Tag: research

The Mental Workspace Discovered

Wa'd Abuzurayk

Do you have a big imagination? Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? Or are you almost always daydreaming?  If you ever wondered about where you get all those ideas/imagery from, then wonder no more. Your question has been recently answered by a group of scientists. In their paper, lead author Alex Schlegel and his colleagues explain that the previously theorized widespread neural network required for human imagination is actually real. Schlegel and his team found evidence for what they called a “mental workspace”. The study was done…

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Robots Will Now ‘Ask’ For Human Help

Pooja Kashyap

Finally, robots will be learning if not all at least some part of human language. Researchers at MIT are teaching robots to interact with humans in human language. Team at MIT taught a group of KUKA’s youBots to ask for help if they happen to face problems while building Ikea furniture. Once the bot determines failure of not completing the task or face some form of huddle which it think cannot pass, it would then call for request in a comprehensible manner.

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TextureCam, An Add-on For Bots In Decision Making

Pooja Kashyap

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is extraordinarily smart. Its autonomous navigation system includes driving, digging, shoveling, and even shooting lasers. However, the next gen bots are a step higher and are extremely tuned in. With their advanced computer and camera systems, they are able to identify locations and geographies that are interesting enough to yield important scientific discoveries. Self-autonomous robots and human machine interaction are one of the major areas, which are undergoing research in Robotics. And Curiosity includes both the paradigms. Human engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) directs it…

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The Human-Animal Bond: A Healing Power Revealed

Wa'd Abuzurayk

Humans can be sorted into two categories; those who like animals, and those who don’t. For those who like them, animals could be of much more benefit than what was once known in the past. While animals were previously depended on for transportation, food, and the making of clothes, the human-animal bond has been given serious attention by scientists in the last 30 years, revealing a totally new perspective on how animals could be further used for our benefit. Apparently, there is much more to petting an animal than just…

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Internet Spectrum, Expediting Towards A Point Of Overcapacity

Pooja Kashyap

Devices have exceeded the number of people inhabiting on Earth. Everybody wants to stay connected in the virtual world with all the devices that they have. If the trend continuous and reaches the threshold of 50 billion, we would be left with no internet spectrum to connect with. Microsoft’s Stefan Weitz asserted that most devices and applications today use a single frequency. If we were to build mobile apps and devices that were ‘frequency intelligent,’ they could use Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth (2.4GHz) and a variety of cellular network…

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Social Integration, A Part Of Healthy Society

Wa'd Abuzurayk

A healthy society is one that not only allows, but also strives towards the integration of all constituent parts of it. It has been of note recently that more mainstream schools are accommodating to integrate children with special needs into their programmes. This is indeed a great step forward for any society. Such a move would instill the concept of social equality in children, as well as provide them with opportunities to learn from their differences.  However, as with all new opportunities, comes a set of challenges and responsibilities. And…

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After Connecting Computers, Internet Might Connect Brains

Pooja Kashyap

Researchers at the University of Washington have come up with the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface. With the help of electrical brain recordings, one researcher was able to control the hand movement of fellow researcher via internet. After the Duke University’s brain-to-brain interface allowing transmission of tactile and motor information between rats and Harvard University’s brain-to-brain interface, between human and a rat this happens to be the first demonstration of human-to-human brain interfacing.

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Is Your Limbic System Acting Out?

Wa'd Abuzurayk

We have all had our days when one wrong word by an unfortunate converser turns our alarms on, causing an adult-life simulation of a temper tantrum. Neuroscientists believe that we can partially blame our limbic system for this. As complex as it is as a neurological system, the Limbic system is considered to be the “primitive” brain. Not because of its’ structure, but because of its’ function. The limbic system is called “primitive” for its role in producing the age-old fight, flight or fright reactions. In other words, it regulates…

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A Spotlight On Evolution

Wa'd Abuzurayk

It seems like we are not only witnessing evolution, but are actually responsible for a big part of it. Recent animal research are revealing neurological, physiological and behavioral changes in certain animal species, in order for them to cope with the changes we humans are inflicting on our Earth and its environment. In one research conducted by a team of scientists at University of Minnesota, led by Emilie C. Snell-Rood, it was revealed that certain animal species living in the city of Minnesota (i.e., white-footed mouse and meadow vole) had…

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Privacy Is Going Redundant

Pooja Kashyap

online privacy, google, apps, android, social networks, wifi, google maps, digital era, emails, social media, operating system Apparently, the big G is trying to get hold of its frequent geo data error on android and thus with the recent updation of their OS, they claim to improve their location accuracy on smartphones. Changing locations alters the IP but doesn’t update G’s database in the real time hence is the main cause of the geo data error. On an individual level, refreshing IP from ISP could be a way out but…

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