Research

Fossil footprints tell story of prehistoric parent’s journey

October 18, 2020 by Zakia

Hungry giant predators, treacherous mud and a tired, probably cranky toddler – more than 10,000 years ago, that was the stuff of every parent’s nightmare.

Evidence of that type of frightening trek was recently uncovered, and at nearly a mile it is the longest known trackway of early-human footprints ever found.

The discovery shows the archaeological findings of footprint tracks at White Sands National Park in New Mexico. The tracks run for 1.5 kilometers (.93 miles) and show a single set of footprints that are joined, at point, by the footprints of a toddler. [Read more…] about Fossil footprints tell story of prehistoric parent’s journey

New deep learning models: Fewer neurons, more intelligence

October 14, 2020 by Zakia

Artificial intelligence has arrived in our everyday lives – from search engines to self-driving cars. This has to do with the enormous computing power that has become available in recent years.

But new results from AI research now show that simpler, smaller neural networks can be used to solve certain tasks even better, more efficiently, and more reliably than ever before.

An international research team from TU Wien (Vienna), IST Austria and MIT (USA) has developed a new artificial intelligence system based on the brains of tiny animals, such as threadworms. [Read more…] about New deep learning models: Fewer neurons, more intelligence

Applying artificial intelligence to science education
30
A new review published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching highlights the potential of machine learning – a subset of artificial intelligence – in science education. Although the authors initiated their review before the Covid-19 outbreak, the pandemic highlights the need to examine cutting-edge digital technologies as we re-think…
Tags: learning, intelligence, artificial, news

Which is more creative, the arts or the sciences?

October 14, 2020 by Zakia

International expert in creativity and innovation, UniSA’s Professor David Cropley, is calling for Australian schools and universities to increase their emphasis on teaching creativity, as new research shows it is a core competency across all disciplines and critical for ensuring future job success.

Conducted in partnership with visiting PhD researcher Kim van Broekhoven from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, the research explores the nature of creativity in determining if specific differences exist between creativity in the sciences and creativity in the arts.

The researchers found that creativity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is very similar to creativity in the arts, indicating that a holistic approach to teaching creativity in schools and universities, would benefit all. [Read more…] about Which is more creative, the arts or the sciences?

Experiences of loneliness may differ by age
33
Loneliness in adult life is experienced differently depending on age, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Public Health. The research concludes that there can be no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to reducing loneliness, as factors associated with it, such as contact with friends and family, perceived…
Tags: life
Fine-tuning stem cell metabolism prevents hair loss
30
A team of researchers from Cologne and Helsinki has discovered a mechanism that prevents hair loss: hair follicle stem cells, essential for hair to regrow, can prolong their life by switching their metabolic state in response to low oxygen concentration in the tissue. The team was led by Associate Professor…
Tags: stem, life

UCF researchers are working on tech so machines can thermally ‘breathe’

October 13, 2020 by Zakia

In the era of electric cars, machine learning and ultra-efficient vehicles for space travel, computers and hardware are operating faster and more efficiently. But this increase in power comes with a trade-off: They get superhot.

To counter this, University of Central Florida researchers are developing a way for large machines to “breathe” in and out cooling blasts of water to keep their systems from overheating.

The findings are detailed in a recent study in the journal Physical Review Fluids. [Read more…] about UCF researchers are working on tech so machines can thermally ‘breathe’

Feline friendly? How to build rap-paw with your cat – new psychology study

October 11, 2020 by Zakia

A team of psychologists at the Universities of Sussex and Portsmouth have purr-fected the art of building a bond with cats.

The new study The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication, published online in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, has shown for the first time that it is possible to build rapport with a cat by using an eye narrowing technique with them.

This eye narrowing action by humans generates something popularly known as a cat smile – the so called “slow blink” – and seems to make the human more attractive to the cat. [Read more…] about Feline friendly? How to build rap-paw with your cat – new psychology study

Future ocean conditions could cause significant physical changes in marine mussels

October 10, 2020 by Zakia

The increased temperature and acidification of our oceans over the next century have been argued to cause significant physical changes in an economically important marine species.

Scientists from the University of Plymouth exposed blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) to current and future levels of ocean acidification (OA) or warming (W), as well as both together – commonly known as OAW.

Initial comparison of mussel shells showed that warming alone led to increased shell growth, but increasing warming and acidification led to decreased shell growth indicating that OA was dissolving their shells. [Read more…] about Future ocean conditions could cause significant physical changes in marine mussels

Caltech researcher unveils sensor that rapidly detects Covid-19 infection

October 3, 2020 by Zakia Leave a Comment

One feature of the Covid-19 virus that makes it so difficult to contain is that it can be easily spread to others by a person who has yet to show any signs of infection. The carrier of the virus might feel perfectly well and go about their daily business–taking the virus with them to work, to the home of a family member, or to public gatherings.

A crucial part of the global effort to stem the spread of the pandemic, therefore, is the development of tests that can rapidly identify infections in people who are not yet symptomatic.

Now, Caltech researchers have developed a new type of multiplexed test (a test that combines multiple kinds of data) with a low-cost sensor that may enable the at-home diagnosis of a Covid infection through rapid analysis of small volumes of saliva or blood, without the involvement of a medical professional, in less than 10 minutes. [Read more…] about Caltech researcher unveils sensor that rapidly detects Covid-19 infection

A clearer view of what makes glass rigid

September 28, 2020 by Zakia Leave a Comment

Researchers led by The University of Tokyo employed a new computer model to simulate the networks of force-carrying particles that give amorphous solids their strength even though they lack long range order.

This work may lead to new advances in high-strength glass, which can be used for cooking, industrial, and smartphone applications.

Amorphous solids such as glass–despite being brittle and having constituent particles that do not form ordered lattices – can possess surprising strength and rigidity. This is even more unexpected because amorphous systems also suffer from large anharmonic fluctuations. [Read more…] about A clearer view of what makes glass rigid

New funerary and ritual behaviors of the Neolithic Iberian populations discovered

September 25, 2020 by Zakia Leave a Comment

Experts from the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology of the University of Seville have just published a study in the prestigious journal PLOS ONE on an important archaeological find in the Cueva de la Dehesilla (Cádiz).

Specifically, two human skulls and a juvenile goat were discovered along with various archaeological structures and materials from a funerary ritual from the Middle Neolithic period (4800-4000 BC) hitherto unknown in the Iberian Peninsula.

“This finding opens new lines of research and anthropological scenarios, where human and animal sacrifice may have been related to ancestral cults, propitiatory rituals and divine prayers in commemorative festivities,” explains US researcher Daniel García Rivero. [Read more…] about New funerary and ritual behaviors of the Neolithic Iberian populations discovered

Undersea earthquakes shake up climate science

September 22, 2020 by Zakia Leave a Comment

Despite climate change being most obvious to people as unseasonably warm winter days or melting glaciers, as much as 95 percent of the extra heat trapped on Earth by greenhouse gases is held in the world’s oceans.

For that reason, monitoring the temperature of ocean waters has been a priority for climate scientists, and now Caltech researchers have discovered that seismic rumblings on the seafloor can provide them with another tool for doing that.

In a new paper publishing in Science, the researchers show how they are able to make use of existing seismic monitoring equipment, as well as historic seismic data, to determine how much the temperature of the earth’s oceans has changed and continues changing, even at depths that are normally out of the reach of conventional tools. [Read more…] about Undersea earthquakes shake up climate science