If you’re an maniacal villain, please stop reading now. Apparently pacemaker transmitters can be reverse-engineered to deliver deadly shocks. More »
Pills, they’re the answer to every one of life’s little problems, or so the pharmaceutical companies would like us to think. They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours, but have you ever thought about why? Why are some boring white and round, while others are bright pink and look like a torpedo? More »
According to the National Institutes of Health, a second tainted steroid has been linked to the ongoing fungal meningitis outbreak that’s infected 214 people and killed 15. It’s from the same company responsible for the first. More »
If it’s not one thing, it’s another: a new hypothesis floating around the scientific community suggests that evolving bigger brains and superior intellect may have led to a dramatically elevated risk of cancer in humans. Thanks, brain. More »
Red Bull may be sending dudes to jump from the stratosphere, but NASA’s still out there doing stuff too. It’s not quite as flashy as livestreamed sky-diving, by NASA is currently working on a fast-acting, anti-nausea nasal spray. Talk about technology we could all benefit from. More »
It’s hard to deny the appeal of a space-bound robot like NASA’s Robonaut 2, fears of subversion notwithstanding. The space agency and Florida’s Institute for Human and Machine Cognition know it, and they want to put that technology into an exoskeleton with a nobler purpose than performing chores on space stations. The in-development X1 (not yet pictured) adapts the Robonaut’s skills to a body-hugging frame with 10 points of movement that might give humans an assist when they need it the most. In space, the X1 could automate and add challenge to exercise for astronauts in low gravity, or provide the extra muscle for that fabled day we return to manned surface exploration. NASA envisions its exoskeleton having more grounded uses as well, such as rehabilitation for leg injuries or walking for those who never had the chance. Although we’re not expecting a rapid turnaround knowing NASA’s lengthy schedules, we might see the X1 in use sooner than most such products in the wake of a purposefully quick development cycle — and, no doubt, a few interested customers here on Earth.
Filed under: Robots, Wearables, Science
NASA and IHMC building X1 exoskeleton to give us a lift, keep us fit in space and on Earth originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Does your ability to taste certain flavors give you better defense against sinus infections? Probably, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania. More »
If you’re sometimes unsure which pill you’re supposed to be taking, help might be at hand. A researcher from the National Institutes of Health is developing an app which can tell apart your drugs using a simple smartphone snap. More »
It starts with a headache, nothing major. Then the neck stiffness sets in, the high fever. That’s all the warning you have before fungal meningitis inflames your brain and takes your life. And it’s happening, all of a sudden, to unprecedented numbers of people all across America. More »
Morphine—glorious, glorious morphine—is among the world’s most potent painkillers, able to make you forget about that broken leg or split open skull. But what if something that generally causes death could be transformed into something that aided the body in recovery? Scientists believe they’ve discovered the element in Black Mamba venom that does just that. More »
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