Thursday 16 May 2019

Mining 25 years of data uncovers a new predictor of age of onset for Huntington disease

Investigators at the University of British Columbia (UBC)/Centre for Molecular Medicine & Therapeutics (CMMT) and BC Children's Hospital have examined more than 25 years of data to reveal new insights into predicting the age of onset for Huntington disease.

* This article was originally published here

Imaging black hole like listening to broken piano, says scientist

US computer scientist Katie Bouman, who became a global sensation over her role in generating the world's first image of a black hole, has described the painstaking process as akin to listening to a piano with broken keys.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers teach robots handwriting and drawing

An algorithm developed by Brown University computer scientists enables robots to put pen to paper, writing words using stroke patterns similar to human handwriting. It's a step, the researchers say, toward robots that are able to communicate more fluently with human co-workers and collaborators.

* This article was originally published here

Archaeological discovery upends a piece of Barbados history

Which came first, the pigs or the pioneers? In Barbados, that has been a historical mystery ever since the first English colonists arrived on the island in 1627 to encounter what they thought was a herd of wild European pigs.

* This article was originally published here

Could better tests help reverse the rise of drug-resistant infections?

A growing number of infections—such as pneumonia, gonorrhea and tuberculosis—are becoming harder to treat, as bacteria evolve defenses against antibiotics faster than we can develop new drugs to replace them.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers create washable sensor that can be woven into materials

Forget the smart watch. Bring on the smart shirt.

* This article was originally published here

SpaceX has packed 60 satellites onto one rocket to advance its big internet plan

SpaceX's plan to provide broadband access will take a big step forward Thursday night as the Elon Musk-led firm prepares to launch five dozen small satellites on a single rocket. They will eventually become part of a network of potentially thousands of internet-beaming spacecraft.

* This article was originally published here

Dabigatran doesn't beat aspirin for preventing recurrent stroke

(HealthDay)—Dabigatran is not superior to aspirin for preventing recurrent stroke in patients with recent history of embolic stroke of undetermined source, according to a study published in the May 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

* This article was originally published here

Foreign aid for public health bolsters America's 'soft power,' researchers find

U.S. government aid for treating children and adults with HIV and malaria in developing countries has done more than expand access to lifesaving interventions: It has changed how people around the world view the United States, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

* This article was originally published here

Machine learning reduces language barriers in global trade, research shows

Machine learning and artificial intelligence have exploded onto the scene in recent years, offering the hope of greater business efficiency. At the same time, researchers have found virtually no empirical evidence supporting the promised strides in labor productivity and economic activity.

* This article was originally published here

Cannabis legalization not tied to higher health care utilization

(HealthDay)—Legalization of recreational cannabis is not associated with changes in health care utilization, as measured by length of stay or health care costs, according to a study published in the May issue of BMJ Open.

* This article was originally published here

ASCO: Low-fat dietary pattern cuts breast cancer deaths

(HealthDay)—A low-fat dietary intervention is associated with reductions in deaths after breast cancer and deaths from breast cancer among postmenopausal women after long-term follow-up, according to a study scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, held from May 31 to June 4 in Chicago.

* This article was originally published here

Cryptocurrencies are finally going mainstream – the battle is on to bring them under global control

The 21st-century revolutionaries who have dominated cryptocurrencies are having to move over. Mainstream financial institutions are adopting these assets and the blockchain technology that enables them, in what is perhaps the most profound development since the birth of cryptocurrencies through the launch of bitcoin a decade ago.

* This article was originally published here

Atlas is rockstar cross-stepper over tricky terrain

Robot enthusiasts were sending up cheers this month to the team advancing Atlas into an even more human-like walker through obstacles including a bunch of cinder blocks and a balance beam. They have turned Atlas into the very credible hulk, who wins the spotlight with its display of walking, which was recorded May 1.

* This article was originally published here

Mercedes want to abandon combustion engines by 2039

German giant Mercedes-Benz said Monday it wants to stop selling traditional combustion engine cars by 2039 and plans for its new vehicles sold worldwide by that time to be carbon-neutral.

* This article was originally published here

Ancient fish ponds in the Bolivian savanna supported human settlement

A network of fish ponds supported a permanent human settlement in the seasonal drylands of Bolivia more than one thousand years ago, according to a new study published May 15, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Gabriela Prestes-Carneiro of Federal University of Western Para, Brazil, and colleagues. The study is the first to document the full range of fish species likely kept in these constructed ponds, and provides new insights into how humans modified the savannah environment to cope with the months-long droughts that characterize this region of the Amazon Basin.

* This article was originally published here

How climate change will affect the rural northeast: Expect three weeks of heat

While extreme cold and snow often make headlines in the Northeast, by 2060, there will be far more record heat. Imagine the most sweltering day of the year. By 2060, you will experience that type of hot day for approximately three weeks of the year, assuming we don't substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to a Dartmouth study, of the rural Northeast counties represented, those in the bottom two lowest income quartiles will be hit hardest, as their communities will be disproportionately affected by increases in extremely hot days relative to wealthier counties. The findings are published in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers.

* This article was originally published here