Thursday 27 June 2019

Mum's workplace exposure to solvents may heighten child's autism risk

A mother's workplace exposure to solvents may heighten her child's risk of autism, suggests research published online in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

* This article was originally published here

Order from chaos: Australian vortex studies are first proof of 70-year-old theory of turbulence in fluids

Two Australian studies published this week offer the first proof of a 70-year-old theory of turbulence.

* This article was originally published here

The RoboBee flies solo—Cutting the power cord for the first untethered flight

The RoboBee—the insect-inspired microrobot developed by researchers at Harvard University—has become the lightest vehicle ever to achieve sustained flight without the assistance of a power cord. After decades of work, the researchers achieved untethered flight by making several important changes to the RoboBee, including the addition of a second pair of wings. That change, along with less visible changes to the actuators and transmission ratio, gave the RoboBee enough lift for the researchers to attach solar cells and an electronics panel.

* This article was originally published here

Artificial intelligence controls robotic arm to pack boxes and cut costs

Rutgers computer scientists used artificial intelligence to control a robotic arm that provides a more efficient way to pack boxes, saving businesses time and money.

* This article was originally published here

Trulifi leveraging light waves for send-receive of office data

Some companies need your time when they explain properly what their technology is all about and in turn brochures, white papers and video talks are in order. Signify is lucky. Two words wrap it up for them. Light connects.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers find fecal marker could help diagnose early signs of chronic gut conditions

Small molecules found in fecal matter could provide clues to the early inflammation found in chronic gut conditions, such as intestinal bowel disease (IBD), and serve as new biomarkers for diagnosis, according to a study led by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

* This article was originally published here

Report: Hackers using telecoms like 'global spy system'

An ambitious group of suspected state-backed hackers has been burrowing into telecommunications companies in order to spy on high-profile targets across the world, a U.S. cybersecurity firm said in a report published Tuesday .

* This article was originally published here

Robot arm tastes with engineered bacteria

A robotic gripping arm that uses engineered bacteria to "taste" for a specific chemical has been developed by engineers at the University of California, Davis, and Carnegie Mellon University. The gripper is a proof-of-concept for biologically-based soft robotics.

* This article was originally published here

A Trojan horse? Immune cells ferry deadly fungus from mouse lung into the blood

A report today in PLOS Pathogens shows how inhaled fungal spores exit the lung and trigger a fatal infection in mice.

* This article was originally published here

Too many antioxidants may cause lung cancer spread

A new study explains why lung cancer spreads faster in patients with certain genetic changes, and suggests that taking vitamin E, long thought of as preventive, may cause the same spread.

* This article was originally published here

Protein scissors for cellular transport

In many ways, a cell is like a city. Proteins or people do daily work to keep the economy going, and items are imported and exported for trade. Imports are shipped into cells by way of endocytosis. Before reaching their final destination, they are kept at the early endosome, a structure that determines whether the material will be disposed, recycled or delivered to a specific region in the cell. A new study in iScience by researchers at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Japan, demonstrates how ankyrin repeat and KH domain-containing protein 1 (ANKHD1) are instrumental in forming the early endosome.

* This article was originally published here

New unprinting method can help recycle paper and curb environmental costs

Imagine if your printer had an "unprint" button that used pulses of light to remove toner—and thereby quintupled the lifespan of recycled paper.

* This article was originally published here

How did elephants evolve such a large brain? Climate change is part of the answer

Elephants have long captivated our attention, partly because of their sheer size and majesty. But we're also struck by their complex behaviour. In some ways, we're fascinated because this behaviour echoes our most humane feelings. For instance, elephants have repeatedly been observed using tools and grieving their dead.

* This article was originally published here

Researching the successes and challenges of digital medical devices

Eric Topol, a cardiologist and digital medical researcher, and also director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, has published a Focus piece in the journal Science Translational Medicine discussing the short history of digital medical devices, covering both success stories and current challenges.

* This article was originally published here

Intel researchers develop an eye contact correction system for video chats

When participating in a video call or conference, it is often hard to maintain direct eye contact with other participants, as this requires looking into the camera rather than at the screen. Although most people use video calling services on a regular basis, so far, there has been no widespread solution to this problem.

* This article was originally published here

LSU veterinarians get Pedro the turtle moving

Pedro the turtle has learned to roll with it, thanks to the zoological medicine service at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine's Veterinary Teaching Hospital. When Pedro, an adult male box turtle, was adopted by his owners, he was missing one of his back legs. But after recently escaping from his outdoor enclosure, he was missing the other rear leg.

* This article was originally published here

New Australian-Pacific scabies treatment has lasting results, study finds

Results of a two-year update of the world's first comparative trial of mass drug administration against scabies, show that the infection rate is still significantly down. The latest findings are published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers create multi-junction solar cells from off-the-shelf components

Multi-junction solar cells are both the most efficient type of solar cell on the market today and the most expensive type of solar cell to produce. In a proof-of-concept paper, researchers from North Carolina State University detail a new approach for creating multi-junction solar cells using off-the-shelf components, resulting in lower cost, high-efficiency solar cells for use in multiple applications.

* This article was originally published here