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

Head-worn device can control mobile manipulators      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research aims to increase autonomy for individuals with such motor impairments by introducing a head-worn device that will help them control a mobile manipulator. Teleoperated mobile manipulators can aid individuals in completing daily activities, but many existing technologies like hand-operated joysticks or web interfaces require a user to have substantial fine motor skills to effectively control them. Research led by robotics Ph.D. student Akhil Padmanabha offers a new device equipped with a hands-free microphone and head-worn sensor that allows users to control a mobile robot via head motion and speech recognition.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
Published

Genome research: Origin and evolution of vine      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Cultivation and growth of grapevines have strongly influenced European civilizations, but where the grapevine comes from and how it has spread across the globe has been highly disputed so far. In an extensive genome project, researchers have determined its origin and evolution from the wild vine to today's cultivar by analyzing thousands of vine genomes collected along the Silk Road from China to Western Europe.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Mind-control robots a reality?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed biosensor technology that will allow you to operate devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought control.

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

A sowing, pruning, and harvesting robot for SynecocultureTM farming      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Synecoculture, a new farming method, involves growing mixed plant species together in high density. However, it requires complex operation since varying species with different growing seasons and growing speeds are planted on the same land. To address this need, researchers have developed a robot that can sow, prune, and harvest plants in dense vegetation growth. Its small, flexible body will help large-scale Synecoculture. This is an important step towards achieving sustainable farming and carbon neutrality.

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

Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed resilient artificial muscles that can enable insect-scale aerial robots to effectively recover flight performance after suffering severe damage.

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

Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The Walking Oligomeric Robotic Mobility System, or WORMS, is a reconfigurable, modular, multiagent robotics architecture for extreme lunar terrain mobility. The system could be used to assemble autonomous worm-like parts into larger biomimetic robots that could explore lava tubes, steep slopes, and the moon's permanently shadowed regions.

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

Robots can help improve mental wellbeing at work -- as long as they look right      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Robots can be useful as mental wellbeing coaches in the workplace -- but perception of their effectiveness depends in large part on what the robot looks like.

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

Researcher solves nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A researcher has solved a nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma called the wall pursuit game, with implications for better reasoning about autonomous systems such as driver-less vehicles.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

New study finds early warning signs prior to 2002 Antarctic ice shelf collapse      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In 2002, an area of ice about the size of Rhode Island dramatically broke away from Antarctica as the Larsen B ice shelf collapsed. A new study of the conditions that led to the collapse may reveal warning signs to watch for future Antarctic ice shelf retreat, according to a new scientists.

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

Researchers develop soft robot that shifts from land to sea with ease      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Most animals can quickly transition from walking to jumping to crawling to swimming if needed without reconfiguring or making major adjustments. Most robots cannot. But researchers have now created soft robots that can seamlessly shift from walking to swimming, for example, or crawling to rolling using a bistable actuator made of 3D-printed soft rubber containing shape-memory alloy springs that react to electrical currents by contracting, which causes the actuator to bend. The team used this bistable motion to change the actuator or robot's shape. Once the robot changes shape, it is stable until another electrical charge morphs it back to its previous configuration.

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

Artificial intelligence (AI) reconstructs motion sequences of humans and animals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Imagine for a moment, that we are on a safari watching a giraffe graze. After looking away for a second, we then see the animal lower its head and sit down. But, we wonder, what happened in the meantime? Computer scientists have found a way to encode an animal's pose and appearance in order to show the intermediate motions that are statistically likely to have taken place.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Paleontology: Climate
Published

Major North American oil source yields clues to one of earth's deadliest mass extinctions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Geologists studying the Bakken Shale Formation discovered a critical kill mechanism behind a series of extinctions some 350 million years ago.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
Published

Short-distance migration critical for climate change adaptation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Short-distance migration, which accounts for the vast majority of migratory movements in the world, is crucial for climate change adaptation, according to new research. Contrary to common assumptions, most migratory movements are people moving short distances, largely due to economic, social and environmental factors, such as climate change.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Elegantly modeling Earth's abrupt glacial transitions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Milutin Milankovitch hypothesized that the timing of glacial transitions has been controlled by the orbital parameters of the Earth, which suggests that there may be some predictability in the climate, a notoriously complex system. Now researchers propose a new paradigm to simplify the verification of the Milankovitch hypothesis. The new 'deterministic excitation paradigm' combines the physics concepts of relaxation oscillation and excitability to link Earth's orbital parameters and the glacial cycles in a more generic way.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Most detailed geological model reveals Earth's past 100 million years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Previous models of Earth's recent (100 million years) geomorphology have been patchy at best. For the first time a detailed continuous model of the Earth's landscape evolution is presented, with potential for understanding long-term climate and biological development.

Archaeology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Wisconsin cave holds tantalizing clues to ancient climate changes, future shifts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A newly published study of a stalagmite found in Cave of the Mounds reveals previously undetected history of the local climate going back thousands of years. Researchers describe evidence for an ice age punctuated by massive and abrupt warming events across much of the Northern Hemisphere.

Anthropology: Cultures Paleontology: Climate
Published

Ice Age survivors      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Large-scale genomic analysis documents the migrations of Ice Age hunter-gatherers over a period of 30,000 years -- they took shelter in Western Europe but died out on the Italian peninsula.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: Climate
Published

Oldest human genome from southern Spain      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study reports on genomic data from a 23,000-year-old individual who lived in what was probably the warmest place of Europe at the peak of the last Ice Age. The oldest human genome recovered from the southern tip of Spain adds an important piece of the puzzle to the genetic history of Europe.

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

Reassessment of Storegga event: Second major landslide recognized      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Submarine landslides have a large tsunami potential and occurred on the central Norwegian shelf more frequently in the past than previously thought. Scientists investigate the Nyegga landslide off the coast of Norway. The submarine landslide occurred in the same area as the well-known Storegga event 8,150 years ago. The new findings suggest that approximately one-third of the seafloor material missing -- previously attributed to the Storegga event -- was removed by the Nyegga event 20,000 years ago. This raises questions about the frequency of large submarine landslides and their associated tsunami hazard.