31 October 2019: An AI masters the video game StarCraft II, and measuring arthropod abundance

This week, a computer beats the best human players in StarCraft II, and a huge study of insects and other arthropods.In this episode:00:45 Learning to playBy studying and experimenting, an AI has reached Grandmaster level at the video game Starcraft II.Research Article: Vinyals et al.; News Article: Google AI beats experienced human players at real-time strategy game StarCraft II10:08 Research HighlightsA record-breaking lightning bolt, and identifying our grey matter’s favourite tunesResearch Highlight: Here come the lightning ‘megaflashes’; Research Highlight: Why some songs delight the human brain12:24 Arthropods in declineResearchers have surveyed how land-use change has affected arthropod diversity. Research article: Seibold et al.18:30 News ChatYoung Canadians file a lawsuit against their government, an Alzheimer’s drug gets a second chance, and South Korean efforts to curb a viral epidemic in pigs. News: Canadian kids sue government over climate change; News: Fresh push for ‘failed’ Alzheimer’s drug; News: South Korea deploys snipers and drones to fend off deadly pig virus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.