Technology standards currently offer a greater chance of success than regulation

Prof. Urs Gasser advocates a quality management system for quantum technologies

Technical University of Munich (TUM)

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Prof. Dr. Urs Gasser

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Credit: Andreas Heddergott / TUM

How can quantum technologies be developed responsibly? In the journal Science, researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University of Cambridge, Harvard University and Stanford University argue that international standards should be established before laws are enacted. Prof. Urs Gasser explains why the authors propose a quality management system for quantum technologies, how standards create trust and where even competing countries such as China and the US can cooperate.

Quantum technologies could have an even more disruptive impact than artificial intelligence. This is why there are growing calls to steer technological development in a socially responsible direction at an early stage through legislation, unlike with AI. Why do you see things differently?

We are not fundamentally opposed to legal regulation. At a later stage, when the applications of quantum technologies are more clearly foreseeable, legislators should draw red lines, particularly for high-risk applications. However, in the current early development phase, we believe that a different approach is more promising for achieving goals such as security, interoperability, transparency and accountability: the creation of international technology standards on which legislation can be based. In other words: standards first.

This sounds like we want to get to grips with the most complex technology in history using DIN standards.

Precisely because the technology is so complex, technical standards must come first. The issue becomes clear in the case of AI regulation in Europe, where the reverse approach was taken: we now have an EU AI Act, but standards will need to be developed feverishly in the coming years to understand what the regulation means and what compliance looks like in practice. This can create significant legal uncertainty and strain the innovation climate at a critical moment.

Are there any examples of successful standardisation of complex technologies?

Numerous technologies have been guided by standards on which regulation could be based. For example, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has created essential standards for information security, which are crucial for companies in all industries – and thus also for their customers – in the protection of sensitive data in the digital age. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has established safety requirements for medical electrical equipment to ensure the protection of patients and users. And the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has created the technical basis for Wi-Fi with its standards for wireless networks, enabling devices from different manufacturers to communicate seamlessly with each other. In a similar way, we can now also define protocols, interfaces and numerous technical specifications for quantum technologies.

What standardisation work is already underway and what should be done now?

A wide range of standardisation processes are already underway at international and national level. For instance, ISO and IEC established Joint Technical Committee 3 (JTC 3) in early 2024 to develop fundamental standards for quantum computing, quantum communication and related areas. The IEEE, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) are also working on standards for post-quantum cryptography, interoperability, security and performance benchmarks. 

Building on this, our proposal recommends the introduction of a certifiable quality management system (QMS) for quantum technologies. This would not only take technical aspects such as stability and security into account, but also systematically integrate legal, ethical and thus socially relevant aspects into development and operation. It won‘t be the individual product that is certified, but the company's management system – similar to the current practice in medical technology. Such certificates could be issued by independent, accredited bodies such as TÜV once a standard has been defined. This would create a trustworthy framework that ensures quality, transparency and accountability.

Given the technological and economic competition, is it realistic to expect an international agreement on such a system?

Standards facilitate international cooperation even where political cooperation is currently lacking – for instance, between China, the United States and Europe. In committees such as ISO, IEC and IEEE, experts develop globally recognised rules that create trust in new technologies and give companies security for their investments. In addition, these soft laws are more flexible than traditional laws as they can be quickly adapted to technical developments, thus facilitating innovation without losing sight of the risks. 

Isn't that a very technocratic process lacking democratic legitimacy?

Standard setting is certainly not a classic democratic process such as parliamentary legislation. Nevertheless, it is not a closed expert system. International standardisation organisations often bring together various stakeholders, including companies, civil society groups, research institutes and public authorities. In national committees that help shape international work, different interest groups are often even more closely involved. In addition, many standards today are developed not only to address technical issues, but also increasingly to take ethical, social and legal aspects into account – for instance, in areas such as data protection, security or inclusion. Social values, risks and rights are an integral part of standards for quality management systems in particular.

At the same time, there is justified criticism. Some standardisation processes are dominated by economically powerful actors, and social perspectives are not equally represented. These shortcomings are well known and are increasingly being addressed – for example, in current debates on the development of AI standards in Europe, where conscious efforts are being made to give greater consideration to civil society voices and fundamental rights issues.

It is important to note that standards do not replace political regulation. Rather, they can precede it and establish a compatible foundation. The actual regulation remains the task of democratic institutions, which establish legally binding frameworks on this basis, adapted to national contexts and societal debates.

About Urs Gasser:
Prof. Dr. Urs Gasser heads the Chair of Public Policy, Governance and Innovative Technology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). He is Dean of the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology and Rector of the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy (HfP) at TUM. Previously, he was Executive Director of the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society at Harvard University and Professor at Harvard Law School.
https://www.gov.sot.tum.de/en/innotech/team/prof-dr-urs-gasser

Further information:

• The other authors of the policy paper are
  • Mateo Aboy, Director of Research at the Centre for Law, Medicine, and Life Sciences, University of Cambridge 
  • I. Glenn Cohen, Deputy Dean of Harvard Law School, Harvard University
  • Mauritz Kop, Founding Director of the Stanford Centre for Responsible Quantum Technology, Stanford University
• The thesis paper incorporates the results of debates held by the Quantum Social Lab of the TUM Think Tank and also contributes to the new TransforM Cluster of Excellence. The TUM Think Tank brings together science, civil society, politics and business to jointly develop solutions and instruments for pressing problems.
  https://tumthinktank.de/en/project/quantum-social-lab/
  https://transform-cluster.de/
• The work was supported by the International Collaborative Bioscience Innovation & Law (Inter-CeBIL) Programme, made possible by a Novo Nordisk Foundation Grant.

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adw0018 

Method of Research

Commentary/editorial

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Quantum technology governance: A standards-first approach

Article Publication Date

7-Aug-2025

 

How a rare cycad's wax crystals conjure blue without pigment

Hiroshima University

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E. horridus (center) in a greenhouse under natural sunlight, with its leaves appearing more bluish than those of the neighboring cycad, Dioon edule (left).

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Credit: Courtesy of Takashi Nobusawa/Hiroshima University

The endangered South African cycad Encephalartos horridus may resemble a relic from the Jurassic age, but the species itself evolved long after dinosaurs disappeared. Still, it carries a biochemical legacy inherited from its distant ancestors—plants that once thrived alongside Jurassic fauna. A team led by Hiroshima University (HU) researchers found that its spiky, silvery-blue leaves owe their color not to pigment, but to a wax-based optical effect produced by a lipid compound that may date back to the dawn of land plants.

In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Botany, researchers revealed that the coating of epicuticular wax on E. horridus leaves forms tubular crystals that reflect light from ultraviolet (UV) to blue wavelengths, giving the plant its bluish sheen. The paper will also appear on the front cover of the journal's upcoming Volume 76, Issue 12.

Nonacosan-10-ol, the key wax compound, is found across diverse plant lineages—including gymnosperms such as ginkgos, conifers, and cycads, and has even been detected in certain mosses—suggesting the ability to produce it emerged early in the evolution of land plants. However, only a few species can organize it into specialized wax structures that produce structural color, vivid hues generated not by pigment, but by microscopic architectures that scatter light. It’s the same optical effect behind the iridescent wings of morpho butterflies and the vibrant plumage of blue jays—both of which appear blue despite lacking the pigment.

The team found, however, that this unique color in E. horridus doesn't come from the wax alone. It also depends on how the wax interacts with the dark green, chlorophyll-rich tissues underneath.

“The blue color of Encephalartos horridus leaves comes not from pigments but from a clever natural trick. Tiny wax crystals on the surface create what’s called ‘structural coloration,’” explained study corresponding author Takashi Nobusawa, assistant professor at HU’s Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life.

“The leaf surface is coated with ultra-thin wax crystals about one ten-thousandth of a millimeter wide. Peeling off the leaf’s surface layer makes the blue disappear. But placing it back on a dark surface brings the blue back, as if by magic.”

UV defense and pollinator lure?

To understand why the leaves of E. horridus appear bluish, researchers ran Monte Carlo multi-layered (MCML) simulations to model how light interacts with the wax crystals about 0.1 micrometers in diameter, thousands of times smaller than a typical grain of sand. The simulations revealed that when the wax layer sits against a dark background, it minimizes unwanted reflection, intensifying the blue hue. But if there is an air gap between the wax and the underlying tissue, reflectivity increases, causing a grayish cast. Replacing the air with water restores the original color by letting more light reach the chlorophyll-rich cells beneath the wax.

Although the superhydrophobic properties of nonacosan-10-ol have been well-documented, its connection to efficient UV reflection remains less understood. Shielding against UV rays is important for survival in desert environments, where the radiation can harm plant cells. However, the researchers suspect there's more to it. The glaucous sheen could also be a visual cue for insect pollinators like a neon sign pointing toward the plant’s reproductive organs. Insects can see UV light, which is invisible to the human eye, and many also have heightened sensitivity to blue wavelengths.

Lost to time

Although E. horridus is known to accumulate the secondary alcohol nonacosan-10-ol in its epicuticular wax, how this compound is biosynthesized remains a mystery. By contrast, wax biosynthesis has been extensively studied in Arabidopsis thaliana and other model plants in the angiosperm group (flowering plants), which evolved much later. In Arabidopsis, nonacosan-10-ol is not detected; instead, nonacosan-14-ol and nonacosan-15-ol are produced as secondary alcohols by a characterized pathway.

To investigate how the E. horridus produces its distinctive wax compound, the team focused on KCS (keto-acyl-CoA synthases) enzymes, which they suspected to be responsible for nonacosan-10-ol biosynthesis. However, introducing these enzymes into a model plant did not result in production of the compound—suggesting that additional, as-yet-unknown pathways are likely involved.

“Why do the leaves of Encephalartos horridus, an endangered South African cycad, appear strikingly blue even though they contain no blue pigments? The question itself is scientifically fascinating—it uncovers a natural optical strategy far more refined than we might expect from plants. Understanding this mechanism not only deepens our grasp of plant adaptation in extreme environments but could also inspire nature-based technologies,” Nobusawa said.

“The next step is to figure out how the plant makes the special wax compound, nonacosan-10-ol, and to uncover the genes and enzymes behind it. In the long run, the goal is to understand how this adaptation evolved and to use these insights to develop new materials inspired by nature.”

Other members of the research team were Makoto Kusaba also from HU’s Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Takashi Okamoto from Kyushu Institute of Technology, and Michiharu Nakano from Kochi University.

The Encephalartos genus of cycads emerged around nine million years ago.

Glaucous leaves of the endangered E. horridus cycad

Credit

Courtesy of Takashi Nobusawa/Hiroshima University

 

About Hiroshima University

Since its foundation in 1949, Hiroshima University has striven to become one of the most prominent and comprehensive universities in Japan for the promotion and development of scholarship and education. Consisting of 12 schools for undergraduate level and 5 graduate schools, ranging from natural sciences to humanities and social sciences, the university has grown into one of the most distinguished comprehensive research universities in Japan. English website: https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en

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Journal

Journal of Experimental Botany

DOI

10.1093/jxb/eraf115 

Article Title

Structural coloration and epicuticular wax properties of the distinctive glaucous leaves of Encephalartos horridus

 

Understanding how young children recognize emotions in music

New research from psychologists in the School of Arts & Sciences shows that children ages 3 to 5 can identify happiness, sadness, calmness, and fear in music, but that children who show fewer signs of empathy or guilt have more difficulty.

University of Pennsylvania

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Music is a powerful tool for conveying mood, whether heard via a live performance or movie soundtrack, making it an effective medium for understanding how people identify and respond to emotions. Studies have found that children ages 5 to 11 show increasing accuracy in recognizing specific emotions in music.

However, research on emotion recognition in music among people with traits associated with “callous-unemotional” behavior—such as the absence of empathy, guilt, or open expression of feelings—is lacking. This matters because children higher in these traits are at higher risk for aggression, rule-breaking, and psychopathological behaviors.

Researchers from the Department of Psychology in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences have studied how well 144 Philadelphia-area children ages 3 to 5 recognized happiness, sadness, calmness, or fear in 5-second music clips.

They find that children can identify emotions with a level of accuracy better than a random guess, with performance improving with age. In addition, they find that children whose parents score them higher in callous-unemotional traits show poorer recognition of emotion in music overall but did not have a more difficult time recognizing fearful music. Their findings are published in Child Development.

“We show that children are good at matching emotion faces to the ‘correct’ emotion music, even at age 3,” says associate professor Rebecca Waller, co-senior author with former MindCORE postdoctoral fellow Rista C. Plate, “which emphasizes how important music can be, particularly in emotion socialization and social skills teaching and for children who may still be learning ways to express their emotions verbally.”

This is the first study examining whether children with higher callous-unemotional traits have difficulty recognizing music, Waller says. Yael Paz, a postdoctoral fellow in Waller’s EDEN Lab and co-first author with Syndey Sun, a Penn undergraduate at the time of this research, says one of the most interesting findings is differences in emotion recognition from music compared to facial expressions.

Waller notes that previous work from her lab and others shows that children with higher callous-unemotional traits have more difficulty recognizing distress from facial expressions. The authors therefore hypothesized that children with higher callous-unemotional traits would have a harder time recognizing fearful music.

Paz says researchers were surprised to see that children higher in these traits were just as good at recognizing fear, suggesting that music may be uniquely well-suited for emotion recognition. She sees music as an alternate port of entry for children who struggle with understanding people’s emotions through facial expressions or other visual cues.

This study was conducted in a community sample of children with low overall levels of callous-unemotional traits, and the authors note that a future direction of research is replicating their work among children referred from a clinic that sees children higher in callous-unemotional traits. Waller says another interesting follow-up question is what factors—such as genetics or experiences—explain differences in children’s ability to identify emotions in music.

“We’re excited to continue to use music as a paradigm both to understand underlying mechanisms and as a treatment target,” she says. “Music can be highly evocative, which may be of particular benefit for this subgroup of children.”

Rebecca Waller is an associate professor of psychology in the School of Arts & Sciences and director of the EDEN Lab at the University of Pennsylvania.

Yael Paz is a postdoctoral fellow in the EDEN Lab.

The other co-authors are Sydney Sun, Michaela Flum, Yuheiry Rodriguez, Erin Brown, and Rista C. Plate of the Department of Psychology in Penn Arts & Sciences.

This paper was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH125904), a MindCORE Postdoctoral Fellowship at Penn, Israel Science Foundation, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the University Scholars Program in Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowship.

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Journal

Child Development

DOI

10.1111/cdev.70024 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Hearing a Feeling: Music Emotion Recognition and Callous-Unemotional Traits in Early Childhood

Article Publication Date

4-Aug-2025

 

Prescription drug utilization and spending by race, ethnicity, payer, health condition, and US state

JAMA Health Forum

About The Study:

 In this cross-sectional study of 143 health conditions among persons in 50 states and Washington, DC, per capita pharmaceutical use was highest among white populations and lowest among Asian or Pacific Islander and Hispanic populations. However, after standardizing for age and disease prevalence (for 52 conditions with available data), prescription fills were substantially lower for Black populations relative to the all-population mean. These patterns varied by state, highlighting the need for local- and condition-specific approaches to advancing pharmacoequity in the U.S.

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Maitreyi Sahu, PhD, email msahu@uw.edu.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.2329)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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About JAMA Health Forum: JAMA Health Forum is an international, peer-reviewed, online, open access journal that addresses health policy and strategies affecting medicine, health and health care. The journal publishes original research, evidence-based reports and opinion about national and global health policy; innovative approaches to health care delivery; and health care economics, access, quality, safety, equity and reform. Its distribution will be solely digital and all content will be freely available for anyone to read.

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JAMA Health Forum

SFU indoor berry research scales up and branches out with support from the Homegrown Innovation Challenge

Simon Fraser University

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Greenhouse berry production research at Simon Fraser University (SFU) is ramping up thanks to $5 million in new funding over three years from the Weston Family Foundation’s Homegrown Innovation Challenge.

The SFU-led project—developed in collaboration with industry partner BeriTech—is one of four Canadian projects selected to participate in the Challenge’s Scaling Phase. With this support, the team will continue advancing their indoor blueberry trials while branching out to include raspberries and blackberries. The goal: to develop sustainable, scalable, and economically viable indoor growing systems that can support Canadian farmers year-round.

Led by biological sciences professor Jim Mattsson, the team is working to address key challenges in indoor production, from plant genetics to growing conditions.

“Berry plants are less demanding than crops such as tomatoes and peppers, but also have a lower yield. “We aim at identifying the sweet spot between inputs and outputs to provide berries at an affordable price,” explains BeriTech chief science officer Eric Gerbrandt.

“We’re working with raspberry farmers already. They’re eager to extend the season on both sides, and they are very interested in greenhouse technology, but they don’t have the know-how to do it.”

In order to make indoor berry farming viable at scale, the team is developing  compact, high-yield berry varieties as well as the technology and growing sytems needed for them to thrive.

“You can buy both raspberry and blueberry plants that have a shorter stature, but they have a fairly low yield,” Mattsson explains. “Certain genes have been knocked out creating a plant that is essentially less healthy, and therefore smaller. But if you knock out the right gene, you can get healthy plant that is smaller.”

Alongside this work on genetics, BeriTech is designing low-cost, modular systems to provide optimal growing conditions at a price point that farmers can afford.

“We’re taking a fairly simple approach,” Mattsson explains, “a turnkey solution based on existing technologies to keep the cost low for farmers.”

This work also contributes to a broader protocol for adapting other crops to indoor production, laying the groundwork for more resilient food systems. With increasing uncertainty due to climate change and global supply chain disruptions, increasing Canada’s capacity to grow food year-round, and decrease our dependence on imports.

While delivering high yields is important, Mattsson believes Canadians shouldn’t have to compromise on flavour or nutrition and the team is also working on improving the flavour content of the berries.

“Flavour boils down to two things: sugar content, and then some flavouring compounds,” he explains. “We're going to try to get higher amounts of raspberry ketone, the flavouring agent that provides a specific raspberry flavour. We're aiming for that taste you remember from childhood, the way berries should taste.”

Delivered over six years and funded by the Weston Family Foundation, the $33 million Homegrown Innovation Challenge supports the development of tools and technologies to enable Canadian producers to grow berries out of season, sustainably and competitively. We believe that by accomplishing out-of-season berry production, we can also unlock solutions for myriad other fruits and vegetables.

 

Expanding Montana’s precision ag: 

Anish Sapkota studies water, soil and more in agricultural systems

Montana State University

 

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Montana State University assistant professor Anish Sapkota has earned a 2025 Emerging Science Award from the Western Society of Crop Science. Sapkota works with drones and remote sensing among other areas of precision agriculture. MSU photo by Marcus "Doc" Cravens

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Credit: MSU photo by Marcus "Doc" Cravens

BOZEMAN – Emerging opportunities in the realm of precision agriculture are countless, examining earth, sky and everything in between. At Montana State University, faculty are delving into many of them with the goal of improving resources for the state’s agricultural producers.

Anish Sapkota is one of those faculty members, an assistant professor of precision agriculture in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences. Precision agriculture involves the incorporation of the latest data and technology into agricultural production, and Sapkota’s breadth of research exploring precision management of water and fertilizer earned him the Western Society of Crop Science’s 2025 Emerging Scientist Award in June.

Sapkota, who is originally from Nepal, joined the faculty a year ago, but he also received his master’s degree from MSU in 2018. He then completed a doctorate at the University of California, Riverside and postdoctoral research at the University of California, Davis.

“I gained a diverse experience working in traditional agricultural systems and with new technologies, bringing those together to understand what’s happening below ground, near ground and above ground,” said Sapkota. “And then there comes this opportunity to be able to come here. I’m so excited to be back at Montana State.”

Sapkota’s research focuses on abiotic stressors, which are those that don’t come from living things such as pests or disease. Drought, heat and soil nutrients can present abiotic stress, he said, and precision agriculture presents a wealth of potential remedies. His work exploring stress in crops including wheat and alfalfa earned him this WSCS Emerging Scientist Award, presented to a young researcher who has made significant contributions to the scientific profession with particular impact in agricultural industries.

The more data researchers can collect from a field, the more precise management can become, Sapkota said, and with the amount of freely available data from satellites, drones and sensors, agricultural fields can be analyzed for everything from water to nutrient stress in different parts of the field. Then, producers can apply only what is needed at the right place and right time, whether that be water or fertilizer, exactly where it will have the most benefit. That practice, called variable rate application, allows farmers to save both money and products by not wasting them where they won’t be effective.

Sapkota is also collaborating with other MSU faculty and Montana growers to evaluate technology such as soil moisture sensors, drones and precision irrigation tool so that farmers can use the latest developments with confidence.

“Dr. Sapkota truly is an emerging outstanding scientist developing and applying new technologies to improve crop production efficiency in Montana. I am proud of his work and congratulate him on this well-deserving recognition,” said Sreekala Bajwa, MSU’s vice president for agriculture. “Dr. Sapkota’s research is a great example of how the new investments our state is making in the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station’s precision agriculture programs are paying off.”

MSU continues to develop research programs and coursework in precision agriculture. As part of that effort, Sapkota has graduate students and research assistants working alongside him. He said that any interested student can find a place to conduct precision agriculture research at MSU, with the work constantly expanding both in geographic region and in topics of interest.

The opportunities are endless, he said, and Montana is fertile ground for exploration. Helping producers to make their operations sustainable and productive causes beneficial ripple effects across the state and the industry.

“Montana is very diverse in terms of cropping systems and practices. We need to understand these differences to better manage agricultural needs and inputs,” he said. “Agriculture is a major industry in Montana, so if we can contribute to addressing problems in agriculture, it means we create lasting impact across the region.”