Curated News: Scientific Meetings

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UW researchers have developed a deep learning method that can produce a seamlessly looping, realistic looking video from a single photo.

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Researchers used the giant W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to observe a nearby brown dwarf in infrared light. They found that the dwarf’s atmosphere has a layer-cake structure with clouds of different composition at different altitudes.

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The prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic created widespread lockdown fatigue and increased social tension in multiunit housing, but small improvements in quality-of-life routines may help people cope. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Braxton Boren from American University will discuss noise prevention techniques and the use of alterative acoustic stimulation to help those who find themselves in pandemic-related lockdowns. The session, "The Soundscape of Quarantine," will take place Wednesday, June 9.

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In the battle between hunter and hunted, sound plays an integral part in success or failure. In the case of bats vs. moths, the insects are using acoustics against their winged foes. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Thomas Neil from the University of Bristol will discuss how moth wings have evolved in composition and structure to help them create anti-bat defenses. The session, "Moth wings are acoustic metamaterials," will take place Wednesday, June 9.

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The world is filled with myriad sounds that can overwhelm a person with relentless acoustics. Noise is so prevalent in everyday life that the concept and achievement of comfortable quiet is hard to define. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Aggelos Tsaligopoulos from the University of the Aegean will describe how quiet could be measured in the hopes of better understanding its impact on people. The session, "Towards a new understanding of the concept of quietness," will take place Wednesday, June 9.

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Many voice actors use a variety of speech vocalizations and patterns to create unique and memorable characters. How they create those amazing voices could help speech pathologists better understand the muscles involved for creating words and sounds. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Colette Feehan from Indiana University will talk about how voice actor performances can lead to better understanding about the speech muscles under our control. The session, "Articulatory and acoustic phonetics of voice actors," will take place Tuesday, June 8.

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The COVID-19 pandemic created numerous changes and challenges for many people. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Andrew Morrison from Joliet Junior College will reveal lessons learned by educators during remote teaching caused by the pandemic and what techniques they can use in the return to classroom instruction. The session, "Lessons learned teaching through a pandemic and looking forward to a post-COVID-19 classroom," will take place Tuesday, June 8.

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Due to strict lockdowns, many of us have seen and heard our family and neighbors much more than ever before. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Ayca Sentop Dümen and Konca Saher from the Turkish Acoustical Society will discuss the effects of pandemic-related noise on people's satisfaction with their homes and how this may inform future design choices. Their presentation, "Noise annoyance in dwellings during the first wave of Covid-19," will take place Tuesday, June 8.

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A better understanding of the impacts of face masks and shields on acoustic transmission in classrooms could help optimize educational settings. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Laura and Rich Ruhala from Kennesaw State University will talk about how various types of face coverings may affect students' understanding of their teacher. Their presentation, "Acoustical transmission of face coverings used to reduce coronavirus transmission in a classroom environment," will take place Tuesday, June 8.

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Unmanned aerial vehicles may help emergency crews find those in need and provide situational awareness over a large area. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Macarena Varela from Fraunhofer FKIE will describe how a system using an array of microphones and advanced processing techniques could be a lifesaver for disaster victims. The session, "Bearing Estimation of Screams Using a Volumetric Microphone Array Mounted on a UAV," will take place Tuesday, June 8.

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Produced in a sustainable way, synthetic fuels contribute to switching mobility to renewable energy and to achieving the climate goals in road traffic. In the mobility demonstrator "move" Empa researchers are investigating the production of synthetic methane from an energy, technical and economic perspective – a project with global potential.

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Press conferences at the 180th ASA Meeting will cover the latest in acoustical research during the Acoustics in Focus meeting. The virtual press conferences will take place each day of the meeting and offer reporters and outlets the opportunity to hear key presenters talk about their research. To ensure the safety of attendees, volunteers, and ASA staff, Acoustics in Focus will be hosted entirely online.

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The 180th ASA Meeting, being held virtually June 8-10, will feature sessions on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted hearing health, affected noise annoyance in urban settings, and adjusted how teachers talked and listened to their students. There will be presentations on how acoustics shapes speech in children, impacts mental health, and potentially signals health problems.

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Nobody likes driving in a blizzard, including autonomous vehicles. To make self-driving cars safer on snowy roads, Michigan Tech engineers look at the problem from the car’s point of view--its sensors.

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A special livestream event at the 239th ECS Meeting with IMCS18 features representatives of a subcommittee of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Science Advisory Committee (BESAC) reporting on research and requesting input on the future of international scientific research. “Benchmarking Innovation: The Future of International Scientific Research” takes place on June 1, from 1400-1500h EDT, after which the content will be available through June 26, 2021.

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To really understand how people type on touchscreens, researchers have created the first artificial intelligence model that predicts how people move their eyes and fingers while typing.

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Science symposium to address food safety and nutrition topics of current interest

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The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has launched an honorific program to recognize members who have made outstanding contributions to the field through their research, teaching and mentoring, or other forms of service. It will announce the 30 members of its first class of fellows Tuesday at the society’s annual meeting, held in conjunction with the Experimental Biology conference.

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How has the field of nutrition changed how we eat and live? What new discoveries and advances may be just over the horizon? Get the latest insights from leading nutrition scientists and practitioners at NUTRITION 2021 LIVE ONLINE, the flagship online meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.

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The two major types of cetaceans appear to have evolved their characteristic blowholes through different anatomical transformations, according to a study being presented at the American Association for Anatomy annual meeting during the Experimental Biology (EB) 2021 meeting, held virtually April 27-30.

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A technology-packed tank top offers a simple, effective way to track astronauts’ vital signs and physiological changes during spaceflight, according to research being presented at the American Physiological Society annual meeting during the Experimental Biology (EB) 2021 meeting, held virtually April 27–30.

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Corals are part of a highly complex ecosystem, but it remains a mystery if and how they might communicate within their biological community. In a new study, researchers found evidence of sound-related genes in corals, suggesting that the marine invertebrates could use sound to interact with their surroundings.

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The first emergence and persistence of continental crust on Earth during the Archaean (4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago) has important implications for plate tectonics, ocean chemistry, and biological evolution, and it happened about half a billion years earlier than previously thought, according to new research being presented at the EGU General Assembly 2021.

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Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaurs chomped through bone by keeping a joint in their lower jaw steady like an alligator, rather than flexible like a snake, according to a study being presented at the American Association for Anatomy annual meeting during the Experimental Biology (EB) 2021 meeting, held virtually April 27-30.

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Some snake species slither across the ground, while others climb trees, dive through sand or glide across water. Today, scientists report that the surface chemistry of snake scales varies among species that negotiate these different terrains. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2021.

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Street art adorns highways, roads and alleys around the world, but sometimes, vandals add unwanted graffiti on top. Now, scientists report an eco-friendly method that quickly and safely removes over-paintings on street art. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2021.

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Spiders are master builders, expertly weaving strands of silk into intricate webs. Now, scientists have translated these complex structures into music, which could have applications ranging from better 3D printers to cross-species communication. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2021.

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The digital revolution is built on a foundation of invisible 1s and 0s called bits. As decades pass, and more and more of the world’s information and knowledge morph into streams of 1s and 0s, the notion that computers prefer to “speak” in binary numbers is rarely questioned.

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The beer-making process yields a large amount of spent grain as a waste product. Today, scientists report a new way to extract the protein and fiber from brewer’s spent grain and use it to create new types of protein sources, biofuels and more. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2021.

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Nine of the hottest years in human history have occurred in the past decade. Without a major shift in this climate trajectory, the future of life on Earth is in question, which poses a new question: Should humans, whose fossil fueled society is driving climate change, use technology to put the brakes on global warming? Michigan State University community ecologist Phoebe Zarnetske is co-lead of the Climate Intervention Biology Working Group, a team of internationally recognized experts in climate science and ecology that is bringing science to bear on the question and consequences of geoengineering a cooler Earth.

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Derived from crude oil, toxic to synthesize, and slow to degrade, polyurethanes are not environmentally friendly. Today, researchers discuss a safer, biodegradable alternative derived from fish waste that would otherwise likely be discarded. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2021.

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Two South Dakota State University professors are evaluating a printable copper alloy NASA is developing for combustion chambers of next-generation rocket engines used for space travel.

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Journalists may now apply for press credentials for the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society, one of the largest scientific conferences of the year. The meeting will be held online April 5-30.

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ROCKVILLE, MD -- ADInstruments, a leading creator of innovative tools for life science research and education, and AAA today announced a strategic partnership to help connect AAA members with resources and solutions to help them improve anatomy education and research.

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Cell Bio 2021 – an ASCB|EMBO Meeting will be held online once again. Meeting dates are set for December 1-10.

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How do you turn “dumb” headphones into smart ones? Rutgers engineers have invented a cheap and easy way by transforming headphones into sensors that can be plugged into smartphones, identify their users, monitor their heart rates and perform other services. Their invention, called HeadFi, is based on a small plug-in headphone adapter that turns a regular headphone into a sensing device. Unlike smart headphones, regular headphones lack sensors. HeadFi would allow users to avoid having to buy a new pair of smart headphones with embedded sensors to enjoy sensing features.

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Computer engineers at the world’s largest companies and universities are using machines to scan through tomes of written material. The goal? Teach these machines the gift of language. Do that, some even claim, and computers will be able to mimic the human brain. But this impressive compute capability comes with real costs, including perpetuating racism and causing significant environmental damage, according to a new paper, “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big?

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A recent study outlines a range of privacy concerns related to the programs users interact with when using Amazon’s voice-activated assistant, Alexa. Issues range from misleading privacy policies to the ability of third-parties to change the code of their programs after receiving Amazon approval.

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In presentations at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting, researchers argued that mathematics can help explain and predict those breakdowns, potentially offering new ways of treating the systems to prevent or fix them when things go wrong.

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ECS is proud to announce that the 240th ECS Meeting will take place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, from October 10-14, 2021. The Electrochemistry in Space Symposium is a highlight of the meeting, among other events. Learn more!

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"The Queen's Gambit," the recent TV mini-series about a chess master, may have stirred increased interest in chess, but a word to the wise: social media talk about game-piece colors could lead to misunderstandings, at least for hate-speech detection software.

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A University of Washington team created Audeo, a system that can generate music using only visual cues of someone playing the piano.

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Most zoombombing incidents are “inside jobs" according to a new study featuring researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

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Rice husk residue can prevent uptake of harmful elements in rice

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After more than 15 years of work, scientists at three DOE national laboratories have succeeded in creating and testing an advanced, more powerful superconducting magnet made of niobium and tin for use in the next generation of light sources.

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Methane emissions from coal mining are likely much higher than previously calculated, according to new research. That’s due mainly to emissions from abandoned mines and higher methane content in deep coal seams.