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A robot has performed laparoscopic surgery on the soft tissue of a pig without the guiding hand of a human—a significant step in robotics toward fully automated surgery on humans. Designed by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers, the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) is described today in Science Robotics.

“Our findings show that we can automate one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in surgery: the reconnection of two ends of an intestine. The STAR performed the procedure in four animals and it produced significantly better results than humans performing the same procedure,” said senior author Axel Krieger, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins’ Whiting School of Engineering.

The robot excelled at intestinal anastomosis, a procedure that requires a high level of repetitive motion and precision. Connecting two ends of an intestine is arguably the most challenging step in gastrointestinal surgery, requiring a surgeon to suture with high accuracy and consistency. Even the slightest hand tremor or misplaced stitch can result in a leak that could have catastrophic complications for the patient.

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Pioneer Suzana Herculano-Houzel discusses the challenges and solutions of comparing brain size and function across species and shares her groundbreaking insights into the uniqueness, or lack thereof, of the human brain. #WorldSciU

This lecture was recorded on XXX at the World Science Festival in New York City.

Experience the associated free online course at World Science U: XXX

Official Site: https://www.worldscienceu.com.

Continue reading “WSU Master Class: Big Brains, Small Brains with Suzana Herculano-Houzel” | >

Quantum researchers at the University of Bristol have dramatically reduced the time to simulate an optical quantum computer, with a speedup of around one billion over previous approaches.

Quantum computers promise exponential speedups for certain problems, with potential applications in areas from drug discovery to new materials for batteries. But is still in its early stages, so these are long-term goals. Nevertheless, there are exciting intermediate milestones on the journey to building a useful device. One currently receiving a lot of attention is “”, where a quantum computer performs a task beyond the capabilities of even the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

Experimental work from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) was the first to claim quantum advantage using photons—particles of light, in a protocol called “Gaussian Boson Sampling” (GBS). Their paper claimed that the experiment, performed in 200 seconds, would take 600 million years to simulate on the world’s largest supercomputer.

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‘’The Weak Gravity Conjecture holds that in a theory of quantum gravity, any gauge force must mediate interactions stronger than gravity for some particles. This statement has surprisingly deep and extensive connections to many different areas of physics and mathematics. Several variations on the basic conjecture have been proposed, including statements that are much stronger but are nonetheless satisfied by all known consistent quantum gravity theories. We review these relat… See more.

The Weak Gravity Conjecture holds that in a theory of quantum gravity, any.

Gauge force must mediate interactions stronger than gravity for some particles.

This statement has surprisingly deep and extensive connections to many.

Continue reading “The Weak Gravity Conjecture: A Review” | >

Breakthrough Prize winner Alan Guth developed the theory of inflation to answer to our cosmic origins. It’s one of the most studied and debated theories in cosmology, with research propelling Guth’s work to the forefront of scientific conversation.

In this Master Class, Professor Guth addresses what experiments could potentially rule out the BICEP2 results. Since recording this in 2017, the Planck spacecraft collected the data that Professor Guth anticipated, which shows that the initial observations were likely an artifact of interstellar dust, not primordial gravitational waves.

This lecture was recorded on xyz at the World Science Festival in New York City.

Experience the associated free online course at World Science U:

Continue reading “WSU Master Class: Inflationary Cosmology with Alan Guth” | >

It’s the holy grail of spaceflight, and it could come sooner than many expect.

This month, Washington-based Radian Aerospace announced that it’s building a spaceplane that takes off and lands horizontally. The reveal sparked excitement about what could be considered the holy grail of the decades-old industry.

Christie Maddock, a lecturer in mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Strathclyde, says that the “alluring concept” has been around for nearly a century.

Continue reading “Single-stage-to-orbit: How the holy grail of spaceflight could soon become reality” | >

SOUTH BEND — The city council gave a unanimously positive recommendation Monday night for two tax abatements that could put South Bend at the epicenter of the hydroponic produce market in Indiana, and possibly the Midwest, for years to come.

JEM Farms South Bend plans to spend as much as $178 million on greenhouses and logistical equipment to grow tomatoes and strawberries throughout the year on land at Calvert Street and Renewable Drive, adjacent to the South Bend Ethanol Plant.

That facility would be located on land owned by Ceres Partners, the agricultural investment group located just south of the University of Notre Dame campus and the original investors in Pure Green Farms.

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A study showed that 70% of consumers who have visited a virtual store have made a purchase, according to a survey by Obsess.

The survey, dubbed the Metaverse Mindset: Consumer Shopping Insights, measured the interest in brands creating immersive virtual stores on their own web sites and “metaverse” platforms.

Obsess is an experiential ecommerce platform that serves those brands. The study measured consumers’ perceptions of and demand for virtual shopping experiences in the metaverse, a market opportunity that Bloomberg Intelligence estimates will reach nearly $800 billion by 2024.

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