Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
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Robotics: New skin-like sensors fit almost everywhere      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed an automatic process for making soft sensors. These universal measurement cells can be attached to almost any kind of object. Applications are envisioned especially in robotics and prosthetics.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Space: Exploration
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Robot team on lunar exploration tour      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers are training legged robots for future lunar missions that will search for minerals and raw materials. To ensure that the robots can continue to work even if one of them malfunctions, the researchers are teaching them teamwork.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math
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Pump powers soft robots, makes cocktails      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Over the past several years, researchers have been developing soft analogues of traditionally rigid robotic components. In fluid-driven robotic systems, pumps control the pressure or flow of the liquid that powers the robot's movement. Most pumps available today for soft robotics are either too large and rigid to fit onboard, not powerful enough for actuation or only work with specific fluids. Researchers have now developed a compact, soft pump with adjustable pressure flow versatile enough to pump a variety of fluids with varying viscosity, including gin, juice, and coconut milk, and powerful enough to power soft haptic devices and a soft robotic finger.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
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Training robots how to learn, make decisions on the fly      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mars rovers have teams of human experts on Earth telling them what to do. But robots on lander missions to moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter are too far away to receive timely commands from Earth. Researchers developed a novel learning-based method so robots on extraterrestrial bodies can make decisions on their own about where and how to scoop up terrain samples.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math
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Revolutionary self-sensing electric artificial muscles      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have made groundbreaking advancements in bionics with the development of a new electric variable-stiffness artificial muscle. This innovative technology possesses self-sensing capabilities and has the potential to revolutionize soft robotics and medical applications. The artificial muscle seamlessly transitions between soft and hard states, while also sensing forces and deformations. With flexibility and stretchability similar to natural muscle, it can be integrated into intricate soft robotic systems and adapt to various shapes. By adjusting voltages, the muscle rapidly changes its stiffness and can monitor its own deformation through resistance changes. The fabrication process is simple and reliable, making it ideal for a range of applications, including aiding individuals with disabilities or patients in rehabilitation training.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mathematics: General
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GPT detectors can be biased against non-native English writers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers show that computer programs commonly used to determine if a text was written by artificial intelligence tend to falsely label articles written by non-native language speakers as AI-generated. The researchers caution against the use of such AI text detectors for their unreliability, which could have negative impacts on individuals including students and those applying for jobs.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
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AI nursing ethics: Viability of robots and artificial intelligence in nursing practice      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are expected to play a key role in nursing practice in the future. In this regard, researchers from Japan ask whether intelligent machines can replace humans as nurses. They investigate the potential of current advancements in robotics and AI to replicate the ethical concepts attributed to nurses, including advocacy, accountability, cooperation, and caring. While these technologies hold promise in enhancing healthcare practices, their integration into nursing requires careful consideration.

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.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Quantum Computers
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An easier way to learn quantum processes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists show that even a few simple examples are enough for a quantum machine-learning model, the 'quantum neural networks', to learn and predict the behavior of quantum systems, bringing us closer to a new era of quantum computing.

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

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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How urea may have been the gateway to life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Urea reacts extremely quickly under the conditions that existed when our planet was newly formed. This new insight furthers our understanding of how life on Earth might have begun.

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: 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.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General
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Don't wait, desalinate: A new approach to water purification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A water purification system separates out salt and other unnecessary particles with an electrified version of dialysis. Successfully applied to wastewater with planned expansion into rivers and seas, the method saves money and saps 90% less energy than its counterparts.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Act now to prevent uncontrolled rise in carbon footprint of computational science      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have set out principles for how computational science -- which powers discoveries from unveiling the mysteries of the universe to developing treatments to fight cancer to improving our understanding of the human genome, but can have a substantial carbon footprint -- can be made more environmentally sustainable.

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 Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Investing in nature improves equity, boosts economy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows that current trends in environmental degradation will lead to large economic losses in the coming decades, hitting the poorest countries hardest. But there is hope: investing in nature can turn those losses into gains.

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