Amazon’s Alexa becomes personal assistant to software engineers. UBC computer scientists have turned Amazon Alexa into a tool for software engineers, tasking the virtual assistant to take care of mundane programming tasks, helping increase productivity and speed up workflow.
A novel way to grow elastic diamonds. UNIST has unveiled that brittle diamonds can be bent and stretch by as much as nine percent without breaking, then return to their original shape. Their discovery completely overturns previous theories that diamonds are brittle. Their results could open up unprecedented possibilities for tuning its optical, optomechanical, magnetic, phononic, and catalytic properties through elastic strain engineering.
Ingestible bacteria on a chip to diagnose diseases. MIT researchers have built an ingestible sensor equipped with genetically engineered bacteria that can diagnose bleeding in the stomach or other gastrointestinal problems. This "bacteria-on-a-chip" approach combines sensors made from living cells with ultra-low-power electronics that convert the bacterial response into a wireless signal that can be read by a smartphone.
New parts of brain become active when students learn physics. Parts of the brain not traditionally associated with learning science become active when people are confronted with solving physics problems. After the subjects had completed their Physics class, comparison of the pre- and post-learning scans revealed increased activity in the frontal poles, which was to be expected since they've been linked to learning. But there was another area that also became active: the posterior cingulate cortex, which is linked to episodic memory and self-referential thought.
Cheeseburger or salad? Music can impact the decision. The volume of ambient music has a systemic effect on consumers' preferences for healthy vs. non-healthy foods. That's because volume is proven to directly impact heart rate and arousal. Softer music has a calming effect, making us more mindful of what we order. This typically results in healthier choices, such as a salad. Louder environments increase stimulation and stress, inspiring diners to crave a greasy cheeseburger and fries instead.
