The Zapper Products Blog.: 07/03/19

Wednesday, 3 July 2019

Deep-CEE: The AI deep learning tool helping astronomers explore deep space

Galaxy clusters are some of the most massive structures in the cosmos, but despite being millions of lightyears across, they can still be hard to spot. Researchers at Lancaster University have turned to artificial intelligence for assistance, developing "Deep-CEE" (Deep Learning for Galaxy Cluster Extraction and Evaluation), a novel deep learning technique to speed up the process of finding them. Matthew Chan, a Ph.D. student at Lancaster University, is presenting this work at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy meeting on 4 July at 3:45pm in the Machine Learning in Astrophysics session.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/deep-cee-the-ai-deep-learning-tool-helping-astronomers-explore-deep-space

Collision course: Amateur astronomers play a part in efforts to keep space safe

Heavy traffic is commonplace on Earth but now congestion is becoming an increasing problem in space. With over 22,000 artificial satellites in orbit it is essential to keep track of their positions in order to avoid unexpected collisions. Amateur astronomers from the Basingstoke Astronomical Society have been helping the Ministry of Defence explore what is possible using high-end consumer equipment to track objects in space.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/collision-course-amateur-astronomers-play-a-part-in-efforts-to-keep-space-safe

Substantial increase in body weight since 1960s due to interplay between genes and environment

People with a genetic predisposition to obesity are not only at greater risk of excess weight, their genes interact with an increasingly "obesogenic" environment, resulting in higher body mass index (BMI) in recent decades, finds a study from Norway published by The BMJ today.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/substantial-increase-in-body-weight-since-1960s-due-to-interplay-between-genes-and-environment

Image: 400-hectare wildfire is largest ever in German state

On 30 June, a wildfire broke out at a military training site in Lübtheen, in northern Germany.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/image-400-hectare-wildfire-is-largest-ever-in-german-state

Winter monsoons became stronger during geomagnetic reversal

New evidence suggests that high-energy particles from space known as galactic cosmic rays affect the Earth's climate by increasing cloud cover, causing an "umbrella effect."

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/winter-monsoons-became-stronger-during-geomagnetic-reversal

New study analyzes land tenure in Ghana

In August 2018, the local government of Accra, Ghana, in West Africa, appropriated 1,800 homes for demolition to make way for, among others, tomato retailers. Officials had already begun plotting the land for its new use when residents of the largely poor neighborhood erupted in protest, to no avail.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/new-study-analyzes-land-tenure-in-ghana

Being certain about uncertainty

Non-scientists—legislators, judges and juries—are often called upon to reach scientific conclusions.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/being-certain-about-uncertainty

Every dog has its day, but it's not the Fourth of July

The Fourth of July can be a miserable day for dogs. The fireworks make scaredy-cats out of many canines.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/every-dog-has-its-day-but-its-not-the-fourth-of-july

NASA's ECOSTRESS maps European heat wave from space

Europe's massive heat wave is on its way out—and it's leaving a slew of broken temperature records in its wake. Many countries were gripped by temperatures above 104 Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) between June 26 and June 30. According to the World Meteorological Organization, June 2019 is now the hottest month on record for the continent as a whole.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/nasas-ecostress-maps-european-heat-wave-from-space

Scientists scramble to build payload for 2021 moon landing

Scavenging spare parts and grabbing off-the-shelf hardware, University of California, Berkeley, space scientists are in a sprint to build scientific instruments that will land on the moon in a mere two years.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/scientists-scramble-to-build-payload-for-2021-moon-landing

The 'freak wave' myth

As a nation "girt by sea," Australians live with the joy and risks of the ocean.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/the-freak-wave-myth

How big data can help you choose better health insurance

There are plenty of easy consumer choices. Paper clips: easy. Dish sponges: easy. Those products sit at one end of the spectrum. At the other end, impossibly distant, is health insurance.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/how-big-data-can-help-you-choose-better-health-insurance

Artificial gravity breaks free from science fiction

Artificial gravity has long been the stuff of science fiction. Picture the wheel-shaped ships from films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Martian, imaginary craft that generate their own gravity by spinning around in space.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/artificial-gravity-breaks-free-from-science-fiction

A new, more user-friendly language for programming supercomputers

Decades ago, computers were costly, complex and rare.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/a-new-more-user-friendly-language-for-programming-supercomputers

Abnormal binding of proteins impedes creation of crystalline enamel structure, which can lead to bad teeth

Scientists have shown how a tiny flaw in a protein results in damaged enamel that is prone to decay, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/abnormal-binding-of-proteins-impedes-creation-of-crystalline-enamel-structure-which-can-lead-to-bad-teeth

Moral science confirms people behave better when they think they're being watched

If there exists one moral code that can be shared and agreed by almost all cultures and religions, then it must be the concept of "never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." This has come to be known as "the golden rule".

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/moral-science-confirms-people-behave-better-when-they-think-theyre-being-watched

Discovery of rare lava lake on remote sub-Antarctic island

A team of scientists has discovered a rare lava lake on a remote and inaccessible sub-Antarctic island. There are around 1500 land-based volcanoes on Earth, but despite the popular perception of steaming bubbling lava pools in their craters this volcano in the South Sandwich Islands is only the 8th to be identified worldwide to have a persistent lava lake.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/discovery-of-rare-lava-lake-on-remote-sub-antarctic-island

Neutral evolution shapes lifespan and aging

Different African killifish species vary extensively in their lifespans—from just a few months to several years. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne investigated how different lifespans have evolved in nature and discovered a fundamental mechanism by which detrimental mutations accumulate in the genome causing fish to age fast and become short-lived. In humans, mutations accumulate mainly in the genes that are active in old age.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/neutral-evolution-shapes-lifespan-and-aging

How might Medicare for All reshape health care in the U.S.?

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll indicates that support for a single-payer health system is increasing among American consumers, but many people are confused about how a program like "Medicare for All" would actually affect them. University of Illinois professor emeritus of community health Thomas W. O"Rourke, an expert on health policy analysis, spoke with News Bureau research editor Sharita Forrest.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/how-might-medicare-for-all-reshape-health-care-in-the-u-s

Reunited: Two halves of historic scroll severed by warfare

Paul Mirecki found himself in the middle of an Indiana Jones-style quest involving looted antiquities.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/reunited-two-halves-of-historic-scroll-severed-by-warfare

Water drives explosive eruptions: Magma is wetter than we thought

Volatile elements in magma, primarily water, drive explosive volcanic eruptions. The tricky part is determining just how much volatile content was present before the eruption took place. This is especially difficult when the only evidence scientists have to go on is the end product after all the volatiles have been lost.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/water-drives-explosive-eruptions-magma-is-wetter-than-we-thought

AI-designed heat pumps consume less energy

In Switzerland, 50 to 60 percent of new homes are equipped with heat pumps. These systems draw in thermal energy from the surrounding environment—such as from the ground, air, or a nearby lake or river—and turn it into heat for buildings.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/ai-designed-heat-pumps-consume-less-energy