The public, legislators, and media often group per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS or “forever chemicals,” which are found globally in countless products, into a single category. While certain PFAS are harmful for human and public health, new articles in Heart Rhythm, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, and the Pediatric & Congenital Electrophysiology Society, published by Elsevier, emphasize that fluoropolymers, a specific class of PFAS, are not considered environmental contaminants and are indispensable for use in medical devices. Experts call for a balanced approach to protect both the environment and availability of essential medical technologies.

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed a novel framework for measuring occupancy in open-plan offices with unprecedented precision.  This innovative system uses computer vision and AI to analyze occupancy at a micro-scale level, focusing on specific functional zones within the office.  This addresses a significant gap in current occupancy tracking methods, which typically only provide macro-level data and struggle to capture detailed usage patterns within shared spaces.

The 4th LabMed Discovery Youth Scholars Forum, hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, is a themed event under the SJTU Med-Engineering Journal Alliance. This interdisciplinary forum aims to provide a platform for outstanding young researchers to share cutting-edge scientific advancements and foster academic dialogue across fields such as medicine, translational research, and biomedical engineering.

Kyoto, Japan -- Experts say quantum computing is the future of computers. Unlike conventional computers, quantum computers leverage the properties of quantum physics such as superposition and interference, theoretically outperforming current equipment to an exponential degree.

When a quantum computer is able to solve a problem unfeasible for current technologies, this is called the quantum advantage. However, this edge is not guaranteed for all calculations, raising fundamental questions regarding the conditions under which such an advantage exists. While previous studies have proposed various sufficient conditions for quantum advantage, the necessity of these conditions has remained unclear.

Motivated by this uncertainty, a team of researchers at Kyoto University has endeavored to understand the necessary and sufficient conditions for quantum advantage, using an approach combining techniques from quantum computing and cryptography, the science of coding information securely.