Title: Mad, Mad Science
Description: Ongoing topic
Description: Ongoing topic
Prisma Nova - October 17, 2006 04:50 PM (GMT)
From the creator(s) of "News of the Weird World" comes a new topic about the wonders of science. A more serious topic about amazing discoveries.
Here is the first post:
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/200...er/10080601.asp
Here is the first post:
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/200...er/10080601.asp
| QUOTE |
| Pour-on nanotechnology stops bleeding in seconds 10 October 2006 Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, have created a liquid that stops bleeding in any tissue in a matter of seconds. It is a discovery that they claim has the potential to revolutionise surgery and emergency medicine and could even make it easier to reattach severed limbs. Rutledge Ellis-Behnke and colleagues worked from the nanoscale, using individual amino acids to create a self-assembling peptide. It looks exactly like water but when applied directly onto injured tissue it halts bleeding. This is the first time nanotechnology has been used to control bleeding, claims Rutledge. The remarkable discovery was made by accident during an experiment in which the liquid was used to stimulate nerve repair in the brains of rats. Ellis-Behnke’s group, whose work is focussed on central nervous system repair, found that the liquid mended the nerve cells as predicted, but caused a strange side effect. ‘When we used the liquid during the surgery we thought that the animals had died. The bleeding in the brain stopped and that normally indicates that the heart has stopped beating,’ Ellis-Behnke told Chemistry World. ‘When we realised what had happened, we made a note of it and then went back to the drawing board to test it.’ In tests on skin, liver, lung, blood vessels and a variety of other tissue, Ellis-Behnke and his colleagues were able to use the liquid to halt bleeds in less than 15 seconds. The mechanism for this ability remains something of a mystery. ‘It isn’t clotting that we’re seeing. We tested for all of the things you find in all blood clots; fibrin, thrombin and platelets and none of them were there,’ said Ellis-Behnke. ‘Either this is acting as some kind of molecular band aid or we are stopping bleeding via a completely new direction that we have never seen before.’ Once the liquid touches an internal organ, it forms a gel; the amino acids assemble into fibres and stop the bleed. The degradable peptide then breaks down into non-toxic products as the tissue heals. These products can even be used by cells to rebuild damaged tissue, according to the researchers. During the study, the liquid was used successfully internally and externally, before breaking down to be incorporated into the healed tissue or excreted in the urine. Surgeons currently spend up to 50 per cent of their time during surgery packing wounds in order to reduce or control bleeding, so if Ellis-Behnke’s liquid works it would make a profound difference. Promising results in an animal model mean that human trials could begin in as little as three years, he said. ‘This could even be used on the battlefield,’ added Ellis-Behnke. ‘If a limb is removed, this could be applied to the severed limb as well as the wound on the body. It would stop the drying out and decay of the tissue and keep it clean so it would be easier to reattach.’ Victoria Gill References R G Ellis-Behnke et al., J. Nano. 2006, DOI: 10.1016/j.nano.2006.08.001 Polyphosphate crucial for clots The linear polymer polyphosphate plays an important, but previously unsuspected, role in blood coagulation. |
BlackZarak - October 17, 2006 05:05 PM (GMT)
The nanotech also extends the patient's life indefinitely.
Side effects include: dry mouth, nausea, aversion to sunlight and a thirst for human blood. Consult your physician before using.
heh
Side effects include: dry mouth, nausea, aversion to sunlight and a thirst for human blood. Consult your physician before using.
heh
Prisma Nova - October 17, 2006 05:07 PM (GMT)
I had the same thought when I was reading it. :D
I wonder if it could revive the dead... Mmmm....
I wonder if it could revive the dead... Mmmm....
Roadbuster - October 17, 2006 05:10 PM (GMT)
I saw that a few days ago, thought it was pretty cool...
Hrm... I'll like this topic. I see your medical story and raise you a chemistry article:
Hrm... I'll like this topic. I see your medical story and raise you a chemistry article:
| QUOTE |
| Scientists create new element POSTED: 11:11 a.m. EDT, October 17, 2006 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Revisiting one of physics' most embarrassing cases of scientific misconduct, researchers from Russia and the United States announced Monday that they have created a new super-heavy element, atomic number 118. Scientists said they smashed together calcium with the manmade element Californium to make an atom with 118 protons in its nucleus. The new element lasted for just one millisecond, but it was the heaviest element ever made and the first manmade inert gas -- the atomic family that includes helium, neon and radon. If confirmed, the still-unnamed element would be placed beneath radon on the periodic table of elements, said Ken Moody of the Lawrence Livermore National Lab in California, which was joined on the project by Russia's Joint Institute of Nuclear Research. The findings were published in the journal Physical Review C. The same research team has created four other elements. The experiment recalled an earlier attempt to create the same element. In 1999, scientists said they created element 118, only to withdraw their claims in 2002 amid charges of falsified data and the firing of a scientist. That group of researchers included three from the team that announced Monday's discovery. This time, Moody said, safeguards were adopted to minimize the possibility that just one scientist held critical data. Yale University physics professor Richard Casten, an associate editor of the physics journal, said the latest work was subject to intense scrutiny "because of the sensitivity of the issue." Casten said such new elements are not discoveries until they are confirmed by other scientists. That may take several years, Moody said. The element was created last year in Russia using a minuscule amount of Californium provided by the Americans. After a millisecond, it decayed into element 114, then into element 112 and then split in half, Moody said. Creating a new element "is sort of the Holy Grail of nuclear physics," said Konrad Gelbke, a scientist who was not on the team but directs the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. "It's extremely hard to do." Moody said the new element will not be named until it is approved by an international association of chemists. Elements 113, 114, 115, and 116 are still unnamed. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
BlackZarak - October 17, 2006 05:24 PM (GMT)
I vote for naming it Cybertonium...or "Radioactive Flatulence". Inert gas, indeed!
Prisma Nova - October 17, 2006 05:28 PM (GMT)
Cool article! And somehow... the topic went flatulent again! :D
I'm glad you like it Roady, and I'm sure Doc will find a few to his liking.
I'm glad you like it Roady, and I'm sure Doc will find a few to his liking.
Dr Archeville - October 17, 2006 07:13 PM (GMT)
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| How will our robots know friend from foe? DARPA has recently awarded contracts to several companies to develope a micro-miniature, autonomous, hummingbird-sized robot. The specs are here. The salient specifications for purposes of this post are that this UAV nanodrone will be capable of searching for a target and delivering a small payload. The defense department's intent is to create a robot that will think for itself - and more importantly - kill by itself, requiring no human supervision. The specifications call for this robot to be able to withstand several forms of deployment. Delivery by artillery and bomb drop, for instance. The military envisions a bomb, holding hundreds, or even thousands, to be dropped on the battlefield in preparation for war. And during the actual battles, to ferret out hidden enemies or weapons. These little flying robots would be capable of recon throughout the electro-magnetic spectrum and target acquisition. They would be less than one half as large as the image I am using for illustration, pehaps, less than one fourth that size. They'd be able to enter buildings, find their target and either surveil that target or drop a little, tiny bomb on it. While this might sound like sci-fi, the design bids are to be in by early 2008. Recently, however, The Department of Defense began to consider the full implications of deploying completely autonomous robots with lethal potential against humans - friend or foe. This argument has been raging in science fiction and in colleges and universities for decades. How can we be certain a robot can distinguish between good guys and bad guys? Do we REALLY want robots to be able to kill humans? Who is to blame if a robot does kill a friendly?  |
Even the Department of Defense wonders if this is a good idea. Can you say SKYNET?
BlackZarak - October 18, 2006 03:00 AM (GMT)
Of course they can tell friend from foe.
Friends fly and run off of batteries. Foes have a 98.6 body temp.
"Which ones friends?"
"Dunno. Maybe ones with face like this?"
"That good enough for me, Slag."
Friends fly and run off of batteries. Foes have a 98.6 body temp.
"Which ones friends?"
"Dunno. Maybe ones with face like this?"
"That good enough for me, Slag."
Roadbuster - October 18, 2006 05:07 PM (GMT)
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Aquatic car drives with 'oooomph' POSTED: 12:01 p.m. EDT, October 17, 2006 RIDGELAND, South Carolina (AP) -- It's not terribly easy to parallel park an automobile on a lake. Now, John Giljam knows this to be as true as the highway is long, and for good reason: He's tried to park his car on a lake -- and on rivers, ponds, even the Intracoastal Waterway. Giljam, in fact, has practiced not only parking on water; he's become quite adept at turning sharply on it. (He no longer gets drenched in a curtain of spume when cornering, he'll have you know.) And he's mastered the art of steering clear of critters -- geese, mostly, though gators have a habit of surfacing at inopportune moments. It helps, of course, to learn these aquatic feats behind the wheel of his latest creation, the "Hydra Spyder," an amphibious car that cruises on H2O as easily as it does on blacktop. With its snazzy snout, convertible top, Corvette V8 engine and jet "impeller" -- the stainless-steel cone protruding from the rear that propels it through water -- the Hydra Spyder is poised to become the first, mass-produced amphibious automobile in America. "It's incredibly nimble in the water. The Spyder turns smoothly, docks easily," the 46-year-old inventor boasts. It has one shortcoming, he concedes. On the water, "the parallel parking really sucks." Giljam tingles at the idea of anglers taking their cars out on lakes for a day of fishing; of rush-hour commuters bypassing congestion by taking a river as an alternate route; of water-skiers bouncing along in the wake of a speedboat with four wheels. "I honestly feel I've been born with a gift, and it was for creating mechanical things," he says. "It's what keeps me up at night." Ten years ago, Giljam operated a Jet Ski rental company on Hilton Head Island. Business was brisk, he recalls, but one day two customers crashed into each other. Though they weren't hurt seriously, he shut the business down, he says. "I would not be able to function if something I owned and operated hurt somebody." Which then got him to thinking: Could an aquatic vehicle be designed to be fast and safe? By 39, he had invented -- and patented -- the world's first unsinkable bus and the world's first aquatic, luxury RV. Producing amphibious cars on a grand scale would be, as he sees it, a "logical" new endeavor. Washout His Hydra Spyder is not the first of its kind to crawl ashore. Civilian, amphibious vehicles have been around for more than a century, and European manufacturers have long dominated the trade. Yet, while some models have been able to raise dust on a highway, nearly all have been agonizingly slow in the wet, where wheels create drag. One well-known washout was the "Amphicar," which was mass-produced in Germany from 1961 to 1968. On roadways, the Amphicar got up to 70 miles per hour but disappointed in the water, mustering a dash speed of just 7 miles per hour. In the mid-1990s, Alan Gibbs, a New Zealand inventor-entrepreneur, founded Gibbs Technologies, of Nuneaton, England, with the aim of developing the first high-speed amphibious car. (Gibbs had a 194-foot yacht, which he enjoyed outfitting with aquatic "toys" -- meaning anything from a Jet Ski to a submarine.) In 2003, after seven years of work with 70 British engineers and designers, Gibbs launched "Aquada," an amphibious sports car, a la 007, with retractable wheels and a jet drive that propelled it along water at a maximum speed of 32.8 miles per hour. To the acclaim of the British media, it made its test-run at London's Docklands, scene of a high-speed boat chase in the James Bond film "The World Is Not Enough." Not long thereafter, the Aquada made the Guinness Book of Records for the fastest crossing of the English Channel by an amphibious vehicle. (Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic, planed across in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 6 seconds.) At the time, Giljam's company, Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International LLC, which he founded with his wife, Julie, in 1999, was turning out amphibious buses, a dozen or so a year, at a factory in Rochester, N.Y. (Tour operators are the Giljams' main clients; eight "Hydra Terras" are currently in operation in New York City.) The Aquada's big splash threw Giljam into creative overdrive. "I suppose," he told a reporter once, "we just wanted to answer the Brits." The amphibian he envisioned would have to be faster, tougher, and more economical than the Aquada, which retailed for $300,000. And unsinkable. "Safety," says Giljam, a 12-year veteran of a rescue squad in his native Lakeville, New York, "means everything to me." And so, he took to the drawing board. History in the making Today, the factory doesn't look like much from Interstate 95: a sand-colored, corrugated-roof structure on an 11-acre wedge of property covered in knee-high weeds and hemmed in by overgrown live oaks. On the floor of this 20,000-square-foot building, though, amphibian history is in the making. Near the far corner, the lemon-yellow, fiberglass body agleam, sits a Hydra Spyder -- the prototype, actually. It sold last November -- for $175,000. "This gentleman was insistent," says Julie, "and we needed the cash for the new plant." A non-disclosure agreement protects the identity of the buyer, one of the wealthiest men in America -- a "Forbes Top-50 kinda guy," Giljam says -- and from the West Coast, who took delivery before the Giljams could test it at a motor speedway. They did test the prototype in the water. One afternoon, moments after rolling the Hydra Spyder smoothly off a dock in Bluffton, South Carolina, John Giljam remembers how "a lady came running pell-mell down the dock, screaming: 'Don't worry! We've called 911! The fire department is on its way!"' John and Julie tried to explain what an amphibious vehicle was, even took the woman for a spin around the lake. Still, her expression seemed clouded as she walked away from the dock, muttering. The Hydra Spyder "has that effect sometimes," Giljam shrugs. On this day, the mystery tycoon's Hydra Spyder is back in the shop for adjustments: a new, 502 CID Chevy Race Engine that will boost horsepower from 400 to 500 -- one step below dragstrip capability -- and new, heavy-duty mufflers to subdue the motor's roar. "Apparently," Giljam explains, "it was hard to hold a conversation with the engine running." In an adjacent pod, welders and mechanics are handcrafting the marine-grade, aluminum hull of Hydra Spyder No. 2, which will have a racing transmission, "super chargers," and other high-performance features. These help provide what Giljam calls "oooomph" -- which is something aquatic racers most desire after plowing their cars into a body of water. To switch the Hydra Spyder into "marine mode," the driver simply presses a button, which drops the clutch, disengages the road drive, shifts the transmission into aquatic duty, and retracts the wheels. The jet-drive kicks in then, allowing the Hydra Spyder to plane across water like a speedboat at greater than 50 mph. Oooomph does come at a cost: Base price is $155,000 -- to which can be added all kinds of extras, including heated seats ($1,000), a custom entertainment system for in-Spyder cinema ($5,000), Lamborghini door systems ($2,000), and teak interior trim ($1,500). And though not intended for use on open seas, this amphibian can be fitted with a fishfinder. So, even as Detroit automakers struggle to survive, the future looks bright for Cool Amphibious Manufacturers. The Giljams have 6 orders for Hydra Spyders. Within five years, they hope to expand their new factory and produce 75 Hydra Spyders a year. Their top competitor, Gibbs Technologies, for the time being at least, has withdrawn from the amphibian automobile market. Steve Bailey, a Gibbs spokesman, says the company made 50 Aquadas, then stopped in 2005 because the engines used were discontinued when their maker went bankrupt. "We are looking for an alternative engine to bring the Aquada back to market again," Bailey says. Still, he says, Gibbs Technologies doesn't plan to get in a dogfight with the Giljams. "We'll be looking to license the technology out this time to other companies that might be interested in producing their own vehicles," he says. "We are a technology development company." Which means the Giljams can focus on improvements to performance and safety. As it is now, all cavities in the Hydra Spyder's "hull" are packed with flotation foam, approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. "You could flood the motor, knock a 12-inch hole in the Spyder's bottom, and still it would float." And, for the record, how good is it on gas? On land, somewhere around 16 to 18 miles per gallon of premium gas. (This amphibian can also run on an ethanol mix without modifications.) Not too shabby, Giljam says, for a 3,400-pound vehicle that is 18.6 feet long and a foot wider than the average landlocked car. He adds: "When you put it in the water, you burn a lot more fuel and the odometer doesn't move. Tires don't rotate in the water, you know." Which, perhaps, is why Julie Giljam always reminds customers: "Before you go into the water, fill her up." |
Prisma Nova - October 18, 2006 05:36 PM (GMT)
Supercar... Supercar...
With beauty and grace,
as swift as can be,
watch it flying through the air.
It travels in space,
or under the sea,
and it can journey anywhere.
Supercar... Supercar...
It travels on land,
or roams the skies,
through a heavens stormy rage,
It's Mercury-manned,
and everyone cries,
"it's the marvel of the age!"
Supercar... Supercar... Supercar!
With beauty and grace,
as swift as can be,
watch it flying through the air.
It travels in space,
or under the sea,
and it can journey anywhere.
Supercar... Supercar...
It travels on land,
or roams the skies,
through a heavens stormy rage,
It's Mercury-manned,
and everyone cries,
"it's the marvel of the age!"
Supercar... Supercar... Supercar!
BlackZarak - October 18, 2006 11:36 PM (GMT)
Alas, we'll never have our flying, nuclear-powered cars, as seen in the Jetsons, because of one word:
JIHAD!!!!
JIHAD!!!!
Roadbuster - October 19, 2006 03:11 PM (GMT)
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| Scientists create cloak of invisibility By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer 1 hour, 20 minutes ago WASHINGTON - A team of American and British researchers has made a Cloak of Invisibility. Well, OK, it's not perfect. Yet. But it's a start, and it did a pretty good job of hiding a copper cylinder. In this experiment the scientists used microwaves to try and detect the cylinder. Like light and radar waves, microwaves bounce off objects making them visible and creating a shadow, though it has to be detected with instruments. If you can hide something from microwaves, you can hide it from radar — a possibility that will fascinate the military. Cloaking differs from stealth technology, which doesn't make an aircraft invisible but reduces the cross-section available to radar, making it hard to track. Cloaking simply passes the radar or other waves around the object as if it weren't there, like water flowing around a smooth rock in a stream. The new work points the way for an improved version that could hide people and objects from visible light. Conceptually, the chance of adapting the concept to visible light is good, cloak designer David Schurig said in a telephone interview. But Schurig, a research associate in Duke University's electrical and computer engineering department, added, "From an engineering point of view it is very challenging." Nonetheless, the cloaking of a cylinder from microwaves comes just five months after Schurig and colleagues published their theory that it should be possible. Their first success is reported in a paper in Friday's issue of the journal Science. "We did this work very quickly ... and that led to a cloak that is not optimal," said co-author David R. Smith, also of Duke. "We know how to make a much better one." The first working cloak was in only two dimensions and did cast a small shadow, Smith acknowledged. The next step is to go for three dimensions and to eliminate any shadow. Viewers can see things because objects scatter the light that strikes them, reflecting some of it back to the eye. "The cloak reduces both an object's reflection and its shadow, either of which would enable its detection," said Smith. In effect the device, made of metamaterials — engineered mixtures of metal and circuit board materials, which could include ceramic, Teflon or fiber composite materials — channels the microwaves around the object being hidden. When water flows around a rock, Smith explained, the water recombines after it passes the rock and people looking at the water downstream would never know it had passed a rock. The cloaking has to be designed for specific bandwidths of radiation. In this case it's microwaves, and someone measuring them wouldn't be able to tell they had passed around an object. The hope is to do the same for light waves. Looking at a cloaked item, Smith explained: "One would see whatever is behind the cloak. That is, the cloak is, ideally, transparent. Since we do not have a perfect cloak at this point, there is some reflection and some shadow, meaning that the background would still be visible just darkened somewhat. The ideal cloak would have nearly negligible reflection and virtually no shadowing, Smith said. "This first experiment has provided a confirmation that the mechanism of cloaking can be realized, we now just need to improve the performance of cloaking structures." In addition to hiding things, redirecting electromagnetic waves could prove useful in protecting sensitive electronics from harmful radiation, Smith commented. In a very speculative application, he added, "one could imagine 'cloaking' acoustic waves, so as to shield a region from vibration or seismic activity." Natalia M. Litchinitser, a researcher at the University of Michigan department of electrical engineering and computer science, said this appears to be the "first, to the best of my knowledge, experimental realization of the fascinating idea of cloaking based on metamaterials at microwave frequencies." "Although the invisibility reported in this paper is not perfect, this work provides a proof-of-principle demonstration of the possibility," said Litchinitser, who was not part of the research team. She added that the next breakthrough is likely to be an experimental demonstration of the cloaking in visible light. "These ideas represent a first step toward the development of functional materials for a wide spectrum of civil and military applications." Joining Schurig and Smith in the work were researchers at Imperial College in London and SensorMetrix, a materials and technology company in San Diego, Calif. The research was supported by the Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program and the United Kingdom Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. |
Prisma Nova - October 19, 2006 06:49 PM (GMT)
Of course, the military, always the military... :P
I have read a similar article last month, but this one is much more complete. Nice catch, Roady.
I have read a similar article last month, but this one is much more complete. Nice catch, Roady.
BlackZarak - October 19, 2006 09:54 PM (GMT)
*whispers*Danny Boy!*whispers*
You are one ugly mother f**ker!
You are one ugly mother f**ker!
Dr Archeville - October 20, 2006 12:09 PM (GMT)
Want some... candy?
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| A Superhero Suit for Athletes d3o Lab invented a flexible foam material that hardens into a protective shell on impact. It may be the next big brand in sports. Five years ago, snowboard-mad engineer Richard Palmer was hit with an avalanche of an idea. After one too many painful tumbles, the 39-year-old Brit reckoned there had to be a better way to avoid bruising than the restrictive, uncomfortable, and often ineffective gear available. "I looked at protective products on the market and thought this is a load of crap," Palmer says. "I thought I could do something better." Palmer quickly proved he's not just talk. His company, d3o Lab based in Hove, England, developed a futuristic liquid armor that hardens on impact. Today, the shear-thickening (a term that refers to a fluid's viscosity) material — called d3o — is used in a range of sports equipment and apparel ranging from soccer goalkeeper gloves to skateboarding shoes. The U.S. and Canadian Olympic slalom ski teams used d3o-enhanced Spyder racing suits in the 2006 Winter Olympics. "Marketing new sports products today is all about enhancing performance," says Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at NPD Group. Performance-enhancing brands such as d3o, he says, are a bit like steroids. "Every athlete wants that extra little edge and the brands that can deliver it have a huge leg up on the competition." NO EASY SELL. Palmer's ambitions go well beyond sporting goods, however. With potential applications ranging from protective gear for the military, police, and firefighters to safety seats for cars that protect against high-force impact to soundproofing, the feisty upstart is attracting the attention of big-league players such as NASA and Boeing. The company is currently in discussions with the U.S. Army to develop a protective suit to soften the impact for troops when they hit the ground to dodge bullets. "We're going to be the next Gore-Tex," Palmer claims. But for a tiny startup with limited funds, building a big brand from scratch is challenging. Initially, Palmer thought the material's innovative qualities would market themselves. But he soon discovered that having a good idea and patenting it isn't enough. Even his impressive demonstration routine, hammering his elbow while wearing a shirt with d3o panels sewn inside, failed to convince many potential buyers and investors. "At first people don't trust their own judgement," he says. "It's like leaving a bar of gold in the middle of the street: No one will pick it up because they don't believe it's real." NICE PAYOFF. Palmer, though, never doubted his own judgment. To get d3o off the ground, he quit his job as a design consultant, sold his house, cashed in his life savings — even auctioned off his belongings on eBay — and spent 18 months crashing on a friend's couch. That friend, fellow engineer Adrian Hampstead, became the company's first investor, ponying up $50,000. By 2003, Palmer had standardized samples, a Web site, and a staff of three — but no customers, no products and no money. He made the rounds of the trade shows, and in 2004 through word of mouth d3o started to gain attention. Cortland Schurian, footwear director of California-based Globe, a maker of skateboarding shoes and apparel, immediately saw d3o's potential. "I was sure it was too late for me to be on the forefront of this technology, but to my surprise no others had ever pursued it." Globe did, and launched its Icon range of skateboarding shoes, embedded with d3o in the heel to absorb shocks last October. It sold 12,000 pairs last year alone. Palmer quickly learned the importance of strong product design in wooing new customers, as he began manufacturing prototypes of everything from shoes to clothing to equipment all embedded with d3o's trademark fluorescent orange logo. Then, borrowing a page from Gore-Tex, Palmer set about convincing athletes to give it a go. His big break came when the U.S. and Canadian Olympic ski teams convinced members to try out a d3o-enhanced Spyder racing suit. "Originally, the athletes didn't even want to try it," Palmer says. "Now they aren't racing without it." PERSONALLY ENDORSED. It's part of d3o's strategy to work directly with both professional and amateur athletes to develop and test products. Jerzy Dudek, goalkeeper for Liverpool Football Club and Poland, uses d3o's Contour glove made by Sells, while British alpine climber Kenton Cool dons a d3o beanie when climbing Everest. "Athletes give the brand a very strong and sexy image just by their association with the product," says Rita Clifton, chairman of Interbrand UK. With its unique material, high-profile endorsements, and its fluorescent orange logo, d3o has "the potential to be the perfect ingredient brand," she says. World downhill mountain bike champion Helen Mortimer says her d3o suit is much lighter weight and less restricting than previous protective gear. "It's almost like a natural extension of my body." The company has updated Mortimer's suit three times, free of charge, in exchange for her acting as an ambassador for the fledgling brand and providing feedback for product development. STAYING FOCUSED. By the end of this year, Palmer hopes to have added a production site in China — to be closer to the manufacturing sites of many of its partners. The design of prototypes will be done via computer back in Britain with the material shipped to China for assembly into prototypes. While the potential for rivals to copy the technology exists, Palmer believes the process behind it is difficult for others to replicate. The key to protecting the technology from low-cost competitors, says NPD's Cohen, is creating "a brand association that's so strong that competitors will not legally be able to copy the formula." These days, d3o has more opportunities than it has time. The company is in discussions with 300 companies. "It's a product that has so much versatility that you have to stay focused," Palmer says, "otherwise you'll follow all the opportunities but deliver none of them." |
Tarantulas - October 20, 2006 03:01 PM (GMT)
The Hydra Spyder
Roadbuster - October 20, 2006 03:17 PM (GMT)
or this:
Prisma Nova - October 20, 2006 03:44 PM (GMT)
Oooooh... niiiiiice. Especially the first one.
But I must admit, if the second one was a gigantic robot version, I will pick up that one in a heart beat. :D
Oh, and in regards to Docs Armor impact article: I would see that into sumo wrestling. Think about it, you push and smak around without the injuries.
But I must admit, if the second one was a gigantic robot version, I will pick up that one in a heart beat. :D
Oh, and in regards to Docs Armor impact article: I would see that into sumo wrestling. Think about it, you push and smak around without the injuries.
Roadbuster - October 25, 2006 07:41 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| Brain Chip Alters the Mind Robert Roy Britt LiveScience Managing Editor LiveScience.com Wed Oct 25, 10:30 AM ET A new brain chip under development established new connections in the brains of monkeys in a region that controls movement. Scientists hope to eventually make a version that could help humans with movement disorders. The ongoing research at the University of Washington is led by Andrew Jackson, Jaideep Mavoori and Eberhard Fetz. The scientists tested a tiny device with a computer chip placed atop the heads of monkeys. The device, called Neurochip, interacted with the brain's motor cortex, where neurons direct the body's movements. "The Neurochip records the activity of motor cortex cells," Fetz explained in a statement released by the university yesterday. "It can convert this activity into a stimulus that can be sent back to the brain, spinal cord, or muscle, and thereby set up an artificial connection that operates continuously during normal behavior. This recurrent brain-computer interface creates an artificial motor pathway that the brain may learn to use to compensate for impaired pathways." The device produced changes that lasted more than a week in the primates: Movements evoked from the recording site changed to resemble those evoked from the stimulation site, the scientists said. The changes were likely due to strengthening of pathways within the cortex from the recording to the stimulation site, they said. Future implantable versions of the device might aid rehabilitation of patients with brain injuries, stroke, or paralysis, the researchers speculated. A paper on the research is to be published Nov. 2 by the journal Nature. Meanwhile, several other research teams are working on related technologies. In a breakthrough earlier this year, scientists for the first time fused living brain cells with silicon circuits. Other brain-computer interface systems have allowed a quadriplegic to move a cursor using only thoughts while another man moved a robotic arm using brainwaves. Earlier this month, a teenager played Space Invaders by employing mind control. |
Roadbuster - October 26, 2006 04:14 PM (GMT)
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| Vampires a Mathematical Impossibility, Scientist Says Sara Goudarzi LiveScience Staff Writer LiveScience.com Wed Oct 25, 5:15 PM ET A researcher has come up with some simple math that sucks the life out of the vampire myth, proving that these highly popular creatures can't exist. University of Central Florida physics professor Costas Efthimiou's work debunks pseudoscientific ideas, such as vampires and zombies, in an attempt to enhance public literacy. Not only does the public believe in such topics, but the percentages are at dangerously high level, Efthimiou told LiveScience. Legend has it that vampires feed on human blood and once bitten a person turns into a vampire and starts feasting on the blood of others. Efthimiou's debunking logic: On Jan 1, 1600, the human population was 536,870,911. If the first vampire came into existence that day and bit one person a month, there would have been two vampires by Feb. 1, 1600. A month later there would have been four, and so on. In just two-and-a-half years the original human population would all have become vampires with nobody left to feed on. If mortality rates were taken into consideration, the population would disappear much faster. Even an unrealistically high reproduction rate couldn't counteract this effect. "In the long run, humans cannot survive under these conditions, even if our population were doubling each month," Efthimiou said. "And doubling is clearly way beyond the human capacity of reproduction." So whatever you think you see prowling around on Oct. 31, it most certainly won't turn you into a vampire. |
Dr Archeville - October 26, 2006 04:26 PM (GMT)
Foolish researcher. The bite of a vampire doesn't turn you into one, being drained of blood and then being fed a vampire's blood makes you one!
And what about vamps feeding on other vamps?
And what about vamps feeding on other vamps?
Prisma Nova - October 26, 2006 04:42 PM (GMT)
Yeah, we do like vampire on vampire action. :D
And now, my contribution:
http://www.physorg.com/printnews.php?newsid=81006721
And now, my contribution:
http://www.physorg.com/printnews.php?newsid=81006721
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Team develops DNA switch to interface living organisms with computers Researchers at the University of Portsmouth, UK, have developed an electronic switch based on DNA - a world-first bio-nanotechnology breakthrough that provides the foundation for the interface between living organisms and the computer world. The new technology is called a ‘nanoactuator’ or a molecular dynamo. The device is invisible to the naked eye - about one thousandth of a strand of human hair. The DNA switch has been developed by British Molecular Biotechnology expert Dr Keith Firman at the University of Portsmouth working in collaboration with other European researchers. Dr Firman and his international team have been awarded a €2 million European Commission grant to further develop this ground-breaking new technology. But the DNA switch has immediate practical application in toxin detection, and could be used in a biodefence role as a biological sensor to detect airborne pathogens. The future applications are also considerable, including molecular scale mechanical devices for interfacing to computer-controlled artificial limbs. ‘The possibilities are very exciting. The nanoactuator we have developed can be used as a communicator between the biological and silicon worlds,’ Dr Firman said. ‘I could see it providing an interface between muscle and external devices, but it has to be pointed out that such an application is still 20 or 30 years away.’ The molecular switch comprises of a strand of DNA anchored in a miniscule channel of a microchip, a magnetic bead, and a biological motor powered by the naturally occurring energy source found in living cells, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). These elements working together create a dynamo effect which in turn generates electricity. The result is a device that emits electrical signals - signals that can be sent to a computer. The switch, therefore, links the biological world with the silicon world of electronic signals. The nanoactuator has been patented by the University of Portsmouth, and a patent application for the basic concepts of biosensing is pending. Source: University of Portsmouth |
I think we are on our way to have instant internet connection. Yessss!....
Prisma Nova - October 26, 2006 05:11 PM (GMT)
The cursing toy was being too realistic.
BlackZarak - October 28, 2006 03:15 AM (GMT)
Yeah, the vampire researcher's logic is flawed because his method of reproduction is in error. Even the more traditional views of Vampire reproduction state that yo only become a Vampire if you die while being drained. Vamps don't have to drink to the death.
Also, he's basing 'em on monly cycles, so it sounds like he's getting his werewolves mixed in, and he's also not counting the human efforts to destroy such creatures before infestation becomes uncontrollable.
All I have to say about the Nanotech Interface is that soon the government will be able to download your memories for prosecution. Ever see "I Worship His Shadow"?
Oh yeah, prepare for assimilation.
Also, he's basing 'em on monly cycles, so it sounds like he's getting his werewolves mixed in, and he's also not counting the human efforts to destroy such creatures before infestation becomes uncontrollable.
All I have to say about the Nanotech Interface is that soon the government will be able to download your memories for prosecution. Ever see "I Worship His Shadow"?
Oh yeah, prepare for assimilation.
Roadbuster - November 3, 2006 05:23 PM (GMT)
http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/autos/gre...sign/index.html
Green cars of the future (not really news, just a slideshow of future projections)
Green cars of the future (not really news, just a slideshow of future projections)
Prisma Nova - November 3, 2006 05:33 PM (GMT)
So far, the Hummer O2 and the Kia impresses me, specially the green house break down.
But the thing that really upsets me, that NONE of them could give us the option to fly! *sighs*
And they call this "Cars of the Future".
But the thing that really upsets me, that NONE of them could give us the option to fly! *sighs*
And they call this "Cars of the Future".
Roadbuster - November 7, 2006 04:07 PM (GMT)
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| Duct tape no magical cure for warts, study finds POSTED: 5:47 p.m. EST, November 6, 2006 WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Duct tape does not work any better than doing nothing to cure warts in schoolchildren, Dutch researchers reported on Monday in a study that contradicts a popular theory about an easy way to get rid of the unattractive lumps. The study of 103 children aged 4 to 12 showed the duct tape worked only slightly better than using a corn pad, a sticky cushion that does not actually touch the wart and which was considered to be a placebo. "After 6 weeks, the warts of 8 children (16 percent) in the duct tape group and the warts of 3 children (6 percent) in the placebo group had disappeared," the researchers wrote in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. They said this difference was not statistically significant. In addition, some of the children who wore duct tape reported itching, rashes and other effects, although none of the children who wore corn pads did. The researchers, led by Dr. Marloes de Haen of Maastricht University, expressed disappointment with their findings. Warts are caused by a virus in the skin, and often clear up on their own. They can also be frozen off in a treatment called cryotherapy, or burned off chemically using a strong formulation of salicylic acid. "Considering the serious discomfort of cryotherapy and the awkwardness of applying salicylic acid for a long time, simply applying tape would be a cheap and helpful alternative, especially in children," de Haen's team wrote. In 2002, Dr. Dean Focht of Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, and colleagues reported in the same journal that using duct tape on warts worked better than cryotherapy. The idea of using duct tape to treat warts quickly became common wisdom and is advocated widely on the Internet. The Dutch researchers said that Focht's team did not actually examine their patients to determine whether the warts had disappeared, but called them on the telephone to ask. |
And, y'know they probably had a grant to study this...
Prisma Nova - November 7, 2006 06:52 PM (GMT)
It's a big, big research... mut have cost million in duck-tape.
Dr Archeville - November 7, 2006 08:05 PM (GMT)
Not really mad scinece -- since it is mainstream -- but some are downright kooky. TIME's Best Inventions of 2006.
The hug shirt is especially creepy.
The hug shirt is especially creepy.
Tarantulas - November 10, 2006 02:25 AM (GMT)
Formaldehyde kills warts. Apply a diluted solution directly to the wart. After a few weeks, when you get tired of it not working, put undiluted formaldehyde on a bandage and put the bandage on the wart. It tans the skin around it but the wart gets sick and dies.
Roadbuster - November 13, 2006 07:50 PM (GMT)
best use of science ever?
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| Air guitar T-shirt: cotton-picking? Mon Nov 13, 8:15 AM ET SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists have invented a T-shirt that allows air guitarists to play actual music as they strum the air. The T-shirt, created by scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), is called a "wearable instrument shirt." The shirt has censors in each elbow and sleeves to detect and interpret the air guitarist's arm movements -- one arm chooses chords and the other strums imaginary strings. The gestures are then connected wirelessly to guitar audio samples to generate the music. "It's an easy to use, virtual instrument that allows real time music making, even by players without significant musical or computing skills," said CSIRO engineer Richard Helmer. "It allows you to jump around and the sound generated is just like an original mp3," Helmer said in a statement on Monday. Researchers specializing in computing, musical composition and textile manufacture combined their skills to create the musical T-shirt. "The technology, which is adaptable to almost any kind of apparel, takes clothing beyond its traditional role of protection and fashion into the realms of entertainment," said Helmer. A video of Helmer demonstrating the air-guitar t-shirt is available on the CSIRO's website, www.scienceimage.csiro.au/mediarelease/air-guitar.html |
Dr Archeville - November 15, 2006 01:13 PM (GMT)
Starshooter - November 15, 2006 02:28 PM (GMT)
I sell the iBuzz. They rock :D
Prisma Nova - November 16, 2006 02:59 AM (GMT)
I like the catchy techno music. :D
And I think you can plug this into your ipod.
This is the kind of gift Santatron would give any naughty femmebot. :lol:
And I think you can plug this into your ipod.
This is the kind of gift Santatron would give any naughty femmebot. :lol:
Starshooter - November 16, 2006 03:45 AM (GMT)
You can plug it into any mp3 player! Or use it with the music on your computer!
It also has several different vibrations on its own.
Hmmmm....I wonder if I can convince Santatron to buy his supply from me...
It also has several different vibrations on its own.
Hmmmm....I wonder if I can convince Santatron to buy his supply from me...
Roadbuster - November 16, 2006 04:01 PM (GMT)
You know... if Santatron hears his name three times, he's likely to suddenly pop up... oh crap...
Roadbuster - November 16, 2006 05:55 PM (GMT)
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| Scientists: Pollution could combat global warming POSTED: 8:22 a.m. EST, November 16, 2006 NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Air pollution may be just the thing to fight global warming, some scientists say. Prominent scientists, among them a Nobel laureate, said a layer of pollution deliberately spewed into the atmosphere could act as a "shade" from the sun's rays and help cool the planet. Reaction to the proposal here at the annual U.N. conference on climate change is a mix of caution, curiosity and some resignation to such "massive and drastic" operations, as the chief U.N. climatologist describes them. The Nobel Prize-winning scientist who first made the proposal is himself "not enthusiastic about it." "It was meant to startle the policymakers," said Paul J. Crutzen, of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Chemistry. "If they don't take action much more strongly than they have in the past, then in the end we have to do experiments like this." Serious people are taking Crutzen's idea seriously. This weekend at Moffett Field, California, NASA's Ames Research Center hosts a closed-door, high-level workshop on the global haze proposal and other "geoengineering" ideas for fending off climate change. In Nairobi, meanwhile, hundreds of delegates were wrapping up a two-week conference expected to only slowly advance efforts to rein in greenhouse gases blamed for much of the 0.6-degree-Celsius (1-degree-Fahrenheit) rise in global temperatures in the past century. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol requires modest emission cutbacks by industrial countries -- but not the United States, the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, because it rejected Kyoto. Talks on what to do after Kyoto expires in 2012 are all but bogged down. When he published his proposal in the journal Climatic Change in August, Crutzen cited a "grossly disappointing international political response" to warming. The Dutch climatologist, awarded a 1995 Nobel in chemistry for his work uncovering the threat to Earth's atmospheric ozone layer, suggested that balloons bearing heavy guns be used to carry sulfates high aloft and fire them into the stratosphere. While carbon dioxide keeps heat from escaping Earth, substances such as sulfur dioxide, a common air pollutant, reflect solar radiation, helping cool the planet. Tom Wigley, a senior U.S. government climatologist, followed Crutzen's article with a paper of his own October 20 in the leading U.S. journal Science. Like Crutzen, Wigley cited the precedent of the huge volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991. Pinatubo poured so much sulfurous debris into the stratosphere that it is believed it cooled the Earth by 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) for about a year. Wigley ran scenarios of stratospheric sulfate injection -- on the scale of Pinatubo's estimated 10 million tons of sulfur -- through supercomputer models of the climate, and reported that Crutzen's idea would, indeed, seem to work. Even half that amount per year would help, he wrote. A massive dissemination of pollutants would be needed every year or two, as the sulfates precipitate from the atmosphere in acid rain. The American scientist said a temporary shield would give political leaders more time to reduce human dependence on fossil fuels -- main source of greenhouse gases. He said experts must more closely study the feasibility of the idea and its possible effects on stratospheric chemistry. Nairobi conference participants agreed. "Yes, by all means, do all the research," Indian climatologist Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the 2,000-scientist U.N. network on climate change, said. But "if human beings take it upon themselves to carry out something as massive and drastic as this, we need to be absolutely sure there are no side effects," Pachauri said. Philip Clapp, a veteran campaigner for emissions controls to curb warming, also sounded a nervous note, saying, "We are already engaged in an uncontrolled experiment by injecting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere." But Clapp, president of the U.S. group National Environmental Trust, said, "I certainly don't disagree with the urgency." American geophysicist Jonathan Pershing, of Washington's World Resources Institute, was also wary of unforeseen consequences, but said the idea might be worth considering "if down the road 25 years it becomes more and more severe because we didn't deal with the problem." By telephone from Germany, Crutzen said that's what he envisioned: global haze as a component for long-range planning. "The reception on the whole is more positive than I thought," he said. Pershing added, however, that reaction may hinge on who pushes the idea. "If it's the U.S., it might be perceived as an effort to avoid the problem," he said. NASA said this weekend's California conference will examine "methods to ameliorate the likelihood of progressively rising temperatures over the next decades." Other such U.S. government-sponsored events are scheduled to follow. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
Roadbuster - November 17, 2006 05:06 PM (GMT)
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| New robot can sense damage, compensate By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Thu Nov 16, 6:24 PM ET WASHINGTON - When people hurt a leg they can often make do by limping or using a crutch until they feel better. Now, there's a robot that can also cope with injury. The ability to compensate can be vital in new or dangerous situations where unexpected damage or injury can occur. Researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., built a four-legged robot that can sense damage to its body and figure out how to adjust and keep going. They report the development in Friday's issue of the journal Science. Most robots are used in industrial applications where their environment never changes, explained Hod Lipson, a co-author of the paper. If they are to become useful outdoors or at home they need to be able to cope with changes, he said. The robot has tilt sensors and angle sensors in each of its joints and uses the readings from these devices to create a computer model of its own structure and movement. When the sensors indicate a change, it can then alter the model to compensate. While most robots operate using a computer model they have been programmed with, this one develops its own model by analyzing how its parts respond to commands to move. That allows it to change its own program if something occurs that it didn't expect. For example, Lipson said, the robot could have one of its motors jam as it is moving around. It's self-model might predict forward movement when that motor is started, and if that doesn't happen it could adjust its self-image to the new situation. In one example, the researchers shortened one of the robot's legs and it responded by changing its gait. "We never officially named it, but we usually refer to it as the Starfish robot, even though a real starfish has five rather than four legs," said lead researcher Josh Bongard, now at the University of Vermont. "Also, a real starfish is much better than our robot at recovering from injury, because it can actually regrow its legs." In effect, suggests Christoph Adami of the Keck Graduate School of Applied Life Sciences in Claremont, Calif., the internal computer model enables the robot to develop a sense of self or self image. The next step, according to Adami, who was not part of the research team, could be a robot that could also develop an idea of its environment. It could explore an area and, if stymied by an obstacle, it might pause and try to "think" of a way to overcome the problem, he said in a commentary on the report. Lipson added that the same technology could be used in other settings. For example, he said, a bridge might have a computer programmed to monitor movement and vibration. If it sensed a change indicating a weakness in some part of the structure, it could turn on a red light to stop traffic and send an alarm to highway officials. The researchers are now working to find other applications for the technology and to make it more complex. |
Ah yes, another step towards the robot revolution... viva Cyberdyne Systems!!
Prisma Nova - November 17, 2006 05:53 PM (GMT)
This is bad news, how are we supposed to fight back the robots when they concquer the world in a few years? Not fair, we are giving them a fair advantage, IMHO.
Roadbuster - February 16, 2007 07:57 PM (GMT)
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| Trials for 'bionic' eye implants By Jonathan Fildes Science and technology reporter, BBC News, San Francisco A receiver under the eye surface passes the signals back to the chip A bionic eye implant that could help restore the sight of millions of blind people could be available to patients within two years. US researchers have been given the go-ahead to implant the prototype device in 50 to 75 patients. The Argus II system uses a spectacle-mounted camera to feed visual information to electrodes in the eye. Patients who tested less-advanced versions of the retinal implant were able to see light, shapes and movement. "What we are trying to do is take real-time images from a camera and convert them into tiny electrical pulses that would jump-start the otherwise blind eye and allow patients to see," said Professor Mark Humayun from the University of California. BIONIC EYE TECHNOLOGY 1: Camera on glasses views image 2: Signals are sent to hand-held device 3: Processed information is sent back to glasses and wirelessly transmitted to receiver under surface of eye 4: Receiver sends information to electrodes in retinal implant 5: Electrodes stimulate retina to send information to brain Retinal implants are able to partially restore the vision of people with particular forms of blindness caused by diseases such as macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa. About 1.5 million people worldwide have retinitis pigmentosa, and one in 10 people over the age of 55 have age-related macular degeneration. Both diseases cause the retinal cells which process light at the back of the eye to gradually die. The new devices work by implanting an array of tiny electrodes into the back of the retina. A camera is used to capture pictures, and a processing unit, about the size of a small handheld computer and worn on a belt, converts the visual information into electrical signals. These are then sent back to the glasses and wirelessly on to a receiver just under the surface of the front of the eye, which in turn feeds them to the electrodes at the rear. The whole process happens in real time. Growing dots First-generation, low-resolution devices have already been fitted to six patients. "The longest device has been in for five years," said Professor Humayun. "It's amazing, even with 16 pixels, or electrodes, how much our first six subjects have been able to do." Terry Byland, 58, from California was fitted with an implant in 2004 after going blind with retinitis pigmentosa in 1993. "At the beginning, it was like seeing assembled dots - now it's much more than that," he said. "When I am walking along the street I can avoid low-hanging branches - I can see the edges of the branches." Mr Byland is also able to make out other shapes. "I can't recognise faces, but I can see them like a dark shadow," he said. Brain change The new implant has a higher resolution than the earlier devices, with 60 electrodes. It is also a lot smaller, about one square millimetre, which reduces the amount of surgery that needs to be done to implant the device. The technology has now been given the go-ahead by the US Food and Drug Administration to be used in an exploratory patient trial. This will take place at five centres across America over two years, with 50-75 patients aged over 50. If successful, the device could be commercialised soon after, costing around $30,000 (£15,000). Other devices could then be developed with higher resolution or a wider field of view, said Professor Humayun. Future work includes studying the effects the implants have on the brain. "We are actually studying what happens to the visual cortex over time," said Professor Humayun. The research was presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in San Francisco, US. |