Friday 21 June 2019

Researchers see around corners to detect object shapes

Computer vision researchers have demonstrated they can use special light sources and sensors to see around corners or through gauzy filters, enabling them to reconstruct the shapes of unseen objects.

* This article was originally published here

NASA helps warn of harmful algal blooms in lakes, reservoirs

Harmful algal blooms can cause big problems in coastal areas and lakes across the United States. When toxin-containing aquatic organisms multiply and form a bloom, it can sicken people and pets, contaminate drinking water, and force closures at boating and swimming sites.

* This article was originally published here

Perovskite solar cells tested for real-world performance—in the lab

It was only ten years ago that metal-halide perovskites were discovered to be photovoltaic materials. Today, perovskite solar cells are almost as efficient as the best conventional silicon ones, and there is much hope that they will become a highly efficient and low-cost alternative, as they can be manufactured by rather simple and fast methods like printing.

* This article was originally published here

Next-gen solar cells spin in new direction: Phosphorene shows efficiency promise

A nanomaterial made from phosphorus, known as phosphorene, is shaping up as a key ingredient for more sustainable and efficient next-generation perovskite solar cells (PSCs).

* This article was originally published here

Engineers 3-D print flexible mesh for ankle and knee braces

Hearing aids, dental crowns, and limb prosthetics are some of the medical devices that can now be digitally designed and customized for individual patients, thanks to 3-D printing. However, these devices are typically designed to replace or support bones and other rigid parts of the body, and are often printed from solid, relatively inflexible material.

* This article was originally published here

Acropolis Museum marks 10-year anniversary with new extension

Greece's Acropolis Museum has opened to the public a new section housing the remains of an ancient Athens neighbourhood to mark its 10-year-anniversary, organisers said Friday.

* This article was originally published here

Robot circulatory system powers possibilities

Untethered robots suffer from a stamina problem. A possible solution: a circulating liquid—"robot blood"—to store energy and power its applications for sophisticated, long-duration tasks.

* This article was originally published here

Spintronic memory cells for neural networks

In recent years, researchers have proposed a wide variety of hardware implementations for feed-forward artificial neural networks. These implementations include three key components: a dot-product engine that can compute convolution and fully-connected layer operations, memory elements to store intermediate inter and intra-layer results, and other components that can compute non-linear activation functions.

* This article was originally published here

B chromosome first—mechanisms behind the drive of B chromosomes uncovered

The specific number of chromosomes is one of the defining characteristics of a species. Whilst the common fruit fly carries 8 chromosomes, the genome of bread wheat counts 42 chromosomes. In comparison, the human genome is made out of a total of 46 chromosomes. However, about 15% of all eukaryotic species additionally carry supernumerary chromosomes referred to as "B chromosomes". Other than the essential chromosomes of the genome, B chromosomes are expendable and often preferentially inherited. This leads to a transmission advantage for B chromosomes called "chromosome drive". To date, little knowledge exists about the mechanisms behind this phenomenon. Researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben have now been able to decipher the mechanisms behind the drive of B chromosomes in the goatgrass Aegilops speltoides. The novel insights in the workings of chromosome drive were recently published in New Phytologist.

* This article was originally published here

Google rolled out fix for Nest cam look-through

Finders, weepers. That seemed to be a suitable tweak to the old saying, when the news hit that a former owner of a used Nest Indoor Cam could access the new owner's video feed.

* This article was originally published here

California launches anti-illegal pot campaign

Marijuana shoppers are going to be getting a message from California regulators: Go legal.

* This article was originally published here

Chronic hepatitis B infections in Europe on the rise since 2008

In 2017, the majority (58 percent) of the almost 27,000 newly reported hepatitis B cases in the European Union and European Economic Area were classified as chronic infections. This follows a consistent upward trend in reported chronic hepatitis B cases since 2008.

* This article was originally published here

Rare recessive mutations pry open new windows on autism

Over the past decade, autism spectrum disorder has been linked to mutations in a variety of genes, explaining up to 30 percent of all cases to date. Most of these variants are de novo mutations, which are not inherited, affect just one copy of a gene, and are relatively easy to find. The lab of Timothy Yu, MD, Ph.D., at Boston Children's Hospital chose a road less travelled, tracking rare recessive mutations in which a child inherits two "bad" copies of a gene.

* This article was originally published here

Burnout: Sleepless firefighters at risk of exhaustion and mental health conditions

Sleep disturbances and mental health challenges are putting close to half of America's firefighters at high risk of emotional fatigue and exhaustion, new research shows.

* This article was originally published here

Multi-mobile (M2) computing system makes Android, iOS apps sharable on multiple devices

Computer scientists at Columbia Engineering have developed a new computing system that enables current, unmodified mobile apps to combine and share multiple devices, including cameras, displays, speakers, microphones, sensors, and GPS, across multiple smartphones and tablets. Called M2, the new system operates across heterogeneous systems, including Android and iOS, combining the functionality of multiple mobile systems into a more powerful one that gives users a seamless experience across the various systems.

* This article was originally published here

Rot in peace: Sites lacking for whale corpses amid die-off

So many gray whales are dying off the U.S. West Coast that scientists and volunteers dealing with the putrid carcasses have an urgent request for coastal residents: Lend us your private beaches so these ocean giants can rot in peace.

* This article was originally published here

Not always reaching your potential is okay, but overthinking it is a problem

Having aspirations helps us navigate life in a meaningful and fulfilling way, but it can also cause psychological distress when hopes are left unfulfilled.

* This article was originally published here