Showing 20 articles starting at article 1061
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Categories: Engineering: Robotics Research, Geoscience: Geography
Published Deep neural network provides robust detection of disease biomarkers in real time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A lab has developed a deep neural network that improves the accuracy of their unique devices for detecting pathogen biomarkers.
Published Researchers discover that the ice cap is teeming with microorganisms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Greenlandic ice is teeming with life, both on the surface and underneath. There are microscopic organisms that until recently science had no idea existed. There is even evidence to suggest that the tiny creatures color the ice and make it melt faster.
Published West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated far inland, re-advanced since last Ice Age
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is melting rapidly, raising concerns it could cross a tipping point of irreversible retreat in the next few decades if global temperatures rise 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius (2.7 to 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. New research finds that 6,000 years ago, the grounded edge of the ice sheet may have been as far as 250 kilometers (160 miles) inland from its current location, suggesting the ice retreated deep into the continent after the end of the last ice age and re-advanced before modern retreat began.
Published Highly dexterous robot hand can operate in the dark -- just like us
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers demonstrated a highly dexterous robot hand, one that combines an advanced sense of touch with motor learning algorithms in order to achieve a high level of dexterity. In addition, the hand worked without any external cameras -- it's immune to lighting, occlusion, or similar issues. Because the hand doesn't rely on vision to manipulate objects, it can do so in difficult lighting conditions that would confuse vision-based algorithms -- it even operates in the dark.
Published The future is foggy for Arctic shipping
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As the Arctic warms and loses sea ice, trans-Arctic shipping has increased, reducing travel time and costs for international trade. However, a new study finds that the Arctic Ocean is getting foggier as ice disappears, reducing visibility and causing costly delays as ships slow to avoid hitting dangerous sea ice.
Published Male California sea lions are becoming bigger and better fighters as their population rebounds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source California sea lions have managed to maintain -- and, in the case of males, increase -- their average body size as their population grows and competition for food becomes fiercer. This is in contrast to other marine mammals, whose average body size tends to decrease as their numbers increase. Researchers report that sexual selection was a strong driving force for males to grow bigger and to strengthen muscles in their neck and jaw that help them fight for mates. Both male and female sea lions evaded food shortages by diversifying their diets and, in some cases, foraging further from the shore.
Published Speedy robo-gripper reflexively organizes cluttered spaces
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new gripper robot grasps by reflex. Rather than start from scratch after a failed attempt, the bot adapts in the moment to reflexively roll, palm, or pinch an object to get a better hold.
Published Twilight zone at risk from climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Life in the ocean's 'twilight zone' could decline dramatically due to climate change, new research suggests.
Published How the Amazon rainforest is likely to cope with the effect of future drought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A major collaboration involving 80 scientists from Europe and South America has identified the regions of the Amazon rainforest where trees are most likely to face the greatest risk from drier conditions brought about by climate change. Based on the analysis, the scientists predict trees in the western and southern Amazon face the greatest risk of dying. They also warn that previous scientific investigations may have underestimated the impact of drought on the rainforest because those studies focused on the central-eastern part of the forest, which is the least vulnerable to drought.
Published How a horse whisperer can help engineers build better robots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research shows us that age-old interactions between people and their horses can teach us something about building robots designed to improve our lives.
Published Ocean ecosystem: Mixotrophic microorganisms play key role
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified a previously unknown group of bacteria, called UBA868, as key players in the energy cycle of the deep ocean. They are significantly involved in the biogeochemical cycle in the marine layer between 200 and 1000 meters.
Published Jellyfish-like robots could one day clean up the world's oceans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Roboticists have developed a jellyfish-inspired underwater robot with which they hope one day to collect waste from the bottom of the ocean. The almost noise-free prototype can trap objects underneath its body without physical contact, thereby enabling safe interactions in delicate environments such as coral reefs. Jellyfish-Bot could become an important tool for environmental remediation.
Published Vaccine printer could help vaccines reach more people
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have designed a tabletop-sized vaccine printer that could be scaled up to produce hundreds of vaccine doses in a day and deployed anywhere vaccines are needed. The vaccine doses are contained within microneedle patches that can be stored long-term at room temperature and applied to the skin, avoiding the need for injections.
Published Massive iceberg discharges during the last ice age had no impact on nearby Greenland, raising new questions about climate dynamics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New findings suggest that Heinrich Events had no discernible impact on temperatures in Greenland, which could have repercussions for scientists' understanding of past climate dynamics.
Published New programmable smart fabric responds to temperature and electricity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new smart material is activated by both heat and electricity, making it the first ever to respond to two different stimuli.
Published Arctic ice algae heavily contaminated with microplastics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The alga Melosira arctica, which grows under Arctic sea ice, contains ten times as many microplastic particles as the surrounding seawater. This concentration at the base of the food web poses a threat to creatures that feed on the algae at the sea surface. Clumps of dead algae also transport the plastic with its pollutants particularly quickly into the deep sea -- and can thus explain the high microplastic concentrations in the sediment there.
Published Ridgecrest faults increasingly sensitive to solid Earth tides before earthquakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Faults in the Ridgecrest, California area were very sensitive to solid earth tidal stresses in the year and a half before the July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence.
Published The climate crisis and biodiversity crisis can't be approached as two separate things
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Anthropogenic climate change has, together with the intensive use and destruction of natural ecosystems through agriculture, fishing and industry, sparked an unprecedented loss of biodiversity that continues to worsen. In this regard, the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis are often viewed as two separate catastrophes. An international team of researchers calls for adopting a new perspective.
Published Versatile, high-speed, and efficient crystal actuation with photothermally resonated natural vibrations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Mechanically responsive molecular crystals are extremely useful in soft robotics, which requires a versatile actuation technology. Crystals driven by the photothermal effect are particularly promising for achieving high-speed actuation. However, the response (bending) observed in these crystals is usually small. Now, scientists address this issue by inducing large resonated natural vibrations in anisole crystals with UV light illumination at the natural vibration frequency of the crystal.
Published Research collaboration aims to improve nationwide water quality, restore wetlands
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The new classification system demonstrates the effects wetlands have on water quality at a continental scale -- invaluable data that can be used to better define whether wetlands are federally regulated under the U.S. Clean Water Act.