Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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Ant insights lead to robot navigation breakthrough      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the AI for tiny, autonomous robots. Drone-researchers felt inspired by biological findings on how ants visually recognize their environment and combine it with counting their steps in order to get safely back home. They have used these insights to create an insect-inspired autonomous navigation strategy for tiny, lightweight robots. It allows such robots to come back home after long trajectories, while requiring extremely little computation and memory (0.65 kiloByte per 100 m). In the future, tiny autonomous robots could find a wide range of uses, from monitoring stock in warehouses to finding gas leaks in industrial sites.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
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Want to spot a deepfake? Look for the stars in their eyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In an era when the creation of artificial intelligence (AI) images is at the fingertips of the masses, the ability to detect fake pictures -- particularly deepfakes of people -- is becoming increasingly important. So what if you could tell just by looking into someone's eyes? That's the compelling finding of new research which suggests that AI-generated fakes can be spotted by analyzing human eyes in the same way that astronomers study pictures of galaxies.

Energy: Batteries Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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Completely stretchy lithium-ion battery for flexible electronics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When you think of a battery, you probably don't think stretchy. But batteries will need this shape-shifting quality to be incorporated into flexible electronics, which are gaining traction for wearable health monitors. Now, researchers report a lithium-ion battery with entirely stretchable components, including an electrolyte layer that can expand by 5000%, and it retains its charge storage capacity after nearly 70 charge/discharge cycles.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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Enzyme-powered 'snot bots' help deliver drugs in sticky situations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Snot might not be the first place you'd expect nanobots to be swimming around. But this slimy secretion exists in more places than just your nose and piles of dirty tissues -- it also lines and helps protect the lungs, stomach, intestines and eyes. And now, researchers have demonstrated in mice that their tiny, enzyme-powered 'snot bots' can push through the defensive, sticky layer and potentially deliver drugs more efficiently.

Computer Science: General Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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A new neural network makes decisions like a human would      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are training neural networks to make decisions more like humans would. This science of human decision-making is only just being applied to machine learning, but developing a neural network even closer to the actual human brain may make it more reliable, according to the researchers.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: General Mathematics: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Optics
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Neural networks made of light      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists propose a new way of implementing a neural network with an optical system which could make machine learning more sustainable in the future. In a new paper, the researchers have demonstrated a method much simpler than previous approaches.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
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'A history of contact': Geneticists are rewriting the narrative of Neanderthals and other ancient humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using genomes from 2,000 living humans as well as three Neanderthals and one Denisovan, an international team mapped the gene flow between the hominin groups over the past quarter-million years.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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Learning dance moves could help humanoid robots work better with humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have trained a humanoid robot to perform a variety of expressive movements, from simple dance routines to gestures like waving, high-fiving and hugging, all while maintaining a steady gait on diverse terrains. This work marks a step towards building robots that perform more complex and human-like motions.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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A new twist on artificial 'muscles' for safer, softer robots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a new soft, flexible device that makes robots move by expanding and contracting -- just like a human muscle. To demonstrate their new device, called an actuator, the researchers used it to create a cylindrical, worm-like soft robot and an artificial bicep. In experiments, the cylindrical soft robot navigated the tight, hairpin curves of a narrow pipe-like environment, and the bicep was able to lift a 500-gram weight 5,000 times in a row without failing.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Paleontology: Fossils
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The plague may have caused the downfall of the Stone Age farmers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ancient DNA from bones and teeth hints at a role of the plague in Stone Age population collapse. Contrary to previous beliefs, the plague may have diminished Europe's populations long before the major plague outbreaks of the Middle Ages, new research shows.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Ecology: Research Paleontology: Fossils
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Ancient dingo DNA shows modern dingoes share little ancestry with modern dog breeds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study of ancient dingo DNA revealed that the distribution of modern dingoes across Australia, including those on K'gari (formerly Fraser Island), pre-dates European colonization and interventions like the dingo-proof fence.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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New and improved camera inspired by the human eye      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computer scientists have invented a camera mechanism that improves how robots see and react to the world around them. Inspired by how the human eye works, their innovative camera system mimics the tiny involuntary movements used by the eye to maintain clear and stable vision over time.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Optics
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'World record' for data transmission speed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have sent data at a record rate of 402 terabits per second using commercially available optical fiber. This beats their previous record, announced in March 2024, of 301 terabits or 301,000,000 megabits per second using a single, standard optical fiber.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General
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The beginnings of fashion      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers suggest that eyed needles were a new technological innovation used to adorn clothing for social and cultural purposes, marking the major shift from clothes as protection to clothes as an expression of identity.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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Soft, stretchy electrode simulates touch sensations using electrical signals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has developed a soft, stretchy electronic device capable of simulating the feeling of pressure or vibration when worn on the skin. This device represents a step towards creating haptic technologies that can reproduce a more varied and realistic range of touch sensations for applications such as virtual reality, medical prosthetics and wearable technology.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Microrobot-packed pill shows promise for treating inflammatory bowel disease in mice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a pill that releases microscopic robots, or microrobots, into the colon to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The experimental treatment, given orally, has shown success in mice. It significantly reduced IBD symptoms and promoted the healing of damaged colon tissue without causing toxic side effects.

Computer Science: Encryption Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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Mechanical computer relies on kirigami cubes, not electronics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a kirigami-inspired mechanical computer that uses a complex structure of rigid, interconnected polymer cubes to store, retrieve and erase data without relying on electronic components. The system also includes a reversible feature that allows users to control when data editing is permitted and when data should be locked in place.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General
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First case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals documented in new study      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study documents the first case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals and reveals that they were capable of providing altruistic care and support for a vulnerable member of their social group.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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Next platform for brain-inspired computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computers have come so far in terms of their power and potential, rivaling and even eclipsing human brains in their ability to store and crunch data, make predictions and communicate. But there is one domain where human brains continue to dominate: energy efficiency.