Thursday 6 June 2019

Evolving neural networks with a linear growth in their behavior complexity

Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are designed to replicate the behavior and evolution of biological organisms while solving computing problems. In recent years, many researchers have developed EAs and used them to tackle a variety of optimization tasks.

* This article was originally published here

Using sensors to improve the interaction between humans and robots walking together

Researchers at the BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant"Anna, Co-Robotics srl and Sheffield Hallam University have recently proposed a new approach to improve interactions between humans and robots as they are walking together. Their paper, published in MDPI's Robotics journal, proposes the use of wearable sensors as a means to improve the collaboration between a human and a robot that are moving around in a shared environment.

* This article was originally published here

Getting your nutrients: From the source or supplements?

(HealthDay)—Americans are making shifts in the supplements they take—fewer multivitamins and vitamins C and E, more fish oil and vitamin D. Many think of supplements as magic bullets, but studies don't always support their supposed benefits.

* This article was originally published here

Q&A: Why you should quit smoking even after a cancer diagnosis

Dear Mayo Clinic: My father, who is 68, just started treatment for bladder cancer. He's been a smoker since his 20s, and his oncologist is strongly encouraging him to quit. It seems like trying to stop smoking now, while he's going through chemotherapy, will just add more stress to a tough situation. Is this really the best time to work on his smoking?

* This article was originally published here

60 years vs. 90 years: A new analysis calls Chicago's life-expectancy gap the largest in the US

In the gleaming Streeterville neighborhood, Chicagoans live to be 90 years old, on average.

* This article was originally published here

Is sex primarily a strategy against transmissible cancer?

One of the greatest enigmas of evolutionary biology is that while sex is the dominant mode of reproduction among multicellular organisms, asexual reproduction appears much more efficient and less costly. However, in a study publishing on June 6 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, researchers suggest that sexual reproduction is favored by selection because, unlike asexual reproduction, it not only provides important evolutionary advantages in constantly changing environments, but also prevents the invasion of transmissible cancer, or "cheater" cells.

* This article was originally published here

Study shows how the nervous system can transmit information across multiple generations

Nematodes, worms found in virtually all environmental habitats, are among the most studied model organisms. They reproduce quickly and their genome contains nearly the same number of genes as the human genome.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers develop fast, efficient way to build amino acid chains

Scientists often build new protein molecules by stringing groups of amino acids together. These amino acid chains, called polypeptides, are the building blocks needed in drug development and the creation of new biomaterials.

* This article was originally published here

Floating power plants

Paper, tin cans, glass—the world recycles as much as possible. So why not declare the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) a recycling product as well? Liquid fuels based on carbon will continue to play an important role in the future—despite international efforts to reduce them. So it seems sensible to recover the CO2 exhaust from the environment and use it again.

* This article was originally published here

Neurons' 'antennae' are unexpectedly active in neural computation

Most neurons have many branching extensions called dendrites that receive input from thousands of other neurons. Dendrites aren't just passive information-carriers, however. According to a new study from MIT, they appear to play a surprisingly large role in neurons' ability to translate incoming signals into electrical activity.

* This article was originally published here

A complete set of energy level positions of all primary metal-halide perovskites

Metal-halide perovskites form a popular class of materials with intriguing optoelectronic properties. A fundamental understanding of the variations in the energy levels positions, as a function of the materials composition, is missing, however. Researchers from the TU/e and the University of Cologne have developed a new methodology to determine the absolute energy level positions of all primary perovskites, and provide explanations for the variations in these positions.

* This article was originally published here

No evidence of legacy effect seen for intensive glucose lowering

(HealthDay)—There seems to be no evidence of a legacy effect or mortality benefit for intensive glucose control among military veterans with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the June 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

* This article was originally published here

Many plant species at risk of extinction—and we're blind to danger this poses to life on Earth

Up to 1 million species may go extinct due to human activity according to a recent report, some within decades. We all know the mammals in trouble—polar bears, giant pandas and snow leopards—but how many of us could name an endangered plant? A 2019 report assessed 28,000 plant species and concluded that about half of them were threatened with extinction.

* This article was originally published here

Feeling heat on the roof of the world

The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the "roof of the world," is getting hotter. This process is especially fast in places marked by retreating snow, according to new research by scientists from the University of Portsmouth and the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ITPCAS).

* This article was originally published here

Surprising enzymes found in giant ocean viruses

A new study led by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Swansea University Medical School furthers our knowledge of viruses—in the sea and on land— and their potential to cause life-threatening illnesses. Their findings, which examine newly-identified genes carried by mysterious "giant" viruses, could represent potential new drug targets for giant viruses linked to human diseases. The work published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

* This article was originally published here

Opioid maker Insys agrees to pay $225 million over bribes

Insys Therapeutics has agreed to pay $225 million to settle criminal and civil probes of its unlawful marketing of an opioid painkiller, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

* This article was originally published here