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Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists just invented robots that feed on other robots
Scientists have built a robot that grows and heals by consuming other robots. The development heralds a new era of self-sustaining machines and an 'entirely new dimension of autonomy' for artificial intelligence, according to the team from New York's Columbia University who created it. "True autonomy means robots must not only think for themselves but also physically sustain themselves," said Philippe Martin Wyder, lead author and researcher at Columbia Engineering and the University of Washington. "Just as biological life absorbs and integrates resources, these robots grow, adapt, and repair using materials from their environment or from other robots." The cannibal robots work through a process referred to as 'robot metabolism', which allows them to absorb and reuse bits of other robots. The team showed off this new paradigm through a robotic magnet stick, dubbed the Truss Link, that can expand, contract and attract to other modules. The robot is able to self-assemble and increase its performance by adding new bits, or discard old parts that have run out of battery or no longer serve a function. One example shows a tetrahedron-shaped robot integrate a new Truss Link to use as a walking stick in order to increase its speed by more than 50 per cent. 'Robots provide a digital interface to the physical world, and give legs to AI,' stated a video produced by Columbia Engineering school. 'Through adaptable robot bodies, AI could in the future assist us in exploring the depths of the oceans, save lives during natural disasters, help us colonise new planets and support us in our daily lives. 'Robot metabolism shows a path to a new kind of machine – one that not only learns, but also grows.' The research was published in the journal Science Advances, in a study titled 'Robot metabolism: Toward machines that can grow by consuming other machines'. "Robot metabolism provides a digital interface to the physical world and allows AI to not only advance cognitively, but physically – creating an entirely new dimension of autonomy," said Dr Wyder. "Initially, systems capable of robot metabolism will be used in specialized applications such as disaster recovery or space exploration. Ultimately, it opens up the potential for a world where AI can build physical structures or robots just as it today writes or rearranges the words in your email."
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Humans used to have straighter teeth—what changed?
Braces, rubber bands, even jaw surgery—millions endure them in pursuit of a straighter smile. But were misaligned smiles always this common? Research suggests that might not be the case. While malocclusions—crowded or misaligned teeth—have been found among our hunter-gatherer ancestors, they appear to be more prevalent in modern populations. So what changed? Experts say the answer isn't simple but point to one possible culprit: our diets. As we traded raw, tough foods for softer, more processed ones, the burden of chewing decreased, allowing our jaws to shrink over time. Now, researchers are exploring how evolutionary biology, diet, and modern lifestyles may have reshaped our faces—and our smiles. Ancient human skulls were strikingly different from our own. Early hunter-gatherers had large, powerful jaws built for the demanding work of chewing tough meats, fibrous vegetables, seeds, and nuts. But around 12,000 years ago, things began to change. As humans around the world traded hunting for farming, their diets changed too, incorporating more grains and cultivated produce into their diet. These foods were softer, more processed, and required far less chewing.' We did not have ice cream or white bread back in the day,' says Sue Herring, professor emeritus in orthodontics at the University of Washington. 'When you get your food straight from the environment, it's probably a little [grittier] than stuff which has been cooked and processed.' (Neanderthal teeth reveal intimate details of daily life.) With softer diets came less mechanical strain on the jaw. Over generations, our mandibles began to shrink— a trend visible in the fossil record. That shrinkage is, at least in part, adaptive and the result of millennia of evolution, says Myra Laird, assistant professor of basic and translational sciences at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. 'If you don't need a huge mandible, it's energetically costly to build that extra bone.' But not all changes in jaw size and shape are evolutionary. Bone is highly responsive to physical stress—even within a single lifetime—and builds up around muscle attachment sites. In other words, less muscle usage results in less robust bones, Laird says, citing studies of craniofacial growth in non-human animals like hyraxes. 'If you switch to a liquid diet, you will not use your muscles as much and see some shape changes in your face.' (Here's how ultra-processed food harms the body and brain.) That's exactly what researchers believe happened to humans as they adopted agriculture. 'Post-agricultural populations had a marked reduction in the size of the chewing muscles,' Laird says. 'What this suggests is that the origins of agriculture brought about less work for the feeding system'—and, ultimately, much less roomy mouths. So, what happens when you try to fit the same number of teeth into a smaller jaw space? Over-crowding and crookedness. 'The way your teeth come through is almost like a zipper,' says Julie Lawrence, assistant professor of biological anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 'Your jaw moves forward and then it makes space for them to come through.' If there isn't enough room for the teeth to erupt, they might become impacted or crowded together. The third molars, or wisdom teeth, are particularly at risk for noneruption in undersized jaws. Research suggests that the mismatch between the size of the mandible and dentition may be to blame for increasingly crooked teeth among post-industrial humans. 'That loss of space is really what precipitates the malocclusions, dental crowding,' says Laird. 'The rate of malocclusion goes way, way up [in modern humans], and that is ubiquitous across all populations.' (Why we add fluoride to water—and how it became so controversial.) But experts caution that the story isn't so simple. Although the frequency of malocclusions seems to have increased among modern humans, dental impaction and crowding have been observed in early hominid skulls. The fossil record is limited and likely not fully representative, Lawrence says. 'Better teeth tend to be better preserved,' she says, adding that anthropological data doesn't take into account confounding factors like missing teeth. While 'there does seem to be a pattern' of increased malocclusions among post-industrialization humans, Lawrence adds, not all changes in teeth alignment can be attributed to diet. Extreme under- or overbite, for example, is the result of population genetics and 'doesn't have to do with industrialization.' Many other factors can cause crooked teeth, including environmental conditions or developmental anomalies. And some populations are more genetically predisposed to malocclusions. Ultimately, the prevalence of crooked teeth may also be due in small part to aesthetic bias. 'Our modern society is a lot more sensitive to cosmetic problems,' Herring says. 'I think we're a lot more aware of malocclusions now than anybody was in the past.'
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Community In Florida Honors Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. By Naming Street After Him
Community In Florida Honors Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. By Naming Street After Him originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Small-town hero Michael Penix Jr. is honored by having a street named after him in Florida. Advertisement Michael Penix is considered a local legend from Dade City, Florida. A small-town athlete who has since made it to the top of his game in the NFL as a starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. A new street sign went up, titled 'Michael Penix Jr. Blvd.' Dade City, Florida, is where Penix Jr. would start his football career as a youth player in the historic community. Before Penix Jr. set records at the University of Washington, local lore had it that he was tossing around the football with a cannon on his left arm as a toddler. Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. has a laugh at Falcons mini-camp with head coach Raheem Morris. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Penix Jr would start his career at the University of Indiana before transferring to play for the Washington Huskies. Ascending to a Heisman candidate at Washington, he would grab the attention of the Atlanta Falcons, who would draft him with the 8th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Advertisement Now, he has been handed the keys to the franchise in Atlanta by being named the starter after Kirk Cousins was benched with three weeks remaining last season. All of the hard work that Penix Jr. has put into getting to this point has paid off, paving the way for other small community athletes to realize their guiding light in sports. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place, which included city officials, town residents, and even representatives from the City Hall of Georgia. Penix Jr. has solidified himself from "Little Mike" in the community to a local legend. Related: Falcons Legend Warrick Dunn Changed Lives On And Off The Field Related: Falcons Tight End Accepted Into 'Tight End University' Camp This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Women get angrier as they age - but they learn to manage it better from midlife, study suggests
Women get angrier as they age but they learn to manage it better from midlife as their 'emotional regulation' improves, a study suggests. Educating women about mood changes and managing the symptoms can have a 'profound effect' on their quality of life, experts say. The frequency with which women feel anger and the intensity of the emotion actually increases over time, the findings show. But they typically learn to calm themselves down and control how they externalise it, becoming less likely to express anger indiscriminately. The same is true of their propensity to react angrily when criticised or treated unfairly and to act aggressively towards other people and objects. Researchers from the University of Washington examined data on more than 500 women aged 35 to 55 years, who provided details of their menstrual cycles and regularly answered questions designed to assess their anger. Analysis revealed that chronologic and reproductive age both have a significant effect on a woman's level of anger and her ability to manage it. Anger was defined as 'antagonism toward someone or something, often accompanied by a propensity to experience and express it indiscriminately'. Writing in Menopause, the journal of the Menopause Society, the study authors said: 'Aging was significantly related to anger, with anger expression indicators decreasing with age, suggesting emotion regulation may occur during midlife.' Studies of anger and its health implications in midlife women date back to 1980 but have predominantly focused on heart disease, blood pressure and depression. Dr Monica Christmas, associate medical director for The Menopause Society, said: 'The mental health side of the menopause transition can have a significant effect on a woman's personal and professional life. 'This aspect of perimenopause has not always been acknowledged and managed. 'It is well recognised that fluctuations in serum hormone concentrations during the postpartum period, as well as monthly fluctuations in reproductive-aged women corresponding with their menstrual cycles and during perimenopause, can result in severe mood swings associated with anger and hostility. 'Educating women about the possibility of mood changes during these vulnerable windows and actively managing symptoms can have a profound effect on overall quality of life and health.' The researchers would like to see further studies of women's anger in the context of everyday life to help inform emotion regulation and anger management strategies and their consequences for midlife and older women.
Geek Wire
29-06-2025
- Business
- Geek Wire
Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of June 22, 2025
Get caught up on the latest technology and startup news from the past week. Here are the most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of June 22, 2025. Sign up to receive these updates every Sunday in your inbox by subscribing to our GeekWire Weekly email newsletter. Most popular stories on GeekWire UW pulls the plug on anchor research building in planned Seattle innovation district The University of Washington and a prominent developer have abandoned plans for Brightwork, a facility for research and business tenants that was meant to anchor an ambitious 69-acre innovation district abutting the UW's main campus. … Read More Newlywed Jeff Bezos sells $5.4 billion worth of Amazon stock Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is selling more than $5.4 billion worth of Amazon shares, according to a new regulatory filing made public Friday, part of the billionaire's ongoing effort to diversify his wealth. … Read More
