University of Alaska Fairbanks

  Trading stocks, targeting ads, steering political campaigns, arranging dates, besting people on “Jeopardy” and even choosing bra sizes: computer algorithms are doing all this work and more. But increasingly, behind the curtain there is a decidedly retro helper — a human being. Although algorithms are growing ever more powerful, fast and precise, the computers themselves

How is 3D printing changing the future of prosthetic and animatronic limbs? 17-year old inventor Easton LaChappelle from Colorado, built a prosthetic arm by generating most of the parts through a 3D printer. “My goal is to create an affordable prosthetic for everyday use,” said LaChapelle. When he was 14, he came up with an

Article in journal Science outlines threats to soil productivity A group of leading soil scientists, including the University of Delaware’s Donald L. Sparks, has summarized the precarious state of the world’s soil resources and the possible ramifications for human security in a paper published Thursday, May 7, in the journal Science. In a review of

Garbage in, Energy out Edmonton is Canada’s chief oil city as well as the capital of Alberta, the province that hosts the bulk of the country’s tar sands. Given the expense of converting this mix of dirt and heavy oils to more usable petroleum products, the province is not keen on alternative fuels. Nevertheless, in

“What we’re working on now could make these gadgets perform hundreds of times better and also be a hundred times more energy efficient,” “We spent 15 percent of home energy on gadgets in 2009, and we’re buying more gadgets all the time,” says Peter Fischer of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The FanWing is arguably the first entirely new aircraft design developed within the past century. Instead of jet engines or rotors, it uses huge rotating fans embedded in its wings for both lift and propulsion. Scale models have been flying for years, and we’ve just learned that a manned ultralight prototype should be airborne in

DARPA wants robots that are able to eventually do many things humans can A headless humanoid robot clambers noisily through an obstacle course with the grim, unfeeling purpose of a terminator. Luckily, it’s just the latest video celebrating the official start of a U.S. military challenge to create robots that can work alongside humans in

Lancaster University is about to take the concept of smart cities out of town. Computer scientists at Lancaster University are investigating how the Internet of Things could work in the countryside. The Internet of Things – which enables object-to-object communication over the internet and real time data monitoring – has typically been associated with urban

Healing times for skin ulcers and bedsores can be reduced by a third with the use of low-intensity ultrasound, scientists from the University of Sheffield and University of Bristol have found. Treatment could save the NHS £3.1 billion every year More than 200,000 patients in the UK suffer with chronic wounds Healing time can be

Putting the brakes on aging Aging is a leading risk factor for a number of debilitating conditions, including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, to name a few. This makes the need for anti-aging therapies all the more urgent. Now, Salk Institute researchers have developed a new gene therapy to help decelerate the aging process.