To optimize guide-dog robots, first listen to the visually impaired
What features does a robotic guide dog need? Ask the blind, say researchers. A new study identifies how to develop robot guide dogs with insights from guide dog users and trainers.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/r....eleases/2024/05/2405
Physicists propose path to faster, more flexible robots
Physicists revealed a microscopic phenomenon that could greatly improve the performance of soft devices, such as agile flexible robots or microscopic capsules for drug delivery.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/r....eleases/2024/05/2405
How the immune system can cause psychosis, and tool use in otters
On this week’s show: What happens when the body’s own immune system attacks the brain, and how otters’ use of tools expands their diet
First on the show this week, when rogue antibodies attack the brain, patients can show bizarre symptoms—from extreme thirst, to sleep deprivation, to outright psychosis. Contributing Correspondent Richard Stone joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss the hunt for biomarkers and treatments for this cluster of autoimmune disorders that were once mistaken for schizophrenia or even demonic possession.
Next on this episode, producer Katherine Irving talks with Chris Law, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Washington and the University of Texas at Austin, about how sea otters gain energy benefits (and dental benefits) when they use tools to tackle tougher prey such as snails or large clams.
This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.
About the Science Podcast
Authors: Sarah Crespi; Richard Stone; Katherine Irving
Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.....1126/science.z4pdg6
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
https://www.science.org/doi/10.....1126/science.z4pdg6
Jet-propelled sea creatures could improve ocean robotics
Scientists have discovered that colonies of gelatinous sea animals swim through the ocean in giant corkscrew shapes using coordinated jet propulsion, an unusual kind of locomotion that could inspire new designs for efficient underwater vehicles.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/r....eleases/2024/05/2405
