
High-resolution microscope built from LEGO and bits of phone
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Microscopy is an essential tool in many fields of science and medicine, but many have limited access to this technology due to cost and fragility. Researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Münster managed to builld a high-resolution microscope using nothing more than LEGO® and affordable parts from a mobile phone. Then they showed that children significantly increased their understanding of microscopy by making it and working with it. Their results were published in The Biophysicist.
Older people need digital skills training to learn to use digital technology more independently, but they also seek digital training opportunities because of the social benefits they offer, according to a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland.
Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign designed a laboratory exercise to teach students how to use micropipettes, through remote learning, using at-home kits.
A new study has demonstrated how video games can be used as a citizen science approach to train artificial intelligence tools, with data contributing towards coral reef conservation efforts. The NeMO-Net video game, designed by researchers at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley and led by principal investigator Dr Ved Chirayath, provides an educational and intuitive tool for players to learn about and explore coral reef ecosystems, whilst also bringing marine conservation research to wider audiences.
Multilingual people have trained their brains to learn languages, making it easier to acquire more new languages after mastering a second or third. In addition to demystifying the seemingly herculean genius of multilinguals, researchers say these results provide some of the first neuroscientific evidence that language skills are additive, a theory known as the cumulative?enhancement model of language acquisition.
Researchers in KU's School of Education and Human Sciences observed the use of critical race media literacy in a high school class, noted the high levels of critical thinking students used to address racism and sexism in super hero movies, and argue all manner of schools can and should use similar methods.
A study with first-time learners of Japanese has measured how brain activity changes after just a few months of studying a new language. The results show that acquiring a new language initially boosts brain activity, which then reduces as language skills improve.
Experts say English slang and regional dialect should not be banned from classrooms but when you're getting to grips with a second language how helpful is it to learn non-standard lingo? Very, says Sascha Stollhans, of the Department of Languages and Cultures at Lancaster University, who argues that standardised language norms are artificial and language learners should learn about all aspects of language, even the controversial ones.
After the COVID-19 crisis hit last March, federal student aid applications among potential college freshmen in California dropped 14 percent between mid-March and mid-August, relative to prior years. While there were also initial declines in applications among current undergraduates and graduate students, these quickly recovered and ended 8 percent higher relative to prior years.
New drivers ages 15-25 cause nearly 1/2 of the 1 million+ road deaths worldwide. A new study in Risk Analysis suggests that driver ed programs use of fear-based messaging doesn't reduce risky driving and may even lead young drivers to take more chances.