Tech

A computer program that learns and can categorize leaves into large evolutionary categories such as plant families will lead to greatly improved fossil identification and a better understanding of flowering plant evolution, according to an international team of researchers.

A group of researchers from the UK, including academics from Cardiff University, has demonstrated the first practical laser that has been grown directly on a silicon substrate.

It is believed the breakthrough could lead to ultra-fast communication between computer chips and electronic systems and therefore transform a wide variety of sectors, from communications and healthcare to energy generation.

PHILADELPHIA - More than 29 million Americans are currently living with diabetes. The majority have type 2 diabetes, and for them insulin resistance - their body's inability to effectively process sugar - is a part of daily life. Therefore, understanding the cause of insulin resistance is critical to tackling this chronic disease.

AMHERST, Mass. - A recent study of past disturbance of the oyster beds in New York Harbor led by geoscientist Jonathan Woodruff and his doctoral student Christine Brandon of the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first to link Europeans' overharvesting and disturbance of the ancient shellfish beds to loss of natural coastal defenses against floods and storm waves.

The Marine Environmental Research Center established jointly by KAUST and Saudi Aramco is the first oceanic observatory capable of monitoring the Red Sea.

The use of animal manure increases the soil content of antibiotic-resistant genes. However, this is not an irreversible situation.

What does one of the world's longest-running field experiments - under Aarhus University in Denmark - have to do with the appearance of antibiotic resistance? The answer is that it forms the platform for illuminating the interaction between the use of animal manure and the appearance of genes for antibiotic resistance in soil.

A project at The University of Manchester to analyse 15,000 mouse studies - the largest of its kind ever undertaken - has revealed that about half of these studies failed to report the sex and age of the mice involved, despite these being recognised as key variables that can affect the outcome of scientific studies. The project utilised text mining software developed at the University, which can analyse large collections of documents to unearth information which would otherwise have been virtually impossible to discover.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Risk of heart disease and diabetes may be lowered by a diet higher in a lipid found in grapeseed and other oils, but not in olive oil, a new study suggests.

Researchers at The Ohio State University found that men and women with higher linoleic acid levels tended to have less heart-threatening fat nestled between their vital organs, more lean body mass and less inflammation.

And higher linoleic acid levels also meant lower likelihood of insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State University engineers have developed a new flexible, stretchable and tunable "meta-skin" that uses rows of small, liquid-metal devices to cloak an object from the sharp eyes of radar.

The meta-skin takes its name from metamaterials, which are composites that have properties not found in nature and that can manipulate electromagnetic waves. By stretching and flexing the polymer meta-skin, it can be tuned to reduce the reflection of a wide range of radar frequencies.

How will military leaders use (and defend against) laser weapons on future battlefields? How has changing sea ice impacted submarine operations in the Arctic? How do satellite-based infrared sensors help ground-based warfighters?

These are just a few of the topics covered in the Winter 2016 issue of Future Force, which is now available to the public. Published quarterly by the Office of Naval Research, Future Force is a professional magazine of the naval science and technology (S&T) community.

Researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have prepared a list of ethical concerns that might arise with the use of virtual reality (VR) by researchers and the general public. Along with this list, Dr. Michael Madary and Professor Thomas Metzinger have produced concrete recommendations for minimizing the risks. According to Madary and Metzinger in their article in Frontiers in Robotics and AI, additional focused research is urgently needed.

• Damaging emissions from aviation will rise despite assurances from airline industry that air travel will soon become sustainable
• Reliance on technological solutions in cutting emissions are 'myths' propagating inaction by industry and government
• Technology could help cut harmful emissions, but must be viewed alongside stronger regulation

Electrical signals transmitted at high frequencies lose none of their energy when passed through the 'wonder material' graphene, a study led by Plymouth University has shown.

Discovered in 2004, graphene - which measures just an atom in thickness and is around 100 times stronger than steel - has been identified as having a range of potential uses across the engineering and health sectors.

Use your computer without the need to start it up: a new type of magnetic memory makes it possible. This 'MRAM' is faster, more efficient and robust than other kinds of data storage. However, switching bits still requires too much electrical power to make large-scale application practicable. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have discovered a smart way of solving this problem by using a 'bending current'. They publish their findings today in the journal Nature Communications.

CORAL GABLES, FLA. (March 3, 2016) - Today's longer campaign cycles, filled with numerous televised debates and constant news reporting and social media coverage, are causing the rise of extremist politicians, according to a new study from the University of Miami School of Business Administration, just published in the American Economic Journal: Economics.