Many people report experiencing symptoms of withdrawal in-between use of medical marijuana, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Medicine. In addition, around 10-percent of the participants reported negative effects from the substance, including changes in things like energy levels, appetite, and sleep quality.
One goal of AI researchers is to figure out how to make machine learning models more interpretable so researchers can understand why they make their predictions. Google says this is an improvement from taking the predictions of a deep neural network at face value without understanding what contributed to the model output. Researchers have shown how to build an explainable machine learning model able to analyze baking recipes.
A major challenge when it comes to using robots to explore other planets is keeping them operating when there's no way to repair them from Earth. Researchers at the GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania have conducted what they call very preliminary work on robots made from ice that can repair themselves. The team, including Devin Carroll and Mark Yim, note they have only begun exploring the possibility of making robots from ice.
Conductive ink has been around for a while and is a tool for printing flexible electronic circuits on various surfaces. One challenge with current conductive ink is that the ink can be expensive and is incompatible with some materials. Another challenge is that the conductive inks also tend to clog up the devices used to apply them. Researchers have created a new conductive ink that can be used on virtually any surface that is applied with a clog-free ballpoint pen.
A group of researchers in Malaysia has developed a technique to take waste material from the pineapple farming industry and turn it into disposable parts for drone aircraft. The technique developed takes a fiber found in usually discarded pineapple leaves and harnesses it to make a robust material that can be used to build frames for unmanned aircraft. The project's goal has been to find sustainable uses for pineapple waste generated by farmers in the Malaysian area of Hulu Langat.
NASA has announced that it has approved the preliminary design plans for an upcoming space telescope known as SPHEREx. According to NASA, the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoque of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) space telescope has entered Phase C. Entering Phase C means with the preliminary design plans approved, work can begin on a final, detailed design.
Current OLED displays have a challenge when it comes to blue light sources. While there are red and green organic light-emitting diodes with high performance, the availability of similarly performing blue light sources is lacking. Researchers in Japan have used a new combination of emitter molecules and demonstrated a new approach that may overcome this challenge.
Something rather strange has been going on in Yellowstone National Park. The park is home to some of the most famous geysers in the world, and in 2019 a geyser known as the Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin at the park erupted. That was notable because this particular geyser had its first documented activity in 1878 and has only erupted sporadically since then.
Researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University used an x-ray laser to watch and directly measure the formation of polarons for the very first time. Polarons are distortions in the atomic lattice in a material that forms around a moving electron in a few trillionths of a second and then disappear quickly. Despite their short duration, they do affect a material's behavior. They could be why solar panels made with lead hybrid perovskites can reach high efficiencies in the lab.
The energy-burning tissue called brown fat may do more than keep your weight down -- a new study has also linked it to additional protection from many diseases, including heart disease and type-2 diabetes. The findings come from Rockefeller University, shedding more light on the benefits of this coveted and elusive type of fat.
If you're a cigarette smoker who is considering a transition to vaping in an effort to decrease your health risks and wean yourself off the habit, be careful how you proceed. A new study has found that while vaping may be less harmful to your long-term health compared to ordinary cigarettes, combining them with tobacco isn't doing you any favors.
Researchers recently conducted a study of the ice sheets covering Greenland. The scientists found that glaciers are retreating in just about every sector of the island. Freshwater rivers beneath the ice are being rerouted as the eye sheet melts.