Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed the SPADE (Simulator-assisted PerformAbility Design methodology for UAV-based Systems) approach for accurate quality assessments of uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) video surveillance systems. Using video data recorded in a virtual environment with a UAV flight simulator, SPADE analyzes the trade-offs between quality indicators during the early development stages, thereby supporting the design process when real systems are not yet available.

Any home gardener knows they have to tailor their watering regime for different plants. Forgetting to water their flowerbed over the weekend could spell disaster, but the trees will likely be fine. Plants have evolved different strategies to manage their water use, but soil moisture models have mostly neglected this until now.

Researchers from MIT have shed light on how lanthanides move through and operate within plants. These insights could help farmers optimize their use to grow some of the world’s most popular crops.

MIT chemists showed they can greatly boost the efficiency of a bacterial version of rubisco, a key enzyme in photosynthesis. Using directed evolution, they identified mutations that could boost its catalytic efficiency by up to 25 percent.