Engineers develop breakthrough 'robot skin'

Smart, stretchable and highly sensitive, a new soft sensor opens the door to a wide range of applications in robotics and prosthetics. When applied to the surface of a prosthetic arm or a robotic limb, the sensor skin provides touch sensitivity and dexterity, enabling tasks that can be difficult for machines such as picking up a piece of soft fruit. The sensor is also soft to the touch, like human skin, which helps make human interactions safer and more lifelike.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231026131623.htm

8,000 steps a day to reduce the risk of premature death

An international study has identified for the first time the optimal number of steps at which most people obtain the greatest benefits, and also shows that the pace at which you walk provides additional benefits.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231026131551.htm

Membrane transporter ensures mobility of sperm cells

Special proteins -- known as membrane transporters -- are key to the mobility of sperm cells. A research team has, with the aid of cryo-electron microscopy, succeeded in decoding the structure of such a transporter and its mechanism. These findings will enable a better understanding of the molecular foundations of reproductive capacity and could, in the long term, contribute to developing new approaches to treating fertility disorders and new methods of specific contraception.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231026131548.htm

Vision via sound for the blind

Smart glasses that use a technique similar to a bat's echolocation could help blind and low-vision people navigate their surroundings, according to researchers.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231025223433.htm

Can AI grasp related concepts after learning only one?

Researchers have now developed a technique that advances the ability of these tools, such as ChatGPT, to make compositional generalizations. This technique, Meta-learning for Compositionality, outperforms existing approaches and is on par with, and in some cases better than, human performance.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231025163006.htm

Massive space explosion observed creating elements needed for life

Scientists have observed the creation of rare chemical elements in the second-brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen -- casting new light on how heavy elements are made.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231025162946.htm

New clues to early development of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disease that remains poorly understood and treated. Schizophrenia onset is typically in adolescence or early adulthood, but its underlying causes are thought to involve neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Because human prenatal and postnatal brain tissue is exceedingly difficult to procure and therefore study, researchers have had limited opportunities to identify early disease mechanisms, especially during the critical prenatal period. Now, a pair of studies use new technology to study schizophrenia in models of early human brain development.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231024234052.htm

Scalable production technique for low-calorie sugar substitute

Scientists have discovered a new route to produce the low-calorie sugar allulose (D-psicose) at lower cost with high yield.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231024234043.htm

Climate report: 'Uncharted territory' imperils life on Earth

An international coalition of climate scientists says that the Earth's vital signs have worsened beyond anything humans have yet seen, to the point that life on the planet is imperiled.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231024110647.htm

Finding the genes that help kingfishers dive without hurting their brains

Scientists studied the genomes of 30 kingfisher species to try to identify the genes that allow kingfishers to dive headfirst into water without huring their brains. The researchers found that the diving birds have unusual mutations to the genes that produce tau: a protein that helps stabilize tiny structures in the brain, but which can build up in humans with traumatic brain injuries or Alzheimer's disease. The researchers suspect that these variations in the kingfishers' tau proteins might protect their brains when they dive.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231024110612.htm

Cathode active materials for lithium-ion batteries could be produced at low temperatures

Layered lithium cobalt oxide, a key component of lithium-ion batteries, has been synthesized at temperatures as low as 300°C and durations as short as 30 minutes.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231023222259.htm

How to slow the spread of deadly 'superbugs'

Harnessing new advances in genomic surveillance technology could help detect the rise of deadly 'superbugs'.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231023194631.htm

Superdeep diamonds provide a window on supercontinent growth

Diamonds contain evidence of the mantle rocks that helped buoy and grow the ancient supercontinent Gondwana from below, according to new research. These findings demonstrate that superdeep diamonds can provide a window through space and time into the supercontinent growth and formation process.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231023185456.htm

Researchers probe how a piece of the moon became a near-Earth asteroid

Two years after the striking discovery that a near-Earth asteroid could be a chunk of the moon, another UArizona research group has found that a rare pathway could have enabled this to happen.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231023185445.htm

Climate is increasing risk of high toxin concentrations in Northern US lakes

As climate change warms the Earth, higher-latitude regions will be at greater risk for toxins produced by algal blooms, according to new research. The findings identify water temperatures of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius (68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit) as being at the greatest risk for developing dangerous levels of a common algae-produced toxin called microcystin.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231023124427.htm

Increased West Antarctic Ice Sheet melting 'unavoidable'

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet will continue to increase its rate of melting over the rest of the century, no matter how much we reduce fossil fuel use, according to new research. A substantial acceleration in ice melting likely cannot now be avoided, which implies that Antarctica's contribution to sea level rise could increase rapidly over the coming decades.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231023123815.htm

Contaminants in cannabis and hemp flowers create potential for health risks

Cannabis use, even for medical purposes, could make some people sick due to harmful fungi that contaminate the plants. That is the finding of a recently published peer-reviewed journal article, whose authors recommend further study and consideration of changes to regulations to protect consumers, especially those who are immunocompromised. They examined data, previous studies, and U.S. and international regulations related to the cannabis and hemp industry.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231020182041.htm

Ancient sea monster remains reveal oldest mega-predatory pliosaur

The fossils of a 170-million-year-old ancient marine reptile from the Age of Dinosaurs have been identified as the oldest-known mega-predatory pliosaur -- a group of ocean-dwelling reptiles closely related to the famous long-necked plesiosaurs. The findings are rare and add new knowledge to the evolution of plesiosaurs.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231020182030.htm

Astronomers detect most distant fast radio burst to date

An international team has spotted a remote blast of cosmic radio waves lasting less than a millisecond. This 'fast radio burst' (FRB) is the most distant ever detected. Its source was pinned down by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in a galaxy so far away that its light took eight billion years to reach us. The FRB is also one of the most energetic ever observed; in a tiny fraction of a second it released the equivalent of our Sun's total emission over 30 years.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231019151830.htm

Wearable device makes memories and powers up with the flex of a finger

Researchers have invented an experimental wearable device that generates power from a user's bending finger and can create and store memories, in a promising step towards health monitoring and other technologies.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231018230932.htm