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May 13, 2020

Using Brain Plasticity to Supercharge Your Brain for Stroke Recovery

Posted by in category: neuroscience

About characteristics of plasticity, ways to harness plasticity, how exactly does plasticity improve the mind, and maintaining plasticity.

May 13, 2020

Germany’s first drive-in social-distancing rave amid coronavirus pandemic

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

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While nightclubs have closed in Germany as part of its coronavirus restrictions, a club held the country’s first drive-in social-distancing rave on May 9, 2020.

Continue reading “Germany’s first drive-in social-distancing rave amid coronavirus pandemic” »

May 13, 2020

Facebook trains AI on ‘hateful memes’

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Washington (AFP) — Facebook unveiled an initiative Tuesday to take on “hateful memes” by using artificial intelligence, backed by crowd sourcing, to identify maliciously motivated posts.

The leading social network said it had already created a database of 10,000 memes — images often blended with text to deliver a specific message — as part of a ramped-up effort against hate speech.

“These efforts will spur the broader AI research community to test new methods, compare their work, and benchmark their results in order to accelerate work on detecting multimodal hate speech,” Facebook said in a blog post.

May 13, 2020

Op-Ed: We’re in the middle of a mental-health crisis. Many were struggling before the pandemic

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

Others are being hit hard by the impact of quarantine — feeling overwhelmed while trying to balance work with childcare, being stuck at home with an abusive partner or parent, or being alone for extended periods of time.

Since it’s Mental Health Awareness Month, here are some tips to help you cope with the crisis:


More from Invest in You: Young adults confront fears, stress as they navigate pandemic Over-eating, self-medicating lead to skyrocketing grocery bills How to help out others without breaking your own bank

Continue reading “Op-Ed: We’re in the middle of a mental-health crisis. Many were struggling before the pandemic” »

May 12, 2020

Quantum brakes in molecules

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics

Physicists have measured the flight times of electrons emitted from a specific atom in a molecule upon excitation with laser light. This has enabled them to measure the influence of the molecule itself on the kinetics of emission.

Photoemission—the release of electrons in response to excitation by light—is one of the most fundamental processes in the microcosm. The kinetic energy of the emitted electron is characteristic for the atom concerned, and depends on the wavelength of the light employed. But how long does the process take? And does it always take the same amount of time, irrespective of whether the electron is emitted from an individual atom or from an atom that is part of a molecule? An international team of researchers led by laser physicists in the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics (LAP) at LMU Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Garching has now probed the influence of the molecule on photoemission time.

The theoretical description of photoemission in 1905 by Albert Einstein marked a breakthrough in , and the details of the process are of continuing interest in the world of science and beyond. How the motions of an elementary quantum particle such as the electron are affected within a molecular environment has a significant bearing on our understanding of the process of photoemission and the forces that hold molecules together.

May 12, 2020

Why eVTOLs could be providing regional air service sooner than you think

Posted by in category: transportation

At Uber’s Elevate summit in Washington, DC earlier this month, researchers, industry leaders and engineers gathered to celebrate the approaching advent of on-demand air service. For Dr. Anita Sengupta, co-founder and Chief Product Office at Detroit’s Airspace Experience Technologies (abbreviated ASX), it was an event full of validation of her company’s specific approach to making electric vertical take-off and landing craft a working, commercially viable reality.

ASX’s eVTOL design is a tilt-wing design, which is distinct from the tilt-rotor design you might see on some of the splashier concept vehicles in the category. As you might’ve inferred from the name of each type of aircraft, with tilt-wing designs the entire wing of the aircraft can change orientation, while on tilt-rotor, just the rotor itself adjust independent of the wing structure.

The benefits of ASX’s tilt-wing choice, according to Sengupta, is speed to market and compatibility with existing regulatory and pilot licensing frameworks – and that’s why ASX could be providing cargo transport service relatively quickly for paying customers, with passenger travel to follow once regulators and the public get comfortable with the idea.

May 12, 2020

These lava tubes could be the safest place for explorers to live on Mars

Posted by in category: space

The Martian surface is a radiation hot zone. But ancient lava tubes might offer explorers safety from the cosmic bombardment.

May 12, 2020

Scientists show MRI predicts the efficacy of a stem cell therapy for brain injury

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension, neuroscience

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Loma Linda University Health have demonstrated the promise of applying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the efficacy of using human neural stem cells to treat a brain injury—a first-ever “biomarker” for regenerative medicine that could help personalize stem cell treatments for neurological disorders and improve efficacy. The researchers expect to test the findings in a clinical trial evaluating the stem cell therapy in newborns who experience a brain injury during birth called perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HII). The study was published in Cell Reports.

“In order for stem cell therapies to benefit patients, we need to be thoughtful and scientific about who receives these treatments,” says Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at Sanford Burnham Prebys, and corresponding study author. “I am hopeful that MRI, which is already used during the course of care for these newborns, will help ensure that infants who experience HII get the best, most appropriate treatment possible. In the future, MRI could help guide the use of stem cells to treat—or in some instances, not treat—additional disorders such as spinal cord injury and stroke.”

Scientists now understand that, in many instances, human neural stem cells are therapeutic because they can protect living cells—in contrast to “re-animating” or replacing nerve cells that are already dead. As a result, understanding the health of brain tissue prior to a is critical to the treatment’s potential success. Tools that help predict the efficacy of neural stem cell therapy could increase the success of clinical trials, which are ongoing in people with Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury and additional neurological conditions, while also sparing people who will not respond to treatment from an invasive procedure that offers false hope.

May 12, 2020

China fires underwater nuclear missile into spotlight with science prize

Posted by in categories: military, science

The JL-3, which could reach the United States if launched from the Chinese coast, is expected to be used to arm Type 096 submarines.

May 12, 2020

Scientists spot ‘one in a million’ super-Earth

Posted by in category: space

Wish we could go for a visit.