Silicon Melt in Reverse!

The fact that many materials change state at a given temperature is a basic chemistry concept. However, scientists at MIT has found that silicon can exhibit a strange property of "retrograde melting" under high concentrations of certain metals dissolved in it. Basically, the compound of silicon melts at extremely low temperatures. This implies a lowered cost of manufacturing of some sillicon-based devices, new silicon nanowire structures and etc.

Reference:
Steve Hudelson, Bonna K. Newman, Sarah Bernardis, David P. Fenning, Mariana I. Bertoni, Matthew A. Marcus, Sirine C. Fakra, Barry Lai, Tonio Buonassisi. Retrograde Melting and Internal Liquid Gettering in Silicon. Advanced Materials, 2010; DOI: 10.1002/adma.200904344

Neural Evidence for Sudden Insight

The ability of animals and humans to infer and apply new rules in order to maximize success relies on frontal lobes. Recent study indicates that in neural dynamics, roups of frontal cortex neurons in rat brains switch from encoding a familiar rule to a completely novel rule that could only be deduced from trail and error. The research also focused on the behaviour of the neurons when adapting to the new activity.

Reference: Science Daily

Observing Brain in the Act of Seeing

Neuroscientists have shown that individual neurons carry out significant aspects of sensory processing. The method allows for the first time to observe individual synapses, small differences between nerve contact sites.

Reference: Science Daily

Solar Energy from Plant Protein Structure

Solar energy systems are still inefficient in terms of running in not desert environments. Scientists have proposed a model for developing green energy, using complex peas to form small battery chargers. To generate energy, plants have evolved to give perfect quantum yield called Photosystem I (PSI) complex. Although this will not solve the world's energy problem but it can be assembled in power switches for low-power solar needs.

Reference: Science Daily

Gene Interactions to Cause Disease

A UCLA study indicates how human gene interactions increase disease risk with their surrounding environment, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. In short, having more than one factor that contribute to the cause of the same disease will exceed the damage of independent factors. The interactions are important when considering genetic research

Reference: Science Daily

fMRIS Reveal how the Brain Handles Low-priority Ideas

When human beings process low-priority ideas, it moves to the area of the brain called "the default-mode network" where it will retain the information. The default-mode network relate to interpersonal interactions and social decision making, the brain's back burner. Recent research indicates that genetics plays a role in the back-burner setup. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are used to map eight anatomically distinct regions within the network. A longer term goal is to evaluate whether other intrinsically connected networks are also under genetic control.

Reference: Science Daily

Electrical Current to Nanoscale System

Material scientists have demonstrated the transduction of optical radiation to electrical current in a molecular circuit. The system with an array of nano-sized molecules respond to electromagnetic waves. Therefore, it simplifies to a higher efficiency in energy harvesting nano-sized circuit. A potential application of photovoltaic circuits include data storage where the data corresponding to wavelengths of light. A new series of devices in which plasmon-controlled electrical properties of a single molecule can be designed with diverse applications such as plasmonic circuits and energy harvesting devices.

Reference: Science Daily

Robotics Innovation by Dennis Hong

Reference: Ted Talks

Prototype Interactive Design

Growing Nanowires

Researchers have developed nanowire 'growing technology' which opens the door for faster, smaller microchips and lower power electronics. 3-D microchips, vertical stack of circuitry, is possible with this new discovery.

Reference: Science Daily

Altered Perception of Hands

The space within reach with our hands is named "action space". Research has shown that visual information in this area is organized in hand-centered coordinates, representation of objects in the human brain depends on their physical location with respect to the hand. New research shows that amputation of the hand results in distorted visuospatial perception.

Reference:
Amputees %u2018Neglect%u2019 the Space Near Their Missing Hand. Psychological Science, January 2010

Scans Show Learning 'Scripts' the Brain's Connections

Spontaneous brain activity formerly thought to be "white noise" is subject to change after an individual learns a new task. Scientists report that the degree of change reflects how well subjects have learned to perform the task. Even during sleep or anesthesia, the brain's spontaneous activity is not random, but organized patterns of correlated activity that occur in anatomically and functionally connected regions.

Reference:
Lewis et al. Learning sculpts the spontaneous activity of the resting human brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0902455106

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