Specific genetic variant may help prevent obesity
From Weill Cornell Medicine 23/12/23 A preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators shows that a specific human genetic variant of a receptor that stimulates insulin release may help individuals be more resistant to obesity. The researchers discovered that this variant behaves differently in the cell which may contribute to more efficient metabolism. The study, […]
AI-powered architecture
From Superinnovators 22/12/23 Associate Professor Carlos Bañón, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), has developed an AI-powered tool that generates different architectural designs from simple inputs. The user specifies the size and location of three squares and AI (Stable Diffusion, ChatGPT 4 and ControlNet) does the rest at 60 frames-per-second, creating various shaped buildings […]
It turns out, this fossil plant is really a fossil baby turtle
From Field Museum 22/12/23 From the 1950s to the 1970s, a Colombian priest named Padre Gustavo Huertas collected rocks and fossils near a town called Villa de Levya. Two of the specimens he found were small, round rocks patterned with lines that looked like leaves; he classified them as a type of fossil plant. But […]
Wasps that recognize faces cooperate more, may be smarter
From Cornell University 22/12/23 A new study of paper wasps suggests social interactions may make animals smarter. The research offers behavioral evidence of an evolutionary link between the ability to recognize individuals and social cooperation. Furthermore, genomic sequencing revealed that populations of wasps that recognized each other – and cooperated more – showed recent adaptations […]
New open-source platform cuts costs for running AI
From Cornell University 22/12/23 Cornell University researchers have released a new, open-source platform called Cascade that can run artificial intelligence models in a way that slashes expenses and energy costs while dramatically improving performance. Cascade is designed for settings like smart traffic intersections, medical diagnostics, equipment servicing using augmented reality, digital agriculture, smart power grids […]
Learning guitar with mixed reality
From Superinnovators 21/12/23 UK-based mixed reality designer & 3D artist Sergei Galkin has developed a prototype mixed reality app to make it easier for people to learn guitar. This follows the release of PianoVision on Meta’s Quest 3 headset in Oct, which aids piano learning through colourful note overlays. Sergei revealed his guitar app in […]
Physicists ‘entangle’ individual molecules for the first time, hastening possibilities for quantum information processing
From Princeton University 20/12/23 For the first time, a team of Princeton physicists have been able to link together individual molecules into special states that are quantum mechanically “entangled.” In these bizarre states, the molecules remain correlated with each other—and can interact simultaneously—even if they are miles apart, or indeed, even if they occupy opposite […]
Soundwaves harden 3D-printed treatments in deep tissues
From Duke University 20/12/23 Engineers at Duke University and Harvard Medical School have developed a bio-compatible ink that solidifies into different 3D shapes and structures by absorbing ultrasound waves. Because it responds to sound waves rather than light, the ink can be used in deep tissues for biomedical purposes ranging from bone healing to heart […]
Ancient stars made extraordinarily heavy elements
From North Carolina State University 20/12/23 How heavy can an element be? An international team of researchers has found that ancient stars were capable of producing elements with atomic masses greater than 260, heavier than any element on the periodic table found naturally on Earth. The finding deepens our understanding of element formation in stars. […]
Wearable Chairless Chair provides seat wherever you go
From Superinnovators 20/12/23 Swiss startup Noonee has developed a wearable leg exoskeleton that fully supports the user in a seated position and allows them to switch between standing, walking and sitting in seconds. The less-than-3kg device is used in many settings such as automotive plants, electronics factories and farms to make manual work more productive […]