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Motion capture is guiding the next generation of extraterrestrial robots

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“How do we build robots that can optimally explore space?” is the core question behind Dr Frances Zhu’s research at the University of Hawai’i. One part of the answer is, “with motion capture”.

“It is my hope that my research contributes to the way extraterrestrial robots move and make decisions on other planets,” explains Zhu (main picture), an assistant researcher and deputy director at the University’s Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.

That research is in its early stages, but NASA has seen the value in it and awarded Zhu an EPSCoR grant by the name “Autonomous Rover Operations for Planetary Surface Exploration using Machine Learning Algorithms”. [Read more…] about Motion capture is guiding the next generation of extraterrestrial robots

Otonomo and Audi partner to enable innovative, data-driven services

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Otonomo Technologies, a mobility intelligence provider, is providing a vehicle data platform partner to auto giant Audi.

With access to rich, actionable vehicle data, Audi’s customers and business partners can create consumer offerings that enhance the user experience for Audi vehicle owners, ranging from pay-as-you-drive and insurance services, to general vehicle status, to first notification of loss.

Thomas Geiger, project manager extended vehicle Audi, says: “Otonomo’s mobility intelligence platform unlocks the value of connected vehicle data while maintaining GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliance. [Read more…] about Otonomo and Audi partner to enable innovative, data-driven services

Citizen scientists spot Jupiter-like planet in Nasa telescope data

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Tom Jacobs of Bellevue, Washington, loves treasure hunts. Since 2010, the former US naval officer has participated in online volunteer projects that allow anyone who is interested – “citizen scientists” – to look through NASA telescope data for signs of exoplanets, planets beyond our solar system.

Now, Jacobs has helped discover a giant gaseous planet about 379 light-years from Earth, orbiting a star with the same mass as the Sun.

The Jupiter-size planet is special for astronomers because its 261-day year is long compared to many known gas giants outside our solar system. The result also suggests the planet is just a bit farther from its star than Venus is from the Sun. [Read more…] about Citizen scientists spot Jupiter-like planet in Nasa telescope data

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  • Aurora-chasing citizen scientists help discover a new feature of aurora
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    Aurora-chasing citizen scientists help discover a new feature of auroraIn 2018, a new aurora-like discovery struck the world. From 2015 to 2016, citizen scientists reported 30 instances of a purple ribbon in the sky, with a green picket fence structure underneath. Now named STEVE, or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, this phenomenon is still new to scientists, who are…
    Tags: scientists, citizen, light, features, space

Fastest DNA sequencing technique helps undiagnosed patients find answers in mere hours

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A research effort led by Stanford scientists set the first Guinness World Record for the fastest DNA sequencing technique, which was used to sequence a human genome in just 5 hours and 2 minutes.

A new ultra-rapid genome sequencing approach developed by Stanford Medicine scientists and their collaborators was used to diagnose rare genetic diseases in an average of eight hours – a feat that’s nearly unheard of in standard clinical care.

“A few weeks is what most clinicians call ‘rapid’ when it comes to sequencing a patient’s genome and returning results,” said Euan Ashley, MB ChB, DPhil, professor of medicine, of genetics and of biomedical data science at Stanford. [Read more…] about Fastest DNA sequencing technique helps undiagnosed patients find answers in mere hours

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  • Could all your digital photos be stored as DNA?
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    Could all your digital photos be stored as DNA?On Earth right now, there are about 10 trillion gigabytes of digital data, and every day, humans produce emails, photos, tweets, and other digital files that add up to another 2.5 million gigabytes of data. Much of this data is stored in enormous facilities known as exabyte data centers (an…
    Tags: dna, data, features, genetics

Study takes unprecedented peek into life of 17,000-year-old mammoth

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An international research team has retraced the astonishing lifetime journey of an Arctic woolly mammoth, which covered enough of the Alaska landscape during its 28 years to almost circle the Earth twice.

Scientists gathered unprecedented details of its life through analysis of a 17,000-year-old fossil from the University of Alaska Museum of the North. By generating and studying isotopic data in the mammoth’s tusk, they were able to match its movements and diet with isotopic maps of the region.

Few details have been known about the lives and movements of woolly mammoths, and the study offers the first evidence that they traveled vast distances. An outline of the mammoth’s life is detailed in the new issue of the journal Science. [Read more…] about Study takes unprecedented peek into life of 17,000-year-old mammoth

Deep learning model classifies brain tumors with single MRI scan

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A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have developed a deep learning model that is capable of classifying a brain tumor as one of six common types using a single 3D MRI scan, according to a study published in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence.

“This is the first study to address the most common intracranial tumors and to directly determine the tumor class or the absence of tumor from a 3D MRI volume,” said Satrajit Chakrabarty, M.S., a doctoral student under the direction of Aristeidis Sotiras, Ph.D., and Daniel Marcus, Ph.D., in Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology’s Computational Imaging Lab at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. [Read more…] about Deep learning model classifies brain tumors with single MRI scan

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  • A neural network learns when it should not be trusted
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    A neural network learns when it should not be trustedIncreasingly, artificial intelligence systems known as deep learning neural networks are used to inform decisions vital to human health and safety, such as in autonomous driving or medical diagnosis. These networks are good at recognizing patterns in large, complex datasets to aid in decision-making. But how do we know they're…
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  • New deep learning models: Fewer neurons, more intelligence
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    New deep learning models: Fewer neurons, more intelligenceArtificial intelligence has arrived in our everyday lives – from search engines to self-driving cars. This has to do with the enormous computing power that has become available in recent years.  But new results from AI research now show that simpler, smaller neural networks can be used to solve certain…
    Tags: learning, deep, network, neural, model, news

Stanford researchers develop a better way to track methane in the skies

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When Stanford University graduate student Jeff Rutherford began his doctorate in 2018, the amount of methane entering the atmosphere from oil and gas extraction operations – mostly due to fracking – had become a major matter of contention. Tracking this harmful greenhouse gas falls to the Environmental Protection Agency.

To help in their accounting, the EPA uses computer models that take a “bottom-up” approach, counting the total number of well heads, storage tanks, miles of pipeline and other sources of methane, declaring an average annual release per component, and totaling everything up. They call it an “inventory.”

The only problem is that other organizations taking a “top-down” approach – using satellite imaging or atmospheric measurement to calculate the actual total methane emissions – were saying that the EPA was missing the mark by as much as half. [Read more…] about Stanford researchers develop a better way to track methane in the skies

Space scientists reveal secret behind Jupiter’s ‘energy crisis’

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New research published in Nature has revealed the solution to Jupiter’s ‘energy crisis’, which has puzzled astronomers for decades.

Space scientists at the University of Leicester worked with colleagues from the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), Boston University, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) to reveal the mechanism behind Jupiter’s atmospheric heating.

Now, using data from the Keck Observatory in Hawai’i, astronomers have created the most-detailed yet global map of the gas giant’s upper atmosphere, confirming for the first time that Jupiter’s powerful aurorae are responsible for delivering planet-wide heating. [Read more…] about Space scientists reveal secret behind Jupiter’s ‘energy crisis’

Americans with higher net worth at midlife tend to live longer

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One of the keys to a long life may lie in your net worth.

In the first wealth and longevity study to incorporate siblings and twin pair data, researchers from Northwestern University analyzed the midlife net worth of adults (mean age 46.7 years) and their mortality rates 24 years later. They discovered those with greater wealth at midlife tended to live longer.

The researchers used data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) project, a longitudinal study on aging. Using data from the first collection wave in 1994-1996 through a censor date of 2018, the researchers used survival models to analyze the association between net worth and longevity. [Read more…] about Americans with higher net worth at midlife tend to live longer

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  • Study: Countering hate on social media
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    Study: Countering hate on social mediaThe rise of online hate speech is a disturbing, growing trend in countries around the world, with serious psychological consequences and the potential to impact, and even contribute to, real-world violence. Citizen-generated counter speech may help discourage hateful online rhetoric, but it has been difficult to quantify and study. Until…
    Tags: study, data, researchers, features, life