Researchers have made an android child named Nikola that successfully conveys six basic emotions — happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust. Facial expressions are generated by moving ‘muscles’ in Nikola’s face. This is the first time that the quality of android-expressed emotion has been tested and verified for these six emotions. Rosie the robot…

A team of astronomers has discovered that several of the small — or ‘dwarf’ — galaxies orbiting the Milky Way were likely stolen from the Large Magellanic Cloud, including several ultrafaint dwarfs, but also relatively bright and well-known satellite galaxies, such as Carina and Fornax. For example, more than 50 discovered satellite galaxies orbit our…

In future, paraffin wax could help to make underground thermal storage units more durable. Such systems are used, for example, to store solar energy over a longer period of time. In a new study, geologists from investigated the extent to which paraffin wax can be incorporated into the shell of the storage tanks and whether…

Even by the wild standards of the outer solar system, the strange orbits that carry Neptune’s two innermost moons are unprecedented, according to newly published research. Orbital dynamics experts are calling it a «dance of avoidance» performed by the tiny moons Naiad and Thalassa. The two are true partners, orbiting only about 1,150 miles (1,850…

Physicists have discovered a new way to coat soft robots in materials that allow them to move and function in a more purposeful way. Authors of the study believe their breakthrough modelling on ‘active matter’ could mark a turning point in the design of robots. With further development of the concept, it may be possible…

Uranus is a planetary oddity. Our Solar System’s planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction, and do so with their axes of rotation — the way they spin locally — orientated roughly perpendicular to their orbits. Uranus, however, is uniquely tipped over, with its axis almost parallel to its orbit. Uranus’ moons and…

Just like humans, rats are able to estimate a temporal error in their actions. This discovery opens up new avenues for identifying the mechanisms and brain structures which underlie the internal representation of time. These results were obtained in a joint study undertaken by researchers from the Institut des neurosciences Paris-Saclay (CNRS/Universite Paris-Saclay), Neurospin (CEA)…

Scientists have little understanding of the role fishes play in the global carbon cycle linked to climate change, but a study found that carbon in feces, respiration and other excretions from fishes — roughly 1.65 billion tons annually — make up about 16 percent of the total carbon that sinks below the ocean’s upper layers.…

Cracked phone screens could become a thing of the past thanks to breakthrough research The researchers have unlocked the technology to produce next-generation composite glass for lighting LEDs and smartphone, television and computer screens. The findings will enable the manufacture of glass screens that are not only unbreakable but also deliver crystal clear image quality.…

Researchers have developed a new control approach that enables a legged robot, called ANYmal, to move quickly and robustly over difficult terrain. Thanks to machine learning, the robot can combine its visual perception of the environment with its sense of touch for the first time. Steep sections on slippery ground, high steps, scree and forest…