Daily Innovation News

November 18^th 2024

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💻 Technology

🇺🇸 US researchers develop AI headphones that create personalized, adjustable 'sound bubbles'

A team of US researchers has created AI-powered headphones that let wearers hear voices within a customizable "sound bubble" of 3 to 6 feet while muting external noises by an average of 49 decibels. Using algorithms that detect sound sources by distance, the headphones can separate close conversations from background noise in real time, making them ideal for noisy environments like restaurants or offices. This innovation, published in Nature Electronics, could advance hearing aid technology and is expected to be commercialized by a new startup.

⚡️ Energy

🇯🇵 Japanese researchers develop hydrogels to produce clean hydrogen fuel using sunlight

Scientists in Japan have created innovative hydrogels that mimic photosynthesis to produce hydrogen fuel from sunlight and water. By incorporating polymer networks with ruthenium complexes and platinum nanoparticles, these hydrogels efficiently split water into hydrogen and oxygen without fossil fuels. This artificial photosynthesis breakthrough, which resolves previous clumping issues in similar systems, could provide an alternative method for sustainable hydrogen production for industry and transportation.

🚘 Transport

🇺🇸 US researchers develop AI that detects EV battery fire risk with 94% accuracy

Researchers at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created an AI that detects overheating in lithium-ion batteries by identifying a unique sound emitted before ignition. Using over 1,000 audio samples, the AI correctly recognized warning sounds 94% of the time, offering a valuable early warning system. This breakthrough could lead to advanced fire alarms for electric vehicle garages, warehouses, and homes, improving safety by allowing extra time for evacuation.

🤖 Artificial Intelligence

🇬🇧 UK mobile network deploys AI "grandmother" to outsmart and waste scammers' time

The UK's largest mobile network, O2, has developed "Daisy," an AI that impersonates a talkative senior citizen to engage and delay phone scammers. Daisy listens to scammers and responds in real time, keeping them on the line with rambling conversations and fake personal details, significantly reducing their chances of reaching real victims. This AI, trained with the help of a professional scambaiter, also gathers data on scammers' tactics, advancing efforts to combat fraud.

💉 Biotechnology

🇸🇪 Swedish researchers unlock seaweed as a sustainable, protein-rich superfood

Researchers in Sweden have developed a new method to extract high-quality proteins from sea lettuce (a type of seaweed) three times more efficiently, enabling its potential as a sustainable protein source. Published in Food Chemistry, the study outlines a process that isolates seaweed proteins for use in foods like smoothies and burgers, promoting seaweed as a low-impact alternative to meat and plant-based proteins. This innovation could support global protein demands while reducing the environmental footprint of food production.

💊 Healthcare

🇺🇸 🇪🇸 🇹🇷 US, Spanish, and Turkish researchers find weakness in antibiotic-resistant bacteria

A team of US, Spanish, and Turkish scientists has identified a vulnerability in antibiotic-resistant bacteria linked to magnesium availability. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria require magnesium to stabilize ribosomes, but competition with cellular energy molecules for magnesium weakens their growth. This weakness, published in Science Advances, offers a potential drug-free approach to control antibiotic resistance, potentially by depleting magnesium in bacterial environments.

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