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Science5 Aug 2015

Data-driven method provides simple means of calculating aerodynamics of light, 3-D objects

Obtaining the aerodynamic properties necessary to simulate falling leaves or a tumbling box caught by the wind can be as simple as dropping the object off of a balcony and recording the fall, thanks to OmniAD, a data-driven technique developed at Disney Research. You would not want to design an airplane with this method, but the results are good enough for simulating aerodynamic effects of light, 3-D objects in videogames and animations, said Nobuyuki Umetani of Disney Research and Tobias Martin of ETH Zurich. The system can even be used to design kites that actually ...

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Space5 Aug 2015

Disney Research leverages redundancy in casually shot videos to enable scene-space effects

The same sort of video processing effects that usually require video to be shot in controlled environments where 3-D positions of cameras and objects are precisely known can be achieved with real-world, handheld video shot from consumer-grade cameras using a new approach pioneered by Disney Research. The technique, developed with Braunschweig University of Technology, compensates for the lack of exact 3-D information about a scene by taking advantage of the fact that most elements of a scene are visible many times in a video. The researchers found they could sample pixels ...

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Engineering5 Aug 2015

Disney Research produces 3-D-printed objects with variable elasticity using single material

A 3D-printed teddy bear can have a stiff head, a pliable tummy and bendable arms, even though all of it is made of the same relatively stiff material, using a new method developed by Disney Research. By using the printer to alter the small-scale structure of the material, the Disney researchers showed they could vary its elasticity dramatically within the same object. They developed families of compatible microstructures with varying elastic properties, enabling designers to select the properties desired for each region of an object. The team demonstrated their new ...

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Engineering5 Aug 2015

Disney Research method efficiently renders granular materials at multiple scales

Computer graphics researchers have developed a way to efficiently render images of sand castles, gravel roads, snowmen, salt in a shaker or even ocean spray - any object consisting of randomly oriented, but discernible grains - that look realistic whether viewed from afar or up close. The new method, developed by Disney Research in collaboration with researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, Cornell University and Dartmouth College, employs three different types of rendering techniques depending on the scale at which the object is viewed. A sand ...

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Social Science5 Aug 2015

New survey on Americans' views on law enforcement, violence, and race

Chicago, August 5, 2015--A new national survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveals a disparity among blacks' and whites' perception of violence against civilians by police. Nearly three-quarters of black respondents consider violence against civilians by police officers to be an extremely or very serious problem, compared to less than 20 percent of whites. However, the poll also finds agreement across racial groups on many of the causes of police violence, as well as further consensus that changes in policies and procedures ...

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Science5 Aug 2015

Interactive editing tool from Disney Research enables personalization of planar linkages

Disney Research has created LinkEdit, interactive software for predictably changing the shape or motion of planar linkages used in such objects as kinetic sculptures, folding furniture and mechanical toys. The LinkEdit software enables users to make desired changes in a linkage, such as altering its size or shape, while preserving other features, such as the walking gait of a linkage for a mechanical leg. The researchers demonstrated this capability by making alterations to the Jansen linkage, the building block to the famous walking sculptures created by artist Theo ...

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Science5 Aug 2015

Disney Research method captures facial details at high fidelity and real time

Forehead wrinkles that rapidly deepen and crow's feet that appear suddenly around the eyes might distress the average person, but the ability to quickly and realistically incorporate such details in a facial reconstruction is the key feature of a new performance capture method developed at Disney Research. The method, which requires only a single video camera such as a webcam, is the first to both operate in real-time and to capture facial features in high resolution, including such details as wrinkles. "This could open up a variety of new applications, from casual ...

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Space5 Aug 2015

NASA satellites analyze Typhoon Soudelor moving toward Taiwan

Heavy rain, towering thunderstorms, and a large area are things that NASA satellites observed as Typhoon Soudelor moves toward Taiwan on August 5, 2015. NASA's Terra satellite passed over Soudelor on August 5, 2015 at 01:45 UTC and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument captured a visible image of the large storm in the Philippine Sea. The eye appeared to be cloud-filled as bands of thunderstorms spiraled into the center of the storm. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission core observatory, a satellite managed by both NASA and ...

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Space5 Aug 2015

Caltech astronomers unveil a distant protogalaxy connected to the cosmic web

A team of astronomers led by Caltech has discovered a giant swirling disk of gas 10 billion light-years away--a galaxy-in-the-making that is actively being fed cool primordial gas tracing back to the Big Bang. Using the Caltech-designed and -built Cosmic Web Imager (CWI) at Palomar Observatory, the researchers were able to image the protogalaxy and found that it is connected to a filament of the intergalactic medium, the cosmic web made of diffuse gas that crisscrosses between galaxies and extends throughout the universe. The finding provides the strongest observational ...

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Science5 Aug 2015

Endoscopes still contaminated after cleaning, study shows

Washington, DC, August 5, 2015 -- Potentially harmful bacteria can survive on endoscopes used to examine the interior of the digestive tract, despite a multi-step cleaning and disinfecting process, according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Though endoscopes were cleaned in accordance with multi-society guidelines, viable microbes and residual contamination remained on surfaces after each stage of cleaning, ...

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Environment5 Aug 2015

This week from AGU: Climate models, Earth's elasticity & five new research papers

Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal New paper shows global climate model errors are significantly less than thought Scientists have matched the output of climate models to the way the Earth's temperature record is constructed in a new study in Geophysical Research Letters. Dan Satterfield explores how climate models are doing an even better job at predicting the Earth's temperature than was thought. Eos.org On the rebound: Modeling Earth's ever-changing shape A new modeling tool easily computes the elastic response of changes in loading on Earth's surface to high resolution. ...

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Medicine5 Aug 2015

Long-term followup of type of bariatric surgery finds regain of weight, decrease in diabetes remission

While undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy induced weight loss and improvements in obesity-related disorders, long-term followup shows significant weight regain and a decrease in remission rates of diabetes and, to a lesser extent, other obesity-related disorders over time, according to a study published online by JAMA Surgery. Obesity was recognized as a global epidemic by the World Health Organization 15 years ago and rates of obesity have since been increasing. Obesity is currently considered a severe health hazard and a risk factor for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ...

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Medicine5 Aug 2015

Bariatric surgery procedure lowers tolerance for alcohol

In a small study, women who had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery reached certain blood alcohol concentrations in half the number of drinks compared to women who didn't have the surgery, and reported a greater feeling of drunkenness, according to a study published online by JAMA Surgery. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is the most common bariatric surgical procedure performed in the world. Although RYGB surgery causes a marked reduction in food intake and induces remission of food addiction, it is associated with an increased risk of developing alcohol use disorders. It ...

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Medicine5 Aug 2015

Telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety in rural older adults

Telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy was better at reducing worry, generalized anxiety disorder symptoms and depressive symptoms in older adults who live in rural areas, where access to mental health treatment may be limited, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders in older adults and is associated with poor quality of life, increased health care utilization and impaired memory. Medications and psychotherapy are the primary treatments. Many older adults prefer psychotherapy ...

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Medicine5 Aug 2015

Detecting Viagra's active ingredient, other dietary supplements' hidden ingredients

To lose weight, boost energy or soothe nerves, many consumers turn to dietary supplements. But some of these products contain undeclared substances. To protect consumers from taking something without their knowledge, scientists have developed a technique to determine what secret ingredients could be lurking in these supplements. They report their approach, which helped them find the active Viagra ingredient and other synthetic designer compounds in various products, in ACS' Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry. Dietary supplements can appear to be a healthful option ...

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Medicine5 Aug 2015

Study finds state policies influence vaccination, disease outbreak rates

Athens, Ga. - Lax state vaccination laws contribute to lower immunization rates and increased outbreaks of preventable diseases--like whooping cough and measles--according to a new study from the University of Georgia. Through their research, released in the August issue of the journal Health Affairs, study authors David Bradford and Anne Mandich found higher rates of pertussis, or whooping cough, in states that allowed philosophical exemptions and used a standardized exemption form. Vaccination exemption rates have increased drastically in the past 10 years, according ...

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Medicine5 Aug 2015

Special edition of Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences

Ottawa, ON (5 August 2015) - Canadian Science Publishing and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology are pleased to announce the release of a special edition of Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences in recognition of the Museum's thirtieth anniversary on September 25, 2015. The insatiable curiosity of the Royal Tyrrell Museum scientists has driven its research program for the past thirty years, and has positioned the Museum as a leader in furthering our understanding of the evolution of life on Earth. The Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, an NRC Research Press journal ...

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Science5 Aug 2015

A simple tableware switch could reduce exposure to a potentially harmful substance

In households with kids -- or grown-up klutzes -- a durable set of melamine plates and bowls is a must. But studies suggest that heat and acid can cause melamine from dinnerware to seep into food and potentially cause harmful health effects. Now scientists show that substituting stainless steel containers for melamine ones when serving hot food could reduce the amount of the substance in people's bodies. Their report appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. In 2008, the health effects of acute melamine exposure became widely known when a scandal erupted ...

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Science5 Aug 2015

Recreating alchemical and other ancient recipes shows scientists of old were quite clever

From "dragon's blood" to slippery elm root, coded and obscure ingredients of ancient recipes are getting a second look today not by Harry Potter fans, but by historians who want to experience science as it was practiced centuries ago. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explores some of the intriguing discoveries these recent efforts have yielded and the unexpected questions they raise. Sarah Everts, a senior editor at C&EN, notes that most science historians had long derided alchemy as pseudo-science, ...

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Science5 Aug 2015

Consuming highly refined carbohydrates increases risk of depression

NEW YORK, NY, August 5, 2015 - A diet high in refined carbohydrates may lead to an increased risk for new-onset depression in postmenopausal women, according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study by James Gangwisch, PhD and colleagues in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) looked at the dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, types of carbohydrates consumed, and depression in data from more than 70,000 postmenopausal women who participated in the National Institutes of Health's Women's Health ...

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Medicine5 Aug 2015

Scientists discover cancer markers may be present early during human development

Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute have uncovered a link between the genomes of cells originating in the neural crest and development of tumors -- a discovery that could lead to new ways to diagnose and treat cancer. The new finding, recently published in Oncotarget, resolves why some cancer types share genomic and clinical features. The discovery may also lead to new ways to diagnose and treat brain cancer, such as gliomas, medulloblastomas, and neuroblastomas; and skin cancer, known as melanoma. More than 22,000 new cases of brain cancer and more ...

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Science5 Aug 2015

Online tool enables public to track 'tip-of-the tongue' states, speech errors

LAWRENCE -- We've all been there. Occasionally, in the midst of a conversation, our mind flashes blank, and it's impossible to conjure the word for a thing, place or person. We'll gesture with our hands and feel like we're on the verge of remembering. But the word won't come. It's a predicament language researchers dub the "tip of the tongue" state. "These states are interesting for a few reasons," said Michael Vitevitch, professor of psychology at the University of Kansas and investigator with KU's Life Span Institute. "They tell us how the language system is built ...

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Medicine5 Aug 2015

Spaceflight may increase susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease

Here's the summary of a new research report appearing in the August 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal: Prolonged spaceflight may give you a nasty case of diarrhea. Specifically, when mice were subjected to simulated spaceflight conditions, the balance of bacteria and the function of immune cells in the gut changed, leading to increased bowel inflammation. "Our study provides useful insights on the cross-regulation of the mucosal immune system, epithelial barrier and commensal bacteria not only in humans in spaceflight or analog, but also in humans on earth that undergo ...

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Medicine5 Aug 2015

Want to improve your health? Focus on nutrition and not weight

If you are watching what you eat, working out, and still not seeing improvements in your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc., here's some hope. A new report appearing in the August 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that inflammation induced by deficiencies in vitamins and minerals might be the culprit. In this report, researchers show that - in some people - improvement results in many of the major markers of health when nutritional deficiencies are corrected. Some even lost weight without a change in their diet or levels of activity. "It is well known ...

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Science5 Aug 2015

High salt intake could be a risk factor for multiple sclerosis

Here's another reason to put the salt shaker down: New research in mice shows that diets high in sodium may be a novel risk factor in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) by influencing immune cells that cause the disease. Although this research does implicate salt intake as a risk factor, it is important to note that dietary salt is likely just one of the many environmental factors contributing to this complex disease, and very much influenced by one's genetic background. This finding was published in the August 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal. "We hope to provide ...

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