Deep-CEE: The AI deep learning tool helping astronomers explore deep space

Galaxy clusters are some of the most massive structures in the cosmos, but despite being millions of lightyears across, they can still be hard to spot. Researchers at Lancaster University have turned to artificial intelligence for assistance, developing "Deep-CEE" (Deep Learning for Galaxy Cluster Extraction and Evaluation), a novel deep learning technique to speed up the process of finding them. Matthew Chan, a Ph.D. student at Lancaster University, is presenting this work at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy meeting on 4 July at 3:45pm in the Machine Learning in Astrophysics session.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/deep-cee-the-ai-deep-learning-tool-helping-astronomers-explore-deep-space

Collision course: Amateur astronomers play a part in efforts to keep space safe

Heavy traffic is commonplace on Earth but now congestion is becoming an increasing problem in space. With over 22,000 artificial satellites in orbit it is essential to keep track of their positions in order to avoid unexpected collisions. Amateur astronomers from the Basingstoke Astronomical Society have been helping the Ministry of Defence explore what is possible using high-end consumer equipment to track objects in space.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/collision-course-amateur-astronomers-play-a-part-in-efforts-to-keep-space-safe

Substantial increase in body weight since 1960s due to interplay between genes and environment

People with a genetic predisposition to obesity are not only at greater risk of excess weight, their genes interact with an increasingly "obesogenic" environment, resulting in higher body mass index (BMI) in recent decades, finds a study from Norway published by The BMJ today.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/substantial-increase-in-body-weight-since-1960s-due-to-interplay-between-genes-and-environment

Allotment soil is safer than U.K. national guidelines suggest

With the rise in popularity of people growing their own fruit and vegetables, it may be surprising to know that many urban allotments have soil with lead levels above UK guidance values.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/allotment-soil-is-safer-than-u-k-national-guidelines-suggest

Image: Suomi NPP satellite captures ongoing fires in Alaska

There are many fires ongoing in the state of Alaska, but two of the largest are visible in this satellite image—Hess Creek Fire and Swan Lake Fire.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/image-suomi-npp-satellite-captures-ongoing-fires-in-alaska

SpaceX has lost contact with three of its Starlink satellites

On May 23rd, 2019, SpaceX launched the first batch of its Starlink constellation, a fleet of satellites that will fulfill Elon Musk's promise to provide broadband satellite-internet access to the entire planet. The deployment of these 60 satellites was the first in a series of six planned launches that would see around 720 satellites orbiting at an operational altitude of 550 km (340 mi).

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/spacex-has-lost-contact-with-three-of-its-starlink-satellites

Carbon dioxide levels and climate change: Is there really a controversy?

The relationship between atmospheric CO2 levels and climate change is often perceived as a controversial subject. While there's no real disagreement among climate scientists—around 90% fully agree that human activity is clearly responsible for climate change—in the United States in 2016, barely 50% of the general public came to the same conclusion. Adding to the general confusion, highly active "climate-change deniers" claim that temperature has evolved independently of CO2 atmospheric concentrations through Earth's history, and that therefore today's rising CO2 levels are not an issue.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/carbon-dioxide-levels-and-climate-change-is-there-really-a-controversy

How anglers are changing the catchability of fish

For many outdoor enthusiasts, fishing borders on an obsession—the thrill of the chase may be just as rewarding as landing a big catch.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/how-anglers-are-changing-the-catchability-of-fish

Lunar and solar eclipses make animals do strange things

For most animals, the structure of their day—and indeed their year—depends on the light-dark cycle. These regular and rhythmic cycles in the length of days tell animals when they should be foraging, when they should be asleep, when it's time to migrate and when it's time to breed. Animals can tell all this from how many hours of daylight they experience, but the moon's cycles also strongly influence their behavior.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/lunar-and-solar-eclipses-make-animals-do-strange-things

Image: Radio frequency model of Europe's future Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I) satellite

This mesh-based model of Europe's future Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I) satellite has helped select the optimal location of the radio frequency antennas used to send it commands and downlink mission telemetry.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/image-radio-frequency-model-of-europes-future-meteosat-third-generation-imager-mtg-i-satellite

Zambian teens can't talk about sex or contraception, even with their friends

Becoming pregnant constitutes a threat to young girls' health. That's because they have a higher risk of maternal complications than adult women.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/zambian-teens-cant-talk-about-sex-or-contraception-even-with-their-friends

Scientists find carbon from thawing permafrost is released into the atmosphere at higher rates than previously thought

For years, scientists have pointed to warming permafrost in the Arctic tundra as a source for increased carbon in the atmosphere; as this soil warms, it releases greenhouse gases that have long been trapped in frozen ground.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/scientists-find-carbon-from-thawing-permafrost-is-released-into-the-atmosphere-at-higher-rates-than-previously-thought

New modeling technique discovers surprising 'liquid-crystal' organization of liver tissue

The currently used simplified model of mammalian liver tissue can only show in a limited way how liver tissue is structured and formed. Almost 70 years later, researchers at the Max Planck Institutes of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics as well as for the Physics of Complex Systems together with the TU Dresden took advantage of novel microscopy developments, computer-aided image analysis, and 3-D tissue reconstruction and created a new realistic 3-D model of liver organization. Remarkably, they discovered that the liver features an organized structure, similar to liquid crystals.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/new-modeling-technique-discovers-surprising-liquid-crystal-organization-of-liver-tissue

Blue 'noctilucent' clouds are appearing further south than ever seen before, and pollution may be a cause

Cloud watchers have recently been given record-breaking glimpses of the rarest clouds in the skies. Stunning rippled blue clouds have been forming in the highest reaches of the atmosphere over Europe and the U.S.. These clouds are normally only seen around the poles, but this summer is set to be the best observing season in years—they have already been seen at the lowest latitudes ever recorded.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/blue-noctilucent-clouds-are-appearing-further-south-than-ever-seen-before-and-pollution-may-be-a-cause

Four surprising technological innovations that came out of the Apollo moon landings

NASA's Apollo programme was one of the most challenging technological achievements in the 20th century. Beyond the space race and exploration, it contributed to several inventions and innovations that are still having an impact on our lives. But at the same time, there are several myths regarding what technologies actually came out of it.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/four-surprising-technological-innovations-that-came-out-of-the-apollo-moon-landings

Smartphone network helps uncover hundreds of anti-cancer molecules in food

A crowdsourcing project which uses thousands of idling smartphones has helped to uncover anti-cancer properties of everyday foods and medicines.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/smartphone-network-helps-uncover-hundreds-of-anti-cancer-molecules-in-food

Work capability assessments: Making them more consistent

On behalf of social security institutions, psychiatrists assess to what extent people with mental health problems are still able to work. However, the work capability assessments tend to be far too dissimilar. A new training course, conducted within the scope of an SNSF-funded study, has helped to reduce the differences.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/work-capability-assessments-making-them-more-consistent

A tiny soft robot that mimics jellyfish

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems has developed a soft robot that effectively mimics a tiny jellyfish. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes the robot and its capabilities.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/a-tiny-soft-robot-that-mimics-jellyfish

Researchers ID cause and potential treatment for deadly inherited arrhythmia

Leading a global network of 28 healthcare institutes, researchers at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Wexner Medical Center and Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute have discovered key genetic and molecular connections that explain the beginning of an inherited, life-threatening form of heart disease and point toward a way to treat it. Their research just published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-id-cause-and-potential-treatment-for-deadly-inherited-arrhythmia

Validating medical information on social media

Medical information and healthcare advice abound on the internet, both genuine, science-based information as well as spurious and fake. Research published in the International Journal of Web Engineering and Technology, looks to using a crowd-sourcing approach to the validation of medication information on one particular niche of the internet – the well-known microblogging platform known as Twitter.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/validating-medical-information-on-social-media

A simple text could make the difference between life and death

A Ph.D. researcher from the University of South Australia is testing whether smartphone text messages can encourage cancer patients to take their oral medication and improve their chances of survival.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/a-simple-text-could-make-the-difference-between-life-and-death

Graphenes now go monolayer and single crystalline

IBS-CMCM scientists have reported a truly single layer (i.e., adlayer-free) large area graphene film on large area copper foils. They refined the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth method by eliminating all carbon impurities inside the copper foils on which graphene is grown. This uniform, "perfect" single layer, single crystal graphene is expected to find use as an ultrathin support material for high-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging, and in optical devices. Also as an appropriate graphene to achieve extremely uniform functionalization which leads to many other applications, particularly for sensors of various types.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/graphenes-now-go-monolayer-and-single-crystalline

Infants 10 to 16 months old prefer those who yield in conflicts, study finds

Social status matters, even to infants between 10 and 16 months old, according to a new study by two University of California, Irvine cognitive scientists. Published online in Current Biology, the research found that in staged confrontations between two puppets, babies preferred the one who deferred.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/infants-10-to-16-months-old-prefer-those-who-yield-in-conflicts-study-finds

Code in Chinese surveillance app analysed

Computer security researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), in collaboration with the association of investigative journalists from NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), have analysed the Chinese surveillance app that travellers must install on their phones when crossing the border from Kyrgyzstan to China. The researchers report that the app scans the phone for approximately 73,000 specific files. Moreover, it compiles a report for border officials, including, for example, the most recent phone activities, contacts, SMS and social media accounts. The researchers have published their findings online. In the media, the investigation results were reported on 2 July 2019.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/code-in-chinese-surveillance-app-analysed

Resilient people have lessons to offer, and researchers are listening

What is resilience? And why can trauma and stress leave one person reeling, while someone else may coast through the same troubles with just a shrug and a smile?

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/resilient-people-have-lessons-to-offer-and-researchers-are-listening

Image: 400-hectare wildfire is largest ever in German state

On 30 June, a wildfire broke out at a military training site in Lübtheen, in northern Germany.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/image-400-hectare-wildfire-is-largest-ever-in-german-state

Is wildfire management 'for the birds?'

Spotted owl populations are in decline all along the West Coast, and as climate change increases the risk of large and destructive wildfires in the region, these iconic animals face the real threat of losing even more of their forest habitat.

* This article was originally published here

Vegetables recalled over possible listeria contamination

Fresh vegetable products distributed across the nation under several brand names have been voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer.

* This article was originally published here

Respiratory symptoms predict life expectancy in older adults

New research published in Respirology suggests that some respiratory symptoms may predict an earlier death in older adults. Also, such predictions differ by smoking status.

* This article was originally published here

Tiny motor can 'walk' to carry out tasks

Years ago, MIT Professor Neil Gershenfeld had an audacious thought. Struck by the fact that all the world's living things are built out of combinations of just 20 amino acids, he wondered: Might it be possible to create a kit of just 20 fundamental parts that could be used to assemble all of the different technological products in the world?

* This article was originally published here