Best of Last Week: A puzzling six planet ecosystem, chatting with the deceased and harm from smoking cannabis
Bob Yirka
news contributor
It was a good week for space science as a team of researchers studying data from the ESO's VLT and other telescopes discovered a puzzling six-exoplanet system with rhythmic movement that has challenged theories of how planets form. Also, an international team of researchers found the first evidence of water being created on the lunar surface by Earth's magnetosphere.
In technology news, a team of researchers at MIT developed a type of neural network that learns on the job, not just during its training phase—the liquid machine-learning system adapts to changing conditions. And a team affiliated with multiple institutions in China developed an electronic transfer tattoo system with a crease amplification effect—the wearable or implantable device was able to integrate with human tissues to allow for real-time health monitoring. Also, several universities in Australia worked together to devise a method to control the outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish in Australia's Great Barrier Reef using UAVs—prior research has shown that the starfish are responsible for destroying half the reef to date. And Microsoft recently applied for a patent for a system that would let people chat with loved ones who have died—virtually, of course, using learned personality and physical traits.
In other news, a team of researchers at UC San Francisco found that a daily drink of alcohol can cause immediate detrimental effects for people with atrial fibrillation—they found that alcohol can have an impact on the electrical properties that control heart contractions. Also, a team with members from the University of Washington, the National University of Quilmes and Yale University found that on nights before a full moon, people go to bed later and sleep less. And a team with members from the U.S. and Australia found evidence suggesting that competition among human females likely contributed to concealed ovulation—it was not because it was useful for securing male partners to help raise and support children.
And finally, if you are a regular user of marijuana, you may want to check out the results of a study by a team with members from several institutions in Australia and one in the U.K.—they found harm in regular cannabis use regardless of the age when someone begins using it. More specifically, they found that regular use could be linked to negative life outcomes.
