How neural network guides autonomous car’s turns An autonomous car was trained to negotiate high-speed turns without losing control. A neural network based on more than 200,000 motion samples of driving on various surfaces at high speeds was used in the self-driving system. New Scientist Cassini dive helps shed light on Saturn’s ring moons The […]
Sun bears communicate via facial mimicry Sun bears communicate by mimicking each other’s facial expressions, a practice long thought to occur only in species with complex social systems. “Other primates and dogs are known to mimic each other, but only great apes and humans were previously known to show such complexity in their facial mimicry,” […]
Hormonal birth control failure might be due to genetic mutation The reason hormonal birth control methods aren’t 100% effective, even in compliant patients, may be due to a genetic mutation in some women. Researchers say about 5% of women are genetically predisposed to produce an enzyme that lessens the effectiveness of hormonal birth control. Wired […]
Photo captures merging shock waves made by jets Merging shock waves created by the supersonic speeds of two Air Force jets can be seen for the first time in photos taken by NASA. A plane flying over the two T-38 planes snapped the photos using air-to-air schlieren photographic technology. Live Science Optical laser probe can […]
Ocean warming threatens fish populations Warming ocean temperatures due to climate change helped reduce the amount of seafood that could be sustainably caught between 1930 and 2010 by 4.1% worldwide. In some regions, such as the Sea of Japan and the northeast Atlantic, the decline is more dramatic — as much as 35%, researchers say […]
Large-scale testing of biotech mosquitoes begins Italy-based scientists have begun large-scale testing of biotech mosquitoes in a controlled laboratory that mimics their natural environment. The biotech mosquitoes have the doublesex gene mutation, resulting in malformed reproductive organs that prevent female mosquitoes from laying eggs and mouths more like those of male mosquitoes that are incapable […]
Mode of delivery may affect breast milk’s bacterial composition Canadian researchers found that pumped breast milk had reduced levels of healthy bifidobacteria and elevated levels of some infection-causing bacteria, such as Pseudomonadaceae and Stenotrophomonas, compared with directly breastfed milk. Health Day Honeybees’ brains tracked while navigating VR maze Researchers got a glimpse into honeybee brains […]
Reef fish may know it’s seeing its reflection in mirror A coral reef fish may be able to recognize itself in a mirror. After researchers injected a colored dye on the throats of bluestreak cleaner wrasses and placed them in a mirrored tank, the fish appeared to try to scrape the mark off after seeing […]
Ginger molecules may boost growth of beneficial gut bacteria Molecules found in ginger may help beneficial gut bacteria grow. An increase in such bacteria was observed in mice fed ginger-derived nanoparticles. The Scientist Curiosity’s accelerometers help measure Mount Sharp’s density Accelerometers aboard the Mars rover Curiosity that are used to collect data about the machine […]
Brain responds to rocking during sleep with improved memory A rocking motion may help people sleep better and improve their memory by influencing their brains’ sleep oscillations. “Our volunteers — even if they were all good sleepers — fell asleep more rapidly when rocked and had longer periods of deeper sleep associated with fewer arousals […]