Brain
Atomic interactions in everyday solids and liquids are so complex that some of these materials' properties continue to elude physicists' understanding. Solving the problems mathematically is beyond the capabilities of modern computers, so scientists at Princeton University have turned to an unusual branch of geometry instead.
An artificial intelligence program developed by Carnegie Mellon University in collaboration with Facebook AI has defeated leading professionals in six-player no-limit Texas hold'em poker, the world's most popular form of poker.
The AI, called Pluribus, defeated poker professional Darren Elias, who holds the record for most World Poker Tour titles, and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, winner of six World Series of Poker events. Each pro separately played 5,000 hands of poker against five copies of Pluribus.
High-risk pregnancies occur frequently and may be caused by various factors. It is estimated that 10 to 20% of pregnant women miscarry during their first trimester of pregnancy. Slow fetal growth may also arise as a result of maternal infection with certain microbes, parasites or viruses (such as toxoplasmosis or infection with rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes or Zika) or because of genetic or autoimmune diseases.
Jeanette Gehrig and colleagues have designed a diet that can help digestive tracts damaged by acute childhood malnutrition develop a mature gut microbial community, necessary for proper growth and functioning. Disruption of the normal gut microbiota is common in malnutrition, and recent research suggests that without fixing this "immature" microbiota, even children given supplementary food may not be able to thrive. Using a machine-learning technique demonstrated by Arjun Raman and colleagues, Gehrig et al.
New research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) says there is a "clear need" for more support for young carers of parents with a mental illness as they move into adulthood.
The study argues that services need to be flexible, combining both practical support, such as the provision of additional support to the parent as they manage the transition of their child - and carer - leaving home, and emotional support for the young person and their parent to renegotiate boundaries within their relationship.
BUFFALO, N.Y. - People who narrowly avoid disaster do not necessarily escape tragedy unharmed, and their knowledge of the victims' fate shapes how survivors respond to traumatic events, according to the results of a new paper by a University at Buffalo psychologist that explores the effects of near-miss experiences associated with the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"There is a misfortune to being fortunate," says Michael Poulin, an associate professor of psychology at UB and lead author of the paper published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
BOSTON, MA - Patients receiving a post-surgery prescription of ibuprofen with a rescue prescription of Percocet used less opioids than a group of similar patients who were prescribed just Percocet. The research was presented by a group from the New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City today at the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that neural signatures in sleeping zebrafish are analogous to those of humans, suggesting that the brain activity evolved at least 450 million years ago, before any creatures crawled out of the ocean.
Scientists have known for more than 100 years that fish enter a sleeplike state, but until now they didn't know if their sleep resembled that of land animals.
What is "water in the mantle"?
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in our solar system. In the Earth, hydrogen exists as vapor in the atmosphere, water and ice in the ocean, super-critical fluids in the volcanoes and Earth crusts, hydroxyls in hydrous and nominally anhydrous minerals in the Earth's crust and mantle, proton and hydroxyl (OH) in magmas, and hydrogen in metallic iron in the Earth's core.
Mathematical thought is seen as the pinnacle of abstract thinking. But are we capable of filtering out our knowledge about the world to prevent it from interfering with our calculations? Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and the University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France, have demonstrated that our ability to solve mathematical problems is influenced by non-mathematical knowledge, which often results in mistakes.
A paper by Research Associate Daria Khanolainen appeared in Quality Assurance in Education.
"The objective was to find out how ready the teachers are to implement the expected changes. That is, do they understand what is required of them, are they motivated to implement the federal educational standard, do they have the necessary resources, etc.," explains the author.
AMES, Iowa - A new study from Iowa State University entomologists describes how mosquitoes fight off parasites that cause malaria, a disease that sickens millions of people every year.
We see crystals all around us: snowflakes, ice cubes, table salt, gemstones, to name a few. Invisible to the naked eye, but of special interest to scientists, are crystalline “nanowires” — wires with a diameter of a mere few nanometers and a typical length of a micrometer.
Normally in a rod-like shape, these wires are an interesting area of worldwide research because of their many potential applications, including semiconductors and miniaturized optical and optoelectronic devices.
Wandering through the Harvard campus one day in 2015, graduate student Andrew Yegian recalls how something unusual caught his eye. 'I noticed a person running with straight arms', he explains. This really stood out for Yegian, as runners usually bend the elbow, while walkers keep their arms straight, which made him wonder: 'If straight arms are better for walking, why aren't they better for running, and vice versa?' he puzzled. Was there a trade-off between the cost of keeping the elbow bent and swinging the arm at the shoulder that could benefit runners?
New evidence suggests that adolescent bullying and victimization may have origins in the home. Many bullies have parents who are hostile, punitive and rejecting. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and Uppsala University in Sweden, have identified another type of parenting that contributes to peer difficulties: those who direct derision and contempt at their children.