• Innovative remote monitoring system of environmental factors developed for ultra-sensitive quantum devices reliant on stable conditions • Provides blueprint for operating quantum technology in inaccessible environments, such as space or underground • A further step towards AI and human collaboration crucial in the delivery of more complex quantum technologies

Nanowires, used in sensors, transistors, optoelectronic devices and other systems that require subatomic preciseness, like to stick together. Untangling electrical wires can be a difficult task — imagine trying to separate out wires 1/10,000th the width of a human hair. The self-attraction of nanowires has been a major problem for quality and efficient bulk fabrication, with the potential to catastrophically short-circuit nanowire-based devices, but researchers in China have now revealed why the components cling to one each other.

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new blood-clotting test that uses only a single drop of blood and a smartphone vibration motor and camera.

A new study could be a game changer for users of prosthetic hands who have long awaited advances in dexterity. Researchers examined if people could precisely control the grip forces applied to two different objects grasped simultaneously with a dexterous artificial hand. They designed a multichannel wearable soft robotic armband to convey artificial sensations of touch to the robotic hand users. Subjects were able to successfully grasp and transport two objects simultaneously with the dexterous artificial hand without breaking or dropping them, even when their vision of both objects was obstructed. The study is the first to show the feasibility of this complex simultaneous control task while integrating multiple channels of haptic/touch sensation feedback noninvasively.

A ring of planetary debris studded with moon-sized structures has been observed orbiting close to a white dwarf star, hinting at a nearby planet in the “habitable zone” where water and thus life could exist, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.

A new machine learning process designed to identify and classify hip fractures has been shown to outperform human clinicians. Two convolutional neural networks (CNNs) developed at the University of Bath were able to identify and classify hip fractures from X-rays with a 19% greater degree of accuracy and confidence than hospital-based clinicians.

Halle, Leipzig. Seven to nine percent of all vascular plant species occurring in Europe are globally threatened. This is the result of a study led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and Leipzig University. The researchers combined Red Lists of endangered plant species in Europe with data on their global distribution. The study has been published in the journal Plants, People, Planet. It helps assess the overall level of threat to plant species and thus supports the basis of international nature conservation activities.