Christopher Columbus is a polarizing figure in modern America. He was a hero! He was a villain! But what if we look past the immediate consequences and look at his broader, unintended impacted on the human species as a whole? More »
Scientists have managed to build an artificial jelly fish entirely from rat cells, which can pulse and swim when exposed to an electric field, just like its living counterpart. More »
It might shock you to hear that nobody has ever developed a complete computational model of a living cell. That’s because, despite their diminutive size, their internal processes are extremely complex—but now a team of Stanford engineers has succeeded where others have failed. More »
It’s always funny—if a little gross—when you see a friend launch a spot of spittle across the room as they chat on the phone. But new research suggests that frequent cell phone users actually slobber more, making those discharges all the more common. More »
Our eyes are wonderfully complex biological devices, which most of us take for granted. But do you know that our perception of detail varies massively across our field of view? Or understand why we can walk in the dark but not read? This interactive cartoon does a great job of explaining those complex ideas and more, very, very simply. More »
There are plenty of insanely fast ways to acquire images, but in a lab in UCLA, engineers have created the world’s fastest 2D camera. It’s so fast, it can image 36.7 million fully-2D frames every second—and it could revolutionize the way screen for cancer. More »
We’ve seen some pretty wonky bipedal robots before, but scientists at the University of Arizona have gone straight to the source — us — to make one with a more human-like saunter. It turns out it’s not just our skull-borne computer that controls gait: a simple neural network in the lumber area of our spine, called the central pattern generator (CPG), also fires to provide the necessary rhythm. By creating a basic digital version of that and connecting some feedback sensors in the legs, a more natural human stride (without balance) was created — and on top of that it didn’t require the tricky processing used in other striding bots. Apparently this throws light on why babies can make that cute walking motion even before they toddle in earnest, since the necessary CPG system comes pre-installed from birth. That means the study could lead to new ways of stimulating that region to help those with spinal cord injuries re-learn to walk, and produce better, less complex walking robots to boot. Judging by the video, it’s a good start, but there’s still a ways to go before they can mimic us exactly — you can watch it after the break.
Robotic legs simulate our neural system, lurch along in the most human-like way so far originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 04:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Back in 2010, a team of German doctors announced that they’d recorded the world’s first MRI of a woman giving birth. Back then, only still images were available—but now the researchers have released the video, and it’s spellbinding. More »
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