Medicine & TechnologyRobots that can learn? Yes they can, at least with these new algorithms. A UC Berkeley research team has created algorithms that allow robots to use trial and error to learn motor tasks. This is a process that is much closer to the ways that humans think and learn, making it a major artificial intelligence milestone.
Ironically, despite having the healthier e-cigarette alternative at hand, many are choosing to continue smoking conventional cigarettes. Authorities think this may be because they mistakenly believe that e-cigarettes are as dangerous as their traditional counterparts.
The search for the natural miracle cure to help us all lose weight despite our late night transgressions with snack foods is ongoing. The quest is global, as researchers try to parse out the hidden power of various naturally occurring plants. Now, scientists claim that an extract from the traditional Chinese medicine known as "thunder god vine" causes a dramatic reduction in food intake and a corresponding drop in weight among obese mice.
NASA has seen the most luminous galaxy ever discovered using its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope. The remote galaxy glows with enough light to rival 300 trillion suns.
Oculus VR Inc. founder Palmer Luckey and his company are once again being sued. For this go-round Hawaiian company Total Recall Technologies is accusing Luckey of taking confidential information from TRT in violation of a confidentiality agreement that he signed when he left the company. The complaint also accuses him of passing off that information as his own.
May 22nd is the UN's International Day of Biological Diversity. This year's theme: Biodiversity for Sustainable Development. But instead of making little Pinterest planet Earth cupcakes or watching a movie about wildlife, why not get involved with National Geographic's Great Nature Project and have a real impact contributing to the scientific record?
Most of us have turned to professional and personal networks using social media to get ideas, solve problems, and better understand the things that are on our minds; crowdsourcing is part of our world now. Doctors can do the same thing, and three weeks ago medical crowdsourcing saved a 14 year old boy's life.
Thanks to a new project in human emotion analysis, you may not need a penny for someone's thoughts anymore. Even more interestingly, you may soon be able to not just read emotions on others, but use your own emotions to create art or play next-generation games.
Science has now proven that not only does coffee keep you up at night, it keeps you up at night (if you're a man). Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have published results indicating that men who consume the caffeine present in two to three cups of coffee daily are less likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED).
Five of the world's major nations have exploited weaknesses in UC Browser in their plan to hack into smartphones via links to Samsung and Google app stores according to a document obtained by CBS News shows. Electronic intelligence gathering agencies in Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and the National Security Agency (NSA) in the US have been planning their hacks for some time, based on an alleged need for intelligence in the war on terror. The countries also hoped to place spyware on certain smartphones during the project, called "Irritant Horn."
At the forefront of the fight against antibiotic resistance, a team of scientists led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital researchers have developed a new weapon. The second-generation antibiotic shows early effectiveness against common bacterial infections that have the potential to develop antibiotic resistance and pose a serious health threat to children and adults.
BP has begun to settle claims related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill with Halliburton and Transocean. This means that as to Halliburton and Transocean only (the litigation is ongoing) the battle is over. The long-term in court battle has centered upon the human costs of the offshore well disaster, which included the deaths of 11 workers. The overall impact of the disaster has been sobering for the scientific community as well; the Deepwater disaster has thus far been the largest offshore oil spill in US history.
Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered that the octopus, uniquely adept with camouflage, can "see" with its skin. The study found that the California two-spot octopus can sense light using light-sensitive proteins, similar to those found in eyes, in its skin.
A team of North Carolina State University (NCSU) researchers have created a reconfigurable liquid metal antenna controlled only by voltage. Liquid metal electronics have held the interest of the scientific community for years, but previous to this discovery these devices were not readily integrated into electronic systems because they required external pumps. This discovery advances the technology past this significant drawback.
In what government officials are calling one of the largest charity fraud cases ever, the Cancer Fund of America and its charities have been charged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and regulators from 50 states and the District of Columbia. The FTC says that almost all of the nearly $200 million the charities garnered from donors were spent by the cancer-free family and friends of those running the groups—spent on things like meals at Hooters, Caribbean couples’ cruises, subscriptions to dating websites, jet ski rides, and Victoria’s Secret shopping trips.