A bioluminescent viper fish. (Credit: Jérôme Mallefet)
In a dark world of crushing pressures and barren landscapes, creatures we’ve never seen before, and, likely, couldn’t even imagine, are swimming.
The ocean’s abyssal zone begins over two miles beneath surface; it’s so deep that light never touches it. What little we know about it comes from sediment dredged up from the seafloor and brief snapshots captured by remotely operated submarines. This makes it ...read more
Researchers’ solar-charged battery system merges function and comfort. (Credit: Zamarayeva et al., Sci. Adv. 2017;3: e1602051)
Incorporating electronic components into everything we wear is the fashion trend of the future. But those LEDs, health sensors, heaters and whatever else we’ll come up with all need energy. A battery is a logical solution, but it’s been difficult to design one that’s rugged and efficient, but also comfortable.
However, in a study published today ...read more
By: Nina Friedman
When I hit a mental roadblock while I’m working, moving always helps. I can’t keep my brain moving unless my body is moving. I might get up from my desk and take a little walk but if I’m in a time crunch I’ll just fidget around in my chair or tap out a fun rhythm. As a growing body of research shows, cognitive functioning increases when we move. In other words, moving helps us think.
Michael Karlesky, a PhD candidate at NYU’s Tandon School of Engin ...read more
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The DSKY in action. NASA.
The Apollo guidance computer did a lot with a little, but the idea that your cell phone has more computer power is a little off. Yes, a smartphone can hold more information but it doesn’t exactly have the software to get you to the Moon. But the comparatively weaker Apollo guidance computer (AGC) did, and though it didn’t have a keyboard and monitor like your desktop, it did speak in the familiar language we use every day of nouns and verbs.
Schematic ...read more
From the ground, researchers measured laser signals that originated from a satellite and traveled through Earth’s gravitational potential and the turbulent atmosphere. (Credit: Earth, Google; satellite, ESO)
Veering from the path of their counterparts at other institutions, researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Germany say they’ve found an easier path toward large-scale, unhackable communication networks.
They demonstrated that it’s possible to distribute quantum infor ...read more
A Walmart employee experiences virtual reality training. Credit: STRIVR
Virtual reality technology that has helped train NFL quarterbacks could also soon provide virtual training experiences for hundreds of thousands of Walmart associates. By the end of 2017, Walmart plans to roll out virtual reality training to the 140,000 associates who complete the retail giant’s training academy program each year. The move by the largest private employer of American workers m ...read more
(Credit: Maluuba)
A Microsoft artificial intelligence has achieved the ultimate high score in Ms. Pac-Man, maxing out the counter at just under a million points.
With its randomly-generated ghost movements, Ms. Pac-Man has proven a tough nut for AI to crack, as it cannot simply learn the patterns that govern the ghosts’ movements. Maluuba, an artificial intelligence company recently acquired by the tech giant, succeeded in outwitting the hungry ghosts by breaking their gaming a ...read more
(Credit: Tony Campbell/Shutterstock)
Cougars, wolves, and bears (oh my!) all scour the landscape of Western Canada, ready to take out an elk if the opportunity arises. Although each of these predators poses a deadly threat to unsuspecting ungulates, elk have an even bigger problem to deal with: hordes of humans that invade the region every autumn armed with rifles, bows and arrows.
But as female elk grow older and wiser, researchers have found, they learn to outwit fervent hunters by changing ...read more
