Scientists from Imperial College London are developing technology that could ultimately sequence a person’s genome in mere minutes, at a fraction of the cost of current commercial techniques.
The researchers have patented an early prototype technology that they believe could lead to an ultrafast commercial DNA sequencing tool within ten years. Their work is described in a study published this month in the journal Nano Letters and it is supported by the Wellcome Trust Translational Award and the Corrigan Foundation.
The research suggests that scientists could eventually sequence an entire genome in a single lab procedure, whereas at present it can only be sequenced after being broken into pieces in a highly complex and time-consuming process. Fast and inexpensive genome sequencing could allow ordinary people to unlock the secrets of their own DNA, revealing their personal susceptibility to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and cancer. Medical professionals are already using genome sequencing to understand population-wide health issues and research ways to tailor individualised treatments or preventions.
Dr Joshua Edel, one of the authors on the study from the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London, said: “Compared with current technology, this device could lead to much cheaper sequencing: just a few dollars, compared with $1m to sequence an entire genome in 2007. We haven’t tried it on a whole genome yet but our initial experiments suggest that you could theoretically do a complete scan of the 3,165 million bases in the human genome within minutes, providing huge benefits for medical tests, or DNA profiles for police and security work. It should be significantly faster and more reliable, and would be easy to scale up to create a device with the capacity to read up to 10 million bases per second, versus the typical 10 bases per second you get with the present day single molecule real-time techniques.”
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Top tweets of 2010
Twitter has analyzed the 25 billion tweets sent in 2010 to derive the top 10 twitter trends of 2010, top news, top technology topics, and several other categories of tweets.
Top topics
1. Gulf Oil Spill
2. FIFA World Cup
3. Inception
4. Haiti Earthquake
5. Vuvuzela
6. Apple iPad
7. Google Android
8. Justin Bieber
9. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
10. Pulpo Paul
Top news:
1. Gulf Oil Spill
2. Haiti Earthquake
3. Pakistan Floods
4. Koreas Conflict
5. Chilean Miners Rescue
6. Chavez Tas Ponchao
7. Wikileaks Cablegate
8. Hurricane Earl
9. Prince Williams Engagement
10. World Aids Day
Top technology tweets:
1. Apple iPad
2. Google Android
3. Apple iOS
4. Apple iPhone
5. Call of Duty Black Ops
6. New Twitter
7. HTC
8. RockMelt
9. MacBook Air
10. Google Instant
Top topics
1. Gulf Oil Spill
2. FIFA World Cup
3. Inception
4. Haiti Earthquake
5. Vuvuzela
6. Apple iPad
7. Google Android
8. Justin Bieber
9. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
10. Pulpo Paul
Top news:
1. Gulf Oil Spill
2. Haiti Earthquake
3. Pakistan Floods
4. Koreas Conflict
5. Chilean Miners Rescue
6. Chavez Tas Ponchao
7. Wikileaks Cablegate
8. Hurricane Earl
9. Prince Williams Engagement
10. World Aids Day
Top technology tweets:
1. Apple iPad
2. Google Android
3. Apple iOS
4. Apple iPhone
5. Call of Duty Black Ops
6. New Twitter
7. HTC
8. RockMelt
9. MacBook Air
10. Google Instant
Monday, November 22, 2010
Amazon hits Hollywood
Amazon.com is getting into the movie business by opening Amazon Studios, with the goal of using the Internet to put fresh movies on the big screen.
The new Internet movie studio will allow writers to upload screenplays to its website, where the global Internet audience can read them and offer feedback, or producers/directors can use them to make test movies. The test movies, which must be at least 70 minutes in length, can also be uploaded.
Amazon Studios will also award monthly cash prizes to the top submissions of $100,000 for the best movie each month and $20,000 to the two best scripts. They’ll also be an annual award of $1 million for the best movie and $100,000 for the best script.
The new Internet movie studio will allow writers to upload screenplays to its website, where the global Internet audience can read them and offer feedback, or producers/directors can use them to make test movies. The test movies, which must be at least 70 minutes in length, can also be uploaded.
Amazon Studios will also award monthly cash prizes to the top submissions of $100,000 for the best movie each month and $20,000 to the two best scripts. They’ll also be an annual award of $1 million for the best movie and $100,000 for the best script.
Now I See You
Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have built a new type of prosthetic retina that enabled blind mice to see nearly normal images. It could someday restore detailed sight to the millions of people who’ve lost their vision to retinal disease.
They used optogenetics, a recently developed technique that infuses neurons with light-sensitive proteins from blue-green algae, causing them to fire when exposed to light.
The researchers used mice that were genetically engineered to express one of these proteins, channelrhodopsin, in their ganglion cells. Then, they presented the mice with an image that had been translated into a grid of 6,000 pulsing lights. Each light communicated with a single ganglion cell, and each pulse of light caused its corresponding cell to fire, thus transmitting the encoded image along to the brain.
In humans, such a setup would require a pair of high-tech spectacles, embedded in which would be a tiny camera, an encoder chip to translate images from the camera into the retinal code, and a miniature array of thousands of lights. When each light pulsed, it would trigger a channelrhodopsin-laden ganglion cell. Surgery would no longer be required to implant an electron array deep into the eye, although some form of gene therapy would be required in order for patients to express channelrhodopsin in their retinas.
They used optogenetics, a recently developed technique that infuses neurons with light-sensitive proteins from blue-green algae, causing them to fire when exposed to light.
The researchers used mice that were genetically engineered to express one of these proteins, channelrhodopsin, in their ganglion cells. Then, they presented the mice with an image that had been translated into a grid of 6,000 pulsing lights. Each light communicated with a single ganglion cell, and each pulse of light caused its corresponding cell to fire, thus transmitting the encoded image along to the brain.
In humans, such a setup would require a pair of high-tech spectacles, embedded in which would be a tiny camera, an encoder chip to translate images from the camera into the retinal code, and a miniature array of thousands of lights. When each light pulsed, it would trigger a channelrhodopsin-laden ganglion cell. Surgery would no longer be required to implant an electron array deep into the eye, although some form of gene therapy would be required in order for patients to express channelrhodopsin in their retinas.
Headphones Built Into Your Hoodie N other Tech Clothing
A phone built into the sleeve of a dress. Gloves that enable you to swipe a touchscreen on the ski slope. Solar-powered backpacks. Here are nine examples of apparel that blurs the line between clothing and tech gear.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
New class of Malware will steal Behavioural Patterns
Computer scientists predict that a new generation of malware will mine social networks for people's private patterns of behavior.
It's not hard to find frightening examples of malware which steals personal information, sometimes for the purpose of making it public and at other times for profit. Details such as names, addresses and emails are hugely valuable for companies wanting to market their wares.
But there is another class of information associated with networks that is potentially much more valuable: the pattern of links between individuals and their behavior in the network--how often they email or call each other, how information spreads between them and so on.
Why is this more valuable? An email address associated with an individual who is at the hub of a vibrant social network is clearly more valuable to a marketing company than an email address at the edge of the network. Patterns of contact can also reveal how people are linked, whether they are in a relationship for example, whether they are students or executives, or whether they prefer celebrity gossip to tech news.
This information would allow a determined attacker to build a remarkably detailed picture of the lifestyle of any individual, a picture that would be far more useful than the basic demographic information that marketeers use today that consists of little more than sex, age and social grouping.
Today, Yaniv Altshuler at Ben Gurion University and a few pals argue that the value of this data makes it almost inevitable that malicious attackers will attempt to steal it. They point out that many companies already mine the pattern of links in their data for things like recommender systems.
"There is no reason to think that developers of malicious applications will not implement the same method and algorithms into future malware, or that they have not already started doing so," they say.
The idea would be to release some kind of malware that records the patterns of links in a network. This kind of malware will be very hard to detect, say Altshuler and co. They've studied the strategies that best mine behavioral pattern data from a real mobile phone network consisting of 800,000 links between 200,000 phones. (They call this type of attack "Stealing Reality".)
In conventional attacks, malware spreads most efficiently when the infection rate is high, and this maximises the amount of information it can steal. But it also makes the malware relatively easy to spot.
In a behavioral pattern attack, their surprising conclusion is that the most effective way of mining data is to have a low infection rate, so the malware spreads slowly. That's because it takes time to collect good information about an individual's behavior patterns. Also, a slow spread is less likely to be picked up by network administrators and antivirus software.
Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this new kind of theft is its potential impact. If malware steals your credit card details or online banking passwords, you can easily change them and this limits the damage.
But if a malicious attacker steals your behavioral patterns, there's almost nothing you can do. You can't change your network of friends or family, for example.
What's more, once this information is released, it is more or less impossible to contain--how would you ensure that every copy had been deleted?
The prospects for avoiding this new threat look bleak. As Altshuler and co point out: "History has shown that whenever something has a tangible value associated with it, there will always be those who try to malevolently 'game' the system for profit."
We'll almost certainly have to deal with this one sooner or later.
It's not hard to find frightening examples of malware which steals personal information, sometimes for the purpose of making it public and at other times for profit. Details such as names, addresses and emails are hugely valuable for companies wanting to market their wares.
But there is another class of information associated with networks that is potentially much more valuable: the pattern of links between individuals and their behavior in the network--how often they email or call each other, how information spreads between them and so on.
Why is this more valuable? An email address associated with an individual who is at the hub of a vibrant social network is clearly more valuable to a marketing company than an email address at the edge of the network. Patterns of contact can also reveal how people are linked, whether they are in a relationship for example, whether they are students or executives, or whether they prefer celebrity gossip to tech news.
This information would allow a determined attacker to build a remarkably detailed picture of the lifestyle of any individual, a picture that would be far more useful than the basic demographic information that marketeers use today that consists of little more than sex, age and social grouping.
Today, Yaniv Altshuler at Ben Gurion University and a few pals argue that the value of this data makes it almost inevitable that malicious attackers will attempt to steal it. They point out that many companies already mine the pattern of links in their data for things like recommender systems.
"There is no reason to think that developers of malicious applications will not implement the same method and algorithms into future malware, or that they have not already started doing so," they say.
The idea would be to release some kind of malware that records the patterns of links in a network. This kind of malware will be very hard to detect, say Altshuler and co. They've studied the strategies that best mine behavioral pattern data from a real mobile phone network consisting of 800,000 links between 200,000 phones. (They call this type of attack "Stealing Reality".)
In conventional attacks, malware spreads most efficiently when the infection rate is high, and this maximises the amount of information it can steal. But it also makes the malware relatively easy to spot.
In a behavioral pattern attack, their surprising conclusion is that the most effective way of mining data is to have a low infection rate, so the malware spreads slowly. That's because it takes time to collect good information about an individual's behavior patterns. Also, a slow spread is less likely to be picked up by network administrators and antivirus software.
Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this new kind of theft is its potential impact. If malware steals your credit card details or online banking passwords, you can easily change them and this limits the damage.
But if a malicious attacker steals your behavioral patterns, there's almost nothing you can do. You can't change your network of friends or family, for example.
What's more, once this information is released, it is more or less impossible to contain--how would you ensure that every copy had been deleted?
The prospects for avoiding this new threat look bleak. As Altshuler and co point out: "History has shown that whenever something has a tangible value associated with it, there will always be those who try to malevolently 'game' the system for profit."
We'll almost certainly have to deal with this one sooner or later.
Ultimate Social Persuasion Device
In the near future, all citizens will wear a centrally-controlled, super iPhone that tracks your movements and can scan everyone around you to divulge their net worth, their shopping history and their dating potential.
The so-called äppärät is an invention of Gary Shteyngart, author of the satiric novel "Super Sad True Love Story." The main character works in the post-human services industry and he falls in love with a younger woman who constantly "teens," or text chats, with her friends. Is there an äppärät in your future? Will a fictional mobile device have a cautionary impact on today's designs?
How does the apparat rank people?
So you walk into a bar, let's say I'm walking into a bar. Everyone automatically ranks me and so I'll be the seventh ugliest man in the bar, but I'll have the fourth-best credit rating so it's very exciting you know. So everyone tells me that, you know -- who I am.
It also ranks your "personality" and your attractiveness. Your personality is how extroverted you are, how much of your own personal stuff you have out there. So it's constantly -- that's what a "good personality" is -- just somebody who just constantly spews things about her or himself. That's one focus.
Then there's something, there's a kind of emote pad so if you see somebody you're attracted to, it measures your heartbeat as it goes up when you're looking at them. And that woman or man immediately knows how much you want them, and then he or she can reject you or not.
Scary!!!!!
The so-called äppärät is an invention of Gary Shteyngart, author of the satiric novel "Super Sad True Love Story." The main character works in the post-human services industry and he falls in love with a younger woman who constantly "teens," or text chats, with her friends. Is there an äppärät in your future? Will a fictional mobile device have a cautionary impact on today's designs?
How does the apparat rank people?
So you walk into a bar, let's say I'm walking into a bar. Everyone automatically ranks me and so I'll be the seventh ugliest man in the bar, but I'll have the fourth-best credit rating so it's very exciting you know. So everyone tells me that, you know -- who I am.
It also ranks your "personality" and your attractiveness. Your personality is how extroverted you are, how much of your own personal stuff you have out there. So it's constantly -- that's what a "good personality" is -- just somebody who just constantly spews things about her or himself. That's one focus.
Then there's something, there's a kind of emote pad so if you see somebody you're attracted to, it measures your heartbeat as it goes up when you're looking at them. And that woman or man immediately knows how much you want them, and then he or she can reject you or not.
Scary!!!!!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Portable laser devices to improve disease diagnosis
Portable devices that use a laser beam to probe bones, teeth, and other parts of the body for early signs of diseases like osteoporosis and tooth decay may seem like something out of science fiction. But those devices are moving closer to reality, according to Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN).
These new diagnostic tools will have the ability to see beneath the skin and detect disease, without exposing patients to X-rays. They embrace a technology that involves focusing a laser beam painlessly through the skin onto a bone or onto the surface of a tooth. After hitting its target, the beam returns to an electronic detector with imprinted information that can reveal whether disease is present. Called Raman spectroscopy, the technology is a mainstay tool in chemistry laboratories that is finding a new life in medicine.
The article describes growing medical interest in Raman-based devices, especially for diagnosing osteoporosis and other bone diseases, and for tracking the effectiveness of treatment. Another application may be in very early detection of tooth decay, so that dentists can treat soft spots on tooth enamel before “drill-and-fill” becomes the only option. The technique could also mean blood tests done without taking blood samples, the article indicates.
These new diagnostic tools will have the ability to see beneath the skin and detect disease, without exposing patients to X-rays. They embrace a technology that involves focusing a laser beam painlessly through the skin onto a bone or onto the surface of a tooth. After hitting its target, the beam returns to an electronic detector with imprinted information that can reveal whether disease is present. Called Raman spectroscopy, the technology is a mainstay tool in chemistry laboratories that is finding a new life in medicine.
The article describes growing medical interest in Raman-based devices, especially for diagnosing osteoporosis and other bone diseases, and for tracking the effectiveness of treatment. Another application may be in very early detection of tooth decay, so that dentists can treat soft spots on tooth enamel before “drill-and-fill” becomes the only option. The technique could also mean blood tests done without taking blood samples, the article indicates.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Ultra High speed Process
Researchers at Sun Yat-Sen University in China have demonstrated a way to record on ferromagnetic films using laser-assisted ultrafast magnetization reversal dynamics. The development will allow for practical use of new technology for recording more than 6,000 terabits (6 petabits) of data on a single 5-inch disc, using ultra-high-density magneto-optical storage devices.
The new ultrafast recording technique uses “time-resolved polar Kerr spectroscopy” combined with an alternating magnetic field strong enough to re-initialize the magnetization state of gadolinium-iron-cobalt (GdFeCo) thin films. The researchers showed that the magnetization reversal could occur on a sub-nanosecond time scale, which implies that next-generation magneto-optical storage devices can not only realize higher recording densities but also ultrafast data writing of up to a gigahertz — at least thirty times faster than that of present hard disks in computers.
Laser-assisted magnetic recording was demonstrated on a sub-picosecond time scale under a saturated external magnetic field. “We found that the rate of magnetization reversal is proportional to the external magnetic field,” says Tianshu Lai, “and the genuine thermo-magnetic recording should happen within several tens to hundreds of picoseconds when we apply a smaller magnetic field than the coercivity of the recording films.”
The new ultrafast recording technique uses “time-resolved polar Kerr spectroscopy” combined with an alternating magnetic field strong enough to re-initialize the magnetization state of gadolinium-iron-cobalt (GdFeCo) thin films. The researchers showed that the magnetization reversal could occur on a sub-nanosecond time scale, which implies that next-generation magneto-optical storage devices can not only realize higher recording densities but also ultrafast data writing of up to a gigahertz — at least thirty times faster than that of present hard disks in computers.
Laser-assisted magnetic recording was demonstrated on a sub-picosecond time scale under a saturated external magnetic field. “We found that the rate of magnetization reversal is proportional to the external magnetic field,” says Tianshu Lai, “and the genuine thermo-magnetic recording should happen within several tens to hundreds of picoseconds when we apply a smaller magnetic field than the coercivity of the recording films.”
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
You Tube Time Machine takes you back in Time
While YouTube has only been around for just over five years, video and moving pictures date back to the late 1800s, and some of those hundred-year-old videos are available on YouTube to view. At the same time, it's a little difficult to just go searching for all YouTube videos that were created in 1912. That's where the YouTube Time Machine comes in. If you're looking to just take a trip back in time and see some notable videos from a specific era, or you're just curious about the evolution of motion pictures over the years, YouTube Time Machine can help you see.
Simply drag the scroll bar at the top of the page to the year you'd like to travel back in time to, and you'll get a YouTube video that was made in that year. Of course the videos themselves have been uploaded much more recently, but you can, for example, watch the 1944 trailer for the movie Going My Way, or footage of the Titanic docked in Belfast from 1912, or even a 2005 Welsh's Grape Juice commercial.
This is where the YouTube Time Machine is both a time-suck and a useful tool for history buffs. While the collection of videos can't compare to a purely educational and reference site like CriticalPast, the YouTube Time Machine is useful for people who are curious about what types of videos were made in different time periods, and even see some notable footage from the years they select.
The YouTube Time Machine is fun, without a doubt, especially if you want to see, for example, what may have been news, popular movies, or hot music the year you were born. The trouble with it though is that once you've done things like look up your birth year or the year you graduated high school or something, you'll be there forever just scrolling around for interesting things to watch.
Simply drag the scroll bar at the top of the page to the year you'd like to travel back in time to, and you'll get a YouTube video that was made in that year. Of course the videos themselves have been uploaded much more recently, but you can, for example, watch the 1944 trailer for the movie Going My Way, or footage of the Titanic docked in Belfast from 1912, or even a 2005 Welsh's Grape Juice commercial.
This is where the YouTube Time Machine is both a time-suck and a useful tool for history buffs. While the collection of videos can't compare to a purely educational and reference site like CriticalPast, the YouTube Time Machine is useful for people who are curious about what types of videos were made in different time periods, and even see some notable footage from the years they select.
The YouTube Time Machine is fun, without a doubt, especially if you want to see, for example, what may have been news, popular movies, or hot music the year you were born. The trouble with it though is that once you've done things like look up your birth year or the year you graduated high school or something, you'll be there forever just scrolling around for interesting things to watch.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Future Food for Cities
Within the next decade you will be able to grow all of your vegetables in a box barely larger than your refrigerator. This surprising statement is the result of a class project at Singularity Universitythis summer. Here’s how they came to believe that this is true.
Click here for full post.
Click here for full post.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Study Links More Time Spent Sitting to Higher Risk of Death
A new study from American Cancer Society researchers finds it’s not just how much physical activity you get, but how much time you spend sitting that can affect your risk of death.
Researchers say time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality, regardless of physical activity level. They conclude that public health messages should promote both being physically active and reducing time spent sitting. The study appears early online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
To explore the association between sitting time and mortality, researchers examined the amount of time spent sitting and physical activity in relation to mortality between 1993 and 2006. They found that more leisure time spent sitting was associated with higher risk of mortality, particularly in women. Women who reported more than six hours per day of sitting were 37 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat fewer than 3 hours a day. Men who sat more than 6 hours a day were 18 percent more likely to die than those who sat fewer than 3 hours per day. The association remained virtually unchanged after adjusting for physical activity level. Associations were stronger for cardiovascular disease mortality than for cancer mortality.
When combined with a lack of physical activity, the association was even stronger. Women and men who both sat more and were less physically were 94% and 48% more likely, respectively, to die compared with those who reported sitting the least and being most active.
“Several factors could explain the positive association between time spent sitting and higher all-cause death rates,” said Dr. Patel. “Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.”
Researchers say time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality, regardless of physical activity level. They conclude that public health messages should promote both being physically active and reducing time spent sitting. The study appears early online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
To explore the association between sitting time and mortality, researchers examined the amount of time spent sitting and physical activity in relation to mortality between 1993 and 2006. They found that more leisure time spent sitting was associated with higher risk of mortality, particularly in women. Women who reported more than six hours per day of sitting were 37 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat fewer than 3 hours a day. Men who sat more than 6 hours a day were 18 percent more likely to die than those who sat fewer than 3 hours per day. The association remained virtually unchanged after adjusting for physical activity level. Associations were stronger for cardiovascular disease mortality than for cancer mortality.
When combined with a lack of physical activity, the association was even stronger. Women and men who both sat more and were less physically were 94% and 48% more likely, respectively, to die compared with those who reported sitting the least and being most active.
“Several factors could explain the positive association between time spent sitting and higher all-cause death rates,” said Dr. Patel. “Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.”
Less Than 1 Year Until The Internet Runs Out of Addresses
With a maximum of just over 4 billion unique addresses, the Internet will run out of Internet addresses in about 1 year’s time, due to an explosion of data about to happen to the Web — thanks largely to sensor data, smart grids, RFID and other Internet of Things data; the increase in mobile devices connecting to the Internet; and the annual growth in user-generated content on the Web.
The solution: IPv6, the next generation Internet Protocol, which uses a 128-bit address, vs. 32 bit with the current IPv4.
The solution: IPv6, the next generation Internet Protocol, which uses a 128-bit address, vs. 32 bit with the current IPv4.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Chicken Came Before the Egg: "Scientific Proof"
British scientists claim to have solved one of the great mysteries of life, the universe and everything in it: The chicken came before the egg, they say, and they're not mincing words.
"It had long been suspected that the egg came first, but now we have the scientific proof that shows that in fact the chicken came first," Sheffield University's Dr Colin Freeman, according to a report in the Metro.
Researchers from Scotland and England used a supercomputer called HECToR to look in such detail at a chicken eggshell that they were able to determine the vital role of a protein used to kick-start the egg's formation.
That protein is only found, wait for it... inside a chicken.
Freeman, who worked on HECToR with counterparts at Edinburgh's Warwick University, said the protein had been identified earlier by scientists and was known to be linked to egg formation, "but by examining it closely we have been able to see how it controls the process," he added, describing it as a catalyst.
Professor John Harding, who also took part in the research, told Metro the discovery could have other applications.
"Understanding how chickens make shells is fascinating in itself, but can also give clues towards designing new materials." he said.
Which is good, because in spite of HECToR's hard work and the "scientific proof" it yielded, the study offered no explanation as to how the chicken got there in the first place.
If not from an egg, perhaps it just came from across the road.
"It had long been suspected that the egg came first, but now we have the scientific proof that shows that in fact the chicken came first," Sheffield University's Dr Colin Freeman, according to a report in the Metro.
Researchers from Scotland and England used a supercomputer called HECToR to look in such detail at a chicken eggshell that they were able to determine the vital role of a protein used to kick-start the egg's formation.
That protein is only found, wait for it... inside a chicken.
Freeman, who worked on HECToR with counterparts at Edinburgh's Warwick University, said the protein had been identified earlier by scientists and was known to be linked to egg formation, "but by examining it closely we have been able to see how it controls the process," he added, describing it as a catalyst.
Professor John Harding, who also took part in the research, told Metro the discovery could have other applications.
"Understanding how chickens make shells is fascinating in itself, but can also give clues towards designing new materials." he said.
Which is good, because in spite of HECToR's hard work and the "scientific proof" it yielded, the study offered no explanation as to how the chicken got there in the first place.
If not from an egg, perhaps it just came from across the road.
India develops 35-dollar 'laptop' for schools
India has come up with a 35-dollar touch-screen "laptop" -- a computing prototype that it aims to make available to students from elementary schools to universities.
The gadget, developed by the elite Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science, is part of a push to give students a better education and technical skills needed to boost India's economic growth.
The first users are expected to be university students with introduction of the Linux-based computing device targeted for next year.
The ministry is going to install broadband Internet at all of its 22,000 colleges so students can use the 1,500-rupee (35-dollar) device, government spokeswoman Mamta Verma told AFP on Friday in New Delhi.
The tablet gadget, which can be run on solar power, is equipped with an Internet browser, video-conferencing capability and a media player, among other facilities.
"This is part of the national initiative to take forward inclusive education," Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters on Thursday.
"The solutions for tomorrow will emerge from India," he said.
Sibal said the cost of the motherboard, chip, processing and other components cost a total of around 35 dollars but the government may subsidise 50 percent of the price for students.
Sibal said the government, which hopes the cost of the device can eventually fall to 10 dollars, is in discussions with global manufacturers to start mass production of the device.
India, whose 63 percent literacy rate lags far behind many other developing nations, such as China with 94 percent, is making efforts to improve its troubled education system, which lacks investment in schools and teachers.
The gadget, developed by the elite Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science, is part of a push to give students a better education and technical skills needed to boost India's economic growth.
The first users are expected to be university students with introduction of the Linux-based computing device targeted for next year.
The ministry is going to install broadband Internet at all of its 22,000 colleges so students can use the 1,500-rupee (35-dollar) device, government spokeswoman Mamta Verma told AFP on Friday in New Delhi.
The tablet gadget, which can be run on solar power, is equipped with an Internet browser, video-conferencing capability and a media player, among other facilities.
"This is part of the national initiative to take forward inclusive education," Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters on Thursday.
"The solutions for tomorrow will emerge from India," he said.
Sibal said the cost of the motherboard, chip, processing and other components cost a total of around 35 dollars but the government may subsidise 50 percent of the price for students.
Sibal said the government, which hopes the cost of the device can eventually fall to 10 dollars, is in discussions with global manufacturers to start mass production of the device.
India, whose 63 percent literacy rate lags far behind many other developing nations, such as China with 94 percent, is making efforts to improve its troubled education system, which lacks investment in schools and teachers.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Why HOT water freezes quicker than COLD water
HOT water sometimes freezes faster than cold water - but why? This peculiar phenomenon has baffled scientists for generations, but now there is evidence that the effect may depend on random impurities in the water.
Fast-freezing of hot water is known as the Mpemba effect, after a Tanzanian schoolboy called Erasto Mpemba (see "How the Mpemba effect got its name"). Physicists have come up with several possible explanations, including faster evaporation reducing the volume of hot water, a layer of frost insulating the cooler water, and differing concentration of solutes. But the answer has been very hard to pin down because the effect is unreliable - cold water is just as likely to freeze faster.
James Brownridge, who is radiation safety officer for the State University of New York at Binghamton, believes that this randomness is crucial. Over the past 10 years he has carried out hundreds of experiments on the Mpemba effect in his spare time, and has evidence that the effect is based on the shifty phenomenon of supercooling.
"Water hardly ever freezes at 0 °C," says Brownridge. "It usually supercools, and only begins freezing at a lower temperature." The freezing point depends on impurities in the water which seed the formation of ice crystals. Typically, water may contain several types of impurity, from dust particles to dissolved salts and bacteria, each of which triggers freezing at a characteristic temperature. The impurity with the highest nucleation temperature determines the temperature at which the water freezes.
Brownridge starts with two samples of water at the same temperature - say, tap water at 20 °C - in covered test tubes and cools them in a freezer. One will freeze first, presumably because its random mix of impurities give it a higher freezing point.
If the difference is large enough, the Mpemba effect will appear. Brownridge selects the sample with the higher natural freezing temperature to heat to 80 °C, warming the other to only room temperature, then puts the test tubes back in the freezer. The hot water will always freeze faster than the cold water if its freezing point is at least 5 °C higher, Brownridge says.
It may seem surprising that moving the finish line by only 5 °C makes enough of a difference, when the hotter sample starts out 60 °C behind in the race. But the bigger the temperature difference between an object and its surroundings - in this case, the freezer - the faster it cools. So the hot sample will do most of its cooling very quickly, helping it to reach its own freezing point of -2 °C, say, before the cooler water gets to its freezing point of -7 °C.
Fast-freezing of hot water is known as the Mpemba effect, after a Tanzanian schoolboy called Erasto Mpemba (see "How the Mpemba effect got its name"). Physicists have come up with several possible explanations, including faster evaporation reducing the volume of hot water, a layer of frost insulating the cooler water, and differing concentration of solutes. But the answer has been very hard to pin down because the effect is unreliable - cold water is just as likely to freeze faster.
James Brownridge, who is radiation safety officer for the State University of New York at Binghamton, believes that this randomness is crucial. Over the past 10 years he has carried out hundreds of experiments on the Mpemba effect in his spare time, and has evidence that the effect is based on the shifty phenomenon of supercooling.
"Water hardly ever freezes at 0 °C," says Brownridge. "It usually supercools, and only begins freezing at a lower temperature." The freezing point depends on impurities in the water which seed the formation of ice crystals. Typically, water may contain several types of impurity, from dust particles to dissolved salts and bacteria, each of which triggers freezing at a characteristic temperature. The impurity with the highest nucleation temperature determines the temperature at which the water freezes.
Brownridge starts with two samples of water at the same temperature - say, tap water at 20 °C - in covered test tubes and cools them in a freezer. One will freeze first, presumably because its random mix of impurities give it a higher freezing point.
If the difference is large enough, the Mpemba effect will appear. Brownridge selects the sample with the higher natural freezing temperature to heat to 80 °C, warming the other to only room temperature, then puts the test tubes back in the freezer. The hot water will always freeze faster than the cold water if its freezing point is at least 5 °C higher, Brownridge says.
It may seem surprising that moving the finish line by only 5 °C makes enough of a difference, when the hotter sample starts out 60 °C behind in the race. But the bigger the temperature difference between an object and its surroundings - in this case, the freezer - the faster it cools. So the hot sample will do most of its cooling very quickly, helping it to reach its own freezing point of -2 °C, say, before the cooler water gets to its freezing point of -7 °C.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wireless 'thought-to-text' cap
LONDON — A team of researchers from IMEC, the Holst Center and the lab of neuro- and psychophysiology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven has presented Mind Speller, a thought-to-text device intended to help people with motor disabilities.
A number of research institutes are working on similar devices which make use of electro-encephalogram (EEG) brainwaves and positive biological feedback so that individuals can use thought processes alone to control a cursor or a computer action.
The Mind Speller,uses a portable device, the size of a matchbox, connected to a cap that contains electrodes located at specific positions on the head to capture the relevant EEG-signals. The electronics in the matchbox are developed by IMEC and the Holst Center. It contains IMEC's and Holst Center's proprietary eight-channel EEG-chip to process the EEG signals, a commercially available microcontroller that digitizes the EEG signals and a 2.4-GHz radio that transmits the EEG signals wirelessly to a nearby PC. The data is interpreted on the PC by signal processing algorithms developed by the team of Professor Marc Van Hulle at the lab of neuro- and psychophysiology of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
"The Mind Speller is a generic device that can be easily adjusted to different users. Therefore, it could be a cost-efficient communication solution for people with temporal impairments for whom the existing solutions are too expensive. Moreover, the Mind Speller may help those patients that are not helped with the existing devices driven by motor activity, as the Mind Speller is based on a different principle, using P300 EEG potentials to read people's thoughts," said Professor Van Hulle.
IMEC is adapting the electronics to allow it to work with dry electrodes, thus making the system less difficult to use.
A number of research institutes are working on similar devices which make use of electro-encephalogram (EEG) brainwaves and positive biological feedback so that individuals can use thought processes alone to control a cursor or a computer action.
The Mind Speller,uses a portable device, the size of a matchbox, connected to a cap that contains electrodes located at specific positions on the head to capture the relevant EEG-signals. The electronics in the matchbox are developed by IMEC and the Holst Center. It contains IMEC's and Holst Center's proprietary eight-channel EEG-chip to process the EEG signals, a commercially available microcontroller that digitizes the EEG signals and a 2.4-GHz radio that transmits the EEG signals wirelessly to a nearby PC. The data is interpreted on the PC by signal processing algorithms developed by the team of Professor Marc Van Hulle at the lab of neuro- and psychophysiology of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
"The Mind Speller is a generic device that can be easily adjusted to different users. Therefore, it could be a cost-efficient communication solution for people with temporal impairments for whom the existing solutions are too expensive. Moreover, the Mind Speller may help those patients that are not helped with the existing devices driven by motor activity, as the Mind Speller is based on a different principle, using P300 EEG potentials to read people's thoughts," said Professor Van Hulle.
IMEC is adapting the electronics to allow it to work with dry electrodes, thus making the system less difficult to use.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Your Life: The Shirt-Pocket Movie
by Eirc A Taub
Think of it as Twitter with pictures. With a miniature wearable camcorder called the uCorder, you can document every mundane aspect of your life, from tying your shoes to going into the subway.
uCorder
The uCorder is about the size of a stick of gum. You can attach it to your belt, put it on a lanyard around your neck or slip it into a shirt pocket. Additional flash memory can be added to either of the two models, the $80 IRDC150 and $100 IRDC250, which come with 1GB and 2GB of memory, respectively, giving you either 36 or 72 minutes of video. The larger-capacity model can also double as a Web cam, using the included mount.
The uCorder records in 640 by 480 resolution using the AVI format. A built-in LED can help in low-light situations.
Playing videos from the device was simple. I just connected the uCorder to my Mac and double-clicked on the file that appeared on the desktop. In my tests, I found the video to be of good quality, but the audio was filled with lots of background noise and hum. While the device comes with a lanyard, don’t dangle the uCorder from it while you’re walking around, or you’ll be taking a lot of pictures of your shirt as the device twirls around your neck.
While the video quality was certainly acceptable watching in a small computer screen, don’t expect to use the uCorder to record life’s important events. Leaving a camcorder to find its own way around your neck or in your pocket will not make for the most compelling imagery. However, if you’re interested in recording a college lecture or the interaction between you and your date, it might do the trick.
Think of it as Twitter with pictures. With a miniature wearable camcorder called the uCorder, you can document every mundane aspect of your life, from tying your shoes to going into the subway.
uCorder
The uCorder is about the size of a stick of gum. You can attach it to your belt, put it on a lanyard around your neck or slip it into a shirt pocket. Additional flash memory can be added to either of the two models, the $80 IRDC150 and $100 IRDC250, which come with 1GB and 2GB of memory, respectively, giving you either 36 or 72 minutes of video. The larger-capacity model can also double as a Web cam, using the included mount.
The uCorder records in 640 by 480 resolution using the AVI format. A built-in LED can help in low-light situations.
Playing videos from the device was simple. I just connected the uCorder to my Mac and double-clicked on the file that appeared on the desktop. In my tests, I found the video to be of good quality, but the audio was filled with lots of background noise and hum. While the device comes with a lanyard, don’t dangle the uCorder from it while you’re walking around, or you’ll be taking a lot of pictures of your shirt as the device twirls around your neck.
While the video quality was certainly acceptable watching in a small computer screen, don’t expect to use the uCorder to record life’s important events. Leaving a camcorder to find its own way around your neck or in your pocket will not make for the most compelling imagery. However, if you’re interested in recording a college lecture or the interaction between you and your date, it might do the trick.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
THE NEW DORK
It is now a well established fact that geeks and dorks are cool so here we hear it loud and clear with the a spoof on the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys "New York".
Monday, March 1, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Looks can't kill but might control your phone
The advent of wireless headsets has led to the sometimes confusing sight of people who look like they're talking to themselves, until you realize they're on a phone call.
If a technology demonstration by NTT DoCoMo goes anywhere, we may have to get ready for another odd sight: people who quickly flick their gaze sideways and roll their eyes for no apparent reason.
They'll be controlling their phones or their music players. NTT DoCoMo has created headphones that sense eye movements. For instance, you can look from right to left to pause your music. Look right, then right again, to skip to the next track. Roll them clockwise to raise the volume.
NTT DoCoMo, a Japanese wireless carrier, demonstrated the headphones this week at the world's largest wireless trade show, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It doesn't have any specific plans to get the technology into the market.
The headphones look much like regular earbuds, connected by a cable to a phone. They sense the movements of the eyeballs by measuring tiny changes in electric charge. It turns out that the cornea, the outer surface of the eyes, has a positive charge. When you look left, the resulting shift in the electrical charge can be detected as far away as the ears. And no, this is not the source of the expression "electrifying gaze."
If a technology demonstration by NTT DoCoMo goes anywhere, we may have to get ready for another odd sight: people who quickly flick their gaze sideways and roll their eyes for no apparent reason.
They'll be controlling their phones or their music players. NTT DoCoMo has created headphones that sense eye movements. For instance, you can look from right to left to pause your music. Look right, then right again, to skip to the next track. Roll them clockwise to raise the volume.
NTT DoCoMo, a Japanese wireless carrier, demonstrated the headphones this week at the world's largest wireless trade show, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It doesn't have any specific plans to get the technology into the market.
The headphones look much like regular earbuds, connected by a cable to a phone. They sense the movements of the eyeballs by measuring tiny changes in electric charge. It turns out that the cornea, the outer surface of the eyes, has a positive charge. When you look left, the resulting shift in the electrical charge can be detected as far away as the ears. And no, this is not the source of the expression "electrifying gaze."
Near-threshold computing could enable up to 100x reduction in power consumption
Using Moore’s law as the metric of progress has become misleading: starting around the 65-nm node, improvements in packing densities no longer translate to proportional increases in performance or energy efficiency. Researchers predict that near-threshold computing could restore the relationship between transistor density and energy efficiency. Credit: Dreslinski, et al. ©2010 IEEE.
(PhysOrg.com) -- While electronic devices have greatly improved in many regards, such as in storage capacity, graphics, and overall performance, etc., they still have a weight hanging around their neck: they’re huge energy hogs. When it comes to energy efficiency, today’s computers, cell phones, and other gadgets are little better off than those from a decade ago, or more. The problem of power goes beyond being green and saving money. For electrical engineers, power has become the primary design constraint for future electronic devices. Without lowering power consumption, improvements made in other areas of electronic devices could be useless, simply because there isn’t enough power to support them.
(PhysOrg.com) -- While electronic devices have greatly improved in many regards, such as in storage capacity, graphics, and overall performance, etc., they still have a weight hanging around their neck: they’re huge energy hogs. When it comes to energy efficiency, today’s computers, cell phones, and other gadgets are little better off than those from a decade ago, or more. The problem of power goes beyond being green and saving money. For electrical engineers, power has become the primary design constraint for future electronic devices. Without lowering power consumption, improvements made in other areas of electronic devices could be useless, simply because there isn’t enough power to support them.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything
Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products.
The liquid glass coating is breathable, which means it can be used on plants and seeds. Trials in vineyards have found spraying vines increases their resistance to fungal diseases, while other tests have shown sprayed seeds germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds, and coated wood is not attacked by termites. Other vineyard applications include coating corks with liquid glass to prevent “corking” and contamination of wine. The spray cannot be seen by the naked eye, which means it could also be used to treat clothing and other materials to make them stain-resistant. McClelland said you can “pour a bottle of wine over an expensive silk shirt and it will come right off”.
Read more.....
The liquid glass coating is breathable, which means it can be used on plants and seeds. Trials in vineyards have found spraying vines increases their resistance to fungal diseases, while other tests have shown sprayed seeds germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds, and coated wood is not attacked by termites. Other vineyard applications include coating corks with liquid glass to prevent “corking” and contamination of wine. The spray cannot be seen by the naked eye, which means it could also be used to treat clothing and other materials to make them stain-resistant. McClelland said you can “pour a bottle of wine over an expensive silk shirt and it will come right off”.
Read more.....
Multitouch 'Skin' Transforms Surfaces Into Interactive Screens
A new large-format multi-touch technology launched today by DISPLAX, a developer of interactive technologies, will transform any non-conductive flat or curved surface into a multitouch screen.
The DISPLAX Multitouch Technology, believed to be the first of its kind, has been developed based on a transparent thinner-than-paper polymer film. When applied to glass, plastic or wood, the surface becomes interactive. Significantly, this new multitouch technology can be applied to standard LCD screens as well, making it an attractive choice for LCD manufacturers. The new technology will also be available for audiovisual integrators or gaming platforms to develop innovative products.
Read More.....
The DISPLAX Multitouch Technology, believed to be the first of its kind, has been developed based on a transparent thinner-than-paper polymer film. When applied to glass, plastic or wood, the surface becomes interactive. Significantly, this new multitouch technology can be applied to standard LCD screens as well, making it an attractive choice for LCD manufacturers. The new technology will also be available for audiovisual integrators or gaming platforms to develop innovative products.
Read More.....
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Copyright Kriminals
A documentary about digital samplings head-on collision with copyright law, features many of hip-hop musics celebrated figures—including Public Enemy, De La Soul, the Beastie Boys...
You can now smell a terrorist a mile away
A new intelligent system has been developed to help identify terrorists carrying explosives. Sensitive electronic noses capture the smell of the explosives; the system processes the acquired data, correlates it with individuals' movements... and ultimately tracks down the suspects.
Literally hundreds of people are hurrying through the long airport corridor between Terminals A and B. Among them are two terrorists, who've hidden themselves in the crowd. They're carrying small containers of chemicals in their jacket pockets, individual components for an explosive. But there's something the criminals don't know. As well as being observed by security cameras, they're also being "sniffed out" by chemical noses hidden in the corridor wall.
The smell sensors sound the alarm when the terrorists walk past, alerting an airport security guard who notes the problem on his monitoring equipment. At this point in time, he can't tell precisely who is carrying hazardous chemicals - but he knows the sensor network will continue to "sniff out" and track down the suspects.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE in Wachtberg have built a prototype security system to replicate just such a scenario. They've named it HAMLeT, which stands for Hazardous Material Localization and Person Tracking. "HAMLeT will alert security personnel to suspicious individuals," says head of department Dr. Wolfgang Koch from the FKIE. The system involves a network of highly-sensitive smell sensors which follow an explosive's trail. There are oscillating crystals on the sensor chips, and whenever the electronic noses capture chemical molecules, their oscillation frequency changes. The precise nature of the change is different for different substances.
A further component in the system - the sensor's data fusion function - traces the explosive's path and ferrets out the carrier. A second sensor network is needed to track the route the individual takes; for this, the researchers have used laser scanners. "HAMLeT's real achievement is its ability to collate all the data and convert it into a clear and accurate overall picture," says Koch. The sensor data fusion process employs complex algorithms which allow HAMLeT to build up a precise image of pedestrian flows and connect a particular smell with a specific individual.
In a trial involving the German Armed Forces, researchers at the FKIE proved the system's ability to track down five "terrorists" carrying hidden explosives. The scientists are now working to refine the prototype's algorithms in order to reduce the false alarm rate.
Literally hundreds of people are hurrying through the long airport corridor between Terminals A and B. Among them are two terrorists, who've hidden themselves in the crowd. They're carrying small containers of chemicals in their jacket pockets, individual components for an explosive. But there's something the criminals don't know. As well as being observed by security cameras, they're also being "sniffed out" by chemical noses hidden in the corridor wall.
The smell sensors sound the alarm when the terrorists walk past, alerting an airport security guard who notes the problem on his monitoring equipment. At this point in time, he can't tell precisely who is carrying hazardous chemicals - but he knows the sensor network will continue to "sniff out" and track down the suspects.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE in Wachtberg have built a prototype security system to replicate just such a scenario. They've named it HAMLeT, which stands for Hazardous Material Localization and Person Tracking. "HAMLeT will alert security personnel to suspicious individuals," says head of department Dr. Wolfgang Koch from the FKIE. The system involves a network of highly-sensitive smell sensors which follow an explosive's trail. There are oscillating crystals on the sensor chips, and whenever the electronic noses capture chemical molecules, their oscillation frequency changes. The precise nature of the change is different for different substances.
A further component in the system - the sensor's data fusion function - traces the explosive's path and ferrets out the carrier. A second sensor network is needed to track the route the individual takes; for this, the researchers have used laser scanners. "HAMLeT's real achievement is its ability to collate all the data and convert it into a clear and accurate overall picture," says Koch. The sensor data fusion process employs complex algorithms which allow HAMLeT to build up a precise image of pedestrian flows and connect a particular smell with a specific individual.
In a trial involving the German Armed Forces, researchers at the FKIE proved the system's ability to track down five "terrorists" carrying hidden explosives. The scientists are now working to refine the prototype's algorithms in order to reduce the false alarm rate.
DARPA Spends €51 Million
According to soldiers, consistent and realistic drill forms the foundation of any successful military action. But where an infantryman can hone his aim at a firing range, America's Internet warriors don't have a similar venue for developing their skills at cyberwar. But DARPA hopes a $51 million network simulation, complete with computer programs that behave like human targets and adversaries, will provide the perfect arena for developing the next generation of cyberwar weapons and tactics.
The simulation, National Cyber Range (NCR), first went public last year, but just yesterday the cash needed to get this project moving was finally doled out. Johns Hopkins received $24.8 million for the project, while Lockheed Martin walked away with $30.8 million. The Lockheed contract is significant, as its defense industry competitor Northrop Grumman actually won the Phase I grant in 2009.
According to DARPA, the NCR will "realistically replicate human behavior and frailties," and provide "realistic, sophisticated, nation-state quality offensive and defensive opposition forces." Basically, computer programs acting like real people will populate a the virtual world that the cyberwarriors will attempt to disrupt or save, depending on the mission. Paging Agent Smith...
Even more impressive than the automation of the virtual population is the size of the simulation. DARPA hopes that the NCR will be able to simulate the entire Internet, allowing soldiers to drill in virtual simulations ranging from a small scale computer virus to a World War III-sized conflict.
The project just entered Phase II testing, so there it's still going to be a wait before the NCR starts running at full capacity. In the meanwhile, let's just hope someone remembers to teach the computer how to play tic-tac-toe.
The simulation, National Cyber Range (NCR), first went public last year, but just yesterday the cash needed to get this project moving was finally doled out. Johns Hopkins received $24.8 million for the project, while Lockheed Martin walked away with $30.8 million. The Lockheed contract is significant, as its defense industry competitor Northrop Grumman actually won the Phase I grant in 2009.
According to DARPA, the NCR will "realistically replicate human behavior and frailties," and provide "realistic, sophisticated, nation-state quality offensive and defensive opposition forces." Basically, computer programs acting like real people will populate a the virtual world that the cyberwarriors will attempt to disrupt or save, depending on the mission. Paging Agent Smith...
Even more impressive than the automation of the virtual population is the size of the simulation. DARPA hopes that the NCR will be able to simulate the entire Internet, allowing soldiers to drill in virtual simulations ranging from a small scale computer virus to a World War III-sized conflict.
The project just entered Phase II testing, so there it's still going to be a wait before the NCR starts running at full capacity. In the meanwhile, let's just hope someone remembers to teach the computer how to play tic-tac-toe.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Douglas Smith mechanically stretches living nerves to grow resilient transplants
In a lab at the University of Pennsylvania, a plastic dish holds two rows of tiny black dots, pairs of them connected by dozens of thin, hairlike filaments. Each dot is a cluster of thousands of neurons, explains Douglas Smith, who is a professor of neurosurgery and the director of Penn's Center for Brain Injury and Repair. The fibers that stretch between them actually comprise thousands of axons, long, slender projections that conduct electrical impulses away from each neuron's central body. These bundles--each one a lab-engineered nerve--represent physical bridges that Smith hopes will help researchers like him mend previously irreparable injuries.
To make the long nerve transplants, Smith and his team first collect sensory neurons--cells that transmit information to the brain--from the spinal cords of fetal rats. Research technician Kevin Browne then pipettes a gelatinous pink protein called collagen onto two adjacent films in a specially built chamber. About the size of a shoebox, it houses a stretching apparatus made up of a vertical block attached to metal rods. One of the small, clear films, called the towing membrane, is suspended at one end by the block and curves down almost to the base of the chamber, where it overlaps the second membrane. Browne places one set of neurons in the collagen on the towing membrane and another on the bottom membrane. At this point, the two groups are less than 100 micrometers--two hairs' width--apart. He puts the whole setup into a humming incubator that runs at 37 °C, mimicking the internal temperature of a rat.
To make the long nerve transplants, Smith and his team first collect sensory neurons--cells that transmit information to the brain--from the spinal cords of fetal rats. Research technician Kevin Browne then pipettes a gelatinous pink protein called collagen onto two adjacent films in a specially built chamber. About the size of a shoebox, it houses a stretching apparatus made up of a vertical block attached to metal rods. One of the small, clear films, called the towing membrane, is suspended at one end by the block and curves down almost to the base of the chamber, where it overlaps the second membrane. Browne places one set of neurons in the collagen on the towing membrane and another on the bottom membrane. At this point, the two groups are less than 100 micrometers--two hairs' width--apart. He puts the whole setup into a humming incubator that runs at 37 °C, mimicking the internal temperature of a rat.
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