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AI can now detect COVID-19 in lung ultrasound images

Computers and Math from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:06pm
Artificial intelligence can spot COVID-19 in lung ultrasound images much like facial recognition software can spot a face in a crowd, new research shows. The findings boost AI-driven medical diagnostics and bring health care professionals closer to being able to quickly diagnose patients with COVID-19 and other pulmonary diseases with algorithms that comb through ultrasound images to identify signs of disease.
Categories: Science

Cleaning up environmental contaminants with quantum dot technology

Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:05pm
The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots -- objects so tiny, they're controlled by the strange rules of quantum physics. Quantum dots used in electronics are often toxic, but their nontoxic counterparts are being explored for uses in medicine and in the environment, including water decontamination. One team of researchers has specially designed carbon- and sulfur-based dots for these environmental applications.
Categories: Science

Researchers add swept illumination to open-top light-sheet microscope

Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:05pm
Researchers have incorporated a swept illumination source into an open-top light-sheet microscope to enable improved optical sectioning over a larger area of view. The advance makes the technique more practical for nondestructive 3D pathology.
Categories: Science

High school students contribute to exoplanet discovery

Space and time from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:05pm
A group of high school students from Oakland, California, made contributions to the field of exoplanet research. Researchers worked with the students to use backpack-sized digital smart telescopes. These young citizen scientists played a role in observing and confirming the nature of a warm and dense sub-Saturn planet, known as TIC 139270665 b, orbiting a metal-rich G2 star.
Categories: Science

Verifying the work of quantum computers

Computers and Math from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:05pm
Researchers have invented a new method by which classical computers can measure the error rates of quantum machines without having to fully simulate them.
Categories: Science

Recyclable reagent and sunlight convert carbon monoxide into methanol

Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:05pm
Scientists have demonstrated the selective conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol using a cascade reaction strategy. The two-part process is powered by sunlight, occurs at room temperature and at ambient pressure, and employs a recyclable organic reagent that's similar to a catalyst found in natural photosynthesis.
Categories: Science

Universal controller could push robotic prostheses, exoskeletons into real-world use

Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:04pm
A team of researchers has developed a universal approach to controlling robotic exoskeletons that requires no training, no calibration, and no adjustments to complicated algorithms. Instead, users can don the 'exo' and go. Their system uses a kind of artificial intelligence called deep learning to autonomously adjust how the exoskeleton provides assistance, and they've shown it works seamlessly to support walking, standing, and climbing stairs or ramps.
Categories: Science

Universal controller could push robotic prostheses, exoskeletons into real-world use

Computers and Math from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:04pm
A team of researchers has developed a universal approach to controlling robotic exoskeletons that requires no training, no calibration, and no adjustments to complicated algorithms. Instead, users can don the 'exo' and go. Their system uses a kind of artificial intelligence called deep learning to autonomously adjust how the exoskeleton provides assistance, and they've shown it works seamlessly to support walking, standing, and climbing stairs or ramps.
Categories: Science

Icy impacts: Planetary scientists use physics and images of impact craters to gauge the thickness of ice on Europa

Space and time from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:04pm
New study reveals that Europa's ice shell is at least 20 kilometers thick.
Categories: Science

Quantum talk with magnetic disks

Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:04pm
Quantum computers promise to tackle some of the most challenging problems facing humanity today. While much attention has been directed towards the computation of quantum information, the transduction of information within quantum networks is equally crucial in materializing the potential of this new technology. Addressing this need, a research team is now introducing a new approach for transducing quantum information: the team has manipulated quantum bits, so called qubits, by harnessing the magnetic field of magnons -- wave-like excitations in a magnetic material -- that occur within microscopic magnetic disks.
Categories: Science

Quantum talk with magnetic disks

Computers and Math from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:04pm
Quantum computers promise to tackle some of the most challenging problems facing humanity today. While much attention has been directed towards the computation of quantum information, the transduction of information within quantum networks is equally crucial in materializing the potential of this new technology. Addressing this need, a research team is now introducing a new approach for transducing quantum information: the team has manipulated quantum bits, so called qubits, by harnessing the magnetic field of magnons -- wave-like excitations in a magnetic material -- that occur within microscopic magnetic disks.
Categories: Science

Research suggests how turbulence can be used to generate patterns

Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:04pm
Physicists show how patterns can emerge from chaos in turbulent fluids.
Categories: Science

Scientists find one of the most ancient stars that formed in another galaxy

Space and time from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 1:03pm
The first generation of stars transformed the universe. Inside their cores, simple hydrogen and helium fused into a rainbow of elements. When these stars died, they exploded and sent these new elements across the universe. The iron running in your veins and the calcium in your teeth and the sodium powering your thoughts were all born in the heart of a long-dead star.
Categories: Science

It’s Time to Study Lunar Lava Tubes. Here’s a Mission That Could Help

Universe Today Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 12:21pm

The Moon is practically begging to be explored, and the momentum to do so is building. The Artemis Program’s effort to return astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions captures a lot of attention. But there are other efforts underway.

In 2023, the ESA put out a call for small lunar missions. The call was associated with their Terra Novae exploration program, which will advance the ESA’s exploration of the Solar System with robotic scouts and precursor missions. “Humankind will benefit from the new discoveries, ambitions, science, inspiration, and challenges,” the ESA explains on their Terra Novae website.

Terra Novae has several goals, one of which is to “Land multiple scientific payloads on the surface of the Moon, prospecting for the presence of water and other volatile materials that will both reveal its history and help prepare sustainable exploration by locally sourced space resources.”

In response to the ESA’s call, a team of European researchers have proposed the LunarLeaper. The LunarLeaper is a hopping robot that would visit a lunar skylight, a collapsed part of a lunar lava tube. The robot would give us our first look at the lunar subsurface and the lava tubes.

This illustration shows the LunarLeaper in different locations around the rim of a skylight, a collapsed segment of a lunar lava tube. From its position on the rim, the robot would map the skylight and the tube floor and walls and take various scientific measurements, including detecting volatiles. Image Credit: LunarLeaper

There are good reasons to explore these lava tubes. The lunar surface is exposed to solar and cosmic radiation without the benefit of a protective atmosphere or magnetosphere like Earth. Astronauts could shelter in these tubes inside habitat modules. Several meters of rock overhead would provide protection from radiation and from the Moon’s temperature swings. There could be laboratory modules and other modules as well. The tubes, if suitable, could shelter an entire base.

The other reason is scientific. These tubes are a window into the Moon’s volcanic past. They’re a record of the magnitude and timing of volcanic activity.

The LunarLeaper is a ~10 kg (22 lbs) leaping robot with three legs. It’s based on the ETH SpaceHopper design which has been refined over four years of development. SpaceHopper is designed to visit asteroids with much weaker gravity than the Moon, but the design can be adapted to work on the lunar surface.

The LunarLeaper team proposes a mission to the Marius Hills region. It’s a region in Oceanus Procellarum, a vast lunar mare on the near side of the Moon. It’s a volcanic region covered in basalt floods from ancient volcanic activity. Marius Hills is named after the 41 km (25 mi) diameter crater Marius and is littered with volcanic features like rilles, domes, and cones.

The particular feature of interest in Marius Hills is the Marius Hills Pit (MHP), a collapsed skylight granting access into what might be an extensive lunar lava tube system. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of the intriguing opening featured in the lead image. That’s where the LunarLeaper would do its work.

The Marius Hills region is full of volcanic features and the MHP, an opening into underground lava tubes. Image Credit: NASA/USGS

The Leaper would move around the rim of the MHP, capturing images of the pit walls and the floor. It would also use its suite of scientific instruments to gather pertinent data. Its instrument suite would include a gravimeter, a ground-penetrating radar, a dedicated science camera, and hopefully a spectrometer.

The LunarLeaper team outlines four questions the mission hopes to answer:

  1. Is there a lava tube under Marius Hills? It certainly appears like there could be, but there’s no confirmation yet, and only a mission to the region can answer the question for certain.
  2. Could astronauts use the tube for habitation? If it’s stable enough they could, and that’s something the LunarLeaper can figure out.
  3. How were the tube and pit formed? What volcanic processes were at work? There are lava tubes on Earth. Did they form the same way on the Moon? LunarLeaper can examine the layers on the walls of the tube for clues.
  4. What’s contained in the regolith outside the tube? Are there ancient pieces of paleoregolith underground near the pit? Surface lunar rocks are degraded and eroded, but buried regolith could hold clues to the early Solar System, including the Sun.

Though there are hundreds of similar pits on the Moon, MHP appears to be the most promising one. It’s been imaged from different illumination angles, and the imaging supports the idea that a tube extends underground beyond the skylight. Since the Marius Hills is filled with volcanic features, an extended tube isn’t unlikely.

The LunarLeaper would travel around the surface near the MHP and use its ground-penetrating radar to uncover the extent of the tube system. Other proposed missions are aimed at lava tubes and skylights, but they tend to be more complex, larger, and more expensive. As a 10 kg hopping robot, LunarLeaper would be a wise choice for the first mission to characterize the MHP prior to sending a more complex, thorough mission.

When it comes to exploring the pit, the LunarLeaper has a significant advantage over a wheeled rover. Wheeled rovers select routes based on obstacle avoidance. They have some strict limitations when it comes to the terrain they can safely and effectively traverse.

However, the rim of the MHP is expected to be challenging. There is likely complex terrain and steep slopes right near the opening. Getting as close as possible to the rim will give better imaging and science results. The LunarLeaper has an advantage over wheeled rovers in this type of terrain, though the tradeoff is its much lighter payload.

However, as a first step in exploring the MHP, the LunarLeaper has some clear advantages.

This image from LunarLeaper shows some of the details of the area near the MHp and how the Leaper would go about exploring it. A shows the topography around the MHP and the nearby rille. B is a zoom-in of the white box in A. It shows a potential landing zone and the route the Leaper could follow to the MHP. It shows a large boulder en route as an example of an interesting object to examine on the way. C shows the MHP itself, with some of the challenging terrain visible, and also shows the slope in colour-coded degrees. Image Credit: LunarLeaper

The LunarLeaper team says that the small robot could be delivered to the lunar surface by one of the several small landers being designed by different companies. They peg the cost at about 50 million euros. They also say that this type of legged jumping robot could be a big part of future space exploration and that their mission, if chosen, could be a key development for the future.

The post It’s Time to Study Lunar Lava Tubes. Here’s a Mission That Could Help appeared first on Universe Today.

Categories: Science

The Dirty Mac plays “Yer Blues”

Why Evolution is True Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 12:00pm

Here’s a song I didn’t know of (well, I did when it was a Beatles song), but look at the lineup: Clapton, John Lennon, and Keith Richards on guitar, and Mitch Mitchell on drums.  I had a hard time telling Clapton from his face (where did that ridiculous sweater come from?), but his playing is unmistakable. More on Clapton in tomorrow’s Nooz.

The YouTube notes:

The Dirty Mac performing “”Yer Blues”” from The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus Recorded before a live audience in London in 1968, The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was originally conceived as a BBC-TV special. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, it centers on the original line up of The Rolling Stones — Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman (with Nicky Hopkins and Rocky Dijon) — who serves as both the show’s hosts and featured attraction. For the first time in front of an audience, “The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band” performs six Stones classics. The program also includes extraordinary performances by The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, Yoko Ono, and The Dirty Mac. A ‘supergroup’ before the term had even been coined, the band was comprised of Eric Clapton (lead guitar), Keith Richards (bass), Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (drums), and John Lennon on guitar and vocals.

Categories: Science

Extinct freshwater dolphin from the Amazon was largest of all time

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 11:00am
A dolphin that lived in the Amazon 16 million years ago grew to a length of 3.5 metres – larger than any other freshwater dolphin
Categories: Science

Ancient canoes hint at bustling trade in Mediterranean 7000 years ago

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 11:00am
Italian canoes capable of transporting people and goods have been dated to the Neolithic period, suggesting there was a bustling trade across the Mediterranean Sea
Categories: Science

Why we need to invoke philosophy to judge bizarre concepts in science

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 11:00am
Theories of mind and cosmos are inevitably preposterous - knowing how to weigh competing implausibilities can help us decide which we should back
Categories: Science

Try these mathematical magic tricks that are guaranteed to work

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 11:00am
There are no rabbits pulled out of hats here – these tricks rely on mathematical principles and will never fail you, says Peter Rowlett
Categories: Science

3 Body Problem review: Cixin Liu's masterpiece arrives on Netflix

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 03/20/2024 - 11:00am
Cixin Liu's novel The Three-Body Problem has been turned into an eight-part series for Netflix by the Game of Thrones team. There is much to admire so far, but will the adaptation stay on track, wonders Bethan Ackerley
Categories: Science

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