Tuesday 18 June 2019

Now your phone can become a robot that does the boring work

If any factory worker could program low-cost robots, then more factories could actually use robotics to increase worker productivity.

* This article was originally published here

Another climate change threat: More 'flesh-eating' bacteria?

(HealthDay)—A flesh-eating bacteria has migrated into the Delaware Bay between Delaware and New Jersey, drawn north by the warmer waters of climate change, doctors say.

* This article was originally published here

Study reveals new genetic link to heart disease

A collaboration involving the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the German Heart Center Munich, AstraZeneca, and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has demonstrated that more than 30 percent of heart disease risk stems from genetic factors, much more than was previously understood. The study findings, published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, introduce the biology of gene networks as a means to better understand the heritability and genetic underpinnings of heart disease.

* This article was originally published here

'Self-healing' polymer brings perovskite solar tech closer to market

A protective layer of epoxy resin helps prevent the leakage of pollutants from perovskite solar cells (PSCs), according to scientists from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST). Adding a "self-healing" polymer to the top of a PSC can radically reduce how much lead it discharges into the environment. This gives a strong boost to prospects for commercializing the technology.

* This article was originally published here

Wearable device reveals how seals prepare for diving

A wearable non-invasive device based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used to investigate blood volume and oxygenation patterns in freely diving marine mammals, according to a study publishing June 18 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by J. Chris McKnight of the University of St. Andrews, and colleagues. The results provide new insights into how voluntarily diving seals distribute blood and manage the oxygen supply to their brains and blubber, yielding important information about the basic physiological patterns associated with diving.

* This article was originally published here

US air quality is slipping after years of improvement

After decades of improvement, America's air may not be getting any cleaner.

* This article was originally published here

With virtual money, Facebook bets on disrupting the world, again

Facebook's ambitious plan for a virtual currency has the potential to disrupt the way people store, spend and send money and open up new business opportunities for the world's leading social network.

* This article was originally published here

A new manufacturing process for aluminum alloys

An advanced manufacturing process to produce nano structured rods and tubes directly from high-performance aluminum alloy powder—in a single step—was recently demonstrated by researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

* This article was originally published here

Does the gas in galaxy clusters flow like honey?

We have seen intricate patterns that milk makes in coffee and much smoother ones that honey makes when stirred with a spoon. Which of these cases best describes the behavior of the hot gas in galaxy clusters? By answering this question, a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has deepened our understanding of galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity.

* This article was originally published here