Japanese researchers create a ‘smart’ mask to protect against COVID-19, with a built-in speaker and software that can translate speech into eight different languages A Japanese tech firm has developed a new Bluetooth-powered ‘smart’ mask It will have a built-in speaker and translation software for eight languages The mask is currently planned for release in … Read more
Beekeepers in the US lost more than 22% of their honeybee colonies during the past winter, but experts say that’s the smallest loss in years and could be a sign the global honeybee crisis is slowing A beekeeper survey found US honeybee colonies declined 22.2% in the winter The declines were actually the second smallest … Read more
Google to release data from pollution project that allows researchers to map air quality on a block-to-block basis Google will release data on a pollution mapping project The data was taken using sensors from pollution mapping company, Aclima It gives insight into air quality on a street-by-street basis Data could help set future policy and … Read more
New research connects a 12th century volcano eruption in Japan to years of famine in Europe, as volcanic sulfates in the atmosphere contributed to frigid summer days, heavy rainfall and widespread crop failure Researchers found new links between a volcano in Japan and European famine The team identified volcanic sulfates in ice core samples from … Read more
Researchers identify 13-million-year-old bacteria in permafrost samples collected in the Swiss Alps, which could be used in bioreactors to break down plastic waste Swiss researchers have discovered a new species of bacteria in the Swiss Alps It was found in permafrost samples and is believed to be 13million years old The team describes permafrost as … Read more
Researchers identify 13-million-year-old bacteria in permafrost samples collected in the Swiss Alps, which could be used in bioreactors to break down plastic waste Swiss researchers have discovered a new species of bacteria in the Swiss Alps It was found in permafrost samples and is believed to be 13million years old The team describes permafrost as … Read more
Chinese researchers unveil AI that can turn simple sketches into fake photorealistic pictures The AI, called DeepFaceDrawing, was demonstrated by Chinese researchers It can extrapolate a rudimentary sketch into photo-like pictures The AI looks at facial features like eyes, hair, and lips individually It could be used by law enforcement for brining suspect sketches to life … Read more
Researchers in the Arctic Ocean map undersea methane pockets distributed across a 250-million-year-old ‘fault zone’ that could accelerate ice sheet withdrawal with future ruptures Researchers mapped a network of undersea methane pockets in the Arctic They found that structural instability in the seafloor was the biggest factor affecting which region would experience a rupture, releasing … Read more
Researchers in the Arctic Ocean map undersea methane pockets distributed across a 250-million-year-old ‘fault zone’ that could accelerate ice sheet withdrawal with future ruptures Researchers mapped a network of undersea methane pockets in the Arctic They found structural instability in the seafloor was the biggest factor effecting which region would experience a rupture, releasing the … Read more
What lies beneath: Researchers map hot, dense structures in the Earth’s mantle for the first time using a technique developed to explore deep space Experts from Baltimore, US, repurposed an algorithm known as the Sequencer This tool can automatically pick out trends from within large-scale datasets The team used it to analyse thousands of seismograms from … Read more