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Categories: Biology: Botany, 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.
Published Trash-sorting robot mimics complex human sense of touch
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are breaking through the difficulties of robotic recognition of various common, yet complex, items. Their layered sensor is equipped with material detection at the surface and pressure sensitivity at the bottom, with a porous middle layer sensitive to thermal changes. An efficient cascade classification algorithm rules out object types in order, from easy to hard, starting with simple categories like empty cartons before moving on to orange peels or scraps of cloth.
Published Four-legged, dog-like robot 'sniffs' hazardous gases in inaccessible environments
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nightmare material or truly man's best friend? A team of researchers equipped a dog-like quadruped robot with a mechanized arm that takes air samples from potentially treacherous situations, such as an abandoned building or fire. The robot dog walks samples to a person who screens them for potentially hazardous compounds.
Published Fine-tuning leaf angle with CRISPR improves sugarcane yield
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A CABBI research team has used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to optimize leaf angle in sugarcane, increasing the amount of sunlight it captures and the amount of biomass it produces.
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.
Published Researchers create skin-inspired sensory robots to provide medical treatment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have created innovative soft robots equipped with electronic skins and artificial muscles, allowing them to sense their surroundings and adapt their movements in real-time.
Published Changes Upstream: RIPE team uses CRISPR/Cas9 to alter photosynthesis for the first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists used CRISPR/Cas9 to increase gene expression in rice by changing its upstream regulatory DNA. While other studies have used the technology to knock out or decrease the expression of genes, this study, is an unbiased gene-editing approach to increase gene expression and downstream photosynthetic activity. The approach is more difficult than transgenic breeding, but could potentially preempt regulatory issues by changing DNA already within the plant, allowing the plants to get in the hands of farmers sooner.
Published Liquid metal-based electronic logic device that mimics intelligent prey-capture mechanism of Venus flytrap
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has developed a liquid metal-based electronic logic device that mimics the intelligent prey-capture mechanism of Venus flytraps. Exhibiting memory and counting properties, the device can intelligently respond to various stimulus sequences without the need for additional electronic components. The intelligent strategies and logic mechanisms in the device provide a fresh perspective on understanding 'intelligence' in nature and offer inspiration for the development of 'embodied intelligence'.
Published Better farming through nanotechnology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Advanced technologies enable the controlled release of medicine to specific cells in the body. Scientists argue these same technologies must be applied to agriculture if growers are to meet increasing global food demands.
Published Uptake of tire wear additives by vegetables grown for human consumption
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Car tires contain hundreds of chemical additives that can leach out of them. This is how they end up in crops and subsequently in the food chain. Researchers have now detected these chemical residues in leafy vegetables for the first time. Although the concentrations were low, the evidence was clear, a finding that is also known for drug residues in plant-based foods.
Published Frequent mowing puts poisonous weed into survival mode
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study has found that frequent mowing of Solanum elaeagnifolium, also known as silverleaf nightshade, may help create a 'superweed.' A professor of entomology and plant pathology has been studying silverleaf nightshade for more than a decade. New findings have shown that the more silverleaf nightshade was mowed, the more it developed ways to avoid destruction. The taproot went down further, nearly 5 feet deep, in the first generation of mowed plants. More spikes popped out on the stem as a defense against caterpillars feeding on the flowers. The flowers became more toxic to caterpillars, leading to less pressure from natural predators.
Published Key nutrients help plants beat the heat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered some of the molecular mechanisms controlling how plants -- including important crops like soybean and rice -- will respond to rising global temperatures, finding higher temperatures make root systems grow faster, but sustaining this increased growth speed depends on high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil. The discoveries point to the necessity of nitrogen and phosphorus-rich soil to promote crop growth and create nutritious crops, in addition to aiding a mission to create more resilient crops in the face of climate change.
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 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 Tracing the evolution of ferns' surprisingly sweet defense strategy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Plants and the animals that eat them have evolved together in fascinating ways, creating a dynamic interplay of survival strategies. Many plants have developed physical and chemical defenses to fend off herbivores. A well-known strategy in flowering plants is to produce nectar to attract 'ant bodyguards.' Recent research explores the evolution of this same defense strategy in ferns.
Published Researchers expose new symbiosis origin theories, identify experimental systems for plant life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research work on symbiosis -- a mutually beneficial relationship between living organisms -- is pushing back against the newer theory of a 'single-origin' of root nodule symbiosis (RNS) -- that all symbiosis between plant root nodules and nitrogen-fixing bacteria stems from one point--instead suggesting a 'multiple-origin' theory of sybiosis which opens a better understanding for genetically engineering crops.
Published What makes some plant groups so successful?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers involved in cataloguing the world's plant species are hunting for answers as to what makes some groups of plants so successful. One of their major goals is to predict more accurately which lineages of flowering plants -- some of which are of huge importance to people and to ecosystems -- are at a greater risk from global climate change.
Published Orchids support seedlings through 'parental nurture' via shared underground fungal networks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Orchid plants nurture their seedlings via an underground fungal network, new research has revealed.