Tuesday, 18 June 2019

Does the gas in galaxy clusters flow like honey?

We have seen intricate patterns that milk makes in coffee and much smoother ones that honey makes when stirred with a spoon. Which of these cases best describes the behavior of the hot gas in galaxy clusters? By answering this question, a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has deepened our understanding of galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity.

* This article was originally published here

The whisper of schizophrenia: Machine learning finds 'sound' words predict psychosis

A machine-learning method discovered a hidden clue in people's language predictive of the later emergence of psychosis—the frequent use of words associated with sound. A paper published by the journal npj Schizophrenia published the findings by scientists at Emory University and Harvard University.

* This article was originally published here

Students restore motion to five-year-old boy's arms

His arms paralyzed by a rare virus three years ago, Max Ng has struggled to push, pull and poke his way through the world with the gleeful ease that most 5 year olds enjoy.

* This article was originally published here

Parental support is key when autistic adolescents want to learn to drive

Autistic adolescents need the support of their parents or guardians to prioritize independence so that they are prepared for learning to drive, according to a study of specialized driving instructors who have worked specifically with young autistic drivers. These findings were compiled by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and recently published in the journal Autism in Adulthood.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers explore RAMBleed attack in pilfering data

Do you remember Rowhammer, where an attacker could flip bits in the memory space of other processes?

* This article was originally published here

Applying active inference body perception to a humanoid robot

A key challenge for robotics researchers is developing systems that can interact with humans and their surrounding environment in situations that involve varying degrees of uncertainty. In fact, while humans can continuously learn from their experiences and perceive their body as a whole as they interact with the world, robots do not yet have these capabilities.

* This article was originally published here

Scientists studying how large-scale environmental disruptions affected ancient societies

John Day, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in LSU's College of the Coast & Environment, has collaborated on a new analysis of societal development with Joel Gunn of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, William Folan of the Universidad Autonoma de Campeche in Mexico, and Matthew Moerschbaecher of the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinators Office. Gunn and Folan are Mayan archaeologists and Moerschbaecher is a graduate of LSU's oceanography program. They report that over the past 10,000 years humanity has experienced a number of foundational transitions, or "bottlenecks." During these periods of transition, the advance or decline of societies was related to energy availability in the form of a benign climate and other factors.

* This article was originally published here

Reducing brain inflammation could treat tinnitus and other hearing loss-related disorders

Inflammation in a sound-processing region of the brain mediates ringing in the ears in mice that have noise-induced hearing loss, according to a study publishing June 18 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Shaowen Bao of the University of Arizona, and colleagues.

* This article was originally published here