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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Oct-2026 11:16 ET (30-Oct-2026 15:16 GMT/UTC)

Comparing AI anatomy segmentation models when ground truth is missing

SPIE--International Society for Optics and Photonics
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Artificial intelligence models that automatically label organs and anatomical structures in medical images are increasingly used to study large public imaging datasets, but comparing these tools is difficult when no expert reference annotations exist. A recent study developed an open-source framework for evaluating and comparing AI-based anatomy segmentation models using inter-model agreement rather than ground truth. Applying the approach to six widely used segmentation models and chest CT scans from the National Lung Screening Trial, the researchers normalized all model outputs to follow standard lexicon, and stored the result in a common medical imaging format. Normalized representation made it possible to visualize and compare model outputs, and analyze how consistently each model segmented key structures such as the lungs, heart, ribs, vertebrae, and sternum. The results show strong agreement across models for lung segmentation, but substantial inconsistencies and systematic errors for bones and some cardiac structures, particularly among models trained on similar data. By combining quantitative agreement metrics with interactive visualization tools, the framework helps identify reliable models and flag problem cases, offering a practical way to guide model selection and large-scale reuse of AI-generated annotations.

Journal: Journal of Medical Imaging

Simon Fraser University launches $20M fund with InBC to invest in spin-off ventures

Simon Fraser University
Business Announcement

Leading SFU researchers, students and alumni looking to level up their emerging tech businesses can get support from a new $20-million fund from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and InBC Investment Corp. (InBC).

The SFU Innovates Venture Fund will focus on early-stage companies in sectors with significant economic potential, including life sciences, deep technology and cleantech.

UMass Chan scientists develop gene editing technology capable of rewriting entire chapters of the genome

UMass Chan Medical School
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at UMass Chan Medical School have developed a gene editing technology that allows for the precise and efficient insertion of very large DNA segments into the human genome.

Journal: Nature

UC Irvine researchers invent a wearable sweat sensor for long-term health monitoring

University of California - Irvine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A sweat-monitoring wearable device developed by UC Irvine researchers enables real-time and continuous tracking of a variety of health conditions through sweat analysis. The sensor is designed to be worn continuously outside of laboratory or clinical settings and can detect molecules in perspiration that are signs of stress, cancer, kidney disease and mental health issues. The project was funded by the UC Irvine Samueli School of Engineering.

Journal: Nature Biomedical Engineering

Illinois study: Can designer biochar pellets help manage phosphorus in agricultural fields?

College of ACES at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Tile drainage is common in U.S. Midwest agricultural fields, helping to remove excess water and aerate the soil. While the practice enhances crop productivity, it can cause phosphorus to leak into nearby waterways, where it contributes to harmful algal blooms. Directing tile-drain runoff through a structure filled with biochar – a form of charcoal produced from organic waste – provides a potential remedy for phosphorus pollution, but the method is novel and not fully explored. In a new study, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers examined the capacity of specially designed biochar pellets to absorb and release phosphorus under real-world conditions, finding they don’t perform as well as they do in laboratory settings.

Journal: Water Environment Research
Funder: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Closed-loop recycling: Improving plastics recycling from end-of-life vehicles

Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Each year, four to six million cars are scrapped in the European Union—resulting in the loss of valuable ressources. The EU End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation is intended to ensure that these materials are recovered and reused in new vehicles in the future. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now analyzed a process developed within the Car2Car research project that enables plastics to remain within the recycling loop. The study shows potential climate benefits as well as the possibility of meeting upcoming EU requirements.

Journal: Waste Management
Funder: German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

Who'll stop the rain and reuse it

University of Pittsburgh
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To limit untreated sewage flows, University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed a decision-support framework that automatically identifies cost-effective, energy-efficient, and low-emission treatment systems for captured stormwater based on how the water will ultimately be used.

Journal: npj Clean Water
Funder: University of Pittsburgh

Governments may shape what AI chatbots say by shaping the web they learn from, new Nature study finds

Princeton University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Six linked studies show how state-coordinated media in AI training data influences model responses about politics, especially in a country’s own language.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Princeton Research Computing Princeton Data-Driven Social Science Initiative Princeton Center for Statistics and Machine Learning, UCSD’s 21st Century China Center UCSD Social Sciences Computing Facility, Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY), John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Templeton World Charity Foundation (Templeton World Charity Foundation Inc.)

Researchers “reprogram” materials by quickly rearranging their atoms

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

MIT researchers developed a way to precisely move columns of individual atoms within a material, to produce exotic quantum properties. The approach works in minutes at room temperature, and could aid the development of stable quantum devices.

Journal: Nature