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Categories: Offbeat: Computers and Math, Paleontology: Fossils

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Building on a landmark algorithm, researchers propose a way to make a smaller and more noise-tolerant quantum factoring circuit for cryptography.

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Researchers have demonstrated a technology capable of a suite of data storage and computing functions -- repeatedly storing, retrieving, computing, erasing or rewriting data -- that uses DNA rather than conventional electronics. Previous DNA data storage and computing technologies could complete some but not all of these tasks.

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Non-living hydrogels can play the video game Pong and improve their gameplay with more experience, researchers report. The researchers hooked hydrogels up to a virtual game environment and then applied a feedback loop between the hydrogel's paddle -- encoded by the distribution of charged particles within the hydrogel -- and the ball's position -- encoded by electrical stimulation. With practice, the hydrogel's accuracy improved by up to 10%, resulting in longer rallies. The researchers say that this demonstrates the ability of non-living materials to use 'memory' to update their understanding of the environment, though more research is needed before it could be said that hydrogels can 'learn.'

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An insect species that evolved 130 million years ago is the inspiration for a new research study to improve navigation systems in drones, robots, and orbiting satellites.

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A new study shows how the mismatch between where fossils are preserved and where humans likely lived may influence our understanding of early human evolution.

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A new adaptive 3D printing system can identify the positions of randomly distributed organisms and safely move them to specific locations for assembly.

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James Joyce's tome 'Finnegans Wake' famously breaks the rules of normal prose through its unusual, dreamlike stream of consciousness, and new work in chaos theory takes a closer look at how Joyce's challenging novel stands out mathematically. Researchers compared the distribution of punctuation marks in various experimental novels to determine the underlying order of 'Finnegans Wake' and by statistically analyzing the texts, researchers found the tome exhibits an unusual but statistically identifiable structure. The wide singularity spectrum was perfectly symmetrical, meaning sentence length variability follows an orderly curve.

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A zinc-air microbattery could enable the deployment of cell-sized, autonomous robots for drug delivery within in the human body, as well as other applications such as locating leaks in gas pipelines.

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With 2D cameras and space robotics algorithms, astronautics engineers have created a navigation system able to manage multiple satellites using visual data only. They just tested it in space for the first time.

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Researchers have developed a smart fabric that can convert body heat and solar energy into electricity, potentially enabling continuous operation with no need for an external power source. Different sensors monitoring temperature, stress, and more can be integrated into the material.

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A new, air-powered computer sets off alarms when certain medical devices fail. The invention is a more reliable and lower-cost way to help prevent blood clots and strokes -- all without electronic sensors.

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Scientists have sequenced the largest genome of all animals, the lungfish genome. Their data help to explain how the fish-ancestors of today's land vertebrates were able to conquer land.

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Ancient fossil beans about the size of modern limes, and among the largest seeds in the fossil record, may provide new insight into the evolution of today's diverse Southeast Asian and Australian rainforests, according to researchers who identified the plants.

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A computer algorithm has achieved a 98% accuracy in predicting different diseases by analyzing the color of the human tongue. The proposed imaging system can diagnose diabetes, stroke, anemia, asthma, liver and gallbladder conditions, COVID-19, and a range of vascular and gastrointestinal issues, according to new research.

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Common push puppet toys in the shapes of animals and popular figures can move or collapse with the push of a button at the bottom of the toys' base. Now, a team of engineers has created a new class of tunable dynamic material that mimics the inner workings of push puppets, with applications for soft robotics, reconfigurable architectures and space engineering.

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Large Language Models (LLMs) are entirely controllable through human prompts and lack 'emergent abilities'; that is, the means to form their own insights or conclusions. Increasing model size does not lead LLMs to gain emergent reasoning abilities, meaning they will not develop hazardous abilities and therefore do not pose an existential threat. A new study sheds light on the (until now unexplained) capabilities and shortcomings of LLMs, including the need for carefully engineered prompts to exhibit good performance.

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Researchers have published a programmable framework that overcomes a key computational bottleneck of optics-based artificial intelligence systems. In a series of image classification experiments, they used scattered light from a low-power laser to perform accurate, scalable computations using a fraction of the energy of electronics.

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Physicists have used Doppler-shifted nuclear resonant absorbers to form a nuclear frequency comb, enabling a quantum memory in the notoriously difficult X-ray range.

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Researchers invented a technique that uses a specialized light projector and a photosensitive chemical additive to imprint two- and three-dimensional images inside any polymer. The light-based engraving remains in the polymer until heat or light are applied, which erases the image and makes it ready to use again. The technology is intended for any situation where having detailed, precise visual data in a compact and easily customizable format could be critical, such as planning surgeries and developing architectural designs.

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What distinguishes the growth and development patterns of early mammals of the Jurassic period? Paleontologists have been able to gauge the lifespan and growth rates of these ancient animals, and even when they reached maturity, by studying growth rings in fossilized tooth roots.