Wednesday, 15 May 2019

From mother to daughter, Tunisia potters pass on ancestral know-how

With bucket and spade in hand, Sabiha Ayari from Sejnane in northern Tunisia is among the women keeping alive an ancient tradition of creating pottery with all-natural materials.

* This article was originally published here

Experimental brain-controlled hearing aid decodes, identifies who you want to hear

Our brains have a remarkable knack for picking out individual voices in a noisy environment, like a crowded coffee shop or a busy city street. This is something that even the most advanced hearing aids struggle to do. But now Columbia engineers are announcing an experimental technology that mimics the brain's natural aptitude for detecting and amplifying any one voice from many. Powered by artificial intelligence, this brain-controlled hearing aid acts as an automatic filter, monitoring wearers' brain waves and boosting the voice they want to focus on.

* This article was originally published here

What are the neurological side effects of CAR T-cell therapy?

The recent advent of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has revolutionized the clinical treatment of cancer. Under the umbrella of immunotherapy, CAR T-cell treatment trains and strengthens a patient's own immune system to attack tumors. Early successes in clinical trials have led to approval of the treatment for recurrent blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma.

* This article was originally published here

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ann moving over Australia's Cape York Peninsula

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Southern Pacific Ocean and captured a visible image of the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Ann moving over Queensland's Cape York Peninsula. Despite the storm weakening below tropical cyclone status, warnings remain active for strong winds and flooding potential.

* This article was originally published here

Study identifies factors associated with farmer suicide

Georgia farmers are champions at tackling challenges they can see—bad weather, insects and livestock disease, to name a few. Their higher-than-average suicide rate, however, indicates they may need some support in addressing stress and depression.

* This article was originally published here

Energy-free superfast computing invented by scientists using light pulses

Superfast data processing using light pulses instead of electricity has been created by scientists.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers find way to build potassium-oxygen batteries that last longer

Researchers have built a more efficient, more reliable potassium-oxygen battery, a step toward a potential solution for energy storage on the nation's power grid and longer-lasting batteries in cell phones and laptops.

* This article was originally published here

Flying cars mooted for Paris' public transport network

European aerospace giant Airbus and Paris underground operator RATP will study the viability of adding flying vehicles to the city's urban transport network, the companies said Wednesday.

* This article was originally published here

Excitonic radiative decay faster than thermal dephasing in ZnO thin films

A team of researchers from Osaka University, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka City University, and The University of Shiga Prefecture have found excitonic radiative decay faster than thermal dephasing at room temperature in zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films. These results, published recently in Physical Review Letters, will greatly reduce the thermal energy loss in optical operations.

* This article was originally published here

Century-scale deep-water circulation dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean

Dr. Moriaki Yasuhara, Dr. Hisayo Okahashi, and Dr. Huai-Hsuan May Huang from School of Biological Sciences and Swire Institute of Marine Science of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaboration with scientists from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Duke University, and US Geological Survey have recently reported their discovery on a key driver of past and perhaps future abrupt climate change that is deep-water dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean in the journal Geology.

* This article was originally published here

Machine learning reduces language barriers in global trade, research shows

Machine learning and artificial intelligence have exploded onto the scene in recent years, offering the hope of greater business efficiency. At the same time, researchers have found virtually no empirical evidence supporting the promised strides in labor productivity and economic activity.

* This article was originally published here