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Categories: Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Nanowire 'brain' network learns and remembers 'on the fly'



Like a collection of 'Pick Up Sticks', this neural network has passed a critical step for developing machine intelligence. For the first time, a physical neural network has successfully been shown to learn and remember 'on the fly', in a way inspired by and similar to how the brain's neurons work. The result opens a pathway for developing efficient and low-energy machine intelligence for more complex, real-world learning and memory tasks.
Published How sunflowers see the sun



Sunflowers famously turn their faces to follow the sun as it crosses the sky. But how do sunflowers 'see' the sun to follow it? Plant biologists show that they use a different, novel mechanism from that previously thought.
Published The brain may learn about the world the same way some computational models do



New studies support the idea that the brain uses a process similar to a machine-learning approach known as 'self-supervised learning.' This type of machine learning allows computational models to learn about visual scenes based solely on the similarities and differences between them, with no labels or other information.
Published Study uncovers hundred-year lifespans for three freshwater fish species in the Arizona desert



New study finds some of the oldest animals in the world living in a place you wouldn't expect: fishes in the Arizona desert.
Published New species of mosasaur named for Norse sea serpent



Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, large, carnivorous aquatic lizards that lived during the late Cretaceous. With 'transitional' traits that place it between two well-known mosasaurs, the new species is named after a sea serpent in Norse mythology, Jormungandr, and the small North Dakota city Walhalla near to where the fossil was found.
Published Robot stand-in mimics movements in VR



Researchers have developed a souped-up telepresence robot that responds automatically and in real-time to a remote user's movements and gestures made in virtual reality.
Published Engineers develop breakthrough 'robot skin'



Smart, stretchable and highly sensitive, a new soft sensor opens the door to a wide range of applications in robotics and prosthetics. When applied to the surface of a prosthetic arm or a robotic limb, the sensor skin provides touch sensitivity and dexterity, enabling tasks that can be difficult for machines such as picking up a piece of soft fruit. The sensor is also soft to the touch, like human skin, which helps make human interactions safer and more lifelike.
Published Roosters might recognize themselves in the mirror



Scrape, cluck, lay eggs -- that's it? Anyone involved in chicken farming knows that the animals are capable of much more. Researchers have found evidence that roosters could recognize themselves in a mirror. Whether this is successful, however, depends on the experimental conditions -- a finding that points beyond the experiment with roosters and could also be of importance for other animal species.
Published Vision via sound for the blind



Smart glasses that use a technique similar to a bat's echolocation could help blind and low-vision people navigate their surroundings, according to researchers.
Published Rider on the storm: Shearwater seabird catches an 11 hour ride over 1,000 miles in a typhoon



New research suggests that increasingly severe weather driven by climate change may push oceangoing seabirds to their limits.
Published Can AI grasp related concepts after learning only one?



Researchers have now developed a technique that advances the ability of these tools, such as ChatGPT, to make compositional generalizations. This technique, Meta-learning for Compositionality, outperforms existing approaches and is on par with, and in some cases better than, human performance.
Published 'Dim-witted' pigeons use the same principles as AI to solve tasks



A new study provides evidence that pigeons tackle some problems just as artificial intelligence would -- allowing them to solve difficult tasks that would vex humans.
Published Bizarre new fossils shed light on ancient plankton



Recently discovered microfossils date back half a billion years. Resembling modern-day algae, they provide insight into early life in our oceans.
Published Raining cats and dogs: Global precipitation patterns a driver for animal diversity



A team has identified several factors to help answer a fundamental ecological question: why is there a ridiculous abundance of species some places on earth and a scarcity in others? What factors, exactly, drive animal diversity? They discovered that what an animal eats (and how that interacts with climate) shapes Earth's diversity.
Published Finding the genes that help kingfishers dive without hurting their brains



Scientists studied the genomes of 30 kingfisher species to try to identify the genes that allow kingfishers to dive headfirst into water without huring their brains. The researchers found that the diving birds have unusual mutations to the genes that produce tau: a protein that helps stabilize tiny structures in the brain, but which can build up in humans with traumatic brain injuries or Alzheimer's disease. The researchers suspect that these variations in the kingfishers' tau proteins might protect their brains when they dive.
Published Origin of ancient mummified baboons found in Egypt



Primatologists are using genetic analysis to determine the geographic origin of ancient mummified baboons found in Egypt. The team finds evidence that the two legendary trading regions of Punt and Adulis may have been the same place separated by a thousand years of history.
Published How quantum light 'sees' quantum sound



Researchers have proposed a new way of using quantum light to 'see' quantum sound. A new paper reveals the quantum-mechanical interplay between vibrations and particles of light, known as photons, in molecules. It is hoped that the discovery may help scientists better understand the interactions between light and matter on molecular scales. And it potentially paves the way for addressing fundamental questions about the importance of quantum effects in applications ranging from new quantum technologies to biological systems.
Published Plants transformed into detectors of dangerous chemicals



What if your house plant could tell you your water isn't safe? Scientists are closer to realizing this vision, having successfully engineered a plant to turn beet red in the presence of a banned, toxic pesticide.
Published Plant-based materials give 'life' to tiny soft robots



A team of researchers has created smart, advanced materials that will be the building blocks for a future generation of soft medical microrobots. These tiny robots have the potential to conduct medical procedures, such as biopsy, and cell and tissue transport, in a minimally invasive fashion.
Published Adaptive optical neural network connects thousands of artificial neurons



Physicists working with computer specialists have developed a so-called event-based architecture, using photonic processors. In a similar way to the brain, this makes possible the continuous adaptation of the connections within the neural network.