A team of researchers has developed a device that uses the material graphene to detect mid-infrared light and efficiently convert it to electrical signal at room temperature. It’s a breakthrough that could lead to better communications systems, thermal imagers and other technologies. Published in Nature Materials, the study is a collaboration between the laboratories of Fengnian…
Yale Physicists Find Signs Of A Time Crystal
Yale physicists have uncovered hints of a time crystal — a form of matter that “ticks” when exposed to an electromagnetic pulse — in the last place they expected: a crystal you might find in a child’s toy. The discovery means there are now new puzzles to solve, in terms of how time crystals form…
Building A Better ‘Bot’: Artificial Intelligence Helps Human Groups
Artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be super-sophisticated to make a difference in people’s lives, according to a new Yale University study. Even “dumb AI” can help human groups. In a series of experiments using teams of human players and robotic AI players, the inclusion of “bots” boosted the performance of human groups and the individual…
When It Comes To Reducing Hospital Readmissions, Financial Penalties Work
Hospitals that were financially penalized for too many readmissions were more likely than non-penalized institutions to subsequently reduce readmissions for all conditions, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers and colleagues in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Reducing readmissions has become a national priority. The Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP)…
A Better Way to Learn If Alien Planets Have the Right Stuff
A new method for analyzing the chemical composition of stars may help scientists winnow the search for Earth 2.0. Yale University researchers Debra Fischer and John Michael Brewer, in a new study that will appear in the Astrophysical Journal, describe a computational modeling technique that gives a clearer sense of the chemistry of stars, revealing the…
Shaping Tomorrow’s Smart Machines: Q&A With Bioethicist Wendell Wallach
As intelligent machines continue to make their way into all sectors of society, a growing number of scientists, ethicists, policymakers, and business executives are converging on the idea that more thought must be given to underlying issues of machines and morality. Already there are semi-autonomous technologies in use in military, manufacturing, health care, and service industry…
Quality Assessment of Colonoscopies Predicts Unplanned Readmissions
Yale School of Medicine researchers have now developed a quality measure that uses follow-up hospital visits to track the variation in colonoscopy quality among outpatient facilities. Dr. Elizabeth Drye, research scientist in pediatrics and director of quality measurement programs at the Yale/Yale-New Hospital Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, and her colleagues, recently published their findings…
Scientists find methane in Mars meteorites
An international team of researchers has discovered traces of methane in Martian meteorites, a possible clue in the search for life on the Red Planet. The researchers examined samples from six meteorites of volcanic rock that originated on Mars. The meteorites contain gases in the same proportion and with the same isotopic composition as the…
New Laser Could Improve the Images in Tomorrow’s Technology
A new semiconductor laser developed at Yale has the potential to significantly improve the imaging quality of the next generation of high-tech microscopes, laser projectors, photolithography, holography, and biomedical imaging. Based on a chaotic cavity laser, the technology combines the brightness of traditional lasers with the lower image corruption of light emitting diodes (LEDs). The…