Hasta La Gadget!

A team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology, led by Professor Changhuei Yang, have figured out a way to crank their microscopy up to 11. Usually, scientists are forced between a rock and a hard place: they can have high res images of small areas or low resolution pictures of larger fields. Using a strategy known as Fourier ptychographic microscopy, Yang’s team was able to computationally correct a standard microscope’s low res imagery, producing a billion-pixel picture. By adding an LED array to an existing microscope — the only hardware tweak their $200 system calls for — the researchers were able to stitch together a 20X quality image from a 2X optical lens. The information gleaned from the LED lights was corrected entirely on a computer, making it an exceptionally cost effective way to create high res microscopic images. The team’s report, published by the journal Nature Phototonics, can be read in full at the source link below.

Filed under: Science, Alt

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Via: California Institute of Technology

Source: Nature Phototonics

It’s official: humans suck at self-discipline so much, researchers thought it necessary to create a tooth sensor that detects if you’re smoking or stuffing your face and can tell doctors about it. The National Taiwan University Team led by Hao-hua Chu recently tested prototypes by gluing them to eight people’s dentures. Thanks to the device’s accelerometers, it was able to differentiate between chewing, smoking, speaking and coughing 94 percent of the time. It would’ve been better if it could also distinguish healthy food from not, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. After all, the scientists first have to develop an onboard power source (the prototypes required external batteries) and mouth-safe Bluetooth connectivity to transmit data to smartphones. Also, the team wants to shrink the already-teensy sensor down so it can fit inside cavities or on crowns. We don’t know about you, bu in the future we might choose between cavity-healing gel or these high tech fillings.

Filed under: Misc, Alt

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Via: Motherboard, New Scientist

Source: National Taiwan University

Remember the names Martin Kaltenbrunner and Takao Someya — that way, you’ll have someone to blame when kids start pointing and laughing at gadgets we consider high-tech today. Leading a team of University of Tokyo researchers, they have recently developed a flexible, skin-like material that can detect pressure while also being virtually indestructible. Think of the possibilities: with a thickness of one nanometer, this could be used to create a second skin that can monitor your vital signs or medical implants that you can barely feel, if at all. Also, temperature sensors could be added to make life-like skin for prosthetics… or even robots! Like other similar studies, however, the researchers have a long journey ahead before we see this super-thin material in medicine. Since it could lead to bendy gadgets and wearable electronics first, don’t be surprised if your children call iPhones “so 2013″ in the not-too-distant future.

Filed under: Misc, Alt

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Via: iO9, ABC Science, New Scientist

Source: Nature

Next time you’re back from a run, questioning whether it’s been worth the agony effort, you might actually be able to find out for sure. Well, perhaps not the next time, but soon, thanks to a prototype breathalyzer developed by NTT DoCoMo that promises to instantly let you know whether your body is currently burning fat. We’ve seen the device before, but a recently published journal on its latest test results brings it one step closer to reality. The handheld unit uses gas and pressure sensors to monitor levels of acetone — a substance created during fat burning, partly expelled via the lungs — in the breath, and can display fat burning potential on a phone via bluetooth (or cable). The creators tested the prototype on a small group, and found that those who didn’t diet or exercise, or did light exercise only, didn’t show signs of fat burning, but those that watched what they ate, and upped activity did — boosting hopes of its real-world use. No word on commercial availability just yet, but we’re already wondering if it might up the ante on our potential second income.

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Alt

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Via: Phys-org

Source: IOP Science

It’ll be about two years yet until you’re able to buy a hydrogen-powered vehicle, but one company is already making progress in ensuring those cars will be as gentle on the environment as possible. BASF, the world’s largest chemical maker, has come up with a hydrogen-making process that would purportedly cut carbon dioxide emissions in half, making fuel-cell vehicles generally cleaner than EVs. Until now, the holy grail has been hydrogen produced without introducing oxygen, as that would mean avoiding carbon dioxide emissions. The problem is, that’s meant cranking up the operating temperature, which means you’re using more energy, which means, uh, you’re looking at some carbon dioxide emissions. In this new system, though, BASF recycles heat more efficiently so that the company doesn’t have to raise the temperature quite so high. Additionally, the company’s cooked up some new catalysts it hopes will make the process more cost-efficient. No word on when or where this method will be implemented, but BASF is already hopeful it could be useful in other industries, like oil refinement, which similarly use lots of hydrogen.

Filed under: Transportation, Alt

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Source: MIT Technology Review