Scientist Discover The Rosehip Neuron

On August 27th 2018, A team of scientists from the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the University of Szeged, announced in the Journal Nature, that they had discovered a a previously unidentified cell in the human brain. The cell is being called the "rosehip neuron," and it is not found in any other animal. The team believes that this may be the reason way brain treatments developed by experimenting on mice, don't work in people.

"Rosehip neurons," are called such because they resemble a rose with all of its petals removed. They are found in the top of the human cortex, which is responsible for consciousness. This is also the area of the brain that makes humans unique. The team is not certain as to the exact functioning of the newly found cells, but they believe that "rosehip neurons," may be responsible for controlling the flow of information within the brain.

Soul And R&B Legend Aretha Franklin Dies At 76

Aretha Franklin, soul and R&B legend, died on August 16th at 9:50 am, she was 76 years old. The, "Queen of Soul," passed on surrounded by her family in her home in Detroit. The official cause of her death was pancreatic cancer. Ms Franklin had announced her retirement from touring in 2017. Her voice was distinctive and her unique style propelled her to stardom with hits such as "Respect," which was released in 1968.

Ms Franklin was born March 25th 1942 in Memphis Tennessee, to the Rev. C.L. Franklin who was a well known Baptist minister and gospel singer. Two years after her birth, Rev. Franklin moved the family to Detroit. Four years later, Ms Franklin's mother Barbara passed away. By the time that Ms. Franklin had reached her teenage years, she had become a very accomplished piano player and singer. She sang in her father's church and because of him, she got to tour on the gospel circuit.

In 1966, Ms. Franklin signed with Atlantic Records. In 1968, after the successful release of her albums, "Lady Soul," and, "Aretha Now," she was given the name, "Queen of Soul." Those albums gave the world such hits as, "Think," "Chain of Fools," Baby, I Love you," and "Since You've Been Gone. She had huge success with the releases of the Carol King song, "(You Make Me Feel Like)A Natural Woman," and her signature song, "Respect," which was written by Otis Redding.

While she had done very well with remaking the songs of others, such as Simon and Garfunkel's, "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," she was also an accomplished songwriter, writing such songs as, "Daydreaming," "Ain't No Way," and "Rock steady. She worked hard to become adept as a producer as well. Over the course of her 60 year career, she amassed a total of 18 Grammy Awards. Ms. Franklin  has the honor of being the first female recording artist to be inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.

Ms Franklin is survived by her four sons and many grand children. Her funeral is will be held on August 31st 2018, at the Greater Grace Temple in downtown Detroit, and will be limited to her family and friends. There will, however, be a public viewing on on August 28th and 28th at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History from 9 am to 9 pm. 

Alexa And Cortana Integration

On August 15th 2018, Microsoft and Amazon began offering a software preview of that will allow the digital assistant of each platform to be access that of the other. Users in the U S will now be able to call for Alexa on a Windows 10 PC or Harmon Kardon Invoke, or ask for Cortana on Amazon Echo. Microsoft believes the new integration will allow users the flexibility of doing different tasks at home or at work from a wider range of devices.

Strange Rouge Planet Found

On August 2nd 2018, a team of scientists working at the Carl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, announced that they have discovered what they believe to be a large rogue planet. What makes the planet a rouge is that it appears to be traveling through space without a parent star. The scientists say that the object is 12 times the size of Jupiter and is right at the boundary between being a planet and a brown dwarf. 

Brown dwarfs are what scientists call  "failed stars," or stars that were never able to ignite their hydrogen, yet are too big to be a planet. The object in question, which is being called SIMP J01365663+0933473  has a very powerful magnet field that is 200 times that of Jupiter. According to the team, the object is twenty million light years from Earth, with an estimated age of 200 million years old. 

Machine Learning Helps Robotic Hands

On July 30th 2018, a group of researchers from OpenAI, announced that they have successfully used artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning to teach robotic hands to more like human hands. OpenAI is the brainchild of Tesla founder Elon Musk and Silicon Valley's Sam Altman. The idea for OpenAI, according to Mr. Musk, is to find ways to safely integrate artificial intelligence into everyday human life.