The Helper
Aug
03
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A ban on travel by U.S. passport holders to North Korea will take effect on Sept. 1 and Americans in the country should leave before that date, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.
U.S. citizens wishing to travel to North Korea would have to obtain a special validation for their passports, which would only be granted in limited circumstances, the department said in a statement.
Source. (Reuters)
U.S. citizens wishing to travel to North Korea would have to obtain a special validation for their passports, which would only be granted in limited circumstances, the department said in a statement.
Source. (Reuters)
Aug
02
Scientists have discovered the strongest evidence to date for a stratosphere on a planet outside our solar system, or exoplanet. A stratosphere is a layer of atmosphere in which temperature increases with higher altitudes.
"This result is exciting because it shows that a common trait of most of the atmospheres in our solar system -- a warm stratosphere -- also can be found in exoplanet atmospheres," said Mark Marley, study co-author based at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. "We can now compare processes in exoplanet atmospheres with the same processes that happen under different sets of conditions in our own solar system."
Reporting in the journal Nature, scientists used data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to study WASP-121b, a type of exoplanet called a "hot Jupiter." Its mass is 1.2 times that of Jupiter, and its radius is about 1.9 times Jupiter's -- making it puffier. But while Jupiter revolves around our sun once every 12 years, WASP-121b has an orbital period of just 1.3 days. This exoplanet is so close to its star that if it got any closer, the star's gravity would start ripping it apart. It also means that the top of the planet's atmosphere is heated to a blazing 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit (2,500 Celsius), hot enough to boil some metals. The WASP-121 system is estimated to be about 900 light years from Earth – a long way, but close by galactic standards....
"This result is exciting because it shows that a common trait of most of the atmospheres in our solar system -- a warm stratosphere -- also can be found in exoplanet atmospheres," said Mark Marley, study co-author based at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. "We can now compare processes in exoplanet atmospheres with the same processes that happen under different sets of conditions in our own solar system."
Reporting in the journal Nature, scientists used data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to study WASP-121b, a type of exoplanet called a "hot Jupiter." Its mass is 1.2 times that of Jupiter, and its radius is about 1.9 times Jupiter's -- making it puffier. But while Jupiter revolves around our sun once every 12 years, WASP-121b has an orbital period of just 1.3 days. This exoplanet is so close to its star that if it got any closer, the star's gravity would start ripping it apart. It also means that the top of the planet's atmosphere is heated to a blazing 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit (2,500 Celsius), hot enough to boil some metals. The WASP-121 system is estimated to be about 900 light years from Earth – a long way, but close by galactic standards....
Jul
28
Are you good with faces? So is the Japanese rice fish – at least, it is if the faces are the right way up. Just like humans, the tiny fish has no problem recognising faces orientated the usual way, but, again like us, it struggles when they are inverted. The finding indicates that the fish may have developed a unique brain pathway for face recognition, just as humans have.
We have no problem identifying most objects in our environment – say, a chair – no matter what way up they are. But faces are different. It is relatively easy for us to spot the differences between two faces, even if they are physically similar, if we see them in photographs the right way up. But if the images are upside down, telling them apart gets a bit tricky.
“This is because we have a specific brain area for processing faces, and when the face is upside down, we process the image through object processing pathways, and not the face-processing pathways any more,” says Mu-Yun Wang at the University of Tokyo, Japan.
Until now, this face-inversion effect was considered exclusive to mammals as it has only been observed in primates and sheep.
Enter the Japanese rice fish, also known as the medaka (Oryzias latipes), a 3.5-centimetre-long shoaling fish commonly found in rice paddies, marshes, ponds and slow-moving streams in East Asia. These fish are very social, so identifying the right individuals to associate with is important....
We have no problem identifying most objects in our environment – say, a chair – no matter what way up they are. But faces are different. It is relatively easy for us to spot the differences between two faces, even if they are physically similar, if we see them in photographs the right way up. But if the images are upside down, telling them apart gets a bit tricky.
“This is because we have a specific brain area for processing faces, and when the face is upside down, we process the image through object processing pathways, and not the face-processing pathways any more,” says Mu-Yun Wang at the University of Tokyo, Japan.
Until now, this face-inversion effect was considered exclusive to mammals as it has only been observed in primates and sheep.
Enter the Japanese rice fish, also known as the medaka (Oryzias latipes), a 3.5-centimetre-long shoaling fish commonly found in rice paddies, marshes, ponds and slow-moving streams in East Asia. These fish are very social, so identifying the right individuals to associate with is important....
Jul
27
An artificial intelligence system being developed at Facebook has created its own language. It developed a system of code words to make communication more efficient. The researchers shut the system down as it prompted concerns we could lose control of AI.
The observations made at Facebook are the latest in a long line of similar cases. In each instance, an AI being monitored by humans has diverged from its training in English to develop its own language. The resulting phrases appear to be nonsensical gibberish to humans but contain semantic meaning when interpreted by AI "agents."
As Fast Co. Design reports, Facebook's researchers recently noticed its new AI had given up on English. The advanced system is capable of negotiating with other AI agents so it can come to conclusions on how to proceed. The agents began to communicate using phrases that seem unintelligible at first but actually represent the task at hand.
In one exchange illustrated by the company, the two negotiating bots, named Bob and Alice, used their own language to complete their exchange. Bob started by saying "I can i i everything else," to which Alice responded "balls have zero to me to me to me…" The rest of the conversation was formed from...
The observations made at Facebook are the latest in a long line of similar cases. In each instance, an AI being monitored by humans has diverged from its training in English to develop its own language. The resulting phrases appear to be nonsensical gibberish to humans but contain semantic meaning when interpreted by AI "agents."
As Fast Co. Design reports, Facebook's researchers recently noticed its new AI had given up on English. The advanced system is capable of negotiating with other AI agents so it can come to conclusions on how to proceed. The agents began to communicate using phrases that seem unintelligible at first but actually represent the task at hand.
In one exchange illustrated by the company, the two negotiating bots, named Bob and Alice, used their own language to complete their exchange. Bob started by saying "I can i i everything else," to which Alice responded "balls have zero to me to me to me…" The rest of the conversation was formed from...
Jul
27
Silently talking to yourself in the third person during times of stress could help to control your emotions without any additional mental effort compared to first-person self-talk, a study has found.
In their study Third-person self-talk facilitates emotion regulation without engaging cognitive control: Converging evidence from ERP and fMRI., researchers from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan performed experiments on participants while monitoring their brain activity with an electroecephalograph.
Jason Moser, MSU associate professor of psychology, said: 'Essentially, we think referring to yourself in the third person leads people to think about themselves more similar to how they think about others, and you can see evidence for this in the brain.
'That helps people gain a tiny bit of psychological distance from their experiences, which can often be useful for regulating emotions.'
Read more here. (Unipaper)
In their study Third-person self-talk facilitates emotion regulation without engaging cognitive control: Converging evidence from ERP and fMRI., researchers from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan performed experiments on participants while monitoring their brain activity with an electroecephalograph.
Jason Moser, MSU associate professor of psychology, said: 'Essentially, we think referring to yourself in the third person leads people to think about themselves more similar to how they think about others, and you can see evidence for this in the brain.
'That helps people gain a tiny bit of psychological distance from their experiences, which can often be useful for regulating emotions.'
Read more here. (Unipaper)
Jul
25
The next time you tuck into a protein rich dinner, it may be a good idea to hold off on the sugary drinks. A new study published in BMC Nutrition found that a combination of sugar sweetened drinks and a protein rich meal decreases metabolic efficiency, which can lead to more fat being stored. Here to tell us more is lead author of the study Dr. Shanon Casperson.
Let’s face it, sugar tastes good. Added sugars account for approximately 16% of total energy intake. That’s around 6 tablespoons (91 grams) of added sugar every day. The largest source of added sugars in our diet is from sugar-sweetened drinks. This is why a large amount of research is focused on the health effects of these types of drinks.
The beneficial effects of protein-rich diets are well documented. Increasing protein intake increases satiety, increases metabolism and decreases energy intake. But what happens when we drink a sugar-sweetened beverage with our steak dinner? How does this change how our body processes and uses the nutrients from the meal?
Read more here. (BioMed Central)
Let’s face it, sugar tastes good. Added sugars account for approximately 16% of total energy intake. That’s around 6 tablespoons (91 grams) of added sugar every day. The largest source of added sugars in our diet is from sugar-sweetened drinks. This is why a large amount of research is focused on the health effects of these types of drinks.
The beneficial effects of protein-rich diets are well documented. Increasing protein intake increases satiety, increases metabolism and decreases energy intake. But what happens when we drink a sugar-sweetened beverage with our steak dinner? How does this change how our body processes and uses the nutrients from the meal?
Read more here. (BioMed Central)
Jul
25
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan aims to cut suicides by 30 per cent over 10 years, with the government on Tuesday (July 25) approving a plan which seeks to curb extreme work hours seen as contributing to one of the world's highest suicide rates.
Japan has the highest suicide rate among Group of Seven (G7) advanced countries and the government describes the situation as "critical" in a country where more than 20,000 people kill themselves every year.
The suicide rate - the ratio per 100,000 people - was 18.5 in 2015 and the government wants to reduce it to below 13 in 2025.
Suicides have fallen since peaking at 34,427 in 2003, with 21,897 taking their own lives last year.
Read more here. (The Straits Times - Singapore)
Japan has the highest suicide rate among Group of Seven (G7) advanced countries and the government describes the situation as "critical" in a country where more than 20,000 people kill themselves every year.
The suicide rate - the ratio per 100,000 people - was 18.5 in 2015 and the government wants to reduce it to below 13 in 2025.
Suicides have fallen since peaking at 34,427 in 2003, with 21,897 taking their own lives last year.
Read more here. (The Straits Times - Singapore)
Jul
25
TOKYO -- Japan is warming to esports -- multiplayer video-game competitions that can draw big crowds and offer cash prizes -- but industry insiders say legal barriers are keeping a potentially major industry in the minor leagues.
Esports -- short for electronic sports -- is already big business in the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia, where purses for some events can soar to the tens of millions of dollars.
The prize money in Japan is pocket change by comparison. That is because of the act against unjustifiable premiums and misleading representations, which puts a 100,000 yen ($895) cap on cash prizes for events deemed to be aimed at selling a specific product.
Hirokazu Hamamura, president of newly established game company Gzbrain, says the cash prize limit is stifling business opportunities.
"If it weren't for that law, we could hold as many big-prize events as we like," said Hamamura, whose company was launched on July 3 by Kadokawa Dwango.
Read more here. (Nikkei - Asian Review)
Esports -- short for electronic sports -- is already big business in the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia, where purses for some events can soar to the tens of millions of dollars.
The prize money in Japan is pocket change by comparison. That is because of the act against unjustifiable premiums and misleading representations, which puts a 100,000 yen ($895) cap on cash prizes for events deemed to be aimed at selling a specific product.
Hirokazu Hamamura, president of newly established game company Gzbrain, says the cash prize limit is stifling business opportunities.
"If it weren't for that law, we could hold as many big-prize events as we like," said Hamamura, whose company was launched on July 3 by Kadokawa Dwango.
Read more here. (Nikkei - Asian Review)
Jul
21
An unlikely hero has emerged in the quest to fight HIV: the cow. In a first for any animal, including humans, four cows injected with a type of HIV protein rapidly produced powerful antibodies against the virus, researchers report. Learning how to induce similar antibodies in humans may be key to a successful HIV vaccine.
The antibodies, called broadly neutralizing antibodies, can stop infection from a variety of HIV types. The cows generated these antibodies as soon as 42 days after immunization, the researchers report online July 20 in Nature. For the small percentage of people estimated to develop these antibodies after a natural infection, it can take several years.
The work identifies “a new and much more efficient method to generate broadly active antibodies against HIV,” says immunologist Justin Bailey of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.
Making an HIV vaccine has proved difficult because the virus changes all the time. Different strains exist throughout the world, and the virus even mutates within an infected person’s body. Most often, people develop antibodies that are specific to one strain but ineffective against others. HIV vaccines tested so far have not led to the production of broadly neutralizing antibodies.
About 1 percent of HIV-infected people eventually generate broadly neutralizing antibodies that are especially potent and effective...
The antibodies, called broadly neutralizing antibodies, can stop infection from a variety of HIV types. The cows generated these antibodies as soon as 42 days after immunization, the researchers report online July 20 in Nature. For the small percentage of people estimated to develop these antibodies after a natural infection, it can take several years.
The work identifies “a new and much more efficient method to generate broadly active antibodies against HIV,” says immunologist Justin Bailey of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.
Making an HIV vaccine has proved difficult because the virus changes all the time. Different strains exist throughout the world, and the virus even mutates within an infected person’s body. Most often, people develop antibodies that are specific to one strain but ineffective against others. HIV vaccines tested so far have not led to the production of broadly neutralizing antibodies.
About 1 percent of HIV-infected people eventually generate broadly neutralizing antibodies that are especially potent and effective...
Jul
21
TORONTO, July 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As environmentalists debate how best to preserve the world's dwindling forests, a study published on Thursday offered a simple solution: pay land owners in poor countries not to cut down the trees.
Deforestation dropped by more than half in Ugandan villages where land owners were paid about $28 per hectare each year if they preserved their trees, according to the study from U.S. researchers published in the journal Science.
The benefits of paying land owners to preserve forests were more than two times greater than the cost of the programme when it comes to protecting forests and tackling climate change which is exacerbated by deforestation, said the two-year study.
Economists who crunched the numbers on forest preservation say the model pioneered in Uganda could be expanded to other countries with large tropical forests including Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru as part of the fight against global warming.
"When you think of the damage done by climate change, paying people to conserve forests is cost effective," said Northwestern University economist Seema Jayachandran, the study's lead author.
"It is a straight forward idea and the benefits are bigger than the costs," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Read more here. (Reuters)
Deforestation dropped by more than half in Ugandan villages where land owners were paid about $28 per hectare each year if they preserved their trees, according to the study from U.S. researchers published in the journal Science.
The benefits of paying land owners to preserve forests were more than two times greater than the cost of the programme when it comes to protecting forests and tackling climate change which is exacerbated by deforestation, said the two-year study.
Economists who crunched the numbers on forest preservation say the model pioneered in Uganda could be expanded to other countries with large tropical forests including Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru as part of the fight against global warming.
"When you think of the damage done by climate change, paying people to conserve forests is cost effective," said Northwestern University economist Seema Jayachandran, the study's lead author.
"It is a straight forward idea and the benefits are bigger than the costs," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Read more here. (Reuters)
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