A new “electronic nose” developed at UC Berkeley can detect the scents associated with spoiled food much more accurately than the human nose. It can also sniff out the presence of common food allergens, like walnuts and peanuts, which can be deadly for those with sensitivities.

Study used lower-limb exoskeletons to facilitate therapist-patient interactions while performing functional tasks. Therapist’s and stroke survivor’s exoskeletons were virtually connected at the hips and knees. Patients reported high levels of motivation and enjoyment from new therapy.

For years, pest control professionals throughout the Northeast have reported a troubling pattern. In some neighborhoods, rodents seemed increasingly more difficult to eliminate, even when standard control methods were used. Now researchers at Rutgers University believe they may know one reason why.

A study found that 84% of house mice sampled from urban areas in the Northeast carried at least one genetic mutation linked to rodenticide resistance, suggesting many mouse populations may be evolving ways to survive the poisons commonly used to control them. The research was published in the international journal Pest Management Science.

Physicists have long wondered whether the fundamental laws of nature contain freely adjustable external “dials.” A researcher at Kyushu University and collaborators have shown, under certain assumptions, that continuous parameters in conformal field theories can be generated by operators within the theory itself. The findings support Einstein’s idea that apparent free parameters in quantum gravity should be explained by dynamical fields rather than chosen externally.

Study led by University of Utah engineers shows data center operations can be adjusted to lower costs. By up to $590 million a year on the Western grid.

Inspired by the human brain, Oregon State University researchers have developed a new light-sensitive device that combines sensing and memory while controlling how digital memories strengthen or fade over time.