Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve ever wanted to help out with a scientific research project but lack the PhD credentials, there’s now a much simpler way: all you need is a decent Android device and a new app called BOINC. Similar to projects such as Folding@Home for laptops and desktops, the app harnesses your mobile device’s extra CPU cycles to help crunch data for scientific studies. Don’t worry, it’ll only work if you’re on Wi-Fi, so it won’t eat up your data plan. You can choose which research endeavor to support from within BOINC, including Einstein@Home and FightAIDS@Home that seek to discover pulsars (stellar remnants) and AIDS treatment, respectively. The app, which you can install from Google Play, was designed to be as unobtrusive as possible and will work as long as you’re running Android 2.3 or higher. Generous (and envious) iOS users, sit tight — the developer is mulling over the possibility of creating an iOS app next.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Alt, Google

Comments

Via: CNET

Source: BOINC, IBM

Many in the UK recognize Alan Turing’s contributions to computing as we know it, but attempts to obtain a pardon for the conviction that tragically cut short his career have thus far been unsuccessful. There’s a new glimmer of hope, however: government whip Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon says that the current leadership has “great sympathy” for a bill that would pardon Turing. As long as no one calls for amendments, the legislation should clear Parliament’s House of Lords by late October and reach the House of Commons soon afterward. While there’s no guarantee that the measure will ultimately pass, the rare level of endorsement suggests that Turing’s name could soon be cleared.

Filed under: Misc, Science, Alt

Comments

Source: The Guardian

Forget robotic drones; Honda’s new lawnmower can turn a dreary task into an X Games sport. Honda aptly calls it the Mean Mower and claims it can reach speeds up to 130MPH and can go from 0 to 60MPH in just four seconds. For a lawnmower to reach those staggering numbers, the company’s UK arm reached out to Team Dynamics, its British Touring Car Championship partner. They redesigned one of the company’s machines, equipped it with a motorcycle engine to make it more powerful and replaced some of its parts with fiberglass to shave off some of its weight. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you can cut grass while speeding and drifting like Vin Diesel — its cutting cables only work if you slow it down to 15MPH. No word yet on whether the Mean Mower will hit the market, but speed devils can live their Fast and Furious lawnmowing dreams vicariously through the driver in the clip below.

Filed under: Misc, Alt

Comments

Via: WSJ

Source: Honda UK

Though early Kinect patents showed its potential for sign language translation, Microsoft quashed any notion early on that this would become a proper feature. However, that hasn’t stopped Redmond from continuing development of the idea. Microsoft Research Asia recently showed off software that allows the Kinect to read almost every American Sign Language gesture via hand tracking, even at conversational speeds. In addition to converting signs to text or speech, the software can also let a hearing person input text and “sign” it using an on-screen avatar. All of this is still confined to a lab so far, but the researchers hope that one day it’ll open up new lines of communication between the hearing and deaf — a patent development we could actually get behind. See its alacrity in the video after the break.

Filed under: Cameras, Science, Alt, Microsoft

Comments

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Microsoft Research

Diabetics might appreciate high-tech glucose sensors when they’re available, but the option for other advanced treatments is certainly intriguing. Take, for example, this new method developed by North Carolina State University researchers that uses injectable sponge to control blood sugar levels. No, it’s not the same sponge you use to clean at home — the material is made out of a substance taken from crab and shrimp shells called chitosan. This spongy material forms a matrix that’s approximately 250 micrometers in diameter, where a rise in blood sugar causes a reaction in the pores that leads to the drug’s release.

Fighting diabetes is but one of the things this miraculous sponge can be used for; developed further, it could even “intelligently” release anticancer drugs whenever the chitosan reacts to tumors or cancer cells in close proximity. Seems like medical technology is getting smarter with each passing day.

Filed under: Misc, Alt

Comments

Source: North Carolina State University