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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-Sep-2025 16:11 ET (13-Sep-2025 20:11 GMT/UTC)

Improved modelling of the Pockels effect may help advance optoelectronic technology

National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) MARVEL
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new article by NCCR MARVEL scientists published in Physical Review B presents a new computational framework to simulate the behavior of tetragonal barium titanate (BTO), a ferroelectric perovskite that can be used as an alternative to silicon in photonic integrated circuits, that use photons instead of electrons to encode and transmit information. The core of the study is the modelling of the Pockels effect, a change in the refractive index of the material in the presence of an electric field that can be used to encode information. The authors, from Mathieu Luisier’s lab at ETH Zurich and Nicola Marzari’s group at EPFL, devised a computational framework that is independent of specific functionals and relies only on standard Density Functional Theory. The results were validated by comparing them to existing experimental results, and to previous calculations based on other computational methods.

Journal: Physical Review B

Smart home devices used to monitor domestic workers raise safety concerns

King's College London
Reports and Proceedings

The growing use of smart home devices is undermining the privacy and safety of domestic workers. New research from King’s College London reveals how surveillance technologies reinforce a sense of constant monitoring and control by domestic workers’ employers, increasing their vulnerability and impacting their mental wellbeing.

Configuration design method of mega constellation for low earth orbit observation

Beijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Satellite constellation has been applied in communication, reconnaissance, navigation, and other space missions, such as GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Starlink, etc. With the rapid development of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations, mega constellation will inevitably become an important means of Earth observation and a key point in the development of future satellite technology. The configuration optimization design of LEO observation mega constellation in complex space environment is a nonlinear problem that is difficult to solve analytically. During the development, constellation design principles have shifted from the uniform coverage requirement to application requirements. However, previous method cannot provide solutions to constellation configuration optimal design based on high-precision orbital propagation.

Journal: Molecular Cancer

Remote regulation of molecular diffusion in extracellular space of Parkinson’s disease rat model by subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation

Beijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research paper by scientists at Peking University Third Hospital presented a study on the regulatory mechanisms of the ECS in the substantia nigra (SN) of PD rats following STN-DBS.A research paper by scientists at Peking University Third Hospital presented a study on the regulatory mechanisms of the ECS in the substantia nigra (SN) of PD rats following STN-DBS.

Journal: Cyborg and Bionic Systems

Specialized face mask can detect kidney disease with just your breath

American Chemical Society
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Surgical face masks help prevent the spread of airborne pathogens and therefore were ubiquitous during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, a modified mask could also protect a wearer by detecting health conditions, including chronic kidney disease. Researchers reporting in ACS Sensors incorporated a specialized breath sensor within the fabric of a face mask to detect metabolites associated with the disease. In initial tests, the sensor correctly identified people with the condition most of the time.

Journal: ACS Sensors

Pioneering research reveals tree-mendous potential of inexpensive drones to help community forests flourish and unlock restoration funding

University of Bristol
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research has shown how small, inexpensive drones combined with free, open source software can be used by community forest organisations to calculate and monitor the amount of carbon stored in their forests.

Journal: PLOS One

SMART launches new research group WISDOM to pioneer technologies that will help machines “see” like humans

Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)
Business Announcement

The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) research enterprise in Singapore, has launched a new interdisciplinary research group (IRG), Wafer-scale Integrated Sensing Devices based on Optoelectronic Metasurfaces (WISDOM), focused on developing next-generation 3D-sensing technologies for practical use across industries such as automotive, consumer electronics, aerospace and healthcare, among others.