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Categories: Biology: Developmental, Engineering: Robotics Research
Published A technique for more effective multipurpose robots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source MIT researchers developed a technique to combine robotics training data across domains, modalities, and tasks using generative AI models. They create a combined strategy from several different datasets that enables a robot to learn to perform new tasks in unseen environments.
Published The embryo assembles itself
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biological processes depend on puzzle pieces coming together and interacting. Under specific conditions, these interactions can create something new without external input. This is called self-organization, as seen in a school of fish or a flock of birds. Interestingly, the mammalian embryo develops similarly. Scientists now introduce a mathematical framework that analyzes self-organization from a single cell to a multicellular organism.
Published Enhancing nanofibrous acoustic energy harvesters with artificial intelligence
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have employed artificial intelligence techniques to improve the design and production of nanofibers used in wearable nanofiber acoustic energy harvesters (NAEH). These acoustic devices capture sound energy from the environment and convert it into electrical energy, which can then be applied in useful devices, such as hearing aids.
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.
Published AI-controlled stations can charge electric cars at a personal price
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As more and more people drive electric cars, congestion and queues can occur when many people need to charge at the same time. A new study shows how AI-controlled charging stations, through smart algorithms, can offer electric vehicle users personalized prices, and thus minimize both price and waiting time for customers. But the researchers point to the importance of taking the ethical issues seriously, as there is a risk that the artificial intelligence exploits information from motorists.
Published Heart healthy behaviors may help reverse rapid cell aging
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The benefits gained with higher lifestyle scores may be associated with the positive influence of heart disease risk factors on the aging of the body and its cells, finds a new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association
Published Public have no difficulty getting to grips with an extra thumb, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shown that members of the public have little trouble in learning very quickly how to use a third thumb -- a controllable, prosthetic extra thumb -- to pick up and manipulate objects. The team tested the robotic device on a diverse range of participants, which they say is essential for ensuring new technologies are inclusive and can work for everyone.
Published New deep learning model is 'game changer' for measuring embryo development
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new deep learning model performs a task that biologists have struggled with for centuries -- how to measure the incredibly complex process of embryonic development. Scientists have shown that the AI model, known as Dev-ResNet, can identify what happens and when during embryonic development, from video. While used in pond snail embryos for this study, in future the technique could be used to help accelerate understanding on how climate change, and other external factors, affect humans and animals in the earliest stages of life.
Published Mechanisms for selective multiple sclerosis treatment strategy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have demonstrated how B cells infected with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can contribute to a pathogenic, inflammatory phenotype that contributes to multiple sclerosis (MS); the group has also shown how these problematic B cells can be selectively targeted in a way that reduces the damaging autoimmune response of multiple sclerosis.
Published Genetic mosaicism more common than thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers found that approximately one in 40 human bone marrow cells carry massive chromosomal alterations without causing any apparent disease or abnormality. Even so-called normal cells carry all sorts of genetic mutations, meaning there are more genetic differences between individual cells in our bodies than between different human beings. The discovery was enabled by a single-cell sequencing technology called Strand-seq, a unique DNA sequencing technique that can reveal subtle details of genomes in single cells that are too difficult to detect with other methods.
Published Researchers have unveiled a new method to manipulate cell movement in embryos
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed a new method that can manipulate the movement of embryonic cells using short-time attractors.
Published How killifish embryos use suspended animation to survive over 8 months of drought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The African turquoise killifish lives in ephemeral ponds in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. To survive the annual dry season, the fish's embryos enter a state of extreme suspended animation or 'diapause' for approximately 8 months. Now, researchers have uncovered the mechanisms that enabled the killifish to evolve this extreme survival state.
Published Investigating the origin of circatidal rhythms in freshwater snails
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source While most organisms have biological clocks synchronized with the day-night cycle (circadian rhythms), marine animals in tidal areas have also developed circatidal rhythms to align with the tidal cycle. Comparing the activity and genetic expression of snails from tidal and non-tidal areas, researchers demonstrate that circatidal rhythms develop as snails adapt to tidal environments. These findings highlight the flexibility of biological clocks, enabling organisms to adjust their rhythms according to the environment.
Published 'Invisible tweezers' use robotics and acoustic energy to achieve what human hands cannot
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Undergoing surgery is seldom a pleasant experience, and it can sometimes be highly invasive. Surgical procedures have evolved steadily over the centuries, growing with the knowledge of anatomy and biology. Innovative methods have also been bolstered with new tools, and a growth in the use of robotics since the 1980s has moved health care forward significantly.
Published New 'atlas' provides unprecedented insights on how genes function in early embryo development
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biologists have provided new insights on a longstanding puzzle in biology: How complex organisms arise from a single fertilized cell. Producing a new 'gene atlas' with 4-D imaging, the researchers captured unprecedented insights on how embryonic development unfolds.
Published Birdsong and human voice built from same genetic blueprint
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Humans have been long fascinated by bird song and the cacophony of other avian sounds -- from coos and honks to quacks and peeps. But little is known about how the unique vocal organ of birds -- the syrinx -- varies from species to species or its deeper evolutionary origins. A trio of recent studies is changing that. The studies include high-resolution anatomical scans of syrinxes from hummingbirds and ostriches -- the world's smallest and largest bird species -- and the discovery that the syrinx and larynx, the vocal organ of reptiles and mammals, including humans, share the same developmental programming.
Published Team enhances stereotactic neurosurgery precision using MRI-guided multi-stage robotic positioner
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team developed an interactive multi-stage robotic positioner specifically designed for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided stereotactic neurosurgery.
Published Novel approach to interrogate tissue-specific protein-protein interactions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Multicellular organisms, like animals and plants, have complex cells with diverse functions. This complexity arises from the need for cells to produce distinct proteins that interact with each other. This interaction is crucial for cells to carry out their specific tasks and to form complex molecular machinery. However, our current understanding of such protein-protein interactions often lacks cellular contexts because they were usually studied in an in vitro system or in cells isolated from their tissue environment. Effective methods to investigate protein-protein interactions in a tissue-specific manner are largely missing.
Published Tracking down the genetic causes of lupus to personalize treatment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Treatment of autoimmune diseases like lupus has long relied on steroids to knock down the immune system, but more targeted therapies are currently undergoing clinical trials. To make sure these therapies get to the patients who will benefit, work is needed to identify the specific mutations behind each patient's disease. Researchers now report several dozen mutations associated with oversensitive toll-like receptors -- a major cause of autoimmune disease -- and linked two mutations to patients.
Published Exploring diversity in cell division
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Animals and fungi predominantly use two different modes of cell division -- called open and closed mitosis, respectively. A new study has shown that different species of Ichthyosporea -- marine protists that are close relatives of both animals and fungi -- use either open and closed mitosis, closely correlated to whether the species has multinucleate life cycle stages. The study demonstrates the way animals do cell division might have evolved long before animals themselves did and how this is linked to an organism's life cycle.