Università della Svizzera italiana

Structure-mapping engine enables computers to reason and learn like humans, including solving moral dilemmas Northwestern Engineering’s Ken Forbus is closing the gap between humans and machines. Using cognitive science theories, Forbus and his collaborators have developed a model that could give computers the ability to reason more like humans and even make moral decisions. Called

Our brain does not work like a typical computer memory storing just ones and zeroes: thanks to a much larger variation in memory states, it can calculate faster consuming less energy. Scientists of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology of the University of Twente (The Netherlands) now developed a ferro-electric material with a memory function resembling

Recent reports of chemical weapons attacks in the Middle East underscore the urgent need for new ways to guard against their toxic effects. Toward that end, scientists report in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces a new hydrogel coating that neutralizes both mustard gas and nerve agent VX. It could someday be applied to

Research on elderly rats suggests possible avenue for prevention of osteoporosis The researchers found that there was a significant increase in both bone volume and density among the rats that had received melatonin supplements. As a result, it took much more force to break the bones of rats that had taken the melatonin supplements, a

Tumor cells circulating in blood are markers for the early detection and prognosis of cancer. However, detection of these cells is challenging because of their scarcity. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have now introduced an ultrasensitive method for the direct detection of circulating tumor cells in blood samples. It is based on the amplified, time-resolved

Any fears of impending mind control are, at a minimum, premature, said Greely A brain region activated when people are asked to perform mathematical calculations in an experimental setting is similarly activated when they use numbers — or even imprecise quantitative terms, such as “more than”— in everyday conversation, according to a study by Stanford University

Researchers working under Juerg Leuthold, Professor of Photonics and Communications, have created the world’s smallest integrated optical switch. Applying a small voltage causes an atom to relocate, turning the switch on or off. The quantity of data exchanged via communications networks around the globe is growing at a breathtaking rate. The volume of data for

Hybrid materials combine bacterial cells with nonliving elements that can conduct electricity or emit light. Inspired by natural materials such as bone — a matrix of minerals and other substances, including living cells — MIT engineers have coaxed bacterial cells to produce biofilms that can incorporate nonliving materials, such as gold nanoparticles and quantum dots.

ONCE upon a time, the story goes, we lived in a broadcast society. In that dusty pre-Internet age, the tools for sharing information weren’t widely available. If you wanted to share your thoughts with the masses, you had to own a printing press or a chunk of the airwaves, or have access to someone who