Researchers at the University of Maryland (US) have found a way to make their wood transparent by using sunlight. From a February 2, 2021 news article by Bob Yirka on phys.org (Note: Links have been removed), A team of researchers at the University of Maryland, has found a new way to make wood transparent. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their process and why they believe it is better…

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ARPICO (Society of Italian Researchers & Professionals in Western Canada) is presenting a pre-celebration event to honour Italian Research in the World Day (April 15, 2021). Take special note: the event is being held the day before. Before launching into the announcement, bravo to the organizers! ARPICO consistently offers the most comprehensive details about their events of any group that contacts me. One more thing, to date, they are the only group that have described…

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I think the French title for this call is more informative “L’UNESCO et Mila s’associent pour lancer un appel à publications afin de mettre en lumière les faiblesses du développement de l’IA [l’intelligence artificiel].” Here’s my translation (in advance, apologies to all who find it clumsy), ‘UNESCO {United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) and MILA (Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms) are issuing a joint call for papers illuminating weaknesses in the development of artificial…

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This video features information about eBOSS from a number of researchers including Will Percival, the speaker on the April 7, 2021 PI webcast, From an April 2, 2021 PI notice (received via email), Mapping the Universe with eBOSSWEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 [2021] at 7 pm ETAs Douglas Adams correctly wrote in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s…

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Since COVID-19, we’ve been advised to wear face masks. It seems some of them may not be as safe as we assumed. First, the Health Canada advisory that was issued today, April 2, 2021 and then excerpts from an in-depth posting by Dr. Andrew Maynard (associate dean in the Arizona State University College of Global Futures) about the advisory and the use of graphene in masks. From the Health Canada Recalls & alerts: Face masks…

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I wrote about some brain computer interface (BCI) work out of Stanford University (California, US), in a Sept. 17, 2020 posting (Turning brain-controlled wireless electronic prostheses into reality plus some ethical points), which may have contributed to what is now the first demonstration of a wireless brain-computer interface for people with tetraplegia (also known as quadriplegia). From an April 1, 2021 news item on ScienceDaily, In an important step toward a fully implantable intracortical brain-computer…

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The combination of the US Army, bacterial cellulose, and kombucha seems a little unusual. However, this January 26, 2021 U.S. Army Research Laboratory news release (also on EurekAlert) provides some clues as to how this combination makes sense, Kombucha tea, a trendy fermented beverage, inspired researchers to develop a new way to generate tough, functional materials using a mixture of bacteria and yeast similar to the kombucha mother used to ferment tea.With Army funding, using…

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First, this Cambridge is in Massachusetts, US. The US festival was started in 2007 by John Durant, Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Museum (see the MIT Museum Wikipedia entry for more information). There’s also this from the Cambridge Science Festival website About Us webpage, The Cambridge Science Festival, the first of its kind in the United States, is a celebration showcasing the leading edge in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). …

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A January 26, 2021 news item on Nanowerk announces a promising discovery in ‘self-assembly research’ (Note: A link has been removed, Self-assembly is ubiquitous in the natural world, serving as a route to form organized structures in every living organism. This phenomenon can be seen, for instance, when two strands of DNA — without any external prodding or guidance — join to form a double helix, or when large numbers of molecules combine to create…

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I stumbled across the Little Lost Robot website courtesy of someone (I apologize for not noting who it was) on my Twitter feed. It caught my eye as the approach to the possibilities of an increasingly robotic future is more hopeful than most I’ve seen and most of the ones I’ve featured here. Here’s what they’re all about from the Little Lost Robot website, AboutLittle Lost Robot is a new CIC [community interest company] founded…

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