Researchers create multi-junction solar cells from off-the-shelf components

Multi-junction solar cells are both the most efficient type of solar cell on the market today and the most expensive type of solar cell to produce. In a proof-of-concept paper, researchers from North Carolina State University detail a new approach for creating multi-junction solar cells using off-the-shelf components, resulting in lower cost, high-efficiency solar cells for use in multiple applications.

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Nuclear stress test helps identify heart attack risk in people with diabetes

Abnormal results on a nuclear stress test are associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiac-related deaths, especially among people with diabetes, according to a multi-center study published in the journal Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.

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In US, relaxed IVF laws help would-be parents realize dreams

Freezing your eggs, getting pregnant after the age of 50, choosing the baby's sex: when it comes to in-vitro fertilization and other assisted reproduction procedures in the United States, would-be parents are spoilt for choice.

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Teaching robots what humans want

Told to optimize for speed while racing down a track in a computer game, a car pushes the pedal to the metal … and proceeds to spin in a tight little circle. Nothing in the instructions told the car to drive straight, and so it improvised.

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Immediate, science-based community action can stop insect decline

This year, German environmentalists collected 1.75 million signatures for a 'save the bees' law requiring an immediate transition toward organic farming. But to create healthy ecosystems worldwide, people in communities across the globe will need to take similar action based on empathy for insects—and not only for bees and butterflies—according to entomologists Yves Basset from the Smith-sonian Tropical Research Institute and Greg Lamarre from the University of South Bohemia, writing in Science. The authors present immediate, science-based actions to mitigate insect decline.

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Cosmic waves discovery could unlock mysteries of intergalactic space

Scientists were celebrating a groundbreaking astronomical discovery Thursday that they say could pave the way for mapping the outer reaches of the universe.

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Enhancing the vertical mobility of six-legged robot RHex using microspines

A team of researchers at Carnagie Mellon University has recently proposed a method to improve the vertical mobility of a renowned hexapod robot. Their approach, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, entails the addition of microspines to RHex, an existing cockroach-inspired robotic platform designed to navigate unstructured environments at relatively high speed.

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Computational tool predicts how gut microbiome changes over time

A new computational modeling method uses snapshots of which types of microbes are found in a person's gut to predict how the microbial community will change over time. The tool, developed by Liat Shenhav, Leah Briscoe and Mike Thompson from the Halperin lab, University of California Los Angeles, and colleagues at the Mizrahi lab at Ben-Gurion University, Israel, is presented in PLOS Computational Biology.

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Twitter adds warnings to rule-breaking tweets from public figures

Twitter announced Thursday it would add warning labels to tweets from officials and politicians that violate its rules—a move potentially affecting the prodigious output of US President Donald Trump.

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The first soft ring oscillator lets soft robots roll, undulate, sort, meter liquids, and swallow

Soft robots can't always compete with the hard. Their rigid brethren dominate assembly lines, perform backflips, dance to Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk," fly, dive, and walk through volcanoes.

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Do you feel the other closer to you when she/he contingently responds to your action?

Professor Atsushi Sato of the University of Toyama and Ai Matsuo, a researcher at The Open University of Japan, in cooperation with Professor Michiteru Kitazaki of Toyohashi University of Technology have found that social contingency modulates one's perceptual representation of the environment. Volunteer participants who were given the ability to display an image of a smiling person with the press of a button were found to perceive an afterimage of the same person, but with a neutral expression, to be smaller than participants who were unable to display the image of a smiling person with the press of a button. Thus, when the participant's intentional action affects the other's reaction, the perceptual distance between self and other will shorten.

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The RoboBee flies solo—Cutting the power cord for the first untethered flight

The RoboBee—the insect-inspired microrobot developed by researchers at Harvard University—has become the lightest vehicle ever to achieve sustained flight without the assistance of a power cord. After decades of work, the researchers achieved untethered flight by making several important changes to the RoboBee, including the addition of a second pair of wings. That change, along with less visible changes to the actuators and transmission ratio, gave the RoboBee enough lift for the researchers to attach solar cells and an electronics panel.

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One in five hematological cancer patients suffer blood clots or bleeding

New Danish research may direct focus toward the serious complications that every fifth hematological cancer patient suffers, according to medical doctor and Ph.D. Kasper Adelborg from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, who has studied the cases of 32,000 hematological cancer patients between the years 2000-2013. hematological cancer includes leukaemia, bone marrow cancer and cancers of the lymph nodes.

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Citizens' assemblies: how to bring the wisdom of the public to bear on the climate emergency

A new form of politics is gaining steam as a solution to the climate crisis. Six parliamentary committees in the UK are to commission a citizens' assembly, in which randomly selected citizens will consider how to combat climate breakdown and achieve the pathway to net zero emissions.

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Keeping active or becoming more active in middle and older age linked to longer life

Keeping physically active or becoming more active during middle and older age is associated with a lower risk of death, regardless of past activity levels or existing health conditions, suggests a large UK study published by The BMJ today.

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Hacker used Raspberry Pi computer to steal restricted NASA data

A hacker used a tiny Raspberry Pi computer to infiltrate NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory network, stealing sensitive data and forcing the temporary disconnection of space-flight systems, the agency has revealed.

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EA's Origin had security flaws that could have put up to 300M at risk for identity theft

Video game publisher Electronic Arts has tightened some openings cybersleuths found in its Origin online network that could have exposed more than 300 million video game players to identity theft and account losses.

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