Elon Musk has announced that he will have an initial prototype of an androgynous "Tesla Bot" by next year, reports Tech Xplore. Based on the same technology as the company's semi-autonomous vehicles, the robot will be able to perform basic repetitive tasks with the aim of eliminating the need for people to handle dangerous or boring work, Musk said. "Tesla is arguably the world's biggest robotics company because cars are semi-sentient robots on wheels,"...
A team from Osaka University has used protein sequence data analysis and genome editing technology to find that protein SPATA33 plays an important role in sperm motility regulation, which could help develop male contraceptives, reports Phys.org. It was previously known that calcineurin, a calcium-dependent phosphatase, plays an important role in regulating sperm motility. Calcineurin is considered a good target for male contraceptives because administration of calcineurin inhibitors to male mice causes reversible infertility in a short period of...
Researchers at the Max Planck Institutes of Neurobiology and of Biochemistry have developed a mouse line that makes the state of protein balance visible in the mammalian brain for the first time, Phys.org reports. In this way, the processes of protein quality control can now be studied in healthy and diseased neurons in more detail. Proteins fulfill all important tasks in our body; they transport substances, protect against diseases, support the cell, and catalyze chemical...
Beautiful people are more likely to get hired, receive better performance evaluations and get paid more – but it's not just because of their good looks, according to new research from the University at Buffalo School of Management. The study found that while a "beauty premium" exists across professions, it is partially because attractive people develop distinct traits as a result of how the world responds to their attractiveness. They build a greater sense of power and...
Researchers have developed prototype technology that can double the power harvested from ocean waves, in an advance that could finally make wave energy a viable renewable alternative, Tech Xplore reports. The untapped potential of ocean wave energy is vast, but the challenges of developing technologies that can efficiently extract that natural power and withstand the harsh ocean environment have kept wave energy stuck at experimental stage. Now a research team led by RMIT University has created...
On average, people in larger cities are better off economically. But a new study builds on previous research that says that's not necessarily true for the individual city dweller, reports Phys.org. Bigger cities also produce more income inequality. Using data from municipal areas across the U.S., the study authors took a look at urban wealth through a lens of heterogeneity. Breaking the income in their dataset into deciles, the team found that, as cities grow...
International research uncovered findings regarding the magnetic field that prevailed in the Middle East between approximately 10,000 and 8,000 years ago, Phys.org reports. Researchers examined pottery and burnt flints from archeological sites in Jordan, on which the magnetic field during that time period was recorded. Information about the magnetic field during prehistoric times can affect our understanding of the magnetic field today, which has been showing a weakening trend that has been cause for concern...
Researchers have shown how cancer cells reprogram themselves to produce lactic acid and to tolerate the acidic environment that exists around tumours. The breakthrough is the result of more than 13 years of work. The next step in research could redirect the treatment of cancer, reports Phys.org. The explanation for the new findings lies in something you have likely experienced: when you run or cycle fast, you may suddenly lose strength in your legs, and they feel heavy...
Space weather events fry electronics and power grids, disrupt global positioning systems, cause shifts in the range of the Aurora Borealis, and raise the risk of radiation to astronauts or passengers on planes crossing over the poles. The last major space weather event struck Earth in 1859. "We have all these technological assets that are at risk," said Gabor Toth, professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan. "If an extreme event...
In a new study, researchers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory say that examining signs of past sea levels along various coasts may have failed to accurately correct for long-term ups and downs of the land itself, Phys.org reports. Based on newly sophisticated measurements made across the Bahamas along with new methods of analysing data, the researchers produced lower estimates for the last interglacial. They say seas peaked at least 1.2 metres higher than today...
