News Feeds

Understanding the “effort paradox” can help you reshape your relationship to exertion so that you commit to those hard but truly meaningful activities

Researchers have synthesized a new compound, which forms a so-called covalent organic framework. The compound, which is based on condensed phosphonic acids, is stable and can for example be used to capture carbon dioxide.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers compared the diagnostic performance of ChatGPT and radiologists in assessing 150 brain tumor MRI reports. Their findings might surprise you.

Everyday experience tells us that light reflected from a perfectly flat mirror will give us the correct image without any deformation. Interestingly, this is not the case when the light field itself is structured in a complex way. Tiny deformations appear. These have now been observed in the laboratory. The results confirm the prediction of this fundamental optical effect made more than a decade ago. They also show how it can be used, for example, as a method for determining material properties.

As many as 249 lives could have been saved in London during the 2018 record-setting hot summer had the city widely adopted cool roofs, estimates a new study.

Research is heralding in a new era for genetic sequencing and testing.

Engineers have discovered a simple and inexpensive means of directing lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the revolutionary molecules that delivered the COVID-19 vaccines, to target specific tissues, presaging a new era in personalized medicine and gene therapy. The key is making small changes to the chemical structure of LNPs, including the incorporation of siloxane, a chemical group that includes silicon, whose wider atomic radius increases membrane flexibility and improves mRNA uptake by target cells.

siRNA therapies show promise for treating diseases like cancer and genetic disorders, but their effectiveness depends on proper delivery. A recent study found that the method of mixing siRNA with lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) is key to success.

The high cost of installing heat pumps for home heating could slow down people widely adopting the technology and leave government targets missed, research suggests.

Miniature robots on the millimeter scale often lack the strength to transport instruments for endoscopic microsurgery through the body. Scientists are now combining several millimeter-sized TrainBots into one unit and equipping them with improved 'feet'. For the first time, the team was able to perform an electric surgical procedure on a bile duct obstruction experimentally with a robotic convoy.

Miniature robots on the millimeter scale often lack the strength to transport instruments for endoscopic microsurgery through the body. Scientists are now combining several millimeter-sized TrainBots into one unit and equipping them with improved 'feet'. For the first time, the team was able to perform an electric surgical procedure on a bile duct obstruction experimentally with a robotic convoy.

Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet orbiting Barnard's star, the closest single star to our Sun. On this newly discovered exoplanet, which has at least half the mass of Venus, a year lasts just over three Earth days. The team's observations also hint at the existence of three more exoplanet candidates, in various orbits around the star.

Researchers explored how infants act purposefully by attaching a colorful mobile to their foot and tracking movements with a Vicon 3D motion capture system. The study tested AI's ability to detect changes in infant movement patterns. Findings showed that AI techniques, especially the deep learning model 2D-CapsNet, effectively classified different stages of behavior. Notably, foot movements varied significantly. Looking at how AI classification accuracy changes for each baby gives researchers a new way to understand when and how they start to engage with the world.

Inspired by the dynamic color-changing properties of squid skin, researchers have developed a method to manufacture a heat-adjusting material that is breathable and washable and can be integrated into flexible fabric. The composite material operates in the infrared spectrum and consists of a polymer covered with copper islands. Stretching the material separates the islands and changes how it transmits and reflects infrared light; this innovation creates the possibility of controlling the temperature of a garment.

Scientists have developed an AI-driven approach that significantly advances our understanding of the hand's complex motor functions. The team used a creative machine learning strategy that combined curriculum-based reinforcement learning with detailed biomechanical simulations. The research presents a detailed, dynamic, and anatomically accurate model of hand movement that takes direct inspiration from the way humans learn intricate motor skills.

Scientists have developed an AI-driven approach that significantly advances our understanding of the hand's complex motor functions. The team used a creative machine learning strategy that combined curriculum-based reinforcement learning with detailed biomechanical simulations. The research presents a detailed, dynamic, and anatomically accurate model of hand movement that takes direct inspiration from the way humans learn intricate motor skills.

Astronomers have detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on the frozen surface of Pluto's largest moon, Charon, using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope. These discoveries add to Charon's known chemical inventory, previously identified by ground- and space-based observations, that includes water ice, ammonia-bearing species and the organic materials responsible for Charon's gray and red coloration.

Time travel from Alan Moore and Pride and Prejudice in space? There's plenty on offer for science fiction fans this October

The main news is that Israel invaded Lebanon after a few preliminary forays, but for a day or two we’ll have lighter stuff. That includes this contest submitted by mirandaga.  His challenge is indented:

Here’s a little game you might share with the troops to lighten things up a bit. Think of a movie actor and movie character that are so inseparably linked that you can’t imagine anyone else playing that role. Here are five that come to mind (I can’t think of any female actors/roles, but perhaps others can): Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in “Gone with the Wind” Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in “To Kill A Mockingbird” Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs” Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey in “It’s A Wonderful Life” Gary Cooper as Will Kane in “High Noon” Dan Akroyd and John Belushi in “Blues Brothers” (And yes, my age is showing.)

I’ll add these as my own choices. I’ll show a scene from each:

Marlon Brando in “The Godfather” series. The opening scene:

Sean Connery as James Bond (none of the other six actors who played Bond held a candle to him; they hadn’t the suavité).

Jack Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I can’t imagine another actor doing that part.

Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca”. No comment needed.

Woody Allen in “Annie Hall” (I love this scene!)

James Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (when I was a kid I used to watch this every Fourth of July, and this was my favorite scene). Cagney was a great dancer. Sadly, it’s no longer shown:

Another great scene from that movie: Cagney dances down the White House stairs after getting a medal from Franklin Roosevelt and then joins a war parade playing a song he wrote: “Over There”.

George C. Scott in “Patton”. Who can forget this scene?:

I previously put up pictures by Rik Gern showing his front yard (see here); now we get to see his backyard in Austin, TX. The captions are indented, and you can enlarge Rik’s photos by clicking on them.

The last batch of pictures I sent you was from my front yard, which I try to keep nice and trim for the neighbors. The back yard is a more casual place and I generally don’t like to mow or remove anything that grows there until I can see what it’s flowers look like.

This delicate looking little flower (first photo) is Common Hedge Parsley (Trills arvensis). I had a hard time determining whether it was Hedge Parsley or Poison Hemlock until I found a website that showed the difference in the appearance of the seed pods (second photo). It’s also home to a spider of some sort. Spiders and their webs are all over the back yard!

Prostrate Spurge (Euphorbia prostrata) sounds like something you should consult your urologist about, but it’s just a common weed that thrives in sunshine and dry soil. It grows rapidly, but is really easy to remove. It’s got a woody stem, like a miniature tree branch.

Summer rains brought a bunch of Boletus mushrooms. As for the species, your guess is as good as mine. There’s something about the underside that has a spooky but elegant look.

Speaking of spooky, now we come to the rough part of town, or at least of the back yard.

This Saw Greenbriar (Smilax bona-nox) (6) looks like it’s armed with knives—don’t mess with it or it’ll cut you!!

Also looking rough is this aged Common Sunflower (Helianthus annus). It’s youth and beauty gone, it now looks like a cranky senior citizen—with hairy legs!!!

 This detail of the stalk makes it look like a menacing plant, but you can actually grip them with your hands without discomfort when it’s time to pull them, though you’d get itchy if you did it for a long time. If you look closely you can see tiny spider webs all up and down the sides of the stalks.

These front-and-back pictures  formed the basis for the following two images which were made by combining them and putting them through the photoshop blender.

This Seussadelic image might be from Dr. Seuss’  unconceived, unwritten, and therefore unpublished book, “If I Ran The Botany Lab”.

The last one, “The Cosmic Cowboy Rides Again” is sort of a tribute to Texas music legend Doug Sahm*.