A collection of perforated pebbles from an archaeological site in Israel may be spindle whorls, representing a key milestone in the development of rotational tools including wheels, according to a study published November 13, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Talia Yashuv and Leore Grosman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Non-invasive BCIs let you harness tech benefits and enhance cognition without implanting a brain chip.
The problem with conventional non-invasive BCIs is that they are not as accurate as invasive BCIs. They collect data using external sensors that are not in direct contact with brain tissues, and any disturbance in a user’s surroundings could affect their function.
According to the CMU researchers, AI-based deep neural networks can solve this problem. They are more advanced than artificial neural networks used for facial recognition, speech recognition, and various other simple tasks.
Supported, in part, by NASA and administrated by Resources for the Future, Kevin Boyle and colleagues from Moravian University, Penn State, and the University of Rhode Island have assessed the feasibility of implementing a smartphone app designed to convey cholera risk forecasts to households to mitigate the threat of cholera in Bangladesh. This forms part of early warning measures.
The research is titled “Early warning systems, mobile technology, and cholera aversion: Evidence from rural Bangladesh,” and it appears in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.
For the research, the team developed CholeraMap, an Android-based smartphone application that conveys cholera risk forecasts to households. The app enables users to access risk predictions – from low to medium to high – for both their community and individual home locations.
In the quest to uncover the fundamental particles and forces of nature, one of the critical challenges facing high-energy experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is ensuring the quality of the vast amounts of data collected. To do this, data quality monitoring systems are in place for the various subdetectors of an experiment and they play an important role in checking the accuracy of the data.
Summary: A recent study offers new insights into how brain regions coordinate during rest, using resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) and neural recordings in mice. By comparing blood flow patterns with direct neural activity, researchers found that some brain activity remains “invisible” in traditional rsfMRI scans. This hidden activity suggests that current brain imaging techniques may miss key elements of neural behavior.
The findings, potentially applicable to human studies, may refine our understanding of brain networks. Further research could improve the accuracy of interpreting brain activity.
Posted in biotech/medical, chemistry, health, neuroscience | Leave a Comment on When muscles work out, they help neurons grow: Biochemical and physical effects of exercise could help heal nerves
This study explores how muscle contractions, such as those that occur during exercise, influence motor neurons—the cells responsible for controlling muscle movement.
There’s no doubt that exercise does a body good. Regular activity not only strengthens muscles but can bolster our bones, blood vessels, and immune system.
Now, MIT engineers have found that exercise can also have benefits at the level of individual neurons. They observed that when muscles contract during exercise, they release a soup of biochemical signals called myokines.
In the presence of these muscle-generated signals, neurons grew four times further compared to neurons that were not exposed to myokines. These cellular-level experiments suggest that exercise can have a significant biochemical effect on nerve growth.
An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has identified three ultra-massive galaxies—nearly as massive as the Milky Way—already in place within the first billion years after the Big Bang.
When I was a kid I always had to mow the lawn, and not with those ones you ride like a toy.
/PRNewswire/ — Intelligent robotics brand MOWRATOR is targeting the North American market. MOWRATOR will launch the world’s first battery-powered all-in-one remote control robotic lawn mower, S1, globally in early 2024. MOWRATOR S1 debuted at the GIE Landscaping Equip Expo trade show in October 2023, followed by the Orlando Makers Faire in November 2023. MOWRATOR S1 received enthusiastic feedback from industry partners, landscaping professionals, and homeowners. Attendees were impressed by MOWRATOR S1’s all-metal frame with its 21 steel blade, autopilot L2 cruise control and U-turn, and one-button auto-dumping mechanism. Furthermore, MOWRATOR S1 also developed more modules to meet autumn leaf vacuum and other yard care needs, unique from the market’s standard remote control lawn mower.
Artificial intelligence could help speedily summarize research. But it comes with risks.
