MI weekly selection #516

Climate paradox of slashing emissions

While cutting greenhouse gas emissions is necessary for reducing global warming in the long term, it may also lead to rapidly rising temperatures in the short term. R

esearchers studying the emissions reduction during the pandemic show that while air pollution decreased, a lower concentration of aerosols led to a 7% increase in sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface.

Full Story: The Hill

Electrical zaps to the sleeping brain boost memory

Stimulating the brain with electrical pulses during sleep may help strengthen people’s memory. Researchers stimulated the brains of 18 epilepsy patients during non-REM sleep to synchronize the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, resulting in better recall when the participants woke up from sleep.

Full Story: National Public Radio

Hundreds of nonhuman primate genomes sequenced

Two international research teams have sequenced the genomes of more than 200 wild and captive nonhuman primates from mouse lemurs to gorillas. The data could improve efforts to save endangered nonhuman primates, and one of the research teams has already used the genomes to train a machine learning tool to assess the disease-causing potential of human genetic variants.

Full Story: Science

Oldest known Greek archaeological site

Researchers have found the oldest archaeological site in Greece that shifts the country’s known archaeological record back 250,000 years. The site in the southern Peloponnese peninsula contains stone tools that may have been produced by humans’ hominin ancestors roughly 700,000 years ago.

Full Story: The Associated Press

Self-healing skin for robots

Researchers have developed a synthetic skin for robots with multiple layers that can heal itself. “We’ve achieved what we believe to be the first demonstration of a multi-layer, thin film sensor that automatically realigns during healing,” said Christopher Cooper, co-author of the study.

Full Story: Fox News