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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Oct-2026 15:16 ET (28-Oct-2026 19:16 GMT/UTC)

Birds’ flying ‘V’ formation saves energy with flatter flaps, new research shows

Brown University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study by Brown University researchers provides new insights, which could have implications for engineered systems, into the aerodynamic advantage birds experience when flying in a “V” formation.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: Office of Naval Research

2026 Optica Fellow: It’s a good look for electrical and computer engineering professor Andreas Beling

University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science
Grant and Award Announcement

America’s optics community has honored the speedy, powerful contributions of a UVA electrical and computer engineer.

New technique enables LIGO to peer farther into the distant universe

University of California - Riverside
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside have developed a new way to help gravitational-wave observatories see farther into the universe by solving one of their biggest challenges: tiny heat-induced distortions in the massive mirrors at the heart of the detectors.

Journal: Classical and Quantum Gravity

Researchers develop automated system to accelerate outbreak detection and disease surveillance

Brown University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New workflow developed by Brown University researchers compresses hours of manual lab labor into a single automated process, unlocking reliable genetic sequencing for local public health labs.

Journal: BMC Genomics

“Fictional” chatbots help explain popularity of artificial intelligence

University of Exeter
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The huge popularity of AI chatbots can be explained by their accepted role as fictional characters in people’s lives – in the same way as those found in films, TV and books, a new study shows.

Journal: Philosophical Studies

AI platform could speed peptide drug discovery

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed PeptiVerse, an open-source AI platform that predicts key chemical and biological properties of peptides, including whether they are likely to dissolve, enter cells, avoid toxicity and last long enough in the body to have an effect. The platform could help researchers screen peptide drug candidates earlier and support generative AI systems for drug design.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Hartwell Foundation, University of Pennsylvania

A native California wildflower isn’t keeping up with climate change

University of California - Davis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The mountain jewelflower is struggling to keep up with climate change, as the wildflower fights to survive both summers and winters in the mountains, finds a UC Davis study.

Journal: Journal of Ecology
Funder: National Institute of Food and Agriculture

SwRI, UT San Antonio-led experiment designated ready to fly by NASA

Southwest Research Institute
Business Announcement

SAN ANTONIO — July 21, 2026 — A Southwest Research Institute and University of Texas at San Antonio experiment has passed a critical NASA review, designating it ready for parabolic flight testing. The two institutions will evaluate the performance of a patent-pending electrolyzer, the Mars Atmospheric Reactor for Synthesis of Consumables (MARS-C), in partial gravity environments.

Common plastic additive makes stretchable OLED displays brighter and more elastic

University of Chicago
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The same class of chemical additive that makes plastic wrap pliable and vinyl flooring soft could be the key to unlocking the next generation of wearable displays. Researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) have discovered that blending a common plastic softener into light-emitting polymer films makes those films both brighter and more stretchable. The work, led by a UChicago PME undergraduate student in the class of 2025, offers a surprisingly straightforward solution to one of the central challenges in stretchable OLED technology: making light-emitting materials flexible without reducing how efficiently they emit light.

Journal: Nature Communications