Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC)

The DQN network learned how to play classic video games including Space Invaders and Breakout without programming Artificial intelligence has taken a major step forward after Google created a network which learned to play a range of computer games on its own without being pre-programmed. The Deep Q Network (DQN) was given just the basic

Engineers build cutting-edge photonic devices using standard chip-making process The future of computing may lie not in electrons, but in photons – that is, in microprocessors that use light instead of electrical signals. But these so-called photonic devices are typically built using customized methods that make them difficult and expensive to manufacture. Now, engineers have

Products from genetically modified crops can be identified at low concentration It is important to be able to monitor genetically modified (GM) crops, not only in the field but also during the food processing chain. New research published in BioMed Central‘s open access journal BMC Biotechnology shows that products from genetically modified crops can be

The microneedles painlessly pierce the top layer of skin Microneedles continue to show promise as a replacement – in at least some applications – for the hypodermic needle. Typically, a sheet containing an array of the tiny needles is adhered to the patient’s skin, like a bandage. The microneedles painlessly pierce the top layer of

A new generation of miniature biological robots is flexing its muscle. Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign demonstrated a class of walking “bio-bots” powered by muscle cells and controlled with electrical pulses, giving researchers unprecedented command over their function. The group published its work in the online early edition of Proceedings of the

Ants equipped with venom antidote invade southeastern U.S. The English had the longbow. The Spanish had steel. Tawny crazy ants have their own formidable weapon—a protective acid sheath—that protects them against fire ant enemies. The revelation comes from a new study published this week. Named for their butterscotch color and erratic movements, tawny crazy ants

The wave-powered sub Papa Mau not only set a record while crossing the Pacific Ocean autonomously, it also studied rogue waves and other marine phenomena invisible to eyes in the sky When the robotic Papa Mau completed its 16,668-kilometer scientific expedition across the Pacific Ocean last month, the surfboard-sized submarine did more than set a

Image via Wikipedia Research into capacitors for use in hybrid vehicles, EVs, computer power supplies and pacemakers has been given a boost in the order of US$2.25 million. Professor Gerhard Welsch, who began patenting his designs for capacitors a decade ago, will use the grant to complete development of a small, light, powerful and reliable capacitor that promises

Irish researchers squeeze low-cost electricity from sustainable biomaterial Mobile phone speakers and motion detectors in cars and video games may soon be powered by electricity generated from low cost and sustainable biomaterials, according to research carried out at University of Limerick (UL), Ireland. Scientists at UL’s Bernal Institute have discovered that the biomolecule glycine, when

At a General Electric factory in Schenectady, N.Y., tens of thousands of tiny sensors are quietly collecting data about each step in the manufacturing of a battery. The sensors know, for instance, how humid the factory floor was on a certain production day, and exactly how much pressure a machine applied to a particular battery