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| Haptics device creates realistic virtual textures Posted: 21 May 2022 06:33 AM PDT Tactile sensation is an incredibly important part of how humans perceive their reality. Haptics or devices that can produce extremely specific vibrations that can mimic the sensation of touch are a way to bring that third sense to life. However, as far as haptics have come, humans are incredibly particular about whether or not something feels 'right,' and virtual textures don't always hit the mark. Now, researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering have developed a new method for computers to achieve that true texture -- with the help of human beings. Called a preference-driven model, the framework uses our ability to distinguish between the details of certain textures as a tool in order to give these virtual counterparts a tune-up. |
| Long-hypothesized 'next generation wonder material' created Posted: 21 May 2022 06:33 AM PDT New research fills a longstanding gap in carbon material science, potentially opening brand-new possibilities for electronics, optics and semiconducting material research. |
| Organic farming or flower strips: Which is better for bees? Posted: 21 May 2022 06:33 AM PDT How effective environmental measures in agriculture are for biodiversity and wild bee populations depends on various factors and your perspective. This is shown by agroecologists. The research team found that when assessing the effectiveness of different measures, whether in the field (organic farming) or next to the field (flower strips in conventional farming), biodiversity benefits should be evaluated differently. Like-for-like comparisons of environmental measures could easily be misleading, according to the scientists. |
| Where do 'Hawaiian box jellies' come from? Posted: 20 May 2022 03:12 PM PDT An insightful cross-disciplinary team, working for over a decade, published a study recently revealing that a key number of hours of darkness during the lunar cycle triggers mature 'Hawaiian box jellyfish' (Alatina alata) to swim to leeward O'ahu shores to spawn. |
| Unraveling a perplexing explosive process that occurs throughout the universe Posted: 20 May 2022 03:12 PM PDT Novel simulation brings extraordinary fast radio bursts into the laboratory in a way once thought impossible. |
| Researchers unveil a secret of stronger metals Posted: 20 May 2022 03:12 PM PDT Researchers determined exactly what happens as crystal grains in metals form during an extreme deformation process, at the tiniest scales, down to a few nanometers across. The findings could lead to better, more consistent properties in metals, such as hardness and toughness. |
| Deciphering the biosynthetic gene cluster for potent freshwater toxin Posted: 20 May 2022 11:47 AM PDT Scientists discover the enzymes responsible for the production of one of the most toxic and fast-acting neurotoxins associated with freshwater harmful algal blooms in lakes and ponds. The discovery revealed that guanitoxin-producing cyanobacteria are more prevalent than originally known in the United States, opening the possibility for new molecular diagnostic testing to better inform and protect the public from this natural freshwater toxin. |
| Study discovers an underlying cause for infantile spasms and points to a novel therapy Posted: 20 May 2022 11:47 AM PDT A groundbreaking study has found the underlying cause and a potential treatment for infantile spasms -- intractable epilepsy common in babies and with limited treatment options. |
| PFAS chemicals do not last forever Posted: 20 May 2022 11:47 AM PDT Once dubbed 'forever chemicals,' per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, might be in the market for a new nickname. Adding iodide to a water treatment reactor that uses ultraviolet (UV) light and sulfite destroys up to 90% of carbon-fluorine atoms in PFAS forever chemicals in just a few hours, reports a new study led by environmental engineers. The addition of iodide accelerates the speed of the reaction up to four times, saving energy and chemicals. |
| Haywire T cells attack protein in 'bad' cholesterol Posted: 20 May 2022 11:47 AM PDT Detecting these T cells may lead to diagnostics to better detect heart disease--and disease severity--through a blood sample. The knowledge also brings researchers closer to developing a vaccine that dampens this dangerous immune cell activity to prevent atherosclerosis. |
| Light pollution can disorient monarch butterflies Posted: 20 May 2022 11:46 AM PDT Biologists say nighttime light pollution can interfere with the remarkable navigational abilities of monarchs, which travel as far as Canada to Mexico and back during their multi-generational migration. Researchers found that butterflies roosting at night near artificial illumination such as a porch or streetlight can become disoriented the next day because the light interferes with their circadian rhythms. Artificial light can impede the molecular processes responsible for the butterfly's remarkable navigational ability and trigger the butterfly to take wing when it should be resting. |
| Posted: 20 May 2022 11:46 AM PDT Unlike fictional laser swords, real laser beams do not interact with each other when they cross -- unless the beams meet within a suitable material allowing for nonlinear light-matter interaction. In such a case, wave mixing can give rise to beams with changed colors and directions. |
| New research shows no evidence of structural brain change with short-term mindfulness training Posted: 20 May 2022 11:46 AM PDT A team found flaws in previous research that purported to show meditation could alter the brain's structure. |
| Scientists smash lethal bacteria that acts like a hammer Posted: 20 May 2022 11:46 AM PDT New research could lead to better treatment options for a rare but very lethal type of bacterial infection. |
| Neuromorphic memory device simulates neurons and synapses Posted: 20 May 2022 10:29 AM PDT Researchers have reported a nano-sized neuromorphic memory device that emulates neurons and synapses simultaneously in a unit cell, another step toward completing the goal of neuromorphic computing designed to rigorously mimic the human brain with semiconductor devices. |
| Children with same-sex parents are socially well-adjusted Posted: 20 May 2022 10:29 AM PDT Difficult social and legal conditions are stress factors for same-sex families, but do not affect the behavior of children and young people with same-sex parents, new research suggests. |
| Study links thalamus inhibition in adolescence to long-lasting cortical abnormalities Posted: 20 May 2022 10:28 AM PDT Researchers have reported new evidence that cognitive abnormalities seen in neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia may be traceable to altered activity in the thalamus during adolescence, a time window of heightened vulnerability for schizophrenia. |
| New research challenges established ideas about infant crying Posted: 20 May 2022 10:28 AM PDT A research project provides a new understanding of what can be defined as normal and excessive crying among infants. |
| Climate change likely to reduce the amount of sleep that people get per year Posted: 20 May 2022 10:28 AM PDT Most research looking at the impact of climate change on human life has focused on how extreme weather events affect economic and societal health outcomes on a broad scale. Yet climate change may also have a strong influence on fundamental daily human activities -- including a host of behavioral, psychological, and physiological outcomes that are essential to wellbeing. Investigators now report that increasing ambient temperatures negatively impact human sleep around the globe. |
| Function follows form in plant immunity Posted: 20 May 2022 10:28 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a novel biochemical mechanism explaining how immune proteins defend plants against invading microorganisms. |
| Killer T vs. memory -- DNA isn't destiny for T cells Posted: 20 May 2022 10:28 AM PDT Scientists have uncovered how one type of T cell creates two genetically identical, but functionally different, daughter cells. |
| Research reveals surprising inactivation mechanism for a voltage-gated ion channel Posted: 20 May 2022 10:28 AM PDT The study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital presents a new understanding of how a VGIC, crucial for the communication of neurons and muscle cells, can become unresponsive. |
| Superconductivity and charge density waves caught intertwining at the nanoscale Posted: 20 May 2022 10:28 AM PDT Scientists discover superconductivity and charge density waves are intrinsically interconnected at the nanoscopic level, a new understanding that could help lead to the next generation of electronics and computers. |
| Posted: 20 May 2022 10:28 AM PDT Scientists have described a novel preclinical drug that could have the potential to combat depression, brain injury and diseases that impair cognition. The drug, which notably is brain-permeable, acts to inhibit the kinase enzyme Cdk5. |
| 'Moth highways' could help resist climate change impact Posted: 20 May 2022 04:31 AM PDT Real data gathered by volunteers was combined with new computer models for the first time to reveal which UK moth species are struggling to expand into new regions and the landscape barriers restricting their movement. Farmland and suburban moths were found to be struggling most, with hills or regions with variable temperatures acting as barriers. This has implications for British wildlife being forced to move to adapt to climate change, and habitat restoration in challenging areas could help wildlife movement. |
| Interplay between charge order and superconductivity at nanoscale Posted: 20 May 2022 04:31 AM PDT Scientists have been relentlessly working on understanding the fundamental mechanisms at the base of high-temperature superconductivity with the ultimate goal to design and engineer new quantum materials superconducting close to room temperature. |
| Increasing urban greenery could have prevented at least 34,000 US deaths over two decades Posted: 19 May 2022 10:27 AM PDT A US nationwide study found that increasing green vegetation in large, metropolitan areas could have prevented between 34,000-38,000 deaths, based on data from 2000-2019. The study also showed that overall greenness in metro areas has increased in the past 20 years, by nearly 3 percent between 2000-2010 and 11 percent between 2010-2019. |
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