using high-resolution images captured by NASA's orbiting cameras. These “compound dunes”—dunes with smaller dunes layered on top—are well-documented on Earth but remain unexplored on Mars.

A team of Caltech scientists has made the first experimental measurements of laser-induced motions of miniature lightsails in the lab.

The development of vehicle components is a lengthy and therefore very costly process. Researchers at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have developed a method that can shorten the development phase of the powertrain of battery electric vehicles by several months. A team led by Martin Hofstetter from the Institute of Automotive Engineering is combining simulation models of components with evolutionary optimisation algorithms. This AI system automatically optimises the entire powertrain – from the power electronics to the electric machine through to the transmission – in line with the manufacturer’s technical requirements, taking into account targets such as production costs, efficiency and package space requirements in the vehicle. The OPED (Optimisation of Electric Drives) software solution was developed at TU Graz and is the result of almost ten years of research. It is already being used successfully by a renowned Austrian automotive supplier.

The electronics of the future can be made even smaller and more efficient by getting more memory cells to fit in less space. One way to achieve this is by adding the noble gas xenon when manufacturing digital memories. This has been demonstrated by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, in a study published in Nature Communications. This technology enables a more even material coating even in small cavities. 

NIST scientists have developed a new method for measuring temperature extremely accurately by using giant “Rydberg” atoms. This atomic thermometer provides accurate measurements “out of the box,” without needing initial factory adjustments, because it relies on the basic principles of quantum physics. By using Rydberg atoms’ sensitivity to environmental changes, this technique could simplify temperature sensing in extreme environments, from space to high-precision industries.