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Frugal function

Security labels without silicon can prevent theft. Still, no electronic sensor functions without a wireless connection. The power supply required for such devices has an impact on battery size. Which is why a Norwegian-based startup has developed a new circuit architecture for wireless chips, so that they work in the subthreshold region. At 3.3 volts, conventional components need around...

Handy details

Video games can help diagnose depression, and smartphones identify blocked arteries. Now, a research team in Singapore has developed a light-emitting diode (LED), less than a micrometre in size, which has been used to build a holographic mini-microscope. Both LED and microscope are the smallest of their kind in the world. A neural network-algorithm converts objects measured by the microscope, such as cells...

Warming surplus

Balancing cloud usage can keep emissions and energy costs at bay. Meanwhile, an English startup is aiming to reduce both in public swimming pools by building data centres near the baths and using their thermal discharge to heat the water. All that’s required is a digital boiler. The startup bears the costs for the electricity as well as the...

Adjusted distribution

Substantial crowds can support sustainability. Large quantities of data stored in the cloud, however, can cause high CO2 emissions. By 2025, almost 50% of all data may be stored on servers across the globe. Which is why a London-based startup has developed a software allowing companies to measure their digital footprint and take appropriate action to reduce it. A...

High-performing imitation

Using the human body as a model for electronic inventions isn’t restricted to the field of data storage. Now, a research team from Washington State University has developed a high-performance computer chip made from honey, which imitates the brain’s neural network. First the honey is left to solidify, then placed between two electrodes. Boasting high computational power and switching...

Extended safekeeping

Electric energy can be retained in air or by heating carbon blocks. Data, meanwhile, can be stored in DNA. Natural DNA strands consist of 4 components, named nucleotides, denoted by the letters A, G, T and C respectively. When translated into the 1s and 0s of binary, the billions of potentially available combinations result in an extremely high storage...

Harmonious security

When we speak to a person, we know straight away how they are from their tone of voice. Now, our instincts for tone and harmony are being deployed by security experts to detect anomalies in network traffic. A team of scientists from Carnegie Mellon University, USA, have developed a tool that makes it possible to listen to the exchange...

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