A new group of exploding ant called Colobopsis explodens was identified in a research paper this week. The "explodens" name isn't just for show - these ants actually explode with toxic yellow goo - that was its name before it received its scientific name too - Yellow Goo! The explosion isn't like a bomb - it's more like a flex, a tear, and an oozing out. It's really disgusting if you're on the attack's receiving end.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been orbiting the Earth and taking some of the coolest images of space that we have seen for 28 years now. To celebrate its nearly three decades of service, Hubble was aimed at the stunningly beautiful Lagoon Nebula and some of the images have been shared with the masses. The Lagoon Nebula is described as a vast stellar nursery.
Diagnosing cancer early enough to effectively treat it is difficult, but a new early warning system could change that. Researchers with ETH Zurich have developed a bio-implant that creates an artificial mole when it detects one of four types of cancer. The system works by detecting calcium levels in the blood; high levels for a prolonged period of time indicate a tumor may be growing somewhere in the body.
Apple's Do Not Disturb feature appears to be having a positive affect on driver safety, but the lure of the smartphone is still leading to plenty of dangerous driving a new study has concluded. While speeding remains the number one unsafe driving behavior, phone use while at the wheel is right behind it.
This is the Almahata Sitta ureilite achondritic meteorite, and it's full of diamonds. The arrival of this meteorite actually happened all the way back in 2008, but the study revealing its contents only arrived just this week. Said study showed that not only is this hunk of space debris full of diamonds, it's full of diamonds from a hereto unknown planet that may have been part of our own solar system in the distant past.
Google has used its expertise in deep learning and augmented reality to create something that can make a real difference in the medical community. Google has created an augmented reality microscope (ARM) that aids in the detection of cancer. The microscope is a prototype right now and Google thinks that it can help accelerate adoption of deep learning tools for pathologists around the world.
The city of Austin, Texas, is testing blockchain technology as a potential solution to homeless identification problems. Though blockchain is best known in association with cryptocurrency, we've seen various companies launch blockchain-based services including image rights platforms. Over past months, many groups and companies have presented concepts that use blockchain for digital IDs and identity management, as well.
Apple has pulled back the curtain on Siri, and specifically the "Hey Siri" voice trigger feature that, from iPhone 6 on, allowed the assistant to recognize only its owner. In a new article published on Apple's Machine Learning Journal, the Siri team details a paper it submitted to the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) which kicks off today.
Google says that people are very good at separating out other voices and hearing the one we are looking at, this is called the cocktail party effect. Machines not so much. Google wants to make computers better at hearing the voice that we want to hear and has developed a new deep learning audio-visual model for isolating single speech signal from a mixture of sounds.
Today we're going to discuss why the theory of a Planet X apocalypse is both ridiculous and an awesome idea for a sci-fi movie. The most recent call for the end of life on our planet comes from one madman who's out to sell a lot of books. And his name is not L. Ron Hubbard. This prediction begins with Planet X, otherwise known as Nibiru, which no telescope nor any other instrument of science has ever been able to detect before.
You might think being able to hover in place and dip your long, stealthy beak into the sweetest nectar would be enough as a male hummingbird to attract a mate, but it turns out female Costa's hummingbirds are a little more demanding. Scientists researching the birds have observed unusual flying patterns, in which the male birds produce an unexpected type of song: from their tails.
Your Android phone may not be on the level when it tells you it's up to date on software, with security researchers warning that even device-makers releasing relatively timely updates could in fact be missing out security updates. Over the past few years, Google has pushed its OEM partners like smartphone manufacturers to be more aggressive with their updates, but it's been an uphill battle.