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Categories: Offbeat: Computers and Math, Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published Laser tests reveal new insights into key mineral for super-Earths
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have for the first time observed how atoms in magnesium oxide morph and melt under ultra-harsh conditions, providing new insights into this key mineral within Earth's mantle that is known to influence planet formation.
Published To heal skin, scientists invent living bioelectronics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have created a patch that combines sensors and bacteria to interact with the body.
Published A mountainous mystery uncovered in Australia's pink sands
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Deposits of deep-pink sand washing up on South Australian shores shed new light on when the Australian tectonic plate began to subduct beneath the Pacific plate, as well as the presence of previously unknown ancient Antarctic mountains.
Published Towards a new era in flexible piezoelectric sensors for both humans and robots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Flexible piezoelectric sensors are essential to monitor the motions of both humans and humanoid robots. However, existing designs are either are costly or have limited sensitivity. In a recent study, researchers tackled these issues by developing a novel piezoelectric composite material made from electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers combined with dopamine. Sensors made from this material showed significant performance and stability improvements at a low cost, promising advancements in medicine, healthcare, and robotics.
Published Are plants intelligent? It depends on the definition
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Goldenrod can perceive other plants nearby without ever touching them, by sensing far-red light ratios reflected off leaves. When goldenrod is eaten by herbivores, it adapts its response based on whether or not another plant is nearby. Is this kind of flexible, real-time, adaptive response a sign of intelligence in plants?
Published AI-powered simulation training improves human performance in robotic exoskeletons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have demonstrated a new method that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and computer simulations to train robotic exoskeletons to autonomously help users save energy while walking, running and climbing stairs.
Published Millions of insects migrate through 30-meter Pyrenees pass
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Over 17 million insects migrate each year through a single mountain pass on the border between France and Spain, new research shows.
Published 3D-printed mini-actuators can move small soft robots, lock them into new shapes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have demonstrated miniature soft hydraulic actuators that can be used to control the deformation and motion of soft robots that are less than a millimeter thick. The researchers have also demonstrated that this technique works with shape memory materials, allowing users to repeatedly lock the soft robots into a desired shape and return to the original shape as needed.
Published Algae offer real potential as a renewable electricity source
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The need to transition away from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy production is critical. That's why a team of researchers is looking at a potential power source that not only produces no carbon emissions but removes carbon as it works: algae.
Published Scientists unlock secrets of how archaea, the third domain of life, makes energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international scientific team has redefined our understanding of archaea, a microbial ancestor to humans from two billion years ago, by showing how they use hydrogen gas. The findings explain how these tiny lifeforms make energy by consuming and producing hydrogen. This simple but dependable strategy has allowed them to thrive in some of Earth's most hostile environments for billions of years.
Published New technique could help build quantum computers of the future
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have demonstrated a new method that could enable the large-scale manufacturing of optical qubits. The advance could bring us closer to a scalable quantum computer.
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 Protocol for creating 'wired miniature brains'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed -- and shared -- a process for creating brain cortical organoids -- essentially miniature artificial brains with functioning neural networks.
Published Researchers demonstrate the first chip-based 3D printer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have demonstrated the first chip-based 3D printer, a tiny device that emits reconfigurable beams of visible light into a well of resin that rapidly cures into a solid shape. The advance could enable a 3D printer small enough to fit in the palm of a person's hand.
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 The solar system may have passed through dense interstellar clouds 2 million years ago, altering Earth's climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astrophysicists calculate the likelihood that Earth was exposed to cold, harsh interstellar clouds, a phenomenon not previously considered in geologic climate models.
Published A new study reveals that marine cyanobacteria communicate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A breakthrough study changes the way we understand cyanobacteria, which are essential for the sustenance of life. The study shows that these organisms do not operate in isolation, but rather physically interact through membrane-nanotubes, which function as exchange bridges between cells.
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 People feel more connected to 'tweezer-like' bionic tools that don't resemble human hands
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some say the next step in human evolution will be the integration of technology with flesh. Now, researchers have used virtual reality to test whether humans can feel embodiment -- the sense that something is part of one's body -- toward prosthetic 'hands' that resemble a pair of tweezers. They report that participants felt an equal degree of embodiment for the tweezer-hands and were also faster and more accurate in completing motor tasks in virtual reality than when they were equipped with a virtual human hand.