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

Robot ANYmal can do parkour and walk across rubble      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The quadrupedal robot ANYmal went back to school and has learned a lot. Researchers used machine learning to teach it new skills: the robot can now climb over obstacles and successfully negotiate pitfalls.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Sonic youth: Healthy reef sounds increase coral settlement      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Healthy coral reefs have rich soundscapes, full of the croaks, purrs, and grunts of various fishes and the crackling of snapping shrimp. Larval coral uses these sounds as cues to identify the best places to settle and grow. The authors found that sound could potentially be a vital tool in the effort to restore coral reefs. Broadcasting the sounds of a healthy reef to a reef that is degraded encourages coral larvae to settle there. This indicates that it's possible that 'acoustic enrichment' can be a key intervention to support imperiled reefs.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Milk to the rescue for diabetics? Cow produces human insulin in milk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An unassuming brown bovine from the south of Brazil has made history as the first transgenic cow capable of producing human insulin in her milk. The advancement could herald a new era in insulin production, one day eliminating drug scarcity and high costs for people living with diabetes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Who knew that coprophagy was so vital for birds' survival?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research explains how eating feces (known as coprophagy) shapes wild birds' digestive tracts (gut biota), enabling them to absorb lost or deficient nutrients and adjust to seasonal variations in food sources.

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

How do neural networks learn? A mathematical formula explains how they detect relevant patterns      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Neural networks have been powering breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, including the large language models that are now being used in a wide range of applications, from finance, to human resources to healthcare. But these networks remain a black box whose inner workings engineers and scientists struggle to understand. Now, a team has given neural networks the equivalent of an X-ray to uncover how they actually learn.

Biology: Zoology Chemistry: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Cicadas' unique urination unlocks new understanding of fluid dynamics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While most small insects and mammals urinate in droplets, cicadas urinate in jets. Researchers say the finding could be used to create better robots and small nozzles.

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

Robotic interface masters a soft touch      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a haptic device capable of reproducing the softness of various materials, from a marshmallow to a beating heart, overcoming a deceptively complex challenge that has previously eluded roboticists.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Published

Going top shelf with AI to better track hockey data      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers got a valuable assist from artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help capture and analyze data from professional hockey games faster and more accurately than ever before, with big implications for the business of sports.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
Published

The role of machine learning and computer vision in Imageomics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new field promises to usher in a new era of using machine learning and computer vision to tackle small and large-scale questions about the biology of organisms around the globe.

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

Method rapidly verifies that a robot will avoid collisions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new safety-check technique can prove with 100 percent accuracy that a planned robot motion will not result in a collision. The method can generate a proof in seconds and does so in a way that can be easily verified by a human.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Earth's earliest forest revealed in Somerset fossils      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The oldest fossilized forest known on Earth -- dating from 390 million years ago -- has been found in the high sandstone cliffs along the Devon and Somerset coast of South West England.

Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Bee-2-Bee influencing: Bees master complex tasks through social interaction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Bumblebees successfully learned a two-step puzzle box task through social observation. This task was too complex for individual bees to learn on their own. Observing trained demonstrator bees performing the first unrewarded step was crucial for successful social learning. Individual bees failed to solve the puzzle without previous demonstration, despite extensive exposure.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Genetic mutation in a quarter of all Labradors hard-wires them for obesity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research finds around a quarter of Labrador retriever dogs face a double-whammy of feeling hungry all the time and burning fewer calories due to a genetic mutation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Do some electric fish sense the world through comrades' auras?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It would be a game-changer if all members of a basketball team could see out of each other's eyes in addition to their own. Biologists have found evidence that this kind of collective sensing occurs in close-knit groups of African weakly electric fish, also known as elephantnose fish. This instantaneous sharing of sensory intelligence could help the fish locate food, friends and foes.

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

AI can speed design of health software      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Artificial intelligence helped clinicians to accelerate the design of diabetes prevention software, a new study finds.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Tiny worms tolerate Chornobyl radiation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that exposure to chronic radiation from Chornobyl has not damaged the genomes of microscopic worms living there today -- which doesn't mean that the region is safe, the scientists caution, but suggests that these worms are exceptionally resilient.