The KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) has just signed a contract with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) for a new supercomputer, the Dardel HPE Cray XE. The system will be an HPE Cray EX supercomputer featuring AMD EPYC processors and AMD Instinct GPU accelerators. It will be housed in the PDC Center for High Performance Computing (PDC) at the KTH main campus in Stockholm.

Could quantum mechanics hold the key to the development of superfast, next-generation communication? A Marie Curie-funded project has made important steps towards answering this question. The EU-funded SIPHON project successfully created on-demand single photons and demonstrated that these particles can outperform natural atoms in experiments related to a specific quantum phenomenon. This achievement could have important implications in the ...

Brain activity simulations are a critical part of neuroscience research, but advances in this type of computing have been held back by the same thing that frustrates pretty much anything you use a computer for – namely, memory. The future of supercomputing promises immense resources for technologies such as the neuronal network simulator, NEST. The challenge today is to work out how to make optimal use of these resources.

Researchers at KTH have successfully tested a new material that can be used for cheap and large-scale production of hydrogen – a promising alternative to fossil fuel. Precious metals are the standard catalyst material used for extracting hydrogen from water. The problem is these materials - such as platinum, ruthenium and iridium - are too costly to make the process viable. A team from KTH Royal Institute of Technology recently announc...

A protocol developed in Sweden has the potential for industrial-scale production of the brain helper cells known as astrocytes. The research team's work could help medical science develop treatments for such diseases as Alzheimer’s. Star shaped cells that are found in the brain and spine, astrocytes were long thought to be the 'glue' that binds nerve cells; but recent advances show that they are much more.

  KTH researchers reported a nanoengineering innovation that offers hope for treatment of cancer, infections and other health problems – conductive wires of DNA enhanced with gold which could be used to electrically measure hundreds of biological processes simultaneously.

  With recent advances, technology can be used to synthesise silk with similar mechanical properties as an actual spider’s. But applying this material to promising medical therapies for illnesses such as cancer requires that humans develop a capability that only arachnids or silkworms possess – the ability to control the formation of silk.

The future of secure communication will be in quantum encryption, and KTH will lead research in this area under the auspices of a new national research centre financed by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Gunnar Björk, Professor of Photonics at KTH, says that the Wallenberg centre for Quantum Technology is considered to be one of Sweden's largest individual research efforts in recent years.

The initiative Wallenberg Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP), in which KTH is included, is getting substantial capital injection. Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) will contribute a total of SEK 1 billion. The AI investment can be divided into two parts. The major part, led by Danica Kragic Jensfelt, Professor of Computer Science, will focus on machine learning, deep learning and next generation AI (eXplainable AI).

Harnessing the Sun’s radiation to help rid the oceans of microplastics contamination is one of several technical innovations to be developed by a new EU-funded project. Beginning in November 2017, a system developed at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden for breaking down microplastics from personal care products will be tested for implementation in homes and wastewater treatment plants.

Since it was first observed little more than a thousand years ago, the Crab Nebula has been studied by generations of astronomers. Yet new observations by researchers at KTH show this “cosmic lighthouse” has yet to give up all of its secrets. The researchers' observations of polarised X-rays from the Crab Nebula and Pulsar, published in Scientific Reports, may help explain sudden flares in the Crab’s X-ray intensity, as wel...

For nearly two decades researchers have sought a way to target an estrogen receptor in the hope they could improve breast cancer survival, but an article published in Nature Communications contends that the effort may never pan out. The reason? The target receptor does not actually appear to be where they believe it to be. The study questions whether reliance on insufficiently-validated antibodies has led science down a dead-end path since t...

  The strongest yet hybrid silk fibres have been created by scientists in Sweden using all renewable resources. Combining spider silk proteins with nanocellulose from wood, the process offers a low-cost and scalable way to make bioactive materials for a wide range of medical uses.

The first analysis of the physical arrangement of proteins in cells was published in Science, revealing that a large portion of human proteins can be found in more than one location in a given cell. Using the Sweden-based Cell Atlas, researchers examined the spatial distribution of the human proteome that correspond to the majority of protein-coding genes, and they described in unprecedented detail the distribution of proteins to the various...

As a commodity, the least valuable part of the wheat grain is the bran – the outer coating of the kernel, which is typically sold as animal feed. Now researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a process to extract valuable biomolecules from this offal that could be used as antioxidants, prebiotics and even food packaging material. The extraction process uses only hot, high pressure water and carbohydrate-active enz...

Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology are successfully testing a way to reduce drag on trucks by creating air vortices on a vehicle’s front corners. But unlike airplane vortex generators made of solid material, these are invisible ones made with the help of electric wind. KTH researcher Julie Vernet says the electric wind vortices she is testing can reduce fuel consumption by up to 5% on a flat-nosed, cab-over-engine de...

A method for diagnosing flu virus from breath samples could soon replace invasive nasal swabs and deliver better results faster. There’s a short window for detecting influenza virus, because as the infection takes hold – the concentration of the virus lessens. So if the patient isn’t tested soon after exposure, conventional methods run the risk of a giving a false negative result.

How can the fashion industry become more sustainable? The Global Change Award competition – in which KTH Royal Institute of Technology is a partner – highlights innovations from around the world. Voting is open to all from 27 March. Make your voice heard – and influence how the million euro grant is divided between five winners. H&M Foundation, with KTH and Accenture as partners, launched the global innovation competiti...

A bacteria-trapping material developed from wood by researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology is now being tested for use as a water purification filter. The aim is to use it in places where there is no infrastructure or clean water supply. The material, which combines wood cellulose with a positively-charged polymer, can trap bacteria by attracting and binding the bacteria to the material surface.

A KTH campaign to promote STEM studies offers a way for students and professionals to reach out to teenage girls with their personal stories and advice. If today you could send a message to yourself at the age of 15, what would you say? Taking advantage of that imaginary opportunity is what lies at the center of a new STEM studies campaign aimed at girls and young women, which was launched by KTH Royal Institute of Technology in March.