USC scientists build a memory chip that survives temperatures hotter than lava
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Apr-2026 17:15 ET (2-Apr-2026 21:15 GMT/UTC)
For decades, that thermal ceiling has been one of the hardest walls in engineering.A team at the University of Southern California may have just found a way around it. In a study in Science, researchers from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC School of Advanced Computing report a new type of electronic memory device that kept working reliably at 700 degrees Celsius, hotter than molten lava and far beyond anything previously achieved in its class. The device showed no signs of reaching its limit. Seven hundred degrees was simply as hot as their testing equipment could go.
Zhong is being recognized for inventing the synchronized-and-democratized (SYNDEM) architecture by merging synchronization principles in natural sciences and democracy concepts in social sciences and for pioneering virtual synchronous machines (VSM) technologies to revolutionize power systems.
After decades of progress, longevity science may be facing a paradox: more knowledge, but limited impact. Some researchers now suggest the field may have failed not because of insufficient data, but because of flawed strategy.
For the first time in Arizona, and only the second time in the U.S., HonorHealth Research Institute treated a patient with a new type of lumbar spine disc repair that provides immediate relief of pain and maintains the patient’s full range of motion.
The Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering have announced that the Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering will become a joint department between the two schools, forging a formal partnership in education, research and innovation in technology and medicine. This joint department, one of the first of its kind in California, builds on decades of cross-disciplinary research and breakthroughs at USC, including the world’s first FDA-approved artificial retina, the first brain implant to restore lost memory function, and innovations in immunotherapy to treat cancer. With added support from USC’s president and provost, the newly integrated biomedical engineering department will create new structures and gain new resources dedicated to further accelerating biomedical innovation, enriching educational programs and advancing technology in medicine. It will combine expertise in priority areas spanning medical devices, neuroengineering, imaging science, drug discovery, artificial intelligence (AI) and informatics, cellular and molecular bioengineering, and more. Facilities at both the Viterbi School of Engineering and the Keck School of Medicine will be devoted to the joint department, with the chair reporting to both deans. Yingxiao (Peter) Wang, PhD, the department’s current chair, who also holds the Dwight C. and Hildagarde E. Baum Chair in Biomedical Engineering, will help implement the transition by leading the department into its next phase.
A new Concordia University study finds residential energy use in Quebec is driven more by household demographics than building age. Using smart-meter data (2019–2023) and census variables, researchers show factors like income, household size and car ownership better explain consumption, offering utilities and policymakers clearer tools to design targeted, equitable energy strategies.