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In the modern day, our interactions with voice-based devices and services continue to increase. In this light, researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology and RIKEN, Japan, have performed a meta-synthesis to understand how we perceive and interact with the voice (and the body) of various machines. Their findings have generated insights into human preferences, and can be used by engineers and designers to develop future vocal technologies.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo integrated a mobility-enhanced field-effect transistor and ferroelectric capacitor to reduce the energy required by machine learning computation. Both elements contained tin-doped indium gallium zinc oxide, which can be included in the 'back end of line' layers of integrated circuits. The proximity that this made possible is expected to contribute to high-density, energy-efficient computing for future AI applications.

Corruption is pervasive, but we know little about its effects on individual lives. Using individual-level data from 28 post-communist countries, researchers demonstrated that bribing for public services worsens self-assessed health.

Giving a new spin to conventional chemical synthesis, a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a way to automate the production of small molecules suitable for pharmaceutical use. The method can potentially be used for molecules that are typically produced via manual processes, thereby reducing the manpower required.

Lithium metal batteries comprising lithium anodes hold much promise in replacing conventional lithium-ion batteries due to their high theoretical capacity but suffer from poor cycling performance due to undesirable side reactions. Now, Korean researchers have worked around the problem with engineered lithium metal powder pre-planted with lithium nitride (LN-LMP), reporting a surpassing cycling performance for an LN-LMP-based electrode and paving the way for their commercialization.

An odor-based test that sniffs out vapors emanating from blood samples was able to distinguish between benign and pancreatic and ovarian cancer cells with up to 95% accuracy.

Concussions can have serious consequences for toddlers. A Montreal research team has developed a tool to detect them in children who do not yet speak or have a limited vocabulary.

In a recent study, Australian scientists used an original approach to resolve the 3D structure of flaviviruses with an unprecedented level of detail, identifying small molecules known as 'pocket factors' as new therapeutic targets.

Policymakers have looked for ways to get more health care provides to provide outpatient medication management to people battling opioid use disorder. A new study finds that most prescriptions for the drug buprenorphine, used to treat opioid use disorder, are written by a small number of the health care providers.

It might seem like a given than mothers take extra risks to protect their children, but have you ever wondered why? A new study led by Kumi Kuroda at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan shows that in mice, this and other nurturing behaviors are driven in part by neurons in a small part of the forebrain that contain a protein called the calcitonin receptor. The study was published in Cell Reports.

A new discovery in Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive and often fatal childhood cancer, has uncovered the potential to prevent cancer cells from spreading beyond their primary tumour site. Researchers with the University of British Columbia and BC Cancer have learned that Ewing sarcoma cells--and likely other types of cancer cells--are able to develop a shield that protects them from the harsh environment of the bloodstream and other locations as they search for a new place to settle, or metastasize.

Scientists at Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) in Japan have developed a technology that produces high-resolution simulations of one of the basic units of our genomes, called the nucleosome. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Protocols and should help improve understanding of how changes in nucleosome folding influence the inner workings of genes.

In a study that will be published in Nature Communications on May 28, 2021, a research team led by Dr. Yuan Liu from Georgia State University reports that intratumoral SIRPalpha-deficient macrophages activate tumor antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells to eliminate various syngeneic cancers under radiotherapy. Their study identifies SIRPalpha as a master regulator controling macrophage immune responses and has demonstrated that intratumoral injection of SIRPalpha-depleted macrophages combined with local radiation is an effective strategy to treat different tumors

Press materials are now available for NUTRITION 2021 LIVE ONLINE, a dynamic virtual event showcasing new research findings and timely discussions on food and nutrition. The online meeting will be held June 7-10, 2021.

A new measure of brain health developed by researchers at Rush University Medical Center may offer a novel approach to identifying individuals at risk of memory and thinking problems, according to research results published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association on June 1, 2021.

Biologists led by the University of Iowa discovered an invasive species of snails in previously unknown locations along the Eastern Seaboard using a new technique that detects traces of DNA left by the aquatic animals. The finding shows the technique, called eDNA, can detect and control incursions by other invasive species.

Massive data sharing across Europe is boosting efforts to diagnose rare diseases for individuals whose case remains unsolved even after going through advanced expert clinical settings. A new method developed by an international consrortium has resulted in 255 new diagnoses, which is the 'tip of the icerberg'. The findings are an important first step for a European-wide system to facilitate the diagnosis rare diseases, which can be a long and arduous process.

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a wirelessly powered relay network for 5G systems. The proposed battery-free communication addresses the challenges of flexible deployment of relay networks. This design is both economical and energy-efficient. Such advances in 5G communications will create tremendous opportunities for a wide range of sectors.

Through the Abecedarian Project, an early education, randomized controlled trial that has followed children since 1971, researchers from Virginia Tech and the University of Pennsylvania have discovered an enhanced learning environment during the first five years of life shapes the brain in ways that are apparent four decades later. The study appears in the June edition of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

UC San Diego engineers developed a technology that turns a conventional light microscope into what's called a super-resolution microscope. It improves the microscope's resolution (from 200 nm to 40 nm) so that it can be used to directly observe finer structures and details in living cells.