A new artificial intelligence system called a semantic decoder can translate a person’s brain activity — while listening to a story or silently imagining telling a story — into a continuous stream of text. The system developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin might help people who are mentally conscious yet unable to physically speak, such as those debilitated by strokes, to communicate intelligibly again. The study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, was led by Jerry…
The algorithm pairs machine-learning techniques with classical beam physics equations to avoid massive data crunching. Whenever SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s linear accelerator is on, packs of around a billion electrons each travel together at nearly the speed of light through metal piping. These electron bunches form the accelerator’s particle beam, which is used to study the atomic behavior of molecules, novel materials and many other subjects. But trying to estimate what a particle beam actually looks like as it travels…
Surprising results from historic study suggest the shrinking West Antarctic Ice Sheet, a major threat to global sea level rise, was smaller and more dynamic in recent geologic past than previously thought. Subglacial lakes that never see the light of day are among the least accessible frontiers of science, brimming with more tales yet untold than even the planets of our solar system. One thing seems certain: where there is water, there is life — even if said water is…
Most massive touching stars ever found will eventually collide as black holes. Two massive touching stars in a neighbouring galaxy are on course to become black holes that will eventually crash together, generating waves in the fabric of space-time, according to a new study by researchers at University College London and the University of Potsdam. The study, accepted for publication in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics”, looked at a known binary star (two stars orbiting around a mutual centre of…
Greenlandic ice is teeming with life, both on the surface and underneath. There are microscopic organisms that until recently science had no idea existed. There is even evidence to suggest that the tiny creatures colour the ice and make it melt faster. There are no plants, and only very few animals: people rarely come here. The large glaciers in Greenland have long been perceived as ice deserts. Gigantic ice sheets where conditions for life are extremely harsh. But now, it…
Scientists Design New Bio-Inspired Molecules to Promote Bone Regeneration. An interdisciplinary team of scientists in Dresden developed novel bio-inspired sugar-based molecules that show potential to improve bone regeneration. People’s ability to regenerate bones declines with age and is further decreased by diseases such as osteoporosis. To help the aging population, researchers are looking for new therapies that improve bone regeneration. Now, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) and the Medical Faculty of TU Dresden along with…
A previously unknown form of hydrogel formation has been elucidated: chemists found unusual interactions between polymers. Hydrogels? Many people use these substances without knowing it. As superabsorbents in nappies, for example, hydrogels absorb a lot of liquid. In the process, the initially dry material becomes Jelly-like, but it does not wet. Some people place the swellable material on their eyeballs – soft contact lenses are also just hydrogels. The same goes for jelly and other everyday materials. Hydrogels also play…
Surgeons with Keck Medicine of USC launch clinical trial to enroll first-ever bladder transplant patient after multiple successful research procedures. No one has ever performed a bladder transplant in humans. But that may be about to change. Urologists with Keck Medicine of USC have launched a clinical trial to perform the world’s first human bladder transplant. The trial is actively screening potential participants for this first-ever type of transplantation. During the procedure, the patient’s diseased bladder will be removed and…
A new method could provide detailed information about internal structures, voids, and cracks, based solely on data about exterior conditions. Maybe you can’t tell a book from its cover, but according to researchers at MIT you may now be able to do the equivalent for materials of all sorts, from an airplane part to a medical implant. Their new approach allows engineers to figure out what’s going on inside simply by observing properties of the material’s surface. The team used…
The most common stars in the universe are red dwarf stars, which means that rocky exoplanets are most likely to be found orbiting such a star. Red dwarf stars are cool, so a planet has to hug it in a tight orbit to stay warm enough to potentially host liquid water (meaning it lies in the habitable zone). Such stars are also active, particularly when they are young, releasing ultraviolet and X-ray radiation that could destroy planetary atmospheres. As a…
An intrinsic limitation in AFM imaging is that only the surface topography can be acquired, and the AFM tip is too large to resolve details below the nanometer scale. To facilitate the interpretation and understanding of HS-AFM observations, post-experimental analysis and computational methods play an increasingly important role. In their review paper published in the Current Opinion in Structural Biology journal Holger Flechsig (NanoLSI, Computational Science), and Toshio Ando (Distinguished Professor at NanoLSI) provide an overview of developments in this topical…
Electrical current modulation in wood electrochemical transistor. Researchers at Linköping University and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed the world’s first transistor made of wood. Their study, published in the journal PNAS, paves the way for further development of wood-based electronics and control of electronic plants. Transistors, invented almost one hundred years ago, are considered by some to be an invention just as important to humanity as the telephone, the light bulb or the bicycle. Today, they are…
Multiple myeloma is a rare blood cancer caused by the uncontrolled multiplication of abnormal plasma cells. These plasma cells are a special type of white blood cells that play an important role in the immune system by producing essential antibodies in the bone marrow and lymph nodes. Despite an increasing number of approved drugs and treatment approaches such as immunotherapy becoming available, the disease is still not curable. The average life expectancy of patients after diagnosis is only five years….
Over the past 70 years, the number of transistors on a chip has doubled approximately every two years – according to Moore’s Law, which is still valid today. The circuits have become correspondingly smaller, but an end to this development appears to be in sight. “We have now reached a stage where structures are only 2 to 3 nanometers in size. This is approximately equal to the diameter of 10 atoms, which takes us to the limits of what is…
— just like us. Columbia Engineers design a robot hand that is the first device of its kind to join advanced sense of touch with motor-learning algorithms–it doesn’t rely on vision to manipulate objects. Think about what you do with your hands when you’re home at night pushing buttons on your TV’s remote control, or at a restaurant using all kinds of cutlery and glassware. These skills are all based on touch, while you’re watching a TV program or choosing…
With Larger Selection of Materials to Enable High-Performance & Cost-Effective Hardware. The digital world is booming and has long since become part of everyday life in industry and society. More recent developments such as autonomous driving, telemedicine, but also private use require ever higher rates to transmit large amounts of data in real time. 6G should help with this: The aim is to transmit 1,000 GB/s and reduce latency to a tenth compared to 5G. At the current development stage,…
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