An epidemic is coming: Mobile data can predict risk without hacking into privacy

Scientists have found an ingenious way to spot tiny near-Earth objects (NEOs) early as they hurtle towards the planet. Instead of using visible light to spot incoming NEOs, researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory used a characteristic of NEOs — their heat. Asteroids and comets are warmed by the sun and so glow brightly at thermal wavelengths, making them easier to spot with the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) telescope.

Scientists at the Tel Aviv University achieved a breakthrough by 3D printing a heart using the patient’s own cells. The scientists used personalised non-supplemented materials as bio-inks for 3D printing. The bio-inks do not provoke an immune response, thereby minimising complications. Scientists extracted fatty tissue from the patient and processed them to form personalised bio-inks to 3D print the heart, complete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers.

Scientists have developed a cost-effective method to allow self-driving cars to ‘see’ 3D objects in their path. Scientists from Cornell University in the US have dis-covered that a simpler method, using two inexpensive cameras on either side of the windshield can detect objects with nearly LiDAR’s (Light Detection and Ranging) accuracy and at a fraction of the cost.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can speed up the development of clean and limitless fusion energy for generating electricity, claim researchers. A team of scientists at the US Department of Energy and Princeton University are applying deep learning to forecast sudden disruptions that can halt fusion reactions and damage the reactions. Accomplishing this feat are neural networks, layers of interconnected nodes — mathematical algorithms — that are weighed by the programme to shape the desired output.

Technology that can help people suffering from dementia stay at home as long as possible could be available in the next five years. Scientists and doctors at the Imperial College London are developing an ear device that records brain activity and uses radar technology to track people’s movements at home. Sensors are also being created to remotely monitor heart rate, sleep cycles and blood pressure.

A nasal spray of ‘love hormone’ oxytocin may help treat alcohol use disorder, according to a study. The study found that oxytocin blocks enhanced drinking in alcohol-dependent test rats. Targeting the oxytocin system may provide novel pharmaceutical interventions for the treatment of alcohol-use disorder, said researchers from the National Institutes of Health and The Scripps Research Institute in the US.

Researchers have developed a protein-based sensor that can detect lanthanides, the rare earth metals used in smartphones and other gadgets, in an efficient and cost-effective way. The sensor changes its fluorescence when it binds to these metals, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Extracting rare-earths from the environment or from industrial samples is generally challenging and expensive.


(All images are for representative purposes only)