Science and Technology News

Market trends and business perspectives

model

Implications are global in new study predicting human exodus in Bangladesh

by

Rising sea levels and more powerful cyclonic storms, phenomena driven by the warming of oceans due to climate change, puts at immediate or potential risk an estimated 680 million people living in low-lying coastal zones (a number projected to reach more than one billion by 2050). In nations like Bangladesh these populations are already moving to escape sea-level rise.

In a new study, “Modeling human migration under environmental change: a case study of the effect of sea level rise in Bangladesh,” researchers led by Maurizio Porfiri, an engineer at the Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, apply data science to predict how the cascading effects of the migration in Bangladesh will ultimately affect 1.3 million people across the country by 2050. The work has implications for coastal populations worldwide.

The new study, co-authors of which include first author Pietro De Lellis, an engineer at the University of Naples Federico II, Italy, and Manuel Ruiz Marin, a mathematician at the Technical University of Cartagena, Spain, presents a mathematical model of human migration that considers not just economic factors but also human behavior – whether people are unwilling or unable to leave and if they later return home. [Read more…] about Implications are global in new study predicting human exodus in Bangladesh

Related Posts

  • Fossil trees on Peru's Central Andean Plateau tell a tale of dramatic environmental change
    33
    Fossil trees on Peru's Central Andean Plateau tell a tale of dramatic environmental changeOn an expedition to the Central Andean Plateau, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and colleagues were astounded to find a huge fossil-tree buried in the cold, grassy plain. The plant fossil record from this high-altitude site in southern Peru contains dramatic reminders that the environment in the…
    Tags: science, sea, region, de, rise, will, data, ultimately, environment, environmental

Star light, star bright… as explained by math

by

Not all stars shine brightly all the time. Some have a brightness that changes rhythmically due to cyclical phenomena like passing planets or the tug of other stars. Others show a slow change in this periodicity over time that can be difficult to discern or capture mathematically.

KAUST’s Soumya Das and Marc Genton have now developed a method to bring this evolving periodicity within the framework of mathematically “cyclostationary” processes.

“It can be difficult to explain the variations of the brightness of variable stars unless they follow a regular pattern over time,” says Das. “In this study we created methods that can explain the evolution of the brightness of a variable star, even if it departs from strict periodicity or constant amplitude.” [Read more…] about Star light, star bright… as explained by math

Egg and sperm cell size evolved from competition

by

In most living animals, egg cells are vastly larger than sperm cells. In humans, for example, a single egg is 10 million times the volume of a sperm cell.

In a new study, Northwestern University researchers found that competition and natural selection drove this curious size discrepancy.

Using mathematical modeling, the researchers considered a time very early in evolution when primordial species reproduced using external fertilization. [Read more…] about Egg and sperm cell size evolved from competition

Designing healthy diets – with computer analysis

by

A new mathematical model for the interaction of bacteria in the gut could help design new probiotics and specially tailored diets to prevent diseases. The research, from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, was recently published in the journal PNAS.

“Intestinal bacteria have an important role to play in health and the development of diseases, and our new mathematical model could be extremely helpful in these areas,” says Jens Nielsen, Professor of Systems Biology at Chalmers, who led the research.

The new paper describes how the mathematical model performed when making predictions relating to two earlier clinical studies, one involving Swedish infants, and the other adults in Finland with obesity. [Read more…] about Designing healthy diets – with computer analysis

Physicists develop theoretical model for neural activity of mouse brain

by

The dynamics of the neural activity of a mouse brain behave in a peculiar, unexpected way that can be theoretically modeled without any fine tuning, suggests a new paper by physicists at Emory University. Physical Review Letters published the research, which adds to the evidence that theoretical physics frameworks may aid in the understanding of large-scale brain activity.

“Our theoretical model agrees with previous experimental work on the brains of mice to a few percent accuracy – a degree which is highly unusual for living systems,” says Ilya Nemenman, Emory professor of physics and biology and senior author of the paper.

The first author is Mia Morrell, who did the research for her honors thesis as an Emory senior majoring in physics. She graduated from Emory last year and is now in a post-baccalaureate physics program at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. [Read more…] about Physicists develop theoretical model for neural activity of mouse brain

Related Posts

  • New deep learning models: Fewer neurons, more intelligence
    43
    New deep learning models: Fewer neurons, more intelligenceArtificial 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…
    Tags: neural, system, systems, neurons, model, news

Computer model fosters potential improvements to ‘bionic eye’ technology

by

There are millions of people who face the loss of their eyesight from degenerative eye diseases. The genetic disorder retinitis pigmentosa alone affects 1 in 4,000 people worldwide.

Today, there is technology available to offer partial eyesight to people with that syndrome. The Argus II, the world’s first retinal prosthesis, reproduces some functions of a part of the eye essential to vision, to allow users to perceive movement and shapes.

While the field of retinal prostheses is still in its infancy, for hundreds of users around the globe, the “bionic eye” enriches the way they interact with the world on a daily basis. For instance, seeing outlines of objects enables them to move around unfamiliar environments with increased safety. [Read more…] about Computer model fosters potential improvements to ‘bionic eye’ technology

Related Posts

  • 5G wireless may lead to inaccurate weather forecasts
    32
    5G wireless may lead to inaccurate weather forecastsUpcoming 5G wireless networks that will provide faster cell phone service may lead to inaccurate weather forecasts, according to a Rutgers study on a controversial issue that has created anxiety among meteorologists. "Our study – the first of its kind that quantifies the effect of 5G on weather prediction error – suggests…
    Tags: engineering, electrical, computer, technology, news

Raindrops also keep fallin’ on exoplanets

by

One day, humankind may step foot on another habitable planet. That planet may look very different from Earth, but one thing will feel familiar – the rain.

In a recent paper, Harvard researchers found that raindrops are remarkably similar across different planetary environments, even planets as drastically different as Earth and Jupiter.

Understanding the behavior of raindrops on other planets is key to not only revealing the ancient climate on planets like Mars but identifying potentially habitable planets outside our solar system. [Read more…] about Raindrops also keep fallin’ on exoplanets

Related Posts

  • Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth's ecosystem
    32
    Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth's ecosystemResearchers in the Climate Intervention Biology Working Group – including Jessica Hellmann from the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment – explored the effect of solar climate interventions on ecology, and their results were published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. Composed of climate scientists and ecologists from…
    Tags: solar, climate, earth, paper, cloud, space, understanding, sciences, university, surface

First-of-its-kind mechanical model simulates bending of mammalian whiskers

by

Researchers have developed a new mechanical model that simulates how whiskers bend within a follicle in response to an external force, paving the way toward better understanding of how whiskers contribute to mammals’ sense of touch.

Yifu Luo and Mitra Hartmann of Northwestern University and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Computational Biology.

With the exception of some primates, most mammals use whiskers to explore their environment through the sense of touch. [Read more…] about First-of-its-kind mechanical model simulates bending of mammalian whiskers

Quantum computing milestone: How Honeywell ‘quadrupled performance’

by

Honeywell Quantum Solutions says it has achieved another milestone in its quest to develop the highest-performing quantum computers on the market.

This week, the System Model H1 quadrupled its performance in terms of quantum volume and became the first commercial quantum computer to measure 512. It marks the third time in nine months Honeywell has set an industry record for quantum volume.

“It’s a remarkable accomplishment when you consider we launched our first commercial technology less than a year ago,” said Tony Uttley, president of Honeywell Quantum Solutions. “The System Model H1 is once again the highest performing quantum computing system in the world.” [Read more…] about Quantum computing milestone: How Honeywell ‘quadrupled performance’

Related Posts

  • New quantum theory heats up thermodynamic research
    32
    New quantum theory heats up thermodynamic researchUniversity of Nottingham Researchers have developed a new quantum version of a 150-year-old thermodynamical thought experiment that could pave the way for the development of quantum heat engines. Mathematicians from the University of Nottingham have applied new quantum theory to the Gibbs paradox and demonstrated a fundamental difference in the…
    Tags: quantum, news, system

Fujitsu to use ‘world’s fastest supercomputer’ for tsunami prediction

by

Fujitsu, in partnership with other companies and academic institutions, has developed a computing system that will enable the prediction of tsunamis – massive, sudden floods caused by turbulence at sea. 

The International Research Institute of Disaster Science at Tohoku University, the Earthquake Research Institute at the University of Tokyo, and Fujitsu Laboratories have developed an artificial intelligence model that will empower disaster management teams with the ability to predict tsunami flooding in coastal areas in near real-time.

The system harnessed the computational power of what is claimed to be “the world’s fastest supercomputer”, Fugaku, jointly developed by Riken and Fujitsu. [Read more…] about Fujitsu to use ‘world’s fastest supercomputer’ for tsunami prediction