North Carolina State University researchers have developed methods for electronically manipulating the flight muscles of moths and for monitoring the electrical signals moths use to control those muscles. The work opens the door to the development of remotely controlled moths, or “biobots,” for use in emergency response. (more…)
Nach dem Reaktorunglück in Fukushima am 11. März 2011 stieg der Anteil der Menschen in Deutschland, die sich sehr große Sorgen um die Umwelt machten, um 20 Prozent. So lautet das zentrale Ergebnis einer Studie auf Basis von Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP), die Forscher des Deutschen Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin), des Deutschen Instituts für Japanforschung in Tokio sowie der US-amerikanischen Cornell University in Ithaca erstellt haben. „Die verstärkten Ängste führten zu einer starken Beeinträchtigung des psychischen Wohlbefindens der Befragten“, sagt der DIW-Ökonom Christian Krekel, einer der Autoren. „Besonders Frauen waren betroffen.“ Die Studie belegt, wie sehr Umweltkatastrophen das seelische Gleichgewicht von Menschen erschüttern können, selbst wenn sie sehr weit vom Unglücksort entfernt leben und persönlich nicht unmittelbar betroffen sind. Die Studie wurde als SOEPpaper 599 veröffentlicht. (more…)
The robot gripper invented by researchers at the University of Chicago and Cornell University is now available commercially. Empire Robotics, the company founded to commercialize the invention, is taking orders for the limited first release of its product called VERSABALL, scheduled to ship later this month.
“When we first started with the universal jamming gripper we did not think about industrial applications,” said Heinrich Jaeger, the William J. Friedman and Alica Townsend Professor in Physics at the University of Chicago. “But soon there were inquiries from various companies and in those early days we had to tell them that we are in basic research rather than R&D and that therefore we could not really make robotic grippers for sale.” (more…)
A new study published in Nature this week describes the forces that control the jets of water and organic material that erupt from the icy surface of Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. UA scientists contributed data to the study.
The intensity of the jets of water ice and organic molecules that shoot out from Saturn’s moon Enceladus depends on the moon’s proximity to the planet, according to data obtained by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. The finding, detailed in the journal Nature this week, is the first clear observation that shows the Enceladus plume varies in a predictable manner. (more…)
Saturn’s moon Titan might be in for some wild weather as it heads into its spring and summer, if two new models are correct. Scientists think that as the seasons change in Titan’s northern hemisphere, waves could ripple across the moon’s hydrocarbon seas, and hurricanes could begin to swirl over these areas, too. The model predicting waves tries to explain data from the moon obtained so far by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Both models help mission team members plan when and where to look for unusual atmospheric disturbances as Titan summer approaches.
“If you think being a weather forecaster on Earth is difficult, it can be even more challenging at Titan,” said Scott Edgington, Cassini’s deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “We know there are weather processes similar to Earth’s at work on this strange world, but differences arise due to the presence of unfamiliar liquids like methane. We can’t wait for Cassini to tell us whether our forecasts are right as it continues its tour through Titan spring into the start of northern summer.” (more…)
Territorial song sparrows use increasingly threatening signals to ward off trespassing rivals. First an early warning that matches the intruder’s song, then wing waving – a bird’s version of “flipping the bird” – as the dispute heats up, and finally, if all other signals have failed, attack.
This hierarchical warning scheme, discovered by researchers at the University of Washington, adds nuance to a communication system that has been long-used as a model to study how people use and learn language (more…)
It’s not exactly icing on a cake, but it could be icing on a lake. A new paper by scientists on NASA’s Cassini mission finds that blocks of hydrocarbon ice might decorate the surface of existing lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbon on Saturn’s moon Titan. The presence of ice floes might explain some of the mixed readings Cassini has seen in the reflectivity of the surfaces of lakes on Titan.
“One of the most intriguing questions about these lakes and seas is whether they might host an exotic form of life,” said Jonathan Lunine, a paper co-author and Cassini interdisciplinary Titan scientist at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. “And the formation of floating hydrocarbon ice will provide an opportunity for interesting chemistry along the boundary between liquid and solid, a boundary that may have been important in the origin of terrestrial life.” (more…)
Faculty award winners from Nine Universities Also Announced; Professors to Receive $10,000 Grants for Watson Curriculums
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – 23 Oct 2012: Cornell University and IBM today announced the winners of the second Watson Academic Case Competition. The contest helps students build skills in analytics, big data and cognitive computing by identifying new ideas for applying IBM Watson to solve societal and business challenges. (more…)
