Free Republic

Integrating neurons into digital systems may enable performance infeasible with silicon alone. Here, we develop DishBrain, a system that harnesses the inherent adaptive computation of neurons in a structured environment. In vitro neural networks from human or rodent origins are integrated with in silico computing via a high-density multielectrode array. Through electrophysiological stimulation and recording, cultures are embedded in a simulated game-world, mimicking the arcade game “Pong.” Applying implications from the theory of active inference via the free energy principle, we find apparent learning within five minutes of real-time gameplay not observed in control conditions. Further experiments demonstrate the importance...

Miniature brain models helped study autism 4.3 Austrian scientists used miniature models of the human brain — organoids — to study a form of autism associated with mental retardation and macrocephaly. It turned out that the mutation of one gene leads to an earlier and more active formation of neurons, and inhibitory neurons appear first. Several hundred genes are associated with autism spectrum disorders. The main symptoms of autism are difficulties with social interaction, limited interests, and frequently repetitive behavioral responses. In some patients with this diagnosis, the symptoms are mild, while other people may experience serious difficulties during their...

Cars are responsible for a lot of the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, but so is their manufacture. Could plastic made from weeds, modular designs and other innovations help the motor industry reduce its carbon footprint?snip That's why Selena, a research group in Poland, is turning to plants that are not used in the human food chain as a potential source of eco-friendly plastics. It's called the Biomotive project and it has been awarded €15m (£13.5m) from the EU. Car dashboards and other interior components could soon be made from bioplastics, explains Wojciech Komala, research and development director....

From the Parody Project, an entertaining video that made me laugh just as much as the fantastic M4GW “climategate” video, done to the tune of Don McLean’s “American Pie”. While some may not think it’s appropriate for WUWT, we do have a “politics” and “satire” category, and it is quite good, so enjoy. My best advice? Share it to annoy your liberal friends, watch their heads explode when one of their favorite songs gets turned into a political satire piece.Lyrics at site. Youtube linkOriginal Blog

Greta Thunberg took her climate message to the heart of power in Westminster on Tuesday, with a quiet but powerful message to MPs that prompted politicians to declare contrition for their failure to act. After the noise of Brexit in parliament and the disruption of Extinction Rebellion outside, the 16-year-old Swedish activist cut an extraordinarily composed figure as she arrived with her trademark braids, hand-painted placard and a speech that forced politicians to reflect on a crisis that is growing steadily worse despite three decades of political promises. ................................ There was no let-up for the audience. The UK, she said,...

A proposed private space mission is planning to visit Apollo 17's landing site on the Moon. A German team wants to land a pair of rovers on the lunar surface to inspect the buggy left behind in 1972 on the last crewed mission to the Moon. The group, called PT Scientists, is one of 16 teams vying for the $30m Google Lunar X-Prize. It has signed a deal with launch broker Spaceflight Inc. to secure a ride on a commercial launcher. The XPrize will award the first privately funded teams to land a robot on the Moon that travels more...

The leaders of four major global cities say they will stop the use of all diesel-powered cars and trucks by the middle of the next decade. The mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens say they are implementing the ban to improve air quality. They say they will give incentives for alternative vehicle use and promote walking and cycling. The commitments were made in Mexico at a biennial meeting of city leaders. The use of diesel in transport has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, as concerns about its impact on air quality have grown. The World Health...

Blood plasma from young people has been found to rejuvenate old mice, improving their memory, cognition, and physical activity. The method has the potential to be developed into a treatment for people, says Sakura Minami of Alkahest, the company behind the work. Previous research has found that stitching old and young mice together has an interesting effect. While sharing a blood system works out well for the older mouse, the younger one isn’t so lucky. The young animals started to show signs of brain ageing, while the brains of the older mice started to look younger. “We see a rejuvenation...

Two strong earthquakes have hit central Italy, damaging buildings and sending scared residents into the streets. A 5.5-magnitude quake struck at 1910 local time (1710 GMT) near Visso in Macerata province, officials said. It was followed two hours later by a 6.1 magnitude tremor in the same area. Several people were hurt, but there were no immediate reports of deaths. The quakes come two months after a powerful earthquake struck slightly to the south, killing 298 people. The 6.2 magnitude quake, on 24 August, toppled buildings in Amatrice and villages in the mountainous region around the town, which is just...

A new exhibition marking 300 years since the birth of canal pioneer James Brindley has opened. How did his work transform the English landscape and unlock a new era in the Industrial Revolution? When James Brindley sought Parliament's backing for his plan for an aqueduct over the River Irwell in Lancashire, he apparently employed a novel means of gaining their attention. Taking out a block of Cheshire cheese, the man who engineered England's first canal carved out a model of the waterway he hoped to build. "It's not clear if he cut it into pieces and put it in water...

A woman who wasm reported missing this week after she went hiking in North Carolina's Blueridge Mountains was reportedly found alive and tied to a tree. The unnamed 64-year-old woman was reported missing near the Blueridge Parkway on Thursday after a friend called 911 in the early afternoon. According to reports, the friend received texts messages from the woman, who said she was having some sort of emergency, according to the Citizen-Times. After about an hour, the woman was reportedly found tied to a tree near a trail, according to a fire department dispatch radio recording obtained by WLOS. Crime...

The historic Ironbridge in Shropshire will receive £1.25m for essential maintenance work, it has been announced. The bridge, the world's first single span made of iron, was erected over the River Severn in 1779. Historians say the site is an important part of the early years of the Industrial Revolution. English Heritage said the site has been damaged by stresses in the original ironwork and a 19th Century earthquake. The work is set to begin in 2017. Engineers have been investigating the bridge for the last three years, and are set to finish their examinations this week. Kate Mavor, English...

Human-induced climate change is triggering changes beneath the waves that could have a long-term effect on marine food webs, a study suggests. An assessment of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic found the microscopic organisms' pole-ward shift was faster than previously reported. It observed that the ocean's tiny plant community was "poised for marked shift and shuffle". The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Marine phytoplankton are crucial in marine food webs and global biogeochemical cycles and they are incredibly diverse but we don't really have a sense of what all the different organisms do...

The Royal Navy's most decorated pilot, Capt Eric "Winkle" Brown, has died at the age of 97. Capt Brown also held the world record for flying the greatest number of different types of aircraft - 487. During World War Two, Capt Brown, who was born in Leith in 1919, flew fighter aircraft and witnessed the liberation of Bergen Belsen concentration camp. The pilot, who had been appointed MBE, OBE and CBE, died at East Surrey Hospital after a short illness. A statement released by his family said: "It is with deep regret that the passing of Captain Eric Melrose Brown...

UK MPs are investigating what it will cost ISPs to meet government proposals to log where Britons go online. The House of Commons Science and Technology committee is looking at whether gathering data on net-using citizens is even feasible. It also wants to look into the potential impact that logging browsing will have on how people use the web. snip In a notice announcing the inquiry, the Committee said it wanted to find out if it was possible for ISPs to meet the IP Bill's requirements. The text of the Bill asks ISPs to log where people go but...

For 15 years, Irish anthropologist Martina Tyrrell has studied the relationship between humans and animals in Arviat, an Inuit community on the west coast of Hudson Bay, where the townspeople are increasingly having to cope with a large and dangerous visitor - the polar bear. It's a Sunday afternoon in mid-October. I'm standing near the cemetery at the eastern end of Arviat, with a handful of other people. All eyes are fixed on the newly formed sea ice where a polar bear bellyflops into the sea, hauls itself back on to the broken ice, and bellyflops again. Inuit men...

Authorities in the Philippines have cancelled flights and ordered thousands of people in coastal areas to evacuate as Typhoon Koppu hits the country. The slow-moving storm made landfall near the town of Casiguran on the main island of Luzon on Sunday morning. Koppu is predicted to bring three days of torrential rain, triggering floods, storm surges and possibly landslides. Disaster officials said a few thousand people living in vulnerable coastal areas had already sought shelter. Earlier, President Benigno Aquino made a televised warning, the first time he had done so since Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which killed more than...

he European and Russian space agencies are to send a lander to an unexplored area at the Moon's south pole. It will be one of a series of missions that prepares for the return of humans to the surface and a possible permanent settlement. The spacecraft will assess whether there is water, and raw materials to make fuel and oxygen. BBC News has obtained exclusive details of the mission, called Luna 27, which is set for launch in five years' time. The mission is one of a series led by the Russian federal space agency, Roscosmos, to go back to...

It can start with flashing lights, a tingling sensation and a feeling of unease, followed by excruciating pain. Migraines can be triggered by lack of food or too much stress but their underlying cause has remained a mystery. Now researchers have found that a migraine may be triggered by a protein deep in the brain that stimulates the neurons controlling facial sensations. The discovery creates a potential new target for safer migraine medicines and adds weight to the theory that neurons, not blood vessels, are responsible for migraine attacks. “Where a migraine starts is a key question,” says Debbie Hay...

Police are requesting citizens to inform them of pizzerias that offer their meals at less than 6 euros each. Their campaign is directed mainly at social media, where people have been quick to ridicule the seemingly trivial measure, but one which the authorities say is the first decisive step towards rooting out the country's grey economy.Police are asking people to report sightings of pizza restaurants that offer pizzas at less than 6 euros as an anti-grey market measure. "We need tips from citizens. You can post them on our web site or contact us on social media. Unless a pizza...