Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Geography
Published

New way to spot beetle-killed spruce can help forest, wildfire managers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new machine-learning system can automatically produce detailed maps from satellite data to show locations of likely beetle-killed spruce trees in Alaska, even in forests of low and moderate infestation where identification is otherwise difficult. The automated process can help forestry and wildfire managers in their decisions. That's critical as the beetle infestation spreads.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Female AI 'teammate' generates more participation from women      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An artificial intelligence-powered virtual teammate with a female voice boosts participation and productivity among women on teams dominated by men, according to new research.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Virtual reality as a reliable shooting performance-tracking tool      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Virtual reality technology can do more than teach weaponry skills in law enforcement and military personnel, a new study suggests: It can accurately record shooting performance and reliably track individuals' progress over time.

Biology: Biochemistry Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Researchers create realistic virtual rodent      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To help probe the mystery of how brains control movement, scientists have created a virtual rat with an artificial brain that can move around just like a real rodent. The researchers found that activations in the virtual control network accurately predicted neural activity measured from the brains of real rats producing the same behaviors.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Trees Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Early life exposure to weed pollen could increase childhood asthma risk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has found children who are exposed to tree and weed pollen in urban environments are at increased risk of respiratory health problems, including asthma. While green areas in urban settings decrease exposure to air pollution, allow kids to be active, and offer positive contact to a diverse microbiota -- which in turn may help the positive development of a child's immune system -- they can also lead to the development of childhood asthma. Thankfully, trees can help mitigate this effect to some degree, thanks to their canopy.

Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Tropical forests adjust strategies to thrive even when soils are nutrient poor      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tropical forests store a third of the world's carbon in their wood and soils. However, their future as a carbon sink has been uncertain. Scientists have long wondered whether nutrient-poor tropical soils would limit the ability of mature and recovering forests to thrive. A study offers a hopeful response, suggesting that forests have flexible strategies that help them overcome the challenge of scarce nutrients.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

People feel more connected to 'tweezer-like' bionic tools that don't resemble human hands      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some say the next step in human evolution will be the integration of technology with flesh. Now, researchers have used virtual reality to test whether humans can feel embodiment -- the sense that something is part of one's body -- toward prosthetic 'hands' that resemble a pair of tweezers. They report that participants felt an equal degree of embodiment for the tweezer-hands and were also faster and more accurate in completing motor tasks in virtual reality than when they were equipped with a virtual human hand.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Geoscience: Geography
Published

Best of both worlds: Innovative positioning system enhances versatility and accuracy of drone-viewpoint mixed reality applications      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed an innovative positioning system that enhances the versatility and accuracy of drone-viewpoint mixed reality (MR) applications by aligning real and virtual world coordinates without predefined routes. By integrating visual positioning systems and natural feature-based tracking, this technology is expected to be applied to urban landscape simulation, maintenance, and inspection work.

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

Children's visual experience may hold key to better computer vision training      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A novel, human-inspired approach to training artificial intelligence (AI) systems to identify objects and navigate their surroundings could set the stage for the development of more advanced AI systems to explore extreme environments or distant worlds, according to new research.

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

Designing environments that are robot-inclusive      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To overcome issues associated with real-life testing, researchers successfully demonstrated the use of digital twin technology within robot simulation software in assessing a robot's suitability for deployment in simulated built environments.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General
Published

Smarter foragers do not forage smarter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Why do primates have big brains? In the Panamanian rainforest, scientists pitted large-brained primates against smaller-brained mammals to find out who was the smartest forager.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Imperceptible sensors made from 'electronic spider silk' can be printed directly on human skin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a method to make adaptive and eco-friendly sensors that can be directly and imperceptibly printed onto a wide range of biological surfaces, whether that's a finger or a flower petal.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

AI poised to usher in new level of concierge services to the public      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Concierge services built on artificial intelligence have the potential to improve how hotels and other service businesses interact with customers, a new paper suggests.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Ecology: Animals
Published

Finding the beat of collective animal motion      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Virtual Reality experiments have illuminated the rhythmic glue that could keep animals moving in synchrony.

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

Building a better sarcasm detector      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sarcasm is notoriously tricky to convey through text, and the subtle changes in tone that convey sarcasm often confuse computer algorithms as well, limiting virtual assistants and content analysis tools. So researchers have now developed a multimodal algorithm for improved sarcasm detection that examines multiple aspects of audio recordings for increased accuracy. They used two complementary approaches -- sentiment analysis using text and emotion recognition using audio -- for a more complete picture.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography
Published

Meet the new insect killing Utah's fir trees      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The balsam woolly adelgid, a tiny nonnative flightless insect, is spreading across the American West killing subalpine fir in northern Utah's recreation-heavy mountain ranges and canyons. Rsearchers document a close association between the pest's spread and warming temperatures.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Virtual reality becomes more engaging when designers use cinematic tools      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cinematography techniques can significantly increase user engagement with virtual environments and, in particular, the aesthetic appeal of what users see in virtual reality.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Saturated soils could impact survival of young trees planted to address climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has looked into the potential effects of increased rainfall in regions being earmarked for expansion of temperate rainforests. Amid global calls for more trees to be planted as part of efforts to combat climate change, this study highlights the importance of factoring in soil conditions when looking at where and how to create the temperate rainforests of the future.

Computer Science: Encryption Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Biometric
Published

VR may pose privacy risks for kids: A new study finds parents aren't as worried as they should be      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research finds that, while an increasing number of minors are using virtual reality (VR) apps, not many parents recognize the extent of the security and privacy risks that are specific to VR technologies. The study also found that few parents are taking active steps to address those security and privacy issues, such as using parental controls built into the apps.