Category Physics

Developers are increasingly relying on large language models (LLMs) for everyday computing tasks such as fixing bugs, explaining code and automating text-processing tasks like filtering logs.

However, it’s not as simple as entering or submitting a question and relying on the model to give you the answer. While humans easily understand these tasks and know exactly what they want, it is difficult to translate them into rigid computer code.

The cloud dilemma
As standard programming is often not up to the task, developers often use AI to handle jobs that are difficult to express as traditional rules...

In the last year or so, artificial intelligence companies have rolled out a spate of web browsers equipped with AI agents. A user might ask one of these agents to plan a vacation, and it will open browser tabs to research routes and restaurants, then make reservations and add events to the user’s calendar. How well it does any of this varies.

New research from the University of Washington found that the most powerful of these browsers also open users up to significant cybersecurity risks...

Cancer immunotherapy drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can be miracle drugs for cancer patients, curing some and turning deadly disease into a manageable chronic condition in others. But these drugs work for only a subset of patients, with few indications why—a knowledge gap that has detrimental effects on patient prognosis, clinical trial recruitment and research that could lead to new therapies.

A new artificial intelligence model called COMPASS, developed by Harvard Medical School researchers and their colleagues, improves prediction of which patients are most likely to respond to ICIs...

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Rice University have created a nontoxic, stretchable battery that operates by extracting moisture from the ambient environment—even in climates as dry as the desert. The batteries could be useful in Internet of Things (IoT) applications ranging from wearables to advanced surveillance monitors with built-in kill switches. The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

Emerging technologies like wearable monitors, miniature robotics and other IoT devices require lightweight, flexible power sources...