Experimental brain-controlled hearing aid decodes, identifies who you want to hear

Our brains have a remarkable knack for picking out individual voices in a noisy environment, like a crowded coffee shop or a busy city street. This is something that even the most advanced hearing aids struggle to do. But now Columbia engineers are announcing an experimental technology that mimics the brain's natural aptitude for detecting and amplifying any one voice from many. Powered by artificial intelligence, this brain-controlled hearing aid acts as an automatic filter, monitoring wearers' brain waves and boosting the voice they want to focus on.

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Just like toothpaste: Fluoride radically improves the stability of perovskite solar cells

Solar cells made of perovskite hold much promise for the future of solar energy. The material is cheap, easy to produce and almost as efficient as silicon, the material traditionally used in solar cells. However, perovskite degrades quickly, severely limiting its efficiency and stability over time. Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology, energy research institute DIFFER, Peking University and University of Twente have discovered that adding a small amount of fluoride to the perovskite leaves a protective layer, increasing stability of the materials and the solar cells significantly. The solar cells retain 90 percent of their efficiency after 1000 hours operation at various extreme testing conditions. The findings are published today in the leading scientific journal Nature Energy.

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Tool predicts quality measures after ventral hernia repair

(HealthDay)—The Outcomes Reporting App for Clinical and Patient Engagement (ORACLE) tool can predict quality measures following ventral hernia repair (VHR) and facilitate preoperative surgeon-patient discussions, according to a study published online May 2 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

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Machine learning reduces language barriers in global trade, research shows

Machine learning and artificial intelligence have exploded onto the scene in recent years, offering the hope of greater business efficiency. At the same time, researchers have found virtually no empirical evidence supporting the promised strides in labor productivity and economic activity.

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Researchers map symbiotic relationships between trees and microbes worldwide

In and around the tangled roots of the forest floor, fungi and bacteria grow with trees, exchanging nutrients for carbon in a vast, global marketplace. A new effort to map the most abundant of these symbiotic relationships—involving more than 1.1 million forest sites and 28,000 tree species—has revealed factors that determine where different types of symbionts will flourish. The work could help scientists understand how symbiotic partnerships structure the world's forests and how they could be affected by a warming climate.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers teach robots handwriting and drawing

An algorithm developed by Brown University computer scientists enables robots to put pen to paper, writing words using stroke patterns similar to human handwriting. It's a step, the researchers say, toward robots that are able to communicate more fluently with human co-workers and collaborators.

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Study identifies factors associated with farmer suicide

Georgia farmers are champions at tackling challenges they can see—bad weather, insects and livestock disease, to name a few. Their higher-than-average suicide rate, however, indicates they may need some support in addressing stress and depression.

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China's Chang'E 4 mission discovers new 'secrets' from the far side of the moon

A lunar lander named for the Chinese goddess of the moon may have lessened the mystery of the far side of the moon. The fourth Chang'E probe (CE-4) was the first mission to land on the far side of the moon, and it has collected new evidence from the largest crater in the solar system, clarifying how the moon may have evolved. The results were published on May 16, 2019, in Nature.

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Planetary scientists unravel mystery of Egyptian desert glass

A Curtin University researcher has solved a nearly 100-year-old riddle by discovering that glass found in the Egyptian desert was created by a meteorite impact, rather than atmospheric airburst, in findings that have implications for understanding the threat posed by asteroids.

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Anxiety meds like Valium, Xanax could raise miscarriage risk

(HealthDay)—Pregnancy is often a time of heightened worry. But researchers warn that taking anti-anxiety drugs like Valium and Xanax may increase the risk of miscarriage.

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WhatsApp flaw let spies take control with calls alone (Update)

Spyware crafted by a sophisticated group of hackers-for-hire took advantage of a flaw in the popular WhatsApp communications program to remotely hijack dozens of targeted phones without any user interaction.

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A face-following robot arm with emotion detection

Researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have recently developed a face-following robotic arm with emotion detection inspired by Pixar Animation Studios' Luxo Jr. lamp. This robot was presented by Vernon Stanley Albayeros Duarte, a computer science graduate at UAB, in his final thesis.

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Researchers block protein that plays a key role in Alzheimer's disease

In recent years, it has become increasingly clear to researchers that the protein galectin-3 is involved in inflammatory diseases in the brain. A study led by researchers at Lund University in Sweden now shows the de facto key role played by the protein in Alzheimer's disease. When the researchers shut off the gene that produces this protein in mice, the amount of Alzheimer's plaque and the inflammatory load both decreased.

* This article was originally published here