Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Statistics
Published

How climate change will impact food production and financial institutions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new method to predict the financial impacts climate change will have on agriculture, which can help support food security and financial stability for countries increasingly prone to climate catastrophes.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Mathematics: Statistics
Published

How scientists are accelerating chemistry discoveries with automation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed an automated workflow that could accelerate the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs and other useful products. The new automated approach could analyze chemical reactions in real time and identify new chemical-reaction products much faster than current laboratory methods.

Biology: Cell Biology Ecology: Trees Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Tracing the largest solar storm in modern times from tree rings in Lapland      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research group was able to measure a spike in radiocarbon concentration of trees in Lapland that occurred after the Carrington flare. This discovery helps to prepare for dangerous solar storms.

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.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Statistics Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Network of quantum sensors boosts precision      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Quantum sensor technology promises even more precise measurements of physical quantities. A team has now compared the signals of up to 91 quantum sensors with each other and thus successfully eliminated the noise caused by interactions with the environment. Correlation spectroscopy can be used to increase the precision of sensor networks.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Statistics Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Researchers show classical computers can keep up with, and surpass, their quantum counterparts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of scientists has devised means for classical computing to mimic a quantum computing with far fewer resources than previously thought. The scientists' results show that classical computing can be reconfigured to perform faster and more accurate calculations than state-of-the-art quantum computers.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Health researchers develop software to predict diseases      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

IntelliGenes analyzes genomic data to discover biomarkers associated with health traits.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Clinical predictive models created by AI are accurate but study-specific, researchers find      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists were able to show that statistical models created by artificial intelligence (AI) predict very accurately whether a medication responds in people with schizophrenia. However, the models are highly context-dependent and cannot be generalized.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Rail industry urged to consider safety risks of space weather      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Train accidents could be caused by solar storms switching signalling from red to green according to new research examining the impact of space weather. Solar storms can trigger powerful magnetic disturbances on Earth, creating geomagnetically induced currents which could potentially interfere with electricity transmission and distribution grids. A study of two rail lines showed that more serious 'wrong side' failures (red to green) could occur with a weaker solar storm than for 'right side' failures, posing a serious risk which the industry needs to take on board.  

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

When is an aurora not an aurora?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While auroras occur at high latitude, the associated phenomena Steve and the picket fence occur farther south and at lower altitude. Their emissions also differ from aurora. A physics graduate student has proposed a physical mechanism behind these emissions, and a rocket launch to test the theory. She argues that an electric field in the upper atmosphere parallel to Earth's magnetic field could explain the green picket fence spectrum and perhaps Steve and the enhanced aurora.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

One of the largest magnetic storms in history quantified: Aurorae covered much of the night sky from the Tropics to the Polar Regions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international multidisciplinary team consisting of solar physicists, geophysicists, and historians from nine countries analysed observations of an extreme solar-terrestrial storm reported in historical records from February 1872. Their findings confirm that a moderate sunspot group triggered one of the largest magnetic storms ever recorded, almost covering the entire night sky with colourful aurorae in both hemispheres. If such an extreme storm occurred today, it would severely disrupt modern technological infrastructure. Their study emphasizes the importance of looking at historical records in light of modern scientific knowledge.

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

How do you make a robot smarter? Program it to know what it doesn't know      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have come up with a new way to teach robots to know when they don't know. The technique involves quantifying the fuzziness of human language and using that measurement to tell robots when to ask for further directions. Telling a robot to pick up a bowl from a table with only one bowl is fairly clear. But telling a robot to pick up a bowl when there are five bowls on the table generates a much higher degree of uncertainty -- and triggers the robot to ask for clarification.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Solar activity likely to peak next year      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered a new relationship between the Sun's magnetic field and its sunspot cycle, that can help predict when the peak in solar activity will occur. Their work indicates that the maximum intensity of solar cycle 25, the ongoing sunspot cycle, is imminent and likely to occur within a year.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Statistics Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Optical-fiber based single-photon light source at room temperature for next-generation quantum processing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Single-photon emitters quantum mechanically connect quantum bits (or qubits) between nodes in quantum networks. They are typically made by embedding rare-earth elements in optical fibers at extremely low temperatures. Now, researchers have developed an ytterbium-doped optical fiber at room temperature. By avoiding the need for expensive cooling solutions, the proposed method offers a cost-effective platform for photonic quantum applications.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

The importance of the Earth's atmosphere in creating the large storms that affect satellite communications      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Large geomagnetic storms disrupt radio signals and GPS. Now, researchers have identified the previous underestimated role of the ionosphere, a region of Earth's upper atmosphere that contains a high concentration of ions and free electrons, in determining how such storms develop. Understanding the interactions that cause large geomagnetic storms is important because they can disrupt radio signals and GPS. Their findings may help predict storms with the greatest potential consequences.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Clinical trials could yield better data with fewer patients thanks to new tool      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mathematicians have invented a new statistical tool to analyze multiple outcomes from clinical trials, replacing the 60-year-old standard tool that could only look at binary outcomes (survived/ did not survive). This will allow researchers to ask more complex research questions with trials that involve fewer patients, thereby streamlining the process of getting effective treatments to patients.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Solar farms in space are possible      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It's viable to produce low-cost, lightweight solar panels that can generate energy in space, according to new research.

Mathematics: Modeling Mathematics: Statistics
Published

To excel at engineering design, generative AI must learn to innovate, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reveals the pitfalls of deep generative models when they are tasked with solving engineering design problems. The researchers say if mechanical engineers want help from AI for novel ideas and designs, they'll have to refocus those models beyond 'statistical similarity.' 

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Researchers identify largest ever solar storm in ancient 14,300-year-old tree rings      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists have discovered a huge spike in radiocarbon levels 14,300 years ago by analyzing ancient tree-rings found in the French Alps. The radiocarbon spike was caused by a massive solar storm, the biggest ever identified.  A similar solar storm today would be catastrophic for modern technological society – potentially wiping out telecommunications and satellite systems, causing massive electricity grid blackouts, and costing us billions. The academics are warning of the importance of understanding such storms to protect our global communications and energy infrastructure for the future.

Engineering: Robotics Research Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Care robots: Ethical perceptions and acceptance      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The global population of people older than 65 years of age is rapidly increasing the need for care. Although care robots are a promising solution to fill in for caregivers, their social implementation has been slow and unsatisfactory. A team of international researchers has now developed the first universal model that can be employed across cultural contexts to explain how ethical perceptions affect the willingness to use care robots.