SoylentNews

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a widely used medical tool for taking pictures of the insides of our body. One way to make MRI scans easier to read is through the use of contrast agents -- magnetic dyes injected into the blood or given orally to patients that then travel to organs and tissues, making them easier to see. Recently, researchers have begun to develop next-generation contrast agents, such as magnetic nanoparticles, that can be directed specifically to sites of interest, such as tumors.

But there remains a problem with many of these agents: they are sometimes difficult to distinguish from our bodies' tissues, which give off their own MRI signals. For example, a researcher reading an MRI scan may not know with certainty if a dark patch near a tumor represents a contrast agent bound to the tumor, or is an unrelated signal from surrounding tissue.

Caltech's Mikhail Shapiro, assistant professor of chemical engineering, thinks he has a solution. He and his team are working on "erasable" contrast agents that would have the ability to blink off, on command, thereby revealing their location in the body.

"We're developing MRI contrast agents that can be erased with ultrasound, allowing you to turn them off," says Shapiro, who is also a Schlinger Scholar and Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator. "It's the same principle behind blinking bicycle lights. Having the lights turn on and off makes them easier to see, only in our case we just blink off the contrast agent once."

The new research was published in the February 26 advanced issue of Nature Materials, and is on the cover of the May print edition out this month. The lead author is George Lu, a postdoctoral scholar in Shapiro's lab.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Colombian scientists race to study once-forbidden territory before it is lost to development—or new conflict

For decades, the Urabá region, just across the border in [geologist Camilo] Montes's home country, was occupied by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a leftist guerrilla group that had waged war on the Colombian state since 1964. "Those who went in never came out," Montes says. That all changed with a stroke of a pen on 26 September 2016, when Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a peace deal with the FARC. Guerrilla fighters shuttered their jungle camps and handed over their weapons.

Now, Montes and other Colombian scientists are rushing in, exploring the geology of their country, its wealth of species, and how its ecosystems are coping with stresses such as deforestation and climate change. Those forays are risky: Vast areas haven't yet been cleared of land mines (see sidebar), and drug traffickers, paramilitary groups, and non-FARC armed insurgents plague the countryside. But the researchers are seduced by the prospect of prying scientific secrets from huge swaths of land that are no longer off-limits. Urabá's geology, Montes says, "is all a blank slate."

[...] Now that researchers are more free to explore, they are finding that the long conflict had an ecological upside: suppressing development in guerrilla-held territory. FARC fighters deforested some areas to plant coca, but their camps were well hidden and had a light environmental footprint. The violence also deterred farmers and ranchers from encroaching on the wilderness. [...] But the once-occupied ecosystems won't remain pristine for much longer, Link says. "These areas haven't just opened up for scientists," he says. "They've opened up for the whole machinery of development." Deforestation is picking up nationwide, including in Colombia's Amazon region, as farmers clear forest for pastures and crops. In 2016, the last year for which statistics are available, deforestation in Colombia jumped 44%. "The country is experiencing more environmental deterioration than ever before," Link says.

Original Submission

conn8d writes:

After 6 long years, GIMP has finally released version 2.10 using the Generic Graphics Library (GEGL) for high bit depth processing. This release comes with a brand new interface, better integrated color management, a new unified transform tool for scaling, rotating, and correcting perspective, and many other improvements and tools.

takyon: More detailed release notes and NEWS file.

High bit depth support allows processing images with up to 32-bit per color channel precision and open/export PSD, TIFF, PNG, EXR, and RGBE files in their native fidelity. Additionally, FITS images can be opened with up to 64-bit per channel precision.

Multi-threading allows making use of multiple cores for processing. Not all features in GIMP make use of that, it's something we intend to work on further. A point of interest is that multi-threading happens through GEGL processing, but also in core GIMP itself, for instance to separate painting from display code.

GPU-side processing is still optional, but available for systems with stable OpenCL drivers.

[...] Some of the new GEGL-based filters are specifically targeted at photographers: Exposure, Shadows-Highlights, High-pass, Wavelet Decompose, Panorama Projection and others will be an important addition to your toolbox.

The WebP lossy image format, which is now supported by GIMP, was updated by Google to v1.0.0 on April 2.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The pistol emoji ― 🔫 ― is being phasered out, or turned into a water pistol:

Google is the latest company to ditch the pistol with a new emoji update for Android users. The switch to a bright orange and yellow water gun, rolling out now, mimics changes made by Apple, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Samsung over the last few years. That leaves Microsoft as the only major platform with the realistic handgun emoji. True, Facebook still uses it, but a spokesperson for the company confirmed to Emojipedia that it would also be replacing its gun emoji with a toy water gun. The Verge has reached out to Microsoft for comment.

[...] Ironically, Microsoft initially displayed the gun emoji as a toy, but changed it to a revolver in 2016 as part of its emoji redesign project. With Google's (and Facebook's) latest move, Microsoft's gun emoji puts it at philosophical odds with the other giant tech companies based in the US where gun violence is a major concern. As we previously noted, in 2016 Apple successfully pushed to remove the rifle icon from the standardized collection of emoji.

However, later on the day The Verge's article was published, Microsoft revealed that it is jumping on the trend as well:

We are in the process of evolving our emojis to reflect our values and the feedback we've received. Here's a preview: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbqXVKBU0AAdXLk.jpg

Also at BBC and USA Today.

Previously: Apple Changes "Pistol" Emoji From Revolver to Toy Water Gun
Apple Urged to Rethink Gun Emoji Change
Twitter Changes Revolver Emoji to Water Pistol Emoji

Related: Kids Are Facing Criminal Charges for Using Emoji

Original Submission

takyon writes:

A breakthrough in restoring micro-circulation has allowed scientists to keep pig brains alive outside of a body:

In a step that could change the definition of death, researchers have restored circulation to the brains of decapitated pigs and kept the reanimated organs alive for as long as 36 hours.

The feat offers scientists a new way to study intact brains in the lab in stunning detail. But it also inaugurates a bizarre new possibility in life extension, should human brains ever be kept on life support outside the body.

The work was described on March 28 at a meeting held at the National Institutes of Health to investigate ethical issues arising as US neuroscience centers explore the limits of brain science.

During the event, Yale University neuroscientist Nenad Sestan disclosed that a team he leads had experimented on between 100 and 200 pig brains obtained from a slaughterhouse, restoring their circulation using a system of pumps, heaters, and bags of artificial blood warmed to body temperature. There was no evidence that the disembodied pig brains regained consciousness. However, in what Sestan termed a "mind-boggling" and "unexpected" result, billions of individual cells in the brains were found to be healthy and capable of normal activity.

It's possible that the level of function could be increased, and the brains could be kept alive indefinitely:

Sestan now says the organs produce a flat brain wave equivalent to a comatose state, although the tissue itself "looks surprisingly great" and, once it's dissected, the cells produce normal-seeming patterns.

The lack of wider electrical activity could be irreversible if it is due to damage and cell death. The pigs' brains were attached to the BrainEx device roughly four hours after the animals were decapitated.

However, it could also be due to chemicals the Yale team added to the blood replacement to prevent swelling, which also severely dampen the activity of neurons. "You have to understand that we have so many channel blockers in our solution," Sestan told the NIH. "This is probably the explanation why we don't get [any] signal."

Sestan told the NIH it is conceivable that the brains could be kept alive indefinitely and that steps could be attempted to restore awareness. He said his team had elected not to attempt either because "this is uncharted territory."

Next step: hooking it up to a computer?

Related: First Human Head Transplant Could Happen in Two Years
Complete Head Transplant or Complete Publicity Stunt
Claims That Head Transplant Has Been Successfully Done on a Monkey
How Would You Define "A Successful Human Head Transplant"?

Original Submission

takyon writes:

AMD 7nm Vega Radeon Instinct GPU AI Accelerators Enter Lab Testing

AMD's current generation Vega graphics architecture – which powers its Radeon RX Vega family of graphics cards -- is based on a 14nm manufacturing process, but the chip company is already moving along with next generation process technology. During the company's conference call with analysts following its Q1 2018 earnings report (which it knocked out of the park, by the way), AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su made some comments regarding its upcoming 7nm GPUs.

"I'm also happy to report that our next-generation 7-nanometer Radeon Instinct product, optimized for machine learning workloads, is running in our labs," said Dr. Su. "We remain on track to provide samples to customers later this year."

If you recall, Radeon Instinct is AMD's product line for machine intelligences and deep learning accelerators. The current lineup features a mixture of Polaris- and Vega-based GPUs and could be considered competitors for NVIDIA's Tesla family of products. [...] According to commentary from AMD at this year's CES, 7nm Vega products for mobile along with the 7nm Radeon Instinct accelerators will ship during the latter half of 2018.

From The Next Platform, "The Slow But Sure Return Of AMD In The Datacenter":

takyon writes:

Shipments of GPUs are being slowed down or suspended in light of a slowdown in demand driven by cryptocurrency miners:

Taiwan-based graphics card makers including Gigabyte Technology, Micro-Star International (MSI) and TUL are expected to see their shipments for April plunge over 40% on month, as many clients have suspended taking shipments in response to drastic slowdown in demand for cryptocurrency mining machines, according to industry sources.

Channel distributors and larger mining farm operators have cut orders with makers of mining graphics cards and mining motherboards or asked them to suspend shipments due to the crypto mining craze waning abruptly from the beginning of April, the sources said.

Quite a few mining farm operators have even stopped purchasing graphic cards, as they are awaiting the rollout of Ethereum mining machines by China's Bitmain in the third quarter of 2018. They anticipate mining rewards to pick up gradually in the third quarter, as Bitcoin and Ethereum values may rebound following sharp declines seen in early 2018, the sources indicated.

Bitmain.

Previously: AMD GPU Supply Exhausted By Cryptocurrency Mining, AIBs Now Directly Advertising To Miners
Cryptocoin GPU Bubble?
Ethereum Mining Craze Leads to GPU Shortages
Used GPUs Flood the Market as Ethereum's Price Crashes Below $150
Cryptocurrency Mining Wipes Out Vega 64 Stock
GPU Cryptomining Hurting SETI and Other Astronomy Projects

Related: AMD Profits in Q3 2017

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

The Orange County Register reports:

[...] one of California's most prolific serial killers and rapists was caught by using online genealogical sites to find a DNA match, prosecutors said Thursday. Investigators compared the DNA collected from a crime scene of the Golden State Killer to online genetic profiles and found a match: a relative of the man police have identified as [the suspect, who was arrested.]

[...] Authorities didn't give the name of the site, one of many, like Ancestry and 23andMe, that allow people to send in their DNA and find long-lost relatives. [...] Contacted Friday, representatives of both Ancestry and 23andMe.com said the sites weren't involved in the case.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

A team of international scientists have created a new form of highly-efficient, low-cost insulation based on the wings of a dragonfly. The material, known as an aerogel, is the most porous material known to man and ultralight, with a piece the size of a family car weighing less than a kilogram.

Starting out as a wet silica gel, similar in structure to jelly, the material is carefully dried to create a strong, porous material. But until now, removing the water molecules without collapsing the fine silica structure has been a long, difficult and expensive process and as a consequence, the use of aerogels has been limited to a few highly specialist tasks, such as the collection of stardust in space.

Now a team of experts led by Newcastle University, UK, has managed to cheaply replicate the process by mimicking the way in which the dragonfly dries out its wings. Instead of drying the silica under high temperature and pressure, the team used bicarbonate of soda (the same used to make cakes rise) to 'blow' out the water molecules, trapping carbon dioxide gas in the pores. Publishing their findings today in the academic journal Advanced Materials, the team say the next step will be to scale up the process to create larger panels that can be used to insulate our homes and buildings.

[...] Joint lead author Dr Xiao Han, Newcastle University, said the new technique would reduce the cost of production by 96% -- from around $100 to $4 per kilogram.

Bioinspired Synthesis of Monolithic and Layered Aerogels (DOI: 10.1002/adma.201706294) (DX)

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

CNBC reports:

Once the space matures, Nasdaq is open to becoming a platform for trading cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, according to the company's CEO.

"Certainly Nasdaq would consider becoming a crypto exchange over time," Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman told CNBC's Squawk Box Wednesday. "If we do look at it and say 'it's time, people are ready for a more regulated market,' for something that provides a fair experience for investors."

A key roadblock for the Nasdaq and other institutional investors is regulation, which Friedman said needs to be ironed out before the company would add an exchange. But she was bullish on the future of digital assets.

"I believe that digital currencies will continue to persist - it's just a matter of how long it will take for that space to mature," Friedman said. "Once you look at it and say, 'do we want to provide a regulated market for this?' Certainly Nasdaq would consider it."

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have used an inexpensive 3-D printer to produce flat plastic items that, when heated, fold themselves into predetermined shapes, such as a rose, a boat or even a bunny.

Lining Yao, assistant professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute and director of the Morphing Matter Lab, said these self-folding plastic objects represent a first step toward products such as flat-pack furniture that assume their final shapes with the help of a heat gun. Emergency shelters also might be shipped flat and fold into shape under the warmth of the sun.

[...] Other researchers have explored self-folding materials, but typically have used exotic materials or depended on sophisticated processing techniques not widely available. Yao and her research team were able to create self-folding structure by using the least expensive type of 3-D printer -- an FDM printer -- and by taking advantage of warpage, a common problem with these printers. [...] FDM printers work by laying down a continuous filament of melted thermoplastic. These materials contain residual stress and, as the material cools and the stress is relieved, the thermoplastic tends to contract. This can result in warped edges and surfaces. "People hate warpage," Yao said. "But we've taken this disadvantage and turned it to our advantage."

[...] A video showing the self-folding process is available at https://vimeo.com/265829811

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

A California bill that would impose the nation's strictest net neutrality law has been approved by another state Senate committee, bringing it closer to passage.

The California Senate Judiciary committee approved the bill Tuesday in a 5-2 vote, with Democrats supporting the net neutrality rules and Republicans opposing them.

Ars Technica earlier reporting Bad news for AT&T and Comcast: Calif. Senate panel OKs net neutrality bill adds the following

“California can—and must—step up to re-establish the Obama-era net neutrality rules to protect consumers and our democracy," bill sponsor Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said in an announcement.

The bill would replicate the US-wide bans on blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization that were implemented by the FCC in 2015, and it would go beyond the FCC rules with a ban on paid data-cap exemptions. The FCC voted to repeal its rules in December, although the commission hasn't finalized the repeal yet.[/ars_story_sidebar]

[...] The bill would also need approval from the Democratic-majority State Assembly and Governor Jerry Brown, also a Democrat.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

North Korea's Kim Jong-un crosses into South Korea

Kim Jong-un has become the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea by crossing the military line that has divided the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953. In a moment rich with symbolism and pomp, South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and Mr Kim shook hands at the border. Mr Kim said he hoped for "frank" discussion in a warm opening exchange.

Just months ago North Korean rhetoric was warlike, but now they may discuss a peace treaty and nuclear weapons. Much of what the summit will focus on has been agreed in advance, but many analysts remain deeply sceptical about the North's apparent enthusiasm for engagement.

Also at The Guardian (live) and Reuters:

During their private meeting, Kim told Moon he came to the summit to end the history of conflict and joked he was sorry for keeping Moon up with his late night missile tests, a South Korean official said.

realDonaldTrump writes:

North Korea's nuclear site collapse may be reason Kim Jong Un ceased bomb tests, scientists say

North Korea's nuclear test site has collapsed after the region sustained damage from five nuclear blast trials, Chinese scientists said Wednesday — leading many to believe it may be the reason why Kim Jong Un suddenly announced the rogue regime would freeze its nuclear and missile tests.

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

takyon writes:

Projectile cannon experiments show how asteroids can deliver water

Experiments using a high-powered projectile cannon show how impacts by water-rich asteroids can deliver surprising amounts of water to planetary bodies. The research, by scientists from Brown University, could shed light on how water got to the early Earth and help account for some trace water detections on the Moon and elsewhere.

"The origin and transportation of water and volatiles is one of the big questions in planetary science," said Terik Daly, a postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University who led the research while completing his Ph.D. at Brown. "These experiments reveal a mechanism by which asteroids could deliver water to moons, planets and other asteroids. It's a process that started while the solar system was forming and continues to operate today."

The research is published in Science Advances [open, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aar2632] [DX].

Also at Popular Mechanics and BGR.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Beware the long face: horses remember your mood

The following news is straight from the horse's mouth: our equine companions can remember human facial expressions, and an angry grimace will leave a horse more wary of that individual, scientists claim.

The research follows previous work by the team from University of Sussex which compiled a directory of horse facial expressions and revealed that Black Beauty can read your emotions – a phenomenon also seen in dogs.

"We knew that horses could register emotional expressions, so we wanted to know if they could remember them, so that they can actually use those memories to guide their future interactions with specific individuals," said Karen McComb, co-author of the study and professor of animal behaviour and cognition at the University of Sussex.

McComb and colleagues analysed data from 11 horses who had been shown a photograph of a human pulling an angry face and 10 horses shown a picture of a human smiling.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Scientists at Osaka University discovered that Stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1) secreted from adipocytes reduced the effectiveness of insulin in adipocytes and decreased insulin-induced glucose uptake.

[...] Using microarray database analysis, this group of scientists identified SDF-1 as a factor to enhance expression in adipocytes in both fasting and obese states and found that SDF-1 reduced the effectiveness of insulin in adipocytes. In actuality, in SDF-1 knockout mice, insulin-induced glucose uptake increased (i.e., blood sugar levels decreased), and insulin efficacy improved (i.e., insulin sensitivity was enhanced). Their research results were published in Diabetes.

Based on the results of this study, it is expected that insulin sensitivity in adipocytes will increase by inactivating the SDF-1 signaling pathway, which will lead to treatment of obese type 2 diabetes.

Original Submission

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd:

Today, we’re excited to share a preview release of Hubs by Mozilla, a new way to get together online within Mixed Reality, right in your browser. Hubs is the first experiment we’re releasing as part of our Social Mixed Reality efforts, and we think it showcases the potential for the web to become the best, most accessible platform to bring people together around the world in this new medium.

[...] When using a Mixed Reality headset with Hubs, you’ll be able to interact online in a whole new way. Instead of through a screen, you will be spending time together in what feels like a real place. You can make eye contact, high five, laugh together, or just explore. It’s up to you, and it all happens right in your browser just like any other website.

[...] When in the room, you can see one another, move around, and pick up and throw virtual objects. And of course, you can hear each other’s voices with fully spatialized audio, so it sounds like you are in a real place.

hubs.mozilla.com

Source: Introducing Hubs: A new way to get together

Original Submission