Phys.org June 5, 2019 A team of researchers in the US (North Carolina State university, U.S. Army) investigated the effectiveness of the Composite Meta Foam (CMF) hard armor armor system consisting of a ceramic faceplate, a CMF core and a thin back plate made of aluminum. The armor was tested using .50 caliber ball and armor-piercing round with the rounds being fired at impact velocities from 500 meters per second up to 885 meters per second. The CMF layer was able to absorb 72-75% of the kinetic energy of the ball rounds, and 68-78% of the kinetic energy of the […]
Multicolored light twists in new knotted ways
Phys.org June 10, 2019 An international team of researchers (Spain, Austria, USA- University of Colorado) has designed a beam of light with a polarization state that forms three-lobed trefoils at each point by combining light of different frequencies (w and 2w), and making the trefoils connect to each other in a way such that the light beam, as a whole, has the shape of a knot. They found new conservation laws for non-linear optics which hold even in extreme situations where tens or hundreds of photons get combined to form single high-frequency photons and a new optical singularity, robust against […]
New computer attack mimics user’s keystroke characteristics and evades detection
Science Daily June 6, 2019 Researchers in Israel have developed a new attack called Malboard and a detection module. Malboard automatically generates keystrokes that have the attacked user’s behavioral characteristics. The keystrokes are injected into the computer in the form of malicious commands and thus can evade existing detection mechanisms designed to continuously verify the user’s identity based on keystroke dynamics. In demonstration attack against three existing detection mechanisms, the results showed that Malboard managed to evade detection in 83–100% of the cases, depending on the detection tools in place. They also developed three different modules, aimed at detecting keystroke […]
New gene editor harnesses jumping genes for precise DNA integration
Phys.org June 12, 2019 Researchers at Columbia University have developed a technology called INTEGRATE, which harnesses bacterial jumping genes to reliably insert any DNA sequence into the genome without cutting DNA. Rather than introduce DNA breaks and rely on the cell to repair the break, as done in CRISPR, INTEGRATE directly inserts a user-defined DNA sequence at a precise location in the genome. The technique should enable a vast range of new gene editing opportunities in biotechnology, gene and cell therapies, engineered crops, and biologics. The INTEGRATE technology offers a fresh new approach with the same programmability and ease of use […]
Researchers ‘stretch’ the ability of 2-D materials to change technology
Phys.org June 10, 2019 An international team of researchers (USA – University of Rochester, China) developed a platform and deposited a flake of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) onto a ferroelectric material. When voltage is applied to the ferroelectric—which acts like a transistor’s third terminal, the 2-D material by the piezoelectric effect, causing it to stretch. When stretched, by about 0.4 percent, and unstretched, the MoTe2 changes from a low conductivity semiconductor material to a highly conductive semi metallic material and back again. It operates just like a field effect transistor. The process works at room temperature and requires only a small […]
We Finally Have Found a Way to Convert Donor Blood Into a Universal Type
Science Alert June 12, 2019 Researchers have known that certain enzymes could remove the sugars from A, B, and AB blood cells, converting them into the more useful Type O. Among the genes encoded in their library of 19,500 expressed fosmids bearing gut bacterial DNA, researchers in Canada identified an enzyme pair that work in concert to efficiently convert the A antigen to the H antigen of O type blood 30 times more efficiently than any previously discovered enzyme. The next step would then be to test the enzyme in a clinical setting, which will help determine if the conversion […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of June 7, 2019
01. Establishing the ultimate limits of quantum communication networks 02. Hand-held scanner for detecting hazardous substances and explosives 03. Hearing through your fingers: Device that converts speech 04. Household Radar Can See Through Walls and Knows How You’re Feeling 05. Physicists ‘teleport’ logic operation between separated ions 06. New way to protect against high-dose radiation damage discovered 07. Physicists can predict the jumps of Schrodinger’s cat (and finally save it) 08. Cracking open the black box of automated machine learning 09. Record-breaking chaotic data transmission 10. Unveiling technologies for future launch vehicles And others… China steps up threat to deprive […]
China steps up threat to deprive US of rare earths
Phys.org June 29, 2019 As a counter-strike in the trade war, according to state-owned newspapers, advise the US to not underestimate China’s ability to safeguard its own development rights and interests. If the US increasingly suppresses the development of China, sooner or later, China will use rare earths as a weapon and rare-earth resources should serve domestic needs first, but China is also willing to meet the legitimate needs of countries around the world…read more.
Climate change is already affecting global food production — unequally
Science Daily May 31, 2019 The world’s top 10 crops supply a combined 83 percent of all calories produced on cropland. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Minnesota, Denmark) constructed linear regression relationships using weather and reported crop data to assess the potential impact of observed climate change on the yields of the top ten global crops–barley, cassava, maize, oil palm, rapeseed, rice, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane and wheat at ~20,000 political units. They found that the impact of global climate change on yields of different crops from climate trends ranged from -13.4% (oil palm) to 3.5% (soybean). The […]
Cracking open the black box of automated machine learning
MIT News May 31, 2019 Automated machine-learning (AutoML) systems iteratively test and modify algorithms and hyperparameters and select the best-suited models. An international team of researchers (USA – MIT, Hong Kong, China) describes a tool called ATMSeer, that takes as input an AutoML system, a dataset, and some information about a user’s task. Then, it visualizes the search process in a user-friendly interface, which presents in-depth information on the models’ performance. They have demonstrated the utility and usability of ATMSeer through two case studies, expert interviews, and a user study with 13 end users. Video…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE