ScienceDaily: All - February 04, 2024
Today's top research news
A sleeker facial recognition technology tested on Michelangelo's David
Many people are familiar with facial recognition systems that unlock smartphones and game systems or allow access to our bank accounts online. But the current technology can require boxy projectors and lenses. Now, researchers report on a sleeker 3D surface imaging system with flatter, simplified optics. In proof-of-concept demonstrations, the new system recognized the face of Michelangelo's David just as well as an existing smartphone system.
Unveiling Oxidation-induced Super-elasticity in Metallic Glass Nanotubes
Oxidation can degrade the properties and functionality of metals. However, a research team recently found that severely oxidized metallic glass nanotubes can attain an ultrahigh recoverable elastic strain, outperforming most conventional super-elastic metals. They also discovered the physical mechanisms underpinning this super-elasticity. Their discovery implies that oxidation in low-dimension metallic glass can result in unique properties for applications in sensors, medical devices and other nanodevices.
A physical qubit with built-in error correction
Researchers have succeeded in generating a logical qubit from a single light pulse that has the inherent capacity to correct errors.
Calin-H/shutterstock.com
Neptune-like exoplanets can be cloudy or clear
Astronomers have shown new atmospheric detail in a set of 15 exoplanets similar to Neptune. While none could support humanity, a better understanding of their behavior might help us to understand why we don't have a small Neptune, while most solar systems seem to feature a planet of this class.
Gene-editing offers hope for people with hereditary disorder
A group of patients with a hereditary disorder have had their lives transformed by a single treatment of a breakthrough gene-editing therapy, according to the lead researcher.
Scammed! Animals 'led by the nose' to leave plants alone
Fake news works for wallabies and elephants. Herbivores can cause substantial damage to crops or endangered or protected plants, with traditional methods to deter foraging lethal, expensive or ineffective. Biologists are now using aromas from plants naturally repellent with remarkable success to deter the animals.
Why are people climate change deniers?
Do climate change deniers bend the facts to avoid having to modify their environmentally harmful behavior? Researchers ran an online experiment involving 4,000 US adults, and found no evidence to support this idea. The authors of the study were themselves surprised by the results. Whether they are good or bad news for the fight against global heating remains to be seen.
Rare 3D fossils show that some early trees had forms unlike any you've ever seen
In the fossil record, trees typically are preserved with only their trunks. They don't usually include any leaves to show what their canopies and overall forms may have looked like. In a new study, researchers describe fossilized trees from New Brunswick, Canada with a surprising and unique three-dimensional crown shape.
Disrupted cellular function behind type 2 diabetes in obesity
Disrupted function of 'cleaning cells' in the body may help to explain why some people with obesity develop type 2 diabetes, while others do not. A study describes this newly discovered mechanism.
Zebrafish navigate to find their comfortable temperature
Zebrafish are smaller than your little finger, with a brain no more than half the size of a pinhead. Yet these animals possess an efficient navigation system that enables them to find their way back to spots in the water where the temperature suits them.
Researchers 3D-print functional human brain tissue
It's an achievement with important implications for scientists studying the brain and working on treatments for a broad range of neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
AI learns through the eyes and ears of a child
Researchers have been skeptical that recent AI advances can tell us much about human learning and development. To address this, a team training an AI model, not on massive data, but on the input that a single child receives. Their findings showed that the model could learn a substantial number of words and concepts using limited slices of what the child experienced.
Clown anemonefish seem to be counting bars and laying down the law
We often think of fish as carefree swimmers in the ocean, reacting to the world around them without much forethought. However, new research suggests that our marine cousins may be more cognizant than we credit them for. Fish may be counting vertical bars on intruders to determine their threat level, and to inform the social hierarchy governing their sea anemone colonies.
Human cells building 'molecular highways' captured for first time
Researchers have captured the world's first high-resolution images of the earliest moments of microtubules forming inside human cells. The findings lay the foundations for potential breakthroughs in treating many different types of diseases ranging from cancer to neurodevelopmental disorders.
Scientists discover a potential way to repair synapses damaged in Alzheimer's disease
While newly approved drugs for Alzheimer's show some promise for slowing the memory-robbing disease, the current treatments fall far short of being effective at regaining memory.
Resistant bacteria can remain in the body for years
Fighting disease-causing bacteria becomes more difficult when antibiotics stop working. People with pre-existing conditions in particular can carry resistant germs and suffer from repeated infections for years, according to a new study.
3D-printed pneumatic modules replace electric controls in soft robots
A research team develops 3D-printed pneumatic logic modules that control the movements of soft robots using only air pressure. These modules enable logical switching of the air flow and can thus imitate an electrical control system. The modules make it possible for the first time to produce flexible and electronics-free soft robots entirely in a 3D printer using conventional printing material.
Increased temperature difference between day and night can affect all life on earth
Researchers have discovered a change in what scientists already knew about global warming dynamics. It had been widely accepted since the 1950s that global temperature rises were not consistent throughout the day and night, with greater nighttime warming being observed. However, the recent study reveals a shift in dynamics: with greater daytime warming taking place since the 1990s. This shift means that the temperature difference between day and night is widening, potentially affecting all life on Earth.
Hiring the most qualified candidate might be unfair
Both liberals and conservatives are more likely to believe that merit-based hiring is unfair after learning about the impacts of socioeconomic disparities, according to a new study.
The developmental regulators that confer the identity of N-fixing root nodules belong to a transcription factor family (LSH) more commonly associated with defining the shapes of stems, flowers and leaves.
Promising heart drugs ID'd by cutting-edge combo of machine learning, human learning
Scientists have developed a new approach to machine learning -- a form of artificial intelligence -- to identify drugs that help minimize harmful scarring after a heart attack or other injuries.
When a stressful situation is perceived as a threat, health and wellbeing suffer
People experience more health and wellbeing issues when they feel overwhelmed by stressful situations rather than seeing them as a challenge, a new study finds.
Intensifying the production of high-value compounds from industrial waste
New research demonstrates how glycerol carbonate, a biosourced industrial additive, can be produced in record time using CO2 and a by-product of the cooking oil recycling industry. The process relies on a hybrid approach combining fundamental physical organic chemistry and applied flow process technology. Two industrial wastes are thus converted into glycerol carbonate, a biosourced rising star with high added-value.
Microbial research unravels a global nitrogen mystery
A research findings show that different AOM lineages employ different regulatory strategies for ammonia or urea utilization, thereby minimizing direct competition with one another and allowing for coexistence.
Shining a new light on the tug-of-war between virus and host
The interplay between ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins is not only important for maintaining cellular homeostasis but is also at the center of the tug-of-war between virus and host. Until now, there has been no method to globally map direct interactions of individual RNA regions in an unbiased fashion without the need for genetic modification of the target RNA or cell. Researchers have now developed a breakthrough tool that overcomes this limitation.
Millions of tons of plastic waste enter the oceans each year. The sun's ultraviolet light and ocean turbulence break down these plastics into invisible nanoparticles that threaten marine ecosystems. In a new study, engineers have presented clear images of nanoplastics in ocean water off the coasts of China, South Korea and the United States, and in the Gulf of Mexico. These tiny plastic particles, which originated from such consumer products as water bottles, food packaging and clothing, were found to have surprising diversity in shape and chemical composition.
Swarming cicadas, stock traders, and the wisdom of the crowd
The springtime emergence of vast swarms of cicadas can be explained by a mathematical model of collective decision-making with similarities to models describing stock market crashes.
Highly targeted CRISPR delivery system advances gene editing in living animals
By attaching two kinds of antibody fragments to membrane-derived globules, researchers selectively delivered CRISPR-Cas9, guide RNA and a transgene to T-cells in living mice to create CAR T-cells. While this technique could make it easier to create CAR T-cells in vivo for cancer therapy, the ultimate goal is to selectively target CRISPR-filled 'enveloped delivery vehicles' to any type of cell and avoid the ex vivo cell editing now used in current gene therapies.