Researchers from the University of Navarra's Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Institute (DATAI) have developed a new AI framework to reduce bias in critical decision-making areas such as health, education, and recruitment. Their methodology optimizes machine learning models to ensure fairness by addressing inequalities related to race, gender, and socioeconomic status, among other possible algorithmic discriminations. Published in Machine Learning, the study combines conformal prediction techniques with evolutionary learning to achieve reliable and unbiased AI predictions. The researchers tested their approach on real-world datasets, demonstrating that it reduces discrimination without compromising accuracy. Their work provides policymakers and businesses with AI models that balance efficiency and fairness, aligning with ethical AI principles and legal requirements. The team has publicly made their code and data available to promote transparency and further research in responsible AI development.

For the first time, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities discovered a new method by which a catalyst can be used to selectively burn one molecule in a mixture of hydrocarbons—compounds made of hydrogen and carbon atoms.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) — a neurodegenerative disorder — comes with a significant socioeconomic burden. Recent studies have found a strong association between AD and metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of conditions that include diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and abnormal blood fat levels. In a recently published literature review article, researchers explore the link between AD and each individual component of MetS, analyzing the potential underlying mechanisms at cellular and molecular levels.

Researchers have developed comfortable, washable ‘smart pyjamas’ that can monitor sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea at home, without the need for sticky patches, cumbersome equipment or a visit to a specialist sleep clinic.

Researchers from TU Wien (Vienna) have presented a new type of material with very special properties: The lubricant COK-47 is not liquid like lubricating oil, but a powdery solid substance. On a nanoscale, it consists of stacks of atomically thin sheets, like a tiny stack of cards. When the material comes into contact with water molecules, these platelets can slide past each other very easily - a so-called tribofilm is created, which ensures extremely low friction.

Biologists converted gut bacteria into miniature protein factories that manufacture and release a sustained flow of targeted proteins inside the lower intestines. This technique solves one of the longstanding problems surrounding gastrointestinal drug delivery.