Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Smallest arm bone in human fossil record sheds light on the dawn of Homo floresiensis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone. Dated to about 700,000 years old, the new findings shed light on the evolution of Homo floresiensis, the so-called 'Hobbits' of Flores whose remains were uncovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave in the island's west.

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

AI for mental health screening may carry biases based on gender, race      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A growing body of AI tools screen how people talk, searching for subtle changes that could indicate mental health concerns like depression or anxiety. A study finds that these tools don't perform consistently across people from different genders and races.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of mollusks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Exceptional fossils with preserved soft parts reveal that the earliest mollusks were flat, armored slugs without shells. The new species, Shishania aculeata, was covered with hollow, organic, cone-shaped spines. The fossils preserve exceptionally rare detailed features which reveal that these spines were produced using a sophisticated secretion system that is shared with annelids (earthworms and relatives).

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Mathematics: Modeling
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Demographics of north African human populations unravelled using genomic data and artificial intelligence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study places the origin of the Imazighen in the Epipaleolithic, more than twenty thousand years ago. The research concludes that the genetic origin of the current Arab population of north Africa is far more recent than previously believed, placing it in the seventh century AD. The team has designed an innovative demographic model that uses artificial intelligence to analyze the complete genomes of the two populations.

Anthropology: General Mathematics: Statistics Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Modern behavior explains prehistoric economies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What if the 'Market Economy' always existed? Archaeologists tried to answer this question by researching how much Bronze Age people used to spend to sustain their daily lives. Their results show that, starting at least 3,500 years ago, the spending habits of prehistoric Europeans were not substantially different from what they are today.

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

Shape-shifting 'transformer bots' inspired by origami      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, engineers have discovered a way to make a single plastic cubed structure transform into more than 1,000 configurations using only three active motors.

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

Generative AI pioneers the future of child language learning      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers create a storybook generation system for personalized vocabulary learning.

Anthropology: General Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

The ancestor of all modern birds probably had iridescent feathers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Birds tend to be more colorful in the tropics, and scientists wanted to find out how they got there: if colorful feathers evolved in the tropics, or if tropical birds have brightly-colored ancestors that came to the region from somwhere else. Scientists built a database of 9,409 birds to explore the spread of color across the globe. They found that iridescent, colorful feathers originated 415 times across the bird tree of life, and in most cases, arose outside of the tropics -- and that the ancestor of all modern birds likely had iridescent feathers, too.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Researchers leveraging AI to train (robotic) dogs to respond to their masters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international collaboration seeks to innovate the future of how a mechanical man's best friend interacts with its owner, using a combination of AI and edge computing called edge intelligence. The overarching project goal is to make the dog come 'alive' by adapting wearable-based sensing devices that can detect physiological and emotional stimuli inherent to one's personality and traits, such as introversions, or transient states, including pain and comfort levels.

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

New video test for Parkinson's uses AI to track how the disease is progressing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An automated assessment technique that uses artificial intelligence could revolutionize the management of Parkinson's disease.

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

Development of 'living robots' needs regulation and public debate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are calling for regulation to guide the responsible and ethical development of bio-hybrid robotics -- a ground-breaking science which fuses artificial components with living tissue and cells.

Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

New snake discovery rewrites history, points to North America's role in snake evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new species of fossil snake unearthed in Wyoming is rewriting our understanding of snake evolution. The discovery, based on four remarkably well-preserved specimens found curled together in a burrow, reveals a new species named Hibernophis breithaupti. This snake lived in North America 34 million years ago and sheds light on the origin and diversification of boas and pythons.

Anthropology: General
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Human occupation in southeast Indonesia dating back 42,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Evidence of human occupation in southeast Indonesia dating back 42,000 years offers fresh clues on the route taken by some of the first humans to arrive in our region, according to a new study.

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

Can consciousness exist in a computer simulation?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new essay explores which conditions must be met for consciousness to exist. At least one of them can't be found in a computer.

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

Ant insights lead to robot navigation breakthrough      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the AI for tiny, autonomous robots. Drone-researchers felt inspired by biological findings on how ants visually recognize their environment and combine it with counting their steps in order to get safely back home. They have used these insights to create an insect-inspired autonomous navigation strategy for tiny, lightweight robots. It allows such robots to come back home after long trajectories, while requiring extremely little computation and memory (0.65 kiloByte per 100 m). In the future, tiny autonomous robots could find a wide range of uses, from monitoring stock in warehouses to finding gas leaks in industrial sites.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Chatbot Iris offers students individual support      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed the chatbot Iris, which offers informatics students personalized assistance with programming assignments. A study has now confirmed the chatbot's success: Iris improves the understanding of programming concepts and represents a valuable complement to human tutors.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Biometric
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Scientists develop new artificial intelligence method to create material 'fingerprints'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new technique that pairs artificial intelligence and X-ray science.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient microbes offer clues to how complex life evolved      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered that a single-celled organism, a close relative of animals, harbors the remnants of ancient giant viruses woven into its own genetic code. This finding sheds light on how complex organisms may have acquired some of their genes and highlights the dynamic interplay between viruses and their hosts.