Tuesday 28 May 2019

MobiKa: A low-cost mobile robot that can assist people in a variety of settings

Researchers at Fraunhofer IPA, in Stuttgart, Germany, have recently developed MobiKa, a low-cost, mobile robot capable of two-modal (voice and text) interactions with humans. Their robot, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, could be particularly useful for assisting elderly people.

* This article was originally published here

A newly discovered mechanism reveals how Parkinson's disease can spread between brain cells

Tiny channels between nerve cells are involved in a newly discovered mechanism of how Parkinson's disease can spread throughout the brain, according to new research from Linköping University, Sweden. The results demonstrate that harmful protein aggregates, or deposits, can bind and "hitch a lift" with channel-forming proteins, and in this way spread to healthy cells. The study has been published in Acta Neuropathologica.

* This article was originally published here

New tool for understanding cells in health and disease

A first-of-its-kind data analysis platform is enabling researchers to select the best tool for interpreting the overwhelming amounts of data generated by single-cell research.

* This article was originally published here

Climate change puts commercial viability of citrus, vineyards and olive trees at risk

Climate change threatens the medium-term commercial viability of citrus fruits, vines and olives. A study by the Ecophysiology and Biotechnology research group at the Universitat Jaume I de Castelló (UJI) - carried out in collaboration with scientists from France, Greece and the United Kingdom—warns that the effects of global warming will reduce the productivity of these three species of traditional and iconic fruit trees in the Mediterranean area. The conclusions of this review are published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

* This article was originally published here

Brazil braces for another tailings dam collapse

Thousands of Brazilians braced Monday for the possible collapse of another tailings dam owned by mining giant Vale that threatens to spew millions of tons of toxic sludge over towns, rivers and forest.

* This article was originally published here