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Multicellular artificial neural network-type architectures demonstrate computational problem solving
Abstract Here, we report a modular multicellular system created by mixing and matching discrete engineered bacterial cells. This system can be designed to solve multiple computational decision problems. The modular system is based on a set of engineered bacteria that are modeled as an ‘artificial neurosynapse’ that, in a coculture, formed a single-layer artificial neural…
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Mosquito-borne diseases are surging in Europe — how worried are scientists?
The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is easily identified by its black-and-white-striped legs.Credit: James Gathany/CDC via Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Climate change is turning Europe into a breeding ground for mosquito-borne diseases, researchers warn. Longer summers, hotter temperatures and heavy rainfall are creating favourable conditions for mosquitos in places where they couldn’t previously thrive. Figures published last…
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Innovative Instrument Reveals Hidden Features Deep Inside the Van Allen Radiation Belts
A new instrument is using advanced detection techniques and leveraging an orbit with specific characteristics to increase our understanding of the Van Allen belts—regions surrounding Earth that contain energetic particles that can endanger both robotic and human space missions. Recently, the instrument provided a unique view of changes to this region that were brought on…
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Mushroom Enthusiasts Help Find Species Lost to Science–Rescuing it from Nature’s ‘Top 25 Most Wanted’ List
The big puma fungus – credit Rewild, released. The first and only fungus on a global conservation outfit’s ’25 Most Wanted List’ has been found in the rain-soaked mountains of Chile, almost 40 years after it was first documented. The big puma fungus is actually quite small, and despite being on the ’25 Most Wanted…
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First private spacewalk a success! What the SpaceX mission means for science
SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, shown here climbing from the spacecraft’s hatch, made history today as one of the first private citizens to complete a spacewalk.Credit: SpaceX Polaris Dawn, the private SpaceX mission currently orbiting Earth, has already set several records since its launch on 10 September. Hours after taking off, the mission’s Crew Dragon spacecraft…
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AI chatbot gets conspiracy theorists to question their convictions
Conspiracy theories and disinformation spread rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Hollie Adams/Getty Researchers have shown that artificial intelligence (AI) could be a valuable tool in the fight against conspiracy theories, by designing a chatbot that can debunk false information and get people to question their thinking. In a study published in Science on 12…
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Weird signal that baffled seismologists traced to mega-landslide in Greenland
Greenland’s Dickson Fjord, where last year a 1.2-kilometre-high mountain peak collapsed into the fjord triggering a far-reaching seismic signal.Credit: Jane Rix/Alamy On 16 September 2023, seismologists worldwide registered a weird signal emanating from eastern Greenland. Missing were the variations in frequency that typically accompany events such as earthquakes: the signal was ‘monochromatic’, resembling the ringing…
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‘Twisters’ Brings Nature and Science to the Big Screen
Rhea-AI Impact Rhea-AI Sentiment Rhea-AI Summary Universal Pictures’ ‘Twisters’, a modern sequel to the 1996 blockbuster, showcases Comcast NBCUniversal’s commitment to sustainability in filmmaking. The movie incorporates cutting-edge climate and tornado science, featuring consultations with real-life tornado experts. It highlights the expanding ‘tornado alley’ and the challenges in predicting these events. The film also promotes…
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Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari review
As befits a writer whose breakout work, Sapiens, was a history of the entire human race, Yuval Noah Harari is a master of the sententious generalisation. “Human life,” he writes here, “is a balancing act between endeavouring to improve ourselves and accepting who we were.” Is it? Is that all it is? Elsewhere, one might be surprised…
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The grassroots organizations continuing the fight for Ukrainian science
University buildings in Kharkiv and elsewhere have been damaged during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.Credit: SOPA/Alamy In the weeks following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian policy researcher Yulia Bezvershenko, then at Stanford University in California, took part in a round table to discuss how to preserve science in her native country as the…