A digging robot inspired by the unique mechanisms employed by the Atlantic razor clam has been created by a group of researchers in the US.
The robot, dubbed RoboClam, is able to dig with extreme efficiency by transforming the surrounding soil from a solid into a liquid, and could have a variety of applications from anchoring underwater robots to subsea cable installation and mine neutralization.
Access to improved drinking water and sanitation is highly variable within individual countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), according to a study published in this week's PLOS Medicine. Dr Rachel Pullan and colleagues, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, identified marked geographic inequalities, estimating that coverage of improved drinking water supply varied from as low as 3.2% in some districts of Somalia to as high as 99.0% in urban populations in Namibia, while access to improved sanitation ranged from 0.2% in parts of Chad to close to 100% in Gambia.
WASHINGTON D.C., April 8, 2014 -- If a research team in Japan gets its wish, "normally off" computers may one day soon be replacing present computers in a move that would both eliminate volatile memory, which requires power to maintain stored data, and reduce the gigantic energy losses associated with it.
Most parts of present computers are made with volatile devices such as transistors and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which loses information when powered off. So computers are designed on the premise that power is "normally on."
A team of researchers at UCLA has transformed Google Glass into powerful, wearable medical testing laboratory. Aydogan Ozcan and his team developed an application that reads dozens of different types of diagnostic tests for malaria, prostate cancer and HIV, to name a few.
Glass uploads the results to secure servers and provides anonymous data to epidemiologists.
In the American Chemical Society's (ACS') newest Breakthrough Science video, Ozcan demonstrates how the app works, and explains the broad impact it could have on medicine.
University of Cincinnati researchers are at work tracking drought patterns across the United States. Qiusheng Wu, a doctoral student and research assistant for the UC Department of Geography, and Hongxing Liu, a UC professor and head of the Department of Geography, will present details this week at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) in Tampa, Fla.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by scientists at the University of Queensland, Australia, overturns a long-held theory in plant science [see:http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=11631]. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory who are co-authors on this paper conducted critical radiotracer studies that support the new theory that plant sugars play a dominant role in regulating branching at plant stems.
Human bones are remarkably plastic and respond surprisingly quickly to change. Put under stress through physical exertion – such as long-distance walking or running – they gain in strength as the fibres are added or redistributed according to where strains are highest. The ability of bone to adapt to loading is shown by analysis of the skeletons of modern athletes, whose bones show remarkably rapid adaptation to both the intensity and direction of strains.
TORONTO, April 7, 2014 – According to researchers at St. Michael's Hospital, there are two significant reasons why Peel has one of the highest rates of diabetes in Ontario: neighbourhood design that discourages walking and a population with many residents whose ethnic backgrounds predispose them to diabetes.
Diabetes is a growing concern in Peel. That is why Peel Public Health partnered with researchers at St. Michael's Centre for Research on Inner City Health to develop an atlas of Peel that maps rates of diabetes in neighbourhoods across Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga.
Carbon nanotubes are reinforcing bars that make two-dimensional graphene much easier to handle in a new hybrid material grown by researchers at Rice University.
The Rice lab of chemist James Tour set nanotubes into graphene in a way that not only mimics how steel rebar is used in concrete but also preserves and even improves the electrical and mechanical qualities of both.
Fathers who don't live with their children can actually lower their son's or daughter's risk of not having enough food by just maintaining involvement in the child's life. And if the father provides support beyond money, such as gifts, groceries and other offerings, the child's risk of food insecurity may be further reduced.
Frankfurt / New York, 7 April 2014 – Renewable energy's share of world electricity generation continued its steady climb last year despite a 14 per cent drop in investments to US$214.4 billion, according to a new report released today.
Recently published research in the University of Eastern Finland found that fatty acid composition in blood is not only a biomarker for the quality of dietary fat but also reflects the quality of dietary carbohydrates. For example the proportion of oleic acid was higher among children who consumed a lot of candy and little high-fibre grain products. Earlier studies on the topic have mainly concentrated on the association of the quality of dietary fat with fatty acid composition in blood.
WASHINGTON, April 7, 2014 — Spring has sprung, and with it comes blooming flowers, shorts and t-shirts and, for the millions who suffer from allergies, a runny nose, puffy eyes and general misery. In the American Chemical Society's (ACS') latest Reactions video, we explain the science behind the allergies that spoil spring for so many people. The video is available at http://youtu.be/vFZlxQU0Pyk.
Chestnut Hill, MA (April 5, 2014) – A survey of science teachers finds they support a new approach to science education, but they struggle to believe that all students are capable of exploring science using a method called argumentation, according to researchers from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.
Does living with grandparents ease or worsen a mothers' baby blues? The answer may depend on the mother's marital status, a new study from Duke University suggests.
Married and single mothers suffer higher rates of depression when they live in multi-generational households in their baby's first year of life, the study found. But for moms who live with their romantic partners but aren't married, having one or more grandparents in the house is linked to lower rates of depression.