Computers

The friendship paradox is the observation that the degrees of the neighbors of a node within any network will, on average, be greater than the degree of the node itself. In other words: your friends probably have more friends than you do. While the standard framing of the friendship paradox is essentially about averages, significant variations occur too. In the Journal of … [Read more...] about Applying mathematics takes ‘friendship paradox’ beyond averages

Many modern fitness trackers and smartwatches feature integrated LEDs. The green light emitted, whether continuous or pulsed, penetrates the skin and can be used to measure the wearer's heart rate during physical activity or while at rest. These watches have become extremely popular. A team of ETH researchers now wants to capitalise on that popularity by using the LEDs to … [Read more...] about Controlling insulin production with a smartwatch

The impact of deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) for radiation cancer therapy in a real-world clinical setting has been tested by Princess Margaret researchers in a unique study involving physicians and their patients. A team of researchers directly compared physician evaluations of radiation treatments generated by an AI machine learning (ML) algorithm to conventional … [Read more...] about AI outperforms humans in creating cancer treatments, but do doctors trust it?

Graphene may be among the most exciting scientific discoveries of the last century. While it is strikingly familiar to us -- graphene is considered an allotrope of carbon, meaning that it essentially the same substance as graphite but in a different atomic structure -- graphene also opened up a new world of possibilities for designing and building new technologies. The material … [Read more...] about Using HPC and experiment, researchers continue to refine graphene production

A team led by Carnegie's Thomas Shiell and Timothy Strobel developed a new method for synthesizing a novel crystalline form of silicon with a hexagonal structure that could potentially be used to create next-generation electronic and energy devices with enhanced properties that exceed those of the "normal" cubic form of silicon used today. Their work is published in Physical … [Read more...] about New form of silicon could enable next-gen electronic and energy devices: Novel crystalline form of silicon could potentially be used to create next-generation electronic and energy devices

Like all metals, silver, copper, and gold are conductors. Electrons flow across them, carrying heat and electricity. While gold is a good conductor under any conditions, some materials have the property of behaving like metal conductors only if temperatures are high enough; at low temperatures, they act like insulators and do not do a good job of carrying electricity. In other … [Read more...] about Magnetism drives metals to insulators in new experiment: Study provides new tools to probe novel spintronic devices

Physicists in Israel have created a quantum interferometer on an atom chip. This device can be used to explore the fundamentals of quantum theory by studying the interference pattern between two beams of atoms. University of Groningen physicist, Anupam Mazumdar, describes how the device could be adapted to use mesoscopic particles instead of atoms. This modification would allow … [Read more...] about An atom chip interferometer that could detect quantum gravity

Stanford University computer science graduate student Mackenzie Leake has been quilting since age 10, but she never imagined the craft would be the focus of her doctoral dissertation. Included in that work is new prototype software that can facilitate pattern-making for a form of quilting called foundation paper piecing, which involves using a backing made of foundation paper … [Read more...] about New algorithm for modern quilting

You would not be surprised to see an elephant in the savanna or a plate in your kitchen. Based on your prior experiences and knowledge, you know that is where elephants and plates are often to be found. If you saw a mysterious object in your kitchen, how would you figure out what it was? You would rely on your expectations or prior knowledge. Should a computer approach the … [Read more...] about Let’s talk about the elephant in the data

North Carolina State University researchers have developed a computer simulation tool to predict when and where pests and diseases will attack crops or forests, and also test when to apply pesticides or other management strategies to contain them. "It's like having a bunch of different Earths to experiment on to test how something will work before spending the time, money and … [Read more...] about Researchers design simulation tool to predict disease, pest spread