One of the most confounding moments after I got my first Amazon Echo Dot was when its light ring began pulsing yellow, signaling… well, what exactly? Indeed, Echo devices such as the standard Echo, the Echo Dot, the Echo Pop, and the Echo Show can display flashing indicator lights in a range of different colors, and they can be pretty confusing–even aggravating–if you don't know what they mean, or how to make them stop. Luckily, deciphering the flashing lights on your Echo device is simple, and once you know the code, the lights can warn you when something's amiss with your Echo, let you know when you have incoming messages, alert you when Alexa is listening, and more. Let's start with the light that confused me the most when I got my first Echo (the ever-popular Echo Dot). Generally accompanied by a cheerful "bum, bum!" alert tone, the flashing yellow light lets you know when Alexa has a notification for you, or if you missed a reminder.

With an eerie, robot-like appearance and an otherworldly glow when worn, those LED masks all over your FYP give off a science-fiction vibe. Fittingly, it was researchers with NASA who discovered the potential for medical light therapy to treat wounds, arthritis, glaucoma and other ailments in the 1990s. By the early 2000s, that LED light therapy was growing in popularity at dermatology offices where patients donned an LED mask or used similar devices to slow aging and treat acne. And now that technology has trickled down to our homes. Brands like Omnilux and Dr. Gross have popularized direct-to-consumer LED masks that are safe to use regularly in the privacy of your own home, available at a range of price points (from under 100 to nearly 500).

We're often told by health experts not to look at our phone just before bedtime as it affects our sleep. But according to a new study, there may not be much scientific basis to this at all. Experts say there's no decent evidence that exposing our eyes to'blue light' from a screen makes it harder to fall asleep. This contradicts official advice from health experts including the NHS, which tells people to avoid using phones an hour before bedtime due to blue light. Instead, the researchers think smartphones are interfering with sleep simply because we can't put them down at night.

Wherever you are reading this – on the couch or in bed – there is a good chance that you are doing it on some sort of screen. According to a 2022 review, almost everyone upped their screentime during the Covid pandemic, and there is little evidence that use has gone back down. While that may or may not be bad for all sorts of reasons, a concern for many people is blue light, and whether its haunting glow is affecting our bodies in ways sunshine doesn't. Could it somehow be bad light? To start with the basics: blue light sits on the short-wave, high-energy end of the visible spectrum, close to the UV rays that can lead to provably harmful effects on the skin and retinas.

Staring at your phone screen when you should be sleeping can make you depressed over time, new research suggests. Chinese experiments suggest harmful blue light emissions from your device at night trigger a mysterious neural mechanism, leading to behavioural changes. The research team found that mice exposed to blue light for two hours a night over a few weeks started showing depressive-like behaviour. But by blocking brain signals that are triggered by blue light at night, the mice no longer showed behavioural changes. The neural pathway responsible for this phenomenon may provide insight into how exposure to excessive light at night time affects humans.

Already, the electronic brains of the most advanced robotic models surpass human intelligence and are able to do things that will make some of us shudder uncomfortably. But what is your reaction going to be after learning about recent advances in robotics and artificial intelligence? Scientists at the University of Texas (Austin) have simulated mental illness for a computer, testing schizophrenia on artificial intelligence units. The test subject is DISCERN – a supercomputer that functions as a biological neural network and operates using the principles of how human brain functions. In their attempt to recreate the mechanism behind schizophrenia, the scientists have applied the concepts described in the theory of hyper-learning, which states that schizophrenic brain processes and stores too much information too thoroughly by memorizing everything, even the unnecessary details.

During winter when the nights are long and days short, getting up for work in the dark and coming home in the dark can be grim. Some of us succumb to the January blues, leading to increased illness, reduced productivity and a general feeling of melancholy. But can clever lighting improve our sleep patterns and lift our moods? "I only feel like I start to breathe properly again after the solstice," says Jacqueline Hazelton, a professor at the US Naval War College in Rhode Island. She's referring to the winter solstice - usually 21 December - the point after which the days start lengthening again following the longest night of the year.

A great weight sits perched on us. It houses our brain and presents our face to the world. It comprises roughly 10 percent of our body weight. Heavy enough at the best of times, it grows heavier as it inclines forward. Held high, it's a 5.5-kilogram burden on the neck of a person who weighs 55 kg.

Nature-inspired robotics is a hot field these days. We've reported on robots designed to mimic cockroaches, salamanders, cheetahs, sea snakes, among others. Basically, if it's alive, somebody out there is trying to make a robot version. So a robot inspired by a stingray might sound like more of the same. This tiny swimming robot, created by researchers at Harvard University's Department of Bioengineering and Applied Sciences, is powered by rat muscle cells, making it a biohybrid machine--part robot, part biological tissue.

Already, the electronic brains of the most advanced robotic models surpass human intelligence and are able to do things that will make some of us shudder uncomfortably. But what is your reaction going to be after learning about recent advances in robotics and artificial intelligence? Scientists at the University of Texas (Austin) have simulated mental illness for a computer, testing schizophrenia on artificial intelligence units. The test subject is DISCERN – a supercomputer that functions as a biological neural network and operates using the principles of how human brain functions. In their attempt to recreate the mechanism behind schizophrenia, the scientists have applied the concepts described in the theory of hyper-learning, which states that schizophrenic brain processes and stores too much information too thoroughly by memorizing everything, even the unnecessary details.