news 2018

One of the major challenges in modern medicine is the length of time required to turn new scientific insights into treatments that help patients. Now, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is launching an innovative startup company to speed up that process, with an emphasis on metabolism research and related therapies.

By using artificial intelligence to comb through the vast array of published research and detect the findings most relevant for invention, engineers can magnify their creative ability and invent faster and more disruptively than has been previously possible. This is the approach that Ana Manasovska helped develop as a Master's student at EPFL, and the one used by creative Artificial Intelligence firm Iprova, based at EPFL's Innovation Park, to come up with a wide range of inventions.

Researchers at the University of Oxford, working with colleagues in Erlangen, Germany and at the Cleveland Clinic, USA, have developed a new technology based on analysis of computed tomography (CT) coronary angiograms that can flag patients at risk of deadly heart attacks years before they occur. Heart attacks are usually caused by inflamed plaques in the coronary artery causing an abrupt blockage of blood getting to the heart.

A study on past reversals of Earth's magnetic field has found that a rapid shift occurred within two centuries - such an event in future would increase our exposure to the Sun's radiation that may cause trillions of dollars in power and communications systems damage. The international research team found that magnetic field reversals - whereby the South Pole became the North Pole and vice versa - could happen much more rapidly than the thousands of years previously thought.

Ryan Hatoum Children with severe disabilities, serious cognitive impairments and medically complex situations require more specialized health care during their lifetimes. But establishing a consistent way to identify their overall health needs and measure progress in meeting those needs has been an elusive goal.

Researchers have recorded five new sightings of the critically endangered Leadbeater's possum, but theirlocation close to existing habitats means the species remains at risk of extinction - particularly from bushfire. The 2009 Kinglake-Marysville fires burnt an area of approximately 68,000ha within Leadbeater's possum's known range, including 45 per cent of the permanent reserve system established to protect the species.

Australian scientists have invented a new ultra-thin device that can turn invisible light into the visible and change the colour of light, with the potential to be used to help turbo-charge internet speeds around the world. A change in light's colour alters its frequency, which is a vital process in optical technologies including next-generation telecommunications.

The paper, 'Mapping EU citizens in the UK: A changing profile?', published today by the University of Birmingham's Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS), finds that at the time of the Brexit referendum, EU-born UK residents, who overall accounted for 5% of the UK population, comprised between 0.7% and 25.8% of the resident population in local areas, with geographical distribution concentrated around London, the South East, and the East.

Life-expectancy for individuals with younger-onset disease is on average 16 years shorter compared to people without diabetes, and 10 years shorter for those diagnosed at an older age, according to new research. Being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age is associated with more cardiovascular complications and higher risk of premature death than being diagnosed later in life, independent of disease duration.

Administrative affairs Arts and entertainment Buildings and grounds For UW employees Health and medicine Honors and awards Official notices Politics and government UW and the community The general public might think of the 21st century as an era of revolutionary technological platforms, such as smartphones or social media.

For the first time, researchers were able to study quantum interference in a three-level quantum system and thereby control the behavior of individual electron spins. To this end, they used a novel nanostructure, in which a quantum system is integrated into a nanoscale mechanical oscillator in form of a diamond cantilever.

You ask Alexa to play a song, Siri for the weather or the Google Assistant to make a call. But what happens when your toddler asks a voice-activated device a question? Your daughter pauses, stammers, mispronounces a few words. She's a beginner, after all. In return: Silence. Or the familiar, default robot apology.

A research collaboration including theoretical physicists from the University of Bristol and Birmingham has found a new way of evaluating how light flows through space - by tying knots in it. Laser light may appear to be a single, tightly focused beam. In fact, it's an electromagnetic field, vibrating in an ellipse shape at each point in space.

A team at Cardiff University is working to address the issue of fuel poverty in Wales. The Understanding Risk group, which brings together staff from the Schools of Psychology and Social Sciences, is leading Fair Futures, a Welsh Government commissioned project, with the Energy Systems Catapult as partner.

One of the world's most densely populated regions may push the boundaries of habitability by the end of this century, study finds. Research has shown that beyond a certain threshold of temperature and humidity, a person cannot survive unprotected in the open for extended periods - as, for example, farmers must do.

An international study led by University of Queensland scientists has found that only 13 per cent of the ocean can still be classified as wilderness. Researchers from UQ's School of Biological Sciences and international collaborators identified marine areas devoid of intense human impacts by analysing 19 stressors including commercial shipping, sediment runoff and several types of fishing.

By trading energy between countries with different weather patterns, Europe could make the most of wind and solar power. This conclusion is from a study modelling the future of weather and energy in Europe, which could help plan future continent-wide energy systems and policies that share renewable resources across countries.

By trading energy between countries with different weather patterns, Europe could make the most of wind and solar power. This conclusion is from a study modelling the future of weather and energy in Europe, which could help plan future continent-wide energy systems and policies that share renewable resources across countries.

New video clarifies important elements of artificial intelligence in lay terms The University of Tübingen has produced a short film explaining the significance of research into machine learning. "In recent months there have been many media reports on the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning," Matthias Bethge explains.

A team of international researchers, led by quantum technology experts from the University of Bristol, have shown that a chip-based device can be used to generate quantum-based random numbers at gigabit per second speeds. The tiny device, with a footprint of just a millimetre square, requires little power to operate and could enable stand-alone random number generators and be incorporated into laptops and smartphones to offer real-time encryption.