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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Oct-2026 10:16 ET (30-Oct-2026 14:16 GMT/UTC)

AI-enabled stethoscope can miss the beat in pets

North Carolina State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Fourth-year veterinary students matched – and experienced clinicians outperformed – an AI-enabled digital stethoscope in diagnosing heart murmurs and arrhythmias in cats and dogs, according to a new study from North Carolina State University. The study emphasizes the importance of human expertise when using AI-assisted technology, particularly with instruments that are designed for “universal” usage.

Journal: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

UTIA plant pathologist selected as Fulbright Distinguished Scholar

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
Grant and Award Announcement

Heather Kelly, field crops pathologist at the University of Tennessee, has received a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award for two one-month trips to Brazil in 2026 and 2027

Mirage or miracle? JWST finds earliest known ‘black hole star’ at cosmic dawn

Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Little red dots have puzzled astronomers since their discovery in JWST data from the Universe’s deep past. Their ‘powering engines’ might resemble a newly discovered phenomenon dubbed a “black hole star”—an early, rapidly growing black hole wrapped in dense gas. This object, described in a study published today in Nature by researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborators, may help explain how billion-solar-mass black holes formed so soon after the Big Bang.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Danish National Research Foundation, NASA/ESA/CSA, European Research Council, others

Brain and organoid side-by-side

Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Peer-Reviewed Publication

For almost 15 years, researchers have been creating three-dimensional biological microstructures known as organoids—from heart and gut models to brain models. These allow for the study of specific questions about organ development in an isolated system. The Hippenmeyer group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) now presents its first organoid model of the mouse cerebral cortex in Nature—and thus provides new insights into its development in a Petri dish as well as in living organisms.

Journal: Nature
Funder: European Research Council, European Commission, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Austrian Science Fund

New imaging system documents seizures in real time

University of Georgia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Georgia researchers developed a new high-resolution light-sheet imaging system that is fast enough to document seizures in 3D in real-time.

Journal: Biomedical Optics Express

Tandem solar cells face a sunlight reality check

KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The study was conducted by researchers from Southwest Petroleum University, Tongwei Solar (Chengdu) Ltd., the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and collaborating institutions in China. Published (DOI: 10.1016/j.esen.2026.100065) online on May 9, 2026, in eScience Energy, the research evaluated 2T perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells under globally varying spectral conditions and developed a practical framework to assess outdoor spectral mismatch, annual energy yield, and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) across representative PV deployment climates and operating environments worldwide.

Funder: Sichuan Science and Technology Program, Chengdu Science and Technology Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China, CAS Project for Young Scientists in Basic Research, Talent Plan of Shanghai Branch, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Thinner grains help sodium-ion batteries resist hidden cracks

KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team led by Wuhan University of Technology, with collaborators from Xi'an Jiaotong University, published (DOI: 10.1016/j.esen.2026.100070) the study online on May 20, 2026, in eScience Energy. The researchers investigated how c-axis dimension tailoring affects stress evolution in layered P2-type Na_0.75Ni_0.25Mn_0.75O₂cathodes, showing that thinner grains can reduce strain build-up, improve stress dissipation, prevent internal cracking, and extend sodium-ion battery cycling stability.

Funder: National Key Research and Development Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China

AI-powered shopping trolley users spend 32% more in supermarkets, pilot study finds

City St George’s, University of London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Shoppers who use trolleys embedded with digital screens to assist trips to the supermarket spend up to a third more than those who do not, according to new research by Bayes Business School (City St George’s, University of London).

Journal: Journal of Business Research

Molten salts reshape Fe–N–C catalysts for stronger zinc–air batteries

KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, the School of Science and Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen, and the Institute of New Energy and Low-Carbon Technology at Sichuan University report the work in eScience Energy, published (DOI: 10.1016/j.esen.2026.100068) online on May 13, 2026. The study describes how a potassium chloride/zinc chloride (KCl/ZnCl₂) eutectic salt mixture drives the formation of layered iron–nitrogen–carbon (Fe–N–C) catalysts with Fe-N₅ single-atom sites for efficient ORR and zinc–air battery operation.