Thursday 6 June 2019

Q&A: Why you should quit smoking even after a cancer diagnosis

Dear Mayo Clinic: My father, who is 68, just started treatment for bladder cancer. He's been a smoker since his 20s, and his oncologist is strongly encouraging him to quit. It seems like trying to stop smoking now, while he's going through chemotherapy, will just add more stress to a tough situation. Is this really the best time to work on his smoking?

* This article was originally published here

Researchers uncover a new obstacle to effective accelerator beams

High-energy ion beams—laser-like beams of atomic particles fired through accelerators—have applications that range from inertial confinement fusion to the production of superhot extreme states of matter that are thought to exist in the core of giant planets like Jupiter and that researchers are eager to study. These positively charged ion beams must be neutralized by negatively charged electrons to keep them sharply focused. However, researchers have found many obstacles to the neutralization process.

* This article was originally published here

Everything will connect to the internet someday, and this biobattery could help

In the future, small paper and plastic devices will be able to connect to the internet for a short duration, providing information on everything from healthcare to consumer products, before they are thrown away. Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have developed a micro biobattery that could power these disposable sensors.

* This article was originally published here

Getting your nutrients: From the source or supplements?

(HealthDay)—Americans are making shifts in the supplements they take—fewer multivitamins and vitamins C and E, more fish oil and vitamin D. Many think of supplements as magic bullets, but studies don't always support their supposed benefits.

* This article was originally published here

Evolving neural networks with a linear growth in their behavior complexity

Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are designed to replicate the behavior and evolution of biological organisms while solving computing problems. In recent years, many researchers have developed EAs and used them to tackle a variety of optimization tasks.

* This article was originally published here

Autonomous boats can target and latch onto each other

The city of Amsterdam envisions a future where fleets of autonomous boats cruise its many canals to transport goods and people, collect trash, or self-assemble into floating stages and bridges. To further that vision, MIT researchers have given new capabilities to their fleet of robotic boats—which are being developed as part of an ongoing project—that lets them target and clasp onto each other, and keep trying if they fail.

* This article was originally published here

I, you, or we: Pronouns provide hints to romantic attachment styles

Sometimes people wish they had greater insight into how their partner really feels. Recent work in social and personality psychology dives into the stories people tell about their romantic relationships, and finds that those prone to avoidant attachment, are less likely to use the word "we" when talking about these relationships.

* This article was originally published here

First-of-its-kind platform aims to rapidly advance prosthetics

A new open-source, artificially intelligent prosthetic leg designed by researchers at the University of Michigan and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is now available to the scientific community.

* This article was originally published here

Why humans (or something very similar) may have been destined to walk the Earth

What would happen if the hands of time were turned back to an arbitrary point in our evolutionary history and we restarted the clock? American paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould proposed this famous thought experiment in the late 1980s—and it's one that still grips the imagination of evolutionary biologists today.

* This article was originally published here

Hidden epidemic? Childhood concussion may lead to long term cognitive and behavioural problems

At age 15, Jamie is a keen soccer player who loves nothing more than getting stuck into every tackle, practice and game. As a result, Jamie experiences injury like any young person might do. During a routine sports physical, Jamie complains to the doctor about headaches, sleeping difficulties and feeling kind of foggy at school. The doctor thinks the young patient is stressed, and recommends ibuprofen and a good night's sleep. The topic of concussion, or brain injury, does not come up.

* This article was originally published here

Sediment from fishing choking out sea sponges, study shows

Sediment stirred up from fishing activity has a detrimental effect on reef-building sea sponges in northern British Columbia, according to a new study by University of Alberta biologists.

* This article was originally published here

Hacking diabetes: People break into insulin pumps as an alternative to delayed innovations

Just before the start of Memorial Day weekend, Meg Green meticulously followed online instructions for hacking an insulin pump.

* This article was originally published here

New computer attack mimics user's keystroke characteristics and evades detection

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) cyber security researchers have developed a new attack called Malboard. Malboard evades several detection products that are intended to continuously verify the user's identity based on personalized keystroke characteristics.

* This article was originally published here

Using a simulation framework to study spine behaviors of quadruped robots

Researchers at the Robert Bosch center for cyber physical systems in Bangalore, India, have recently proposed a simulation framework to systematically study the effects of spinal joint actuation on the locomotion performance of quadruped robots. In their study, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, they used this framework to investigate the spine behaviors of a quadruped robot called Stoch 2 and their effects on its bounding performance.

* This article was originally published here

Should measles vaccination be compulsory?

As measles cases in Europe hit their highest levels this decade, should the UK adopt compulsory vaccination? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ today.

* This article was originally published here

Court fight could affect future of bison in Montana

The Democratic governor of Montana who is running for president and the Republican secretary of state who wants his job were locked in a constitutional dispute over a uniquely Western issue that lies at the intersection of politics, wildlife, agriculture and property rights.

* This article was originally published here

Networking with ghosts in the machine... and speaking kettles

Imagine for just a moment that your kettle could speak? What would it say? How would it feel? More importantly, what on earth would you ask it?

* This article was originally published here