Rutgers University September 24, 2020 The signals from the 5G frequency bands potentially could leak into the band used by weather sensors on satellites that measure the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere and affect weather forecasting and predictions. Researchers at Rutgers University used computer modeling to examine the impact of 5G “leakage” on forecasting the deadly 2008 Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak in the South and Midwest. Based on modeling, 5G leakage power of -15 to -20 decibel Watts affected the accuracy of forecasting of precipitation (by up to 0.9 millimeters) during the tornado outbreak and temperatures near ground […]
Achieving invisibility: Cross-wavelength invisibility integrated with invisibility tactics
Phys.org September 30, 2020 Oceanic animals and their predators employ a cross-wavelength detection strategy. Inspired by these animals an international team of researchers (China, USA – UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Duke University) proposed a new concept of cross-wavelength invisibility that integrated a variety of invisibility tactics. They presented a Boolean metamaterial design strategy to balance divergent material requirements across cross-scale wavelengths. As a proof of concept, they simultaneously demonstrated longwave cloaking and shortwave transparency using a nanoimprinting technique. The work extended stealth techniques from individual strategies of invisibility targeting a single-wavelength spectrum to integrated invisibility targeting cross-wavelength applications. […]
AI taught to rapidly assess disaster damage so humans know where help is needed most
Asia Research October 1, 2020 Using convolutional neural network (CNN) a team of researchers in Japan trained an AI using post-disaster aerial images to accurately determine how battered the buildings are. It works by classifying buildings as collapsed, non-collapsed, or blue tarp-covered based on the seven damage scales (D0-D6) used in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. Based on the photos used to train the AI, they found that the blue tarp-covered category predominantly represented D2-D3 levels of devastation. When the system was tested on post-disaster aerial images of the September 2019 typhoon that hit Chiba, results showed that damage levels of […]
Bacteria fed on a customized diet produce biodegradable polymers for alternative packaging in the cosmetics industry
Fraunhofer Research October 1, 2020 To create biologically based, biodegradable polymers as a replacement for plastic packaging in the cosmetics industry researchers in Germany are cultivating bacteria fed on a variety of waste materials, ranging from wood waste and oil and sugar residues to glycerol from biodiesel production. They cause the bacteria to produce specific intracellular storage granules, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). The PHA is sent in the form of a white powder is turned into granules and then into a polymer film. Initial testing on small sheets of the polymer material for characteristics such as thermal stability, plasticity, and various barrier […]
Building walls that will make summer heat waves more bearable
Phys.org September 28, 2020 A team of researchers in South Korea propose Phase Change Material (PCM) wall device using bubble injection method for the application of PCM in building envelopes. The density difference between PCM and bubbles causes the upward movement of the bubbles and flow in the liquid PCM destroying temperature stratification in the PCM and heat penetration across the PCM is reduced. With the application of the bubble injection method, 11% more latent heat energy was stored in the PCM, 28% less heat penetrated across the PCM wall and the average flow rate inside the liquid PCM with […]
Color-coded biosensor illuminates in real time how viruses attack hosts
Science Daily September 25, 2020 Researchers at the Colorado State University invented a biosensor that lights up blue when viral translation is happening, and green when normal host translation is happening, in single living cells. They have shown this host-attacking process, at the single-molecule level in living cells, and they have reproduced these behaviors in computational models. The models showed that both healthy human RNA and viral RNA fluctuate between states that actively express proteins and those that are silent. The combination of their sensors and computational analyses provide powerful tools to understand, predict, and control how future drugs might […]
Dogs Deployed at Helsinki Airport Can Detect COVID-19 With Almost 100% Accuracy
Science Alert September 25, 2020 The aim of this study by an international team of researchers is to evaluate if the sweat produced by COVID-19 persons has a different odor for trained detection dogs than the sweat produced by non-COVID-19 persons. The study was conducted on 3 sites, following the same protocol procedures, and involved a total of 18 dogs. The percentages of success of the dogs to find the positive sample in a line containing several other negative samples were 100p100 for 4 dogs, and respectively 83p100, 84p100, 90p100 and 94p100 for the others, all significantly different from the […]
Machine learning to automated daydreaming: academics map future of AI
Imperial College of London September 29, 2020 Researchers in the UK designed the Automated Futures Map to show how the existing brain-computer interface technologies could one day prove to be a stepping-stone towards shared dreaming, the recording of our internal monologues, or cyborg rights. While some of the technologies on the map might seem fantastical, it is designed to demonstrate the breadth of work taking place within AI and robotics, show the links between different technologies, and explore what the future of the field might look like…read more.
Quantum entanglement realized between distant large objects
Phys.org September 28, 2020 The disparity of hybrid systems and the vulnerability of quantum correlations have thus far hampered the generation of macroscopic hybrid entanglement. An international team of researchers (Spain, USA – University of Chicago, Denmark) generated an entangled state between the motion of a macroscopic mechanical oscillator and a collective atomic spin oscillator, as witnessed by an Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen variance below the separability limit, 0.83 ± 0.02 < 1. The mechanical oscillator is a millimetre-size dielectric membrane, and the spin oscillator is an ensemble of 109 atoms in a magnetic field. Light propagating through the two spatially separated systems […]
Rapid rescue of buried people
Fraunhofer Research October 1, 2020 Researchers in Germany have developed a mobile radar device that can search hectare-sized areas quickly and thoroughly. The new technology combines greater mobility with accurate detection of vital signs. They have developed an algorithm designed to detect irregular heartbeats. The system detects vital signs close to the stationary radar system, successfully putting it to the test at distances of up to 15 meters. In about two years they expect to transition the technology to UAV based applications to reliably detect buried casualties…read more.