Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Molecular shape-shifting      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Structures made out of building blocks can shift their shape and autonomously self-organize to a new configuration. The physicists revealed this mechanism which may be used to actively manipulate molecular organization. A seed of the novel desired configuration is sufficient to trigger reorganization. This principle can be applied on to biological building blocks which are constantly recycled to form new structures in living systems.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Model shows how intelligent-like behavior can emerge from non-living agents      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new model describes how biological or technical systems form complex structures equipped with signal-processing capabilities that allow the systems to respond to stimulus and perform functional tasks without external guidance.

Space: The Solar System
Published

VLA and ALMA study Jupiter and Io      (via sciencedaily.com) 

VLA teams up with Juno spacecraft to study Jupiter's atmosphere, and ALMA reveals new details about Io's volcanoes.

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Sound recording made of dust devils (tiny tornadoes of dust, grit) on Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When the rover Perseverance landed on Mars, it was equipped with the first working microphone on the planet's surface. Scientists have used it to make the first-ever audio recording of an extraterrestrial whirlwind.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Bolstering the safety of self-driving cars with a deep learning-based object detection system      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Self-driving cars need to implement efficient, effective, and accurate detection systems to provide a safe and reliable experience to its users. To this end, an international research team has now developed an end-to-end neural network that, in conjunction with the Internet-of-Things technology, detects object with high accuracy (> 96%) in both 2D and 3D. The new method outperforms the current state-of-the-art methods and the way to new 2D and 3D detection systems for autonomous vehicles.

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

First ultraviolet imaging of Sun's middle corona      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have discovered web-like plasma structures in the Sun's middle corona. The researchers describe their innovative new observation method, imaging the middled corona in ultraviolet (UV) wavelength. The findings could lead to a better understanding of the solar wind's origins and its interactions with the rest of the solar system.

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Deep-space optical communication demonstration project forges ahead      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have demonstrated new laser systems for deep-space optical communication.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Hubble detects ghostly glow surrounding our solar system      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Imagine walking into a room at night, turning out all the lights and closing the shades. Yet an eerie glow comes from the walls, ceiling, and floor. The faint light is barely enough to see your hands before your face, but it persists. Sounds like a scene out of a scary movie?" No, for astronomers this is the real deal. But looking for something that's close to nothing is not easy.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Soft robot detects damage, heals itself      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineers have created a soft robot capable of detecting when and where it was damaged -- and then healing itself on the spot.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Meteorites plus gamma rays could have given Earth the building blocks for life      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Even as detailed images of distant galaxies from the James Webb Space Telescope show us more of the greater universe, scientists still disagree about how life began here on Earth. One hypothesis is that meteorites delivered amino acids -- life's building blocks -- to our planet. Now, researchers have experimentally shown that amino acids could have formed in these early meteorites from reactions driven by gamma rays produced inside the space rocks.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Tiny underwater sand dunes may shed light on larger terrestrial and Martian formations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have been studying the dynamics of how crescent-shaped sand dunes are formed. Known as barchans, these formations are commonly found in various sizes and circumstances, on Earth and on Mars. Using a computational fluid dynamics approach, the team carried out simulations by applying the equations of motion to each grain in a pile being deformed by a fluid flow, showing the ranges of values for the proper computation of barchan dunes down to the grain scale.

Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Researchers use ultrasound waves to move objects hands-free      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have discovered a new method to move objects using ultrasound waves, opening the door for using contactless manipulation in industries such as robotics and manufacturing.

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Giant mantle plume reveals Mars is more active than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Orbital observations unveil the presence of an enormous mantle plume pushing the surface of Mars upward and driving intense volcanic and seismic activity. The discovery reveals that Mars, like Earth and Venus, possesses an active interior, which challenges current views on the evolution of the red planet.

Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Researchers say space atomic clocks could help uncover the nature of dark matter      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Studying an atomic clock on-board a spacecraft inside the orbit of Mercury and very near to the Sun could be the trick to uncovering the nature of dark matter.

Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Checking blood pressure in a heartbeat, using artificial intelligence and a camera      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have designed a system to remotely measure blood pressure by filming a person's forehead and extracting cardiac signals using artificial intelligence algorithms.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Pulses driven by artificial intelligence tame quantum systems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Machine learning drives self-discovery of pulses that stabilize quantum systems in the face of environmental noise.

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Small asteroids are probably young      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The impact experiment conducted on the asteroid Ryugu by the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission which took place two years ago resulted in an unexpectedly large crater. With the use of simulations, a team has recently succeeded in gaining new insights from the experiment regarding the formation and development of asteroids.

Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

NASA's Webb catches fiery hourglass as new star forms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the once-hidden features of the protostar within the dark cloud L1527, providing insight into the beginnings of a new star. These blazing clouds within the Taurus star-forming region are only visible in infrared light, making it an ideal target for Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Mars was once covered by 300-meter deep oceans, study shows      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When Mars was a young planet, it was bombarded by icy asteroids that delivered water and organic chemistry necessary for life to emerge. According to the professor behind a new study, this means that the first life in our solar system may have been on Mars.

Environmental: Ecosystems Offbeat: Earth and Climate Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Exploring the possibility of extraterrestrial life living in caves      (via sciencedaily.com) 

For millennia, caves have served as shelters for prehistoric humans. Caves have also intrigued scholars from early Chinese naturalists to Charles Darwin. A cave ecologist has been in and out of these subterranean ecosystems, examining the unique life forms -- and unique living conditions -- that exist in Earth's many caves. But what does that suggest about caves on other planetary bodies? In two connected studies, engineers, astrophysicists, astrobiologists and astronauts lay out the research that needs to be done to get us closer to answering the old-age question about life beyond Earth.