Monday 3 June 2019

NASA sees strong storms in developing gulf system 91L

NASA's Aqua satellite used infrared light to analyze the strength of storms in the developing low pressure area designated as System 91L is it moved through the Gulf of Campeche just north of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

* This article was originally published here

Simplifying soft robots

A soft robot developed by researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) could pave the way to fully untethered robots for space exploration, search and rescue systems, biomimetics, medical surgery, rehabilitation and more.

* This article was originally published here

Hydrogen-power electric flying vehicle: Long road to liftoff

A transportation company is betting its sleek new hydrogen-powered electric flying vehicles will someday serve as taxis, cargo carriers and ambulances of the sky, but experts say they will have to clear a number of regulatory hurdles before being approved for takeoff years in the future.

* This article was originally published here

Sensitive new laser technique detects volatile organic compounds

Researchers have developed a new way of operating miniature quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) to rapidly measure the absorption spectra of different organic molecules in the air simultaneously. The technique offers a sensitive method for detecting low concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), improving the ability to track how these compounds affect human health, industrial processes and ambient air quality. The new system also could improve the reliability of breath alcohol tests by more selectively distinguishing between ethanol and the other gases people exhale.

* This article was originally published here

New genetic weapons challenge sickle cell disease

Help for patients with sickle cell disease may soon come from gene editing to fix the mutation that causes the disease and boost the patient's own protective fetal hemoglobin.

* This article was originally published here

Nailing digital fakes with AI-learned artifacts

We see the imaginative feats of photo fakery; now we have to figure out what to do about them. Being able to tell fake from real is the goal, but how to get there? Forensics is the key tool to hunt down fake photos and it does not appear to be an easy task in getting that tool to perform well.

* This article was originally published here

Anti hypertensive drug use was associated with a decreased dementia risk

Various clinical trials indicate what effects can be expected from standardized intervention programs on the basis of existing evidence. Little is known about the way in which such programs can be implemented in actual care practice. However, it may be possible to use data from clinical practice to estimate the potential of drug prescriptions to delay or reduce the development of dementia.

* This article was originally published here

Immunotherapy drug found safe in treating cancer patients with HIV

The results of a study led by physicians at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed that patients living with HIV and one of a variety of potentially deadly cancers could be safely treated with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, also known by its brand name, KEYTRUDA.

* This article was originally published here

New TAILORx data guides adjuvant therapy in younger breast cancer patients

New information about adjuvant therapy to prevent recurrence of breast cancer in women 50 years of age or younger, or premenopausal, emerged today from the landmark Trial Assigning IndividuaLized Options for Treatment (Rx), or TAILORx. An analysis of a pre-specified secondary endpoint in this largest-ever breast cancer treatment trial found that an assessment of a woman's recurrence risk based on classic clinical features—tumor size and histologic grade, adds prognostic information that is complementary to the 21-gene Recurrence Score (RS) test. Integration of the RS with clinical risk may help identify more young women who may be spared chemotherapy than originally reported. It may also help identify young women who stand to benefit from more effective anti-estrogen therapy. The analysis was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the 2019 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

* This article was originally published here

Cracking open the black box of automated machine learning

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed an interactive tool that, for the first time, lets users see and control how automated machine-learning systems work. The aim is to build confidence in these systems and find ways to improve them.

* This article was originally published here

Implementation of Oregon paid family leave to ensure equality critical, research finds

Oregon is considering a bill to implement paid family leave, House Bill 2005, following in the footsteps of Washington, which approved a similar policy in 2017.

* This article was originally published here