Blockchain was front and center in the discussion during this year’s transport logistic China, the leading Asian trade show in the logistics industry. Jettainer, which provides unit load device (ULD) containers for 26 airlines, partnered with Shanghai’s Tongji University, and initiated three days of brainstorming to develop new applications of blockchain for the global supply chain industry. Blockchain is destined […]

During the 2016 Zika outbreak, Cuba went hard on the insecticides. The country is known for their proactive approach to mosquito-borne illnesses, and their tactics mostly involve closely-monitoring breeding spots like standing water. As successful as this approach is (Cuba’s vigilance kept them from succumbing to “widespread transmission” like every surrounding nation did by November 2016), a research team from […]

The clothing industry isn’t generally known for its sustainability, but many brands are starting to turn to more environmentally friendly materials such as bamboo, organic cotton, or recycled plastic. Australia-based biotechnology company Nanollose is going a step further by developing plant-free cellulose from “industrial organic and agricultural waste products.” The cellulose can then be turned into a sustainable rayon fiber, […]

Neuroscientists at Switzerland’s EPFL have for the first time homed in directly on the specific cluster of neurons in the brain responsible for reprogramming long-term memories of traumatic experiences. The research brings neuroscience closer to answering the long-held question of whether therapy simply works to suppress fear-based memories or whether it actually helps rewrite those memories. The groundbreaking research set […]

Many people will tell you, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” It was with this in mind that scientists at the National University of Singapore recently created a hydrogel that draws moisture from the air, making the Southeast Asian heat more tolerable … but the material also has a few other tricks up its sleeve. “Singapore, like many tropical […]

When a patient is suffering from a condition such as venous leg ulcers, that limb needs to be wrapped in a compression bandage in order to stimulate blood flow. It’s very important, however, that the the correct amount of pressure is applied. New color-changing bandage fibers have been designed to ensure that caregivers get it right. Created by an MIT […]

Speech recognition and machine translation tools are two of the most useful everyday applications of artificial intelligence as it exists today. Both of them allow our words to be understood by a machine and turned into actionable commands, used either to control devices like the Google Home smart speaker or to have a conversation with someone who speaks a different […]

Have you ever said of a person, “You can see it in the way they walk”? Well, if it was their identity that you were referring to, then you were right. To that end, scientists have now created an artificial intelligence-based system that identifies people via their footsteps. Created by researchers from the University of Manchester and the University of […]

It’s not the most glamorous part of medicine, but cadavers, aka dead bodies used for training, are an essential resource for learners. Unfortunately, they are also not readily available. An increasing number of physician assistant and nurse practitioner programs, along with a shortage of donations, means that there is frequently a strain on supply. Could cutting-edge technology help? Quite possibly […]

While it’s already possible to relay information via barcodes or QR codes, those codes are entirely visible when included in a document. Using Columbia University’s FontCode system, however, users can hide messages within unrelated text via virtually-invisible changes to the displayed letters. Developed by a team led by associate professor of computer science Changxi Zheng, FontCode works with commonly-used fonts […]