Transcription Factors Tells Difference between Chimps and Humans

A new study indicate broad differences in the gene activity of humans and chimpanzees, affecting nearly 1000 genes, even though humans and chimps share 97% of genes. Transcription factors are proteins that bind to specific regions of DNA to promote or repress the activity of many genes. A single transcription factor can spur the transcription of dozens of genes into messenger RNA. A small change in transcription factor expression can produce a large effect on overall gene expression differences between chimps and humans.

Reference: Science Daily

Robotics Revolution and AI

Reference: TVO

Deciphering the Human Brain

New research indicates that the brain processes information more flexibly than previously thought, where overlapping of thoughts and deciphering information occur frequently at high speed. The underlying theory of "liquid computing" was developed by Henry Markham and Maass and published in the journal Nature Reviews in Neuroscience.

Reference:
Victor et al. Distributed Fading Memory for Stimulus Properties in the Primary Visual Cortex. PLoS Biology, 2009; 7 (12): e1000260 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000260

Organic PV Inexpensive

A senior scientist at Denmark's National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy has found a cheap method to integrate LEDs, photovoltaic (PV) cells and ultrathin lithium batteries into a potentially useful lamp. It may be the solution to the lack of access to electricity in the developing countries. Most organic PVs are composed of conducting polymers and carbon nanostructures, which in the right combinations mimic the p-n junction of silicon and other inorganic photovoltaics.

Reference: IEEE Spectrum

Bacteria to Power Micro Machines

Scientists have discovered that common bacteria can turn into micro-gears hundreds of times larger than itself when suspended in a solution. This provides insight into bio-inspired dynamically adaptive materials for energy. The ability to harness and control the power of bacterial motions is an important requirement for further developing hybrid bio-mechanical systems driven by micro-organisms. A few hundred bacteria are working together in order to turn the gear. The speed at which the gears turn can also be controlled through the manipulation of oxygen in the suspended liquid.

Reference: Science Daily

Photonic Crystals = Incredible Insulator

Scientists have found that layering photonic crystals within the vacuum lining can prevent heat loss from invisible infrared radiation, creating an incredible insulator. Heat typically travels via methods such as convection and conduction, which both require a material medium. In addition, heat can transfer through infrared radiation, or passing through a vacuum lining to a thermos's outer wall. Photonic crystals consist of tiny nano-structures that affect how light passes through. They can be configured to block certain frequency ranges of light, including infrared radiation. Tests on the new insulator showed that heat transfer does not rely on layer thickness, but only on how fast light can travel through the material. The research team hopes that the photonic crystals is applicable in areas beyond communications and computing applications.

Reference: Science Daily

Firefighting ATV can Operate in Hash Environment

Yanko displayed an ATV design by Liam Ferguson that can carry remotely-operated water cannons and a two-person crew into the heart of a raging blaze, and emerge unscathed. Firefighters currently rely on utility vehicles for hot-spots. These vehicles work well in a pinch for navigating rough terrain, but it cannot survive a burn-over when flames suddenly sweep over the area. The proposed Amatoya vehicle uses aerogel laminated insulation and a temperature-controlled spray down system which draws on an auxiliary water tank. Amatoya can also hold 1,800 liters of water supply, as well as the 400-liter auxiliary water tank.

Reference:
www.popsci.com/technology

Hidden Sensory System Under the Skin

The human sensory system is more complex than previously thought, according to a new study and published in he journal, "Pain". The sensory network is located throughout the human blood vessels and sweat glands. The skin has many different nerve endings that distinguish between different temperatures, types of mechanical contact (vibrations, movement and etc). The new research indicates that these nerve endings appear on blood vessels and sweat glands as well. Yet there is another type of mental sensory feedback which remains as a mystery.

Reference:
Bowsher et al. Absence of pain with hyperhidrosis: A new syndrome where vascular afferents may mediate cutaneous sensation. Pain, 2009; 147 (1-3): 287 DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2009.09.007

Hydrogen Storage Next Step

A team of scientists first invented the capillary array technology for use in the Soviet space program. Glass is more ideal than Steel for hydrogen storage, in terms of weight, cost and storage capacity. The hydrogen storage techhnology developed C.En has be endorsed for its safety by top German institute. (Hydrogen is highly explosive) The lightweight storage and safety factors give the technology a big commercial potential.

Reference: BusinessWeek

Why Cancer Won't Die

Cells attempt to repair themselves when damaged and if that fails, the damaged cells are suppose to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis. One of the hallmarks of caner is that the cells do not initiate apoptosis, which can be difficult to cure cancer. A new discovery of the RanBPM protein that is involved in activating apoptosis. This protein can be used to re-activate apoptosis, killing cancer cells.

Reference: Science Daily

Gravity Measurements Answer Questions on Climate Change

For years, there are questions and discussion on the impact of climate change on the ice-covered regions of the globe. Scientists have been investigating space-borne gravity measurements in the GRACE satellite mission. It is based on the fact that the redistribution of masses on the Earth surface can be mapped in terms of the terrestrial gravity field. The results indicate that Greenland's glaciers are shrinking at an accelerating pace.

Reference: Science Daily

A-Team of Robots

New Platinum Compound for Fighting Cancer

MIT chemists have developed a new platinum compound that is as powerful as the commonly used anticancer drug cisplatin but better equipped to destroy tumor cells. Cancer cells switch their mitochondrial properties to change the way they metabolize glucose compared to normal cells, and dichloroacetate (DCA) specifically targets the altered mitochondria, leaving normal cells intact.

Reference:
Shanta Dhar and Stephen Lippard. Mitaplatin, a potent fusion of cisplatin and the orphan drug dichloroacetate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Week of Dec. 7, 2009

Paper + Nanotechnology = Greater Power

Scientists have made batteries and supercapacitors with little more than ordinary office paper and some carbon and silver nanomaterials. Lightweight printable batteries is within grasp to be molded into computers, cell phones or solar panels. At the nano-scale, paper is a tangled matrix of fibers where the surface area helps inks stick. The paper acts as a scaffold, and the carbon nanotubes act as electrodes that electrolytes in solution react with. This nanotube-paper combination offers a lightweight alternative to traditional energy storage devices that rely on metals. Calculations indicate that conductive paper coated with a kilogram of the carbon nano-tubes is more efficient than plastic-based flat energy-storage devices. Power storage is an important aspect of the power crisis.

Reference: Wired

Spot Nanoparticles

There is a growing interest in detecting nanoparticles and nanotechnologists are racing to build devices that can detect and characterise these particles. One method is having resonating devices that changes when a nanoparticle is bounced off the surface, measured by a laser. However this method is only ideal in certain cases and positions. Researchers from Washington University have a new vibrating micro-mushroom device that promises greater reliability in detecting nanoparticles.

Reference:
arxiv.org/abs/0912.0078

Roomba Pac-Man

The Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles (RECUV) at the University of Colorado at Boulder has been developing software that helps robots form ad-hoc networks and distribute cooperative control of their operations. They've implemented a real-life version of Pac-Man using Roombas.

Google Public DNS and Privacy

Google is expanding its grasp on the Internet with a newly revealed DNS where the domain name system finds and directs the user to a website. The system translates that into the matching numerical address of the website's server. DNS lookups is usually done automatically, but there are third-party DNS resolver like Google Public DNS. The advantage of this is that it can be faster, more efficient and more secure. However, the collection of IP address, name, personal identifying data, location, websites and technical details.

Reference: PC World

Bionic Arms Gain Ground

Prosthetic legs have been supported by high-performance carbon-fiber springs, but current prosthetic arms are way behind in terms of technology. Conventional prosthetic arms offer little freedom of movement, where as advance prosthetic arms offer higher flexibility, dexterity and feedback. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency created two prototypes for prosthetic arms. The first one can be controlled naturally with sensory feedback that allow eight degrees of freedom. The second is more ambitious and allows for a range of motion similar to a real arm.

Reference: Wired

Black Hole Induced Galaxy Existence?

A new scenario has emerged from observations of a black hole without a home, may indicate that black holes may be building their own host galaxy. This may be the long-sought missing link to understanding why the masses of black hole are larger in galaxies that contain more stars. The study suggests that super-massive black holes can trigger the formation of stars

The chicken and egg analogy hence: did a galaxy or black hole come first?

Reference:
Elbaz et al. Quasar induced galaxy formation: a new paradigm? Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2009; 507 (3): 1359 DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/200912848

Clue to Mysterious Biological Clock Cycle

Humans as well as living organisms have a circadian life rhythm, generated from an internal clock. Researchers have found tiny molecules known as miRNAs are central constituents of the circadian clock. This discovery holds an array of applications for the future such as the sleep deprivation and disorders related to daily life cycle.

Reference: Science Daily

Diminishing a Hurricane

Microsoft is steering funds to Intellectual Ventures, a private company that buys and licenses patents and inventions. The next task on the list is killing hurricanes. The idea is using large amounts of cool water from massive floating bowls, deployed by airplane. The temperature must drop at least 4.5 F in order to diminish a hurricane force.

Reference: Home Journal - Popular Mechanics

Arming Immune System against H1N1

Viruses multiply at an incredible pace once it infects the victim, but researchers have developed a screening platform named LEAPS (Ligand Epitope Antigen Presentation System) that identifies epitopes, small parts of virus that elect specific immune reactions. It is guided to immature dendritic cells, immune system's conductors that fight against invaders. The LEAPS technology directs an immune response in a desired direction.

Reference: Technology Review

New Wound Dressing helps Infections from Burns

Statistically, 70% of all people die from infections after severe burns, but a new wound dressing developed at Tel Aviv University could cut that value dramatically. The dressing has fibres that is loaded with drugs like antibiotics to speed up the healing process and dissolve when complete, while eradicating infection causing bacteria. The technology is complex, even though the concept is simple. The wound dressing must maintain a certain level of moisture while acting as a shield and it must allow fluids to leave the wound at a specific rate.

Reference: Science Daily

Runway Test of Solar Plane

The Solar Impulse team have taken the prototype solar aircraft, designed to be the first to fly around the world powered only by solar energy, for successful test runs in Switzerland.



Reference: Wired

32-bit One Instruction Computer

An abstract machine that uses only one instruction, without the need for a machine language opcode is called one instruction set computer. The advantage with RISC is simplifying the CPU core by reducing the complexity of the instruction set allows faster speeds, more registers, and pipelining to provide the appearance of single-cycle execution. There are several ways to construct a single instruction CPU.

Reference: SlashDot

Medical Imaging Improvement with Nanoparticles

Researchers from National Institute of Standards and Technology have discovered a method of using nano-particles to illuminate the cellular interior to reveal its slow processes. The quantum dot nano-particle glows when exposed to light. When coated with organic materials, scientists can manipulate the particle to attract to specific proteins to be examined. The research team focused primarily on characterizing quantum dot properties to target protein inside blood cells to study. However, there are concerns about toxicity and other properties of the nano-particles.

Reference:
Kang et al. Probing dynamic fluorescence properties of single and clustered quantum dots toward quantitative biomedical imaging of cells. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, 2009 DOI: 10.1002/wnan.62

Pivot Tool

Microsoft experimenting a tool called Pivot that brings a new method of interacting with the Web on the PC. It combines the ideas of web-browsing, web search, image organizing and text information into a graphical interface to help users sift through data. Pivot's potential lies in the ability to see the whole data soup, stir it to see details within or zoom right in to see some of the individual ingredients.

Reference: Fast Company

Flying Spy Bots

The US military wants to shoot off loads of flying, spying robots using missiles to make for faster sureillance and aerial attack. The first time for military: unmanned, long-range, ultra-high speed surveillance. The military refrained from building global strike missles due to similiarity of an atomic attacker which may trigger another world war. Drones coming from missles may give a larger geographic range for surveillance, while analyzing their own video. However, analysts are not equipped to cope with loads of data and parse them in real time.

Reference: Wired

Best Inventions of 2009

1. Philips Electronics low power light bulbs ~ less than 10 watts
2. Smart Thermostat ~ wirelessly relay information from various appliances, indicating consumption
3. Controller-free gaming ~ project Natal by using body movements and voice commands
4. Teleportation ~ University of Maryland's Joint Quantum Institute successfully teleported data from one atom to another a meter away
5. Telescope for Invisible Stars ~ Herschel Space Observatory using infrared interference and temperature fluctuations from earth
6. The AIDS Vaccine ~ not approved for use yet but it is a start
7. Tweeting by Thinking ~ Adam Wilson, doctoral student, tweeted 23 characters just by thinking (people with "locked in" syndrome has hope)
8. Electronic Eye ~ MIT researchers developing a microchip that could help blind people to recognize faces and navigate (in works)
9. Mercury Probe ~ Messenger ship from NASA flyby 141 miles above Mercury's surface
10. The Personal Carbon Footprint ~ Princeton University suggested
11. Solar Shingle ~ Dow Chemical Co. developed new shingle that doubles as a solar panel - cheaper than traditional solar panels and easy to install
12. Handheld Ultrasound ~ GE revealed the Vscan, a medical imaging tool as compact as a cell phone and as powerful as a large ultrasound console (look patent's body)
13. YikeBike ~ no pedalling, folding electric bicycle from New Zealand (charged to 80% capacity in 20 minutes, 20 km/h top speed, 9kg)
14. Vertical Farming ~ Valcent company in El Paso, Texas is pioneering a hydroponic-farming system that grows plants in rotating rows
15. Planetary Skin ~ (can't manage what you can't measure) NASA and Cisco to develop Planetary Skin, a global "nervous system" that integrate land, sea, air and space
16. $20 Knee ~ team in Standford engineering students designed a cheap, natural joint movement knee (made of self-lubricating, oil-filled nylon - flexible, stable)
17. Watchdog for Financial Products ~ make sure financial products are not rigged in favor of firms selling them
18. Electric Microbe ~ Geobacter, tiny hairlike extensions called pili that it uses to generate electricity from mud and waste water (next step, Geobacter-based fuel cells)
19. Bladeless Fan ~ James Dyson designs blade-less non-buffeting air multiplier (safer)
20. Custom Puppy ~ BioArts clone puppies
21. Cyborg Beetle ~ Pentagon's research wing has devised a method of remotely controlling the flight of beetles
22. Biotech Stradivarius ~used two fungi to alter Norwegian spruce and sycamore to resemble the wood Stradivarius (great instrument maker of all time) used
23. Nissan Leaf ~ first fully electric vehicle built for mass production for the global market (145km/h, 100 miles on full charge)
24. Robo-Penguin ~ agility of penguins inspired scientists at Festo's Bionic Learning Network to develop the AquaPenguin (can also swim backwards)
25. Universal Unicycle ~ Honda's U3-X "personal mobility" is a device that combines technology from ASIMO with its omnidirectional driving system (6km/h, 10kg)
26. Youtube Funk ~ took footage of amateur musicians and mixed it together with vocals into video jams of amazing funkiness (all new art form that combines DJing, video montage and art)
27. Dandelion Rubber ~ new, improved dandelion produced 500% more usable late than old weed (switching off a key enzyme)
28. Wooden Bones ~ Italian scientists are using wood to create an artificial bone replacement called carbonated hydroxyapatite (not ready for human testing)
29. Living Wall ~ Patrick Blanc specializes in vertical gardens - greenbeareded exterior of Athenaeum Hotel (260 species of plants, automated irrigation and fertilization systems)
30. School of One ~ Joel Klein piloted a small program in which individualized, technology-based learning takes the places of the old -mix of virtual tutoring, in-class and educational video games
31. No-Punt Offense ~punting on fourth and long near your own end zone decreases the odds of the other team's scoring by only a relatively slim amount (Pulaski won a state championship)
32. Human-powered Vending Machine ~ stationary bicycle to a vending machine, where customer needs to pedal a certain distance to get it
33. Handyman's X-Ray Vision ~ Walleye Technologies, a handheld microwave camera (see through walls)
34. Meet Farms ~ grow parts separately (culturing stem cells from pigs and growing muscle in a petri dish)
35. Packing, Improved ~ University of Mainz team of researchers developed an algorithm that broke the record for fitting a given number of different-size discs into a small circle
36. Foldable Speaker ~ self-powered, 1 watt speakers made of recycled paper ($16, bring music to low-income communities)
37. Levitating Mouse ~ NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab figured how to make tiny critters float in midair using magnets
38. Edible Race Car ~ F3 project, developed at England's university of Warwick(biodesel mix of chocolate and vegetable oil) -coated the radiator in a substance that converts ozone emissions into oxygen
39. High-speed Helicopter ~ Sikorsky's X2 Technology helicopter aims to beat 180 m.p.h at 290m.p.h. (two rotors spinning in opposite directions)
40. Supersuit ~ German Paul Biedermann, wearing Arena's Powerskin X-Glide racing suit, handed Phelps his first major individual international defeat in four years, in 200-m freestyle. (polymeric surface traps air to boost a swimmer's buoyancy, which reduce drag)
41. Eyeborg ~ OmniVision, replace Rob Spence's prosthetic eye with battery-powered, wireless video camera
42. Spiderweb Silk ~ stronger than steel and flexible (Simon Peers 11 ft long spider silk cloth made in Madagascar) -took four years and half a million dollars and more than a million spiders
43. Sky King ~ Japan Origami Airplane Association set world record for longest flight by paper airplane (27.6 seconds)
44. Smart Bullet ~ fire a bullet that explodes where you tell it to, XM25 (microchips that register distance
45. Fashion Robot ~ HRP-$C robot model ($2 million) developed by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
46. 3-D Camera ~ Fujifirm introduced a 3-D digital camera (10 mega-pixel Fine Pix has two lenses, snap shot of object from different angles)-combined image gives depth
47. Newst Cloud ~ undulatus asperatus, like a rolling seascape
48. World's Fastest (Steam-powered) Car ~ Edwards Air Force Base in California, Burnett clocked 243 km/h

Research Inspired by Wings

Insect wings have evolved into incredible nanoscopic material structures. Some wings are superhydrophobic, meaning they cannot become wet and the tiniest droplet of water is instantly repelled. Researchers are now using insect wings as a model for making self-cleaning. frictionless and superhydrophobic materials. If successful, development of self-cleaning, water-resistant and friction-free coatings for a range of machine components, construction materials and other applications, including nano- and micro- electromechanical systems. The team has carried out atomic force microscopy analysis of the surface of insect wings in order to determine the forces with which fine dust particles stick, or rather don't stick to the wing. The work confirms that only very small forces are needed to shed nanoscopic dust particles, two to twenty nano-Newtons.

Reference:

Micro and nanostructures found on insect wings - designs for minimising adhesion and friction. Int. J. Nanomanufacturing, 2010, 5, 112-128

Penguin DNA Challenges Accuracy of Genetic Dating Techniques

Frozen DNA samples from penguins that died 44,000 years ago in Antarctica challenges the accuracy of traditional genetic aging measurements that underestimate the age of many specimens by several folds. Therefore, a biological specimen determined by traditional DNA testing can be two to six times older. DNA testing may be fundamentally flawed as a result of this discovery. The molecular clock rate is the key in determining the accuracy of genetic analysis.

Reference: Science Daily

Earth's Oceans Extraterrestrial Material?

Scientists suggests that water was not part of Earth's initial inventory but stems from the turbulence caused in the outer Solar System by giant planets.

Reference:
Volatile accretion history of the terrestrial planets and dynamic implications. Francis Albarede. Nature. 29. October 2009.

Humaniod Robot's Task of Door Opening

It is still a challenge for Roboticsts to design humanoid robots to run, open doors and etc. Arisumi, researcher at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and one of the top centers for humanoid research, explains that opening doors for humanoid robots is a challenge. A large force is needed initially to open a door, especially for old western style doors that spring back. A motion to open the door requires a desired angle and precise support for the entire open action in one-follow through movement. Many other facts need to be considered such as upper body position, foot position, opening angle of the door, angular velocity of the door, impact velocity of the robot and etc. The research team developed a technique and computation for HRP-2 humanoid robot to open the door.

Reference: IEEE Spectrum

Optomechanical Crystal Confines Light and Sound

Physicists and engineers at the California Institute of Technology have developed a nano-scale crystal that traps both light and sound. The interaction of light quanta and sound quanta are strong enough to produce significant mechanical vibrations. Frequencies as high as gigahertz can give devices the ability to send large amounts of information.

Reference: SlashDot

Harnessing Energy from Natural Motions

Scientists have been havesting electricity from the motions of everyday life for years, but efficiencies and methods to capturing energy is limited. The success of these devices is limited because they can only perform well under a narrow band of frequenies. The strategy is to develop a device that can convert a range of vibrations by using magnets to 'tune' the banwidth of the experimental device. The potential of the new approach surpasses conventional linear devices.

Reference:
Samuel C. Stanton, Clark C. McGehee, and Brian P. Mann. Reversible hysteresis for broadband magnetopiezoelastic energy harvesting. Applied Physics Letters, 2009; 95 (17): 174103 DOI: 10.1063/1.3253710

mNPs to Diagnose, Monitor and Treat

Magnetic nano-particles can play a critical role in developing one-stop tools to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat a range of common diseases and injuries. Multifunctional particles are being researched and developed to carry signal-generated sub-molecules and drugs. External magnetic forces create a medical means of confirming specific ailments and automatically release healing drugs within a living system.

Reference: Science Daily

Nanofibre Solar Power

Researchers found a new way to make solar power more cheaper and flexible to use. The nano-scale wires built around optical fibres allow more surface area for light to interact with, which improves cell efficiency. Using this technology, photovoltaic generators are foldable, concealable and mobile. Traditionally, silicon based solar cells are most efficient because it absorbs the most light. The new method starts with commerical optical fibre without outer layer and wraps zinc oxide nanowires around the fibre. In addition, light only needs to enter at the ends of the fibre, making it space efficient.

AWE Robotic Wall Project

The eight-degree-of-freedom robowall, powered by electric motors, has multiple touch-screen displays and mobile desk units where users can select six different configurations and fine-tune them.

Iris Recognition

Computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) demonstrates that iris recognition algorithms can maintain their accuracy and interoperability for large-scale identity management applicaiton such as cyber security and counterterrorism. Iris recognition has emerged as the second most popular biometric characteristic. The primary work on the technologies is establishing standards for computer algorithms in iris recognition. Currently, there are three competing impage formats and three compression methods going for the international standard.

Reference: Science Daily

The State of Hydrogen Research

Hydrogen fuel cell research is in the midst of a raging debate. There are great challenges to the electric-vehicle infrastructure and most people will overlook the challenges. Many people do not have access to plug-in garages and it would take billions to upgrade the smart grid to coupe with the demand. On the other hand, the cost of mass-producing fuel cells is going down. The biggest issue with electric vehicles is the fact that people lose interest in things that do not produce results quickly.

Reference: Popular Mechanics

Holiday Gift Books for Dad

Wired GeekDad Blog:

1. The Geek Atlas: 128 places where science and technology come alive

2. The Authorized Ender Companion - collects the ins and outs of the universe Card describes characters, places and concepts unique to the series

3. Hacking: The Next Generation - security, cloud infrastructures and social networking

4. Septimus Heap - children fantasy

5. This is Not a Book - unique book for people to uncover their creativity

6. Revenge of the Giants - adventure in spirit of the G series module

7. Masterminds of Programming - classic innovators in the field of programming: Python, BASIC, SQL, Perl

8. Real Utimate Power: The Ultimate Ninja Book - history of ninjas

9. Absinthe & Flamethrowers - how to live fully by living close to the edge, safely, swill absinthe, throw knives, and build a flamethrower

10. One Hundred Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know: Math Explains Your World

11. Transition - science fiction where people possess other people, so long as these victims reside in a parallel universe

12. The City and the City - science fiction that begins with a murder mystery

13. The Lost Fleet Series

14. The Mysterious Benedict Society Series

15. Caryatids

Brain-Machine Interface Research

Brain-computing with a prosthetic device is gaining ground on research and development. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center is working on a real-time interface with a full-body exoskeleton to be controlled by signals from a paraplegics brain. Their ultimate goal is to enable a paralyzed individual to walk again by the end of 2012.

Four years ago, the project began with the implantation of electrodes in a rhesus monkey's brain that detects the movement of an arm. The initial process is decoding the brain signals from the monkey's cerebral cortex while it held a joystick to move a single shape in a video game. Eventually, the monkey was able to use its mind to move the object without the joystick. Three years later, a different rhesus monkey was implanted with a new BMI in the motor and sensory cortex to control a computer-screen image of a human-like figure walking on treadmill. The monkey was rewarded for walking in sync with the robot. The treadmill was turned off after an hour, but the monkey was able to direct the robot to walk another few minutes. This research indicates that part of the monkey's brain is adapted to control the robot movement. Therefore it is possible to establish connections between the brain and a computational device, which will lead to the ability to control the movement of limbs.

Reference: IEEE Institute

Robot Armada in Space

In the future, the approach of planetary exploration maybe different than traditional methods. An armada of robots instead of one will be sent on exploration, where each autonomous robot will be expendable and low-cost. In addition, they will command themselves or with each other simultaneously. A team at the University of Arizona are developing autonomous software and have built a robotic test bed that can mimic a field geologist or astronaut, capable of working independently and as part of a large team.

An example mission scenario will be using an orbiter to circle Titan with a global view of the moon while communicating to the air balloons to fly to unknown areas or areas of interest. The aerial balloon commanding multiple rovers on surface exploration. On the other hand, the rover can report to the airship or orbiter of an aerial geographic property on the surface.  The idea is similar to divide and conquer with autonomous robots in space.

Reference: http://autonomy.caltech.edu

"Petman" Prototype

A machine that mimics walking of a human being, while balancing itself. It can also simulate human physiology within a protective suit for military tests.

30 Mile Thermometer

Researchers needs to monitor the temperature of in accessible, dangerous places on the planet without using satellite data (rough estimate). The solution is using the world's largest fiber-optic cable that records temperature at three foot intervals every ten seconds. This 30 mile detector was originally designed to monitor oil wells. It functions by firing laser pulses down the length of the optical cable and photons collide within the cable and bounces back at shifted frequencies, revealing temperatures along the entire line.

Reference: Wired

Artic Sediments Indicate Climate Change is Unlike Natural Variation

Scientists are slowly diminishing the possibility that climate change is a natural variation. Research reveals that sediments retrieved from a remote Arctic lake contain rare, unprecedented information about the past 200,000 years, much longer record or prediction on past climates. It is a long sequence or archive of sediment that has survived arctic glaciations and the data it contains is one of a kind. From the data, there are periods of time when the climate was as warm as today, but under natural causes and well-understood patterns of the Earth's orbit around the sun. Today, the ecosystem is shifted and it is different than past warming cycles. The 20th century is the only period during the past 200 millennial in which aquatic indicators reflect increased warming, despite the slow changes in the tilt of the Earth's axis, which should lead to climatic cooling.

Reference:
Axford et al. Recent changes in a remote Arctic lake are unique within the past 200,000 years. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, October 19, 2009; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0907094106

Another Unknown Force Acting on Dark Matter?

Scientists now believe that interactions between dark and ordinary matter is more important and complex than previously thought. For instance, dark matter 'knows' how the visible matter is distributed and they conspire with one another such hat gravity of visible matter at the characteristic radius of the dark halo is always the same. Therefore, it is possible that a non-gravitational fifth force is ruling dark matter, leaving the same mark on all galaxies irrespective of their ages, shapes and sizes. This might be an explanation for the mystery of 'dark energy'. This research is important to the theories that relate to the history and expansion of the universe.

If we account for our observations with a modified law of gravity, it makes perfect sense to replace the effective action of hypothetical dark matter with a force closely related to the distribution of visible matter.

Reference:

Gianfranco Gentile, Benoit Famaey, HongSheng Zhao, Paolo Salucci. Universality of galactic surface densities within one dark halo scale-length. Nature, 2009; 461 (7264): 627 DOI: 10.1038/nature08437

StarCraft 2 Battle Report 4

New Material Boost Data Storage

Researchers have created a new material that allow 50 times more storage in computer chips. Therefore, a finger-size computer chip will have an equivalent capacity of 20 HD DVDs. The doping process of creating the material is also useful for boosting vehicle's fuel economy and reduce heat produced by semiconductors.

Information storage is not the only specialty where advancements can be made. By introducing metallic properties into ceramics, a new generation of ceramic engines will be able to withstand much higher temperatures, allowing normal vehicles to achieve fuel economy of 80 miles per gallon. The material can also be applied to solar energy.

Reference:
Narayan et al. The synthesis and magnetic properties of a nanostructured Ni-MgO system. International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2009; 61 (6): 76 DOI: 10.1007/s11837-009-0093-8

Idling Mind is Important

Brain scientists are beginning to suspect that daydreaming is crucial to solving problems in our personal lives. For years, it was believed that daydreaming is a lapse in cognition, but recent studies show that temporal lobes - associated with long-term memories - are functioning (data-storage work). The wandering mind also utilizes the prefrontal cortex, part of the brain that involved in problem solving.

Reference: Wired

Smallest Electronic Component: Molecular Diode

Researchers have found a way to make small, versatile diodes. The smaller size means cheaper cost and better performance for electronic devices. Diodes are important components for a broad range of applications. The idea of surpassing silicon limits with molecule-based electronic components has been around awhile. Currently, 'AC Modulation' is used by applying a little varying mechanical perturbation to the molecule.

Reference: Science Daily

Mammals Resilient to Fungal Disesases

Scientists may have found an explaination as to why humans and most mammals are not affected by fungal diseases. In fact, the warm temperatures of mammals may have evolved to protect against fungal diseases. There are roughly 1.5 million fungal species and only a few hundred are pathogenic to mammals. Fungal infections in people are often the result of an impaired immune function. Fungi are also important in the decomposition of plants.

Reference: Science Daily

Locomotive Ideas from the Animal Kingdom

The animal kingdom provides great insight for creating mobile robots. Locomotion is an important aspect of their functions, which can contribute to fundamental design principles. An example is a lightweight carbon-fiber foam composite cheetah that is built to move. The cheetah has an extremely flexible backbone that gives extra speed or force to its running motion. The greatest challenges in building this prototype is to get enough power from motor devices to generate desired speed.

Reference: wired

'Magnetricity' Observed and Measured for the First Time

A magnetic charge can behave and interact in a way similar to electric charge in some materials, new research indicates.  It also demonstrates a perfect symmetry between electricity and magnetism - 'magnetricity'. This will lead to a reassessment of the current theories of magnetism.

In order to experimentally prove the existence of magnetic current by applying a magnetic field to a spin ice sample at a low temperature.

Reference:

S. T. Bramwell, S. R. Giblin, S. Calder, R. Aldus, D. Prabhakaran & T. Fennell. Measurement of the charge and current of magnetic monopoles in spin ice. Nature, 2009; 461 (7266): 956 DOI: 10.1038/nature08500

Number of Universes in a Multiverse

Physicists have calculated the number of distinguishable universes to be 10^10^16.  The idea of multiverse raises a different theory of the Big Bang.  Instead of the producing a single uniform universe, multiple universes appear in uniform.

The Big Bang was essentially a quantum process which generated quantum fluctuations in the state of the early universe. After that, the universe then underwent a period of rapid growth called inflation during which these perturbations were "frozen", creating different initial classical conditions in different parts of the cosmos. Since each of these regions would have a different set of laws of low energy physics, they can be thought of as different universes.  The actual number depends critically the way the universes are defined.

The limit of how many universes humans can observe is dependent on the properties of the oserver and not on the properties of the multiverse.

Reference: arXiv blog

DNA and Computing

Biomolecular computers, made of DNA and other biological molecules, only exist in specialized labs. Nonetheless, Tom Ran and Shai Kaplan, research students have found a way to make these microscopic computing devices ‘user friendly,’ even while performing complex computations and evaluating complicated queries. Besides the possibility that such biology-based devices can one day be injected into the body, biomolecular computers can conceivably perform millions of calculations in parallel.

Reference: Science Daily

Penny-sized Nuclear Battery Developed

"Nuclear batteries that produce energy from the decay of radioisotopes can provide a useful amount of current for hundreds of years at power densities a million times higher than standard batteries. Nuclear batteries have been used for military and aerospace applications for years, their large size has limited their general usage. But now a research team at the University of Missouri has developed a nuclear battery the size of a penny that could be used to power micro- and nano-electromechanical systems. The research team is also working on making use of liquid semiconductor technology and replacing it with traditional solid semiconductor. This will make the nuclear batteries safer.

Reference: Slash Dot

Look Through Walls with Radio Waves

University of Utah engineers found that a wireless network of radio transmitters can indicate people moving behind solid walls. The system could help police, firefighters and others nab intruders, and rescue hostages, fire victims and the elderly. It may also be useful to retail marketing and border control. Radio tomography can help law enforcement and emergency responders to know where they should focus their attention.

Radio tomographic imaging (RTI) is different and much less expensive than radar, in which radar or radio signals are bounced off targets and the returning echoes or reflections provide the target's location and speed. RTI instead measures "shadows" in radio waves created when they pass through a moving person or object. RTI measures radio signal strengths on numerous paths as the radio waves pass through a person or other target. It works in the dark, behind obsticales which proves to be more useful than optical and infrared imaging systems in these situations.

Reference: Science Daily

A Step Towards Cell Reporgramming

A team of Stem Cell researchers at Harvard made a major advancement toward producing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) that are safe to use. The chemical the team used is a small molecule called RepSox, which functions similar to two out of four different genes. It is important to find a way to produce safe iPS cells because the possibility of rejection of the transplanted cells will be eliminated.

Reference:
B. D. Colen, Harvard Staff Writer.

Banana Plants May Produce Plastics

The Polymer Processing Research Center at Queen's is undergoing a Badana project, which will develop new procedures to include banana plants in the Canary Islands into the production of rotationally moulded plastics. An estimated 25, 000 tonnes of natural fibre from banana plant goes to waste in Canaries every year. The sucess of this project can reduce the amount polyethylene used in the rotational moulding process. The funding for the Badana project has been provided by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme.

Reference: Science Daily

IBM Starts Genetic Sequencing

IBM is working on prototype DNA-processing electronics that feeds DNA through a nanopore, measuring the electrical properties of the chemicals at a more precise manner.

IBM's approach uses a flat device about 250 nanometers with a thin alternating layers of metal and a material called a dielectric. The nanopore is bored through these layers using an electron beam from a tunneling electron microscope. On one side of the layer is the DNA, unzipped from its familiar double-helix configuration with two strands of matched bases into a single strand with single bases. The strand is pulled through the nanopore by an electrical field that attracts the negatively charged strand. But in the nanopore, some layers are electrically switched on to fix the strand in place for a tick of an electronic clock while another layer makes its measurement.

Reference: Cnet

Human Powered Electric Amphibious Vehicle

A trike with electric assist encapsulated in a buoyant waterproof that allows the vehicle to move in the water

Acidic Clouds Nourish Ocean

Scientists have discovered that acid in the atmosphere breaks down from large particles of iron found in dust into small soluble nanoparticles, which can be useful to plankton. The lack of iron in the ocean can be a limiting factor for plankton growth. Man made pollution increases the acidity of the atmosphere and thus enourage formation of iron nanoparticles. This is the previously unknown source of bio-available iron that is delievered to Earth's surface in precipitation.

Reference
Shi et al. Formation of Iron Nanoparticles and Increase in Iron Reactivity in Mineral Dust during Simulated Cloud Processing. Environmental Science & Technology, 2009; 43 (17): 6592 DOI: 10.1021/es901294g

Database System Speedup

Current database systems use technology and abilities of CPUs from 10 to 20 years ago. Traditional database management system require too much hardware, and they make poor use of it. CWI computer scientists came up with database operations that work on sets of vectors, instead of on one database value at a time. As a result, some operations that take tens or hundreds of CPU clock cycles in other databases take just a handful in the VectorWise system. The scientists also constructed the system in a way that the work is done on data in the CPU's cache, where the processor cores can have quick access. In addition, fast decompression algorithms and table rearrangement are utilized.

One limitation of the prototype software is that the new system is designed to run on a single machine with a database of less than 10 terabytes.

Reference: IEEE Spectrum

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/ingres-and-vectorwise-claim-database-speedup

New Nanotechnology Technology

Chemical engineers in Oregon State University have invented a new technology to deposit "nanostructure films" on different surfaces. The technology can potentially make eye glasses cheaper and better, create solar cells that are more efficient and etc. The key to the process is use of a chemical bath, controlled by a microreactor, to place thin-film deposits on various substrates such as glass, plastic, silicon or aluminum.

Reference: Science Daily

Dark Matter Bolometer Detector

The existence of dark matter is induced from the behavior of faraway galaxies, which move in ways that can only be explained by a gravitational pull caused by more mass than can be seen. They estimate dark matter represents around 20 percent of the universe, with the other 75 percent made up of dark energy, a repulsive force that is causing the universe to expand at an ever-quickening pace.

Eduardo Abancens designed a prototype dark matter detector called a scintillating bolometer. It is a crystal so pure that it can conduct the energy ostensibly generated when a particle of dark matter strikes the nucleus of one of its atoms.

To prevent interference by cosmic rays, the bolometer is shielded in lead and kept half a mile underground. The challenge is to freeze the device to near-absolute zero, the temperature at which all motion stops. At the edge of absolute zero, it will possible to measure expected changes of a few millionths of a degree Fahrenheit.

Reference: “A BGO scintillating bolometer as dark matter detector prototype.” By N. Coron, E. García, J. Gironnet, J. Leblanc, P. de Marcillac, M. Martínez, Y. Ortigoza, A. Ortiz de Solórzano, C. Pobes, J. Puimedón, T. Redon, M.L. Sarsa, L. Torres and J.A. Villar. Optical Materials, Vol. 31 Issue 10, August 2009.

3-D Printing with Glass

Scientist has a technique that allows a new type of glass material to create objects using a 3-D printer. Three-dimensional printers are cheap, fast way to build prototype parts. In a typical powder-based 3-D printing system, a thin layer of powder is spread over a platform and software directs an inkjet printer to deposit droplets of binder solution only where needed. The binder reacts with the powder to bind the particles together and create a 3-D object. By adjusting the ratio of powder to liquid the team found a way to build solid parts out of powdered glass, the Vitraglyphic process.

Reference: Science Daily

Superheavy Element 114 Confirmed

Scientists have been able to confirm the production of the super heavy element 114, an important aspect in nuclear science. Using the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator (BGS) at Berkeley Lab's 88-inch Cyclotron, the researchers are able to confirm the creation of two individual nuclei of element 114. Super heavy elements greater than uranium, element 92 - decay in a time shorter than the age of Earth, so these elements need to be made artificially to confirm their existence. Scientists are hoping that element 114 is stable.

Reference:
L. Stavestra, K. Gregorich, J. Dvořák, P. A. Ellison, I. Dragojević, M. A. Garcia, and H. Nitsche. Independent verification of element 114 production in the 48Ca + 242Pu reaction. Physical Review Letters, 2009; 103, 132502 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.132502

NASA to Reveal Scientific Findings About the Moon

Lunar observations from three spacecraft: Deep Impact aka EPOXI, Cassini and Chandrayaan-1 indicates that there is the presence of water and other minerals on the Moon.

Reference: Spaceref

Compound Semiconductor Hybrid

MIT engineers figured out how to add devices made from compound semiconductors to a silicon chip that is compatible with standard chip manufacturing process. The compound semiconductor have properties that silicon alone lacks. It is faster transistors than silicon, handle more power and emit/collect light more easily.

Reference: IEEE Spectrum

Fostering Creativity in Problem Solving

Discoveries and insights on the frontiers of science do not come from thin air but emerges from incremental processes of weaving together analogies, images and simulations. Scientists built real-world models and make predictions from them. They study the cognitive process by observing scientists at work in the lab. The study can help foster improved creativity in labs and allow students to model-based reasoning approaches to problem solving.

Reference: Science Daily

Learning for Individuals in Vegetative States

Scientists, for the first time, tested that patients in vegetative and minimally conscious states can learn. After training, patients would start to blink when the tone played but before the air puff to the eye. The classical conditioning in the vegetative and minimally conscious state will be published in the Advanced Online Publication of Nature Neuroscience.

Reference: Science Daily

Humanoid Robot Plays Soccer

Created by Hajime Sakamoto, Hajime 33 is the latest addition to Sakamoto’s fleet of humanoid robots. Powered by batteries, the robot is controlled with a PS3 controller, and it can walk and kick a ball. Hajime 33 weighs in at just 44 pounds while overlooking his creator at more than 6 feet 5 inches tall.

Reference: Wired

Hybrid Motherboard

Motherboard manufacturer DFI has created a hybrid motherboard which allows for two systems to exist on a single board, allowing for a wide range of highly customized set-ups. The Hybrid P45-ION-T2A2 can run two systems simultaneously or independently, allowing users to switch between the two wholly different configurations on the fly.

Reference: PC World

Magnetism Turns Drugs On or Off

Many medical conditions require medications that is taken over a long period of time at specific quantities. This process is time consuming and current delivery techniques are not fully reliable. Researchers have created a small device that contains the drugs in a specially engineered membrane, embedded with nano-particles with minerals that have magnetic properties. When a magnetic field is turned on outside the body, the nano-particles heat up and causes the membrane to fall apart temporally, allowing drug particles to go through. Turning the magnetic field has the opposite effect and the membrane resumes stability. This technology has the potential to provide precise, repeated, long-term, on-demand delivery of drugs for a number of medical applications.

Reference:
Todd Hoare, Jesus Santamaria, Gerardo F. Goya, Silvia Irusta, Debora Lin, Samantha Lau, Robert Padera, Robert Langer, Daniel S. Kohane. A Magnetically Triggered Composite Membrane for On-Demand Drug Delivery. Nano Letters, 2009; DOI: 10.1021/nl9018935

Sustainable Fertilizer: Urine abd Wood Ash Produces Large Harvest

In a study, urine - a good source of nitrogen and wood ache - rich in minerals has been successfully used to fertilize corn, cabbage, cucumber and other crops and also reducing acidity of acid soils. This combination can be used in substitute for mineral fertilizer to increase the yields of tomato without posing any microbial or chemical risks

Reference:
Pradhan et al. Stored Human Urine Supplemented with Wood Ash as Fertilizer in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Cultivation and Its Impacts on Fruit Yield and Quality. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2009; 57 (16): 7612 DOI: 10.1021/jf9018917

Gene Therapy Cures Blindness in Monkeys

Two color-blind monkeys can see colours for the first time after injecting colour detecting proteins. Their brains may have reconfigured itself to use the same circuit connections in a new way. Therefore, gene therapies for severe human forms of color blindness could be successful. However, safety needs to be proven first before conducting experiments on humans.

Reference: Wired

Fast Flip Brings Blazing Fast News

Google introduced a new service called Fast Flip that reduces the time to review news, allowing users to view articles from many major publishers. Google captures the images from different websites and displays it on sliding panels. Users can modify their own topics to review and it even works with the iPhone and Android.

Reference: Google

Molecular Discovery Supports Darwin's Evolution Theory

The cells of all organisms, are composed of molecular machines built of component parts, which contributes a partial function or structural element to the machine. The mystery lies in how these machines evolved. A non-Darwinian explanation suggests that machines are "irreducibly complex", meaning it has not evolved. However, researchers have discovered that these machines although complete and complex, were a result of evolution.

Reference: Science Daily

Fake Video Can Convince Witnesses

Psychologists have long known that our memories of past events can be influenced by misleading information, but now they have proven that doctored video evidence can convince people to offer false eyewitness testimony. In a study of 60 college students performing a computerized gambling task, nearly half were willing to testify that they saw their partner cheat in real life after watching fabricated video evidence. The students that knew video evidence existed but did not watch the footage themselves, only 10 percent gave false testimony. The researchers emphasized that no one should testify unless they are absolutely sure their partner cheated.

Reference: Wired

Artificial Nose for Detection of Toxic Gases

In the issue of Nature Chemistry, Kenneth Suslick and his team developed an artificial, digital multidimensional extension of litmus paper for general detection of toxic industrial chemicals (TICSs) in a fast, simple and inexpensive way. The device is able to give an array of concentration of colours that indicate the specific type and concentration of the toxic gas. This brings us one step closer to have small wearable sensor that can detect multiple airborne toxins.

Reference:
Lim SH, Feng L, Kemling JW, Musto CJ, Suslick KS. An Optoelectronic Nose for Detection of Toxic Gases. Nature Chemistry, 2009 DOI: 10.1038/NCHEM.360

Underwater Benthic Rover

Benthic Rover, a robot that crawls along the ocean floor, explores deep ocean depths to track changes on the surface of the ocean as well as marine communities. With the Monterey Accelerated Research System, problems can be fixed almost immediately.

Reference: Wired

Graphitic Memory

Researchers have advanced graphite's potential as a mass data storage medium and potentially reprogrammable gate arrays that will revolutionize circuit logic design. In the online journal ACS Nano, Alexander Sinitskii show lithographic techniques to deposite .10-nanometer stripes of amorphous graphite onto silicon - creation of nonvolile memory. Graphite makes a good, dense, reliable memory that works at low voltages. It is also impervious to a wide temperature range and radiation (space and military uses).

Reference: Science Daily

Digital Contacts Provides Wealth of Information

Scientists, eye surgeons, professors and students at the University of Washington have developed a contact lens that contains built-in LED, powered wirelessly with radio frequency waves. Eventually, it can provide a wealth of information like virtual captions scrolling, monitor vital signs. To ensure the lens is safe to wear, tests have been made on rabbits, but there is still further testing to complete in order to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration. One of the challenges is loading computational power into the small device.

Reference: Wired

Forgotten Memories Still in Your Brain

A recent study indicates that brain imaging detected patterns of activation that corresponded to memories people thought they’d lost. When a person recalls a memory, it triggers neurological patterns encoded when the memory was formed. However, the in-depth details of memories are still unknown.

Reference: Wired

Plants on Steroids May Improve Our Understanding of Diseases

Researchers at Carnegie Institution's Department of Plant Biology have found a missing link for the signaling pathway for plant steroid hormones (brassinosteroids). The discovery will lead to genetic engineering of greater yield in crops and a key to understand major human diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's. Brassinosteroids regulate many aspects of growth and development in plants and is similar to animal steroids, but function differently at the cellular level. The study is published in the advanced on-line issue of Nature Cell Biology.

Reference: Science Daily