Pink scrap: the secrets of the "Internet" of trees and the shape of flower petals

Russian engineers have developed a line of AI devices for quality control of microelectronics. Another team has proposed an innovative approach for the construction of the lower limbs of anthropomorphic robots. It will make their jumps and movements more economical and "human". Doctors have found that most diagnoses of food allergies in children can be false. Foreign experts have studied how trees synchronize their behavior and why curls and sharp protrusions form on rose petals. This is stated in a selection of the most interesting scientific news prepared by Izvestia.

AI inspection robots will check the quality of microchips

Russian engineers have created robot inspectors to check microcircuits during their manufacture. They research electronics at different stages of production. Then, using machine vision algorithms, compliance with standards is determined. The results of the check are displayed on the monitor in real time.

— Among the defects that the devices reveal, there may be cracks, scratches, chips, unsealed fragments, distortions, heterogeneities, broken tracks, dust and chemical residues. The dimensions of the tested products can range from 0.1 mm to 300 mm, and the maximum camera resolution is up to 3 microns. At the same time, the verification speed reaches 1 sq. cm per second," the developer, senior engineer of the Dayton Central Design Bureau JSC (part of Element Group of Companies) told Izvestia Vyacheslav Malyshev.

According to him, the device family includes three types. The first ones scan the chips stacked in cells on a pallet. The second type is designed to control silicon wafers. The third one is designed to work as part of a conveyor line. Robots perform all operations automatically. They are equipped with software based on domestic patented developments. The software includes neural networks trained on more than 6 thousand images.

The devices log the verification process, generate a summary, calculate the yield of suitable products, and analyze the increase or decrease in product quality. This makes it possible to detect vulnerabilities in the production process and eliminate them. Such measures help to increase the percentage of high-quality products and reduce their final cost.

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The diagnosis of food allergy in children turned out to be false in 94% of cases.

Scientists from Sechenov University, together with the Children's City Clinical Hospital No. 9 named after G.N. Speransky, conducted a study in which they found that the use of a potential food allergen under the supervision of doctors is safe and allows you to accurately determine whether a child has a reaction to a particular product.

The experts used provocative tests as a tool, adapting an international protocol in which a child uses the allergen in increasing doses under medical supervision. The study involved 130 children aged six months to 17 years with previously established or suspected allergies to milk and/or eggs. As a result, scientists have found that laboratory diagnostics and medical history collection often give false positive results.

— 94% of children at the time of participation in the study were on a diet unreasonably. Dietary restrictions also entail social restrictions — the child cannot eat with others, parents need to plan their diet separately, which requires time and additional costs. It is clear that no one at home will risk giving a potential allergen to a child. But provocative tests in conditions of access to emergency care make it possible to safely and reliably confirm whether a child has a food allergy," Lyudmila Fedorova, associate professor of Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases at N.F. Filatov Sechenov University, told Izvestia.

According to the scientists, this technique will form the basis of an updated clinical protocol for the diagnosis of food allergies, and methodological recommendations are currently being prepared. Further, the procedure will be implemented in clinical guidelines with subsequent integration into the list of services provided by all specialized hospitals of the DM and hospitals in other regions of the Russian Federation. This will help thousands of children across the country avoid unjustified dietary restrictions, scientists believe.

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Bouncing legs for an anthropomorphic robot have been created in Russia

The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology has created legs for an anthropomorphic robot, which differ from their counterparts in more economical and efficient kinematics. The development is based on the arrangement of electric motors in the upper part of the legs. Thanks to this solution, it was possible to reduce the mass of the lower extremities. This improved their dynamics, maneuverability, and the robot's ability to maintain balance.

At the same time, the developers have optimized the operation of a number of mechanisms. For example, to perform squats and jumps, people need to use their hip, knee, and ankle muscles simultaneously, while the new bionic robot needs only a leg contraction motor. At the same time, the remaining motors are temporarily "frozen", which saves energy.

— We are still in the development process, but our legs can already walk, accelerate quickly, bend our knees and make jumps while maintaining balance when landing. According to our information, this is the first anthropomorphic robot developed in the Russian Federation that can jump dynamically," said Egor Davydenko, one of the participants in the creation of the new device, head of the anthropomorphic robotics department at MIPT.

According to experts, in general, innovations were added to the design of the robot's legs, which increased the number of degrees of freedom of the device and made it possible to make its movements more characteristic of the human body.

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Scientists have solved the mystery of the "Internet" of trees

Scientists from the Australian University of Southern Cross and the Italian Institute of Technology studied how trees transmit information to each other, and came to the conclusion that there is a common "network" that allows plants to synchronize their behavior.

The researchers observed several fir trees to assess their individual and collective bioelectric response to the solar eclipse. A sensor system was used to measure the invisible pulses. The experts also applied sophisticated analytical methods, including quantum field theory, to capture this synchronization. As a result, scientists have found that the activity of trees changes a few hours before the eclipse. And it happens synchronously.

As the scientists explained, the eclipse disrupts the biological programming of the trees, briefly turning day into night. Such failures negatively affect the transportation of nutrients and other metabolic processes. Synchronization of bioelectric activity is, in fact, a command that allows you to reduce negative consequences.

According to experts, the discovery helps to understand the mechanisms of ecosystem adaptation to climate change and highlights the role of old trees in preserving "knowledge." Moreover, coordination among trees destroys the stereotype that such behavior is characteristic only of animals.

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The protrusions at the edges of the rose petals are caused by geometric incompatibility

Chinese scientists from Tsinghua University in Beijing and their Israeli colleagues from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have studied the molecular mechanics that determines the unique shape of protrusions on rose petals. In their opinion, flowers are affected by a special kind of geometric "irritation" — incompatibility according to Mainardi-Codazzi-Peterson.

As the scientists explained, in mathematics, these equations describe the conditions under which a surface can be smooth and continuous. If these conditions are violated, a geometric incompatibility occurs, which leads to deformations. Such as folds, bends, or wavy structures.

In the case of rose petals, the different nature of cell growth in the upper and lower layers creates tension that cannot be evenly distributed. As a result, the petal cannot take the desired shape, which causes characteristic curls and sharp protrusions to form at the edges.

According to experts, understanding these mechanisms will make it possible to obtain materials that can change shape like living tissues. Also, managing "incompatibility" will allow you to create new decorative plant forms. In medicine, the knowledge gained will help explain cases of abnormal organ development (for example, folds in the brain or intestines).