ScienceDaily: All - November 08, 2024
Today's top research news
Robot learns how to clean a washbasin
Scientists have created a robot that can learn tasks like cleaning a washbasin just by watching humans. A special sponge with sensors is used to show the robot how to clean. Using an advanced machine learning system, the robot learns how it is supposed to behave and can apply this knowledge to cleaning different washbasins.
Image: nikkytok/Shutterstock.com
Hurricane Helene's gravity waves revealed by NASA's AWE
On Sept. 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene slammed into the Gulf Coast of Florida, inducing storm surges and widespread impacts on communities in its path. At the same time, NASA's Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, recorded enormous swells in the atmosphere that the hurricane produced roughly 55 miles above the ground.
DNA evidence rewrites story of people buried in Pompeii eruption
Researchers have used ancient DNA to challenge long-held interpretations of the people of Pompeii. Contrary to physical appearances, the DNA evidence revealed unexpected variations in gender and kinship, revising the story as written since 1748. The genetic data also underlined the cosmopolitan nature of the Roman Empire, showing that Pompeians were mainly descended from immigrants from the eastern Mediterranean.
Astrophysicists use echoes of light to illuminate black holes
Researchers have developed an innovative technique to search for black hole light echoes. Their novel method, which will make it easier for the mass and the spin of black holes to be measured, represents a major step forward, since it operates independently of many of the other ways in which scientists have probed these parameters in the past.
Could crowdsourcing hold the key to early wildfire detection?
Computer science researchers have developed a new crowdsourcing system that dramatically slashes wildfire mapping time from hours to seconds using a network of low-cost mobile phones mounted on properties in high fire threat areas. In computer simulations, the system, FireLoc, detected blazes igniting up to 3,000 feet away and successfully mapped wilderness fires to within 180 feet of their origin.
Researchers make glioblastoma cells visible to attacking immune cells
Researchers have identified a possible way to make glioblastoma cells vulnerable to different types of immunotherapy. The strategy, which they demonstrated in cells in the lab, forces brain cancer cells to display targets for the immune system to attack.
Study identifies hip implant materials with the lowest risk of needing revision
Hip implants with a delta ceramic or oxidized zirconium head and highly crosslinked polyethylene liner or cup had the lowest risk of revision during the 15 years after surgery, a new study has found. The research could help hospitals, surgeons and patients to choose what hip implant to use for replacement surgery.
Plastic device aids robot-assisted heart surgery
A team has developed a plastic surgical field expansion plate that can help surgeons during robot-assisted heart surgery.
What makes human culture unique?
Why is human culture -- the shared body of knowledge passed down across generations -- so much more powerful than animal cultures?
Research shows caterpillar fungus can slow down growth of cancer cells
New research into a chemical produced by a caterpillar fungus that has shown promise as a possible cancer treatment has revealed how it interacts with genes to interrupt cell growth signals. The discovery is an important step towards developing new drugs for the treatment of the disease.
Disruption of visual stability
A research team has been investigating the question of how we perceive a stable environment despite constant eye movements. The result: rapid and smooth eye movements are based on different mechanisms, and visual stability depends on specific motion signals.
Readily available thermoelectric generators operating under modest temperature differences can power CO2 conversion, according to a proof-of-concept study by chemists. The findings open up the intriguing possibility that the temperature differentials encountered in an array of environments -- from a typical geothermal installation on Earth to the cold, desolate surface of Mars -- could power the conversion of CO2 into a range of useful fuels and chemicals.
New fungal spore calendar helps allergy and asthma sufferers plan for better health
England's first seasonal spore guide offers valuable insights into the potential rise of breathing problems in summer and autumn.
Planting trees in the Arctic could make global warming worse, not better, say scientists
Tree planting has been widely touted as a cost-effective way of reducing global warming, due to trees' ability to store large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere. But, an international group of scientists argue that tree planting at high latitudes will accelerate, rather than decelerate, global warming. Why? Because soils in the Arctic and Subarctic store immense amounts of carbon that may be released into the atmosphere when disturbed, and the trees will soak up more heat from the sun than white snow.
Does more virtual care mean more low-value care? Study suggests no
One of the top worries about telehealth is that it will drive up the use of tests and scans that patients don't need, wasting money and resources. In fact, a new study shows, low-value care didn't rise faster at primary care practices that used telehealth the most.