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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 4-Apr-2026 17:16 ET (4-Apr-2026 21:16 GMT/UTC)

Bacteria reveal themselves through unique sounds: a breakthrough for rapid diagnostics

Delft University of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Bacteria reveal themselves through unique sounds: a breakthrough for rapid diagnostics

Scientists from TU Delft, SoundCell and RHMDC (the laboratory at the Reinier de Graaf hospital) have discovered that different bacterial species produce their own characteristic sounds. Building on an earlier development from the same team, they have now shown that bacteria can be identified and their antibiotic susceptibility determined simultaneously, based solely on their sound. This combined approach delivers results within hours instead of days, offering a major step forward in the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial infections. The study is published in ACS Sensors.

Journal: ACS Sensors

Sunlight-driven “schottky” catalyst quickly removes fulvic acid—a tough drinking-water pollutant precursor

Maximum Academic Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team has developed a visible-light-driven advanced oxidation approach to remove fulvic acid (FA), a widespread natural organic compound that darkens water and acts as a precursor of harmful disinfection by-products during chlorination.

Native fungi offer new hope against almond anthracnose in Mediterranean orchards

Maximum Academic Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team has found that as almond cultivation continues to expand across the Mediterranean Basin, growers are increasingly challenged by anthracnose, a destructive disease primarily caused by Colletotrichum godetiae.

Escaping the bubble trap: Plant-inspired 3D electrodes unlock ultra-fast hydrogen production

International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Chinese scientists have developed a new, highly efficient electrode that rapidly ejects gas bubbles during water electrolysis. The results were striking: the three-dimensional, plant-inspired design yielded up to 172.1% more hydrogen than standard flat electrodes of the same size.

Journal: International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing

Decline in Japanese chum salmon linked to climate change

Hokkaido University

Today, most of the salmon consumed in Japan is imported from countries like Chile and Norway, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. But just two decades ago, Japanese chum salmon made up a much larger share of domestic salmon consumption. Their numbers have declined sharply in recent years, and new research from Hokkaido University suggests that this decline may be linked to the loss of their natural habitats along their migratory routes.

Journal: Scientific Reports

Researchers engineer ultrathin lead-free films, advancing piezoelectricity

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a new advance for next-generation microelectronics, researchers from the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with their collaborators, have broken "thickness limit" by engineering ultrathin films of BiFeO₃ that exhibit a piezoelectric response more than four times greater than that of conventional forms of the material.

Journal: Science Advances

From straw to soil signals: How humification reshapes microbial life and resistance genes

Maximum Academic Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team reveals that natural humification of crop residues reshapes soil microbial communities, enhancing carbon metabolism while increasing antibiotic resistance genes.