Researchers have developed a new kind of nanoelectronic device that could dramatically cut the energy consumed by artificial intelligence hardware by mimicking the human brain. The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, developed a form of hafnium oxide that acts as a highly stable, low-energy “memristor”—a component designed to mimic the efficient way neurons are connected in the brain. The results are reported in the journal Science Advances.
Current AI systems rely on conventional computer chips that shuttle data back and forth between memory and processing units. This constant movement consumes large amounts of electricity, and global demand is exploding as AI adoption expands across industries.
Brain-inspired, or neuromorphic, computing is an alternative way to process information that could reduce energy use by as much as 70% by storing and processing information in the same place, and doing so with extremely low power. Such a system would also be far more adaptable, in the same way our own brains are able to learn and adapt.
Time is the one thing every human being experiences identically, or so we assume.
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili dismantles that assumption, explaining how velocity and gravity don’t just affect clocks but actually alter the rate at which time passes for the person experiencing it.
About Jim Al-Khalili: Jim is a multiple award-winning science communicator renowned for his public engagement around the world through writing and broadcasting and a leading academic making fundamental contributions to theoretical physics, particularly in nuclear reaction theory, quantum effects in biology, open quantum systems and the foundations of quantum mechanics. Jim is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science. He received his PhD in nuclear reaction theory in 1989 and has published widely in the field. His current interest is in open quantum systems and the application of quantum mechanics in biology.
Humans excel at transmitting ideas, skills, and knowledge across generations, and at building on those competencies in a cumulative manner. James Rilling, Professor of Psychology at Emory University, explores how the transmission of our cumulative culture is assumed to depend on both language and mental perspective-taking, or theory of mind. If humans have specialized abilities in these domains, we must have neurobiological specializations to support them. Our research has used comparative primate neuroimaging to attempt to identify such specializations. The arcuate fasciculus is a white matter fiber tract that links Wernicke’s and Broca’s language areas. It is known to be involved in multiple, high level linguistic functions such as lexical semantics, complex syntax, and speech fluency. Using diffusion weighted imaging and tractography, we have demonstrated human specializations in the size and trajectory of the arcuate fasciculus that may partially explain human linguistic abilities. Theory of Mind depends on a set of cortical regions that belong to a neural network known as the default mode network that is functionally connected, highly active at rest, and deactivated by attention-demanding cognitive tasks. We and others have used functional neuroimaging to show that chimpanzees and other primates appear to have a default mode network that is similar to that of humans. However, the non-human primate default mode network seems to have weaker connectivity between certain key nodes, suggesting that these connections could play a role in human theory of mind specializations. Recorded on 02/27/2026. [3/2026] [Show ID: 41329]
Explore More Science & Technology on UCTV (https://www.uctv.tv/science) Science and technology continue to change our lives. University of California scientists are tackling the important questions like climate change, evolution, oceanography, neuroscience and the potential of stem cells.
UCTV is the broadcast and online media platform of the University of California, featuring programming from its ten campuses, three national labs and affiliated research institutions. UCTV explores a broad spectrum of subjects for a general audience, including science, health and medicine, public affairs, humanities, arts and music, business, education, and agriculture. Launched in January 2000, UCTV embraces the core missions of the University of California — teaching, research, and public service – by providing quality, in-depth television far beyond the campus borders to inquisitive viewers around the world.
Valid on Textra. Not valid on Lumino and Limited Edition.
Antimatter drives sound like science fiction, but they may not be as far as you think. There’s a version that could, just maybe, launch within your lifetime.
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In this video I explain why I think it’s wrong to believe that the speed of light is an impossible to overcome limit. I am afraid that this is the biggest mistake that physicists are making, that indeed our entire species is making. And it’s all due to physicists’ misunderstanding quantum mechanics.
Genetic switches near the FTO locus may enable hibernators’ extreme metabolic resilience and could inspire future treatments for human metabolic and age-related diseases.
In an observational cohort study based on the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities-Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), the presence of lobar and mixed CMBs was associated with incident dementia. stroke.
BACKGROUND: Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are associated with dementia, but the impact of specific microbleed patterns (with distinct pathophysiologies) is unclear. Lobar CMBs commonly result from cerebral amyloid angiopathy (sometimes with cortical superficial siderosis [cSS]), while subcortical microbleeds indicate a hypertensive cause. This study investigates the association of CMB presence, patterns, and frequency with dementia risk. METHODS: Participants from the ARIC-NCS (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities-Neurocognitive Study), a community-based longitudinal cohort, with a 3T research magnetic resonance imaging at visit 5 (2011–2013) without prior intracerebral hemorrhage or dementia, were included. CMB and cSS presence and location were evaluated using a T2 gradient-recalled echo sequence.
Wang et al. apply INVADEseq to probe intracellular bacteria in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients treated with neoadjuvant immunotherapy. They show that bacteria modulate immune efficacy, identify specific response predictors, and uncover the impact of bacteria on the communication between predictors and cDC1s.
Biologically informed plasma pTau217 thresholds improved diagnostic accuracy for amyloid PET positivity in patients with CKD and anemia vs a standard single cutoff, supporting cost-efficient biomarker implementation in AlzheimerDisease screening.
Question For plasma phosphorylated tau 217–based amyloid-β detection, does the strategy of using biological subgroup–specific optimal single cutoffs or a double cutoff better optimize diagnostic accuracy and cost efficiency?
Findings This cohort study found that subgroup-specific optimal cutoffs improved accuracy over the standard single cutoff, especially in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and anemia. Compared with a double cutoff, the optimal cutoff had similar or better accuracy in CKD with lower cost, whereas a double cutoff was slightly better in underweight and anemia but created intermediates; in obesity, a double cutoff remained superior.
Meaning Biologically optimized cutoffs offer a balanced, cost-efficient default, particularly in CKD and anemia, while a double cutoff retains advantages in obesity.
