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History you can walk through
(and talk to)

AI helped scientists create a video game that lets users walk through the past. And the tech could help change the way students learn in the future.

The experts have no background in game development but AI helped them create a demo that lets users explore a Neolithic stone monument in Denmark in the past and the present.

The idea behind this experiment, creating an interactive history lesson, was brought to life by archaeologists using AI and simple game tools, showing that it doesn’t take an expert to create interactive 3D games set in real archaeological sites.

In this scenario, players explore the landscape and speak freely with two AI-powered characters. One is a modern archaeologist who explains the science behind the site and the other is a Neolithic woman who shares a spiritual, lived perspective of ancient life with the user. There are no preset answers or scripts, just flowing, natural conversation.

Oral conversation can now be created by beginners with free software such as Unreal Engine, Reality Capture and ConvAI

– Research team, University of Copenhagen

So, rather than memorizing dates and facts, players can learn through their own curiosity. They can ask questions about the purpose of the building of the monument, how the people lived and what they believed, and the AI will adapt responses in real time. Because there are no scripts, each conversation is different and every playthrough feels personal, encouraging active exploration rather than passive learning.

Users showed strong interest during testing, especially for museum and classroom settings. The researchers see clear potential for further immersive, inquiry-based education, yet stress the importance of ethical safeguards.

Perhaps most notably, this approach is cost effective and accessible as it uses mostly free software and standard computers.

“Oral conversation can now be created by beginners with free software such as Unreal Engine, Reality Capture and ConvAI,” the University of Copenhagen research team reports. So, archaeologists and educators can create their own precise and interactive encounters without depending on costly commercial developers.

The paper, published by the Society for American Archaeology, suggests that “Museum curators, educators and researchers can also grasp this opportunity to become more active in defining this new dissemination space to ensure that fun, but fact-based content (clearly labeled as such) is widely available alongside purely imaginative reconstructions.”

While it’s still early, this step indicates learning history in the future might mean stepping inside it and exploring the past for yourself.

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Gossip girl turnaround

Antibiotic resistance has a gossipy trick — a bacterium passes on its resistance secrets to others, and they tell two friends, and they tell two friends and so on. But researchers at University of California-San Diego have found a way to use their gossip chain-mail skills against them.

The research team developed a way of tricking bacteria into fixing themselves.

The solution is a roaming piece of DNA called pPro-MobV. Bacteria happily accept it because it appears as normal, shared DNA. Once inside, it goes to work.

Within the DNA is a CRISPR system that hunts down resistance genes and snips them. As the DNA is swapped, snipping continues.

The results published in Nature journal npj Antimicrobials and Resistance were dramatic, showing a reduction in antibiotic resistant bacteria by up to 100,000 times.

It’s like disarming, rather than killing, an opponent.

Notably, this comes with a delete option to remove the CRISPR, leaving no traces behind, which is imperative if the method is ever used in a non-lab environment.

This could wipe out resistance genes in such environments as hospital pipes and wastewater systems where superbugs can flourish.

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Back off, pain nerves

Lower back pain also called LBP, is considered the world’s leading cause of disability. But a key to alleviating the suffering may lie in a bone-strengthening hormone..

Aging bones aren’t always the problem. Mischievous nerves are a large part, and a new study shows that spinal damage offers an open invitation to pain-sensing nerves to reactive areas that amplify pain.

A recent study published in Bone Research, however, may indicate a solution.

When scientists introduced small doses of parathyroid hormone, or PTH, it resulted in pain-signal reduction in mice by improving spinal bones. The bone cells released Slit3, a protein that prevents excess nerve growth in the spine. Fewer nerves equals less pain.

When the research team blocked the PTH or Slit3, pain relief vanished.

Ultimately, the study offers proof that PTH doesn’t simply reduce pain, it alters the fundamental problem by reviving balance between nerves and bones.

This could be a potential catalyst for smarter treatments and relief for people with chronic lower back pain.

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Spider silk’s super-structure

Arachnophobia is one of the most common anxiety disorders, but if we can set our heebie-jeebies aside we can recognize how cool spiders are. And one of the coolest things about these arachnids is the webs they weave.

Spider webs are widely known to be five times stronger than steel and Kevlar. Some can be stretched up to 150 percent. But the question of how a spider converts a liquid into a super-strong material to catch its prey remained a mystery.

A recent paper published in PNAS Nexus reveals that spider-silk proteins don’t just float around randomly before turning into fiber. Rather, they briefly form tiny tube-like shapes that measure 3-4 nanometers in diameter in solution.

These tubes are not only small, they are flexible and unstable enough to remain dissolved. They quickly organize and lock together when the spider begins to spin its web.

The proteins are mostly floppy, but a small amount keeps the tube shapes in reserve.

Understanding this interplay could lead to exciting materials-science applications in self-assembling material design and synthetic fiber.

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Pineapples to the rescue

Yesterday’s pineapple peels could become tomorrow’s arid-region food security.

Researchers at Khalifa University recently discovered that turning discarded pineapple peels into nano-scale cellulose and injecting it into sand can supercharge the soil’s capabilities.

The team conducted tests on three types of sand and found that the nanocellulose fibers — tiny, thread-like fibers made from plants — resulted in 58 percent reduction in water permeability, a water-holding capacity increase of 32.7 percent and the ability to withstand pressure force of 0.5 megapascals.

The pressure force doesn’t sound like much but the difference between sand and living soil isn’t water, it’s how the pressure moves. This pressure is the point at which sand is no longer passive and begins to push back, making it harder for roots to grow. So remaining under .5 megapascals is key to growth.

This paper, published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, proves that food waste can be repurposed to make desert soils more productive, contributing to food security and a circular economy.

And bonus — we get to eat more delicious pineapples.

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