EurekAlert! News by Subject: Tech & Engineering - News by Subject: Tech & Engineering

Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-Nov-2025 06:11 ET (10-Nov-2025 11:11 GMT/UTC)

Sex workers say robots cannot replace human intimacy, Ben-Gurion University study finds

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Sex robots may be gaining attention in the fast-growing sex-tech industry, but a new Ben-Gurion University of the Negev study shows that human intimacy, communication, and authenticity remain irreplaceable. Drawing on interviews with Israeli sex workers, the research highlights the social and emotional dimensions of sexual labor that machines cannot replicate.

Journal: Sexuality Research and Social Policy

Sophie Nicklaus appointed Scientific Director of Food & Health at INRAE

INRAE - National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment
Business Announcement

Sophie Nicklaus has been officially appointed Scientific Director of Food & Health for a four‑year term, by Philippe Mauguin Chair and CEO of INRAE, following consultation with its Board of Directors on 13 October. She becomes a member of the institute’s Management Board. Since April 2024, she has served as Deputy Scientific Director of Food & the Bioeconomy under Monique Axelos, who will retire at the end of the year. Given the critical challenges of food security and sovereignty, the sustainability and cost of food, as well as the intersecting issues of public health and innovation, INRAE has chosen to orient the remit of the new Scientific Director toward the domains of food and health, in order to contribute to the food of tomorrow: food that is healthy, sustainable, and accessible to all. A dedicated Scientific Directorate for Bioeconomy — first outlined under Monique Axelos — will be established by the end of the year.

Creative Destruction Lab Berlin launches new stream in defense technologies

ESMT Berlin
Business Announcement

The DEEP – Institute of Deep Tech Innovation at ESMT Berlin is expanding the German offering of Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) with a new Defence Stream. Each year, the stream will support up to 25 science-based startups developing and commercializing dual-use technologies.

HKU Engineering researchers pioneer differentiable imaging and launch landmark application with uncertainty-aware Fourier ptychography

The University of Hong Kong

Professor Edmund Lam, Dr Ni Chen and their research team from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering under the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have developed a novel uncertainty-aware Fourier ptychography (UA-FP) technology that significantly enhancing imaging system stability in complex real-world environments. The breakthrough has been published in Light: Science & Applications, an international journal under Nature Publishing Group.

Journal: Light Science & Applications

Reichman University researchers show that experiencing music through both hearing and touch enhances emotional response

Reichman University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Study published on 01 October 2025 in Frontiers in Virtual Reality demonstrates how multisensory music experiences can boost enjoyment, reduce anxiety, and open new therapeutic possibilities

A research team at the Reichman University Dina Recanati School of Medicine and the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology has discovered that experiencing music in a multisensory way, combining both hearing and touch , significantly enhances people’s emotional responses to it. The study, conducted at the Institute for Brain, Cognition and Technology, introduces a unique device that converts sound into tactile vibrations on the hands and body, offering listeners a new dimension of musical experience.

Journal: Frontiers in Virtual Reality

Horizon Europe’s EQUALITY project concludes with advances towards quantum algorithms for industrial applications

Da Vinci Labs
Business Announcement

Quantum computing is one of the frontiers of research and innovation due to its potential to outperform classical computers in specific tasks. The EQUALITY (Efficient QUantum ALgorithms for IndusTrY) project, funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme, had the mission of developing innovative quantum computing algorithms to solve strategic industrial problems while dealing with the limitations of this nascent technology.

Funder: Horizon Europe

Granular beds with asymmetric wettability enhances migration and separation of petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants

KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a new study titled “Granular beds with asymmetric wettability promote the migration and separation behavior of petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants: Migration rate and pressure drop distribution,” published in Water & Ecology, a research team led by Wenjie Lv from East China University of Science and Technology develop a novel granular beds with asymmetric wettability microchannel structure combining oleophilic and oleophobic surfaces to enhances oil migration and separation the oil phase in oil-in-water emulsions. This study provides an efficient, low-energy pretreatment strategy in treating refinaery wastewater containing highly viscous, easily emulsified petroleum hydrocarbons that are difficult to separate.

Journal: Water & Ecology
Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Shanghai Excellent Academic/Technical Leaders Program