A Cleveland Clinic study shows that among patients with obesity, prior weight loss achieved with bariatric surgery was associated with a 60% lower risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19 infection. The research was published in the journal JAMA Surgery.
Research paper: Association of Weight Loss Achieved Through Metabolic Surgery With Risk and Severity of COVID-19 Infection https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/2787613
News source: https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2021/12/29/substantial-weight-loss-can-reduce-risk-of-severe-covid-19-complications/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ3QJ0yprS8
Artificial intelligence is part of our modern life by enabling machines to learn useful processes such as speech recognition and digital personal assistants. A crucial question for practical applications is how fast such intelligent machines can learn. An experiment at the University of Vienna has answered this question, showing that quantum technology enables a speed-up in the learning process.
The physicists, in an international collaboration within Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and the USA, have achieved this result by using a quantum processor for single photons as a robot. This work, which contributes to the advancement of quantum artificial intelligence for future applications, is published in the journal "Nature".
Credit: Rolando Barry, University of Vienna
Research Paper: Experimental quantum speed-up in reinforcement learning agents https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03242-7
News Source: https://medienportal.univie.ac.at/presse/aktuelle-pressemeldungen/detailansicht/artikel/robots-learn-faster-with-quantum-technology/
Playlist for Technology News Videos - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK2ccNIJVPpB_XqWWq_oaZGIDzmKiSkYc
Artificial Intelligence - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK2ccNIJVPpBqKHdezLeaUzIp85DxFu7_
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZskB9FbQB4
In the movie “Ant-Man,” the title character can shrink in size and travel by soaring on the back of an insect. Now researchers at the University of Washington have developed a tiny wireless steerable camera that can also ride aboard an insect, giving everyone a chance to see an Ant-Man view of the world.
The camera, which streams video to a smartphone at 1 to 5 frames per second, sits on a mechanical arm that can pivot 60 degrees. This allows a viewer to capture a high-resolution, panoramic shot or track a moving object while expending a minimal amount of energy. To demonstrate the versatility of this system, which weighs about 250 milligrams — about one-tenth the weight of a playing card — the team mounted it on top of live beetles and insect-sized robots.
The results were published in the journal Science Robotics.
Research Paper: Wireless steerable vision for live insects and insect-scale robots https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/5/44/eabb0839/
Credit: Paul G. Allen School / University of Washington
Credit: Mark Stone / University of Washington
News Source: https://www.washington.edu/news/2020/07/15/robotic-camera-backpack-for-insects/
Playlist for Technology News Videos - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK2ccNIJVPpB_XqWWq_oaZGIDzmKiSkYc
Robots and Drones - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK2ccNIJVPpARGjc01A-FtY4tYlB21lQA
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-yMD4ssLzI
In what should be a win-win-win for the environment, a process developed at Rice University to extract valuable metals from electronic waste would also use up to 500 times less energy than current lab methods and produce a byproduct clean enough for agricultural land.
The flash Joule heating method introduced last year to produce graphene from carbon sources like waste food and plastic has been adapted to recover rhodium, palladium, gold and silver for reuse.
Credit: Jeff Fitlow
Credit: Rice University
Research Paper: Urban mining by flash Joule heating https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26038-9
News Source: https://news.rice.edu/2021/10/04/urban-mining-for-metals-flashes-forward/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m9SROOF6Rc
Researchers have developed a low-cost device that can selectively capture carbon dioxide gas while it charges. Then, when it discharges, the CO2 can be released in a controlled way and collected to be reused or disposed of responsibly.
The supercapacitor device, which is similar to a rechargeable battery, is the size of a two-pence coin, and is made in part from sustainable materials including coconut shells and seawater.
Credit: Gabriella Bocchetti
Research Paper: Enhancing the capacity of supercapacitive swing adsorption CO2 capture by tuning charging protocols https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2022/NR/D2NR00748G
News Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/953330
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sIsfEyh3Wo
Google is showing a Doodle in India on January 26, 2022, to celebrate India’s 73rd Republic Day, commemorating 72 years since the Indian Constitution took effect and the nation completed its transition to an independent republic.
Credit: Google Doodle and Doordarshan National
See the Google Doodle celebrating India Republic Day 2022 at https://www.google.com/doodles/india-republic-day-2022
Read about Republic Day (India) at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Day_(India)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_PWk4bhVhI
Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, a leader in game development and an interactive entertainment content publisher. The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush.”
News Source: https://news.microsoft.com/2022/01/18/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sBi6mu7nUc
Using an inexpensive polymer called melamine — the main component of Formica — chemists have created a cheap, easy and energy-efficient way to capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks, a key goal for the United States and other nations as they seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Credit: Jeffrey Reimer
Credit: Haiyan Mao and Jeffrey Reimer, UC Berkeley
Credit: Haiyan Mao and Jing Tang, UC Berkeley
Credit: College of Chemistry
Research paper: A scalable solid-state nanoporous network with atomic-level interaction design for carbon dioxide capture https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abo6849
News Source: https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/08/04/a-simple-cheap-material-for-carbon-capture-perhaps-from-tailpipes/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSpmnOOJeJo
An enzyme variant created by engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin can break down environment-throttling plastics that typically take centuries to degrade in just a matter of hours to days.
Credit: Cockrell School / The University of Texas at Austin
Research paper: Machine learning-aided engineering of hydrolases for PET depolymerization https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04599-z
News Source: https://news.utexas.edu/2022/04/27/plastic-eating-enzyme-could-eliminate-billions-of-tons-of-landfill-waste/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yJBxetvMcg