Menu

Blog

Page 1496

Sep 13, 2023

Hybrid nanoparticles shine new light on targeting cancer cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, nanotechnology

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a new approach to potentially detect and kill cancer cells, especially those that form a solid tumor mass. They have created hybrid nanoparticles made of gold and copper sulfide that can kill cancer cells using heat and enable their detection using sound waves, according to a study published in ACS Applied Nano Materials.

Early detection and treatment are key in the battle against cancer. Copper sulfide nanoparticles have previously received attention for their application in , while , which can be chemically modified to target cancer cells, have shown anticancer effects. In the current study, the IISc team decided to combine these two into hybrid nanoparticles.

“These particles have photothermal, , and photoacoustic properties,” says Jaya Prakash, Assistant Professor at the Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics (IAP), IISc, and one of the corresponding authors of the paper. Ph.D. students Madhavi Tripathi and Swathi Padmanabhan are co-first authors.

Sep 13, 2023

How Elon Musk set Tesla on a new course for self-driving

Posted by in categories: education, Elon Musk, robotics/AI, transportation

Tesla’s latest version of FSD had taught itself how to drive by processing billions of frames of video of how humans do it, Isaacson writes.

Sep 13, 2023

Astronomers spot the first “bounce” in our Universe

Posted by in category: cosmology

A spherical structure nearly one billion light-years wide has been spotted in the nearby Universe, dating all the way back to the Big Bang.

Sep 13, 2023

Down the Quantum Rabbit Hole: “Alice Ring” Discovery Offers Glimpse Into Other-Worldly Realm

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics

Experiments promote a curious flipside of decaying monopoles: a reality where particle physics is quite literally turned on its head.

The field of quantum physics is rife with paths leading to tantalizing new areas of study, but one rabbit hole offers a unique vantage point into a world where particles behave differently—through the proverbial looking glass.

Dubbed the “Alice ring” after Lewis Carroll’s world-renowned stories on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the appearance of this object verifies a decades-old theory on how monopoles decay. Specifically, that they decay into a ring-like vortex, where any other monopoles passing through its center are flipped into their opposite magnetic charges.

Sep 13, 2023

Trajectoids: Creating a shape that rolls along a desired path

Posted by in categories: mathematics, media & arts, robotics/AI, transportation

Normally, when we think of a rolling object, we tend to imagine a torus (like a bicycle wheel) or a sphere (like a tennis ball) that will always follow a straight path when rolling. However, the world of mathematics and science is always open to exploring new ideas and concepts. This is why researchers have been studying shapes, like oloids, sphericons and more, which do not roll in straight lines.

All these funky shapes are really interesting to researchers as they can show us new ways to move objects around smoothly and efficiently. For example, imagine reducing the energy required to make a toy robot move, or mixing ingredients more thoroughly with a unique-looking spoon. While these peculiar shapes have been studied before, scientists have now taken it a step further.

Consider a game where you draw a on a tilted table—similar to tilting a pinball table to make the ball go in a particular direction. Now, try to come up with a 3D object that, when placed at the top of the table, will roll down and exactly follow that path, instead of just going straight down. There are a few other rules of this game: the table needs to be inclined slightly (and not too much), there should be no slipping during rolling, and the initial orientation of the object can be chosen at launch. Plus, the path you draw must never go uphill and must be periodic. It must also consist of identical repeating segments—somewhat like in music rhythm patterns.

Sep 13, 2023

How cyber scammers are trying to make AI tools pay

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Proponents of artificial intelligence say its potential is limitless. But cyber scammers could also use it to their advantage.

Analysts explained to AFP how the technology could increase the risk from online crime.

Chatbots are the best-known of all AI tools thanks to the rampant success of ChatGPT and many that have come afterwards, not least Google’s Bard.

Sep 13, 2023

A strategy to fabricate highly performing tin perovskite-based transistors

Posted by in categories: computing, solar power, sustainability

Metal halide perovskites are semiconducting materials with advantageous optoelectronic properties, low defects and low costs of production. In contrast with other emerging semiconductors, these materials can be easily synthesized via affordable solution processing methods.

In recent years, some engineers have been exploring the potential of for creating highly solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Their favorable characteristics, however, could also facilitate their use for fabricating next-generation , including .

Researchers at Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea, the Chinse Academy of Sciences and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China recently introduced a new strategy to develop transistors based on a metal perovskite, specifically tin perovskite. In their paper, published in Nature Electronics, they showed that the resulting tin perovskite-based transistors could attain performances comparable to those of existing .

Sep 13, 2023

The Unsettling Truth about Human Consciousness | The Split Brain experiment that broke neuroscience

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

In the 1939 neuroscientists began cutting living human brains in two in order to treat certain types of epileptic seizures. Subsequent experiments on those patients gave science an unnerving window into the nature of human consciousness. It turns out that there might be more versions inside of your own brain than you might be comfortable with.

#splitbrain #consciousness #malcovich #neuroscience.

Continue reading “The Unsettling Truth about Human Consciousness | The Split Brain experiment that broke neuroscience” »

Sep 12, 2023

Are AI Models Approaching Consciousness? New Research Reignites Debate

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

New research found sophisticated reasoning in AI models that could enable situational awareness, posing safety risks if left uncontrolled.

Sep 12, 2023

Proton pump inhibitor use linked to increased fatigue in kidney transplant recipients

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, neuroscience

Netherlands: The use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) among kidney transplant recipients may lead to severe fatigue, fatigue severity, and lower mental and physical health-related quality of life, a new study has suggested. The study was published online in the American Journal Of Kidney Diseases.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly prescribed medications for the management of acid-related gastrointestinal disorders.

Tim J. Knobbe and colleagues aimed to investigate the potential association between PPI use and fatigue as well as health-related quality of life among 937 kidney transplant recipients. Participants were at least one-year post-transplantation and were enrolled in the TransplantLines Biobank and Cohort Study.