Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Will future computers run on human brain cells?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A 'biocomputer' powered by human brain cells could be developed within our lifetime, according to researchers who expect such technology to exponentially expand the capabilities of modern computing and create novel fields of study.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Climate trends in the west, today and 11,000 years ago      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What we think of as the classic West Coast climate began just about 4,000 years ago, finds a study on climate trends of the Holocene era.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Mysteries of the Earth: Researchers predict how fast ancient magma ocean solidified      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Previous research estimated that it took hundreds of million years for the ancient Earth's magma ocean to solidify, but new research narrows these large uncertainties down to less than just a couple of million years.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Plants and Animals Physics: Optics
Published

Tiny new climbing robot was inspired by geckos and inchworms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A tiny robot that could one day help doctors perform surgery was inspired by the incredible gripping ability of geckos and the efficient locomotion of inchworms.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Published

Real or fake text? We can learn to spot the difference      (via sciencedaily.com) 

While apprehensions about employment and schools dominate headlines, the truth is that the effects of large-scale language models such as ChatGPT will touch virtually every corner of our lives. These new tools raise society-wide concerns about artificial intelligence's role in reinforcing social biases, committing fraud and identity theft, generating fake news, spreading misinformation and more. A team of researchers is seeking to empower tech users to mitigate these risks. The authors demonstrate that people can learn to spot the difference between machine-generated and human-written text.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient proteins offer new clues about origin of life on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By simulating early Earth conditions in the lab, researchers have found that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have known how to evolve into everything alive on the planet today -- including plants, animals, and humans.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Early Cretaceous shift in the global carbon cycle affected both land and sea      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Geologists doing fieldwork in southeastern Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation found carbon isotope evidence that the site, though on land, experienced the same early Cretaceous carbon-cycle change recorded in marine sedimentary rocks in Europe. This ancient carbon-cycle phenomenon, known as the 'Weissert Event' was driven by large, sustained volcanic eruptions in the Southern Hemisphere that greatly increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and produced significant greenhouse climate effects over a prolonged time.

Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geology
Published

Deep earthquakes could reveal secrets of the Earth's mantle      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study suggests there may be a layer of surprisingly fluid rock ringing the Earth, at the very bottom of the upper mantle.

Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Meteorite crater discovered in French winery      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Countless meteorites have struck Earth in the past and shaped the history of our planet. It is assumed, for example, that meteorites brought with them a large part of its water. The extinction of the dinosaurs might also have been triggered by the impact of a very large meteorite. It turns out that the marketing 'gag' of the 'Domaine du Météore' winery is acutally a real impact crater. Meteorite craters which are still visible today are rare because most traces of the celestial bodies have long since disappeared again.

Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Bouncing seismic waves reveal distinct layer in Earth's inner core      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Data captured from seismic waves caused by earthquakes has shed new light on the deepest parts of Earth's inner core, according to seismologists.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Robot helps students with learning disabilities stay focused      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineering researchers are successfully using a robot to help keep children with learning disabilities focused on their work.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Climate: Lessons from the latest global warming      (via sciencedaily.com) 

56 million years ago, the Earth experienced one of the largest and most rapid climate warming events in its history: the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which has similarities to current and future warming. This episode saw global temperatures rise by 5-8°C. It was marked by an increase in the seasonality of rainfalls, which led to the movement of large quantities of clay into the ocean, making it uninhabitable for certain living species. This scenario could be repeated today.

Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
Published

What do early Earth's core formation and drip coffee have in common?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new technique provides fresh insight into the process by which the materials that formed Earth's core descended into the depths of our planet, leaving behind geochemical traces that have long mystified scientists.

Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geology
Published

Earthquake scientists have a new tool in the race to find the next big one      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research on friction between faults could aid in predicting the world's most powerful earthquakes. Researchers discovered that fault surfaces bond together, or heal, after an earthquake. A fault that is slow to heal is more likely to move harmlessly, while one that heals quickly is more likely to stick until it breaks in a large, damaging earthquake. Tests allowed them to calculate a slow, harmless type of tremor. The discovery alone won't allow scientists to predict when the next big one will strike but it does give researchers a valuable new way to investigate the causes and potential for a large, damaging earthquake to happen, and guide efforts to monitor large faults like Cascadia in the Pacific Northwest.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Better understanding on the way to a carbon-neutral economy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What role could rifted margins play in the transition to a carbon-neutral economy? Researchers summarize the current state of knowledge about the so-called rifting of continents. Rifting is the term researchers use to describe the process by which continental plates break and new oceans are formed.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
Published

Smash or pass? This computer can tell      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Could an app tell if a first date is just not that into you? Engineers say the technology might not be far off. They trained a computer to identify the type of conversation two people were having based on their physiological responses alone.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Deep-sea black carbon comes from hydrothermal vents      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hydrothermal vents have been identified as a previously undiscovered source of dissolved black carbon in the oceans, furthering the understanding of the role of oceans as a carbon sink.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Physics: Optics
Published

Compact, non-mechanical 3D lidar system could make autonomous driving safer      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new system represents the first time that the capabilities of conventional beam-scanning lidar systems have been combined with those of a newer 3D approach known as flash lidar. The nonmechanical 3D lidar system is compact enough to fit in the palm of the hand and solves issues of detecting and tracking poorly reflective objects.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

New AI technology could change game prep for Super Bowl teams      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New artificial intelligence technology being developed by engineers could significantly cut down on the time and cost that goes into film study for Super Bowl-bound teams (and all NFL and college football teams), while also enhancing game strategy by harnessing the power of big data.