DARPA’s Cheetah robot sets new speed record

According to DARPA researchers, the robot’s movements are patterned after those of fast-running animals in nature. Meaning, the robot increases its stride and running speed by flexing and un-flexing its back on each step, similar to the sprinting abilities of a real cheetah.

Video: DARPA’s Cheetah robot sets new speed record

| TG Daily

Granddad, is that you? Scientists identify humanity’s oldest ancestor – a two-inch worm that swam in the sea

Human beings, as well as fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals are all descended from this two-inch creature – Pikaia gracilens which lived in the sea 505 million years ago

Granddad, is that you? Scientists identify humanity’s oldest ancestor – a two-inch worm that swam in the sea | Mail Online

Teaching software spots bored or bewildered pupils

AutoTutor teaches complex technical content in Newtonian physics, computer literacy and critical thinking by holding a conversation in natural language, and its creators say it can simulate the teaching and motivational strategies of human tutors.

Affective AutoTutor adds emotion-sensitive capabilities by monitoring facial features, body language, and conversational cues and responding to negative states such as frustration and boredom.

It even displays emotions itself, through the content of its verbal responses, its speech intonation and its facial expressions.

In tests on over one thousand students, says the team, AutoTutor delivers learning gains of approximately one letter grade – outperforming novice human tutors, and close to the performance of expert human tutors.

“Much like a gifted human tutor, AutoTutor and Affective AutoTutor attempt to keep the student balanced between the extremes of boredom and bewilderment by subtly modulating the pace, direction, and complexity of the learning task,” says D’Mello.

Teaching software spots bored or bewildered pupils | TG Daily

Virtual unreality: Hi-tech VR helmet that turns walk in the park into a living dream world

The world as seen through the LifeClipper helmet – it mixes the ‘real’ as seen thorugh cameras with hallucinations created by computer

Virtual unreality: Hi-tech VR helmet that turns walk in the park into a living dream world | Mail Online

Fitness – I Put In 5 Miles at the Office

Brad Rhoads, a computer programmer and missionary in Princeton, Ill., faces a computer monitor on a file cabinet and gets in about five miles a day on a treadmill while working in his home office.

“After a while, your legs do get kind of tired,” said Mr. Rhoads, 40, who started exercising in March, when doctors advised him to lose weight after open-heart surgery.

Ms. Krivosha and Mr. Rhoads are part of a small but growing group of desk jockeys who were inspired by Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic. In 2005, Dr. Levine led a study showing that lean people burn about 350 more calories a day than those who are overweight, by doing ordinary things like fidgeting, pacing or walking to the copier.

To incorporate extra movement into the routines of sedentary workers (himself included), Dr. Levine constructed a treadmill desk by sliding a bedside hospital tray over a $400 treadmill.

Fitness – I Put In 5 Miles at the Office – NYTimes.com

Îţi vine să crezi că ea mai trăieşte? Felul în care arată o să te îngrozească

Ksenia Bubenko, în vârstă de 20 de ani, suferă de anorexie, iar felul în care arată din cauza bolii vă va lăsa fără cuvinte.

Îţi vine să crezi că ea mai trăieşte? Felul în care arată o să te îngrozească – FOTO