© 2019 New Atlas

UC Santa Barbara

  • It is suggested that the system could be used to tell if a person hiding in a house was actually a bank robber, who was earlier recorded by a bank's security cameras
    Science
    Wi-Fi identifies people through walls – by their walk
    Utilizing a new technique, ordinary wall-penetrating Wi-Fi signals could reportedly now be used to identify a person within a house.
  • Tropical tectonic activity, such as that occurring in Indonesia today, may have triggered ice ages in the past
    Environment
    Can tropical tectonic activity trigger ice ages?
    Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a major driver of shifts in the Earth’s climate, and in the past too little CO2 has been associated with triggering ice ages. Now a team of scientists has found a surprising new mechanism that could lead to ice ages: Tropical tectonic activity.
  • The method is accurate to within two people
    Science
    Researchers show they can count people through walls using only Wi-Fi
    ​In what may be seen as a worrying development to those troubled by the growth of the surveillance state, researchers at the University of California have demonstrated that they can count people through walls using only Wi-Fi signals.
  • The app, named Bacticount, is available for free from the Google Play Store
    Medical
    $100 smartphone kit can ID pathogens in under an hour
    American scientists have developed a smartphone app that can identify types of bacteria in one hour, down from a typical turnaround of 18 to 28 hours. The reduced detection time should mean faster diagnosis, treatment and recovery for patients, as well as reduced costs.
  • People could soon know if great white sharks are in the area, by testing the water for their cast-off DNA
    Biology
    Great whites may be given up by their DNA
    Animals regularly cast off bits of their DNA into aquatic environments. Known as environmental DNA (eDNA), it can be detected in water samples, letting scientists know if a species is present in the region. Soon, it could be used to warn beachgoers of nearby great white sharks.