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Categories: Engineering: Robotics Research, Geoscience: Geography
Published Insect cyborgs: Towards precision movement



Insect cyborgs may sound like something straight out of the movies, but hybrid insect computer robots, as they are scientifically called, could pioneer a new future for robotics. It involves using electrical stimuli to control an insect’s movement. Now, an international research group has conducted a study on the relationship between electrical stimulation in stick insects' leg muscles and the resulting torque (the twisting force that causes the leg to move).
Published Power of rhythm as a design element in evolution and robotics



As the internet quickly fills with viral videos of futuristic robots darting and racing around like the animals they’re built to mimic, researchers say that there’s an element of their movement’s programming that should not be overlooked: rhythm.
Published Instant evolution: AI designs new robot from scratch in seconds



Researchers developed the first AI to date that can intelligently design robots from scratch by compressing billions of years of evolution into mere seconds. It's not only fast but also runs on a lightweight computer and designs wholly novel structures from scratch — without human-labeled, bias-filled datasets.
Published Sustainable protection of rapidly subsiding coastlines with mangroves



Along the Asian coast lines there are many areas where rural communities experience alarming rates of sea level rises due to land subsidence up to 10 cm per year. This causes tremendous challenges on how to live there and protect these coasts. Scientists have now investigated the potential and limitation of mangrove restoration as a cost-effective and sustainable solution for coastal protection in rapidly subsiding areas.
Published Ancient plant wax reveals how global warming affects methane in Arctic lakes



In a new study, researchers examined the waxy coatings of leaves preserved as organic molecules within sediment from the early-to-middle Holocene, a period of intense warming that occurred due to slow changes in Earth's orbit 11,700 to 4,200 years ago. They found that warming potentially could lead to a previously under-appreciated flux in methane emissions from lakes.
Published Polyps as pixels: Innovative technique maps biochemistry of coral reefs



Using an innovative new approach to sampling corals, researchers are now able to create maps of coral biochemistry that reveal with unprecedented detail the distribution of compounds that are integral to the healthy functioning of reefs.
Published A turtle time capsule: DNA found in ancient shell



Paleontologists discover possible DNA remains in fossil turtle that lived 6 million years ago in Panama, where continents collide.
Published Plastic cloud: New study analyzes airborne microplastics in clouds



Plastic waste that accumulates on land eventually ends up in the ocean as microplastics. However, it is now speculated that microplastics are also present in the atmosphere, contained in clouds. In a new study, researchers analyzed cloud water samples from high-altitude mountains in Japan to ascertain the amount of microplastics in them. They also shed light on how these airborne particles influence cloud formation and their negative impact on the climate.
Published Atlantic walrus more vulnerable than ever to Arctic warming



Past cycles of climate change, along with human exploitation, have led to only small and isolated stocks of Atlantic walrus remaining. The current population is at high risk of the same issues affecting them severely, according to a new study.
Published Antarctica's glacial border migrates for miles with the tide



New measurements of how boundary between onshore glacier and floating ice shelf glides back-and- forth could help predict melting.
Published Unleashing the power of AI to track animal behavior


Scientists have created a non-invasive movement tracking method called GlowTrack that uses fluorescent dye markers to train artificial intelligence to capture movement, from a single mouse digit to the human hand. GlowTrack has applications spanning biology, robotics, medicine, and beyond.
Published One-hour training is all you need to control a third robotic arm, study finds


A new study has found that people can learn to use supernumerary robotic arms as effectively as working with a partner in just one hour of training.
Published Glaciers becoming smaller and disappearing



Researchers show that some glaciers have disappeared entirely, some no longer show movement, some are too small to meet the 0.01 square kilometer minimum and some are actually rock glaciers -- rocky debris with ice in the pore spaces.
Published Naming and shaming can be effective to get countries to act on climate



Enforcement is one of the biggest challenges to international cooperation on mitigating climate change in the Paris Agreement. The agreement has no formal enforcement mechanism; instead, it is designed to be transparent so countries that fail to meet their obligations will be named and thus shamed into changing behavior. A new study shows that this naming-and-shaming mechanism can be an effective incentive for many countries to uphold their pledges to reduce emissions.
Published Rivers contain hidden sinks and sources of microplastics



New research represents the first combined analysis of microplastics in water, sediment and air around a major river system. It found significant quantities of microplastics trapped in riverbed sediments, and also found they were being transported through the air and the flow of the river.
Published How weather patterns will change in the future



In a warming Pacific Northwest, summers are getting hotter and winters less cold, but the atmospheric patterns that influence the weather aren't necessarily expected to become stronger or more frequent by the end of the century, according to a new study.
Published New study definitively confirms Gulf Stream weakening, understanding the changes could help predict future trends in extreme events



The Gulf Stream transport of water through the Florida Strait has slowed by 4% over the past four decades, with a 99% certainty that this weakening is more than expected from random chance, according to a new study.
Published Efficient training for artificial intelligence


New physics-based self-learning machines could replace the current artificial neural networks and save energy.
Published New development model for the world's third-longest river



Researchers reveal rapid fluvial incision attributed to the growth of high topography in China's Yangtze River.
Published Predicting the sustainability of a future hydrogen economy


As renewable energy sources like wind and solar ramp up, they can be used to sustainably generate hydrogen fuel. But implementing such a strategy on a large scale requires land and water dedicated to this purpose.