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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 6, 2024 at 7:27am

Will humans accept robots that can lie? Scientists find it depends on the lie

Honesty is the best policy… most of the time. Social norms help humans understand when we need to tell the truth and when we shouldn't, to spare someone's feelings or avoid harm. But how do these norms apply to robots, which are increasingly working with humans? To understand whether humans can accept robots telling lies, scientists asked almost 500 participants to rate and justify different types of robot deception.

The scientists selected three scenarios reflecting situations where robots already work—medical, cleaning, and retail work—and three different deception behaviors. These were external state deceptions, which lie about the world beyond the robot, hidden state deceptions, where a robot's design hides its capabilities, and superficial state deceptions, where a robot's design overstates its capabilities.

In the external state deception scenario, a robot working as a caretaker for a woman with Alzheimer's lies that her late husband will be home soon. In the hidden state deception scenario, a woman visits a house where a robot housekeeper is cleaning, unaware that the robot is also filming. Finally, in the superficial state deception scenario, a robot working in a shop as part of a study on human–robot relations untruthfully complains of feeling pain while moving furniture, causing a human to ask someone else to take the robot's place. Hmmm!

The scientists recruited 498 participants and asked them to read one of the scenarios and then answer a questionnaire. This asked participants whether they approved of the robot's behavior, how deceptive it was, if it could be justified, and if anyone else was responsible for the deception. These responses were coded by the researchers to identify common themes and analyzed.

The participants disapproved most of the hidden state deception, the housecleaning robot with the undisclosed camera, which they considered the most deceptive. While they considered the external state deception and the superficial state deception to be moderately deceptive, they disapproved more of superficial state deception, where a robot pretended it felt pain. This may have been perceived as manipulative.

Participants approved most of the external state deception, where the robot lied to a patient. They justified the robot's behavior by saying that it protected the patient from unnecessary pain—prioritizing the norm of sparing someone's feelings over honesty.

Andres Rosero et al, Exploratory Analysis of Human Perceptions of Social Robot Deception Behaviors, Frontiers in Robotics and AI (2024). DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2024.1409712. www.frontiersin.org/journals/r … 9/frobt.2024.1409712

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2024 at 10:11am

Researchers Find Signs Of Dementia In How People Speak

Individuals with memory-related mild cognitive impairment talked less and used fewer but more general nouns.

https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dad2.12588

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2024 at 9:30am

Insulin and metformin combo aids diabetic foot ulcer healing, new study finds

People with chronic diabetic foot ulcers could soon have a new way to treat their wounds for faster healing and fewer hospital stays. Researchers from Michigan State University and South Shore Hospital have uncovered that the combination of two common diabetes drugs—injectable insulin and orally-administered metformin—increases the amount of metformin at the wound site. As metformin can accelerate wound healing, this could be welcome news for the 18.6 million people worldwide who develop a diabetic foot ulcer, or DFU, in their lifetimes.

Until now, pharmacological studies had not found an interaction between insulin and metformin. This new study shows that there could be at least an indirect role of consuming both insulin and metformin in a way that metformin can end up in a wound area where it enhances the body's capacity to heal.

 Lisa Gould et al, Analysis of Biogenic Amines and Small Molecule Metabolites in Human Diabetic Wound Ulcer Exudate, ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.4c00418

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2024 at 9:24am

Older women more vulnerable to heat than their male peers, researchers find

As global climate change causes extreme heat waves to become more common around the world, epidemiological studies have shown that heat kills more women than men.

Now, a new study by researchers at Penn State has found that older women are physiologically more vulnerable to high heat and humidity than older men, and that women between the ages of 40 and 64 are as vulnerable as men 65 years of age or older.

This is the first study to determine that this disparity exists due to physiological differences and not because women live longer than men, which leaves a larger population of older women than older men.

 the researchers demonstrated that middle-aged and older women were affected by heat at lower temperature/humidity combinations than middle-aged and older men.

The results, published in the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, were somewhat unexpected because there are no differences in heat vulnerability based on biological sex in adults younger than 30.

In addition to demonstrating that middle-aged and older women are at greater risk from extreme heat, we also identified what levels of heat and humidity are safe for women as they age. This information is presented as a temperature/humidity curve based on a person's age, and it can be useful for setting policies designed to keep people safe during a heat wave.

 Olivia K. Leach et al, Sex differences in heat stress vulnerability among middle-aged and older adults (PSU HEAT Project), American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology (2024). DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00114.2024

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2024 at 9:03am

Newly discovered viruses in parasitic nematodes could change our understanding of how they cause disease

New research shows that parasitic nematodes, responsible for infecting more than a billion people globally, carry viruses that may solve the puzzle of why some cause serious diseases.

A study led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) used cutting-edge bioinformatic data mining techniques to identify 91 RNA viruses in 28 species of parasitic nematodes, representing 70% of those that infect people and animals. Often these are symptomless or not serious, but some can lead to severe, life-changing disease.

Nematode worms are the most abundant animals on the planet, prevalent in all continents worldwide, with several species infecting humans as well as agriculturally and economically important animals and crops. And yet in several cases, scientists do not know how some nematodes cause certain diseases.

The new research, published in Nature Microbiology, opens the door to further study of whether these newly discovered viruses—only five of which were previously known to science—could contribute to many chronic, debilitating conditions. If a connection can be proven, it could pave the way for more effective treatments in the future.

This raises the question of whether any of the diseases that these parasites are responsible for could be driven by the virus rather than directly by the parasitic nematode.

Parasitic nematodes including hookworms and whipworms can cause severe abdominal problems and bloody diarrhea, stunted development and anemia. Infection with filarial worms can lead to disfiguring conditions such as lymphedema or "elephantiasis," and onchocerciasis, or "river blindness," that leads to blindness and skin disease.

The study authors propose that these newly identified viruses may play a role in some of these conditions. For example, onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy (OAE) that occurs in children and adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa has recently been associated with onchocerciasis, but it is not known why this causes neurological symptoms such as uncontrollable repeated head nodding, as well as severe stunting, delayed puberty and impaired mental health.

One of the viruses in the parasites that cause onchocerciasis identified in the new study is rhabdovirus—the type that causes rabies. The authors of the study suggest that if this virus is infecting or damaging human nerve or brain tissue, that could explain the symptoms of OAE.

The full extent and diversity of the viruses living in parasitic nematodes, how they impact nematode biology and whether they act as drivers of disease in people and animals now requires further study.

Quek, S., et al. Diverse RNA viruses of parasitic nematodes can elicit antibody responses in vertebrate hosts, Nature Microbiology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-024-01796-6. www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01796-6

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2024 at 8:58am

Arctic microalgae show photosynthesis in near darkness is possible

Photosynthesis converts sunlight into biologically usable energy and thus forms the basis of all life on our planet. However, previous measurements of the amount of light required for this have always been well above the theoretically possible minimum. The study shows that the build-up of biomass can actually take place with a quantity of light that is close to this minimum.

Photosynthesis can take place in nature even at extremely low light levels. This is the result of an international study that investigated the development of Arctic microalgae at the end of the polar night. The measurements were carried out as part of the MOSAiC expedition at 88° northern latitude and revealed that even this far north, microalgae can build up biomass through photosynthesis as early as the end of March.

At this time, the sun is barely above the horizon, so that it is still almost completely dark in the microalgae's habitat under the snow and ice cover of the Arctic Ocean. The results of the study now published in the journal Nature Communications show that photosynthesis in the ocean is possible under much lower light conditions, and can therefore take place at much greater depths than previously assumed.

Clara J.M. Hoppe, Photosynthetic light requirement near the theoretical minimum detected in Arctic microalgae, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51636-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2024 at 8:53am

Fungal spores of the mold Aspergillus fumigatus produce an enzyme that weakens the immune system

Aspergillus fumigatus is a mold that is found all over the world. Unlike closely related species, it can cause serious, often fatal infections in humans. What makes A. fumigatus so dangerous?

A special enzyme on the surface of the fungal spores—glycosylasparaginase—apparently suppresses the release of pro-inflammatory substances by immune cells, making it easier for the pathogen to spread unhindered in the tissue. The findings are published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

Camila Figueiredo Pinzan et al, Aspergillus fumigatus conidial surface-associated proteome reveals factors for fungal evasion and host immunity modulation, Nature Microbiology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-024-01782-y

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2024 at 8:49am

People facing life-or-death choice put too much trust in AI

In simulated life-or-death decisions, about two-thirds of people in a  study allowed a robot to change their minds when it disagreed with them—an alarming display of excessive trust in artificial intelligence, researchers said.

Human subjects allowed robots to sway their judgment, despite being told the AI machines had limited capabilities and were giving advice that could be wrong. In reality, the advice was random.

As a society, with AI accelerating so quickly, we need to be concerned about the potential for over trust, say the researchers.

What we need instead is a consistent application of doubt.

We should have a healthy skepticism about AI, the researchers say, "especially in life-or-death decisions."

 Colin Holbrook et al, Overtrust in AI Recommendations About Whether or Not to Kill: Evidence from Two Human-Robot Interaction Studies, Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69771-z

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2024 at 8:38am

Nuclear clock paves way for ultraprecise timekeeping

A new type of clock under development—a nuclear clock—could revolutionize how we measure time and probe fundamental physics.

An international research team led by scientists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder, has demonstrated key elements of a nuclear clock. A nuclear clock is a novel type of timekeeping device that uses signals from the core, or nucleus, of an atom.

The team presents the results in the Sept. 4 issue of the journal Nature as a cover story.

The team used a specially designed ultraviolet laser to precisely measure the frequency of an energy jump in thorium nuclei embedded in a solid crystal. They also employed an optical frequency comb, which acts like an extremely accurate light ruler, to count the number of ultraviolet wave cycles that create this energy jump. While this laboratory demonstration is not a fully developed nuclear clock, it contains all the core technology for one.
Nuclear clocks could be much more accurate than current atomic clocks, which provide official international time and play major roles in technologies such as GPS, internet synchronization, and financial transactions.

For the general public, this development could ultimately mean even more precise navigation systems (with or without GPS), faster internet speeds, more reliable network connections, and more secure digital communications.

Beyond everyday technology, nuclear clocks could improve tests of fundamental theories for how the universe works, potentially leading to new discoveries in physics. They could help detect dark matter or verify if the constants of nature are truly constant, allowing for verification of theories in particle physics without the need for large-scale particle accelerator facilities.

Chuankun Zhang, Frequency ratio of the 229mTh isomeric transition and the 87Sr atomic clock, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07839-6. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07839-6

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2024 at 8:34am

Nanoplastics have potential to cross blood-brain barrier, study reveals

A new study published in the journal Nano Today reveals that nanoplastics, which are tiny plastic particles less than 1 micrometer in size, may cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

The research marks a significant advancement in understanding how nanoplastics might transfer in human blood and interact with biological systems.

An  international team of scientists investigated how nanoplastics made from polystyrene (PS) and poly vinyl chloride (PVC) behave in human plasma and tested their ability to cross the BBB.

The researchers utilized a novel approach by embedding gadolinium, a rare earth metal, into the nanoplastics, allowing precise tracking and quantification of their movement and transformation within the human body.
The team found that upon exposure to human plasma, nanoplastics rapidly attract a variety of biomolecules, immediately forming a "biological corona" that affects their behavior and interactions with cells.

The study demonstrated that both PS and PVC nanoplastics could cross the BBB, with PVC particles showing a higher penetration rate. However, the presence of a biological corona significantly reduced the amount of nanoplastics entering the brain.

The human blood-brain barrier (BBB) consists of a tightly packed layer of endothelial cells, surrounded by astrocytes and pericytes that restricts the passage of a variety of molecules and substances from the blood to the brain.

According to the researchers, the penetration of nanoplastics through the BBB highlights the need for further research on their potential neurotoxicity and long-term effects on human health.

 Fazel Abdolahpur Monikh et al, Biotransformation of nanoplastics in human plasma and their permeation through a model in vitro blood-brain barrier: An in-depth quantitative analysis, Nano Today (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.nantod.2024.102466

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