ScienceDaily: Computers & Math News

Civil engineers develop a computational modeling strategy to help plan effective repairs to damaged reinforced concrete columns.

Researchers have successfully demonstrated proof-of-concept of using their multimodal transistor (MMT) in artificial neural networks, which mimic the human brain. This is an important step towards using thin-film transistors as artificial intelligence hardware and moves edge computing forward, with the prospect of reducing power needs and improving efficiency, rather than relying solely on computer chips.

What if video games, instead of being an obstacle to literacy, could actually help children improve their reading abilities? Scientists have tested an action video game for children, aimed to enhance reading skills. The results demonstrate improved reading abilities after just twelve hours of training. Notably, these gains persist over time, to the point that language school grades are seen to improve more than a year after the end of training.

Retrieving an accurate picture of what a tagged animal does as it journeys through its environment requires statistical analysis, especially when it comes to animal movement, and the methods statisticians use are always evolving to make full use of the large and complex data sets that are available. A recent study by researchers at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF) and the UBC department of statistics has taken us a step closer to understanding the behaviours of northern resident killer whales by improving statistical tools useful for identifying animal behaviours that can't be observed directly.

Inspired by the growth of bones in the skeleton, researchers have developed a combination of materials that can morph into various shapes before hardening. The material is initially soft, but later hardens through a bone development process that uses the same materials found in the skeleton.

A mathematical model revealed that the optimal time to initiate immune-modulating therapy in COVID-19 differed according to patients' medical history and risk factors. Different patients also required different types of immunomodulation for optimal therapy.