Culture
The supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies are the most massive objects in the universe. They range from about 1 million to upwards of 10 billion times the mass of the Sun. Some of these black holes also blast out gigantic, super-heated jets of plasma at nearly the speed of light. The primary way that the jets discharge this powerful motion energy is by converting it into extremely high-energy gamma rays. However, UMBC physics Ph.D. candidate Adam Leah Harvey says, "How exactly this radiation is created is an open question."
Scientists often look to nature for cues when designing robots - some robots mimic human hands while others simulate the actions of octopus arms or inchworms. Now, researchers in the University of Georgia College of Engineering have designed a new soft robotic gripper that draws inspiration from an unusual source: pole beans.
While pole beans and other twining plants use their touch-sensitive shoots to wrap themselves around supports like ropes and rods to grow upward, the UGA team's robot is designed to firmly but gently grasp objects as small as 1 millimeter in diameter.
WASHINGTON, December 15, 2020 -- A device developed by scientists at the CY Cergy Paris University and Paris Observatory promises insight into how the building blocks of life form in outer space.
In an article published in Review of Scientific Instruments, by AIP Publishing, the scientists detail how VENUS -- an acronym of the French phrase "Vers de Nouvelles Syntheses," which means "toward new syntheses" -- mimics how molecules come together in the freezing darkness of interstellar space.
The microscopic structure of bone appears to predict which patients will experience poor outcomes after spinal fusion, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City.
HANOVER, N.H. - December 14, 2020 - Aggressive political messaging can work against candidates by radicalizing supporters and alienating moderates, according to a Dartmouth study.
The research, published in Physical Review X, shows how messages conveyed through political advertising and media appearances can move voters into extreme social networks, making them less influential with undecided voters and others in the middle of the political spectrum.
Declines in muscle mass and strength can begin in early adulthood, unnoticeable at first, and eventually progress until functionality, endurance, and general health may be compromised. Evidence-based and cost-effective lifestyle interventions, such as resistance training (RT) and ensuring optimal dietary protein intake, aim to increase muscle mass in older individuals, and support healthy aging and longevity.
DURHAM, N.C. -- The artificial intelligence behind self-driving cars, medical image analysis and other computer vision applications relies on what's called deep neural networks.
Austin, Texas -- The next time you are considering purchasing a big-ticket item, it might be worth paying attention to the salesperson's facial hair.
The beard seems to be a subtle but consistent clue used in evaluating the knowledge and trustworthiness of the sales/service personnel you interact with. If the salesperson is sporting a beard, you may be more likely to pull out your wallet. And if you work in a sales or service role, you might consider the power of donning a beard before no-shave November rolls around.
Earlier this year Douglas J. Kennett, a UC Santa Barbara professor of anthropology, demonstrated that maize, or corn, became a staple crop in the Americas 4,700 years ago. It turns out he was just beginning to tell the story of the world's biggest grain crop.
COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the disease, have caused health care providers to change how they treat patients. Clinicians are now frequently using telemedicine to see their patients for routine checkups, saving office visits for emergencies. The same goes for rehabilitation. For example, researchers are looking for ways to improve the screening, assessment and treatment of patients with COVID-19 and dysphagia -- swallowing difficulties -- by doing it remotely.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers have been at the forefront of the battle against the life-threatening illness. Sadly, they are not immune to the effects of the disease. Many have contracted COVID-19, and some have died.
With the health care community heavily focused on COVID-19 since the first quarter of 2020, there have been concerns that reporting of other diseases -- and the resulting data that enables them to be more effectively treated and controlled -- may have been impacted. For example, little is known about how the pandemic may have affected the reporting of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
RICHLAND, Wash.--Urban landscapes and human-made aerosols--particles suspended in the atmosphere--have the potential to not only make gusts stronger and hail larger; they can also start storms sooner and even pull them toward cities, according to new research exploring the impact of urban development on hazardous weather, led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Males may put a lot of effort into attracting females. Male peacocks flaunt eye-catching trains, but male bats, because they are active at night, may rely on females' sense of smell to draw them in. Three years ago, Victoria Flores, a predoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, discovered that male fringed-lipped bats often have a sweet-smelling, crusty substance on their forearms. Because only males had crusts and primarily exhibited these crusts during the putative reproductive season, Flores speculated that crusts might play a role in mating.
The project is part of the Rhino DNA Indexing System (RhODIS- India) conservation program. This database has been created to build a DNA catalogue of the existing Indian greater one-horned rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis, to tackle rhino poaching and assist conservation efforts for this vulnerable species.