Posts

Brain organoids help neuroscientists understand brain development, but aren’t perfect matches for real brains

Image
What was going on with our brain organoids? As neuroscientists , we use these three-dimensional clusters of cells grown in petri dishes to learn more about how the human brain works. Researchers culture various kinds of organoids from stem cells – cells that have the potential to become one of many different cell types found throughout the body. We use chemical signals to direct stem cells to produce brain-like cells that together resemble certain structural aspects of a real brain . While they are not “brains in a dish” – organoids cannot function or think independently – the idea is that organoid models let scientists see developmental processes that may yield insights into how the human brain works. If researchers better understand normal development, we may be able to understand when and how things go wrong in diseases. When we recently compared our lab’s organoid cells to normal brain cells, we were surprised to find that they didn’t look as similar as we’d expected. Our bra...
Post a Comment
Read more

Redesigning social media platforms to reduce ‘FoMO’

Image
Fear of missing out, or FoMO , is commonly described as that anxious feeling you get when you think other people might be having a good time without you. Excessive FoMO is closely related to symptoms of behavioural addiction . It often leads to undesirable behaviour such as the constant checking of social media, even in an inappropriate context, like while driving, and becoming overly preoccupied with reactions to online posts and messages. Our new research has identified the main triggers of this psychological phenomenon, the contexts in which it happens and the types of fears involved in it. We have also suggested new design features which social media platforms could introduce to minimise this most modern form of social anxiety. Humans are fundamentally social creatures. Our identity, beliefs and behaviours come from and are shaped by our interactions with others. From those we know well, to fleeting moments of eye contact with the strangers we walk past on the street. Previous...
Post a Comment
Read more

AI could revolutionise DNA evidence – but right now we can’t trust the machines

Image
DNA evidence often isn’t as watertight as many people think. Sensitive techniques developed over the past 20 years mean that police can now detect minute traces of DNA at a crime scene or on a piece of evidence. But traces from a perpetrator are often mixed with those from many other people that have been transferred to the sample site, for example via a handshake. And this problem has led to people being wrongly convicted . Scientists have developed algorithms to separate this DNA soup and to measure the relative amounts of each person’s DNA in a sample. These “ probabilsitic genotyping ” methods have enabled forensic investigators to indicate how likely it is that an individual’s DNA was included in a mixed sample found at the crime scene. And now, more sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are being developed in an attempt to extract DNA profiles and try to work out whether a DNA sample came directly from someone who was at the crime scene, or whether it had just ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vsmart Live camera review

Image
The Vsmart Live is a mid-range device built primarily for the Vietnamese market. It comes with a 6.2-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and on-screen fingerprint-reader, and a 20MP front camera. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 chipset and up to 6GB of RAM powers Google’s Android 9 mobile OSthat . The main camera on the rear of the device features three individual modules: a 48MP primary wide-angle that produces 12MP output files; an 8MP ultra-wide; and a 5MP sensor that is predominantly used for depth estimation in portrait modes. There’s also an LED flash, and the camera is capable of shooting 4K video at 30 frames per second. Key camera specifications: Triple-camera setup Primary: 48MP 1/2.25″ sensor, 25mm-equivalent f/1.7- aperture lens, PDAF Ultra-wide: 8MP 1/3.6″ sensor, 14.4mm-equivalent f/2.2-aperture lens, AF Depth estimation: 5MP 1/5″ sensor LED flash 4K video, 2160p/30fps About DXOMARK Camera tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone camera reviews, DXOM...
Post a Comment
Read more