UC Berkeley

A new type of data storage system could be denser, smaller, faster and more energy efficient than silicon chips. The new method involves encoding data in sliding stacks of two-dimensional layers of metals.

Inflammation can get out of hand, causing pain and contributing to diseases like Alzheimer’s and diabetes. A molecular “switch” in mice that could effectively turn off that reaction, possibly reversing these conditions and maybe even aging itself.

Two compelling new studies are building on a hypothesis suggesting age-related dementia is caused by a leaky blood-brain barrier. Experts suggest the studies are interesting but not particularly applicable to human cases of dementia.

As you might imagine, installing seismic sensors on the ocean floor isn't an easy task. Recently, however, scientists were able to detect seabed seismic activity using something that was already down there – a fiber optic telecommunications cable.

Scientists at UC Berkeley have homed in on exactly which phase of sleep seems to best keep anxiety levels in check. The research suggests sleep deprivation lowers activity in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region that helps regulate our emotions.

Scientists have used the CRISPR gene-editing tool to give fruit flies a new evolutionary advantage – the ability to eat poison and store it in their bodies.

Researchers from the University of California Berkeley have developed a device that can wring drinkable amounts of water out of even the driest air.

Not only do cockroaches give many people the creeps, but often when you step on one of the critters, it just keeps on scurrying. Such resilience would be a good feature for mini-robots designed to scout disaster sites – among other applications – which is why scientists have created such a device.

​Killing up to 200,000 people annually, schistosomiasis is one of THE most deadly parasitic diseases in the world, second only to malaria. Soon, however, prawn aquaculture could be used to control the snails that spread it – and to provide revenue for people in developing nations.

Saturn sports an impressive ring system, but Uranus also has some, although they’re usually too faint to see without a powerful telescope. Striking new images shows these rings in very clear detail thanks to thermal imaging, allowing astronomers to measure their temperature for the first time.

In an effort to scale up the manufacture of biomaterials, researchers at UC Berkeley have combined bioprinting, a robotic arm, and flash freezing that may one day allow living tissue and even whole organs to be printed on demand.

​Ordinarily, robots are precisely programmed to perform certain tasks. Robots that run on artificial intelligence, though, learn tasks through a process of trial and error. The Blue robot is specifically designed for the latter, and it should be much more affordable than other AI machines.