Monday 3 June 2019

Downpours of torrential rain more frequent with global warming

The frequency of downpours of heavy rain—which can lead to flash floods, devastation, and outbreaks of waterborne disease—has increased across the globe in the past 50 years, research led by the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has found.

* This article was originally published here

Younger gout patients have higher odds for blood clots

Older age raises the odds of many ills, but for adults with gout, it's the younger ones who have the highest risk for developing a serious blood clot, new research indicates.

* This article was originally published here

Shared control allows a robot to use two hands working together to complete tasks

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin and the Naval Research Laboratory has designed and built a robotic system that allows for bimanual robot manipulation through shared control. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group explains the ideas behind their work and how well they worked in practice.

* This article was originally published here

Research group finds way to turn plastic waste products into jet fuel

A research group led by Washington State University scientists has found a way to turn daily plastic waste products into jet fuel.

* This article was originally published here

Only few hundred training samples bring human-sounding speech in Microsoft TTS feat

Microsoft Research Asia has been drawing applause for pulling off text to speech requiring little training—and showing "incredibly" realistic results.

* This article was originally published here

W3C and WHATWG agreement: Single version of HTML, DOM specifications

Having two separate HTML specifications? What's up with that? Stephen Shankland's account of the two in CNET: "for nearly a decade, two separate groups have been issuing separate documents to define Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML, the standard that tells you how to make a web page."

* This article was originally published here

An AI taught itself to play a video game and now it's beating humans

Since the earliest days of virtual chess and solitaire, video games have been a playing field for developing artificial intelligence (AI). Each victory of machine against human has helped make algorithms smarter and more efficient. But in order to tackle real world problems—such as automating complex tasks including driving and negotiation—these algorithms must navigate more complex environments than board games, and learn teamwork. Teaching AI how to work and interact with other players to succeed had been an insurmountable task—until now.

* This article was originally published here

'Law as Data' explores radical leap for legal analysis

Four thousand years ago, human societies underwent a fundamental transition when the rules governing how people interact shifted from oral custom to written laws: first captured in stone tablets such as the Code of Hammurabi, then migrating to scrolls and eventually printed law books. In recent years, the law has leaped from the analog to the digital, breaking out of the law library and onto any computer, tablet, or phone with an internet connection. This shift has the potential to radically revise how law is experienced, practiced, and studied.

* This article was originally published here

Team develops new method to gauge atmosphere's ability to clear methane, a potent greenhouse gas

New research by UMBC's Glenn Wolfe and collaborators is shaping how scientists understand the fate of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in Earth's atmosphere.

* This article was originally published here

The dangers of being a people-pleaser

(HealthDay)—Being thoughtful and caring are great qualities to have, but if you go out of your way to get people to like you, you could be a people-pleaser, with unfortunate consequences for your own well-being.

* This article was originally published here

Exotic pets can become pests with risk of invasion

A large proportion of successful vertebrate invasions can be traced to the global exotic pet trade. However, surprisingly little is known about the economic, social, and ecological factors that shape the trade and how they influence the establishment of self-sustaining populations of non-native species.

* This article was originally published here

Hydrogen-power electric flying vehicle: Long road to liftoff

A transportation company is betting its sleek new hydrogen-powered electric flying vehicles will someday serve as taxis, cargo carriers and ambulances of the sky, but experts say they will have to clear a number of regulatory hurdles before being approved for takeoff years in the future.

* This article was originally published here