The Fate of Our Galaxy During Collision

Will neighboring Galaxies one day tear apart the disk of the Milky Way? Researchers used new computer simulations that shows these collisions will “puff up” a galactic disk, particularly around the edges, and produce structures called stellar rings. Interestingly, all galaxies are embedded within massive and extended halos of dark matter, and the intersections of most large galaxies lie at the intersections of dark matter.

Reference: Science Daily

Computerized Face-Recognition Technology still Fooled by Cosmetic Surgery

Researchers at West Virginia University reported the results of the first experimental study to quantify the effects of plastic surgery. The results shows that even under the most ideal lighting and positions, the best algorithms for facial recognition failed most of the time. However, there are features beneath the skin that are still observable and unchanged after surgery.

Reference: IEEE Spectrum

Street Car Reborn with Hydrogen Fuel Cell

Engineers and transit planners are turning to streetcars for hydrogen propulsion. Traditional trolley cars have drawn power from catenaries, overhead electric supply lines running along city streets. Hydrogen powered streetcars will eliminate the wires, which may help make streetcars more acceptable.

Reference: IEEE Spectrum

Visualization of Simulated Brain

For the first time, scientists are able to see the brain electrically prodded at the cellular level. For years, electrical stimulation has been used to treat the human brain and has helped identify regions responsible for specific neural functions. Originally it is difficult to measure the small currents produced by neurons due to the high voltages applied to stimulate the brain. The solution is a new form of optical imaging called two-photon microscopy, tracking calcium levels of neurons. Since calcium levels spike every time a neuron fires, the team could monitor which neurons were being triggered.

Interestingly, neural response to electrical currents isn't localized and not all neurons surrounding an electrode fire at once. These findings will appear in the August 27 issue of "Neuron".

Reference: Science Daily

Lie Detection Method Improvement using Handwriting Tools

In the issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology, researchers utilized a computerized tablet that measured the physical properties of a person's handwriting. For instance, the duration of time that the pen is on paper and the length and height and width of each writing stroke, the pressure on the writing surface and etc. These characteristics differ when an individual is in the process of writing deceptive sentences.

Reference:
Gil Luria, Sara Rosenblum. Comparing the handwriting behaviours of true and false writing with computerized handwriting measures. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2009; n/a DOI: 10.1002/acp.1621

Computers to Unravel Complexity of Disease

Eric Schadt, one of the few scientists combining mathematics, biology and supercomputers to study human biology, suggests that mechanisms of human diseases are far more complex than anticipated. In the beginning, scientists characterize a single cause for common diseases like cancer and heart disease. Some drugs developed at treating that gene is effective, but it turns out that common diseases involve thousands of genes and proteins interacting on complex pathways.

Reference: C-net

Annotate and Search Images Easier

Innovative ImageNotion software developed in Europe will soon be available to media agencies. The software technology that links the content of photos to concepts to make images understandable by computers in order to easily organise, search and navigate collections of digital images. It includes text mining, object recognition, face detection and identification. This can potentially save image professionals time and money.

Reference: Science Daily

Natural Odours Help Develop Mosquito Repellents

Entomologists at University of California found components that can help develop inexpensive and safe mosquito repellents for combating West Nine virus and other tropical diseases. When fruit flies undergo stress, they emit CO2 to let other flies know and escape. Their antennae are equipped with specialized neurons that are sensitive to the gas. However, important food sources also emit CO2 as a by-product of respiration and ripening. The researchers found odours that prevent the CO2 sensitive neurons in the antennae from fountaining. This is effect because the CO2 emitted in human breath is the main attractant for the mosquito.

Reference: Science Daily

New Metal Oxide Detectors to Check Safety and Quality of Foods

Researchers at Fraunhofer Institutes for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME in Schmallenberg developed a new system that uses volatile components to detect when a fruit is ripe. The system measures the volatile substances just as sensitively as conventional equipment uses in food laboratories. Researchers want to optimize the system to adapt in different situations.

Reference:

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. "When Is The Pineapple Ripe? New System Uses Metal Oxide Sensors To Detect Safety And Quality Of Foods." ScienceDaily 27 August 2009. 27 August 2009 http://www.sciencedaily.com/.

Morally in Intelligent Machines

A new approach to decision making based on computational logic may trigger a sense of morality for machines in the future according to researchers from Portugal and Indonesia. The researchers used prospective logic to model a moral dilemma and then determine the logical outcomes of the possible decisions.

The development of machine ethics will allow us to develop fully autonomous machines that can make judgements based on human moral foundation. Machine ethics can also help psychologists and cognitive scientists find a new way to understand moral reasoning in people and perhaps extract fundamental moral principles from complex situations.

Reference: Science Daily

Remote Control for Humans

Taro Maeda of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation came up with a technology called galvanic vestibular stimulation, manipulation of the nerves inside the human ear. Galvanic wireless impulses are transmitted from a remote control to the ear to disturb with the vestibular system in the ear, which helps us maintain our balance.

It can make virtual reality and gaming more realistic. Other applications include a support system that is aware and avoid dangers of one's surrounding environment, guide people to places.

Reference: Daily Planet

Robotic Butler

Intel Research's Personal Robotics project aims to develop useful robotic assistants for indoor, populated environments. The project is spread across the Pittsburgh and Seattle labs. Currently, Pittsburgh focuses on mid-range perception, motion planning, and manipulation research, while Seattle focuses on short-range sensing and perception, and human-robot interaction.

Reference: http://personalrobotics.intel-research.net/

Herb: A Home Exploring Robotic Butler

An autonomous mobile manipulator that performs useful manipulation tasks in the home

Manipulation Planning with Caging Grasps

Algorithm for performing constrained tasks such as opening doors and drawers by robots such as humanoid robots or mobile manipulators

World's Great Foreset Under Threat

The remaining "pristine" boreal forest in Russia, Canada and other northern countries is under increasing danger of becoming the next Amazon. Fragmentation, exploitation, climate change and fires are the major factors to consider. The preservation of thes forests is important to secure biodiversity and prevent loss of global carbon sink.

Reference: Science Daily

Mystery of the Epsilon Aurigae Star

The super-bright star, epsilon Aurigae, dims its lights every 27 years puzzles scientist. The star is too bright to be observed with a majority of professional telescopes, so a collaborative project called "Citizen Sky" is created to solve this mystery. The star will be dim during all of 2010. Scientists hypothesize that there is a mysterious companion with the star that causes this phenomena.

Reference: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/citizensky/

Robotic Swimming Fish

The picture shown are prototypes for a new type of robotic fish that only costs a few hundred dollars each. The tiny new robotic fish that mimic swimming style of brass or tuna by controlling the vibration of the fishes body. Thus, it can maneuver into places too small for underwater autonomous vehicles. Each fish is built from a small piece of soft, flexible polymer that is resistant to various elements. There are potentially important applications for this robot.

Reference: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/robofish/

Faster Printable Circuits

High-performance organic circuits is carefully made using two different materials, but researchers have used a new polymer that performs the function of both materials called ambipolar polymer. The new material and its specs are indicated in the journal Advanced Materials.

Electronics need transistors to have alternating regions that conduct negative and positive charges. They need to be aligned in order to make meaningful circuits. The cost advantage and simplicity is degraded when two necessary materials are involved in complex patterning processes. The ideal solution is to have one material that can transport electrons and holes. The new polymer consists of two alternating units, one that conducts electrons and the other conducts holes. This polymer may also work for solar cells.

Reference: http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/23298/?a=f

High Speed Robotic Hand

Ishidawa Komuro Lab's high-speed robot hand movement, Impressive!

Reference: http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/papers/fusion_movies-e.html

New Approach in Treating Malaria

Researchers at Portugal showed that an anti-oxidant drug can protect against the development of malaria, infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. The team has previously proven that parasite Plasmodium multiplies in red blood cells and causes them to burst and release hemoglobin, protein that binds with oxygen in red blood cells, leading to severe malaria and possibly death.

Mice express high levels of heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an enzyme that degrades heme and protects infected mice from serious forms of malaria. In addition, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an anti-oxidant drug, has the same effect as HO-1. This opens a new approach at possibly treating malaria by strengthening the health of the host.

Reference:

Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC). "Naturally-occurring Protection Against Severe Malaria Demonstrated." ScienceDaily 24 August 2009. 24 August 2009 .

Important Feature of Immune System Survived in Humans and Primates for 60 Million Years

The ability of vitamin D to regulate anti-bactericidal proteins, key component of the immune system, is proven to be important, because it has been retained through millions of years of evolutionary selection. Some researchers believe it is critical for the survival of the species with this mediated immune response.

Vitamin D prevents the adaptive immune response from overreacting and reduces inflammation and appears to suppress the immune response. However, the function of the new genetic element this research explored allows vitamin D to boost the innate immune response by turning on an antimicrobial protein. This will help prevent the immune system from overreacting.

Reference: Science Daily

New Method To Recreate a Black Hole?

Dartmouth researchers proposed creating a new way of reproducing quantum sized black holes in the laboratory. This will enable researchers to study them and verify Stephen Hawking's proposal that black holes emit photons or Hawking radiation. The researchers show that a magnetic field-pulsed microwave transmission line containing an array of superconducting quantum interference devices or SQUIDs, which enables the exploration of analogue quantum gravitational effects.

Reference:

Dartmouth College. "New Way To Reproduce A Black Hole?." ScienceDaily 22 August 2009. 22 August 2009 .

Microbial Machines

A unique approach in genetic engineering could aid in the making of fuel producing bacteria which will ultimately be one step closer to artificial life. Today, microbes like yeast and E. coli can perform complex task or produce materials more efficiently. However, microbes of industrial interest are less hackable like the photosynthetic microbes which scientists hope can be engineered to efficiently turn light into fuel.

The researchers from Venter Institute generated a synthetic genome used to control or reboot a recipient cell. In order to build a synthetic organism, the researchers have to transplant the synthetic genome cell and have it successfully reboot the cell, which is the most problematic step. The new technique is a workaround by growing an entire bacterial genome in yeast and chemically altering the bacterial genetic material. The current aim is to test the technique on other bacteria

Reference: Technology Review

Advance in Understanding the Birth and Early Universe

Scientists from the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) in Louisiana detected primordial gravitational waves (ripples in the fabric of space and time) that were created as the universe expanded in its earliest moments. These waves are "stochastic background" carries information about the universe after the Big Bang.

Reference: spaceref.com

Longevity Gene

Researchers at the University of Missouri have taken a step towards increasing the level and quality of activity in elderly. The "longevity" gene is proven to energize mice during exercise and maybe applicable to humans in the future. It is more important to increase health span than a simple lifespan increase.

Reference:

University of Missouri-Columbia. "Living Longer And Happier." ScienceDaily 21 August 2009. 21 August 2009 .

Insight of Evolution of Higher Life

Human beings may not have existed without the ancient fusing of two prokaryotes - actinobacteria and clostridia - to create 'double-membrane' prokaryotes, life forms without cellular nucleus. According to James Lake, UCLA molecular biologist, discovered the first prokaryote endosymbiosis (all other known endosymbiosis involved cell that contains a nucleus).

The oxygen on Earth is the result of a subgroup of these double-membrane prokaryotes, called cyanobacteria. They harnessed the sun's energy using photosynthesis to produce oxygen. Furthermore, the double-membrane prokaryotic fusion supplied the mitochondria that are present in every human cell.

Reference

University of California - Los Angeles. "Research Reveals Major Insight Into Evolution Of Life On Earth." ScienceDaily 20 August 2009. 21 August 2009 .

Ultracapacitors Boost Hybrid

According to researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, ultracapacitors can lower the cost of the battery packs in plug-in hybrid vehicles. In recent years, the cost of making energy sources for hybrids is the main reason why it cannot overcome the monetary competitiveness of conventional vehicles.

Ultracapacitors opens the path to extend the life of a hybrid vehicle's power source, reducing the need to oversize battery packs. Unlike batteries, ultracapacitors do not rely on chemical reactions to store energy and more resilient to intense discharge bursts. The drawback is that they store less energy than batteries by an order of magnitude less. Ultracapacitors can guide redesigning batteries to hold more energy.

The researchers at Argonne are working towards cutting the cost of making them, and reducing the heat stress placed on batteries by a third.

Reference: Technology Review

Turning Seawater into Jet Fuel

Due to climate change and oil shortage, the US Navy is experimenting with making jet fuel from seawater by the process making kerosene-based jet fuel from unsaturated short-chain hydrocarbons in seawater. Extraction of carbon dioxide in the water and combining it with hydrogen - a variant of the chemical reaction called 'Fischer-Tropsch process'. The goal is to produce as little unwanted methane through this process, the main concern. Other issues include the need to use a carbon-neutral energy source and process consumes more energy than the fuel it produces.

Reference: slashdot.org

Writing Style Fingerprint Tool Easily Fooled

The methods that the courts of law use to identify authorship of text can be fooled according researchers. Non-proffesional writeres can hide their identity from 'stylometric techniques' by writing in the style of novelist Cormac McCarthy.

Reference: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17639-writing-style-fingerprint-tool-easily-fooled.html

Random Applications/Sites August 2009

FotoSketcher - takes photos and turns them into impressive pencil drawings
(freeware, windows only) http://www.fotosketcher.com/

Manager Tweak (firefox extension) - customizes downloading options
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/256

Windows Live Movie Maker - video editing, supports HD, freeware, windows vista & 7 only

Windows 7 can run for 120 days without activation
- command line code (slmgr -rearm) can be entered at the end of the 30 day period
- grace period for new users

Pidgin 2.6 (WIndows/Mac/Linux) - multi-protocol instant messaging client

http://www.getdeb.net/release/4697

OTHER

Norton SafeWeb http://safeweb.norton.com/dirtysites
Moonlight 2.0 beta http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/08/hands-on-moonlight-20-beta-a-major-step-forward.ars
Avast 5.0 beta http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/19/first-beta-download-of-avast-5-0-free-antivirus-released-galler/

Control of Two-faced 'Janus' Nanoparticle

A single Janus particle less than 10 microns in diameter

(Credit: Benjamin Yellin Lab, Pratt School of Engineering)

Scientists incorporated Roman mythology when they named a unique class of minuscule particles after the god Janus, depicted as the two faces facing opposite directions.

Engineers from Duke University can control all degrees (six) of the particle's motion for the first time in history. The team used a fabrication strategy to coat the particle with smaller fraction of material which allowed the particle to be compatible with optical traps and external magnetic fields. Therefore, total control over the particles was obtained.

This opens broad range of applications and further nano-technology. It can serve as the building block for many new technologies such as the electronic paper and self-propelling mirco-machines. An online journal "Advanced Materials" covers this discovery

Reference: Science Daily

Cyberdyne's Exoskeletons

Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai of the University of Tsukuba in Japan invented the HAL (Hybrid A. Limb) exoskeleton suit. The suit reads electric signals at the surface of the skin generated by muscle and then guide the motion of robotic limbs. There are other exoskeleton designs out there such as Berkeley Bionics, Raytheon and MIT.

Reference: IEEE Spectrum

Virus Assembled Microbatteries

MIT researches report an important advance toward microscopic batteries by using a virus to assemble anodes on top of electrolyte layers. The M13 virus is made of proteins, which can be genetically modified to react with particular substances. It generates structured arrays of cobalt oxide nano-wires on top of the solid electrolyte. The creation of microscopic batteries is a difficult task in the past because the proportion of electrochemically active material inside batteries decreases along with size.

The performance of the device is the same as before. The cobalt oxide anode has a much higher charge storage capacity than the carbon-based electrodes typically used in lithium-ion batteries. It is stable throughout charging and discharging. Advantages of virus assembly include room temperature functionality and precise control over size and spacing of nano-materials.

Reference: Technology Review

The Guardium UGV

Video: the Guardium unmanned ground system

An all terrain autonomous surveillance vechicle capable of combat support, reaction to unexpected events, persistent navigation using impervious panoramic artificial imaging, video compression and data fusion.

Armored Polymer High-Tech Foams

Engineers at the University of Warwick have found that exposing mixtures of polymer particles and various materials to immediate freeze-drying can create an armored foam that could be used for applications like low power gas sensors at room temperature.

Background/History: Freeze-drying has been used to create foams before with rubber experiments in the 1940s. Before, to make strong and stable foam structures a straight-forward method is foaming or expanding process - introduce small discontinuities into a soft polymer then reinforce the cellular structure by polymerization or cooling.

The team at the University of Warwick make polymer foams by "ice-templating" and make building blocks from a special mixture of small particles in water. By changing parameters like nano-particle/polymer latex ratios and concentrations, it is possible to create certain pore structure. This new process allow the creation of foam based nano-composite materials that can operate at room temperature

Reference:

University of Warwick. "Icy Exposure Creates Armored Polymer High-Tech Foams."

ScienceDaily 19 August 2009. 19 August 2009 .

First Discovery of Life's Building Block in Comet

NASA scientists have found glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of cornet Wild 2. Glycine is an amino acid that make proteins.

This discovery supports the theory that life's ingredients are formed and delivered to Earth from meteorite and comet impacts.

Further information is published in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science.

Reference: http://www.sciencedaily.com/

Regenerating Surfaces

Unlike human skin, materials such as metals do not self-heal. For example, if electroplated layer protecting the metals from corrosion is scratched, it will lose its rust protection. Scientists are working on the idea of evenly distributed fluid-filled capsules into the electroplated layer. If the layer is damaged, the fluid runs out and 'fixes' the scratch.

Currently, researches with funding from Volkswagen Foundation have developed electroplated layers with nano-capsules. The problem with this approach is that smaller capsules are more sensitive and it will be difficult to electroplate due to its aggressive chemical/reactions.

There is still a lot of work to do before what we see in movies become reality i.e. regenerating humanoid robot.

Reference: www.sciencedaily.com

Efficient Internet Routing Potentially Save Millions

There is a new way of route Internet traffic which can save Internet companies lots of cash by using an algorithm that tracks electricity prices and reroute data to locations with lowest electricity pricing. The idea originates from Asfandyar Qureshi, a PhD student at MIT.

Reference: http://www.technologyreview.com/

My Thoughts: Will this trigger overuse of electricity in parts of the world where electricity is cheaper? Which will cause rapid changes in the pricing of electricity in an never-ending cycle? More importantly, the companies with maximum benefit will be the top Internet technology firms. Is there a better technology that can benefit low-mid size companies? This technology does not solve the fact that these companies use a lot of electricity.

Evolutionary Robots Gain Powers of Deception

Researches in Switzerland have found that robots equiped with artificial neural networks can develop the ability to decieve under guidence of simple regulations.

The robots are programed to seek out food and they learned to conceal their visual signals from other robots to keep the food for themselves. The team made generations of these robots by combining the AI neural networks of the most successful robots. A few random changes in code models the idea of biological mutations. Interestingly, after 100 generations the robots stopped flashing light when they are near food and evolved to attract or repelled by light. Due to the competition for food, the robots try to conceal information that gives it away.

This research can further our understanding of biological communication systems.


Reference: Kristina Grifantini ~ Technology Review.com

Nanolaser Key "Spaser"

It is thinnest laser that can emit visible light.

It represents an important aspect for possible future innovations and technological development. This opens the door for fields such as hyper-lenses that create more powerful sensors and microscopes branching off from nano-photonic technology. Based on clouds of electrons called "surface plasmons", tiny spasers are created.

A detailed paper describing this research is posted online in the journal Nature, reporting on work done by researchers at Purdue Norfolk State University and Cornell University.

Reference: www.sciencedaily.com