A new study uses artificial intelligence to show that each of our ten fingerprints are remarkably similar to one another. Plus, honey could be the secret ingredient in building a more eco-friendly “memristor,” which transmits data through malleable pathways.
Is Each Fingerprint On Your Hand Unique?We often think about each fingerprint as being completely unique, like a snowflake on the tip of your finger.
But a new study shows that maybe each person’s fingerprints are more similar to each other than we thought. Researchers trained artificial intelligence to identify if a thumbprint and a pinky print came from the same person. They found that each of a person’s ten fingerprints are remarkably similar in the swirly center.
Ira talks with study author Gabe Guo, an undergraduate at Columbia University majoring in computer science, based in New York City.
In This Computer Component, Data Slides Through HoneyA honey bear is probably one of the weirder things you’d see in a science lab, especially in a lab making computer parts.
“It’s just processed, store-bought honey,” said Ph.D. student Zoe Templin. “Off the shelf — a little cute bear so we can put it in photos.”
But for Templin and her colleagues at Washington State University, Vancouver, the honey is key.
“It is cheap and it is easily accessible to everyone,” said master’s student Md Mehedi Hassan Tanim.
The honey also has natural chemical properties that make it a promising foundation for a new kind of environmentally friendly computer component — one that could make computing faster and more energy efficient while reducing the impact on the environment.
Read the rest of this article on sciencefriday.com.
Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
To stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.
707: Using Sound To Unpack The History Of Astronomy
706: Colorectal Cancer Rates Rising In Young People | What An AI Learns From A Baby
705: A Black Physician’s Analysis Of The Legacy Of Racism In Medicine
704: Faraway Planets With Oceans Of Magma | The Art And Science Of Trash Talk
700: The FDA Approved The First CRISPR-Based Therapy. What’s Next?
703: Protecting The ‘Satan’ Tarantula | If Termites Wore Stripes, Would Spiders Still Eat Them?
699: Scientists Are Uncovering A World Of ‘Dark Matter’ Carcinogens
702: Syphilis Cases Up 80% Since 2018 | The Largest Deep-Sea Coral Reef In The World
698: Expanding Our Umwelt: Understanding Animal Experiences
695: How Signing Characters Help Deaf Children Learn Language
696: ‘Mysterious’ Canine Illness: What Dog Owners Should Know
694: An App For People Of Color To Rate Their Birthing Experiences | How Different Animals See
697: NASA Opens Canister With Asteroid Sample | ADHD Prescription Rates Spiked During The Pandemic
693: AI Helps Find Ancient Artifacts In The Great Lakes | An Artist Combines Indigenous Textiles With Modern Tech
691: When The ‘Personal’ Computer Turned 30
690: How The Moon Transformed Life On Earth, From Climate to Timekeeping
692: From Scans To Office Visits: How Will AI Shape Medicine?
689: Rhesus Monkey Cloned With Modified Approach Has Survived Into Adulthood
688: 3,000 Types Of Brain Cells Categorized In Massive Brain Cell Atlas
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL