Scientists teach parrots to trade metal rings for walnuts.
Animals often share food, but these birds understand that metal rings can be exchanged for treats, and they share the rings with no promise of reward.
Category: food – Page 68
Edible electronics: The future of sustainable devices is in your food
A team of researchers from the Italian Institute of Technology has created the first-ever rechargeable edible battery made out of gold foil, nori seaweed, and beeswax. A charger you can eat? Sounds good to us.
The Italian Institute of Technology has really brought innovation to the table at the Maker Faire in Rome. The team of researchers has created the first-ever rechargeable edible battery made out of gold foil, nori seaweed, and beeswax.
Scientists invent toothpaste that can treat peanut allergies
In experiments conducted on the toothpaste no major side effects were reported.
Busracavus/iStock.
Peanuts are one of the most common food allergens, and peanut allergies tend to persist into adulthood more frequently than allergies to other foods. Peanut allergies are common, particularly in Western countries. The prevalence of peanut allergies appears to be increasing, and it is estimated that about 2.9 percent of the population in the United States suffers from the condition.
5 ways to build an Alzheimer’s-resistant brain | Lisa Genova
Only 2% of Alzheimer’s is 100% genetic. The rest is up to your daily habits.
Up Next ► 4 ways to hack your memory https://youtu.be/SCsztDMGP7o.
People want a perfect memory. They wish that they can remember everything that they want to remember. But it doesn’t work like that.
Most people over the age of 50 think that forgetting someone’s name or forgetting why they went into the kitchen is a sign of Alzheimer’s. It isn’t. Most of our forgetfulness is perfectly normal.
If you are worried about developing Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, some simple lifestyle modifications can help prevent it: getting enough sleep, exercising, eating a balanced diet, and managing stress.
Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/videos/cognitive-decline/
AI robotics’ ‘GPT moment’ is near
It’s no secret that foundation models have transformed AI in the digital world. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, LLaMA, and Bard revolutionized AI for language. While OpenAI’s GPT models aren’t the only large language model available, they have achieved the most mainstream recognition for taking text and image inputs and delivering human-like responses — even with some tasks requiring complex problem-solving and advanced reasoning.
ChatGPT’s viral and widespread adoption has largely shaped how society understands this new moment for artificial intelligence.
The next advancement that will define AI for generations is robotics. Building AI-powered robots that can learn how to interact with the physical world will enhance all forms of repetitive work in sectors ranging from logistics, transportation, and manufacturing to retail, agriculture, and even healthcare. It will also unlock as many efficiencies in the physical world as we’ve seen in the digital world over the past few decades.
New research identifies a biotechnology approach to improve hybrid breeding of soybean
Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most economically and societally impactful crops in the world, providing a significant percentage of all protein for animal consumption on a global scale, and playing key roles in oil production, manufacturing, and biofuel applications. In 2022, an estimated 4.3 billion bushels of soybeans were produced in the United States, a decrease of almost 200 million bushels compared to the previous year.
To keep up with the growing demand for soy-based animal feed, the USDA projects soybean acreage will increase by 19.6% by 2032. Hybrid breeding in soybean has the potential to increase the productivity of one of the most planted and consumed crops in the Americas, yet it has remained largely unexplored.
New research by scientists at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Cornell University provides a key enabling technology to produce obligate outcrossing in soybean. The newly published study, “Introduction of barnase/barstar in soybean produces a rescuable male sterility system for hybrid breeding” in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, has revealed that obligate outcrossing with the Barnase/Barstar lines provides a new resource that can be used to amplify hybrid seed sets, enabling large-scale trials for heterosis in this major crop.
Fake everything: how machine learning is being used to fight back against disinformation campaigns
Another good use for AI. Fighting disinformation.
About 60% of adults in the US who get their news through social media have, largely unknowingly, shared false information, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center. The ease at which disinformation is spread and the severity of consequences it brings — from election hacking to character assassination — make it an issue of grave concern for us all.
One of the best ways to combat the spread of fake news on the internet is to understand where the false information was started and how it was disseminated. And that’s exactly what Camille Francois, the chief innovation officer at Graphika, is doing. She’s dedicated to bringing to light disinformation campaigns before they take hold.
Francois and her team are employing machine learning to map out online communities and better understand how information flows through networks. It’s a bold and necessary crusade as troll farms, deep fakes, and false information bombard the typical internet user every single day.
Francois says, this work is two parts technology, one part sociology. The techniques are always evolving, and we have to stay one step ahead.” We sit down with Francois for an in-depth discussion on how the tech works and what it means for the dissemination of information across the internet.
Epigenetic signature for obesity found in study of twins
A susceptibility to gain weight may be written into molecular processes of human cells, a Washington State University study indicates.
The proof-of-concept study with a set of 22 twins found an epigenetic signature in buccal or cheek cells appearing only for the twins who were obese compared to their thinner siblings. With more research, the findings could lead to a simple cheek swab test for an obesity biomarker and enable earlier prevention methods for a condition that effects 50% of U.S. adults, the researchers said.
“Obesity appears to be more complex than simple consumption of food. Our work indicates there’s a susceptibility for this disease and molecular markers that are changing for it,” said Michael Skinner, a WSU professor of biology and corresponding author of the study published in the journal Epigenetics.
Impressive new plastic self-heals, can be recycled and feeds marine life
Japanese scientists have developed a new type of plastic that’s strong at room temperature, but can be easily broken down on demand into its base components. In seawater, it starts to break down into food for marine life, and just to top it off, it can self-heal and remember past shapes.
Plastic is everywhere in our modern world, for better or worse. Its toughness makes it an extremely useful material for everything from household items to vehicle parts, but that same toughness makes it hard to break down for recycling or disposal.
In the new study, scientists at the University of Tokyo developed a new plastic material that can be broken down more easily, either in recycling plants or in nature. It’s based on a class of plastic called an epoxy resin vitrimer, which are strong at room temperature but can be reshaped and molded with a bit of added heat. Normally, vitrimers are brittle, but the team improved the recipe by adding a molecule called polyrotaxane.