Hasta La Gadget!

In order to study the human brain and its functions, one of the ways of doing so is through the use of electrodes placed in the brain that measure the neurons firings in them. However the issue here is how the electrodes are placed in the first place, where they have to be stuck inside the brain.

The problem is that because the electrodes need to be rigid enough to enter the brain, they can sometimes cause damage as they move through the brain, which obviously is something that we’re sure doctors would like to avoid, especially when used on patients. However the good news is that researchers in Texas have come up with a less damaging way of implanting electrodes.

This is done by first placing the electrode inside of tube, filling it with a viscous liquid, and then pushing the liquid through the tube and the electrode. The liquid helps to make its way deeper into the brain without necessarily damaging the tissue. According to Jacob Robinson, one of the researchers from Rice University, “The electrode is like a cooked noodle that you’re trying to put into a bowl of Jello. By itself, it doesn’t work. But if you put that noodle under running water, the water pulls the noodle straight.”

This discovery could lead to the improvement of certain applications involving electrodes, such as managing epilepsy or allowing users to control artificial limbs.

Researchers Discover Less Damaging Way Of Placing Brain Electrodes , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

In order to help self-driving cars become safe enough to be used by the public, there needs to be a ton of testing done to ensure that these self-driving cars can do what they say they can, and that they can adapt and react to all kinds of situations that might occur on the road, especially when humans are behind the wheel of other cars.

The good news is that carmakers now have new roads in which they can test their vehicles on. China has recently announced that they will now allow self-driving cars to be tested on public roads. Not all public roads, but only certain roads and under certain conditions, which we guess is still good enough as far as testing is concerned.

Prior to this, China had banned self-driving cars on its highways until new regulations could be created and approved. With these newly announced regulations, companies will be able to apply for temporary permission to test their self-driving cars on approved roads. Some of the requirements also includes traffic accident liability insurance, as well as having a human behind the wheel to take over in the event something goes wrong.

China isn’t the first to allow self-driving cars to be tested on its roads, but by joining the growing list of countries that do allow this practice, more precious data and information can be gathered to help further improve the technology to a point where it will be safe enough for public use.

China Will Allow Self-Driving Car Testing On Public Roads , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

One of the more classic TV comedy series in the past decade or so probably has to be US version The Office, a spin-off from the British comedy of the same name created by Ricky Gervais. The series ran from 2005-2013 and if you couldn’t get enough of it, you might be pleased to learn that a revival could be in the works.

According to a report from TVLine, it seems that NBC is looking to revive the series for the 2018-2019 season. Details are scarce for now, but the show is expected to comprise of characters from the previous series as well introduce some newcomers. Unfortunately if you were hoping to see Steve Carell return in his role of Michael Scott, apparently that will not be happening.

NBC has yet to officially confirm anything, but network president Bob Greenblatt had previously told Deadline that The Office was one of the series on his wishlist of shows he’d like to see revived. “We often talk about The Office. I’ve talked to Greg [Daniels] four times over the past few years. It’s always, ‘Maybe someday, but not now’. There is certainly an open invitation, but we don’t have anything happening right now. If he wants to do it, I would do it.”

In any case if the series has indeed been confirmed for a revival and is set for the 2018-2019 season, we guess we should have the official details soon enough.

NBC Reportedly Looking To Bring Back ‘The Office’ TV Series , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Image credit – Justin Bui / Columbia Engineering

When it comes to renewable energy sources, we have seen how we can draw power from the sun in the form of solar energy, from the wind, from water, and so on. All are viable sources of sustainable energy and we have seen various companies try to incorporate them into their products or operations.

Hydrogen is one of those renewable resources, but one of the ways that is currently used to producing hydrogen fuel can actually end up negating its “green” benefits, at least until more recently where engineers from Columbia University have managed to come up with a way to harvest hydrogen fuel from the ocean.

This comes in the form of floating rig, which in turn is powered by solar energy, meaning that in theory it should have no problems sustaining itself indefinitely. How the rig works is that through the process of electrolysis, it can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and the device that the engineers came up with does away with the need for a membrane, which tend to be fragile which in turn limits its application.

According to Jack Davis, one of the engineers and first author on the paper describing the device, “Being able to safely demonstrate a device that can perform electrolysis without a membrane brings us another step closer to making seawater electrolysis possible. These solar fuels generators are essentially artificial photosynthesis systems, doing the same thing that plants do with photosynthesis, so our device may open up all kinds of opportunities to generate clean, renewable energy.”

Solar Powered Rig Harvests Hydrogen Fuel From The Ocean , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Now people are demanding #JusticeForPizzaGirl.