Nature’s squinting: Urban light pollution linked to smaller eyes in birds
From Washington State University 21/09/23 The bright lights of big cities could be causing an evolutionary adaptation for smaller eyes in some birds, a new study indicates. Researchers found that two common songbirds, the Northern Cardinal and Carolina Wren, that live year-round in the urban core of San Antonio, Texas, had eyes about 5% smaller […]
Fire in their tiny feet: Chemical fuel combustion powers bug-sized robots that leap
From Cornell University 21/09/23 Cornell researchers combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion and can outrace, outlift, outflex and outleap its electric-driven competitors. The group’s paper, “Powerful, Soft Combustion Actuators for Insect-Scale Robots,” was published Sept. 14 in Science. The lead author is postdoctoral […]
Mapping affection: Where in the body do we feel love?
From Aalto University 21/09/23 Researchers at Aalto University have made a map of where in the body different types of love are felt and how strongly they are experienced. ‘It was noteworthy, though not very surprising, that the types of love associated with close relationships are similar and are the most strongly experienced,’ says philosopher […]
Sonic aim: Sound-activated cancer drugs to reduce healthy cell collateral damage
From California Institute of Technology 21/09/23 Chemotherapy as a treatment for cancer is one of the major medical success stories of the 20th century, but it’s far from perfect. Anyone who has been through chemotherapy or who has had a friend or loved one go through it will be familiar with its many side effects: […]
Does a brain in a dish have moral rights?
From Cortical Labs 20/09/23 No longer limited to the realm of science fiction, bio-computing is here, so now is the time to start considering how to research and apply this technology responsibly, an international group of experts says. The inventors of DishBrain have partnered with bioethicists and medical researchers to map such a framework to […]
Itching for data: Sensor measures scratching intensity to help improve eczema treatments
From Carnegie Mellon University 20/09/23 Akhil Padmanabha knows about itching. His chronic itching caused by severe eczema was so debilitating that he was hospitalized twice and had to be home-schooled during most of his high school years. Itch so impacted his life that, as an undergraduate, he contemplated becoming a psychologist so he could help […]
Blossoming movement: Dynamic plants inspire artificial actuators
From Tsinghua University Press 20/09/23 Scientists are looking to plant tissues that are capable of motion to inspire the design and fabrication of artificial actuators. These bioinspired actuators hold significant potential in applications, such as soft robotics, prosthetics, and smart biomedical devices. A research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has published a perspective […]
Tall buildings could be built quicker and more cheaply if damping models were correct
From University of Bristol 20/09/23 Multi-storey buildings are assembled over cautiously to withstand wind strengths, researchers have found. This is because there are several difficulties in estimating damping – the method of removing energy in order to control vibratory motion like noise and mechanical oscillation, accurately in high-rise buildings. The findings, published today in the […]
Tiny sea creatures reveal the ancient origins of neurons
From Center for Genomic Regulation 20/09/23 A study in the journal Cell sheds new light on the evolution of neurons, focusing on the placozoans, a millimetre-sized marine animal. Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona find evidence that specialized secretory cells found in these unique and ancient creatures may have given rise to […]
Novel stretchable miniature antenna could make wearable devices more compact
From Optica 19/09/23 Researchers have developed a new method for making tiny stretchable antennas from a hydrogel and liquid metal. The antennas could be used in wearable and flexible wireless electronic devices to provide a link between the device and external systems for power delivery, data processing and communication. “Using our new fabrication approach, we […]