LOS ANGELES, California, May 27 -- The University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering posted the following news: * * * A Robot Hand That Taught Itself to Play Piano Could Change the Future of Machines * In a neuro-robotics lab at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, a small mechanical hand heard a melody and played it back. No weeks of training. No massive datasets. Just two minutes of random doodling on the keys-like any child would. The hand got so good at playing th  more

SAN LUIS OBISPO, California, May 27 -- California Polytechnic State University issued the following news: * * * Cal Poly Researchers Help Install Third Rattlesnake Research Cam in Pennsylvania * A new platform has arrived to observe timber rattlesnakes in nature from the comfort of home thanks to a partnership between Cal Poly and Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. Project RattleCam recently launched its third livestream installation at an undisclosed, remote location in Pennsylvania on May  more

BOCHUM, Germany, May 27 -- The University in Bochum issued the following news release: * * * Insight into Unique Anatomical Structures of Ascidian Species * As the closest relative to vertebrates, ascidians are important model organisms. Thanks to modern imaging, researchers now have new insight into their anatomy. Ascidians, also known as sea squirts, are the evolutionary link between vertebrates and invertebrates, making them valuable subjects of biological studies. For the first time, r  more

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, May 28 (TNSjou) -- Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, issued the following news release: * * * The Y chromosome is home to surprising jumping genes The discovery could offer clues for how the Y chromosome defends against decay - The humble Y chromosome may be the smallest chromosome in the mammalian genome (and getting even smaller), but it is mighty: genes on the Y chromosome are critical for fertility in males. In a new stud  more

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico, May 27 -- New Mexico State University issued the following news release: * * * NMSU researchers: Daylight saving time may worsen cognitive, psychological problems * Daylight saving time isn't just a seasonal inconvenience - it may also pose significant neuropsychological risks for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who experience biannual clock shifts, especially those living with chronic mental illnesses. That's according to a major new study by a team of  more

BARCELONA, Spain, May 27 -- The Autonomous University of Barcelona issued the following news: * * * Protein's role in male reproductive ageing identified * A study by the UAB and the IJC demonstrates that SIRT7 is a key regulator of the quality of male germ cells and that the deficiency of this protein during ageing can lead to a functional decline in sperm. A study led by researchers at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC) h  more

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, May 27 -- The University of Pennsylvania posted the following news: * * * The grass beneath the American dream: Exploring the many facets of lawns * They evoke images of cornhole and cookouts, fertilizer and fences, and hedges and homeowners' associations. They consume an estimated 9 billion gallons of water per day and more than 80 million pounds of pesticides annually. And they raise multidisciplinary questions about biodiversity, soil chemistry, property rights  more

MANCHESTER, England, May 27 (TNSjou) -- The University of Manchester issued the following news release: * * * Study of coral surface behaviour offers new tools to understand the physics underlying infertility and ovarian cancer A study by researchers at The University of Manchester, carried out alongside the Universities of Melbourne and Copenhagen, could hold the key to understanding the causes of long-term health problems, such as infertility and ovarian cancer. The study, published in Phy  more