Using information technology to promote health equity

An innovative health information technology (IT) program helps primary care providers to detect and manage depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in traumatized refugees, reports a study in a special June supplement to Medical Care.

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Researchers discover how a member of a family of light-sensitive proteins adjusts skin color

A team of Brown University researchers found that opsin 3—a protein closely related to rhodopsin, the protein that enables low-light vision—has a role in adjusting the amount of pigment produced in human skin, a determinant of skin color.

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Protecting rare species can benefit human life

Preserving rare species for the sake of global biodiversity has long been the primary focus for conservationists.

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Improving health outcomes with a little help from our friends—and artificial intelligence

We fare better during health challenges when we have a little help from our friends, family and community. And perhaps an assist from artificial intelligence.

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How host-cell enzymes combat the coronavirus

Host-cell enzymes called PARP12 and PARP14 are important for inhibiting mutant forms of a coronavirus, according to a study published May 16 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Stanley Perlman of the University of Iowa, Anthony Fehr of the University of Kansas, and colleagues.

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Imagine Apple's App Store with no walled garden

Gregg Spiridellis isn't shy when it comes to his feelings about the Apple iOS App Store.

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Preventive measures can reduce foot parasite in children, study says

Tungiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by penetrated sand fleas which burrow into the skin of the feet. Public health policies such as sealing house and classroom floors and daily feet washing with soap could cut the number of tungiasis cases in school-aged children, researchers now report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

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Here's why your internet may be delivered by a drone someday soon

As the pilotless flying wing came in for a landing, winds suddenly picked up. Facebook Inc.'s Aquila drone—powered by the sun and wider than a Boeing 737 jetliner—struggled to adjust. Just before landing, part of the right wing broke off.

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Particulate matter from aircraft engines affects airways

In a unique, innovative experiment, researchers under the leadership of the University of Bern have investigated the effect of exhaust particles from aircraft turbine engines on human lung cells. The cells reacted most strongly to particles emitted during ground idling. It was also shown that the cytotoxic effect is only to some extent comparable to that of particles from gasoline and diesel engines.

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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.

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Framework improves 'continual learning' for artificial intelligence

Researchers have developed a new framework for deep neural networks that allows artificial intelligence (AI) systems to better learn new tasks while "forgetting" less of what it has learned regarding previous tasks. The researchers have also demonstrated that using the framework to learn a new task can make the AI better at performing previous tasks, a phenomenon called backward transfer.

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Helping robots remember: Hyperdimensional computing theory could change the way AI works

The Houston Astros' José Altuve steps up to the plate on a 3-2 count, studies the pitcher and the situation, gets the go-ahead from third base, tracks the ball's release, swings ... and gets a single up the middle. Just another trip to the plate for the three-time American League batting champion.

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Artificial intelligence shines light on the dark web

Beneath the surface web, the public form of the internet you use daily to check email or read news articles, exists a concealed "dark web." Host to anonymous, password-protected sites, the dark web is where criminal marketplaces thrive in the advertising and selling of weapons, drugs, and trafficked persons. Law enforcement agencies work continuously to stop these activities, but the challenges they face in investigating and prosecuting the real-world people behind the users who post on these sites are tremendous.

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Evolution in the gut

Evolution and dietary habits interact and determine the composition of bacteria in the digestive tract. Many microorganisms in the intestine seem to have developed in sync with their host animals over millions of years.

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Reprogrammable satellite takes shape

The payload and platform of the first European satellite that can be completely reprogrammed after launch have been successfully joined together.

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'Foldable' PC? Lenovo ThinkPad laptop screen bends in half like a book

Samsung has gained a lot attention lately for its Galaxy Fold hybrid smartphone/tablet, though given the recent display snags that have prompted a delay in the product's release, not necessarily for all the right reasons.

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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.

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'More than human': Wonders of AI on show in London

Managing the health of the planet, fighting discrimination or boosting innovation in the arts; the fields in which Artificial Intelligence can help humans are countless, and an ambitious London exhibition aims to prove it.

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Captive chimpanzees spontaneously use tools to excavate underground food

Chimpanzees in captivity can successfully work out how to use tools to excavate underground food, even if they've never been presented with an underground food scenario before, according to a study published May 15, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Alba Motes-Rodrigo and colleagues and directed by Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar from the University of Oslo.

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Do you trust politicians? Depends on how you define trust

There's more to trust than credence and faith, especially as it comes to politics. Research from Michigan State University and North Carolina State University presents new evidence to suggest that there are more layers to political trust than the public—and politicians themselves—previously thought.

* This article was originally published here