Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

AI technology generates original proteins from scratch      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have created an AI system capable of generating artificial enzymes from scratch. In laboratory tests, some of these enzymes worked as well as those found in nature, even when their artificially generated amino acid sequences diverged significantly from any known natural protein.

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

Versatile robo-dog runs through the sandy beach at 3 meters per second      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Meet the new addition to the robo-dog family, 'RaiBo', that can run along the sandy beach without losing balance and walk through grassy fields and back on the hard-floored tracking fields all on its own -- no further tinkering necessary.

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

Person-shaped robot can liquify and escape jail, all with the power of magnets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Inspired by sea cucumbers, engineers have designed miniature robots that rapidly and reversibly shift between liquid and solid states. On top of being able to shape-shift, the robots are magnetic and can conduct electricity. The researchers put the robots through an obstacle course of mobility and shape-morphing tests.

Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

A butterfly flaps its wings and scientists make jewelry      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the 'butterfly effect,' an insect can flap its wings and create a microscopic change in initial conditions that leads to a hurricane halfway around the world. This chaos is seen everywhere, from weather to labor markets to brain dynamics. And now researchers explored how to turn the twisting, fractal structures behind the science into jewelry with 3D printing. The jewelry shapes are based on the Chua circuit, a simple electronic system that was the first physical, mathematical, and experimental proof of chaos.

Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math
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Click beetle-inspired robots jump using elastic energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have made a significant leap forward in developing insect-sized jumping robots capable of performing tasks in the small spaces often found in mechanical, agricultural and search-and-rescue settings. A new study demonstrates a series of click beetle-sized robots small enough to fit into tight spaces, powerful enough to maneuver over obstacles and fast enough to match an insect's rapid escape time.

Biology: Microbiology Computer Science: General Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

First computational reconstruction of a virus in its biological entirety      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A researcher has created a computer reconstruction of a virus, including its complete native genome. Although other researchers have created similar reconstructions, this is believed to be the first to replicate the exact chemical and 3D structure of a 'live' virus.

Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math
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Microelectronics give researchers a remote control for biological robots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

First, they walked. Then, they saw the light. Now, miniature biological robots have gained a new trick: remote control. The hybrid 'eBiobots' are the first to combine soft materials, living muscle and microelectronics, said researchers.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
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New small laser device can help detect signs of life on other planets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

As space missions delve deeper into the outer solar system, the need for more compact, resource-conserving and accurate analytical tools has become increasingly critical -- especially as the hunt for extraterrestrial life and habitable planets or moons continues. A University of Maryland-led team developed a new instrument specifically tailored to the needs of NASA space missions. Their mini laser-sourced analyzer is significantly smaller and more resource efficient than its predecessors--all without compromising the quality of its ability to analyze planetary material samples and potential biological activity onsite.

Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

A soft, stimulating scaffold supports brain cell development ex vivo      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Brain-computer interface companies like Neuralink are in the news a lot these days for their potential to revolutionize how humans interact with machines, but electrodes are not the most brain-friendly materials -- they're hard and stiff, while brains are soft and squishy, which limits their efficacy and increases the risk of damaging brain tissue.  A new hydrogel-based electrode developed at the Wyss Institute solves that problem by providing a tunable, conductive scaffold that human neurons and other cell types feel right at home in. Not only does the scaffold mimic the soft, porous conditions of brain tissue, it supported the growth and differentiation of human neural progenitor cells (NPCs) into multiple different brain cell types for up to 12 weeks. The achievement is reported in Advanced Healthcare Materials. Not only can the new electrode be used to study the formation of human neural networks in vitro, it could enable the creation of implantable devices that more seamlessly integrate with a patient's brain tissue, improving performance and decreasing risk of injury.

Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Next-generation wireless technology may leverage the human body for energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

While you may be just starting to reap the advantages of 5G wireless technology, researchers throughout the world are already working hard on the future: 6G. One of the most promising breakthroughs in 6G telecommunications is the possibility of Visible Light Communication (VLC), which is like a wireless version of fiberoptics, using flashes of light to transmit information. Now, a team has announced that they have invented a low-cost, innovative way to harvest the waste energy from VLC by using the human body as an antenna. This waste energy can be recycled to power an array of wearable devices, or even, perhaps, larger electronics.

Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Self-powered, printable smart sensors created from emerging semiconductors could mean cheaper, greener Internet of Things      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Creating smart sensors to embed in our everyday objects and environments for the Internet of Things (IoT) would vastly improve daily life -- but requires trillions of such small devices. A professor believes that emerging alternative semiconductors that are printable, low-cost and eco-friendly could lead the way to a cheaper and more sustainable IoT.

Engineering: Graphene Offbeat: Computers and Math
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Human brain organoids implanted into mouse cortex respond to visual stimuli for first time      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of engineers and neuroscientists has demonstrated for the first time that human brain organoids implanted in mice have established functional connectivity to the animals' cortex and responded to external sensory stimuli. The implanted organoids reacted to visual stimuli in the same way as surrounding tissues, an observation that researchers were able to make in real time over several months thanks to an innovative experimental setup that combines transparent graphene microelectrode arrays and two-photon imaging.

Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Designing with DNA      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Marvel at the tiny nanoscale structures emerging from labs, and it's easy to imagine you're browsing a catalog of the world's smallest pottery: itty-bitty vases, bowls, and spheres. But instead of making them from clay, the researchers designed these objects out of threadlike molecules of DNA, bent and folded into complex three-dimensional objects. These creations demonstrate the possibilities of a new open-source software program.

Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Shrinking hydrogels enlarge nanofabrication options      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a strategy for creating ultrahigh-resolution, complex 3D nanostructures out of various materials.

Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

New X-ray imaging technique to study the transient phases of quantum materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of researchers has recently demonstrated for the first time the use of a new lensless ultrafast X-Ray method to image phase transitions. This new method enables the direct observation of the dynamics of quantum materials at the nanoscale.

Computer Science: Encryption
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Researchers propose methods for automatic detection of doxing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new automated approach to detect doxing -- a form of cyberbullying in which certain private or personally identifiable information is publicly shared without an individual's consent or knowledge -- may help social media platforms better protect their users, according to researchers.

Computer Science: Encryption Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Puzzles
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Microlaser chip adds new dimensions to quantum communication      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With only two levels of superposition, the qubits used in today's quantum communication technologies have limited storage space and low tolerance for interference. Engineering's hyperdimensional microlaser generates 'qudits,' photons with four simultaneous levels of information. The increase in dimension makes for robust quantum communication technology better suited for real-world applications.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

New AI model can help prevent damaging and costly data breaches      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Privacy experts have created an AI algorithm that automatically tests privacy-preserving systems for potential data leaks.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

New method to systematically find optimal quantum operation sequences for quantum computers developed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Computer scientists have succeeded in developing a method for systematically finding the optimal quantum operation sequence for a quantum computer. They have developed a systematic method that applies optimal control theory (GRAPE algorithm) to identify the theoretically optimal sequence from among all conceivable quantum operation sequences. This method is expected to become a useful tool for medium-scale quantum computers and is expected to contribute to improving the performance of quantum computers and reducing environmental impact in the near future.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

From bits to p-bits: One step closer to probabilistic computing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have developed a mathematical description of what happens within tiny magnets as they fluctuate between states when an electric current and magnetic field are applied. Their findings could act as the foundation for engineering more advanced computers that can quantify uncertainty while interpreting complex data.