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hubie writes:

A pair of chemists at the Technical University of Munich have determined a chemical "blueprint" for Parmesan cheese. They used a panel of a dozen trained tasters and had them determine the taste profile for the cheese ("The dominant tastes were found to be saltiness, bitterness, 'burning' and the recently described 'kokumi' sensation linked to perceptions of 'heartiness'."). They then examined 65 candidate taste compounds and ranked them by their dose-over-threshold (DoT) values (the ratio of the measured concentration to its concentration at the taste threshold). To determine how the chemicals affect various aspects of the flavor profile, they presented the tasting panel with various experiments where they manipulated the relative levels of these compounds in a "cheese-like model matrix" (yum!). Of the 65 compounds under consideration, they found 31 chemicals with DoT greater than unity and 15 less than unity.

This gave them a 'molecular blueprint' for the taste of Parmesan which indicated the compounds responsible for each type of flavour. For example, high levels of sodium, potassium and chloride ions account for the cheese's saltiness, and five biogenic amines including histamine, cadaverine and putrescene were found to be responsible for the 'burning' element. Several gamma-glutamyl peptides, which are associated with kokumi, were also identified.

The chemical blueprint gives cheese manufacturers better insight into manipulating the flavor of their product. If one understands where these chemical compounds are formed in the cheese-making process, this might allow one to enhance or suppress these particular compounds. They were able to demonstrate that they could make their cheese-like matrix taste almost the same as real Parmesan cheese.

Paper abstract (DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b00112)

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Phoenix666 writes:

Someday, cicadas and dragonflies might save your sight. The key to this power lies in their wings, which are coated with a forest of tiny pointed pillars that impale and kill bacterial cells unlucky enough to land on them. Now, scientists report they have replicated these antibacterial nanopillars on synthetic polymers that are being developed to restore vision.

[...] "Our method is based on one developed in the early 2000s for the semiconductor industry," says Mary Nora Dickson, a graduate student in Yee's lab. "It is robust, inexpensive and can be used in industrial production. So it can now be applied to medical devices that could improve people's quality of life."

One such application is an artificial cornea that Yee's group aims to construct from poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), familiar to many by trade names such as Plexiglas and Lucite. The material is already commonly used in medical devices including implantable intraocular lenses and traditional hard contact lenses. By building nanopillars into the surfaces of these types of devices, the researchers hope to make them bactericidal without the need for a separate biocidal coating or antibiotic drugs.

In earlier work, Yee, Dickson, Elena Liang, and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, showed that their nanopillars, like those on cicada wings, can kill bacteria referred to as "gram-negative." This group of microorganisms includes E. coli. But cicada nanopillars are unable to kill another type of bacteria known as "gram-positive" because these microbes have thicker cell walls. Wiping out these bacteria, which include MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and Streptococcus (known as "strep"), is important because they cause infections on medical devices and in hospitals.

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legont writes:

CNN reports, "U.S. official raises Iran rocket fears; Tehran denies tests are illegal":

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AnonTechie writes:

Six robot ants, weighing a total of 3.5 oz (99.2 gm), have managed to pull a 3,900-lb (1,769-kg) car by mimicking the behavior of wild ants and using a few other tricks of nature. The mighty miniature machines, dubbed Microtugs, are the brainchild of boffins at the Biomimetics and Dextrous Manipulation Laboratory at Stanford University. Their feat is the equivalent of six humans taking the Eiffel Tower and three Statues of Liberty for a drag.

The team got the idea by observing ants working together to pull large object in the wild. Ants are capable of lifting 100 times their own weight. To haul large loads, they form into long chains and synchronize their footsteps to exert a steady, powerful force. "By considering the dynamics of the team, not just the individual, we are able to build a team of our 'Microtug' robots that, like ants, are super strong individually, but then also work together as a team," team member David Christensen told The New York Times.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/15/robot_ants_pull_car/

[Video Link]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU8Q7gIdiMI

[Abstract]: Let's All Pull Together: Principles for Sharing Large Loads in Microrobot Teams (DOI: 10.1109/LRA.2016.2530314)

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takyon writes:

A Canadian cannabis activist is pledging to give away 1 million seeds through the mail to further test Canada's crumbling prohibition laws:

After mailing out dime bags to Canadian members of Parliament earlier this year, British Columbia weed activist and former New Democratic Party candidate Dana Larsen is expanding his pot giveaway to tokers from coast to coast.

Today, Larsen pledged to send free weed seeds to anyone wanting to plant a cannabis "victory garden" this spring. He says it's an effort to put pressure on the feds to keep their election promise and end pot prohibition. "It is civil disobedience against the unjust pot prohibition laws that has gotten us to the verge of legalization," Larsen wrote in an announcement. "Let us finally bring our plants out of the closet and into the fresh air where they belong." Larsen invites would-be weed growers to visit a new website and fill out a quick form. From there, he'll personally mail ten or 100 seeds to anyone who pledges to grow "openly and freely, preferably on your own property."

Recreational weed use is still illegal across the country, but Larsen isn't too worried about cops coming after him. In the past, he's mailed Premier Christy Clark a half ounce of Purple Kush and delivered all 184 sitting Liberal MPs a gram of ganja along with his book, an illustrated history of cannabis in Canada. At the time, Toronto law enforcement said an investigation into the pro-pot stunts would be a waste of time.

[...] In February, a landmark court decision ruled that medical marijuana patients are allowed to grow their own weed, despite laws passed by the former Conservative government that required patients buy from federal growers. By breaking the law, Emery and Larsen hope to see that right extended to recreational users at home.

Canada's ministry of public safety did not comment on Larsen's seed giveaway, but a government spokesperson confirmed the move is still technically illegal. "Under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, marijuana possession, production and trafficking remains illegal in Canada," wrote media relations officer Scott Bardsley in an email, adding the legalization process will take some time. Constable Annie Delisle with the federal RCMP said the pot mail out is currently under investigation. "We will not be commenting further at this time," reads an emailed statement.

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devlux writes:

I was browsing nature today and came across this article I thought I would share.

Peculiar pattern found in 'random' prime numbers
http://www.nature.com/news/peculiar-pattern-found-in-random-prime-numbers-1.19550 [this article may be paywalled]

The original preprint is available in arxiv
http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.03720

The crux is that prime numbers near to each other tend to avoid repeating their last digits.

If the sequence were truly random, then a prime with 1 as its last digit should be followed by another prime ending in 1 one-quarter of the time. That's because after the number 5, there are only four possibilities — 1, 3, 7 and 9 — for prime last digits. And these are, on average, equally represented among all primes, according to a theorem proved around the end of the nineteenth century, one of the results that underpin much of our understanding of the distribution of prime numbers. (Another is the prime number theorem, which quantifies how much rarer the primes become as numbers get larger.)

Instead, Lemke Oliver and Soundararajan saw that in the first billion primes, a 1 is followed by a 1 about 18% of the time, by a 3 or a 7 each 30% of the time, and by a 9 22% of the time. They found similar results when they started with primes that ended in 3, 7 or 9: variation, but with repeated last digits the least common. The bias persists but slowly decreases as numbers get larger.

Now the original authors claim that this has no impact that they are aware of on cryptography. Any crypto experts care to chime in?

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GungnirSniper writes:

On Monday, the National Football League (NFL) publicly acknowledged for the first time the link between professional American football and degenerative brain disorders such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The league had long since admitted concussions were dangerous, but this is the first time long-term damage has been acknowledged. As recently as last month, long term damage had been denied. A 2012 study of the brains of deceased football players found that 34 out of 35 showed signs of damage.

The condition does not only affect football players, as athletes in rugby, boxing, ice hockey, association football (soccer), and wrestling are also at risk. CTE has been cited as a factor in the murder-suicides committed by football player Jovan Belcher and former WWE Champion Chris Benoit.

Will this admission impact our popular love of sports? Prior bad news had not impacted business:

"The news issues away from the field have had absolutely no impact. ... None," said John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president for programming and production. "The NFL continues to have just an incredible grip on the American sports culture."

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bitstream writes:

In 2014 Google and IEEE announced a one million USD prize to build the most efficient and compact DC to AC converter (450 V DC to 240 V 60 Hz). It was called the Little Box Challenge, with the goal of a 2 kVA electrical converter with a 95% efficiency and a power density greater than 3,1 kW/dm³. A typical solar DC to AC converter have a power density of about 0.31 kW/dm³. The results are in from the competition. The winners from Belgium accomplished 8.7 kW/dm³ using GaN transistors. Two other teams also meet Google's goals.

More than 2000 teams from across the world registered for the competition and 80 proposals qualified for review by IEEE and Google. The winning team, the Red Electrical Devils, exceeded the power density goal for the competition by a factor of 3, which is more than 28 times more compact than commercially available electrical power converters.

Rated for power conversion density:
CE+T Power Red Electric Devils: 8.7 [kW/dm³]
Schneider Electric: 5.9 [kW/dm³]
Virginia Tech's Future Energy Electronics Center: 4.2 [kW/dm³]
(Typical converter: 0.31 [kW/dm³])

Volume given power conversion density greater than 3.1 W/dm³ and minimum 2 kVA capacity:
CE+T Power Red Electric Devils: 0.23 [dm³]
Schneider Electric: 0.34 [dm³]
Virginia Tech's Future Energy Electronics Center: 0.48 [dm³]
(Typical converter: 6.6 [dm³])

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From the (boneheaded) editor: My apologies. I pooched this one in a way that is exceptional, even for me. I humbly beg your forgiveness. The line for torches is on the left, and pitchforks is on the right. Please, move on to the next story and don't waste any further time on this one.

Regards,
cmn32480

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Helencrw writes:

On 9 March, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture (Juan E.Mendez) reported to the Human Rights Council how torture can be understood. Mr Mendez spoke about the suffering of women, girls and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people by saying "we have a tendency to regard violence against these groups as ill-treatment even where they would more appropriately be defined as torture". Mr Mendez explained that it is the duty of states to prevent and combat gender-based violence and discrimination against people who are in detention. In the Special Rapporteurs full report the issue of shackling pregnant women was explained. This report recommends that the practice of shackling and handcuffing pregnant women and women in labor or immediately after childbirth should cease.

The current special rapporteur is clear that shackling is a form of torture and against human rights. Despite this, many stakeholders, academics and practitioners will recognize that there is a gap between the rhetoric of human rights and how they are responded to locally. While pregnant women in prison are protected through human rights, women are economically, socially, legally and culturally disadvantaged in order to be able to enforce their rights. The report by Mr Mandez has made recommendations using legislation and rules however these are not specific in explaining how standards or methods could be improved locally. While this report is welcomed and recommends the protection of pregnant women in prison from a form of torture, there is no suggestion about monitoring, enforcing or implementing localized reforms.

This latest statement by the United Nations Rapporteur is a step in making this issue more prominent. Within the past year, Governor Cuomo signed the Anti-Shackling Bill within New York State. This legislation is specific in barring correctional staff from the delivery room, making it necessary for reporting all incidents where shackling has been deemed necessary and requires rigorous training for all practitioners. The Correctional Association for New York claims this is the only organisation who takes an active role in monitoring compliance of this law. In a statement by the Correctional Association, the new law in New York is welcomed and in particular Miyoshi Benton who has experienced this practice explained, "this Bill protects women and babies who cannot speak for themselves. Thank you, Governor Cuomon, for safeguarding them".

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takyon writes:

AMD has announced the Radeon Pro Duo, a graphics processing unit that is essentially two Fury X GPUs put together:

Officially AMD's commentary was limited reiterating their desire to have the card tied to the VR industry. However I believe that AMD also delayed the card due to the poor state of AFR scaling in recent AAA games, which would make a dual-GPU card a hard sale in the typical PC gaming market. VR, by contrast, is a much better fit since through technologies such as AMD's affinity multi-GPU, the two perspectives that need to be rendered for VR can be mapped directly to each GPU, avoiding AFR's dependency and pacing issues.

[...] Officially, AMD promotes the Radeon Pro Duo as having 16 TFLOPS of performance; this narrows down the specifications considerably to two fully enabled Fiji GPUs, clocked at around 1GHz. Assuming the card doesn't throttle for heat or power issues, this would put performance at an almost identical level to a Radeon R9 Fury X Crossfire, with a gap of no more than 5%.

[...] Finally, let's talk pricing and availability. AMD has announced that the card will retail for $1499. This is the same price that the Radeon R9 295X2 launched at in 2014, however it's more than double the price of a pair of Fury Xes, so pricing is arguably not aggressive there. On the other hand it's more compact than a pair of Fury Xes (or even a pair of Nanos), so there is the space argument to be made, and as AMD's positioning makes clear this is first and foremost a development card to begin with. Meanwhile the Pro Duo will be shipping in "early Q2 2016", which means we should see it become available in the next one to two months.

This one of the last 28nm cards AMD will be releasing before the launch of 14nm "Polaris" GPUs.

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-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

CounterPunch reports

Seven top Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) experts have taken the brave rare step of publicly filing an independent finding warning that nearly every U.S. atomic reactor has a generic safety flaw that could spark a disaster.

[...] Each of the 99 remaining U.S. reactors is in its own particular state of advanced decay. All are based on technology dating to the 1950s, and all but one are at least 30 years old.

[...] The NRC's income is based on revenues from operating reactors, meaning shutting one runs counter to its financial interests, though Congress seems always ready to pump in more money as long as the regulators don't regulate. President Obama referred to the NRC in 2007 as a "moribund agency".

Now, however, seven top NRC experts have gone public with a warning that 98 of the 99 nukes still operating in the U.S. suffer from a serious cooling system defect that threatens every one of them.

As reported by Reuters, the engineers filed a 2.206 petition usually used by public interest groups to raise safety and other concerns with the commission. That active NRC employees took this route indicates the engineers were concerned about official inaction.

According to Reuters, the engineers worry the flaw leaves U.S. reactors "vulnerable to so-called open-phase events in which an unbalanced voltage, such as an electrical short, could cause motors to burn out and reduce the ability of a reactor's emergency cooling system to function. If the motors are burned out, backup electricity systems would be of little help."

Such an event in 2012 forced the Byron 2 reactor in Illinois to shut for about a week. The engineers' petition says 13 such events have struck reactors worldwide in the past 14 years.

Nuclear expert David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists said the commission could have dealt with the issue years ago, but instead "snatched defeat from the jaws of victory" by letting the reactors continue operating without correcting the problem. "Something is not right with the safety culture at the agency", Lochbaum told Reuters.

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GungnirSniper writes:

Surrogacy is an option for having children, but with this new possibility come new ethical dilemmas as well. In order to improve the odds of implanted embryos, two or three are often implanted in the surrogate. Bringing multiples to term carries a number of risks so when the father-to-be wants a "selective reduction" done who has the right to deny or impose the process?

The 47-year-old Californian had agreed to be a surrogate for a 50-year-old postal worker in Georgia, and she became pregnant last year with three boys. But then, she said later in a lawsuit, the man expressed concerns about his dwindling finances and about the health of the babies. He asked her to undergo "selective reduction" to eliminate one of the embryos.

She filed a lawsuit to keep all three alive, and has also filed for custody of them. The three were born via Caesarian on February 22nd and are all underweight. WSB Radio reports she has asked the courts to rule her 75-page contract unenforceable so that she will be protected from the consequences of breaching it.

At what point does someone else's genetic material and offspring become the surrogate's? Or has she breached her contract and in doing so, harmed the three infants?

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takyon writes:

The Dropbox cloud storage service has migrated away from Amazon Web Services:

We've grown enormously since launching in 2008, surpassing 500 million signups and 500 petabytes (i.e., 5 followed by 17 zeroes!) of user data. That's almost 14,000 times the text of all the books in the Library of Congress. To give you a sense of the incredible growth we've experienced, we had only about 40 petabytes of user data when I joined in 2012. In the 4 years since, we've seen over 12x growth.

Dropbox stores two kinds of data: file content and metadata about files and users. We've always had a hybrid cloud architecture, hosting metadata and our web servers in data centers we manage, and storing file content on Amazon. We were an early adopter of Amazon S3, which provided us with the ability to scale our operations rapidly and reliably. Amazon Web Services has, and continues to be, an invaluable partner—we couldn't have grown as fast as we did without a service like AWS.

As the needs of our users and customers kept growing, we decided to invest seriously in building our own in-house storage system. There were a couple reasons behind this decision. First, one of our key product differentiators is performance. Bringing storage in-house allows us to customize the entire stack end-to-end and improve performance for our particular use case. Second, as one of the world's leading providers of cloud services, our use case for block storage is unique. We can leverage our scale and particular use case to customize both the hardware and software, resulting in better unit economics.

Reported at The Register.

Other coverage: Dropbox blog,
Computerworld ,
Wired (from original submission; may be paywalled).

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canopic jug writes:

The New York Times has an opinion piece about Open Access publishing. It starts with the case of Alexandra Elbakyan a guerilla open access activist who is on the lam from the US government acting on behalf of the copyright cartel. Pricing and other restrictions put many journals out of reach of all but the few researchers at major, well-funded universities in developed nations. The large publishing companies usually have profit margins over 30% and subscription prices have been rising twice as fast as the price of health care, which itself is priced insanely, over the past two decades, so there appears to be a real scandal there. Several options are available including pre-print repositories and various open access journals. The latter require the author to pay up front for publishing. However, the real onus lies on the communities' leaders, like heads of institutions and presidents of universities, who are in a position to change which journals are perceived as high-impact.

Edit: Alexandra Elbakyan founded Sci-Hub in 2011.

Original Submission