Scientists Discover Possible Origin of oxygen

A team of researchers just confirmed the presence of oxygen in a galaxy 13.1 billion light years away.

This is the furthest oxygen has ever been detected. Suggesting that this may  be the first oxygen to form in the early universe.

The scientists based their conclusions on data collected by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observatory.

The galaxy SXDF-NB1006-2, was discovered just four years ago, and they have been trying to identify the elements that are present ever since. The scientists describe their findings in a new paper published in the magazine "Science".

For Complete article, press HERE

Change your DNA With Only Your Thoughts!

CrystalWizard sent is this very interesting piece.

researchers at ETH Zurich have an ongoing research project to construct a gene network that can be controlled by thoughts.

Bwaiiinz! Yes Igor Let's Transplant Brains....

Ok, blame it on the season.  All levity aside, there has been some startling strides (really - no pun intended) being made in the field of brain tissue transplant.

Darek Fidyka was stabbed in the back four years ago,  paralyzing him from the chest down.

Now we hear of a stunning success after experimental treatments that Fidyka has regained some feeling in his lower body and is learning to walk again.  According to the Popular Science article, the treatment involved removing part of Fidyka's brain and then injecting those cells into the damaged area of his spinal cord.  

The tissue removed were olfactory bulbs (this is the part of the brain that allow you to smell) growing cells from the bulb and eventually injecting them.   Curiously the reason this brain tissue was used is because the nerves in the olfactory system are the only part of the human nervous system known to regrow after being damaged.  (Fidyka reported no ill effects from the removal)

Read full article HERE

Graphene is What? and it Can Do What?!!!

Graphene if not, soon will be the buzz word of the future. According to the "Bits" article forwarded to me by Xnewsman, Graphene, a form of carbon, is the strongest, thinnest material known to exist. It can conduct electricity and heat better than anything else. And get ready for this: It is also one of the most pliable and do it all in a single atom thickness.

So what does this mean to the average consumer? Well researchers say that we will soon be able to make electronics that are thinner, faster and cheaper, with the option of making them clear and flexible.

Check out the NY Times BITS link here for more.

Spacefarers Get Older Faster

How many science fiction stories, or for that matter how often have we seen in the movies that if you were rich and old you could go into space and live longer.  It was supposed to be easier on the cardie-vascular system, but that does not seem to pay out in real life.

In this IO9 article  going into space actually accelerates the aging process!  Here is what it says in black and white:

•  a new study shows that microgravity environments speed up biological aging and the onset of cardiovascular disease by affecting blood vessel cells.

We have known for some time that a micro-gravity environment promotes, muscle atrophy, bone density loss, immune response impairments - and now it would seem cardiovascular problems.    It has been known for some time that micro-gravity can damage  eyes and brain and can even cause something very much like idiopathic intracranial hypertension or brain swelling!

But aging?  Really?  Yep, according to a recent study by the Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology - micro-gravity can cause the accelerated aging of endothelial cells which line the inner surfaces of blood vessels.

 A research team from the Institute of Molecular Science and Technologies in Milan determined 

• analyzing experiments conducted on the International Space Station. They compared space-flown endothelial cells to cells cultured under normal gravity. They looked for differences in gene expression and in the profile of secreted proteins. The researchers discovered that the space-flown cells differentially expressed more than 1,000 genes 

Check out the complete article here

A Boy And His Atom: The World's Smallest Movie

Hey kiddies, here is something that will and should blow your mind. It is a short film made by IBM researchers working in the field of atomic memory. Here, IBM researchers used a scanning tunneling microscope to move thousands of carbon monoxide molecules, to make a movie so small it can be seen only when you magnify it 100 million times. This film, rightfully so, holds the Guinness World Records™ record for the World's Smallest Stop-Motion Film.

And below is a short description of the ripples that are constantly being created on the small screen. I was wondering...now I know!

Discovery Channel's Incredible Robots

CrystalWizard sent me a note saying"I ran across a very cool video on robots...when ....hunting stuff to watch"  and "this" is would seem is an in-depth look at the early evolution of robots et-all as well as a critical look at the various systems that would constitute a "robot" or an autonomous device that can overcome its own physical short comings to complete its' mission.   

The 47 minute program ( the equivalent of an hour program on US television ) is slightly dated as some of our most sophisticated probes in the form of NASA's Cassini–Huygens or the latest NASA Mars  Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover are not mentioned, though some of the earlier tests on Curiosity's suspension was in evidence.

My conclusion is, that after watching, not only will you find it entertaining, but very likely informative, especially if you are not as familiar as some when it comes to Robots in science fiction text or possibly some of the earlier efforts into learning an movement.

This is most definitely a check it out.

Thanks CW!


 

Analog Cells -Mimic Life

Xnewsman sent in this url that describes an experiment run by  scientists at the University of Oxford

in England using a 3D printer to build a network of thousands of water droplets, connected through lipids.  It is hoped that similar structures as these will serve as scaffolding for failing tissues or be used to deliver drugs to places in the body.

In the Vimo video below, you can see the network that was created.  The "programming" is different concentrations of salt strategically placed through out the network which then attracts water.   The net effects is very life-like behavior into complex structures.

What Stars Would We Visit First?

Once a really fast interstellar drive is produced and or human hibernation is perfected, there are a number of stars close to us that would be interesting. From the IO9 online blog:

• Astronaut Mae Jemison heads a group called the 100 Year Starship....(their goal) making interstellar travel a reality in 100 years. They've just produced this video, showing some of the stars that are "close" that are good candidates for visiting
• 
  

Man With Bionic Leg Climbs into History

Zac Vawter along with what is being called the world's first neural-controlled bionic leg, completed a goal for himself of climbing the 103 floors of Willis Tower in Chicago.

Vawter has only to thinking about moving his leg and sensors and motors take over the task of moving the bionic right limb.  Though this approach has been used previously in hand and arm applications but this is the first time it has been implemented in a leg.

From the WPTV.com website:

• (the climb was part of the) fourth annual SkyRise Chicago fundraiser was the first public test of the technology.  

Zac successfully made the 103 floor climb of  the Willis tower (formally called the Sears Tower) of Chicago in 53 minutes, 9 seconds. 

Vawter has been with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago for a little over a year in hopes of replacing a leg he lost three years ago in a motorcycle accident. 

WPTV story page here
 

NASA Testing Helicopter Style Re-Entry Vehicle

NASA is testing a new concept for spacecraft re-entry vehicles.  NASA's work horse has been parachutes for over sixty years or better.  Now they are experimenting with replacing the parachute with a rotor system much like that used in a helicopter.

The system would not be a helicopter in the truest sense as the rotor assembly would not be powered but would be spun by passing air  over the blades to spin them, much as in auto-rotation. The main benefit of the rotor is the design would give a capsule the stability and control of a helicopter, but as it would not be powered, the blades would not provide lift.

From the NASA article:

• The intent is to give real spacecraft a soft landing with enough control that they could touch down anywhere in the world, whether it be a runway or the top of a building. In other words, wherever a helicopter could land, a spacecraft could land, too.

Dvice Article

NASA Article

Low Cost Solar Cells Very Real Possibility in Near Future

As anyone who has dabbled with solar power knows, cells and arrays are frightfully expensive, even if you are generating modest voltages and currents.   Part of the expense is the labor intensive manufacturing process and another is the exotic materials used in the construction, such as Indium.

Now, according to Stanford News Service, scientists at Stanford have succeeded in assembling a functioning solar cell out of one atom thick carbon nano-tubes and buckey-balls. 

As difficult as that sounds to create, the cells can be deposited using thin film production techniques.  There are many aspects of this technology that are exciting, first the cells would be all carbon, which as you know is very common.  Second, because it would be a thin film, the possibility of flexibility is a very real possibility allowing them to be laid over very complex structures, something the present rigid solar cells can not do.  Plus, since the manufacturing process envisioned is thin film depositing requiring far fewer steps, the manufacture cost would be a fraction of present day cell costs.  The next cost saving is accomplished using strictly carbon as the material of choice, which again would drive down the cost.

Carbon is a good all round choice.  First it's very very common and second the cells would be very durable, third, carbon nano-tubes have the potential towards far better conductivity and much more efficient light-absorption  characteristics.

Of course that is in the future.  At present, the carbon solar cells are less than 1% efficient and only adsorb in the near infra-red but the Stanford team is already studying materials that would generate power over a broader spectrum including visible light.

The Stroop Effect

Ever heard of the Stroop Effect? I hadn't until recently, but it is a great insight into the workings of the brain. Here is what the wiki says about it.

•  the Stroop effect is a demonstration of the reaction time of a task. When the name of a color (e.g., "blue," "green," or "red") is printed in a color not denoted by the name (e.g., the word "red" printed in blue ink instead of red ink), naming the color of the word takes longer and is more prone to errors than when the color of the ink matches the name of the color. The effect is named after John Ridley Stroop who first published the effect in English in 1935.  The effect had previously been published in Germany in 1929. The original paper has been one of the most cited papers in the history of experimental psychology, leading to more than 700 replications. The effect has been used to create a psychological test (Stroop Test) that is widely used in clinical practice and investigation.

One of the things I like about this test is it's ease in replication.  You can manufacture testing material, run the experiment and generate data in fairly fast order. 

There are other equally fascinating test, however the setup and execution is such that one can lose interest easily.  Read the wiki article and some of the online material.  This is truly a fun and interesting experiment with many variations. 

Sequoia Topples K

IBM's Sequoia has replaced Japan's K as the fastest computer in the world.

The Sequoia uses 1.5 million processors to establish a benchmark speed of 16.32 petaflop/s which bested K Computer's 10.51 petaflop/s.

For those of you that would like to know what a mind blowing speed 16+ petaflops a second is - a petaflop is a quadrillion floating-point operations per second, or, to over simplify it a bit a quadrillion is 10 with 15 zeros after it or 10 million billion and Sequoia is doing 16+ basic mathematical operations of these. Can't hardly say the number let alone comprehend it.

In the BBC New article, IBM said that to put a bit more understanding to the number:

• Sequoia was capable of calculating in one hour what otherwise would have taken 6.7 billion people using hand calculators 320 years to complete if they had worked non-stop.

Also according to the article:

• Sequoia will be used to carry out simulations to help extend the life of aging nuclear weapons, avoiding the need for real-world underground tests.

Also not only is Sequoia faster than K but is also 150% more energy efficient using  7.9 megawatts to K's  12.6. 

WIKI article here

New Battery Tech May Triple Battery Capacity

Battery chemistry may have improved battery performance. Iron, to alkaline, nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride to the various lithium variations. Weight and recharargability were the driving motives. However most of the improvements in live were centered around packing in more storage media or making high density batteries which often proved problematic
in it's own problem.

Now I read about battery researchers at Washington State University have figured out a way to make lithium-ion batteries using an anode made of tin instead of graphite. Graphite, while easy to form does not perform optimally under high current loads. Tin anodes on the other hand could support 3 times as much storage. The problem with tin however is that over time it grows what can commonly be called "whiskers". These whiskers can become so bad that they can short out electronics or batteries.

The researchers however have said, well if we can not remove the whiskers, why not put them to our benifit. The researchers have succeeded in forcing tin whiskers uniformly at the quantum level and they have been able to take these tin whisker anodes and electroplate them! One of the other gains is that the electroplated tin anodes can be made much less expensively. Plus they would last longer, and recharge much faster plus holding 3 times the charge!

Check out the full Dvice article here

Creepy Shoulder Robot Wants to be Your Friend?

I found this creepy article while looking through the Komando blog which tells us about this group of Japanese researchers from Yamagata University who are developing a robot to keep you company....sort of. The "robot" consists of a wearable miniature humanoid in a controlling framework that sits on your shoulder. Creepy enough, but creepier still it can be remotely operated by your friends from anywhere, you know, like one of them good angel/devil bad angel/devil scenarios.....ick! Oh and I can just see the problems....I have five other brothers who would just LOVE to take control of this thing while I was trying to have a conversation or some sort....I know, because it is the same thing I would do....I know ASL see.... the possibilities are endless.... Nope, not going to give em the chance.....

Scientists Successful in Re-purposing Skin Cells...

Newsdaily reports that researchers based in Technion-Israel Institute of Technology,have for for first time ever, succeeded in taking skin cells and transforming them into beating heart tissue.

The researchers speculate that a patient with advanced heart failure instead of going through the difficulties of a transplant could use their own cells to create heart tissue that would be equivalent to healthy and young heart cells which would grow into their own heart, doing away with the need for transplant drugs and the ilk.

The research team accomplished the feat by taking skin cells from two patients with heart failure and transformed theses cells by adding three genes and a molecule called valproic acid to the cell nucleus.

The study, published in the European Heart Journal on Wednesday, said clinical trials of the technique could begin within 10 years.

Read complete article here

Thanks Herb for the heads up.

Walking about two miles a day, Claire Lomas finished the London Marathon 16 days after the race began. Claire, paralysed from the chest down following a horse riding accident in 2007, completing the course with the help of a powered exo - framework or power suit if you will. In doing so, she becomes the first person to finish a marathon using a powered exoskeleton or in this case a ReWalk suit.

Below is a video of her last few feet of the race.

Well, I replaced the video with one from youtube. I didn't title it though, that's a bit sappy....

Ph.Diva Sings the Biotech Research Blues

I really do get into IO9. They find the neatest stuff. Here we have an animated short featuring Ph.Diva singing with the Mystery Band a tune called The Biotech Research Blues. The animated short features one April Bright who has just been invited to present her research at her first conference. But something hinky is going on with her polymerase chain reaction, and she needs to figure it out before conference time.

As IO9 describes the video:

• bit of advertising from the biotech company Life Technologies.

Self Driving Car Test

I first saw this short demo and they titled it, Car for a Blind Man. Now that was most likely a bit of shock value because what this film really shows is a test of the Google self driving car. The fact that they put a blind man behind the wheel is a bit of theater in my mind, but you CAN see the value in the argument, however the self same argument can be said to work just as well on riding the public transport bus. Still and all, you have technology here that even though you see it working, there is still that wow factor one that makes it difficult too get it straight in your mind.

Check out this piece.