Researchers report the origin and immunoregulatory function of monocytes

Non-classical monocytes were long thought to play a purely surveillance role in the immune system. With the aid of a novel marker (PD-L1), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) researchers in Munich have now shown that they are directly involved in the regulation of immune response.

* This article was originally published here

Spintronic memory cells for neural networks

In recent years, researchers have proposed a wide variety of hardware implementations for feed-forward artificial neural networks. These implementations include three key components: a dot-product engine that can compute convolution and fully-connected layer operations, memory elements to store intermediate inter and intra-layer results, and other components that can compute non-linear activation functions.

* This article was originally published here

Embryonic microRNA fuels heart cell regeneration, researchers show

By adulthood, the heart is no longer able to replenish injured or diseased cells. As a result, heart disease or an event like a heart attack can be disastrous, leading to massive cell death and permanent declines in function. A new study by scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM), however, shows that it may be possible to reverse this damage and restore heart function, even after a severe heart attack.

* This article was originally published here

UK study shows seal singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'

Researchers in Scotland say gray seals can copy the sounds of human words and songs including "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

* This article was originally published here

A clear vision for cancer diagnosis

While reading an article about Sen. John McCain's glioblastoma diagnosis, Kavya Kopparapu was shocked to learn that the prognosis for this aggressive brain cancer has not improved over the past 30 years. With standard treatment, glioblastoma patients typically survive for only about 11 months after diagnosis, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers report new understanding of thermoelectric materials

The promise of thermoelectric materials as a source of clean energy has driven the search for materials that can efficiently produce substantial amounts of power from waste heat.

* This article was originally published here

Hubble captures elusive, irregular galaxy

This image shows an irregular galaxy named IC 10, a member of the Local Group—a collection of over 50 galaxies in our cosmic neighborhood that includes the Milky Way.

* This article was originally published here

PSI imaging helps with rocket launches

Rockets from the European Space Agency (ESA) fly into space with support from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Imaging carried out at PSI in cooperation with Dassault Aviation ensures the quality of certain components of the Ariane 5 and Vega launch vehicles. With the help of the neutrons generated at the neutron source SINQ, PSI researchers are screening so-called pyrotechnic components that are installed in the ESA rockets. These components, which act like fuse cords and igniters, ensure, among other things, that the booster rockets are dropped at the right hundredth of a second. The Ariane launch on 20 June took place with components that had been examined at PSI.

* This article was originally published here

There are infinite ways to have sex, and there's nothing unnatural about any of them

Humans have discovered an almost infinite amount of ways to have sex —and things to have sex with. The famous sex researcher Alfred Kinsey said: "The only unnatural sex act is that which can't be performed."

* This article was originally published here

Shaken and stirred: Scientists capture the deformation effect of shock waves on a material

Understanding how shock waves affect structures is crucial for advancements in material science research, including safety protocols and novel surface modifications. Using X-ray diffraction probes, scientists at the Institute of Materials Structure Science of KEK, Tokyo of Tech, Kumamoto University, and University of Tsukuba studied the deformation of polycrystalline aluminum foil when subjected to a laser-driven shock wave.

* This article was originally published here

Locking up kids damages their mental health and leads to more disadvantage. Is this what we want?

Reports this week of an Indigenous boy with a disability held naked for days in a Brisbane police cell have once again raised the issue of how best to treat our most vulnerable young offenders, and the impact of their incarceration.

* This article was originally published here

Majority of people return lost wallets – here's the psychology and which countries are the most honest

Honesty is one of the traits we value most in others. We often assume it is a rather rare quality, making it important for us to find out who we can actually trust in this selfish world. But according to new research, there's no need to be so cynical—it turns out most people in the world are honourable enough to return a lost wallet, especially if it contains a lot of cash.

* This article was originally published here

Restrictive approach to blood cell transfusions safe for heart surgery patients

In a recent clinical trial of higher risk patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery, a restrictive approach to blood cell transfusions resulted in fewer transfusions without putting patients at increased risk of acute kidney injury. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of JASN.

* This article was originally published here

Using game theory to model poisoning attack scenarios

Poisoning attacks are among the greatest security threats for machine learning (ML) models. In this type of attack, an adversary tries to control a fraction of the data used to train neural networks and injects malicious data points to hinder a model's performance.

* This article was originally published here

Virtual Facebook currency faces real-world resistance

If Facebook's new cryptocurrency should resonate anywhere it should be India, where the social media giant has more than 300 million followers.

* This article was originally published here