Christos Cassandras, a Boston University professor and IEEE Life Fellow, has built mathematical models and algorithms that use vehicles' speed, mass, and distance to coordinate self-driving cars without traffic signals. He received this year's IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society Outstanding Research Award for the work, which builds on his 1990s theory describing cars as both physical objects and information-processing systems, now known as cyber physical systems.
spectrum.ieee.org
· 2026-10-02
A study published in Organisms Diversity & Evolution by University of British Columbia researchers documents seven sea spider species found in the Salish Sea, including two previously undescribed ones alongside five known species. The team collected specimens from depths of up to about 60 feet and used scanning electron microscopy and DNA analysis to classify them. One new species, Callipallene pilosuspedes, was named for its hairy, sensory-hair-covered mouthparts.
nautil.us
· 2026-10-02
Alina Morse, who appeared on Entrepreneur Magazine's cover at age 13, is now a senior at Michigan State University while continuing to run her candy company Zolli Candy and its nonprofit, the Million Smiles Initiative. She told Entrepreneur that the company expanded distribution through retailers including Whole Foods, Walmart and Amazon in the years following the cover story, and that she still uses the original magazine feature as a tool when pitching new retail partners.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-02
A Northeastern University study conducted with Consumer Reports tested 21 vehicles from 19 brands and 30 companion apps, finding every vehicle sent data to at least one third-party domain. More than half contacted advertising, tracking or analytics firms, and seven apps transmitted identifying details such as phone numbers, VINs and precise locations. Consumer Reports says it is the first study to map how data flows between vehicles, apps and outside companies.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-02
Researchers from the University of Exeter and University of Essex, publishing in Nature, found that butterflies' wing patterns combine with their flight to produce visual illusions that distort predators' perception of speed and direction. The team says this helps explain why few predators specialise in catching butterflies mid-flight, unlike moths, which are preyed on by many aerial hunters.
essex.ac.uk
· 2026-10-01
A team led by planetary scientist Hiroki Karyu at Tohoku University used a microphysical model to explain the yellowish haze in Venus' lower atmosphere, first seen by Venera and Pioneer Venus probes in the 1970s. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, found the haze forms when sulfuric acid reacts with dust particles left behind by meteorites burning up in the atmosphere, ruling out volcanic ash or surface dust as the source.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-01
The University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine is leading a research project awarded as much as $38 million to study whether digital twins can simulate how critically ill patients respond to treatments. The initiative targets ICU decision-making, where clinicians must weigh variables such as unusual immune responses when choosing therapies.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-01
Researchers from Northern Arizona University, working with Peru's Ministry of Culture, uncovered four well-preserved mummies in a location inconsistent with the established narrative of the Wari Empire's expansion into Nazca territory. The find has prompted archaeologists to reconsider existing assumptions about how and where the Wari exerted control.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-01
A new Quinnipiac University national poll finds that more than 70% of Americans say they are concerned AI technology could threaten humanity's existence. The survey indicates public anxiety has expanded beyond job displacement and rising energy costs linked to data centers to encompass broader fears about AI's long-term dangers.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-01
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine analyzed a decade of usage data from McGraw Hill's Aleks math platform, comparing student performance before and after ChatGPT's 2022 launch. They found students completed word problems faster and with higher accuracy after ChatGPT arrived, but scored 25% worse on those same problem types during proctored exams without AI access, while graphing-task performance stayed the same. A separate July study from Middlebury College suggested students can still use AI productively as a tutor without losing critical thinking skills.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-01
UPMC's community hospital in Lititz, Pennsylvania has evaluated about 50 measles patients since April, with roughly 20 requiring hospitalization, according to infectious disease specialist John Goldman. Statewide, Pennsylvania has logged 943 cases, 176 hospitalizations and five deaths as of September 30, part of a national measles resurgence topping 3,600 cases this year, the highest since 1991.
wired.com
· 2026-10-01
Physicists at the University of Surrey have designed a new type of qubit, the Superfluid Helium Oscillator Quantum (SHOQ) device, built from superfluid helium-3 rather than superconducting circuits. Published in npj Quantum Information, the team's calculations suggest the charge-neutral design could cut error rates roughly 100-fold compared with conventional superconducting qubits. Lead author Dr. Priya Sharma says it is the first reported qubit concept based on a superfluid.
sciencedaily.com
· 2026-10-01
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