Cool Science

Chatbots can be a bit frustrating when real, live human beings are trying to have a conversation with them, but they are hilarious when they talk to each other. These chatbots are childish, taunting, snippy and even philosophical. They don’t make much sense but are delightful to watch.

These chatbots were developed by researchers at Cornell University. Rather than becoming irritated by attempting to communicate with these chatbots, one can now be entertained by watching them communicate with one another.

These Cheverbots, developed by artificial intelligence programmer Rollo Carpenter, have avatars of a South Asian female and a British male. Their software uses the phrases that it has picked up from the millions of conversations it has had with actual human beings online.

One one point in the video, the man tells the female that she is unhelpful and a “meanie.” She also irritatingly tells him that she’s answered all of his questions, and then they have a deep and humorous discussion about God and religion. The male even zings the woman, making fun of her memory, which is bad for a woman. The interaction ends with the woman asking the man if he would like to have a body. After he answers in the affirmative, she said “Au revoir.” to him, surprising me with her knowledge of a bit of French.

These clever bots one the British Computer Society Machine Intelligence competition in 2010. The best prize any chatbot developer could hope to win is the Loebner Prize Competition in Artificial Intelligence. It comes with a prize of $100,000 and the developers must try their hand at convincing human judges that it’s an actual human being. IEEE Spectrum’s Evan Ackerman tells us that the first chatbot to actually do this successfully will be what Artificial Intelligence truly is. Keeping these amusing chatbots around, though, would really be great in either case!

Health in the Green Economy, a new series of studies produced by the World Health Organization, highlights how decreasing climate change will have an immediate and increasingly positive effect on the population’s health. Many noncommunicable diseases, such as cancer, chronic respiratory illness, obesity and cardiovascular disease can be prevented by an increase in green investments.

Green transportation, housing and energy policies will benefit both the environment and the world’s overall health. Creating and acting upon green policies is a win-win situation for all. Many changes to green alternatives have an immediate positive impact on health while positively affecting climate change. The health sector should be a prevalent force in the push for new green initiatives to benefit the public’s health.

In housing, green insulation choices are on the rise, providing more energy-efficient buildings that will lower greenhouse gas emissions in years to come. The immediate effect of green buildings is the fact that allergies and asthma are reduced because of fewer toxic chemicals in the air. More tightly sealed homes also reduce the risk of strokes and other heart related issues due to the stable temperature. More attention must be paid to ensuring adequate air ventilation is maintained. New health risks are created by buildings without proper ventilation.

Although the focus has long been on alternative transportation, little has been said about the health benefits and social benefits gained by using sustainable transportation. An increased effort to provide safe walking areas, cycling paths and public transportation will provide great health benefits by promoting healthy exercise which in turn reduces some health related issues.

By focusing on basic green initiatives, even countries with few resources can see a vast improvement in their population. Many lifestyle changes are necessary for good health, but they need a healthy environment to make them most effective.

Google Earth Satellite images are available to anyone with computer access. For many years, meteorologists have utilized satellite images to predict weather. Global Positioning System (GPS) devices use satellites to ascertain a certain geographical location. With Google Earth satellite images, scientists can observe objects, landmarks, animal populations, and remote areas all over the world for their research.

One recent scientific study involved an analysis of grazing halos, around the Great Barrier Reef, that were discovered via satellite images. Grazing halos are rings of sand in the ocean, where the vegetation has been stripped bare due to over-grazing by the local marine life. The study was completed by marine biologist Dr. Elizabeth Madin and her team from University of Technology, in Sydney, Australia. The research was conducted at Heron Island, in the Great Barrier Reef. The focus of the study was to observe the behavior of the marine life on the reef to determine why they did not venture far from the reef to forage for food. The scientists hypothesized that fear of predators limited their search for food and led to over-grazing.

The research team determined that the herbivores living in the coral would only forage in areas where shelter could be quickly obtained. As the distance from the reef was increased, their shelter decreased, ergo the decimation of the vegetation decreased and the vegetation canopy increased. The scientist concluded that their research did confirm the hypothesis. The herbivore marine life caused the halos because of their fear of predators. They would only graze in a safe area close to the reef. This discovery and research were all made possible because of the Google Earth satellite images.

Satellite-image-based research is an important new tool that is beneficial to the public and to scientists in all genres. Studying the satellite images over a period of time could reveal important changes in the Earth’s ecosystems. Monitoring the migration habits, of various land and sea animals, could also be accomplished by satellite image tracking. Satellite images are available, free-of-charge on Google Earth to anyone, anytime, or anywhere on the Earth. All that is needed is to access Google Earth. The possibilities, for satellite image-based research, are unlimited!

In Melbourne, Australia, researchers are using various naval resources to improve climate monitoring. The vast Indian Ocean is their target of interest, as it is swarming with modern-day pirates.

According to Ann Thresher, one of Australia’s leading oceanographers, Somali pirates have put a dent in Australia’s research efforts. The ARGO program has been one of the most affected. Under this program, researchers study the Indian Ocean Dipole. This is simply a fluctuation of temperatures within that region. The reason why it is studied is because the fluctuation determines whether or not there is going to be floods or droughts in the country. As such, researchers use special buoys to monitor what is going on. Approximately two meters long, these lithium-powered devices record a variety of readings, ranging from temperature to the salinity of the water.

However, when pirates infiltrate the water, researchers must use different routes. Unfortunately, these routes do not offer the same level of visibility, even with high-tech buoys. Thresher talks about this phenomenon in an interview with The Science Insider. She feels that the researchers’ predictions suffer every time they have to change routes. To ensure more accurate readings, they have to stay in the same area.

To make matters worse, there are some occasions when researchers cannot sail at all. Just last March, the Seychelles government forbade them from using buoys in their waters. The government was worried about the piracy threat. Fortunately, this will all change with Australia’s new “gunboat climatology” approach. Over the next four to six months, Australia will use its navy to deploy the buoys. This will create a more threatening presence among the pirates. Other countries will also help through a separate initiative. Naval vessels from the United States and the U.K. will also drop buoys for their ally. This is expected to happen over the next month or so.

It may be one of the strangest things you’ve ever seen: a dolphin swimming through the waters of the ocean with a sponge fitted over its beak. What in the world? The intelligent marine dwellers have found a way to protect their faces as they scour the rocks and broken coral for food stuffs. Rather than tearing the skin on the beaks and faces, they have devised this ingenious tool to be able to safely forage.

Researchers had thought, at first, that it would simply make more sense for the dolphins to feed from the mid-waters rather than along the bottom of the sea. In fact, the fish and crustaceans that inhabit the bottom of the ocean are more nutritious for the Shark Bay dolphins. The dolphins must have known this all along; developing a method of hunting safely instead of turning to other food sources that provide a less sound diet.

After studying the behavior of these dolphins, researchers found that hunting with sponges is an activity primarily carried out by the female of the species. It is thought that this is because of the pressures faced by a mother who has to rear her young for almost 5 years at a time. As the young swim and forage with their mother, they learn the interesting sponging technique which they, then, pass onto their young.

Sponge fishing works as such: a Shark Bay dolphin will fit a sponge onto its beak and scrape it along the bottom of the ocean. A fish will scare up from the bottom, the dolphin drops its sponge, heads to the surface for a breath of air and then dives down for its meal. The emerging fish will swim for several meters before it attempts to rebury itself, giving the dolphin the time it needs to drop, breathe and dive. A study conducted by Eric Patterson, a graduate student at Georgetown University, showed that by sponging, a dolphin can scare up a prey fish about every 9 minutes, making hunting in this manner extremely rewarding.

Image courtesy of Lori Johnston, RMS Titanic Expedition 2003, NOAA-OE

Canadian and Spanish researchers have discovered a new form of bacteria, called Halomonas titanicae, which is contributing to deterioration of the the world’s most famous shipwreck.

The discovery was made by researchers Henrietta Mann, Delahousie University (Canada), and Cristina Sánchez-Porro and Antonio Ventosa, University of Seville, in a “rusticle” hanging from the Titanic at a depth of four thousand meters.

“Rusticle” appears like a stalactite formations but is created by corrosion of the metal of the Titanic in the deep sea.

Dalhousie University along with other partners, stated the bacterium Halomonas titanicae seems to be responsible for the creation of “rusticles” wich accelerate corrosion of metal. Continue Reading

Warning: This cooking activity requires boiling water. Younger scientists should get help from an adult.

You will need

• Eggs
• Water
• 2 teabags
• Stove
• Tablespoon
• Teaspoon
• Small saucepan
• Egg timer or stop watch
• 5 star anise (optional)
• 2 Cinnamon sticks (optional)
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce (optional)

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In the absence of gravity, surface tension dominates the physics of fluids. Here, in an image taken on the International Space Station, it causes water to extend from a metal loop as if it were stirred by an invisible spoon. Continue Reading

New parents find that there is a lot of conflicting advice about how to raise their little ones either online, in books or in magazines. One of the greatest debates is whether or not baby formulas are healthy. Of course, experts agree that breastfeeding is the ideal choice for new moms and their infants. While this may hold true, many women do not breastfeed or only choose to do so for a short time. That is why it is important for new parents to feel confident in giving their babies formula. Continue Reading