Other Sciences News

Speech Synthesized from Brain Signals

A brain-machine interface created Anumanchipalli et al can generate natural-sounding synthetic speech by using brain activity to control a virtual vocal tract. Image credit: University of California San Francisco.
Apr 29, 2019 by News Staff

A team of neuroscientists at the University of California San Francisco used brain signals recorded from epilepsy patients to program a computer to mimic natural speech, an advancement that could one day have a profound effect on the ability of certain patients to communicate. The results were published in the journal Nature. A brain-machine interface created Anumanchipalli et al can generate natural-sounding synthetic speech by using brain activity...

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Zhang et al explained the enigmatic phenomenon of triboelectricity and why it occurs. Image credit: Alexandre Dulaunoy / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Researchers Uncover Cause of Triboelectric Charging

Apr 26, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Curtin University, the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales has demonstrated that the breaking...

Overview of observed standardized regression coefficients (b values) for the associations between total body fat and fractional anisotropy (FA)- and mean diffusivity (MD)-based DTI tracts for men and women. Standardized regression coefficients reflect the standard deviation (SD) change in FA and MD, respectively, per standard deviation (6.5% in women and 5.5% in men) change in total body fat. Results were adjusted for age, ethnicity, Townsend deprivation index, assessment center (baseline visit and imaging visit), smoking, alcohol use, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and intracranial volume. Image credit: Dekkers et al, doi: 10.1148/radiol.2019181012.

Excessive Body Fat Linked to Smaller Gray Matter Volume, New Study Says

Apr 25, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers in the Netherlands has found that higher levels of body fat are associated with differences in the form and structure of the brain,...

Shively et al aimed to determine the effects of humanlike Western and Mediterranean diets on caloric intake, obesity, metabolism, and hepatosteatosis in an established nonhuman primate model of obesity. Image credit: Moira Nazzari.

Mediterranean Diet May Protect against Overeating and NAFLD

Apr 24, 2019 by News Staff

In a study on crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis), a team of researchers at Wake Forest University found that the primates on a humanlike Mediterranean...

In order to make artificial nacre, Spiesz et al use bacteria to create alternating thin layers of crystalized calcium carbonate and sticky polymer. Image credit: J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester.

Biologists Use Bacteria to Make Artificial Mother-of-Pearl

Apr 23, 2019 by News Staff

Natural materials such as tooth enamel, nacre (also known as mother-of-pearl), or bone attain their impressive mechanical properties from combining organic...

Large (left), medium (center), and small (right) fabellae (a small bone to the right of each image) in the right knees of three female subjects. Image credit: Berthaume et al, doi: 10.1111/joa.12994.

Fabella: Humans Were Losing Osteoarthritis-Linked Knee Bone, Now It’s Making Comeback

Apr 23, 2019 by News Staff

The fabella (Latin for ‘little bean’), a small bone in a tendon behind the knee, was once rare in humans. Now, a team of researchers from the Department...

The Landscape (Paesaggio), inv. 8P, by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci was Ambidextrous, Researchers Say

Apr 19, 2019 by News Staff

Leonardo da Vinci was left-handed, but he wrote and painted with both hands, according to new research from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure of Florence,...

Snow-TENG: (a) harnessing and sensing biomechanical movements by attaching a snow-TENG to different locations of the human body; (b) measurement of the electrical output from a snow-TENG device that uses a snowfall mode when attached on the (i) shoulder, (ii) wrist, and (iii) knee; (c-i) a photograph of the snow-TENG device assembled and attached to the bottom of a snow boot as a self-powered biomechanical sensor; (c-ii) electrical outputs from the snow-TENG as the wearer performs different movements -- running, jumping, walking, and marching. Image credit: Ahmed et al, doi: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.03.032.

Researchers Develop Snow-Based Energy Harvester

Apr 16, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from the United States, Canada, Egypt and Ireland has developed a snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that...

Left: topography of the predominantly contralateral beta oscillatory activity during rest periods predictive of micro-offline learning, indicated by the LME (linear mixed effects) model coefficient. Right: frontoparietal beta activity predicted micro-offline gains throughout the duration of early-learning rest periods. Image credit: Bönstrup et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.049.

Study: Human Brain Uses Short Rest Periods to Strengthen Memories

Apr 16, 2019 by News Staff

In a study published in the journal Current Biology, a team of researchers from the United States, Switzerland and Israel found that taking short breaks,...

Coles et al provide the strongest evidence to date that facial expressions can influence our feelings. Image credit: Sasin Tipchai.

Smiling Can Make Us Feel Little Bit Happier, Review Says

Apr 15, 2019 by News Staff

According to a review of previous studies, published in the Psychological Bulletin, emotional facial expressions — such as smiling — can influence...

Denisovans were probably dark-skinned, unlike the pale Neandertals. The picture shows a Neanderthal man. Image credit: Mauro Cutrona.

Two Independent Denisovan Lineages Contributed to Modern Papuan Genomes: Study

Apr 12, 2019 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Cell, modern Papuans carry hundreds of gene variants from two Denisovan lineages — distinct from...

Tilles et al observed a possible new way that lightning forms called fast negative breakdown.

Fast Negative Breakdown Triggers Lightning Flashes, New Observations Show

Apr 12, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the University of New Hampshire Space Science Center, the Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, Earth Networks and NASA’s...

An archaic hominin. Image credit: Ninara / CC BY 2.0.

Homo luzonensis: New Species of Ancient Human Discovered

Apr 11, 2019 by News Staff

An early human species with a unique mix of primitive (that is, Australopithecus-like) and derived (that is, Homo sapiens-like) morphological features...

tBHQ, at a dose relevant to human diet, impairs the primary and memory immune responses to influenza infection. Image credit: C. S. Goldsmith & A. Balish / CDC.

Widely-Used Food Additive E319 Impairs Immune Responses to Influenza Infection

Apr 8, 2019 by News Staff

A common food additive called tert-butylhydroquinone (E319) suppresses the immune response the body mounts when fighting the flu; it also reduces the effectiveness...

Harvey & van der Hoeven cracked a maths problem that has stood for almost half a century which will enable computers to multiply huge numbers together much more quickly. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

Mathematicians Develop New Algorithm for Multiplying Large Numbers

Apr 4, 2019 by News Staff

A team of mathematicians from the University of New South Wales in Australia and the L’École Polytechnique in France has solved a decades-old maths...

Ordinary-looking pajamas are transformed into ‘smart’ ones with five strategically placed sensors that measure heartbeat, respiration and posture. Image credit: Trisha L. Andrew.

Phyjama: Smart Pajama with Self-Powered Sensors Could Help Improve Sleep Patterns

Apr 3, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by University of Massachusettes Amherst’s Dr. Trisha Andrew has developed ‘smart’ pajamas embedded with self-powered sensors...

Researchers Create and Test New Kind of Airplane Wing

Apr 1, 2019 by News Staff

Assembled from hundreds of tiny identical pieces, the new wing can change shape to control the plane’s flight. The wing design was tested in NASA’s...

Exposure to coffee-related cues increases arousal.

Just Looking at Things that Remind Us of Coffee Can Arouse Our Minds

Apr 1, 2019 by News Staff

Coffee and tea are two beverages commonly-consumed around the world. In Western societies, coffee is associated with greater arousal than tea. According...

In this study, air pollution exposure was associated with increased odds of psychotic experiences in adolescence, which partly explained the association between urban residency and adolescent psychotic experiences. Image credit: Johannes Plenio.

Study Finds Link between Air Pollution and Adolescent Psychotic Experiences

Mar 29, 2019 by News Staff

A new study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, provides a potential explanation for why growing up in urban settings is a risk factor for psychosis. In...

Davis et al detected BMAA in the cerebral cortex of stranded dolphins; they also report Alzheimer-like neurodegenerative changes in the brains of dolphins containing BMAA. Image credit: NASA.

Scientists Find Cyanobacterial Neurotoxin and Amyloid Plaques in Brains of Stranded Dolphins

Mar 29, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

High levels of BMAA (β-methylamino-L-alanine), a neurotoxin produced by cyanobacterial blooms, and beta-amyloid plaques, a hallmark in human beings of...

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