Science X Newsletter Mon, Mar 11

Dear manoj dole,

Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for March 11, 2024:

Technology news

	Testing an unsupervised deep learning model for robot imitation of human motions Robots that can closely imitate the actions and movements of humans in real-time could be incredibly useful, as they could learn to complete everyday tasks in specific ways without having to be extensively pre-programmed on these tasks. While techniques to enable imitation learning considerably improved over the past few years, their performance is often hampered by the lack of correspondence between a robot's body and that of its human user.
	An oscillating robot can propel itself via the reflection of water waves Odd things can happen when a wave meets a boundary. In the ocean, tsunami waves that are hardly noticeable in deep water can become quite large at the continental shelf and shore, as the waves slow and their mass moves upward.
	Stratolaunch conducts first powered flight of new hypersonic vehicle off California coast U.S. aerospace company Stratolaunch conducted the first powered test flight of a new unmanned craft for hypersonic research on Saturday and called it a success.
	Reconfigurable electronics: More functionality on less chip area Even the most complicated data processing on a computer can be broken down into small, simple logical steps: You can add individual bits together, you can reverse logical states, you can use combinations such as "AND" or "OR." Such operations are realized on the computer by very specific sets of transistors. These sets then form larger circuit blocks that carry out more complex data manipulations.
	TaskMatrix.AI: Making big models do small jobs with application programming interfaces A research team at Microsoft has designed an efficiency tool called TaskMatrix.AI that can be used to accomplish a wide variety of specific AI tasks. TaskMatrix.AI connects general-purpose foundation models like GPT-4, the model behind ChatGPT, with specialized models suitable for certain tasks—much like a human project manager. This research was published in Intelligent Computing.
	Robotic interface masters a soft touch The perception of softness can be taken for granted, but it plays a crucial role in many actions and interactions—from judging the ripeness of an avocado to conducting a medical exam, or holding the hand of a loved one. But understanding and reproducing softness perception is challenging because it involves so many sensory and cognitive processes.
	Physicists explore fiber optic computing using distributed feedback New research from U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers delivers a novel contribution to fiber optics computing. Titled "Fiber optic computing using distributed feedback," the paper published in Communications Physics journal brings the Navy one step closer to faster, more efficient computing technologies.
	False GPS signal surge makes life hard for pilots False GPS signals that deceive on-board plane systems and complicate the work of airline pilots are surging near conflict zones, industry employees and officials told AFP.
	In climate push, German chemical maker swaps oil for sugar At one of Europe's largest chemical complexes, German group Covestro is trialing the manufacture of a key product using sugar as a base material instead of oil, as the industry seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.
	In bitcoin's shadow, another cryptocurrency, Ether, stages its own rally Bitcoin has captured the limelight in recent weeks as it surged to a new record high, yet another major cryptocurrency, Ether, has been enjoying its own meteoric rise.
	Proliferating 'news' sites spew AI-generated fake stories A sensational story about the Israeli prime minister's "psychiatrist" exploded online, but it was AI-generated, originating on one of hundreds of websites researchers warn are churning out tech-enabled fiction masquerading as news.
	Pressed for space, solar farms are getting creative Solar power is expected to dominate global electricity markets in the next few decades, and already accounts for three-quarters of renewable energy capacity, according to the International Energy Agency. This year, BloombergNEF predicts solar builds will climb another 25%, adding more than 500 gigawatts of capacity.
	April's eclipse will mean interruptions in solar power generation, which could strain electrical grids During the most recent total solar eclipse visible in the U.S., on Aug. 21, 2017, the skies darkened as the moon crossed in front of the sun. It blocked out all sunlight—except for that from a golden ring visible around the moon's shape, called the corona. Not surprisingly, solar power generation across North America plummeted for several hours, from the first moment the moon began to obscure the sun to when the sun's disk was clear again.
	Seeing green: Some older car owners show that there's more than one way of being eco-friendly The ongoing climate emergency requires us to fundamentally rethink how we get around. Transportation accounts for approximately 25% of European greenhouse-gas emissions. Of this, road transportation represents by far the largest percentage. While the COVID-19 epidemic briefly interrupted the rise in emissions, they've since resumed their upward climb.
	Detecting AI-manipulated content is a challenging arms race Nude photos of pop superstar Taylor Swift recently flooded social media X, where they were viewed and shared by millions of users. But the images weren't real—they were deepfakes created using artificial intelligence (AI). The incident fanned the debate about regulating deepfakes, and drew so much attention that the White House got involved.
	Going top shelf with AI to better track hockey data Researchers from the University of Waterloo got a valuable assist from artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help capture and analyze data from professional hockey games faster and more accurately than ever before, with big implications for the business of sports. The research paper, "Player tracking and identification in ice hockey," was published in the journal Expert Systems With Applications.
	In New York City, heat pumps that fit in apartment windows promise big emissions cuts For 27 years, the heat in Regina Fred's Queens apartment building came from a noisy steam radiator that she couldn't control and sometimes didn't come on at all, leaving her shivering. Sometimes, the radiators ran so hot that residents had to keep their windows open in the middle of winter for relief.
	ChargePoint CEO expects more electric vehicle stations as use and EV sales keep growing Sales growth of electric vehicles in the U.S. has started to slow, and polls show it's due in part to anxiety over running out of battery power and too few charging stations.
	EU states endorse scaled-back rules for app workers EU states on Monday endorsed controversial rules to cover app workers in the so-called gig economy, after weeks of wrangling over the watered-down text.
	Bitcoin zooms to record beyond $72,000 Bitcoin raced to an all-time peak above $72,000 Monday as the world's most popular cryptocurrency won further support on greater trading accessibility and dollar weakness.
	Global-local path choice model: A new method to understand the walkability of cities In many cities worldwide, the notion of walking as sustainable urban mobility is becoming increasingly popular. Improving the walkability of cities has many benefits, including improved health, reduced traffic, and consequently lower air pollution. To improve walkability, it is important to conduct a thorough analysis of what factors make cities more walkable.
	Harvesting human motion energy: The promise of wearable triboelectric nanogenerators There is a lot of mechanical energy in human activities, but human activities are low frequency and irregular. As such, traditional electromagnetic power generation mode cannot efficiently collect this energy without affecting the normal activities of the human body.
	Game lab provides accessibility toolkit for the game engine Unity The growing popularity of video games is putting an increased focus on their accessibility for people with disabilities. While large productions are increasingly taking this into account by adding accessibility features, this aspect is usually completely absent in indie productions due to a lack of resources.
	Cutting carbon emissions on the US power grid: Online model enables users to calculate the least-cost strategy To help curb climate change, the United States is working to reduce carbon emissions from all sectors of the energy economy. Much of the current effort involves electrification—switching to electric cars for transportation, electric heat pumps for home heating, and so on.
	Sam Altman returns to OpenAI board months after crisis CEO Sam Altman will return to the board of OpenAI, the company said on Friday, just months after a boardroom dustup that saw him fired and rehired by the company behind ChatGPT.
	Apple ends block on EU app store for Fortnite-maker Epic Apple reversed course on Friday and will allow Epic Games to develop a competing European app store for iPhones after a feud between the two companies tested a new law governing big tech on the continent.
	Activists protest Tesla plant expansion in Germany Several hundred people demonstrated Sunday against plans by Tesla to expand its electric car factory near Berlin, citing environmental concerns.
	US embrace of remote working empties offices, weighs on banks The popularity of remote work in the United States has emptied office buildings, a cause for worry as their value falls and owners risk losses on property loans—in turn putting pressure on smaller banks.
	UnitedHealth Group expects systems impacted by cyberattack returning by mid-March UnitedHealth Group is reporting progress on restoring systems impacted by a cyberattack last month that snarled pharmacies and blocked claims processing at hospitals and clinics nationwide.
	TikTok dragged into US election as Trump opposes ban In a major reversal, former US president Donald Trump on Monday said he was against a ban of TikTok as the fate of the popular video-sharing app was dragged into the US election campaign.
	12 hospitalized after technical problem on Boeing-made LATAM flight Twelve passengers were hospitalized Monday after a technical problem on a LATAM flight from Sydney to Auckland caused the Boeing-made plane to dip violently, the airline and first responders told AFP.
	A multi-dimensional image information fusion algorithm based on NSCT transform The intensity image is consistent with human vision, but sometimes, the target cannot be completely distinguished from the background. Polarization images can distinguish the target more effectively and highlight the contour and texture details, although it does not conform to human visual perception.
	French state hit by 'intense' cyberattack: PM's office Cyberattacks of "unprecedented intensity" have targeted several French government institutions just months before the Paris Olympics but have been contained, the prime minister's office said Monday.
	Energy management of hybrid electric propulsion system: Recent progress and a flying car perspective A paper aiming to provide guidance for research on the energy management strategies (EMSs) for flying cars driven by hybrid electric propulsion systems (HEPSs) by comprehensively summarizing the EMSs of HEPSs for vehicles and aircraft under three-dimensional transportation networks has been published in the journal Green Energy and Intelligent Transportation.

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