Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Ancient plant wax reveals how global warming affects methane in Arctic lakes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study, researchers examined the waxy coatings of leaves preserved as organic molecules within sediment from the early-to-middle Holocene, a period of intense warming that occurred due to slow changes in Earth's orbit 11,700 to 4,200 years ago. They found that warming potentially could lead to a previously under-appreciated flux in methane emissions from lakes.

Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

New study removes human bias from debate over dinosaurs' demise      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers tried a new approach to resolve the scientific debate over whether it was a giant asteroid or volcanoes that wiped out the dinosaurs -- they removed scientists from the debate and let the computers decide. The researchers created a model powered by 130 interconnected processors that, without human input, reverse-engineered the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction until they reached a scenario that matched the fossil record. The model determined that while a meteorite contributed to the cataclysm, the outpouring of climate-altering gases from the nearly 1-million-year eruptions of volcanoes in western India's Deccan Traps would have been sufficient to trigger the extinction and clear the way for the ascendance of mammals.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Antarctica's glacial border migrates for miles with the tide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New measurements of how boundary between onshore glacier and floating ice shelf glides back-and- forth could help predict melting.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Unleashing the power of AI to track animal behavior      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have created a non-invasive movement tracking method called GlowTrack that uses fluorescent dye markers to train artificial intelligence to capture movement, from a single mouse digit to the human hand. GlowTrack has applications spanning biology, robotics, medicine, and beyond.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

One-hour training is all you need to control a third robotic arm, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study has found that people can learn to use supernumerary robotic arms as effectively as working with a partner in just one hour of training.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Physics: Optics
Published

Efficient training for artificial intelligence      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New physics-based self-learning machines could replace the current artificial neural networks and save energy.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Shape-changing smart speaker lets users mute different areas of a room      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team has developed a shape-changing smart speaker, which uses self-deploying microphones to divide rooms into speech zones and track the positions of individual speakers.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Scientists successfully maneuver robot through living lung tissue      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have shown that their steerable lung robot can autonomously maneuver the intricacies of the lung, while avoiding important lung structures.

Chemistry: General Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Combustion powers bug-sized robots to leap, lift and race      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion and can outrace, outlift, outflex and outleap its electric-driven competitors.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Groundbreaking soft valve technology enabling sensing and control integration in soft robots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has developed groundbreaking 'soft valve' technology -- an all-in-one solution that integrates sensors and control valves while maintaining complete softness.

Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Battery-free robots use origami to change shape in mid-air      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed small robotic devices that can change how they move through the air by 'snapping' into a folded position during their descent. Each device has an onboard battery-free actuator, a solar power-harvesting circuit and controller to trigger these shape changes in mid-air.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate
Published

New research reveals why and when the Sahara Desert was green      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A pioneering study has shed new light on North African humid periods that have occurred over the past 800,000 years and explains why the Sahara Desert was periodically green.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

'Brainless' robot can navigate complex obstacles      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers who created a soft robot that could navigate simple mazes without human or computer direction have now built on that work, creating a 'brainless' soft robot that can navigate more complex and dynamic environments.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Bursting air bubbles may play a key role in how glacier ice melts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has uncovered a possible clue as to why glaciers that terminate at the sea are retreating at unprecedented rates: the bursting of tiny, pressurized bubbles in underwater ice.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Stability inspection for West Antarctica shows: marine ice sheet is not destabilized yet, but possibly on a path to tipping      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Antarctica's vast ice masses seem far away, yet they store enough water to raise global sea levels by several meters. A team of experts has now provided the first systematic stability inspection of the ice sheet's current state. Their diagnosis: While they found no indication of irreversible, self-reinforcing retreat of the ice sheet in West Antarctica yet, global warming to date could already be enough to trigger the slow but certain loss of ice over the next hundreds to thousands of years.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Researchers use AI to find new magnetic materials without critical elements      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of scientists developed a new machine learning model for discovering critical-element-free permanent magnet materials based on the predicted Curie temperature of new material combinations.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

An 'introspective' AI finds diversity improves performance      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An artificial intelligence with the ability to look inward and fine tune its own neural network performs better when it chooses diversity over lack of diversity, a new study finds. The resulting diverse neural networks were particularly effective at solving complex tasks.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

New AI technology gives robot recognition skills a big lift      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The day when robots can cook dinner, clear the kitchen table and empty the dishwasher is still a long way off. First, robots need to be able to recognize the many items of different sizes, shapes and brands in our homes. A team has now made a significant advance toward that technology with a robotic system that uses artificial intelligence to help robots better identify and remember objects.

Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

AI enabled soft robotic implant monitors scar tissue to self-adapt for personalized drug treatment      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research teams have detailed a pioneering breakthrough in medical device technology that could lead to intelligent, long-lasting, tailored treatment for patients, thanks to soft robotics and artificial intelligence.