New AI model helps understand virus spread from animals to humans

A new model that applies artificial intelligence to carbohydrates improves the understanding of the infection process and could help predict which viruses are likely to spread from animals to humans. This is reported in a recent study led by researchers…

Study of harvey flooding aids in quantifying climate change

How much do the effects of climate change contribute to extreme weather events? It’s hard to say–the variables involved are plentiful, each event is unique, and we can only do so much to investigate what didn’t happen. But a new…

Changing community networks impact disease spread

The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the importance of understanding precisely how diseases spread throughout networks of transportation. However, rigorously determining the connection between disease risk and changing networks–which either humans or the environment may alter–is challenging due to the…

Study shows how permafrost releases methane in the warming Arctic

Researchers from Skoltech have designed and conducted experiments measuring gas permeability under various conditions for ice-containing sediments mimicking permafrost. Their results can be useful both in modeling and testing techniques for gas production from Arctic reservoirs and in tracing methane…

Social media use one of four factors related to higher COVID-19 spread rates early on

TORONTO, June 9, 2021 – Researchers from York University and the University of British Columbia have found social media use to be one of the factors related to the spread of COVID-19 within dozens of countries during the early stages…

Srinivas Rangarajan wins NSF CAREER award for catalytic transfer hydrogenation research

Lehigh University computational chemical engineer to advance fundamental understanding of promising approach for safe, streamlined, cost-effective biomass and CO2 conversion

New study: Developers’ skills and top management commitment lead to Agile project success

Around the globe, software-intensive organisations shift from plan-based development processes to Agile ones, intending to focus more on team interaction, better products, customers’ needs, and readiness to change. But how do these organisations succeed with large-scale Agile software transformations –…

Feeling hot and bothered? It’s complicated

Rising temperatures are increasingly affecting the quality of life in many regions, setting new challenges for architects, urban planners and healthcare systems. Researchers at KAUST have analyzed discomfort due to outdoor heat across Saudi Arabia and neighboring regions to help…

How basic physics and chemistry constrain cellular functions in primitive and modern cells

A long-standing basic question in biology relates to how life satisfies the fundamental constraints put on it by physics and chemistry. Darwin’s warm pond hypothesis for the origin of primordial cells is a familiar one. Advances have been made in…

Computers can now predict our preferences directly from our brain

A research team from the University of Copenhagen and University of Helsinki demonstrates it is possible to predict individual preferences based on how a person’s brain responses match up to others. This could potentially be used to provide individually-tailored media…

Technique inspired by lace making could someday weave structures in space

Lauren Dreier was paging through a 19th century book by the German architect Gottfried Semper when she spotted some intriguing patterns inspired by lace. A professional artist and designer who often incorporates technology into her work, Dreier, who is also…

Life stage differences shield ecological communities from collapse

A new study by ecologist André de Roos* shows that differences between juveniles and adults of the same species are crucial for the stability of complex ecological communities. The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , represents a major…

‘Floating’ microgrids: Optimizing naval ships’ power systems

Lehigh University electrical and computer engineering researcher Wenxin Liu awarded two ONR grants–totaling $900,000–for algorithmic design and hardware experimentation that could lead to advances in civilian microgrid technology

Artificial intelligence agreement to advance Army modernization efforts

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The U.S. Army plans to cooperate in artificial intelligence research with teams led by the University of Maryland, College Park and in partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The cooperative agreement brings together a…

Computer vision: TU Graz researchers define new state of the art

Our visual cortex can capture images and recognize objects in a fraction of a second, even if they are barely visible or only fragmentary. One reason for this fantastic peak performance is the highly efficient hierarchical layer architecture of the…

Scientists overhear two atoms chatting

How materials behave depends on the interactions between countless atoms. You could see this as a giant group chat in which atoms are continuously exchanging quantum information. Researchers from Delft University of Technology in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University and…

New research shows ridesharing services reduce sexual assault

Research Study Key Takeaways: Ridesharing can reduce a passenger’s risk of being a target of sexual assault by providing a more reliable and timely transportation option for traveling to a safer place. The entry of Uber into a city contributes…

Promoting young talent in Chemistry: New research training group launched at MLU

The Research Training Group (RTG) 2670 “Beyond Amphiphilicity: Self-organisation of soft matter via multiple noncovalent interactions” has begun its work at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). Amphiphilicity, a fundamental ordering principle for molecules, will be the starting point of the…