Tag: Computers and Internet

How can you reliably spot a fake smile? Ask a computer

Real and fake smiles can be tricky to tell apart, but researchers at the University of Bradford have now developed computer software that can spot false facial expressions. By analysing the movement of the smile across a person’s face, the software can determine whether or not the expression is genuine. The most significant movements detected

‘Alexa, monitor my heart’: Researchers develop first contactless cardiac arrest AI system for smart speakers

Almost 500,000 Americans die each year from cardiac arrest, when the heart suddenly stops beating. People experiencing cardiac arrest will suddenly become unresponsive and either stop breathing or gasp for air, a sign known as agonal breathing. Immediate CPR can double or triple someone’s chance of survival, but that requires a bystander to be present.

Social media use contributing to poor mental health in Indonesia

Social media use is contributing to poor mental health in Indonesia, research presented in a paper by Sujarwoto Sujarwoto, Gindo Tampubolon and Adi Cilik Pierewan has found. The paper examines the specific effect of social media on mental health in the developing country. It found that social media had a detrimental effect on mental health

Artificial intelligence tool vastly scales up Alzheimer’s research: Machine learning tool automates pathologists’ work to identify disease markers

Researchers at UC Davis and UC San Francisco have found a way to teach a computer to precisely detect one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in human brain tissue, delivering a proof of concept for a machine-learning approach to distinguishing critical markers of the disease. Amyloid plaques are clumps of protein fragments in the

Hidden control architecture of brain networks unveiled

A KAIST research team identified the intrinsic control architecture of brain networks. The control properties will contribute to providing a fundamental basis for the exogenous control of brain networks and, therefore, has broad implications in cognitive and clinical neuroscience. Although efficiency and robustness are often regarded as having a trade-off relationship, the human brain usually

Forecasting contagious ideas: ‘Infectivity’ models accurately predict tweet lifespan: A tweet’s virality is modulated most by its early spread rate and a gradual loss of interest over time

Estimating tweet infectivity from the first 50 retweets is the key to predicting whether a tweet will go viral, according to a new study published in PLOS ONE on April 17, 2019 by Li Weihua from Beihang University, China and colleagues. As online social networks and media continue to grow, so has the importance of

How a personality trait puts you at risk for cybercrime

Impulse online shopping, downloading music and compulsive email use are all signs of a certain personality trait that make you a target for malware attacks. New research from Michigan State University examines the behaviors — both obvious and subtle — that lead someone to fall victim to cybercrime involving Trojans, viruses, and malware. “People who

Negative vs. positive social media experiences and depressive symptoms

Negative experiences on social media carry more weight than positive interactions when it comes to the likelihood of young adults reporting depressive symptoms, according to a new University of Pittsburgh analysis. The finding, reported today in the journal Depression and Anxiety, may be useful for designing interventions and clinical recommendations to reduce the risk of

Synthetic ’tissues’ build themselves: Biologists program cells to self-organize into 3D-structures in a first step towards tissues that regrow and self-repair

How do complex biological structures — an eye, a hand, a brain — emerge from a single fertilized egg? This is the fundamental question of developmental biology, and a mystery still being grappled with by scientists who hope to one day apply the same principles to heal damaged tissues or regrow ailing organs. Now, in

During disasters, active Twitter users likely to spread falsehoods: Study examines Boston Marathon bombing, Hurricane Sandy; also finds most users fail to correct misinformation

We know that Twitter is littered with misinformation. But how good are the social media platform’s most active users at detecting these falsehoods, especially during public emergencies? Not good, according to new University at Buffalo research that examined more than 20,000 tweets during Hurricane Sandy and the Boston Marathon bombing. The study, published today (May