Tech

Driverless vehicles could intensify car use, reducing or even eliminating promised energy savings and environmental benefits, a study led by a University of Leeds researcher has warned.

Development of autonomous driving systems has accelerated rapidly since the unveiling of Google's driverless car in 2012, and energy efficiency due to improved traffic flow has been touted as one of the technology's key advantages.

AURORA, Colo. (Feb. 25, 2016) - The science of physical activity at work remains understudied despite widespread acceptance that it plays an important role in health. Now, researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have published a comprehensive review of ways to monitor physical activity and tools for occupational exposure scientists.

Pork, mayonnaise and cookies versus bagels, kale and hummus. That's the glaring difference in food choices by between two groups of people in the northeastern United States.

The foods on the first list are more exclusive in social media feeds of people living in northeastern food deserts, a term used by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to describe communities with limited access to grocery stores. The second list is more exclusive to non-food deserts.

URBANA, Ill. - What happens to food and its microstructure when it is fried is a complicated process, both scientifically and mathematically speaking. While consumers want a product that is crispy and tasty, food scientists seek to get a closer glimpse into what exactly is going on inside the food during frying in order to improve products.

By 2030, more energy will be saved than the amount of energy consumed deriving from oil, according to a JRC analysis. Energy savings can thus be considered as "an energy source in its own right", in line with the European Commission strategy for a resilient energy union. As Europe is likely to miss the intermediary 2020 target of 20% of energy saved, the authors recommend scaling up private investments and introducing a guarantee fund to remove the perceived risk by investors.

A team of food scientists has successfully formulated a recipe for making healthier bread by adding a natural plant pigment, called anthocyanin, extracted from black rice. This new bread option gets digested at a slower rate – hence improving blood glucose control – and is high in antioxidants, among other health benefits. This is the first study where anthocyanin extract has been fortified into a bread product, and the findings open up new possibilities of creating healthier, diabetic-friendly food products.

Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) have for the first time experimentally demonstrated that copper nanophotonic components can operate successfully in photonic devices - it was previously believed that only gold and silver components have the required properties for this. Copper components are not only just as good as components based on noble metals, but, unlike them, they can easily be implemented in integrated circuits using industry-standard fabrication processes.

Researchers from Sheffield Robotics have applied a novel method of automatically programming and controlling a swarm of up to 600 robots to complete a specified set of tasks simultaneously.

This reduces human error and therefore many of the bugs that can occur in programming, making it more user-friendly and reliable than previous techniques. This could be particularly advantageous in areas where safety of using robotics is a concern, for example, in driverless cars.

Some forest mushrooms, such as wild porcini, can accumulate dangerous levels of radioactivity from the soils they grow in. But until now it was unclear if the same was true for truffles, fungi that range among the most expensive foods in the world. Swiss and German researchers have analysed Burgundy truffles collected in central Europe and found they contain only negligible amounts of radioactive caesium, being safe for consumption. The results are published today (25 February) in Biogeosciences, an open access journal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU).

Washington, DC (February 24, 2016) - Those New Year's Resolutions to get fit slowly wane as February comes to a close. Buying the new shoes and athletic gear can motivate you to get into the gym or take on a sport at the beginning, but not seeing quick results can be disheartening. What we want to see in our reflections isn't taking shape. But what if an ideal version of yourself was reflected in an avatar?

HOUSTON - (Feb. 24, 2016) - When a multinational company is a state-owned enterprise, the choice of where to expand may hinge on more than just economic considerations, according to a new paper by strategic management experts at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business.

In recent years, proponents of clean energy have taken heart in the falling prices of solar and wind power, hoping they will drive an energy revolution. But a new study co-authored by an MIT professor suggests otherwise: Technology-driven cost reductions in fossil fuels will lead us to continue using all the oil, gas, and coal we can, unless governments pass new taxes on carbon emissions.

The combustion of fossil fuels drives the world's energy production, but it also emits carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. In recent years, researchers have worked to cultivate alternative, renewable energy sources, including using algae-based systems. Now, a team reports in ACS' journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research an optimized way of producing biofuel from algae that also removes CO2 emissions from the environment.

WATCH AND EMBED VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH RESEARCHER MARWA DABAIEH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7_CtReM2O4

Researcher Marwa Dabaieh from Lund University in Sweden has come up with a way to adapt the so-called Trombe wall -- a passive solar building design from the 19th century -- to not only heat but also cool buildings, while drastically reduce associated carbon emissions. The new design is now being tested by locals in Saint Catherine, Egypt.

Computers are able to read a person's body language to tell whether they are bored or interested in what they see on the screen, according to a new study led by body-language expert Dr Harry Witchel, Discipline Leader in Physiology at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS).

The research shows that by measuring a person's movements as they use a computer, it is possible to judge their level of interest by monitoring whether they display the tiny movements that people usually constantly exhibit, known as non-instrumental movements.