Page 20 - Robert Lea News Today

Moving from the Lab to the Mainstream - Microsofts Machine-Learning Tool Image Credit: Microsoft Reinforced Learning systems are ready to make the jump from the research bench to real-world applications. Wondering why you are still seeing advertisements for holidays in your browser during a global pandemic? Its because most companies that place ads generally use traditional Machine Learning (ML) models that make predictions based on past behaviors. Thus, when the temperature drops, these models...

Image Credit: Princeton University What started as a happy accident and an odd measurement could lead to a new, cost-effective way of measuring fluid flow.  Often the course of science doesn’t run smooth and happy accidents can lead to major findings and discoveries. From Michelson and Morley’s failure to detect the ether  —  a mysterious substance through which light was thought to propagate  —  arose Einstein’s theory of special relativity, for example. That’s a lesson t...

Traces of Martian Mineral Found in Antarctic Ice Image Credit: Juergen Schwab/Shutterstock.com Whilst the discovery of jarosite helped confirm that Mars once possessed surface waters, how the mineral got there was a mystery. The answer could lie deep beneath the surface of the Antarctic ice.  Traces of a mineral rarely found on Earth have been discovered deep within the ice of the Antarctic. The finding could indicate why the mineral is common on the surface of Mars as its formation on Earth c...

How AI-powered ‘Puff Technology’ can Help Smokers Quit Image Credit: Kurylo Sofiya / Shutterstock.com New research will observe how smokers use e-cigarettes and help them quit smoking using newly developed ‘puff technology.’  Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK launched a new study¹ this week to help understand the smoking habits of e-cigarette users. The research will be used to develop an artificial intelligence program that could be used to help smokers qui...

3D Printing Bone-Like Structures that Contain Living Cells Image Credit: University of New South Wales A novel technique could lead to 3D printed bones that provide a more natural and less intrusive alternative to bone grafts. Bone breakage and loss through illness is not uncommon. Currently, we deal with these things by performing bone grafts, but this process requires taking a section from another bone, cutting it to fit in place, and holding it steady with metal plates and scaffolding that ...

The Link Between Air Pollution and Irreversible Sight Loss Image Credit: Tatiana Grozetskaya / Shutterstock.com A new study points towards an association between small particle pollution and age-related macular degeneration. An increased risk of progressive and irreversible sight loss through age-related macular degeneration (AMD) could arise from air pollution, in particular, from small particulate matter suggests a large study¹ recently conducted in the UK.  Whilst previous research had lin...

Pointing Graphene Nanochannel Water Filters in the Right Direction Image Credit: SedovaY / Shutterstock.com New research indicates that a novel method of fabricating graphene stacks could greatly benefit water filtration.  The spaces that form when sheets of nanomaterials like graphene  —  layers of single atoms  —  are stacked atop each other have been utilized by scientists in a wide range of applications. One of the potential uses for such gaps  —  more formally known as n...

The Development of a Facemask Sensor that can Detect COVID-19 The team from UC San Diego is working on a color-changing testing strip that can detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the users saliva or even breath. Image Credit: UC San Diego Researchers from the University of California San Diego are in the process of developing a new sensor to help the fight against COVID-19. The team is working on a color-changing testing strip that can detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the users saliva or even breath...

The Devastating Effect that Wildfires have on Air Quality Image Credit: SvetlanaSF / Shutterstock.com Driven by climate change, wildfires are on the rise. New studies highlight the burden of such events on communities and human health.  Wildfire activity is on the rise across the globe due to the continuing effects of global warming. The joint warmest year on record, 2020, was a year of wildfires thanks to dry conditions and droughts, driven by climate change, with over 45 million acres of l...

New Perovskite Sensor Mimics the Human Eye Image Credit: CG Alex / Shutterstock.com A newly developed retinomorphic sensor that operates like the mammalian eye could help change the way computer processors operate.  One thing has always eluded programmers and engineers; the ability to build a computer that thinks like a human brain. A new type of sensor that processes information like the human eye could hold the key to this computing breakthrough, speeding up information processing and cuttin...