186 articles from TUESDAY 28.3.2023

How is AI changing the way we write and create?

Since late last year, artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT have become a growing topic of conversation on college campuses, with students using the technology for everything from class assignments to essays.

Can AI predict how you'll vote in the next election? New study says yes

Artificial intelligence technologies like ChatGPT are seemingly doing everything these days: writing code, composing music, and even creating images so realistic you'll think they were taken by professional photographers. Add thinking and responding like a human to the conga line of capabilities. A recent study from BYU proves that artificial intelligence can respond to complex survey questions...

Redness of Neptunian asteroids sheds light on early solar system

Asteroids sharing their orbits with the planet Neptune have been observed to exist in a broad spectrum of red color, implying the existence of two populations of asteroids in the region, according to a new study by an international team of researchers. The research is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.

Developing drugs against drought

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone with essential functions in plant physiology. It is involved in developmental and growth processes and the adaptive stress response. Thus, the plant adaptation to stress situations caused by water deficit can be favored by activating this phytohormone pathway. In this project, the teams led by Pedro Luis Rodríguez at the IBMCP in Valencia and Armando Albert...

Extinction of steam locomotives derails assumptions about biological evolution, claims researcher

When the Kinks' Ray Davies penned the tune "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains," the vanishing locomotives stood as nostalgic symbols of a simpler English life. But for a paleontologist at the University of Kansas, the replacement of steam-powered trains with diesel and electric engines, as well as cars and trucks, might be a model of how some species in the fossil record died out.

Discovery of drug candidate that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 could reduce length of infection upon exposure

The discovery of a small molecule in the research lab of Bradley McConnell, professor of pharmacology at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, may well be the genesis of new medication which could shorten the course of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Unlike Pfizer's antiviral treatment Paxlovid, which is only useful during the first three days of showing symptoms, this possible new medication could...

Study shows that people are more likely to be eco-friendly if others around them are

A quartet of climate scientists, two from the University of Gothenburg, and one each from Yale University and the University of Cambridge, has found that educating people about the benefits of being Earth-friendly may not be the best approach to improving Earth-friendly behaviors. Instead, as Magnus Bergquista, Maximilian Thiel, Matthew Goldberg and Sander van der Linden explain in their paper...

Delivering insights at scale by modernizing data 

Greater speed and agility are helping organizations address an increasingly competitive marketplace, heightened customer expectations, and the lingering impact of the pandemic. To compete more effectively, companies are gathering and analyzing increasingly large and disparate sets of data. But only with cloud solutions, like Microsoft Azure, can this data provide insight into every corner of the...

Scientists gain insights into Old Master artists’ use of egg in oil paintings

Researchers believe egg was used by likes of Botticelli and Da Vinci for fine-tuning of oil paint propertiesIt pays to go to work on an egg when painting with oils, researchers have found, as the addition of yolk can prevent wrinkling, yellowing and problems with humidity.The use of egg as a binding medium for pigments, a form of paint known as egg tempera, has a long history, turning up in works...

Using bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester

A team of chemical and biomolecular engineers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has developed a scalable way to use bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester. In their paper, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their technique and outline its performance when tested over a several-hour period.

Technology and industry convergence: A historic opportunity

When seemingly disparate fields, industries, and ways of thinking merge, a convergence happens, which, has the power to build more intuitive and advanced futures for both organizations and the everyday consumer, says Accenture communications, media and technology industry group chair, Kathleen O’Reilly and Daniela Rus, Director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence...

Team successfully tests, validates new method for measuring the precise dimensions and comparability of biomolecules

The precise measurement of biomolecules can play a critical role in improving our understanding of fundamental life processes. In a large-scale comparative study involving 19 laboratories around the globe, a team working with LMU scientists Professor Thorben Cordes and Professor Don C. Lamb, alongside Professor Claus Seidel of HHU in Düsseldorf and Dr. Anders Barth of Delft University of...

How dogs are used impacts how they are treated, finds cross-cultural database study

Research into the unique cognitive abilities of dogs often leads to surprises, including dogs' ability to form mental representations of things they smell, or that they know when their owners do something by accident. However, dog cognition research suffers from the same biases as general psychology: in both fields, studies are usually done in WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and...

How to protect the integrity of survey research: 12 recommendations

Science requires data, and survey research is one important means of gathering it. Surveys provide a scientific way of acquiring information that is used to inform policy decisions, guide political campaigns, clarify the needs of stakeholders, enhance customer service, help society understand itself, and improve the quality of life in the United States.

Sulfur may be partly responsible for reddish feathers in barn owls on remote islands

A small team of environmental scientists from several institutions in Italy and Switzerland has found evidence suggesting that at least some of the red plumage sported by barn owls on small, isolated islands may be due to the ingestion of sulfur. In their study, reported in the Journal of Biogeography, the group studied the preserved skin of thousands of barn owl specimens from multiple geographic...