“Electronic amoeba” finds approximate solution to traveling salesman problem.
Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.
Content supplied by “ScienceBlog.com.”
Accessed on 10 December 2020, 2049 UTC.
Source (email subscription to “ScienceBlog.com):
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/1ame118f6mgn9/?&th=1764de5cc7ff227c&v=c
Please click link or scroll down to read your selections.
ScienceBlog.com: 10 Stories That Matter |
 |
- ‘Electronic amoeba’ finds approximate solution to traveling salesman problem
- Melatonin: A supplement that actually boosts memory
- What history tells us about the long-term effects of a pandemic
- AI spots surprising patterns in Earth’s mass extinctions
- Kids gain weight when new convenience stores open nearby
- Discovery suggests new promise for nonsilicon computer transistors
- A better kind of cybersecurity strategy
- How soil fungi respond to wildfire
- X-rays reveal 1,900-year-old mummy’s secrets
- Aquatic robot inspired by sea creatures walks, rolls, transports cargo
| ‘Electronic amoeba’ finds approximate solution to traveling salesman problem
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:43 AM PST  Researchers at Hokkaido University and Amoeba Energy in Japan have, inspired by the efficient foraging behavior of a single-celled amoeba, developed an analog computer for finding a reliable and swift solution to the traveling salesman problem — a representative combinatorial optimization problem. Many real-world application tasks such as planning and scheduling in logistics and automation […] |
| Melatonin: A supplement that actually boosts memory
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:40 AM PST  Walk down the supplement aisle in your local drugstore and you’ll find fish oil, ginkgo, vitamin E, and ginseng, all touted as memory boosters that can help you avoid cognitive decline. You’ll also find melatonin, which is sold primarily in the United States as a sleep supplement. It now looks like melatonin marketers might have […] |
| What history tells us about the long-term effects of a pandemic
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:33 AM PST  USC research showed that people born during or just after the 1918 flu pandemic faced increased heart disease risk more than 60 years later. The legacy of the novel coronavirus could be worse. For nearly a year, the novel coronavirus and the resulting COVID-19 pandemic have dominated headlines across the world, and justifiably so. With […] |
| AI spots surprising patterns in Earth’s mass extinctions
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:30 AM PST  Charles Darwin’s landmark opus, On the Origin of the Species, ends with a beautiful summary of his theory of evolution, “There is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the […] |
| Kids gain weight when new convenience stores open nearby
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:26 AM PST  A new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, published by Elsevier, found that changes in the food environment around low-income and high-ethnic/racial minority populations over time impact childhood obesity. Increased availability of small grocery stores selling a selection of healthy items in close proximity to children’s homes improves their weight status over time, […] |
| Discovery suggests new promise for nonsilicon computer transistors
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:23 AM PST  Once deemed suitable only for high-speed communication systems, an alloy called InGaAs might one day rival silicon in high-performance computing. For decades, one material has so dominated the production of computer chips and transistors that the tech capital of the world — Silicon Valley — bears its name. But silicon’s reign may not last forever. […] |
| A better kind of cybersecurity strategy
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:21 AM PST  During the opening ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics, held in PyeongChang, South Korea, Russian hackers launched a cyberattack that disrupted television and internet systems at the games. The incident was resolved quickly, but because Russia used North Korean IP addresses for the attack, the source of the disruption was unclear in the event’s immediate […] |
| How soil fungi respond to wildfire
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:20 AM PST  In the wake of the 2017 North Bay fires, the golden hills of Santa Rosa, California, were unrecognizable. Smoky, seared and buried under ash, the landscape appeared desolate, save for some ghostly, blackened – but still alive – oak trees. For Stanford University graduate student, Gabriel Smith, whose family lives in Santa Rosa, the devastation […] |
| X-rays reveal 1,900-year-old mummy’s secrets
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:20 AM PST  Results of noninvasive tests at Argonne National Laboratory point to a new way to study mummified specimens The mummified remains of ancient Egyptians hold many secrets, from the condition of the bodies to the artifacts placed within the burial garments. Now a team of researchers has found a way to unwrap those secrets, without unraveling […] |
| Aquatic robot inspired by sea creatures walks, rolls, transports cargo
Posted: 10 Dec 2020 08:18 AM PST  Northwestern University researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind life-like material that acts as a soft robot. It can walk at human speed, pick up and transport cargo to a new location, climb up hills and even break-dance to release a particle. Nearly 90% water by weight, the centimeter-sized robot moves without complex hardware, hydraulics or electricity. […] |
