An artificial sensory system that is able to recognize fine textures—such as twill, corduroy and wool—with a high resolution, similar to a human finger, is reported in a Nature Communications paper. The findings may help improve the subtle tactile sensation abilities of robots and human limb prosthetics and could be applied to virtual reality in the future, the [...]
A coronavirus uses protein "spikes" to grab and infect cells. Despite their name, those spikes aren't stiff and pointy. They're shaped like chicken drumsticks with the meaty part facing out, and the meaty part can tilt every which way on its slender stalk. That ability to tilt, it turns out, affects how successfully the [...]
“The singularity,” the moment where AI is no longer under human control, is less than a decade away—according to one AI expert. More resources than ever are being poured into the pursuit of artificial general intelligence and speeding the growth of AI. Development of AI is also coming from a variety of sectors, pushing [...]
Liquid metals could be the long-awaited solution to "greening" the chemical industry, according to researchers who tested a new technique they hope can replace energy-intensive chemical engineering processes harking back to the early 20th century. Chemical production accounts for approximately 10–15% of total greenhouse gas emissions. More than 10% of world's total energy is [...]
Chemists discover the structures of open and closed states of the channel, which could help the development of antiviral drugs to reduce inflammation. MIT researchers have discovered the open structure of the SARS-CoV-2 E channel, complementing their previous findings on its closed state. This research could aid in developing antiviral drugs to block the channel and reduce [...]
The School of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) found that 55% of the patients who sought medical treatment from the HKBU Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Center Against COVID-19 during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to experience at least one long COVID symptom for six months to a year after [...]
News flash: The Digital Age is over. As we transition from the era of digital domination, where technology led the march of progress, we are entering a fundamentally different epoch. This new era—the Cognitive Age—pivots on a central, transformative theme: The essence of being human—our thoughts, our consciousness, our very cognitive processes—are becoming the [...]
Electrons move through a conducting material like commuters at the height of Manhattan rush hour. The charged particles may jostle and bump against each other, but for the most part, they're unconcerned with other electrons as they hurtle forward, each with their own energy. But when a material's electrons are trapped together, they can settle [...]
A large Australian team led by Monash University has devised a new approach to killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria using lipid nanoparticles that target specific layers on the surface of the bacterial cell. Research published in the journal Small has demonstrated that antibacterial lipids can be successfully used in combination with nanocarrier lipids to form nanoparticles that kill gram-negative bacteria. [...]
Most cancers become deadly by maintaining a low profile, only showing symptoms when they’re too advanced to treat. Ovarian and gastroesophageal cancers are among the most notorious for this sly disease progression, often leading to late-stage diagnoses. Now an international team of researchers, including from The Rockefeller University’s Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology, have [...]
