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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Oct-2026 15:16 ET (30-Oct-2026 19:16 GMT/UTC)

AI suggests simple food swaps to make meals healthier and cheaper

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An artificial intelligence framework that suggests just one to three ingredient swaps can make meals meaningfully more nutritious and less expensive, according to a new study published in the open-access journal PLOS Digital Health by Trevor Chan and Ilias Tagkopoulos of the University of California, Davis, USA.

Journal: PLOS Digital Health

MIT researchers develop a low-cost technique to get lithium out of rocks

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

MIT researchers developed a low-temperature process for extracting battery-grade lithium from the common mineral spodumene. The closed-loop process could help the U.S. tap into its own abundant sources of lithium, a critical element that is currently refined primarily in China.

Journal: Science
Funder: Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), MIT Climate Grant Challenges program

Electromagnetic pollution disrupts the orientation of soprano pipistrelle bats

University of Oldenburg
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Weak electromagnetic fields show an unexpectedly long-lasting effect on migratory behaviour, according to a recent study by an international research team published in the journal Science. The researchers led by Dr Oliver Lindecke of the University of Oldenburg, Germany, report that broadband radio-frequency fields, ranging from long- to ultra-high-frequency bands, disrupt the orientation of soprano pipistrelle bats.

Journal: Science
Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Leverhulme Trust, European Research Council, Nature Conservation Agency of Latvia

Novel reactive ink prints as everlasting copper

University of Maryland
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new invention from a team that includes a University of Maryland engineer halts the copper degradation cycle that turns statues, roofs, and even nickels green. The researchers have developed a liquid reactive ink that can print copper onto nearly any surface without oxidation or corrosion.

Journal: Science

MIT researchers develop a new sensor that could enable earlier detection of bladder cancer

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using catheters coated with specialized carbon nanotubes, MIT researchers developed a new way to monitor bladder cancer patients for tumor recurrence.

Journal: Nature Nanotechnology
Funder: Bridge Project of the Koch Institute and Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Schmidt Science Fellowship, MIT UROP Program, Mathworks Inc., National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

Calling Doctor GPT: AI responses to healthcare queries are nearly 76% accurate

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots respond to everyday health-related questions from general users with nearly 76% accuracy, which raises concerns about their trustworthiness in real-world client-facing applications, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers.

Meeting: 2026 ACM FAccT Conference

AI can mass-produce finance research papers indistinguishable from human work

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study, co-authored by a Penn State Smeal College of Business professor, shows that AI can mass-produce academic papers that look nearly indistinguishable from human-authored research, raising concerns about the potential impact on the academic community.

Journal: Journal of Economic Literature
Funder: Inquire Europe

World’s largest computing association elects new leadership

Association for Computing Machinery
Business Announcement

Members of ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, have elected new officers who will lead the organization for two-year terms beginning July 1. Heading the new team will be incoming President Elisa Bertino. Bertino is the Samuel Conte Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Purdue University. Over her 40-year career, she has made pioneering contributions to information and systems security and privacy. She is known for broadening participation in computing through professional leadership and mentoring.

Clinical trial seeks to advance intuitive assistive robotics for people with paralysis

Rice University
Business Announcement

Rice, in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine, will join BrainGate, a consortium of universities and academic medical centers working on creating brain-computer interface technologies.