Tuesday 4 June 2019

'Cannibalism' is a double-whammy for cell health

Certain Inflammatory and infectious diseases, such as hardening arteries and tuberculosis, are caused by the build-up inside immune cells of harmful substances, such as cholesterol and bacteria. A study published today by University of Sydney researcher Hugh Ford has shown that these concentrations occur in part by virtue of cell cannibalism.

* This article was originally published here

New orca calf reported in southern resident J pod

A new calf has been born to J pod, Canadian whale-watch companies were reporting Friday.

* This article was originally published here

Exomoons may be home to extra-terrestrial life

Moons orbiting planets outside our solar system could offer another clue about the pool of worlds that may be home to extra-terrestrial life, according to an astrophysicist at the University of Lincoln.

* This article was originally published here

'Slothbot' takes a leisurely approach to environmental monitoring

For environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, infrastructure maintenance and certain security applications, slow and energy efficient can be better than fast and always needing a recharge. That's where "SlothBot" comes in.

* This article was originally published here

Floating power plants

Paper, tin cans, glass—the world recycles as much as possible. So why not declare the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) a recycling product as well? Liquid fuels based on carbon will continue to play an important role in the future—despite international efforts to reduce them. So it seems sensible to recover the CO2 exhaust from the environment and use it again.

* This article was originally published here

Female cannabis users underrepresented in health research, study reveals

Research at the University of York has shown that women are underrepresented in research into links between cannabis and psychosis, which could limit understanding of the impact of the drug.

* This article was originally published here

Nitric oxide-scavenging hydrogel developed for rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Nitric oxide (NO) prevents high blood pressure and artery plaque build-up in our body. However, its duplicity is revealed when it causes serious inflammatory disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.

* This article was originally published here

Ant reactions to habitat disruptions inform a result of evolution

A Concordia biology professor is calling on ant experts to develop a set of common principles that influence the way the insects respond when their habitat undergoes severe disruption.

* This article was originally published here

Stanford Doggo: a highly agile quadruped robot

Researchers at Stanford University have recently created an open-source quadruped robot called Stanford Doggo. Their robot, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv and set to be published by IEEE Explore, exceeds the performance of many state-of-the-art legged robots in vertical jumping agility.

* This article was originally published here

Would you eat genetically modified food if you understood the science behind it?

Jonathon McPhetres, a newly minted Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Rochester, admits he's "personally amazed" what we can do with genes, specifically genetically modified food—such as saving papayas from extinction.

* This article was originally published here

Estimating the wear and tear of ice on physical structures over coming decades or even centuries

Conditions in Arctic waters are among the most extreme in the world. Strong winds and currents powerfully push ice across vast distances, resulting in large ridges reaching tens of metres in height. At the same time, global warming and increased human presence have added new pressures in these northern environments. Yet the mechanisms behind the effects of ice on physical structures—particularly over the long term—have remained an open question in a time of continuous environmental change.

* This article was originally published here

Energy storage project in Utah described as world's largest of its kind

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) announced an ambitious energy storage project to develop what it claims will be the world's largest energy storage project of its kind, in Utah. Renewable hydrogen is at the core.

* This article was originally published here

Networking with ghosts in the machine... and speaking kettles

Imagine for just a moment that your kettle could speak? What would it say? How would it feel? More importantly, what on earth would you ask it?

* This article was originally published here

A 3-D printer powered by machine vision and artificial intelligence

Objects made with 3-D printing can be lighter, stronger, and more complex than those produced through traditional manufacturing methods. But several technical challenges must be overcome before 3-D printing transforms the production of most devices.

* This article was originally published here

Sensor-packed glove learns signatures of the human grasp

Wearing a sensor-packed glove while handling a variety of objects, MIT researchers have compiled a massive dataset that enables an AI system to recognize objects through touch alone. The information could be leveraged to help robots identify and manipulate objects, and may aid in prosthetics design.

* This article was originally published here

NASA sees strong storms in developing gulf system 91L

NASA's Aqua satellite used infrared light to analyze the strength of storms in the developing low pressure area designated as System 91L is it moved through the Gulf of Campeche just north of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers try to recreate human-like thinking in machines

Researchers at Oxford University have recently tried to recreate human thinking patterns in machines, using a language guided imagination (LGI) network. Their method, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, could inform the development of artificial intelligence that is capable of human-like thinking, which entails a goal-directed flow of mental ideas guided by language.

* This article was originally published here

Maestro: a new attack that orchestrates malicious flows with BGP

Researchers at the University of Tennessee have recently identified the Maestro attack, a new link flooding attack (LFA) that leverages plane traffic control engineering techniques to concentrate botnet-sourced distributed denial of service (DDos) flows on transit links. In their paper, recently published on arXiv, the researchers outlined this type attack, tried to understand its scope and presented effective mitigations for network operators who wish to insulate themselves from it.

* This article was originally published here

Significant barriers to care for patients seeking medication for opioid use

Buprenorphine-naloxone (buprenorphine), a highly effective, evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), is difficult to access in states with high rates of death associated with OUD, according to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study also found that access to buprenorphine is especially challenging among patients with Medicaid coverage.

* This article was originally published here

Trap-and-release accelerates study of swimming ciliated cells

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have been studying cilia for years to determine how their dysfunction leads to infertility and other conditions associated with cilia-related diseases. Now, they will be able to perform these studies more rapidly through a new method that uses sound waves to momentarily trap cells propelled by cilia, then releases them to measure their movement as they swim away.

* This article was originally published here