systems

Artificial intelligence is providing new opportunities in a range of fields, from business to industrial design to entertainment. But how about civil engineering and city planning? How might machine- and deep-learning help us create safer, more sustainable, and resilient built environments? A team of researchers from the NSF NHERI SimCenter, a computational modeling and … [Read more...] about Envisioning safer cities with AI: Researchers use crowdsourced data, neural networks, and supercomputers to simulate risks to cities and regions

The rhythmic motions of hair-like cilia move liquids around cells or propel the cells themselves. In nature, cilia flap independently, and mimicking these movements with artificial materials requires complex mechanisms. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have made artificial cilia that move in a wave-like fashion when a rotating magnetic field … [Read more...] about Magnetically propelled cilia power climbing soft robots and microfluidic pumps

Due to climate change, the average global temperature will rise in the coming decades. This should also significantly increase the number of so-called cooling degree days. These measure the number of hours, in which the ambient temperature is above a certain threshold, at which a building must be cooled to keep the indoor temperature at a comfortable level. The rising values … [Read more...] about Rising energy demand for cooling: Keeping it cool despite climate change

An artificial intelligence (AI) program accurately predicts the risk that lung nodules detected on screening CT will become cancerous, according to a study published in the journal Radiology. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with an estimated 1.8 million deaths in 2020, according to the World Health Organization. Low-dose chest CT is used to screen … [Read more...] about AI predicts lung cancer risk

Within the next decade, the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 could become little more than a nuisance, causing no more than common cold-like coughs and sniffles. That possible future is predicted by mathematical models that incorporate lessons learned from the current pandemic on how our body's immunity changes over time. Scientists at the University of Utah carried … [Read more...] about Will COVID-19 eventually become just a seasonal nuisance? Scientists model possible COVID-19 futures

A new software tool developed by Earlham Institute researchers will help bioinformaticians improve the quality and accuracy of their biological data, and avoid mis-assemblies. The fast, lightweight, user-friendly tool visualises genome assemblies and gene alignments from the latest next generation sequencing technologies. Called Alvis, the new visualisation tool examines … [Read more...] about When one become two: Separating DNA for more accurate nanopore analysis

Using a robotic 'Third Thumb' can impact how the hand is represented in the brain, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The team trained people to use a robotic extra thumb and found they could effectively carry out dextrous tasks, like building a tower of blocks, with one hand (now with two thumbs). The researchers report in the journal Science Robotics that participants … [Read more...] about Robotic ‘Third Thumb’ use can alter brain representation of the hand

Most able-bodied people take their ability to perform simple daily tasks for granted -- when they reach for a warm mug of coffee, they can feel its weight and temperature and adjust their grip accordingly so that no liquid is spilled. People with full sensory and motor control of their arms and hands can feel that they've made contact with an object the instant they touch or … [Read more...] about Brain stimulation evoking sense of touch improves control of robotic arm

The University of Kent's School of Physical Sciences, in collaboration with the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Universities of Cardiff, Durham and Leeds, have developed an algorithm to train computers to analyse signals from subatomic particles embedded in advanced electronic materials. The particles, called muons, are produced in large particle … [Read more...] about Algorithm to see inside materials with subatomic particles

A branch of artificial intelligence (AI), called machine learning, can accurately predict the risk of an out of hospital cardiac arrest -- when the heart suddenly stops beating -- using a combination of timing and weather data, finds research published online in the journal Heart. Machine learning is the study of computer algorithms, and based on the idea that systems can learn … [Read more...] about Machine learning (AI) accurately predicts cardiac arrest risk: Model combines timing and weather data