Monday, May 20, 2019

Dog-like robot jumps, flips and trots

Putting their own twist on robots that amble through complicated landscapes, the Stanford Student Robotics club's Extreme Mobility team has developed a four-legged robot that is not only capable of performing acrobatic tricks and traversing challenging terrain but is also designed with reproducibility in mind. Anyone who wants their own version of the robot, dubbed Stanford Doggo, can consult comprehensive plans, code and a supply list that the students have made freely available online.

* This article was originally published here

Young children willing to punish misbehavior, even at personal cost, new research shows

Children as young as three years old are willing to punish others' bad behavior, even at personal cost, finds a new study by psychology researchers at New York University. The work adds to growing evidence that human beings distinguish between right and wrong at a very young age and are willing to pay a personal cost to encourage positive behavior in others.

* This article was originally published here

Studies: Benralizumab not effective reducing exacerbations in moderate to very severe COPD

More than 15.3 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is the third leading cause of death in this country, according to the American Lung Association. Patients often experience potentially life-threatening exacerbations, which can include days-long flare-ups of symptoms including shortness of breath that occur when the airways narrow from muscle tightness, swelling and mucus.

* This article was originally published here

Want to curb your robocall agony? Try these 3 things now

We all hate robocalls and spam calls, but there's an easy solution for answering the phone with ease.

* This article was originally published here

Studies: Benralizumab not effective reducing exacerbations in moderate to very severe COPD

More than 15.3 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is the third leading cause of death in this country, according to the American Lung Association. Patients often experience potentially life-threatening exacerbations, which can include days-long flare-ups of symptoms including shortness of breath that occur when the airways narrow from muscle tightness, swelling and mucus.

* This article was originally published here

Bacteria change behavior to tackle tiny obstacle course

It's not exactly the set of TV's "American Ninja Warrior," but a tiny obstacle course for bacteria has shown researchers how E. coli changes its behavior to rapidly clear obstructions to food. Their work holds implications for not only biology and medicine, but also robotic search-and-rescue tactics.

* This article was originally published here

Heavy teen boys may face higher heart disease risk as adults

(HealthDay)—Just a few extra pounds during adolescence may translate into higher odds for heart disease in adulthood, a new study of young men suggests.

* This article was originally published here

US tech firms to take hit from Huawei sanctions

The tough sanctions imposed on Huawei by President Donald Trump could deal a blow to the many US firms that make up the Chinese tech giant's supply chain.

* This article was originally published here

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid levels in dried and deep-frozen spices and herbs too high

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) deals regularly with the contamination of food with 1,2-unsaturated PA. It has already published opinions on the occurrence of 1,2-unsaturated PA in herbal teas, tea and honey, as well as a salad mixture contaminated with ragwort and food supplements (FS). The BfR has now made a health assessment of levels of 1,2-unsaturated PA determined by the monitoring authorities of the federal states in samples of various dried and deep-frozen herbs and spices.

* This article was originally published here

AlterEgo opens silent spring of computer connections via wearable

OK, we get it. Artificial intelligence experts are on a fast clip from year to year, month to month, showing off what their research can promise. But could it be that we have reached that stage in human-computer interaction, where you can think of a question —— without saying a word— and the machine will respond with the answer?

* This article was originally published here

Huawei could be stripped of Google services after US ban

Huawei could lose its grip on the No. 2 ranking in worldwide cellphone sales after Google announced it would comply with U.S. government restrictions meant to punish the Chinese tech powerhouse.

* This article was originally published here

New research shows how clustered particles determine elasticity of some gels

From the toothpaste you squeeze on your brush first thing in the morning to the yogurt you slurp down to the fabric softener that keeps your pajamas cozy and soft, gels are ubiquitous in consumer products, foods, and in industrial applications, too.

* This article was originally published here

Bacteria change behavior to tackle tiny obstacle course

It's not exactly the set of TV's "American Ninja Warrior," but a tiny obstacle course for bacteria has shown researchers how E. coli changes its behavior to rapidly clear obstructions to food. Their work holds implications for not only biology and medicine, but also robotic search-and-rescue tactics.

* This article was originally published here

Reverse-engineered computer model provides new insights into larval behavior

Scientists have developed a new approach to describe the behaviours of microscopic marine larvae, which will improve future predictions of how they disperse and distribute.

* This article was originally published here

Progress in family planning in Africa accelerating

A new study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that women in eight sub-Saharan African countries are gaining access to and using modern contraception at a faster rate than previously projected. This rate is well ahead of benchmark goals designed to give access to family planning services to an additional 120 million women in 69 of the world's poorest countries by 2020.

* This article was originally published here

Just like toothpaste: Fluoride radically improves the stability of perovskite solar cells

Solar cells made of perovskite hold much promise for the future of solar energy. The material is cheap, easy to produce and almost as efficient as silicon, the material traditionally used in solar cells. However, perovskite degrades quickly, severely limiting its efficiency and stability over time. Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology, energy research institute DIFFER, Peking University and University of Twente have discovered that adding a small amount of fluoride to the perovskite leaves a protective layer, increasing stability of the materials and the solar cells significantly. The solar cells retain 90 percent of their efficiency after 1000 hours operation at various extreme testing conditions. The findings are published today in the leading scientific journal Nature Energy.

* This article was originally published here

Virtual reality game simulates experiences with race

Video games that use virtual reality to create immersive experiences have become increasingly popular for entertainment and for research. However, the representation of race in these simulations is often shallow—and fails to go beyond physical appearance attributes like skin color.

* This article was originally published here

Many lives could be saved if all hospitals had grade A rating

(HealthDay)—More than 50,000 lives could be saved if all hospitals had an avoidable death rate equivalent to "A" grade hospitals, according to an updated report prepared for The Leapfrog Institute.

* This article was originally published here

Microsoft and Sony team up for video games in the cloud, but what's it mean for gamers?

Microsoft and Sony usually battle it out for dominance in console video games. But in the growing realm of cloud gaming, in which games stream over the internet just as Netflix does, the two tech titans have decided to team up.

* This article was originally published here

Many lives could be saved if all hospitals had grade A rating

(HealthDay)—More than 50,000 lives could be saved if all hospitals had an avoidable death rate equivalent to "A" grade hospitals, according to an updated report prepared for The Leapfrog Institute.

* This article was originally published here

PAL: A wearable system for context-aware health and cognition support

Researchers at MIT Media Lab have developed a wearable platform that provides real-time, personalized, and context-aware health and cognition support. Their system, called personalized active learner (PAL), was presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv.

* This article was originally published here

Nearly half of Juul Twitter followers are teens, young adults: study

(HealthDay)—Juul became the dominant brand of e-cigarettes in the United States by targeting teens with its clever use of social media, a new study suggests.

* This article was originally published here

Weight gain and loss may worsen dementia risk in older people

Older people who experience significant weight gain or weight loss could be raising their risk of developing dementia, suggests a study from Korea published today in the online journal BMJ Open.

* This article was originally published here

Progress in family planning in Africa accelerating

A new study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that women in eight sub-Saharan African countries are gaining access to and using modern contraception at a faster rate than previously projected. This rate is well ahead of benchmark goals designed to give access to family planning services to an additional 120 million women in 69 of the world's poorest countries by 2020.

* This article was originally published here

Progress to restore movement in people with neuromotor disabilities

A study published in the advanced edition of 12 April in the journal Neural Computation shows that approaches based on Long-Short Term Memory decoders could provide better algorithms for neuroprostheses that employ Brain-Machine Interfaces to restore movement in patients with severe neuromotor disabilities.

* This article was originally published here

Iron selenide revealed as 'garden-variety iron-based superconductor'

In the pantheon of unconventional superconductors, iron selenide is a rock star. But new experiments by U.S., Chinese and European physicists have found the material's magnetic persona to be unexpectedly mundane.

* This article was originally published here

The top 5 veggies to add to your diet

(HealthDay)—The guidelines to eat more vegetables are clear, and eating a rainbow of colors gets you the widest variety of nutrients and phyto-nutrients, those hard-to-duplicate compounds that go beyond vitamins and minerals.

* This article was originally published here

Expert judgement provides better understanding of the effect of melting ice sheets

Melting ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic, and subsequent sea level rise (SLR) this will cause, is widely recognised as posing a significant threat to coastal communities and ecosystems.

* This article was originally published here