#cleaning

#cleaning

Scientists Can Now Make Tissue Samples and Body Parts TransparentAll it needs is some good tissue cleaning.Experts from Scripps Research developed a new cleaning method that allows large biological samples to turn transparent. As to the importance of having that kind of opacity for samples, it turns out that this would make it easier for scientists to visualize and study biological processes occurring across multiple organ systems. According to the study’s senior author, Li Ye, PhD, the method is a “simple and universal tissue-clearing technique for studies of large body parts or even entire animals.” The new method uses a combination of organic solvents and water-based detergents, which can be used in an ordinary lab. For protecting the molecules within the tissue during the cleaning processes, water-based hydrogels will be used. “In many cases, you can just put the whole thing in a jar and keep it in a shaker on your benchtop until it’s done,” said co-first author Victoria Nudell. “This makes it practical and scalable enough for routine use.”Image credit: Ye et.al #tissue #research #study #biology #science #cleaning #solvents

Toyota's New Robot Can Clean Home Surfaces While Taking a Robo-SelfieIf Toyota succeeds, perhaps one day soon its robot could clean your house so you won't have to!Toyota Research Institute (TRI) announced that its new robot can understand and operate in complicated environments (like a house) that confuse most other robots, such as recognizing transparent and reflective surfaces.MAx Bajracharya, vice president of robotics at TRI explains:While a human can easily differentiate between an object and its reflection, transparent or reflective items commonly found in the home befuddle today’s robots. Since most robots are programmed to react to the objects and geometry in front of them without considering the context of the situation, they are easily fooled by a glass table, shiny toaster or transparent cup.“To overcome this, TRI roboticists developed a novel training method to perceive the 3D geometry of the scene while also detecting objects and surfaces,” continued Bajracharya. “This combination enables researchers to use large amounts of synthetic data to train the system.” Using synthetic data also alleviates the need for time consuming, expensive, or impractical data collection and labeling.#Toyota #robot #cleaning