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How people learn computer programming

Researchers found that the brain's logical reasoning network was active before learning to code, and continued to engage strongly after acquiring Python skills. This suggests that humans can repurpose cognitive areas involved in reasoning to learn computer programming.

Researchers watched students’ brains as they learned to program

A study at Johns Hopkins University found that students' brains activate logic areas when learning to code, even before taking a class. The researchers used fMRI to track brain activity and discovered that these neurons also fire when reading plain English descriptions of the coding programs.

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New computer language helps spot hidden pollutants

The Mass Query Language (MassQL) tool empowers scientists to uncover previously unknown pollutants in massive chemical datasets. It has identified toxic compounds hidden in plain sight, including organophosphate esters and chemicals from breaking down over time.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Apple iPhone 17 Pro delivers top performance and advanced cameras for field documentation, data collection, and secure research communications.

To the brain, Esperanto and Klingon appear the same as English or Mandarin

A new study by MIT researchers finds that constructed languages such as Esperanto and Klingon elicit similar responses in the brain's language-processing network, suggesting that meaning is a key feature of language. This discovery helps define some of the key properties of language and narrows down the question of what a language is.

2024 ACM Fellows honored for transformative contributions to computing

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has named 55 Fellows for their transformative contributions to computing science and technology. The inductees represent a diverse range of fields, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, machine learning, and programming languages.

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Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 Binoculars deliver bright, sharp views for wildlife surveys, eclipse chases, and quick star-field scans at dark sites.

Meta Quest 3 512GB

Meta Quest 3 512GB enables immersive mission planning, terrain rehearsal, and interactive STEM demos with high-resolution mixed-reality experiences.

An open-source Python toolbox of nomogram generator made available

A new open-source Python toolbox called simpleNomo has been made available, enabling the creation of nomograms directly from logistic regression coefficients. This facilitates the translation of research findings into practical use, particularly in resource-poor settings or areas without internet access.

$1.6 million grant awarded to develop open-source software toolkit

A team of researchers from University of Missouri and University of Nebraska-Omaha are working on a three-year, $1.6 million grant to make open-source software tools more accessible and understandable to a wider range of people and tech companies. The project aims to identify what OSS projects are good to invest in for commercialization.

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation, USB-C)

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation, USB-C) provide clear calls and strong noise reduction for interviews, conferences, and noisy field environments.

Scientific image analysis for everyone

The JIPipe software enables automated analysis of images generated in research without requiring programming skills. Users can create flowcharts and perform automatic image analyses using artificial intelligence.

Faster computing results without fear of errors

PaSh parallelizes Unix shell scripts automatically and accurately, boosting execution speeds by hundreds of times. Researchers tested the system on hundreds of scripts and found no errors, making it accessible to data scientists, biologists, engineers, and economists.

A security technique to fool would-be cyber attackers

Researchers developed DAGguise, a scheme that shapes memory requests into a predefined pattern to prevent contention attacks and enable faster computation. The technique represents programs' memory access requests as a graph, where each request is stored in a node, and the edges are time dependencies between requests.

To the brain, reading computer code is not the same as reading language

Researchers found that reading computer code primarily activates the multiple demand network, which is also recruited for complex cognitive tasks such as math and problem-solving. This finding suggests that coding does not rely on language-processing centers, contrary to previous hypotheses.

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GQ GMC-500Plus Geiger Counter logs beta, gamma, and X-ray levels for environmental monitoring, training labs, and safety demonstrations.

The first intuitive programming language for quantum computers

Silq allows programmers to utilize quantum computers' potential better than existing languages, with more compact and faster code. The language also automatically identifies and erases unnecessary values through uncomputation, improving the reliability of quantum calculations.

Brain responses to imagined thirst

Researchers investigated brain responses to imagined thirst in trained hypnosis practitioners, finding dissociation between subjective experience and dehydration stimulus. The study revealed a network of brain regions associated with both thirst and drinking behavior.

Being attractive helps, but it isn't everything

Research finds that physically attractive candidates can gain up to 11 percentage points in US House of Representatives elections and 3.8 percentage points in German Bundestag elections due to their appearance. However, competent appearance and likeability have a lesser impact on voter decisions.

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A better avenue for neurosurgery to improve outcomes

A new study demonstrates that transradial surgery is safe and effective for various neuroendovascular procedures, providing faster recovery times with less procedural risk. Patients prefer this approach due to reduced complications and quicker discharge.

Democratizing data science

The tool uses Bayesian modeling to automatically generate statistical models from raw data, addressing a bottleneck in the data science field. By providing a user-friendly interface, it enables nonstatisticians to uncover insights and patterns in data, making data science more accessible to those without extensive expertise.

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St. Michael's Hospital cardiology team reports a world first

The Pascal system uses a spacer to fill the gap between leaflets and clamp them onto the spacer, tailored for patients with complex anatomy. The procedure has shown improved quality of life and reduced hospitalizations for patients with tricuspid regurgitation, affecting about 5% of people over age 75.

Optimized compiler yields more-efficient parallel programs

Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed a new variation of a popular open-source compiler that optimizes before adding code necessary for parallel execution. This approach results in more-efficient parallel programs, surpassing existing compilers.

System for handling database caching yields faster websites

A new system was presented at the Association for Computing Machinery's Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages that automatically handles database caching in web applications written in Ur/Web. This system offers twofold to 30-fold speedups in experiments involving two websites.

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4G network infrastructure could mean fewer accidents by drivers

Researchers at the University of Bristol propose a cost-effective solution for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to share high-quality data with drivers in emergency situations. The single frequency network (SFN) approach could improve road safety by providing reliable information, reducing transmission power by up to 20 times.

Computer programming made easier

Researchers have developed a technology that provides human operators with automated assistance in creating working code, expanding the number of people engaged in programming. The ExCAPE project aims to simplify program development and has already been tested in classrooms and online learning platforms.

Blood of King Albert I identified after 80 years

Forensic geneticists confirm that the blood found on the scene in 1934 is indeed that of King Albert I, contradicting conspiracy theories about his death. The study used DNA comparison with two distant relatives to verify the king's identity, providing historical importance and closure.

Overall stability analysis of improved buckling restrained braces

The improved buckling restrained braces (IBRBs) feature contact rings between inner and outer tubes for lateral constraint, resulting in better behavior. Numerical simulations agree with test results, demonstrating the program's feasibility in analyzing overall stability strength capacity.

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Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter measures wind, temperature, and humidity in real time for site assessments, aviation checks, and safety briefings.

A programming language for living cells

Researchers at MIT have created a programming language that allows users to design complex DNA-encoded circuits in living cells, giving new functions to bacteria and yeast. The language uses Verilog-like syntax and allows users to write programs for specific environmental conditions, such as detecting oxygen or glucose levels.

Automatic bug repair

CodePhage analyzes application execution to identify security checks missing from vulnerable code, then imports and inserts them into the source code. The system can repair common open-source programs in minutes, reducing grunt work for developers.

GoPro HERO13 Black

GoPro HERO13 Black records stabilized 5.3K video for instrument deployments, field notes, and outreach, even in harsh weather and underwater conditions.

Graphics in reverse

Researchers at MIT have developed a probabilistic programming language called Picture that can solve computer-vision tasks using short programs. The new system, which is competitive with conventional systems, has been shown to improve error rates on certain tasks, such as human pose estimation.

Taking the grunt work out of Web development

Ur/Web's compiler automatically generates XML code and style-sheet specifications and embeds JavaScript and database code in the right places. The language's typing system helps with security and coordination across Web technologies by preventing unauthorized access between page elements.

Girls better than boys at making story-based computer games, Sussex study finds

A University of Sussex study reveals that teenage girls are more adept at designing and programming their own computer games than boys. The research used a new visual programming language called Flip, which helps pupils understand the code they write. Girls created more complex programs and learned more about coding compared to boys.

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm)

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) tracks health metrics and safety alerts during long observing sessions, fieldwork, and remote expeditions.

Harnessing error-prone chips

Researchers at MIT have developed a new system, Chisel, that enables programmers to prioritize energy savings over computational accuracy in certain applications. The system uses a tool to help programmers evaluate the acceptable level of error and automatically assigns instructions to unreliable hardware components.

Powerful new software plug-in detects bugs in spreadsheets

CheckCell, a new data-debugging tool, automatically finds errors in spreadsheets and flags high-impact data points for review. The plug-in uses statistical analysis and data flow analysis to identify unusual inputs that have a significant impact on program output.

Anker Laptop Power Bank 25,000mAh (Triple 100W USB-C)

Anker Laptop Power Bank 25,000mAh (Triple 100W USB-C) keeps Macs, tablets, and meters powered during extended observing runs and remote surveys.

Automating laboratory-on-a-chip to cut health-care costs

A research team at UC Riverside has created a computer programming language that automates laboratory-on-a-chip technologies, enabling the automation and miniaturization of biochemical reactions. This technology has the potential to reduce healthcare costs by eliminating human error and speeding up analysis.

System that automatically fills gaps in programmers' code gains power

Researchers have developed a new version of Sketch that can handle complex synthesis tasks more efficiently, enabling it to produce working code in milliseconds. The system treats program synthesis as a search problem and finds a way to shrink the search space, making it more suitable for real-world applications.

UW engineers invent programming language to build synthetic DNA

Researchers at the University of Washington have created a programming language for chemistry that allows scientists to design and build custom DNA molecules with specific functions. This new approach enables flexible control over chemical reactions, which could lead to innovative medical applications such as smart drug delivery systems.

Fluke 87V Industrial Digital Multimeter

Fluke 87V Industrial Digital Multimeter is a trusted meter for precise measurements during instrument integration, repairs, and field diagnostics.

NaCl to give way to RockSalt

RockSalt, a new tool developed by Harvard computer scientists, uses Coq to verify that native code complies with security policies. The tool has improved performance and security compared to previous solutions like Google Native Client (NaCl), with no reported vulnerabilities.

New approach to programming may boost 'green' computing

Binghamton University researcher Yu David Liu is developing an energy-aware programming language to encourage green software development. The new approach aims to reduce energy consumption by allowing programmers to express their intentions directly in the code.

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Celestron NexStar 8SE Computerized Telescope combines portable Schmidt-Cassegrain optics with GoTo pointing for outreach nights and field campaigns.

Indus script encodes language, reveals new study of ancient symbols

A University of Washington computer scientist has led a statistical study comparing the pattern of symbols in the Indus script to various linguistic scripts and nonlinguistic systems. The results found the Indus script's pattern is closer to that of spoken words, supporting the hypothesis that it codes for an as-yet-unknown language.