913,392 articles

How generative AI is boosting the spread of disinformation and propaganda

Artificial intelligence has turbocharged state efforts to crack down on internet freedoms over the past year.  Governments and political actors around the world, in both democracies and autocracies, are using AI to generate texts, images, and video to manipulate public opinion in their favor and to automatically censor critical online content. In a new report released by Freedom House, a...


TUESDAY 3. OCTOBER 2023


New pipeline makes valuable organic acid from plants -- saving money and emissions

In a breakthrough for environmentally friendly chemical production, researchers have developed an economical way to make succinic acid, an important industrial chemical, from sugarcane. The team has created a cost-effective, end-to-end pipeline for this valuable organic acid by engineering a tough, acid-tolerant yeast as the fermenting agent, avoiding costly steps in downstream processing....

Human disease simulator lets scientists choose their own adventure

Scientists have developed a device smaller than a toddler's shoebox -- called Lattice --that can simulate any human disease in up to eight organs (cell cultures from a human organ) or test new drugs without ever entering -- or harming -- the body. It is a major advancement from current in vitro systems, which can only study two cell cultures simultaneously.

Instant evolution: AI designs new robot from scratch in seconds

Researchers developed the first AI to date that can intelligently design robots from scratch by compressing billions of years of evolution into mere seconds. It's not only fast but also runs on a lightweight computer and designs wholly novel structures from scratch — without human-labeled, bias-filled datasets.

A promising treatment on the horizon for cancer-related fatigue

Cancer-related fatigue is a debilitating yet all-too-common condition, which can severely affect quality of life for patients undergoing treatment. For those struggling with CRF, there have been no effective pharmaceutical treatments for the constellation of symptoms that together define the syndrome. Researchers found that a metabolism-targeting drug called dichloroacetate (DCA) helped alleviate...

Q&A: New lymphedema-on-chip platform holds promise

In a new PNAS study co-authored by Boston University biomedical engineer Dr. Chris Chen, researchers say they're getting closer to understanding the mysteries of lymphedema—a condition characterized by the buildup of fluid in the body due to a malfunctioning lymphatic system. Until now, the reasons behind this disorder have remained elusive.

Monarch butterfly is not endangered, conservation authority decides

In an unusual reversal, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has decided North America’s monarch butterfly is not “endangered.” Instead, the insect is only “vulnerable” to extinction, the group said last week—adding that it could lower the alarm still further, changing the listing to “near threatened” if an upcoming census suggests the population is...

More and more emerging diseases threaten trees around the world

Diseases are among the major causes of tree mortality in both forests and urban areas. New diseases are continually being introduced, and pathogens are continually jumping to new hosts, threatening more and more tree species. When exposed to novel hosts, emerging diseases can cause mortality previously unseen in the native range.

Report: Ten billion mouths to feed by 2050

When it comes to feeding a growing population at a time of conflict and climate change, Mother Earth has a lot on her plate. To build a sustainable future we'll need to return to a farm-to-table model, and that's opening up vast and exciting avenues of research for scientists in an array of fields. In this special report, we explore some of the developments taking place in research labs and out on...

Estonia's next satellite, largely built by undergrad students, to fly aboard Vega VV23

Estonia's next satellite will fly aboard Europe's Vega VV23 launcher later this week. While largely designed and built by undergraduate students, the shoebox-sized ESTCube-2 has ambitious goals in mind, including surveys of Estonian vegetation and the first successful in-orbit demonstration of "plasma brake" technology. Deployment of a charged microtether will slow the CubeSat's orbit, proving the...

Female animals may learn mate preferences based on other more experienced females' choices

Females may infer what makes a male attractive by observing the choices of more experienced females, and the context of those choices matters, according to a mathematical model published October 3rd in the open access journal PLOS Biology. Rather than simply copying their peers, females might learn to prefer rare traits that set successful males apart from others, Emily DuVal at Florida State...

Undergraduate researcher discovers unexpected diversity in key river microorganisms

Once a week for the past year, Kylee Brevick could be found at two particular spots on the Willamette and Columbia rivers, taking samples of water for testing. The undergraduate biochemistry major (and environmental science minor) was undertaking an independent research project with support from PSU's BUILD EXITO program, which helps students gain biomedical research experience and skills.

Researchers see a future for agricultural solar parks, but also challenges

Solar parks and agriculture do not have to be placed on separate fields. It is possible to combine both functions on the same field, researchers from Wageningen University & Research and Renergize Consultancy write in their position paper "Producing food and electricity on the same square meter." Researchers see a future for agricultural solar parks, but also challenges. This new concept provides...