More than 1 in 10 people with a range of non-cancerous lung diseases may be sick as a result of inhaling vapors, gas, dust or fumes at work, according to a joint American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society statement published in the ATS's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
* This article was originally published here
Friday, 31 May 2019
New algorithm may help people store more pictures, share videos faster
The world produces about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. Storing and transferring all of this enormous—and constantly growing—number of images, videos, Tweets, and other forms of data is becoming a significant challenge, one that threatens to undermine the growth of the internet and thwart the introduction of new technologies, such as the Internet of Things.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Video: What are the northern lights?
Every winter, thousands of tourists head north hoping to catch a glimpse of the luminous auroras dancing in the sky.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Smoke from Canadian wildfires drifts into 5 US states
Smoke from large wildfires in Canada's Alberta province has drifted into five U.S. states and is causing haze and air quality issues.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Quick liquid packaging: Encasing water silhouettes in 3-D polymer membranes for lab-in-a-drop experiments
The ability to confine water in an enclosed compartment without directly manipulating it or using rigid containers is an attractive possibility. In a recent study, Sara Coppola and an interdisciplinary research team in the departments of Biomaterials, Intelligent systems, Industrial Production Engineering and Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare in Italy, proposed a water-based, bottom-up approach to encase facile, short-lived water silhouettes in a custom-made adaptive suit.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
U.S. Postal Service mail, packages are headed to Dallas by self-driving truck
Before letters end up in your mailbox and packages land on your doorstep, many travel hundreds or thousands of miles in the back of a truck. Now, the United States Postal Service is testing what it would take to shuttle that cargo without a driver in the front seat.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Shared control allows a robot to use two hands working together to complete tasks
A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin and the Naval Research Laboratory has designed and built a robotic system that allows for bimanual robot manipulation through shared control. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group explains the ideas behind their work and how well they worked in practice.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
REPLAB: A low-cost benchmark platform for robotic learning
Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a reproducible, low-cost and compact benchmark platform to evaluate robotic learning approaches, which they called REPLAB. Their recent study, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, was supported by Berkeley DeepDrive, the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Google, NVIDIA and Amazon.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Hydrogen-power electric flying vehicle: Long road to liftoff
A transportation company is betting its sleek new hydrogen-powered electric flying vehicles will someday serve as taxis, cargo carriers and ambulances of the sky, but experts say they will have to clear a number of regulatory hurdles before being approved for takeoff years in the future.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Pediatric nurse practitioner shortage looming
(HealthDay)—There is a looming critical shortage of pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs), according to a white paper published in the May-June issue of the Journal of Pediatric Health Care.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Desalinating water in a greener and more economical way
We know that excessive consumption, industrial activity and growth in the global population are some of the factors threatening access to drinking water for an increasing proportion of people around the world. According to UNESCO figures from 2012, almost 700 million people suffer from limited access to water—and that number could rise to 1.8 billion by 2025. Desalination and the treatment of industrial wastewater can produce large amounts of drinking water, and these methods are already used in many countries and regions such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China, Europe and the U.S.. However, existing systems are costly and use a lot of energy. Jeff Ong, from EPFL's Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Catalysis, has developed a water treatment machine that combines the benefits of all of the main technologies currently being used while offering improved performance. For example, the prototype removes more than 99.9 percent of the salt from seawater with the same throughput but using less energy. The system will be tested in real-world conditions this year.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Guidelines updated for radiotherapy after prostatectomy
(HealthDay)—Clinical guidelines on adjuvant and salvage radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy have been updated, according to the American Society for Radiation Oncology and the American Urological Association.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Radio-wave therapy proves effective against liver cancer cells
A new targeted therapy using non-thermal radio waves has been shown to block the growth of liver cancer cells anywhere in the body without damaging healthy cells, according to a study conducted by scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine, part of Wake Forest Baptist Health.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Novel approach to test the adverse impacts of man-made chemical mixtures
Concerns over our seemingly constant exposure to chemical mixtures of all kinds have been growing in the past two decades. This is because endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) found in various materials such as pesticides, metals, additives in food and personal care products are believed to be associated with various health risks. These include altered reproductive function in males and females, increased incidence of breast cancer, abnormal growth patterns and neurodevelopmental delays in children.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Sensor-packed glove learns signatures of the human grasp
Wearing a sensor-packed glove while handling a variety of objects, MIT researchers have compiled a massive dataset that enables an AI system to recognize objects through touch alone. The information could be leveraged to help robots identify and manipulate objects, and may aid in prosthetics design.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Oncologists see benefit of medical marijuana, but not comfortable prescribing
A University of Colorado Cancer Center study presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2019 shows that while 73 percent of surveyed oncology providers believe that medical marijuana provides benefits for cancer patients, only 46 percent are comfortable recommending it. Major concerns included uncertain dosing, limited knowledge of available products and where to get them, and possible interactions with other medications.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Transgender no longer classified as mental health disorder by WHO
(HealthDay)—Transgender people will no longer be classified as having a mental disorder by the World Health Organization.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Child deaths in Brazil fall following comprehensive smoking ban
Child deaths have fallen in Brazil following complete smoking bans in public places, according to a new study.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
A new mechanism for accessing damaged DNA
UV light damages the DNA of skin cells, which can lead to skin cancer. But this process is counteracted by DNA repair machinery, acting as a molecular sunscreen. It has been unclear, however, how repair proteins work on DNA tightly packed in chromatin, where access to DNA damage is restricted by protein packaging. Using cryo electron microscopy, researchers from the Thomä group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) have identified a new mechanism whereby repair proteins detect and bind to damaged DNA that is densely packed in nucleosomes.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, 30 May 2019
First ever solar eclipse film brought back to life
The BFI and the Royal Astronomical Society have announced the rediscovery of the earliest moving picture of a total solar eclipse from 1900. The original film fragment held in The Royal Astronomical Society's archive has been painstakingly scanned and restored in 4K by conservation experts at the BFI National Archive, who have reassembled and retimed the film frame by frame. Available now to watch online for free, Solar Eclipse (1900) is part of BFI Player's recently released Victorian Film collection, and viewers are now able to experience this first film of a solar eclipse originally captured over a century ago.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Release of solar panel dataset helps cities make power grids more safe, reliable
Solar power researchers have traditionally only used the power measurements from single residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to estimate the power generated within a city. But one installation isn't a good representation of all the rooftops in the city, where the time of day, panel direction, and shade cast by trees and clouds affect power production.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
New organic flow battery brings decomposing molecules back to life
After years of making progress on an organic aqueous flow battery, Harvard University researchers ran into a problem: the organic anthraquinone molecules that powered their ground-breaking battery were slowly decomposing over time, reducing the long-term usefulness of the battery.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Busy tornado season catches naive Easterners off guard
A tornado that caused damage in New Jersey this week caught many people unaware or unprepared.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Daratumumab cuts risk for progression in multiple myeloma
(HealthDay)—For patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, the addition of daratumumab to lenalidomide and dexamethasone is associated with a reduced risk for disease progression or death, according to a study published in the May 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Wildfire smoke worse for kids' health than smoke from controlled burns, study finds
Children were exposed to higher air pollutant levels during a California wildfire than during a similar-sized controlled burn, and the difference was reflected by changes in immune markers in their blood, a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine has found.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Infectious Diseases A-Z: Vaccine best way to prevent hepatitis A as infections rise nearly 300%
Drug use and homelessness are cited as two main reasons why hepatitis A infections have increased nearly 300% in the U.S. since 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Hepatitis A is a viral hepatitis that can infect humans, and it infects through the oral-fecal route," says Dr. Stacey Rizza, an infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Transgenic fungus rapidly killed malaria mosquitoes in West African study
According to the World Health Organization, malaria affects hundreds of millions of people around the world, killing more than 400,000 annually. Decades of insecticide use has failed to control mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite and has led to insecticide-resistance among many mosquito strains. In response, scientists began genetically modifying mosquitoes and other organisms that can help eradicate mosquitoes. Until now, none of these transgenic approaches made it beyond laboratory testing.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Mass die-off of puffins recorded in the Bering Sea
A mass die-off of seabirds in the Bering Sea may be partially attributable to climate change, according to a new study publishing May 29 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Timothy Jones of the citizen science program COASST at University of Washington, Lauren Divine from the Aleut Community of St Paul Island Ecosystem Conservation Office, and colleagues. The birds appeared to have died from the effects of starvation.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Polysubstance use, social factors associated with opioid overdose deaths
A new study led by Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction shows that opioid-related overdose deaths involving another substance is now the norm, not the exception, in Massachusetts. The researchers analyzed opioid overdose death data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which showed that 82 percent of those deaths involved an opioid and another substance, including stimulants. Of importance, the researchers also identified specific sociodemographic factors and social determinants of health associated more with polysubstance opioid-related overdose deaths.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Cognitive behavior therapy shown to improve multiple menopause symptoms
Although hormone therapy (HT) is the most commonly recommended treatment for menopause symptoms, research is ongoing for alternatives, especially nonpharmacologic options. Cognitive behavior therapy has previously been proposed as a low-risk treatment for hot flashes, but a new study suggests it may also effectively manage other menopause symptoms. Results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Antibiotic alternative scores well in second round of swine trials
Travelling can be stressful experience—whether it be to a vacation spot or business destination. The stress of travel also extends to piglets, such as when they're weaned from their mothers and transported to nursery barns.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Tuesday, 28 May 2019
New auto giant? Fiat Chrysler wants to merge with Renault
Fiat Chrysler proposed on Monday to merge with France's Renault to create the world's third-biggest automaker, worth $40 billion, and combine forces in the race to make electric and autonomous vehicles.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
New aqueous electrochemical energy storage battery could pave the way for grid-scale energy storage
A team of researchers with the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new aqueous electrochemical energy storage battery that they believe could pave the way for grid-scale energy storage. In their paper published in the journal Nature Energy, the group describes how they built their new battery and how well it worked when tested. Lauren Marbella with Columbia University has published a News and Views piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
How climate change could affect some of West Africa's iconic bird species
If scientists know how particular species are responding to the realities of global climate change, they can help to recommend better conservation strategies.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
New framework improves performance of deep neural networks
North Carolina State University researchers have developed a new framework for building deep neural networks via grammar-guided network generators. In experimental testing, the new networks—called AOGNets—have outperformed existing state-of-the-art frameworks, including the widely-used ResNet and DenseNet systems, in visual recognition tasks.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
In Syria's Maalula, fear for survival of language of Christ
Hunched over a thick book, George Zaarour uses a magnifying glass to decipher Aramaic script—the biblical language of Jesus that is starting to disappear from everyday use in his village.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Monday, 27 May 2019
'Neural Lander' uses AI to land drones smoothly
Landing multi-rotor drones smoothly is difficult. Complex turbulence is created by the airflow from each rotor bouncing off the ground as the ground grows ever closer during a descent. This turbulence is not well understood nor is it easy to compensate for, particularly for autonomous drones. That is why takeoff and landing are often the two trickiest parts of a drone flight. Drones typically wobble and inch slowly toward a landing until power is finally cut, and they drop the remaining distance to the ground.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Drinking red wine for heart health? read this before you toast
For years, studies have shown a relationship between drinking a moderate amount of red wine and good heart health, but experts say it's important to understand what that means before you prescribe yourself a glass or two a day.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
A gut check for heart failure patients
Heart failure patients who consume more dietary fibre tend to have healthier gut bacteria, which is associated with reduced risk of death or need of a heart transplant. The fibre study was presented today at Heart Failure 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Sunday, 26 May 2019
WHO praises Brazil lawsuit against tobacco giants
The World Health Organization has praised Brazil's move to sue two global cigarette makers and their local units for costs of treating tobacco-related diseases, but the firms said Friday they were still waiting for details of the lawsuit.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Mobile phone app designed to boost physical activity in women shows promise in trial
Activity trackers and mobile phone apps are all the rage, but do they really help users increase and maintain physical activity? A new study has found that one mobile phone app designed for inactive women did help when combined with an activity tracker and personal counseling.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Diuretic withdrawal is safe for stable heart failure patients
Drug therapy for patients with stable heart failure can be simplified by stopping diuretics, according to late breaking results from the ReBIC-1 trial presented today at Heart Failure 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Electrified methane reformer produces far less carbon dioxide
A team of researchers from several institutions in Denmark, along with colleagues from Sintex and Haldor Topsoe, has developed an electrified methane reformer that produces far less CO2 than conventional steam-methane reformers. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their new technology and how well it works. Kevin Van Geem, Vladimir Galvita and Guy Marin with the Laboratory for Chemical Technology and Center for Sustainable Chemistry in Ghent have published a Perspective piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Engineers create a simple test that can measure stress hormones in sweat, blood, urine or saliva
Stress is often called "the silent killer" because of its stealthy and mysterious effects on everything from heart disease to mental health.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Three convolutional neural network models for facial expression recognition in the wild
Two researchers at Shanghai University of Electric Power have recently developed and evaluated new neural network models for facial expression recognition (FER) in the wild. Their study, published in Elsevier's Neurocomputing journal, presents three models of convolutional neural networks (CNNs): a Light-CNN, a dual-branch CNN and a pre-trained CNN.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Vision loss may up cognitive decline-related functional limitations
(HealthDay)—Vision impairment is associated with increased subjective cognitive decline (SCD)-related functional limitations for adults aged 45 years and older, according to research published in the May 24 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Two decades of tie-ups and break-ups among EU carmakers
French auto giant Renault and Italian-US counterpart Fiat Chrysler are planning to announce an alliance, further reshaping Europe's auto sector which has already witnessed two decades of takeovers, alliances and break-ups.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Engineered bacteria could be missing link in energy storage
One of the big issues with sustainable energy systems is how to store electricity that's generated from wind, solar and waves. At present, no existing technology provides large-scale storage and energy retrieval for sustainable energy at a low financial and environmental cost.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Bringing human-like reasoning to driverless car navigation
With aims of bringing more human-like reasoning to autonomous vehicles, MIT researchers have created a system that uses only simple maps and visual data to enable driverless cars to navigate routes in new, complex environments.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Medicaid expansion improves health of moms and babies, study shows
Medicaid coverage, especially for minority and low-income women, plays a key role in improving the health of moms and babies, according to a new report.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
AlterEgo opens silent spring of computer connections via wearable
OK, we get it. Artificial intelligence experts are on a fast clip from year to year, month to month, showing off what their research can promise. But could it be that we have reached that stage in human-computer interaction, where you can think of a question —— without saying a word— and the machine will respond with the answer?
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Don't overdo omega-6 fat consumption during pregnancy
In Western societies, we are eating more omega 6 fats, particularly linoleic acid, which are present in foods such as potato chips and vegetable oil. Other research has shown that linoleic acid can promote inflammation and may be associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Researchers gain key insight into solar material's soaring efficiency
The rows of blue solar panels that dot landscapes and rooftops are typically made out of crystalline silicon, the workhorse semiconductor found in virtually every electronic device.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Growing up high: Neurobiological consequences of adolescent cannabis use
About one in five Canadian adolescents uses cannabis (19% of Canadians aged 15-19), and its recent legalization across the country warrants investigation into the consequence of this use on the developing brain. Adolescence is associated with the maturation of cognitive functions, such as working memory, decision-making, and impulsivity control. This is a highly vulnerable period for the development of the brain as it represents a critical period wherein regulatory connection between higher-order regions of the cortex and emotional processing circuits deeper inside the brain are established. It is a period of strong remodeling, making adolescents highly vulnerable to drug-related developmental disturbances. Research presented by Canadian neuroscientists Patricia Conrod, Steven Laviolette, Iris Balodis and Jibran Khokhar at the 2019 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Toronto on May 25 featured recent discoveries on the effects of cannabis on the adolescent brain.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Got knee pain? What you need to know about alternatives to surgery
Arthritis in the knees can strike people as young as 45, with symptoms severe enough to limit activities and harm quality of life. What can be done about it?
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Italy team cheers robot pulling a passenger plane
This four-legged robot has pull—3 tons of it—and its engineers were proud to show it off on May 23 as rugged and powerful as it is.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
US dentists out-prescribe UK dentists when it comes to opioids
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have found that dentists practicing in the U.S. write 37 times more opioid prescriptions than dentists practicing in England. And, the type of opioids they prescribe has a higher potential for abuse.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Saturday, 25 May 2019
PAL: A wearable system for context-aware health and cognition support
Researchers at MIT Media Lab have developed a wearable platform that provides real-time, personalized, and context-aware health and cognition support. Their system, called personalized active learner (PAL), was presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Friday, 24 May 2019
Threat or promise? E-auto boom could cost industry jobs
Over 115 years the auto industry in the east German town of Zwickau has lived through wrenching upheavals including World War II and the collapse of communism. Now the city's 90,000 people are plunging headlong into another era of change: top employer Volkswagen's total shift into electric cars at the local plant.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Tesla's bad news accelerates as Wall Street loses faith
Late last year, Tesla Inc. was fully charged and cruising down the highway on Autopilot.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, 23 May 2019
With a hop, a skip and a jump, high-flying robot leaps over obstacles with ease
Topping out at less than a foot, Salto the robot looks like a Star Wars imperial walker in miniature. But don't be fooled by its size—this little robot has a mighty spring in its step. Salto can vault over three times its height in a single bound.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Huawei could be stripped of Google services after US ban
Huawei could lose its grip on the No. 2 ranking in worldwide cellphone sales after Google announced it would comply with U.S. government restrictions meant to punish the Chinese tech powerhouse.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
This robot helps you lift objects—by looking at your biceps
We humans are very good at collaboration. For instance, when two people work together to carry a heavy object like a table or a sofa, they tend to instinctively coordinate their motions, constantly recalibrating to make sure their hands are at the same height as the other person's. Our natural ability to make these types of adjustments allows us to collaborate on tasks big and small.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
PixelGreen: A hybrid, green media wall for existing high-rise buildings
Researchers at Deakin University and the University of Hong Kong have recently designed a hybrid green architectural wall system for high-rise buildings that integrates a vertical micro-farm and a media screen. They presented this wall, called PixelGreen, in a paper published on Research Gate. PIXEL GREEN is designed for integration into the wall surfaces of existing buildings, turning them into analogue media screens.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Climate change may make the Arctic tundra a drier landscape
With climate change, the Arctic tundra is likely to become drier. Lakes may shrink in size and smaller lakes may even disappear according to a new Dartmouth study. In western Greenland, Kangerlussuaq experienced a 28 percent decrease in the number of smaller lakes (those less than 10,000 square meters) and a 20 percent decrease in total area from 1969 to 2017. Many of the lakes that had disappeared in 1969 have since become vegetated. The findings are published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Building a better salt trap: Scientists synthesize a molecular 'cage' to trap chloride
Indiana University researchers have created a powerful new molecule for the extraction of salt from liquid. The work has potential to help increase the amount of drinkable water on Earth.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Barcelona taxi drivers to lodge legal case against Uber
A Barcelona-based association of taxi drivers on Thursday announced it would lodge a legal complaint against ride-hailing services Uber and Cabify for fraud and other offences.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Allogeneic stem cell transplantation in non-Hodgkin lymphoma: Benefit remains unclear
The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has investigated whether patients suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma have (better) chances of recovery when stem cells from another person are transplanted. In its final report now presented, the Institute concludes that it is not possible to make statements on the benefit of this high-risk treatment. Meaningful studies are lacking for the often very small patient groups. For some questions, the data gap could be closed with the help of disease-specific registries.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
LG will smarten home appliances with eyes and ears
LG has made news headlines recently because now it has its own artificial intelligence chip. LG is out to impress with its own chip for smart home products—to make them even smarter.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Dog-like robot jumps, flips and trots
Putting their own twist on robots that amble through complicated landscapes, the Stanford Student Robotics club's Extreme Mobility team has developed a four-legged robot that is not only capable of performing acrobatic tricks and traversing challenging terrain but is also designed with reproducibility in mind. Anyone who wants their own version of the robot, dubbed Stanford Doggo, can consult comprehensive plans, code and a supply list that the students have made freely available online.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
MobiKa: A low-cost mobile robot that can assist people in a variety of settings
Researchers at Fraunhofer IPA, in Stuttgart, Germany, have recently developed MobiKa, a low-cost, mobile robot capable of two-modal (voice and text) interactions with humans. Their robot, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, could be particularly useful for assisting elderly people.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Study provides new insight into origin of Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rocky Mountains were formed when the North American continent was dragged westward during the closure of an ocean basin off the west coast and collided with a microcontinent more than 100 million years ago, according to a new study by University of Alberta scientists.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
New collider concept would take quantum theories to an extreme
A new idea for smashing beams of elementary particles into one another could reveal how light and matter interact under extreme conditions that may exist on the surfaces of exotic astrophysical objects, in powerful cosmic light bursts and star explosions, in next-generation particle colliders and in hot, dense fusion plasma.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Flamingoes, elephants and sharks: How do blind adults learn about animal appearance?
They've never seen animals like hippos and sharks but adults born blind have rich insight into what they look like, a new Johns Hopkins University study found.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Solving a scientific mystery and finding a solution for industry
In solving a scientific mystery, researchers from the University of Houston and the nation's national laboratories also discovered a new avenue for clearing toxins from water, including wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Veterans with depression and/or PTSD more likely to seek cardiac rehab
Veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression were more likely to use cardiac rehabilitation services after an episode of ischemic heart disease than those who didn't have PTSD or depression, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Monday, 20 May 2019
Researchers develop new flying / driving robot
The first experimental robot drone that flies like a typical quadcopter, drives on tough terrain and squeezes into tight spaces using the same motors, has been developed by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
A social perception scheme for behavior planning of autonomous cars
To navigate dynamic environments, autonomous vehicles (AVs) should be able to process all information available to them and use it to generate effective driving strategies. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have recently proposed a social perception scheme for planning the behavior of autonomous cars, which could help to develop AVs that are better equipped to deal with uncertainty in their surrounding environment.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Helping robots remember: Hyperdimensional computing theory could change the way AI works
The Houston Astros' José Altuve steps up to the plate on a 3-2 count, studies the pitcher and the situation, gets the go-ahead from third base, tracks the ball's release, swings ... and gets a single up the middle. Just another trip to the plate for the three-time American League batting champion.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Researchers demonstrate double-lock protection mechanism in crucial cellular switches
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich researchers have used CRISPR technology to probe the mechanisms that guide the developmental trajectories of stem cells in the brain. The results show that crucial cellular switches are doubly protected against unintended activation.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Project aims to transfer visual perceptions from the sighted to the blind
A Rice University-led team of neuroengineers is embarking on an ambitious four-year project to develop headset technology that can directly link the human brain and machines without the need for surgery. As a proof of concept, the team plans to transmit visual images perceived by one individual into the minds of blind patients.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Zebrafish help researchers explore alternatives to bone marrow donation
Blood diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma are currently treated with bone marrow transplants—a transfer of blood stem cells from a healthy person to a patient in need. But the demand for patient-matched blood stem cells far exceeds their availability, and many patients go without. To bypass the need for donations, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers are using zebrafish and human cells to determine how to grow blood stem cells in a laboratory dish.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
When an aircraft landing system is made to enter the spoofing zone
Just what the airplane passenger who is always skittish does not want to hear: Radio navigation on planes for landing purposes is not secure; signals can be hacked.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Why do women military vets avoid using VA benefits?
Many women military veterans turn to the Veterans Administration (VA) for health care and social services only as a "last resort" or "safety net," typically for an emergency or catastrophic health event, or when private health insurance is unaffordable.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Sunday, 19 May 2019
Virtual reality game simulates experiences with race
Video games that use virtual reality to create immersive experiences have become increasingly popular for entertainment and for research. However, the representation of race in these simulations is often shallow—and fails to go beyond physical appearance attributes like skin color.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Quinn on Nutrition: Carbs—how low can we go?
"Fruit has carbs? I had no idea," a stunned patient told me recently.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Scientists capture first-ever video of body's safety test for T-cells
For the first time, immunologists from The University of Texas at Austin have captured on video what happens when T-cells—the contract killers of the immune system, responsible for wiping out bacteria and viruses—undergo a type of assassin-training program before they get unleashed in the body. A new imaging technique that allowed for the videos, described today in the journal Nature Communications, holds promise for the fight against autoimmune disorders such as Type 1 diabetes.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Air pollution hotspots in Europe
Big cities beset with gridlocked traffic, major regions producing coal, pockets of heavy industry encased by mountains—Europe's air pollution hotspots are clearly visible from space on most sunny weekdays.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Metals influence C-peptide hormone related to insulin
Metals such as zinc, copper and chromium bind to and influence a peptide involved in insulin production, according to new work from chemists at the University of California, Davis. The research is part of a new field of "metalloendocrinology" that takes a detailed look at the role of metals in biological processes in the body.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
For many HIV+ women, daily survival takes precedence over viral suppression
According to scientists who study women infected with HIV, statistics often paint an impressionist view of the lives of these women that misses the granular detail that tells the real story. The imprecise big picture is that most of this population is doing a good job at suppressing the virus, but facts gathered on the ground show that many struggle with issues of daily living that can make taking a pill to keep HIV at bay difficult.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Changes in subsistence hunting threaten local food security
Scientists with the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and WCS Ecuador Program publishing in the journal BioTropica say that subsistence hunting in Neotropical rain forests—the mainstay of local people as a source of protein and a direct connection to these ecosystems—is in jeopardy from a variety of factors.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Samsung at foundry event talks about 3nm, MBCFET developments
"The nanometer process deals with the space between the transistors mounted on a substrate at a nanometer level," said Pulse.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
WhatsApp flaw let spies take control with calls alone (Update)
Spyware crafted by a sophisticated group of hackers-for-hire took advantage of a flaw in the popular WhatsApp communications program to remotely hijack dozens of targeted phones without any user interaction.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Black women more likely to die of breast cancer, especially in the South
When Felicia Mahone was 27, she felt her breast and found a mass. Breast cancer had killed nearly all the women in her family—her mother, two aunts and two cousins. Her doctor, though, downplayed the lump, assuring her everything would be all right.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Eyes in the sky project will show power plant pollution marks
Air pollution is responsible for millions of deaths every year, worldwide. According to a State of Global Air report, air pollution is the fifth greatest global mortality risk.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Saturday, 18 May 2019
After the Moon, people on Mars by 2033... or 2060
On December 11, 2017, US President Donald Trump signed a directive ordering NASA to prepare to return astronauts to the Moon "followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations."
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Exploring people's perception of geometric features, personalities and emotions in videos with virtual humans
Researchers at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul have recently carried out a study aimed at evaluating people's perceptions of geometric features, personalities and emotions presented in video sequences with virtual humans. Their study, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, merges computer science tools with psychology research practices.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Earliest evidence of the cooking and eating of starch
New discoveries made at the Klasies River Cave in South Africa's southern Cape, where charred food remains from hearths were found, provide the first archaeological evidence that anatomically modern humans were roasting and eating plant starches, such as those from tubers and rhizomes, as early as 120,000 years ago.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Manipulating atoms one at a time with an electron beam
The ultimate degree of control for engineering would be the ability to create and manipulate materials at the most basic level, fabricating devices atom by atom with precise control.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
FDA approves venetoclax for chronic, small lymphocytic leukemia
(HealthDay)—Venetoclax (VENCLEXTA) has been approved to treat adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Researchers develop electric field-based dressing to help heal wound infections
Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have found a way to charge up the fight against bacterial infections using electricity.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
'Brand Me' presentations increase students' confidence and enhance their employability
The University of Portsmouth is helping its students build a strong personal brand to increase their confidence and enhance their employability.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Polymers jump through hoops on pathway to sustainable materials
Recyclable plastics that contain ring-shaped polymers may be a key to developing sustainable synthetic materials. Despite some promising advances, researchers said, a full understanding of how to processes ring polymers into practical materials remains elusive. In a new study, researchers identified a mechanism called "threading" that takes place when a polymer is stretched—a behavior not witnessed before. This new insight may lead to new processing methods for sustainable polymer materials.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Early dengue virus infection could 'defuse' Zika virus
"We now know for sure that Zika virus infection during pregnancy can affect the unborn foetus in such a way that the child develops microcephaly and other severe symptoms," explains Prof Felix Drexler, a virologist at Charité who has been developing diagnostic tests for Zika and other viruses at the DZIF. Just a few years ago, pictures of affected newborns were cause for worldwide dismay and perplexity. "However, what we did not understand then was that high incidence of microcephaly seemed to occur particularly in northeastern Brazil," says Drexler. Why are expecting mothers in these regions at a higher risk of developing a severe Zika-associated disease than in other regions? The scientists consequently began to search for cofactors that have an influence on whether a Zika infection during pregnancy will develop fatal consequences or not.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Making the best of sparse information
New findings reported by LMU researchers challenge a generally accepted model of echolocation in bats. They demonstrate that bats require far less spatial information than previously thought to navigate effectively.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Guidelines updated for TB screening, treatment in health care workers
(HealthDay)—Guidelines have been updated for screening and treatment for tuberculosis (TB) infection among health care personnel, according to research published in the May 17 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Machine learning speeds modeling of experiments aimed at capturing fusion energy on Earth
Machine learning (ML), a form of artificial intelligence that recognizes faces, understands language and navigates self-driving cars, can help bring to Earth the clean fusion energy that lights the sun and stars. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are using ML to create a model for rapid control of plasma—the state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions—that fuels fusion reactions.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Dangerous pathogens use this sophisticated machinery to infect hosts
Gastric cancer, Q fever, Legionnaires' disease, whooping cough—though the infectious bacteria that cause these dangerous diseases are each different, they all utilize the same molecular machinery to infect human cells. Bacteria use this machinery, called a Type IV secretion system (T4SS), to inject toxic molecules into cells and also to spread genes for antibiotic resistance to fellow bacteria. Now, researchers at Caltech have revealed the 3-D molecular architecture of the T4SS from the human pathogen Legionella pneumophila with unprecedented details. This could in the future enable the development of precisely targeted antibiotics for the aforementioned diseases.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Machine learning reduces language barriers in global trade, research shows
Machine learning and artificial intelligence have exploded onto the scene in recent years, offering the hope of greater business efficiency. At the same time, researchers have found virtually no empirical evidence supporting the promised strides in labor productivity and economic activity.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Ultra-clean fabrication platform produces nearly ideal 2-D transistors
Semiconductors, which are the basic building blocks of transistors, microprocessors, lasers, and LEDs, have driven advances in computing, memory, communications, and lighting technologies since the mid-20th century. Recently discovered two-dimensional materials, which feature many superlative properties, have the potential to advance these technologies, but creating 2-D devices with both good electrical contacts and stable performance has proved challenging.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Friday, 17 May 2019
Experimental brain-controlled hearing aid decodes, identifies who you want to hear
Our brains have a remarkable knack for picking out individual voices in a noisy environment, like a crowded coffee shop or a busy city street. This is something that even the most advanced hearing aids struggle to do. But now Columbia engineers are announcing an experimental technology that mimics the brain's natural aptitude for detecting and amplifying any one voice from many. Powered by artificial intelligence, this brain-controlled hearing aid acts as an automatic filter, monitoring wearers' brain waves and boosting the voice they want to focus on.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Extraordinarily transparent compact metallic metamaterials
In materials science, achromatic optical components can be designed with high transparency and low dispersion. Materials scientists have shown that although metals are highly opaque, densely packed arrays of metallic nanoparticles with more than 75 percent metal by volume can become more transparent to infrared radiation than dielectrics such as germanium. Such arrays can form effective dielectrics that are virtually dispersion-free across ultra-broadband ranges of wavelengths to engineer a variety of next-generation metamaterial-based optical devices.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Healthcare, social media and a web of moral issues
"Ethics asks what we owe to one another and how we should treat one another. The internet has changed the landscape in which we, as humans, relate, and ethicists need to keep pace," explains Assistant Professor of Philosophy Moti Gorin.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
First anticoagulant approved for preventing VTE recurrence in children
(HealthDay)—Fragmin (dalteparin sodium) injection has been granted the first approval for subcutaneous use in preventing recurrence of symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) in children aged 1 month or older, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Researchers imagine a cheaper, fairer marketplace for digital goods
E-commerce is sizzling. Last year, consumers spent more than $517 billion online with US merchants, up 15 percent from the year before, according to Internet Retailer.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Clinical trial improves treatment of genetic rickets
A new study shows a drug developed in conjunction with investigators at Indiana University School of Medicine to alleviate symptoms of a rare musculoskeletal condition is significantly more effective than conventional therapies. The findings are published in Lancet.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Essentials for growing tasty herbs on your windowsill
(HealthDay)—Whether you have a dedicated space in an outdoor garden or just a few buckets on a small patio, there's nothing quite like having your own herb garden for giving your cooking fresh flavor boosts.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Sedimentary, dear Johnson: Is NASA looking at the wrong rocks for clues to Martian life?
In 2020, NASA and European-Russian missions will look for evidence of past life on Mars. But while volcanic, igneous rock predominates on the Red Planet, virtually the entire Earth fossil record comes from sedimentary rocks.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Artificial intelligence shines light on the dark web
Beneath the surface web, the public form of the internet you use daily to check email or read news articles, exists a concealed "dark web." Host to anonymous, password-protected sites, the dark web is where criminal marketplaces thrive in the advertising and selling of weapons, drugs, and trafficked persons. Law enforcement agencies work continuously to stop these activities, but the challenges they face in investigating and prosecuting the real-world people behind the users who post on these sites are tremendous.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Only 3% of children in England visit dentist before their first birthday, study finds
Research led by the University of Birmingham has revealed that just three percent of children in England visited the dentist before their first birthday.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Mission control 'saves science'
Every minute, ESA's Earth observation satellites gather dozens of gigabytes of data about our planet—enough information to fill the pages on a 100-metre long bookshelf. Flying in low-Earth orbits, these spacecraft are continuously taking the pulse of our planet, but it's teams on the ground at ESA's Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, that keep these explorers afloat.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Wild wheat relative genes to aid in battle against trio of pests
Wheat curl mite, greenbug and Hessian fly have long been troublemaker pests for Texas wheat, but a team of Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists is ready to go high tech to help control them.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
WhatsApp, security and spyware: what happened
Facebook-owned WhatsApp's revelation of a security flaw allowing hackers to inject spyware on smartphones raised fresh concerns about the security of the mobile ecosystem.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Research reveals insulin-producing beta cells may change function in diabetes
A revolutionary new study using only materials derived from humans has revealed that insulin-producing beta cells can change their function in diabetes—and that this change may be reversible.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Poll: Many adults worried about developing dementia
(HealthDay)—Many adults are worried about developing dementia and about half report taking steps to maintain or improve memory, according to a report published by the National Poll on Healthy Aging.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Microsoft alerts hospitals to fix potential security risk
Computer experts inside hospitals were working diligently on Wednesday to address a serious new security vulnerability in older versions of the Windows operating system, which is still used in many health care devices even though Microsoft hasn't actively supported the older software in years.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
3-D-printed 'hyperelastic bone' may help generate new bone for skull reconstruction
Defects of the skull and facial bones can pose difficult challenges for plastic and reconstructive surgeons. A synthetic material called hyperelastic bone—readily produced by 3-D-printing—could offer a powerful new tool for use in reconstructing skull defects, reports a study in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, 16 May 2019
New laws of robotics needed to tackle AI: expert
Decades after Isaac Asimov first wrote his laws for robots, their ever-expanding role in our lives requires a radical new set of rules, legal and AI expert Frank Pasquale warned on Thursday.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Children describe technology that gives them a sense of ambiguity as 'creepy'
Many parents express concerns about privacy and online safety in technology designed for their children. But we know much less about what children themselves find concerning in emerging technologies.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
A face-following robot arm with emotion detection
Researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have recently developed a face-following robotic arm with emotion detection inspired by Pixar Animation Studios' Luxo Jr. lamp. This robot was presented by Vernon Stanley Albayeros Duarte, a computer science graduate at UAB, in his final thesis.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Wikipedia 'doing very well financially': co-founder
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales said Thursday that the free online encyclopedia is in good financial shape, although increasing mobile phone use may cut into future donations.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
What do they mean by 'stem cells'? Recommended guidelines for reporting on cell therapies
Cell therapies including so-called "stem cells" are increasingly being marketed and used for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders - despite questions about these treatments and their effectiveness. A new tool for standardizing communication about cell therapies is presented in the May 15 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Preventive measures can reduce foot parasite in children, study says
Tungiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by penetrated sand fleas which burrow into the skin of the feet. Public health policies such as sealing house and classroom floors and daily feet washing with soap could cut the number of tungiasis cases in school-aged children, researchers now report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
CosmoGAN: Training a neural network to study dark matter
As cosmologists and astrophysicists delve deeper into the darkest recesses of the universe, their need for increasingly powerful observational and computational tools has expanded exponentially. From facilities such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to supercomputers like Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Cori system at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing (NERSC) facility, they are on a quest to collect, simulate, and analyze increasing amounts of data that can help explain the nature of things we can't see, as well as those we can.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Designing biological movement on the nanometer scale
Synthetic proteins have been created that move in response to their environment in predictable and tunable ways. These motile molecules were designed from scratch on computers, then produced inside living cells.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Framework improves 'continual learning' for artificial intelligence
Researchers have developed a new framework for deep neural networks that allows artificial intelligence (AI) systems to better learn new tasks while "forgetting" less of what it has learned regarding previous tasks. The researchers have also demonstrated that using the framework to learn a new task can make the AI better at performing previous tasks, a phenomenon called backward transfer.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
German startup to offer electric air taxis 'by 2025'
German startup firm Lilium announced Thursday the maiden flight of its all-electric pilotless jet-powered 'air taxi' which it hopes to operate in various cities around the world 'by 2025'.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Balancing the beam: Thermomechanical micromachine detects terahertz radiation
Radiation from many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum has been harnessed for extremely beneficial uses, in fields as diverse as medicine, imaging and photography, and astronomy. However, the terahertz (THz) region of the spectrum, situated between microwaves and infrared light, has been relatively underutilized owing to difficulties in generating such radiation artificially and in building devices to detect it.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Drexel-developed safety climate scale helps fire departments reach safety goals
A new safety scale, that effectively measures the safety climate of a fire department, has been developed by researchers from Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health, according to a paper published today in the journal Safety Science. The tool helps fire departments gauge their management and supervisor support for safety initiatives that prevent burnout, poor engagement and low job satisfaction—all attributes that many previous studies have shown can increase injuries and deaths in the line of duty.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Leveraging information technology to address health disparities
Disparities in health care delivery and health outcomes present distressing challenges to underserved populations, who often experience a greater burden of chronic diseases and are more likely to show signs of poor disease management. Health information technology (IT) tools may serve a vital role in reducing such disparities in the clinical care setting. In the Medical Care June supplement, "Addressing Health Disparities Through the Utilization of Health Information Technology," authors discuss the potential application of health IT in reducing disparities by increasing access to care, improving quality of healthcare and by promoting better patient-clinician communication.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Wandering Earth: Rocket scientist explains how we could move our planet
In the Chinese science fiction film The Wandering Earth, recently released on Netflix, humanity attempts to change the Earth's orbit using enormous thrusters in order to escape the expanding sun – and prevent a collision with Jupiter.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
A work patch for better nursing home care
Placing a loved one in a nursing home can be a traumatic experience for the entire family with concerns about the care and attention they will receive. Imagine if those concerns were eased, simply by some changes in the way the schedules are done for the staff at that facility.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Major questions concerning the role of microscopic life and our future
"Microbiology of global change" refers to the research area that explores microbial responses to global warming, natural resource depletion and environmental pollution, as well as feedback mechanisms and functions in climate change.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Same computer password for the last 10 years? You might need a vibrating cybernudge
Technology used in exercise and lifestyle apps may hold the key to answering that most difficult of challenges—getting people to change their passwords and better protect their online privacy and data.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Breakthrough technique for studying gene expression takes root in plants
An open-source RNA analysis platform has been successfully used on plant cells for the first time—a breakthrough that could herald a new era of fundamental research and bolster efforts to engineer more efficient food and biofuel crop plants.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Just like toothpaste: Fluoride radically improves the stability of perovskite solar cells
Solar cells made of perovskite hold much promise for the future of solar energy. The material is cheap, easy to produce and almost as efficient as silicon, the material traditionally used in solar cells. However, perovskite degrades quickly, severely limiting its efficiency and stability over time. Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology, energy research institute DIFFER, Peking University and University of Twente have discovered that adding a small amount of fluoride to the perovskite leaves a protective layer, increasing stability of the materials and the solar cells significantly. The solar cells retain 90 percent of their efficiency after 1000 hours operation at various extreme testing conditions. The findings are published today in the leading scientific journal Nature Energy.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ann moving over Australia's Cape York Peninsula
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Southern Pacific Ocean and captured a visible image of the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Ann moving over Queensland's Cape York Peninsula. Despite the storm weakening below tropical cyclone status, warnings remain active for strong winds and flooding potential.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, 15 May 2019
New clinical pathway for cancer patients leads to better outcomes, lower health care costs
A new clinical pathway for cancer patients at Christiana Care Health System's Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute is improving their quality of life, providing better health outcomes and delivering lower heath care costs, according to a study published in the May 2019 issue of the Journal of Clinical Pathways.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Risk for repeat concussion quantified for pediatric patients
(HealthDay)—A total of 16.2 percent of children with an index concussion experience at least one repeat concussion within two years, according to a study published online May 14 in The Journal of Pediatrics.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Coherent? Voice disorders significantly affect listeners, too
"Fly heading two three zero, runway two seven left, cleared for takeoff." Air traffic controllers are among the 25 to 45 percent of the workforce in the United States who use their voices professionally. It is imperative for their listeners to understand what they are communicating. Air traffic controllers, teachers and university professors have a high prevalence of voice disorders referred to as "dysphonia." Other professions also are at risk including clergy, attorneys, counselors and performers.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
FAA chief defends handling of Boeing Max safety approval
The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that Boeing should have done more to explain an automated flight-control system on its 737 Max aircraft before two deadly crashes, but he defended his agency's safety certification of the plane and its decision not to ground the jet until other regulators around the world had already done so.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Ancient fish ponds in the Bolivian savanna supported human settlement
A network of fish ponds supported a permanent human settlement in the seasonal drylands of Bolivia more than one thousand years ago, according to a new study published May 15, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Gabriela Prestes-Carneiro of Federal University of Western Para, Brazil, and colleagues. The study is the first to document the full range of fish species likely kept in these constructed ponds, and provides new insights into how humans modified the savannah environment to cope with the months-long droughts that characterize this region of the Amazon Basin.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Genomic collision may explain why many kidney transplants fail
A genomic collision could explain why many kidney transplants fail, even when donors and recipients are thought to be well-matched, according to a new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. This genomic collision is a genetic incompatibility between kidney donor and recipient, causing the recipient to mount an immune attack against the donor protein.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
How to tell whether machine-learning systems are robust enough for the real world
MIT researchers have devised a method for assessing how robust machine-learning models known as neural networks are for various tasks, by detecting when the models make mistakes they shouldn't.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
rTMS improves memory in younger and older adults
Magnetic stimulation of the brain improves working memory, offering a new potential avenue of therapy for individuals living with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, according to new research from the Duke University School of Medicine.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Flying cars mooted for Paris' public transport network
European aerospace giant Airbus and Paris underground operator RATP will study the viability of adding flying vehicles to the city's urban transport network, the companies said Wednesday.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Scientists suss out the secrets of human screams
Humans may be the only species on Earth to build a whole industry off well-timed cinematic screams, but the act of screaming itself is common in many animals ranging from frogs and foxes, to birds, rabbits, goats, and nonhuman primates.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Tencent profit climbs as it emerges from gaming quagmire
Chinese internet giant Tencent said Wednesday net profit soared nearly 17 percent in the first quarter as the company appeared set to emerge from the battering it received from Beijing's crackdown on gaming.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Older adults expect to lose brainpower, but most don't ask doctors how to prevent dementia
Many Americans in their 50s and early 60s are worried about declining brain health, especially if they have loved ones with memory loss and dementia, a new national poll finds.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Bullet train champion in Japan will debut in 2030, now being tested
Testing for a train capable of 249mph (400 kph) speeds is to happen about twice a week at night. Bloomberg said ALFA-X is the world's fastest bullet train— well, for now, it is holding that title. Japan has also been working on a maglev train.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Japan space startup aims to compete US rivals within years
A Japanese startup that launched a rocket into space last month plans to provide low-cost rocket services and compete with American rivals such as SpaceX.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Tuesday, 14 May 2019
A new treatment for stroke in mice reduces brain damage and promotes motor recovery
Brain injuries like stroke can be debilitating and require time-sensitive treatment. Clotting factors like thrombin are commonly administered to patients, but there are many other stroke-related signs that can be targeted, such as swelling and ion imbalances in the surrounding fluids. New research shows that brain fluids can be normalized with adrenergic receptor antagonists, a combination of drugs to block the activity of (nor)adrenaline in the brain. This experimental treatment for stroke aided motor recovery and reduced cell death in mice, as reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on May 13.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Detecting dementia's damaging effects before it's too late
Scientists might have found an early detection method for some forms of dementia, according to new research by the University of Arizona and the University of Toronto's Baycrest Health Sciences Centre.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Clean fuel cells could be cheap enough to replace gas engines in vehicles
Advancements in zero-emission fuel cells could make the technology cheap enough to replace traditional gasoline engines in vehicles, according to researchers at the University of Waterloo.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Obesity: The key role of a brain protein revealed
Regardless of how much you exercise or how balanced your diet is, controlling your weight is more brain-related than you might have thought. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) show for the first time in mice that the acyl-CoA-binding protein, or ACBP, has a direct influence on the neurons that allow rodents and humans to maintain a healthy weight.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Sunday, 12 May 2019
Doctors aware of patient difficulties affording medical care
(HealthDay)—Physicians are aware of patients' difficulty with affording medical care and consider out-of-pocket costs in their decision making, according to an article published in a supplement to the May 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Machine learning overtakes humans in predicting death or heart attack
Machine learning is overtaking humans in predicting death or heart attack. That's the main message of a study presented today at ICNC 2019.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Using AI to predict breast cancer and personalize care
Despite major advances in genetics and modern imaging, the diagnosis catches most breast cancer patients by surprise. For some, it comes too late. Later diagnosis means aggressive treatments, uncertain outcomes, and more medical expenses. As a result, identifying patients has been a central pillar of breast cancer research and effective early detection.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
HIV prevention drug can curb the epidemic for high-risk groups in India
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a combination drug used to prevent HIV infection, has already gained significant traction in the U.S. and Europe. The once-a-day pill, when taken consistently, can reduce the risk of HIV acquisition by over 85 percent. A new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases by an international research team suggests that making PrEP available to men who have sex with men (MSM) and people who inject drugs (PWID) in India may be a cost-effective way of curbing the epidemic there.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Elon Musk cracks a lewd joke at Jeff Bezos' new 'Blue Moon' lander
The moon lander introduced Thursday by Blue Origin, the aerospace company run by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, has caught the attention of Elon Musk.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
More than a scent: Cyprus promoting its perfume past
Before Cyprus gained fame as the mythical birthplace of the goddess of love Aphrodite nearly three millennia ago, Cyprus was known around the Mediterranean for its perfumes, scents that the mighty queens of Egypt coveted.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Saturday, 11 May 2019
Hong Kong to cull 6,000 pigs as first swine fever case found
Hong Kong will cull 6,000 pigs after African swine fever was detected in an animal at a slaughterhouse close to the border with China, the first case of the disease in the densely populated financial hub.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Storm water banking could help Texas manage floods and droughts
Massive, destructive floods such as those caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 are a stark reality in Texas, but so are prolonged ground-cracking droughts.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
NASA Northern quadrant strength in Tropical Cyclone Lili
NASA's Aqua satellite used infrared light to analyze the strength of storms in Tropical Cyclone Lili as it moved through the Southern Indian Ocean. Infrared data provides temperature information, and the strongest thunderstorms that reach high into the atmosphere have the coldest cloud top temperatures.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Stricken ship refloated after Solomons oil spill
The ship at the centre of an environmental disaster near World-Heritage listed waters in the Solomon Islands was refloated Saturday after being stranded on a coral reef for more than three months.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
A multi-scale body-part mask guided attention network for person re-identification
Person re-identification entails the automated identification of the same person in multiple images from different cameras and with different backgrounds, angles or positions. Despite recent advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), person re-identification remains a highly challenging task, particularly due to the many variations in a person's pose, as well as other differences associated with lighting, occlusion, misalignment and background clutter.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
How much protein do you need for weight loss and muscle growth?
(HealthDay)—Low-carb, vegetarian, Mediterranean—whatever your diet, it's important to get enough protein.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Effects of surgery on a warming planet: Can anesthesia go green?
It was early morning in an operating theater at Providence Hospital in Portland, Ore. A middle-aged woman lay on the operating table, wrapped in blankets. Surgeons were about to cut out a cancerous growth in her stomach.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Review: Motorola Moto G7 is the inexpensive Android phone you've been waiting for
I'm a tech reviewer, so I think people expect me to carry the newest iPhone—at least that's what I tell my wife.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
75 years later, French 'HistoPad' offers new view of D-Day
The French and the Americans are working together again on a D-Day project—this time to give museum visitors the opportunity to travel back in time and experience the milestone World War II invasion 75 years later.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
A friction reduction system for deformable robotic fingertips
Researchers at Kanazawa University have recently developed a friction reduction system based on a lubricating effect, which could have interesting soft robotics applications. Their system, presented in a paper published in Taylor & Francis' Advanced Robotics journal, could aid the development of robots that can efficiently manipulate objects under both dry and wet conditions.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Study shows native plants regenerate on their own after invasive shrubs are removed
Invasive shrubs have become increasingly prevalent in the deciduous forests of eastern North America—often creating a dense understory that outcompetes native plants. Many land managers would like to remove the invaders, but worry about what happens afterwards. Will they need to launch a costly remediation program to reestablish native plant communities?
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
UK reaches jolly good milestone in days without coal
The UK has gone more than five days without burning coal, the longest streak without burning the fuel since the Industrial Revolution, said Bloomberg. It breaks the previous record from earlier this year, a total of 90 hours.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Uber shifts into reverse in disappointing Wall Street debut
Uber shares skidded Friday in a disappointing Wall Street debut following a massive public offering from the global ride-hailing giant.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Friday, 10 May 2019
Pixel 3a vs. Pixel 3: Great camera for the price makes Google's $399 phone the better buy
Google's launch Tuesday of the $399 Pixel 3a and $479 Pixel 3a XL smartphones only seven months after the release of the pricier Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL handsets likely has you asking: "Why would I want to spend at least $400 more for Google's premium flagships, when these latest mid-priced devices offer so many overlapping features?"
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Uber begins trading nearly 7% below its IPO price
Uber began trading as a public company at $42 per share Friday, nearly 7% below its initial public offering price.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Secrets of fluorescent microalgae could lead to super-efficient solar cells
Tiny light-emitting microalgae, found in the ocean, could hold the secret to the next generation of organic solar cells, according to new research carried out at the Universities of Birmingham and Utrecht.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Google bucks soaring smartphone prices with new Pixel
Google bucked the soaring smartphone price trend Tuesday, unveiling a high-performance Pixel handset aimed at the middle of the market as part of a wide-ranging pitch to developers of its new hardware, software and privacy efforts.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Microsoft to turn next chapter in raising talk to conversations
On Monday at Build 2019, Microsoft's annual conference for developers, the company showed off the technology for a conversational engine, to integrate with voice assistant Cortana.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
VisiBlends, a new approach to disrupt visual messaging
Visual blends, which join two objects in an unusual, eye-catching way, are an advanced graphic design technique used in advertising, marketing, and the media to draw attention to a specific message. These visual marriages are designed to precipitate an "aha!" moment in the viewer who grasps one idea from the union of two images. For instance, blending an image of an orange with an image of the sun could convey a beverage with Vitamin C.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
AI can detect depression in a child's speech
A machine learning algorithm can detect signs of anxiety and depression in the speech patterns of young children, potentially providing a fast and easy way of diagnosing conditions that are difficult to spot and often overlooked in young people, according to new research published in the Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Researchers suggest coal ash and tailings dam disasters could be prevented
A trio of researchers from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, the University of the Witwatersrand and Geosyntec has published a Perspectives piece in the journal Science. Carlos Santamarina, Luis Torres-Cruz and Robert Bachus note in the article that many lives are lost each year when coal ash or tailings dams fail, causing mudslides. Many such failures are preventable.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Dyson driving towards all-terrain electric car
James Dyson, famed for his vacuum cleaners, hinted Thursday that his electric car would be more energy efficient than rivals—and with "very large wheels" for city and rough-terrain driving.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Will MSC micropellets outperform single cells for cartilage regeneration?
Repair of cartilage injuries or defects is aided by the introduction of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which can be incorporated into hydrogels to amplify their effects. In a new report, researchers directly compared chondrogenic induction by hydrogels that were prepared using MSCs either as single cell suspensions or as 100-500-cell micropellets. The study is published in Tissue Engineering.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Just add water: Salt battery could help renewable energy use
Amid the hum and heat of Berlin's Reuter thermal power station stands a shining contraption that looks out of place in the decades-old machine hall.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Nut intake in first trimester may benefit child neurodevelopment
(HealthDay)—Nut intake during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with long-term child neuropsychological development, according to a study published online May 7 in the European Journal of Epidemiology.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
New method developed to detect and trace homemade bombs
Researchers at King's College London, in collaboration with Northumbria University, have developed a new way of detecting homemade explosives which will help forensic scientists trace where it came from.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, 9 May 2019
DNA nanostructures designed for drug delivery remain a technical challenge
Many studies indicating that DNA nanostructures can enter cells more readily than simple DNA strands are flawed, according to researchers at McGill University.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Box of Pain: A new tracer and fault injector for distributed systems
In computer science, distributed systems are systems with components located on different devices, which communicate with one another. While these systems have become increasingly common, they are typically filled with bugs.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Gravitational waves leave a detectable mark, physicists say
Gravitational waves, first detected in 2016, offer a new window on the universe, with the potential to tell us about everything from the time following the Big Bang to more recent events in galaxy centers.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Free video streaming offers some gems - if you can find them
Free services let you watch thousands of movies and TV shows online, but using them feels like wandering through a low-rent, digital version of Blockbuster (RIP).
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
NASA-NOAA satellite catches formation of Tropical Cyclone Lili
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean and captured a visible image of newly formed Tropical Cyclone Lili, located north of the coast of Australia's Northern Territory.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Wireless movement-tracking system could collect health and behavioral data
We live in a world of wireless signals flowing around us and bouncing off our bodies. MIT researchers are now leveraging those signal reflections to provide scientists and caregivers with valuable insights into people's behavior and health.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
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