Wednesday 5 June 2019

Investigating the implications of social robots in religious contexts

Researchers at Siegen University and Würzberg University, in Germany, have recently carried out a study investigating the user experience and acceptability associated with the use of social robots in religious contexts. Their paper, published in Springer's International Journal of Social Robotics, offers interesting insight into how people perceive blessing robots compared to other robots for more conventional purposes.

* This article was originally published here

Mojo Vision shows off display technology for augmented reality

What meets the eye is important—but in the case of entering the realm of augmented reality, how it meets the eye is an issue. A California company is on that case. They have technology to let AR users keep in the flow eyes-up. Hands-free.

* This article was originally published here

New approach optimizes use of future wave electricity generators during disaster

When hurricanes strike, loss of electricity ranks as one of the top concerns for relief workers. Blackouts lasting a week or more can hamper recovery efforts, shutter hospitals, threaten public health and disrupt transportation. The monthslong effort to restore power to Puerto Rico following the 2017 hurricane season has led to renewed interest in finding innovative ways to get affected power grids back online.

* This article was originally published here

Protecting our energy infrastructure from cyberattack

Almost every day, news headlines announce another security breach and the theft of credit card numbers and other personal information. While having one's credit card stolen can be annoying and unsettling, a far more significant, yet less recognized, concern is the security of physical infrastructure, including energy systems.

* This article was originally published here

Twins study links type 2 diabetes in midlife with stroke and brain artery narrowing in late life

A new study shows that type 2 diabetes in midlife is associated with a 30% increased risk of a serious blockage of the brain arteries, often leading to stroke, and a doubling of the risk of narrowing of the brain's arteries in people over 60 years. The research is based on a cohort of twins in Sweden and published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).

* This article was originally published here

Molecular bait can help hydrogels heal wounds

Like fishermen, Rice University bioengineers are angling for their daily catch. But their bait, biomolecules in a hydrogel scaffold, lures microscopic stem cells instead of fish.

* This article was originally published here

Brain changes may be linked to unexplained motor symptoms

A new study finds that people who have movement problems, symptoms that cannot be explained by an underlying disease, may have chemical changes in specific areas of the brain. The study is published in the June 5, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. These symptoms, which include tremors, muscle contractions or problems with walking, are called functional or psychogenic motor symptoms.

* This article was originally published here

Autonomous boats can target and latch onto each other

The city of Amsterdam envisions a future where fleets of autonomous boats cruise its many canals to transport goods and people, collect trash, or self-assemble into floating stages and bridges. To further that vision, MIT researchers have given new capabilities to their fleet of robotic boats—which are being developed as part of an ongoing project—that lets them target and clasp onto each other, and keep trying if they fail.

* This article was originally published here

Maestro: a new attack that orchestrates malicious flows with BGP

Researchers at the University of Tennessee have recently identified the Maestro attack, a new link flooding attack (LFA) that leverages plane traffic control engineering techniques to concentrate botnet-sourced distributed denial of service (DDos) flows on transit links. In their paper, recently published on arXiv, the researchers outlined this type attack, tried to understand its scope and presented effective mitigations for network operators who wish to insulate themselves from it.

* This article was originally published here

Is there finally more help in the fight against robocalls?

Is the world getting safer from robocalls? It's not clear.

* This article was originally published here

Finding fake fingerprints

It was once the stuff of science fiction security, open your eye wide and look into the camera to gain entry to the spaceship flight deck or press a finger tip or palm of your against the pad to access the secret database that lets you take control of the baddies' weapons. Today, of course, iris recognition, fingerprint readers, and other biometric systems are becoming increasingly commonplace. Most modern smart phones have a fingerprint reader that lets you unlock your phone without having to remember a password or number.

* This article was originally published here

Agent Unicorn headset for ADHD children may make understanding easier

The quest for a better understanding among scientists of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) goes on.

* This article was originally published here

NASA-NOAA satellite sees system 91L's eeach into the western gulf of Mexico

System 91L is an area of tropical low pressure located in the Bay of Campeche. On June 3, when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed the western Gulf of Mexico, it captured an image of the storm that showed its extensive reach.

* This article was originally published here

App Store in crosshairs as Apple courts developers

Apple is set to court software savants at its annual developers conference beginning Monday while contending with criticism that the iPhone maker has made its App Store a walled garden.

* This article was originally published here

Energy storage project in Utah described as world's largest of its kind

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) announced an ambitious energy storage project to develop what it claims will be the world's largest energy storage project of its kind, in Utah. Renewable hydrogen is at the core.

* This article was originally published here

Study examines potential misuse of anti-anxiety medication

There is concern about the misuse of the sedative anti-anxiety medication alprazolam (Xanax) because of the "high" it can create. A new British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology study found that non-medical use of alprazolam in the United Kingdom is a significant issue, and it appears to be more prevalent in younger adults.

* This article was originally published here

Maternal blood test is effective for Down syndrome screening in twin pregnancies

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, which involves analyzing fetal DNA in a maternal blood sample, is a non-invasiveness and highly accurate test for Down syndrome in singleton pregnancies, but its effectiveness in twin pregnancies has been unclear. A new analysis published in Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology reveals that cfDNA testing for Down syndrome in twins is just as effective as in singletons, with a detection rate of 98% and only a 0.05% rate of misdiagnosis.

* This article was originally published here