Communications

"I’ve had dozens of virtual visits on my cell phone and this holographic experience doesn’t compare," said one of the Proto unit's first patients at the West Cancer Center's clinic. "It feels just like I am talking with my doctor face-to-face."

Dr. Hologram will see you now: Virtual specialists visit cancer patients

Back in August 2021, Portl launched a 7-ft-tall hologram projection box for life-like remote communications. Now renamed Proto, the company has revealed that its Epic technology is allowing cancer patients to consult life-size virtual specialists.

The barbershop quartet-style vocalization of male elephants is another breakthrough in understanding how elephants communicate

Biology

Male elephants harmonize like a barbershop quartet to say "let's go"

A fascinating new insight into elephant communication has been uncovered, revealing that males will harmonize rumbles, from one to the next, to signal that it's time for everyone to move on. Researchers liken it to a barbershop quartet.

Elephants communicate using vocalizations similar to human names

Biology

Elephants talk to family and friends using individual ‘names’

Wild elephants have exhibited a rare ability among animals: communicating with others in their social circle using individual ‘names.’ The new research suggests that their human-like communication may mean elephants are capable of complex thought.

An artist's impression of Psyche, orbiting near the asteroid of the same name

Space

Deep-space lasers smash data speed records over interplanetary distances

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, farther away than the Sun, has sent data through a laser over a record-breaking distance, and done so even faster than expected. The breakthrough could help establish high-speed communications with human colonies on Mars.

Intended for applications such as search and rescue, salvage operations and recovery efforts, the system allows divers to make their way to geographical waypoints, and mark locations of interest

Outdoors

Acoustic navigational tech gets scuba divers using GPS maps

Because GPS doesn't work underwater, divers usually can't track their real-time position on a digital map. The new Diver Navigation System (DNS) gets around that problem, however, using both floating and wearable acoustic transponders.

Thanks to a collaboration between Figure and OpenAI, the Figure 01 humanoid robot can now converse with people in real-time, and act on requests to do stuff

AI & Humanoids

Video: GPT-enhanced humanoid speaks and reasons as it works

Figure has demonstrated the first fruit of its collaboration with OpenAI to enhance the capabilities of humanoid robots. In a video released today, the Figure 01 bot is seen conversing in real-time.

The prototype patch (white, at left) is adhered to the skin – the black cube at the right is an inertial measurement unit that was used as reference during lab tests

Wearables

Wrist-worn patch converts hand movements into messages in real time

An experimental new wearable could allow people such as stroke victims to communicate via subtle hand movements. The device takes the form of a relatively thin patch that is temporarily adhered to the skin on the back of the wrist.

Scientists are practicing talking to aliens by trying to communicate with whales

Science

Scientists practice communicating with aliens by chatting to whales

Meeting aliens rarely goes well for humanity in movies. Scientists have been practicing by trying to chat to whales in their own language – and judging by early results, we should probably beef up security around the Eiffel Tower and the White House.

Scientists ask the emoji gods: Why can't we express our feelings in tardigrade?

Biology

Fancy a tardigrade emoji? Biologists call for this and more to be added

The eggplant emoji may be more famous in the digital world than in real life, but it's not the case for most organisms. Biologists have made the case for 'animal underdogs' to have better emoji presence to aid real-life conservation and biodiversity.

A new optical fiber system has shattered the data transmission speed record

Telecommunications

Record-breaking fiber transmits 20x global internet traffic per second

Everybody wants a faster internet connection, and now engineers in Japan have shattered the record for data transmission. The team managed to transmit more than 20 times the global internet traffic per second through a single optical fiber.

You don't have to know anything about Darth Vader to understand what "the dark side" means

Science

Lightsaber lexicon: The monumental impact Star Wars has had on language

Sure, they're from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but words and phrases from Star Wars have taken on a life of their own in modern English. For the first time, a study reveals how deep-rooted offerings like "to the dark side" truly are.

Nanobots and implants working in the human body could eventually communicate by releasing molecules into the bloodstream, according to a new proof-of-concept study

Medical Devices

Medical nanobots could communicate by releasing molecules into bloodstream

Implants and tiny machines could eventually help treat disease or monitor activity, but communication is tricky. Now scientists at EPFL have developed a system whereby devices can communicate by releasing molecules into a patient’s bloodstream.