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Score (90)
Louisville Police Officer Hailed As a Hero After Talking Man Off The Ledge
A heartwarming encounter was captured on police body cam footage as Officer Ali Thomas heroically saved a man's life on the Lincoln Memorial Bridge. Assistant Chief Emily McKinley praised Ali for his quick response and compassion towards the distressed individual. The video shows Ali reassuring the man and ultimately helping him back to safety with the assistance of another officer. Chief McKinley expressed pride in Officer Ali, emphasizing that their job is all about serving and helping people in need.
Score (97)
A Simple Click for Good: This Free Browser Tool Has Raised $2 Million for Charity
Giving to charity doesn’t always require opening your wallet. Sometimes, it’s as easy as opening a new browser tab. Tab for a Cause, a free web browser extension that turns your internet habits into donations, has now raised more than $2 million for nonprofit organizations around the world. The milestone, announced this week, shows how small, everyday actions can add up to a powerful force for good. “The milestone reflects a simple goal: lowering the barrier to charitable giving so more people can participate,” the organization said in a statement. Built by Gladly, a company that creates digital tools to support nonprofits through online activity, Tab for a Cause has become one of its most impactful products. It’s part of a suite that includes other tools like Search for a Cause and Shop for a Cause. Here’s how it works: once installed, every time a user opens a new tab on their browser, they’re shown a customizable landing page. It looks like any normal “new tab” screen, with options to add bookmarks, write to-do lists, and even change the background image. But it also includes a few unobtrusive banner ads. The ad revenue generated from those views goes directly to charity. It costs users nothing, and they don’t need to change how they browse. Yet collectively, it’s made a measurable global impact. Some of the nonprofits that benefit include Action Against Hunger, The Humane League, Conservation International, Room to Read, GiveDirectly, and Water.org. Gladly released figures showing what the $2 million in ad revenue has helped accomplish: • 20,000 pounds of ocean plastic removed via the Ocean Cleanup Project • 100,000 trees planted through Eden Reforestation Project • 8,000 acres of land preserved with Conservation International • 150,000 vaccines administered by Save the Children • 450,000 emergency nutrition packets distributed through Action Against Hunger • 18,000 people provided with access to clean water, thanks to Water.org “We built Tab for a Cause so that anyone, regardless of their available income or time, can contribute to important causes,” said Alex Groth, Co-Founder and CEO of Gladly. “Crossing the $2 million raised mark shows how those small actions add up, and can represent a powerful force for good in the world.” The browser extension works on Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers like Brave and Epic. Installation takes just a couple of clicks, and users can choose which causes they want their tab activity to support. Gladly says the idea behind the extension is to give users more control over how the value of their online activity is used. “Online platforms generate enormous value from people’s time and attention, often without users having any say in where that value goes,” the company said in a statement. “Gladly’s tools give users a small measure of agency within that system: They allow people to direct a portion of the ad and affiliate revenue they generate every day toward causes they care about.” The team is already looking ahead to the next milestone and hopes more users will join the platform in the coming months. “By integrating charitable giving into browsing and shopping,” Gladly said, “Tab for a Cause offers a way for users to reclaim a bit of that value and put it to work for good.” Interested users can download the extension for free on TabForACause.org.
Score (96)
Fossil ‘Bone Bed’ in Qatar Reveals Ancient Sea Cows That Shaped Marine Ecosystems for Millions of Years
An extraordinary fossil site in Qatar has revealed one of the richest collections of ancient marine mammal remains in the world, shedding light on the crucial ecological role sea cows played over 20 million years ago—and still do today. The site, located in Al Maszhabiya in south-western Qatar, contains hundreds of fossil deposits belonging to extinct relatives of dugongs, the modern-day marine mammals that graze on seagrass in shallow coastal waters. Researchers say the dense fossil “bone bed” not only offers a glimpse into the region’s biodiversity millions of years ago, but could also hold answers to the Gulf’s future as climate change and human activity put increasing pressure on marine ecosystems. In a paper published in the journal PeerJ, researchers from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with Qatar Museums, identified a new species of ancient sea cow, naming it Salwasiren qatarensis after the nearby Bay of Salwa. The animal was roughly the size of a panda—about one-eighth the size of a modern dugong—but played a similar ecological role. “We discovered a distant relative of dugongs in rocks less than 10 miles [16km] away from a bay with seagrass meadows that make up their prime habitat today,” said Nicholas Pyenson, curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian. “This part of the world has been prime sea cow habitat for the past 21 million years—it’s just that the sea cow role has been occupied by different species over time.” Dugongs today are found along coastal waters from western Africa through the Indo-Pacific and into northern Australia. The Arabian Gulf is home to the largest known individual herd. As they feed on seagrass, they leave behind feeding trails that release nutrients into the water, boosting surrounding marine life. The ancient sea cows of Al Maszhabiya had a straighter snout, smaller tusks, and still retained hind limb bones—features that modern dugongs and manatees have lost through evolution. But their role in the marine ecosystem was similar. “The density of the Al Maszhabiya bone bed gives us a big clue that Salwasiren played the role of a seagrass ecosystem engineer the way that dugongs do today,” said Pyenson. “There’s been a full replacement of the evolutionary actors but not their ecological roles.” The fossil site includes more than 170 distinct locations across Al Maszhabiya, filled with bones that were initially misidentified as reptiles when first discovered during oil and mining surveys in the 1970s. “The area was called ‘dugong cemetery’ among the members of our authority,” said Ferhan Sakal, head of excavation and site management at Qatar Museums. “But at the time, we had no idea just how rich and vast the bone bed actually was.” It wasn’t until the early 2000s that paleontologists confirmed the fossils belonged to ancient dugong relatives. The team dated the site to approximately 21 million years ago, when the region was covered by a shallow sea teeming with prehistoric sharks, dolphins, barracuda-like fish, and turtles. “The fossils formed from the sturdier bones of ancient herbivores offer researchers insights into past marine ecosystems,” said Sakal. “If we can learn from past records how the seagrass communities survived climate stress or other major disturbances like sea-level changes and salinity shifts, we might set goals for a better future of the Arabian Gulf.” Today, dugongs and their habitats face growing threats. Rising sea temperatures, increased salinity, and coastal development have all put pressure on seagrass meadows. Dugongs can also become accidental bycatch in local fisheries. Despite these challenges, researchers believe that studying the fossil record could help guide conservation efforts. Sakal and his team are now working to nominate the Al Maszhabiya site as a UNESCO World Heritage site. “The most important part of our collaboration is ensuring that we provide the best possible protection and management for these sites, so we can preserve them for future generations,” he said. The discovery adds Qatar to a shortlist of globally significant marine fossil sites, including Cerro Ballena in Chile’s Atacama Desert, where a graveyard of ancient whales was found. In terms of richness, researchers believe Al Maszhabiya is on par. What makes the find especially compelling is how little has changed in terms of marine ecology. Dugongs today continue to shape seagrass environments in much the same way their extinct relatives did millions of years ago—proof, scientists say, of the enduring relationship between these creatures and the shallow seas they call home.
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Score (98)
A Zoo Built a Special Aviary For This One-Eyed Parrot To Thrive
A one-eyed, flightless African Grey parrot named Monica has been given a specially designed aviary to help her live more comfortably — and stay close to her flock. Monica, a longtime resident at Hoo Zoo in Telford, recently lost one of her eyes after falling ill. She also can’t fly, as her wings were pinioned by previous owners before she arrived at the zoo. But despite those challenges, keepers say she’s adapted remarkably well — and now, she’s got a new home built just for her. “She’s got some low-down perches in there, and she has even got her own little cat flap in and out of the house,” said keeper Sarah Holt. “So that she can still get in and still get nice and toasty warm when she wants to.” The aviary includes ground-level food and water dishes so Monica doesn’t have to climb, and a floor layered with deep bark mulch to allow her to scratch, dig, and explore naturally — just like her flying friends. “After losing her eye earlier this year, she’s adapted brilliantly,” said zoo owner Will Dorrell. “We wanted her to have a space that meets her needs while also giving her friends a fantastic new environment to fly and play.” While the enclosure was tailored to Monica’s needs, it also benefits the rest of the flock, with expanded space and more opportunities for free flight. “Monica has been part of our family here for years, and she’s an incredible little character,” Dorrell said. “She’s a real favourite with the team, so this feels like a well-deserved early Christmas gift for her and the rest of the parrots.”
Score (85)
New Brain Implant Could Alter Treatment for Epilepsy, Paralysis and How We Interact With Computers
A team of U.S. scientists has unveiled a groundbreaking brain implant that may reshape the future of medicine, offering new hope for patients with epilepsy, ALS, spinal cord injuries, stroke, and vision loss — while also laying the groundwork for seamless communication between the brain and AI systems. The device, called the Biological Interface System to Cortex (BISC), is a wireless brain-computer interface (BCI) about the size of a grain of rice. Despite its tiny size, it delivers data speeds at least 100 times faster than any other wireless BCI available today. “This is a fundamentally different way of building BCI devices,” said Dr. Nanyu Zeng, one of the lead engineers and co-founder of Kampto Neurotech, the startup advancing the device toward real-world use. “BISC has technological capabilities that exceed those of competing devices by many orders of magnitude.” A high-speed, ultra-thin portal to the brain The core of BISC is a single silicon chip that slides between the brain and skull like “a piece of wet tissue paper,” according to Dr. Ken Shepard, a senior author on the project and professor of electrical engineering and neurological sciences at Columbia University. The entire system is just 3 cubic millimetres in volume — 1/1000th the size of traditional implants. Unlike older brain implants that rely on bulky electronics stored in chest cavities or under the skull — often connected by wires — BISC is entirely self-contained and fully wireless. It includes 65,536 electrodes, capable of both recording and stimulating brain activity, and sends data through a custom ultrawideband radio link to a wearable relay station at speeds of 100 megabits per second. Shepard, along with collaborators from Columbia, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, says this high-throughput link allows BISC to deliver brain signals directly to external computers or AI systems — in real time. Rethinking how brain disorders are treated “This high-resolution, high-data-throughput device has the potential to revolutionize the management of neurological conditions from epilepsy to paralysis,” said Dr. Brett Youngerman, a neurosurgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia who is already using the device in early intraoperative testing. The implant is currently being evaluated for use in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. In future applications, it could help restore movement or speech in people with spinal cord injuries or neurodegenerative diseases by decoding brain activity and relaying it to assistive technologies. BISC also avoids one of the biggest issues with current implants: long-term tissue reactivity. Because it rests on the surface of the brain and doesn’t penetrate tissue or require tethering wires, it reduces the risk of inflammation and signal loss over time. Building a direct link between the brain and AI What makes BISC especially promising is its ability to combine massive data bandwidth with machine learning and AI. In tests, the chip's high-resolution recordings enabled researchers to decode complex neural signals with algorithms capable of identifying movement intentions, perceptual states, and even speech. “BISC turns the cortical surface into an effective portal,” said Dr. Andreas Tolias, a Stanford neuroscientist and AI expert who co-led the study. “It paves the way for adaptive neuroprosthetics and brain-AI interfaces to treat many neuropsychiatric disorders.” By linking high-speed brain data to intelligent systems, BISC could one day enable people to interact with computers using only their thoughts — not just for medical reasons, but potentially for everyday tasks. “We are moving toward a future where the brain and AI systems can interact seamlessly — not just for research, but for human benefit,” said Shepard. From lab to life: What comes next BISC was developed under the Neural Engineering System Design program funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It uses cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication to combine analog, digital, and power components on one chip — the same manufacturing approach used for smartphones, now miniaturized for the human brain. To bring the technology into wider clinical use, the team has partnered with Kampto Neurotech, which is producing research-ready versions of the device and seeking funding for human trials. Short-term studies in surgical settings are already underway. Beyond treatment, the implant’s small size and powerful capabilities make it a versatile platform for future advances — including BCIs that interface with the brain using light or sound, as well as entirely new forms of communication between humans and machines. “Semiconductor technology allowed us to shrink room-sized computers into smartphones,” Shepard said. “We’re now doing the same with brain implants — creating devices that are smaller, safer, and far more powerful than ever before.” Whether used to restore lost abilities or unlock new ones, BISC signals a turning point in how we connect to the brain — and what might be possible when we do.
Score (98)
These High School Students are Repairing Cars and Gifting Them To Single Mothers In Need
At Louisa County High School in Virginia, auto shop class is doing more than teaching students how to fix cars — it’s helping change lives in the community. Through the school’s automotive technology program, 11th-grade students are gaining hands-on experience repairing vehicles, learning everything from basic maintenance to complex electrical systems. But their biggest impact isn’t found in textbooks or test scores — it’s parked in the school garage. Students in the program restore donated cars and give them away to single mothers who are struggling with transportation. The project, a partnership with the local nonprofit Giving Words, has already provided over 60 vehicles to families in need and repaired more than 260 others. “These are unforgettable moments,” said auto tech teacher Shane Robertson. “When the garage door opens and the mom realizes the car is hers, it hits everyone.” The program turns the high school’s auto lab into a working shop, offering discounted services for teachers, students, and local residents. But it’s the car giveaways that leave the deepest mark on the students — and the families who receive the keys. “Students working on that car, and he’s putting forth all that effort,” said Giving Words founder Eddie Brown, “but he doesn’t know the emotion that’s going to come when he sees that mom come in in tears.” For the recipients, those tears often come after months of feeling stuck — unable to get to work, take their kids to appointments, or manage daily life without reliable transportation. For many, a car is the turning point. And for the students, seeing that firsthand adds meaning that goes far beyond a grade. School officials say the program is a powerful example of real-world learning. Students gain not only technical know-how, but also perseverance, empathy, and the experience of using their skills to help others. “They’re not just learning how to fix a car,” said Robertson. “They’re learning how to change a life.”
Score (96)
This Engineer Powers His Entire Home Using 500 Discarded Vapes
An electronics engineer has created a fully functional home battery system using lithium batteries salvaged from discarded vapes. It's enough to power his entire house for eight hours. Chris Doel, 26, collected hundreds of the so-called "disposable" vape pens, removed their rechargeable batteries, and wired them together into a massive 2.5 kWh battery pack. He then connected it to his home in Warwickshire via an inverter, successfully running household appliances like the microwave, kettle, and lighting — all completely off-grid. “Some of my mates were puffing on them. But as soon as they were empty, they’d have a little blinking light, and they’d throw it straight in the bin,” Doel said. “The engineer in me was thinking, ‘that is just absolutely ridiculous.’” Despite being sold as single-use, most vapes contain rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. It was that contradiction that sparked Doel’s project — and his frustration. “None of these components are disposable. They should never really be thrown just straight in the bin,” he said. “It seems the industry is pushing people to use these as single-use devices despite having reusable parts in them, just so you have to throw them away and buy more.” Doel first got the idea while volunteering at Leeds Festival, where he noticed piles of discarded vape pens. Inside each one, he found a battery still capable of being recharged. What started with a small experiment — a portable charger built from 35 batteries — quickly turned into something far more ambitious. “People just wanted to see bigger and better stuff,” he said. “So I thought, ‘surely as big as I can physically get is powering my entire house?’” In May, Doel approached his local vape shop to see if they’d hand over any returned stock. He walked away with bags containing 2,000 used devices. “It’s really awkward for them,” he explained. “They still have to pay for them to be recycled. They were extremely happy for me to just load up thousands of them in a big bag and walk away.” Over six months, Doel extracted and sorted the batteries, soldered a fuse to each one for safety, and used 3D-printed casings to assemble them into a single pack. The finished system contains 500 batteries wired in parallel into groups, then linked in series to generate the needed power. He now plans to recharge the unit using solar panels — or at night when grid electricity is cheapest — with the aim of running the house off his battery more often. A YouTube video he posted documenting the process has already passed 3.5 million views. His invention arrives as the UK continues to wrestle with vape-related waste. Although a ban on the sale of single-use vapes came into effect in June, the market has left a lingering environmental mess. Waste firm Suez says there have been 339 fires caused by exploding batteries at its sites this year — many suspected to be from vapes thrown out with general waste. Doel hopes his project can raise awareness about just how much value is being trashed. “There’s no argument we are throwing away super valuable stuff if I can literally power my entire house for eight hours with it,” he said. He believes the solution lies not just in bans, but in shifting back to longer-lasting vape kits that people maintain — not toss. “I think it would make more sense for it to be how it started out, with bigger, more expensive vape kits — about £25 — and you buy the liquid and top it up and maintain it,” he said. “These things last for years and years… and there is essentially no wastage.” For now, he's hoping to show just how far a little engineering — and a lot of discarded plastic — can go.
Score (97)
This Hand-Reared Reindeer Thinks It's a Dog, and Even Snuggles with Puppy Siblings by a Christmas Tree 🦌
A reindeer who thinks he’s a dog is stealing hearts this Christmas. Meet Lars, a hand-reared reindeer calf who was raised inside a home in Market Harborough, Leicestershire — where he learned to share a dog bed, drink from the water bowl, and snuggle with the family spaniels by the fire. His unusual upbringing began just four days after birth, when his mother Lumi ran out of milk. Angie Nelson, a reindeer farmer with one of the largest herds in the UK, made the tough decision to bring him inside and bottle-feed him around the clock. “It was exhausting hand-raising Lars,” said Angie, who’s been farming reindeer for 18 years. “It was a huge and terrifying responsibility, but I feel very fortunate to have been able to do something so special.” Lars was born underweight at just 6lbs — two pounds lighter than the average reindeer calf — and Angie quickly noticed he wasn’t feeding properly. When medication didn’t help Lumi’s milk production, she moved Lars into the house she shares with her husband and four children. What followed was a bond like no other. “I had no idea whether he’d survive his first two weeks,” Angie said. “Now I’m relaxed and can enjoy it. Celebrating our first Christmas with Lars feels so exciting and very special!” To feed him, Angie woke every two hours — even bottle-feeding him in her wedding dress when she married Justin Mumford in June. Meanwhile, Lars grew especially close to the family’s dogs: Jess (13), Molly (6), and Meg (3). He curled up in their basket, joined their playtime, and even received enthusiastic tongue baths from his furry siblings. “He still comes in the house three times a week,” Angie said. “He goes straight to their bowl, has a big drink of water, then gets in the basket and they all give him a good wash.” It’s not just the dogs Lars adores. His favorite spot is still in front of the fireplace, where he enjoys staring at the twinkling Christmas tree lights and crunching on his treat of choice: Shreddies. Lars has settled into a part-time outdoor life now, spending his days with the other 42 reindeer at Home Farm. But according to Angie, he still responds to her voice immediately and follows her around. “We still have a parent-child relationship,” she said. “He plays with the other calves but still loves being with the dogs. I’d say he’s a 50/50 dog and reindeer now.” His name was inspired by Everest climber Lars Kropp, after he broke out of his playpen and climbed the stairs on his first day inside the house. Visitors to Home Farm will have a chance to meet Lars and hand-feed him during open days this December. And with Santa expected to stop by, there’s even a chance Lars might help pull the sleigh. “We’re Santa’s UK HQ,” Angie said. “If his reindeer are tired, he’ll rest them and use some of ours while he’s in the UK. Lars is very confident so I’m sure he’d be up for helping Santa, and I think he’ll enjoy meeting Rudolph and Santa’s team.” Lars now has his own social media presence at @LarsTheBabyReindeer , where fans can follow his journey from bottle-fed calf to honorary Christmas dog.
Score (95)
France Returned a Rare Dinosaur Skeleton And 30 Artifacts To Mongolia
France has returned a rare dinosaur skeleton and 30 other ancient fossils to Mongolia, nearly a decade after they were seized from a European smuggling ring. At a handover ceremony in Paris on Monday, French Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin officially returned the paleontological cache to Mongolia’s Culture and Sports Minister, Undram Chinbat. The fossils had been looted from the Gobi Desert, trafficked through South Korea, and smuggled into France, where customs agents confiscated them in 2015. “Today, a piece of the Gobi Desert is about to return to its homeland,” de Montchalin said, calling it “the restitution of a scientific and cultural treasure,” according to Le Monde. At the center of the collection is an exceptionally rare 70-million-year-old Tarbosaurus bataar skeleton — a close Asian cousin of the Tyrannosaurus rex. Like the T-rex, Tarbosaurus was a fearsome carnivore known for its massive head and powerful bite, though its skull and bones were more hollow. It roamed Central Asia during the Cretaceous Period and went extinct roughly 65 million years ago. The skeleton, valued at around €700,000 when it was seized, has become even more valuable in recent years, said Sophie Hocquerelle, a communications manager with French customs. With the dinosaur auction market booming, she estimated its worth has likely doubled or tripled. Other items returned to Mongolia include a clutch of dinosaur eggs and additional fossilized remains. All of the items will be sent back to Mongolia for study and restoration before being put on display at a new national museum currently in development. “This is very important for me and for all the Mongolian people,” Chinbat said. “These fossils will be sent back and studied and restored.” The skeleton was stolen by a group of traffickers that included French, Belgian, and German nationals. According to A News, the network funneled the fossils through international channels before French officials intercepted them. The global market for dinosaur skeletons has seen renewed interest in recent years. A juvenile Ceratosaurus sold for $30.5 million at Sotheby’s in July, and just last month, a Triceratops fossil fetched $5.4 million at Phillips’s debut dinosaur auction. The fascination with dinosaur fossils traces back to the early 20th century, when American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews led expeditions into the Gobi Desert and helped spark a global obsession with paleontology. Andrews would later become director of the American Museum of Natural History and is widely considered one of the inspirations for the Indiana Jones character. But alongside that long-standing fascination, calls have been growing louder for the return of looted fossils to their countries of origin — part of a broader push to repatriate cultural heritage. This isn’t the first time Mongolia has received smuggled fossils back. In 2014, U.S. officials returned a collection of dinosaur skeletons, including another Tarbosaurus bataar. The following year, actor Nicolas Cage voluntarily returned a Tarbosaurus skull he had bought at auction for $276,000, after learning it had likely been illegally exported. He had outbid Leonardo DiCaprio for it. With France’s latest return, Mongolia is one step closer to reclaiming a fuller picture of its prehistoric past — and putting that history back on public display, where it belongs.
Score (97)
Tiny Robot Lost Under Antarctic Ice For 8 Months Comes Back With Rare Data
A tiny robot that scientists feared was lost beneath the ice in Antarctica has returned — and it brought back priceless data from one of the least explored regions on Earth. In 2020, researchers with Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, deployed an Argo float — a small, free-drifting ocean robot — near the Totten Glacier in East Antarctica. The plan was for it to collect basic oceanographic data. But soon after, the float vanished under the Denman ice shelf, swept away by unpredictable Antarctic tides. “We feared the worst,” the team wrote in The Conversation. The float had no GPS signal and was deep under the ice. But nine months later, it surfaced — alive and loaded with data no one had ever seen before. That accidental detour became a scientific windfall. The robot had recorded the first-ever temperature and salinity measurements from beneath the Denman and Shackleton ice shelves — information that could help researchers better understand how rising sea temperatures are melting Antarctica’s frozen frontiers and accelerating sea level rise. The findings were published recently in Science Advances. “This is an amazing story of the little float that could,” said Delphine Lannuzel, an oceanographer at the University of Tasmania, who was not part of the study but has worked with the team on related research. Ice shelves are massive slabs of floating ice that sit between Antarctica’s glaciers and the ocean. They act like natural barriers, slowing the flow of ice into the sea. But warming waters can slip beneath them and slowly melt their foundations, weakening the structure and threatening to unleash massive amounts of land-based ice into the ocean. Getting beneath these shelves to measure that process has always been a major challenge. Ice shelves can be hundreds of meters thick, making direct observation extremely difficult. Until now. The Argo float, during its 2.5-year mission, gathered 195 profiles of ocean temperature and salinity — many from places never previously sampled. Crucially, it did this while blind. Once submerged, the float lost GPS access. But by noting when the robot bumped its “head” into the underside of the ice, the researchers were able to estimate the depth of the ice shelf and retrace the float’s path. “Each time the float bumped its head on the ice, it provided a measurement of the depth of the ice shelf base, or ice draft,” explained study lead author Steve Rintoul, a CSIRO oceanographer. “We could compare the ice draft measured by the float to satellite measurements of draft to work out the path.” What the float found was a mixed picture. The northernmost Shackleton ice shelf appeared to still be protected from warmer waters. But at Denman Glacier, the data pointed to active melting already underway. The float also captured delicate thermal layering under the shelves, suggesting the current stability of these systems may be more precarious than it appears. This robot’s unexpected mission is already shaping future plans. Researchers are hoping to send more Argo floats into other hard-to-reach areas of the Southern Ocean. They admit the floats still can’t fully “see” through the ice or operate as precisely as a guided mission, but the data they bring back could fill critical gaps in climate models. “Float measurements will be used to improve how these processes are represented in computer models,” the team wrote, “reducing the uncertainty in projections of future sea level rise.” For now, the little float’s survival is a rare bit of good luck in a region where the climate outlook is growing more dire. It’s a small robot, but it’s giving scientists a better view into one of the planet’s most important — and vulnerable — systems.
Score (96)
AI-Enhanced Bionic Hand Revolutionizes Life For Amputees
A bionic hand powered by artificial intelligence is helping amputees regain the ability to perform everyday tasks — without overthinking every movement. Researchers at the University of Utah have developed a new generation of smart prosthetics by giving a robotic hand what they describe as a “mind of its own.” The breakthrough uses AI to take over part of the work the brain would normally do, making the act of gripping a cup or picking up a small object feel far more natural for the user. “As lifelike as bionic arms are becoming, controlling them is still not easy or intuitive,” said Professor Jacob George, senior author of the study published this week in Nature Communications. For people with prosthetic hands, even simple tasks require conscious, effortful control. Unlike a natural hand — where fingers automatically adjust based on object size, shape, and weight — most bionic limbs still need to be told exactly what to do, one movement at a time. “Nearly half of all users will abandon their prosthesis, often citing their poor controls and cognitive burden,” said lead author Dr. Marshall Trout. The Utah team wanted to offload some of that burden to the prosthetic itself. They started by modifying a commercial TASKA prosthetic hand with upgraded fingertips — ones that could detect pressure and use proximity sensors to "see" how far away an object is. Then they trained an artificial neural network using that data. The result? A hand that doesn’t just react to touch, but anticipates and adjusts its grip in real time — just like a natural one. Because each digit is outfitted with its own sensor, every finger can move independently to form a stable grip on any object, even soft or oddly-shaped ones. In testing, the system was precise enough to sense the impact of a dropped cotton ball. To make the prosthetic even more intuitive, the team created a shared control system that balances human input with AI assistance. For example, if the user wants to release an object, the AI helps open the hand in the most efficient way without needing detailed instructions. “What we don’t want is the user fighting the machine for control,” Trout explained. “In contrast, here the machine improved the precision of the user while also making the tasks easier.” In tests with four participants who had below-the-elbow amputations, the AI-assisted hand allowed them to perform everyday activities — like raising a cup, picking up small items, or gripping a fragile object — with improved dexterity and less mental effort. And importantly, they didn’t need weeks of training to learn how to use it. “By adding some artificial intelligence, we were able to offload this aspect of grasping to the prosthesis itself,” said George. “The end result is more intuitive and more dexterous control, which allows simple tasks to be simple again.” The work is part of a broader effort by the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab to improve quality of life for amputees. The team is also exploring implanted neural interfaces that could allow users to control prosthetics directly with their thoughts — and even feel sensation again. Eventually, George said, they hope to combine all these systems: advanced sensors, thought-based control, and intelligent AI coordination — so the next generation of prosthetics won’t just mimic a human hand, but feel like one.