Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Bees make decisions better and faster than we do, for the things that matter to them      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research reveals how millions of years of evolution has engineered honey bees to make fast decisions and reduce risk.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Chemists create the microspine with shape-transforming properties for targeted cargo delivery at microscale      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With the goal of advancing biomimetic microscale materials, the research team has developed a new method to create microscale superstructures, called MicroSpine, that possess both soft and hard materials which mimic the spine structure and can act as microactuators with shape-transforming properties. This breakthrough was achieved through colloidal assembly, a simple process in which nano- and microparticles spontaneously organize into ordered spatial patterns.

Engineering: Robotics Research Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling
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Deciphering the thermodynamic arrow of time in large-scale complex networks      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A solution for temporal asymmetry -- or entropy production -- in thermodynamics has been developed to further our understanding of the behavior of biological systems, machine learning, and AI tools. The researchers worked on the time-irreversible Ising model dynamics caused by asymmetric connections between neurons.

Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

'Workplace AI revolution isn't happening yet,' survey shows      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The UK risks a growing divide between organizations who have invested in new, artificial intelligence-enabled digital technologies and those who haven’t, new research suggests.  

Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Displays controlled by flexible fins and liquid droplets more versatile, efficient than LED screens      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Flexible displays that can change color, convey information and even send veiled messages via infrared radiation are now possible, thanks to new research. Engineers inspired by the morphing skins of animals like chameleons and octopuses have developed capillary-controlled robotic flapping fins to create switchable optical and infrared light multipixel displays that are 1,000 times more energy efficient than light-emitting devices.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Robotic glove that 'feels' lends a 'hand' to relearn playing piano after a stroke      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new soft robotic glove is lending a 'hand' and providing hope to piano players who have suffered a disabling stroke or other neurotrauma. Combining flexible tactile sensors, soft actuators and AI, this robotic glove is the first to 'feel' the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song and to combine these features into a single hand exoskeleton. Unlike prior exoskeletons, this new technology provides precise force and guidance in recovering the fine finger movements required for piano playing and other complex tasks.

Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

New single-photon Raman lidar can monitor for underwater oil leaks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report a new single-photon Raman lidar system that operates underwater and can remotely distinguish various substances. They also show that the new system can detect the thickness of the oil underwater up to 12 m away, which could be useful for detecting oil spills.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Mountains vulnerable to extreme rain from climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that as rising global temperatures shift snow to rain, mountains across the Northern Hemisphere will be hotspots for extreme rainfall events that could trigger floods and landslides -- potentially impacting a quarter of the world's population.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
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There may be good news about the oceans in a globally warmed world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An analysis of oxygen levels in Earth's oceans may provide some rare, good news about the health of the seas in a future, globally warmed world. A study analyzing ocean sediment shows that ocean oxygen levels in a key area were higher during the Miocene warm period, some 16 million years ago when the Earth's temperature was hotter than it is today.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
Published

This self-driving boat maps underwater terrain      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers concoct an easier way for scientists to study underwater topography.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Freely available risk model for hurricanes, tropical cyclones      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As human-driven climate change amplifies natural disasters, hurricanes and typhoons stand to increase in intensity. Until now, there existed very few freely available computer models designed to estimate the economic costs of such events, but a team of researchers has recently announced the completion of an open-source model that stands to help countries with high tropical cyclone risks better calculate just how much those storms will impact their people and their economies.

Biology: Marine Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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New research finds that more than 90% of global aquaculture faces substantial risk from environmental change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many of the world's largest aquatic food producers are highly vulnerable to human-induced environmental change, with some of the highest-risk countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa demonstrating the lowest capacity for adaptation, a landmark study has shown.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
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Research in a place where geological processes happen before your eyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Taiwan experiences some of the world's fastest rates of mountain building -- they are growing at a faster rate than our fingernails grow in a year. The mountains also see frequent and significant earthquakes, the region experiences about four typhoons per year on average, and in some places, it receives upwards of several meters of rain annually.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
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Study of Earth's stratosphere reduces uncertainty in future climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research reduces uncertainty in future climate change linked to the stratosphere, with important implications for life on Earth. A significant source of uncertainty relates to future changes to water vapor in the stratosphere, an extremely dry region of the atmosphere 15--50 km above the Earth's surface. Future increases in water vapor here risk amplifying climate change and slowing down the recovery of the ozone layer, which protects life on Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet radiation.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
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Study of deep-sea corals reveals ocean currents have not fuelled rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Pioneering analysis of deep-sea corals has overturned the idea that ocean currents contributed to increasing global levels of carbon dioxide in the air over the past 11,000 years.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
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How coral reefs can survive climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Similar to the expeditions of a hundred or two hundred years ago, the Tara Pacific expedition lasted over two years. The goal: to research the conditions for life and survival of corals. The ship crossed the entire Pacific Ocean, assembling the largest genetic inventory conducted in any marine system to date. The team's 70 scientists from eight countries took around 58,000 samples from the hundred coral reefs studied.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Fossils
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Lessons in sustainability, evolution and human adaptation -- courtesy of the Holocene      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The El Gigante rockshelter in western Honduras is among only a handful of archaeological sites in the Americas that contain well-preserved botanical remains spanning the last 11,000 years. Considered one of the most important archaeological sites discovered in Central America in the last 40 years, El Gigante was recently nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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New study reveals global reservoirs are becoming emptier      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Over the past two decades, global reservoirs have become increasingly empty despite an overall increase in total storage capacity due to the construction of new reservoirs. Researchers used a new approach with satellite data to estimate the storage variations of 7,245 global reservoirs from 1999 to 2018.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Effect of volcanic eruptions significantly underestimated in climate projections      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found that the cooling effect that volcanic eruptions have on Earth's surface temperature is likely underestimated by a factor of two, and potentially as much as a factor of four, in standard climate projections.