A team of University of Texas at Dallas researchers and their colleagues have discovered that the mixing of small particles between two solid electrolytes can generate an effect called a “space charge layer,” an accumulation of electric charge at the interface between the two materials.

The finding could aid the development of batteries with solid electrolytes, called solid-state batteries, for applications including mobile devices and electric vehicles.

Despite advances in machine vision, processing visual data requires substantial computing resources and energy, limiting deployment in edge devices. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a self-powered artificial synapse that distinguishes colors with high resolution across the visible spectrum, approaching human eye capabilities. The device, which integrates dye-sensitized solar cells, generates its electricity and can perform complex logic operations without additional circuitry, paving the way for capable computer vision systems integrated in everyday devices. 

Human-AI interactions are well understood in terms of trust and companionship. However, the role of attachment and experiences in such relationships is not entirely clear. In a new breakthrough, researchers from Waseda University have devised a novel self-report scale and highlighted the concepts of attachment anxiety and avoidance toward AI. Their work is expected to serve as a guideline to further explore human-AI relationships and incorporate ethical considerations in AI design.

AI tools can provide close to precise survival estimates of patients with prostate cancer, according to scientists

As climate change accelerates the spread of plant diseases worldwide, researchers at the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) at the National University of Singapore have developed a precision-targeted spray that could help crops defend themselves. The new system, called SENDS (short for stomata-targeting engineered nanoparticles), uses microscopic zinc-based particles designed to stick to stomata, the tiny pores on leaves where plants exchange gases and where bacteria often enter to cause infection.

Developed by a team led by Assistant Professor Tedrick Lew from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at CDE, the particles carry natural antibacterial compounds and release them only where they are needed. In lab tests, plants treated with the spray were 20 times more resistant to infection than those treated with non-targeted formulations. The spray also remained effective even after rainfall and did not interfere with the plant’s natural functions such as photosynthesis.

The study was published in Nature Communications.