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Categories: Biology: Botany, Engineering: Robotics Research
Published Stronger tape engineered through the art of cutting



What if you could make adhesives both strong and easily removable? This seemingly paradoxical combination of properties could dramatically change applications in robotic grasping, wearables for health monitoring, and manufacturing for assembly and recycling. A team has adapted kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting paper, into a method for increasing the adhesive bond of ordinary tape by 60 times. Developing such adhesives may not by that far off through the latest research conducted by the team of Michael Bartlett, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, and published in Nature Materials on June 22.
Published A roadmap for gene regulation in plants



For the first time, researchers have developed a genome-scale way to map the regulatory role of transcription factors, proteins that play a key role in gene expression and determining a plant's physiological traits. Their work reveals unprecedented insights into gene regulatory networks and identifies a new library of DNA parts that can be used to optimize plants for bioenergy and agriculture.
Published 'Shoebox' satellites help scientists understand trees and global warming



As scientists try to understand the effect of climate on trees, advances in imaging technology are helping them see both the whole forest and every individual tree. High-resolution images taken by cubesats, small, shoebox-sized devices launched into low Earth orbit, are helping environmental scientists make more precise measurements about trees' response to a warming climate.
Published Plant extracts used by indigenous people hold promise in treatment of ataxia



Researchers have discovered that extracts from plants used by the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations peoples in their traditional botanical medicine practices are able to rescue the function of ion channel proteins carrying mutations that cause human Episodic Ataxia.
Published AI reveals hidden traits about our planet's flora to help save species



Machine learning can help extract important information from the huge numbers of plant specimens stored in herbaria, say scientists.
Published From cross to self-pollination



Biologists provide evidence for an alternative genetic mechanism that can lead to plants becoming self-pollinators.
Published Fossil study sheds light on famous spirals found in nature



A 3D model of a 407-million-year-old plant fossil has overturned thinking on the evolution of leaves. The research has also led to fresh insights about spectacular patterns found in plants.
Published How will a warming world impact the Earth's ability to offset our carbon emissions?



New work deploys a bold new approach for inferring the temperature sensitivity of ecosystem respiration -- which represents one side of the equation balancing carbon dioxide uptake and carbon dioxide output in terrestrial environments. This will improve scientists' models for climate change scenarios.
Published Photosynthesis, key to life on Earth, starts with a single photon



A cutting-edge experiment has revealed the quantum dynamics of one of nature's most crucial processes.
Published Metamaterials with built-in frustration have mechanical memory



Researchers have discovered how to design materials that necessarily have a point or line where the material doesn't deform under stress, and that even remember how they have been poked or squeezed in the past. These results could be used in robotics and mechanical computers, while similar design principles could be used in quantum computers.
Published Hybrid AI-powered computer vision combines physics and big data



Researchers have laid out a new approach to enhance artificial intelligence-powered computer vision technologies by adding physics-based awareness to data-driven techniques. The study offered an overview of a hybrid methodology designed to improve how AI-based machinery sense, interact and respond to its environment in real time -- as in how autonomous vehicles move and maneuver, or how robots use the improved technology to carry out precision actions.
Published Plant remediation effects on petroleum contamination



Initial choices about fertilization and grass seeding could have a long-lasting effect on how plants and their associated microbes break down pollution in petroleum-contaminated soils.
Published Four-legged robot traverses tricky terrains thanks to improved 3D vision



Researchers have developed a new model that trains four-legged robots to see more clearly in 3D. The advance enabled a robot to autonomously cross challenging terrain with ease -- including stairs, rocky ground and gap-filled paths -- while clearing obstacles in its way.
Published Mori3: A polygon shape-shifting robot for space travel



By combining inspiration from the digital world of polygon meshing and the biological world of swarm behavior, the Mori3 robot can morph from 2D triangles into almost any 3D object. The research shows the promise of modular robotics for space travel.
Published Team finds reliable predictor of plant species persistence, coexistence



Ecological scientists have long sought ways to measure and predict how specific plant communities will fare over time. Which species in a diverse population will persist and coexist? Which will decline? What factors might contribute to continuing biodiversity? Researchers report on a new method for determining whether pairs or groups of plant species are likely to coexist over time.
Published Chatgpt designs a robot



Poems, essays and even books -- is there anything the OpenAI platform ChatGPT can't handle? These new AI developments have inspired researchers to dig a little deeper: For instance, can ChatGPT also design a robot? And is this a good thing for the design process, or are there risks?
Published Sponge makes robotic device a soft touch



A simple sponge has improved how robots grasp, scientists have found.
Published Older trees accumulate more mutations than their younger counterparts



A study of the relationship between the growth rate of tropical trees and the frequency of genetic mutations they accumulate suggests that older, long-lived trees play a greater role in generating and maintaining genetic diversity than short-lived trees.
Published Robot 'chef' learns to recreate recipes from watching food videos



Researchers have trained a robotic 'chef' to watch and learn from cooking videos, and recreate the dish itself.
Published Saving moths may be just as important as saving the bees



Night-time pollinators such as moths may visit just as many plants as bees, and should also be the focus of conservation and protection efforts, a new study suggests.