Drones to deliver incessant buzzing noise, and packages

A sister company of Google, Alphabet's Wing Aviation, just got federal approval to start using drones for commercial delivery. Amazon's own drone-delivery program is ready to launch as well. As drones take flight, the world is about to get a lot louder – as if neighborhoods were filled with leaf blowers, lawn mowers and chainsaws.

* This article was originally published here

VisiBlends, a new approach to disrupt visual messaging

Visual blends, which join two objects in an unusual, eye-catching way, are an advanced graphic design technique used in advertising, marketing, and the media to draw attention to a specific message. These visual marriages are designed to precipitate an "aha!" moment in the viewer who grasps one idea from the union of two images. For instance, blending an image of an orange with an image of the sun could convey a beverage with Vitamin C.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers create 'impossible' nano-sized protein cages with the help of gold

Researchers from an international collaboration have succeeded in creating a "protein cage"—a nanoscale structure that could be used to deliver drugs to specific places of the body, and which can be readily assembled and disassembled, but also withstands boiling and other extreme conditions. They did this by exploring geometries not found in nature reminiscent of "paradoxical geometries" found in Islamic art.

* This article was originally published here

An approach for securing audio classification against adversarial attacks

Adversarial audio attacks are small perturbations that are not perceivable by humans and are intentionally added to audio signals to impair the performance of machine learning (ML) models. These attacks raise serious concerns about the security of ML models, as they can cause them to make mistakes and ultimately generate wrong predictions.

* This article was originally published here

Show your hands: Smartwatches sense hand activity

We've become accustomed to our smartwatches and smartphones sensing what our bodies are doing, be it walking, driving or sleeping. But what about our hands? It turns out that smartwatches, with a few tweaks, can detect a surprising number of things your hands are doing.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers achieve 100 percent recognition rates for half and three-quarter faces

Facial recognition technology works even when only half a face is visible, researchers from the University of Bradford have found.

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Phage therapy treats patient with drug-resistant bacterial infection

The patient, a 15-year-old girl, had come to London's Great Ormond Street Hospital for a double lung transplant. It was the summer of 2017, and her lungs were struggling to reach even a third of their normal function. She had cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that clogs lungs with mucus and plagues patients with persistent infections. For eight years, she had been taking antibiotics to control two stubborn bacterial strains.

* This article was originally published here

Airport scanners OK for people with implanted heart devices: study

(HealthDay)—It appears to be safe for people with implantable heart devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators to go through body scanners at airport security checkpoints, researchers say.

* This article was originally published here

Damselflies should choose their friends wisely, in order to cope with the cold Scottish climate

Damselflies are more likely to be able to withstand the cold Scottish climate if they are part of the 'right social group', according to scientists from the University of Aberdeen.

* This article was originally published here

Occurrence of back-to-back heat waves likely to accelerate with climate change

As the planet continues to warm, multi-day heat waves are projected to increase in frequency, length and intensity. The additive effects of these extreme heat events overwhelm emergency service providers and hospital staff with heat-related maladies, disrupt the electrical grid and can even cause delays in air travel.

* This article was originally published here

Suicide rates are rising with or without 13 Reasons Why. Let's use it as a chance to talk

13 Reasons Why, the controversial Netflix programme that broaches the topic of adolescent suicide, has drawn further criticism after new research showed a potential link to a rise in suicide rates coinciding with the show's release.

* This article was originally published here

Should we turn the Sahara Desert into a huge solar farm?

Whenever I visit the Sahara I am struck by how sunny and hot it is and how clear the sky can be. Aside from a few oases there is little vegetation, and most of the world's largest desert is covered with rocks, sand and sand dunes. The Saharan sun is powerful enough to provide Earth with significant solar energy.

* This article was originally published here

Survey: New moms often overlook critical postpartum care during 'fourth trimester'

The three trimesters of pregnancy are filled with doctor's appointments, preparations and careful surveillance of the health of both mom and baby. However, in the months after their baby is born, known as the fourth trimester, priorities often shift for new moms, and their own health can fall to the bottom of their to-do lists. A new national survey by Orlando Health found more than a quarter of mothers did not have a plan to manage their health after giving birth, while more than 40 percent say they felt anxious, overwhelmed or depressed.

* This article was originally published here

Google's AI Assistant aims to transcend the smart speaker

When Google launched its now distinctive digital assistant in 2016, it was already in danger of being an also-ran.

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Move over, silicon switches: There's a new way to compute

Logic and memory devices, such as the hard drives in computers, now use nanomagnetic mechanisms to store and manipulate information. Unlike silicon transistors, which have fundamental efficiency limitations, they require no energy to maintain their magnetic state: Energy is needed only for reading and writing information.

* This article was originally published here

New Zealand unveils plan to go carbon neutral by 2050

New Zealand introduced legislation Wednesday to make the South Pacific nation carbon neutral by 2050, although greenhouse gas emissions from the economically vital agricultural sector will not have to meet the commitment.

* This article was originally published here