Addressing the staggering power and energy demands of artificial intelligence, engineers at the University of Houston have developed a revolutionary new thin-film material that promises to make AI devices significantly faster while dramatically cutting energy consumption. 

SAN ANTONIO — December 2, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has upgraded its High-Viscosity Flow Loop (HVFL) to meet increased demands in the oil and gas industry. The expanded and upgraded facility now enables SwRI to offer more comprehensive, efficient, and cost-effective heavy oil testing.

Within tissues, cells are embedded in complex, three-dimensional structures known as the extracellular matrix. Their biomechanical interactions play a crucial role in numerous biological processes. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) have now developed a novel lab-on-a-chip system based on intelligent hydrogel structures, which enables precise pressure forces to be applied to cellular microenvironments. The recently presented method could find future applications in medical diagnostics for mechanical disorders in living tissues.

Project developed in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, allows for the highly efficient extraction of aromatic and bioactive compounds, reducing logistics costs and increasing beer quality.

TU Wien researchers have uncovered a quantum twist to the paths particles take through spacetime — one that could finally reveal which theory of quantum gravity fits nature. Their new “q-desic” framework predicts large-scale effects that might be detectable in future astrophysical observations.

Using sound to get objects to float works well if a single particle is levitated but it causes multiple particles to collapse into a clump in mid-air. Physicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have now found a way to keep them apart using charge. Their findings, published in PNAS, could benefit materials science, robotics, and microengineering.

Researchers propose a new route to electrically control magnetism using molecular ferroelectric altermagnets. By tuning molecular dipole alignments, the team demonstrates that spin polarization can be switched on, off, or reversed without altering magnetic order. Verified through theoretical model and first-principles studies in hybrid perovskites and metal-organic frameworks, this work introduces a flexible, low-power platform for electrically driven spintronics, bridging molecular ferroelectrics and next-generation magnetic memory technologies.