Proving you can literally fix and improve anything with tape, physicists at the University of Toronto have developed a simple technique to give semiconductors superconducting properties with a bit of clear Scotch tape. And you thought duct tape was the hero of the adhesive world. More »
I find this extremely hard to believe, but according to new research published in Nature Neuroscience, scientists have invented a method to induce memories in brains for the first time in history. More »
Okay, it’s a little too late for Johnny 5’s grass hopper, but thanks to new “gentle” robotic tentacles developed at Harvard University, future generations of insects could escape a similar demise. Researchers have created a new soft appendage made from flexible plastic, that uses three compartmentalized air channels to achieve a snake-like range of movement. The touch of the tentacle is so light, that it is able to pick flowers without damage. While suggested applications include working with fragile objects, or in hard to reach locations, the team also experimented by adding cameras, suction cups and — most terrifyingly — syringes to the tip. The only limitation, apparently, is that the air channels prevent it from being scaled down. So while our insect friends are safe from strangle-bot, we might not be so lucky.
Scientists develop robotic tentacle that can pick flowers, make us thumb our collars originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Because the few remaining instruments can fetch millions of dollars at auction, scientists have been trying to pinpoint exact what makes a Stradivarius sound so phenomenal so they can be recreated. It’s partly due to a rare type of wood used by Antonio Stradivari that a Swiss wood researcher has managed to artificially recreate using a couple of species of fungus. More »
Researchers have developed a disgustingly cool remote-controlled bug. The bug in question is a giant cockroach. Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a system that uses an electronic interface to steer cockroach. The researchers say that their goal was to determine whether they could create a wireless biological interface to control the cockroach.
According to assistant Professor Alper Bozkurt, the team hopes that it will be able to create a mobile web of smart sensors using these remote-controlled cockroaches. The bugs could help with tasks such as finding survivors in buildings destroyed by earthquakes according to the professor. The team had to devise a cheap and safe way to control the cockroaches and ensure they operated within defined parameters.
The remote controlling method is intended to allow controllers to send the bugs to specific areas of interest. The system developed by the researchers uses an embedded cheap, light, and commercially available chip with a wireless receiver and transmitter. In testing, the team used Madagascar hissing cockroaches. The little backpack attached to each of the roaches weighs 0.7 g and has a microcontroller that monitors the interface between implanted electrodes and the tissue of the cockroaches to avoid neural damage.
The team wired the microcontroller to the roach’s antenna and cerci. Cerci are sensory organs on the abdomen of the roach used to detect movement in the air to indicate a predator is approaching. The wires attached to the cerci spur the bugs into motion by tricking them into thinking a predator is sneaking up. Wires attached to the antennae inject small electrical charges into the Bug’s neural tissue tricking it into thinking that the antennae are in contact with a barrier, steering them in the opposite direction.
[via Phys.org]
Researchers develop remote-controlled cockroaches is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It’s not the first technique for measuring blood sugar levels that avoids the finger prick blood sample route, but this tiny unobtrusive chip could be the least invasive yet. It’s able to make incredibly accurate blood glucose readings from a diabetic’s tears or sweat, and then wirelessly transmit the results for easy monitoring. More »
Astronomers and scientists use a variety of different telescopes to investigate the heavens. Typically, when we say telescope many people think about optical telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope that takes photographs that we can look at to get a glimpse at the beauty and massive size of our universe. A lot of scientific discovery is made using radio telescopes and General Dynamics has announced that it has landed a contract to deliver 64 gigantic radio telescope antennas.
The 64 radio antennas will be used in the MeerKAT telescope array to be located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Once in place the radio telescope will be the largest and most powerful in the southern hemisphere. The General Dynamics contract is to deliver the 64 massive antennas, ancillary electronic components, and to provide support for the radio telescope array.
The contract is valued at $75 million. The antennas will have a dish-shaped 13.5-meter main reflector able to provide superior optical performance and reception sensitivity. General Dynamics says that the design of the reflector is ideally suited for radio telescope applications. The design of the main reflector allows the radio telescope to bypass any radio interference from satellites and terrestrial transmitters so astronomers can get a deep look into early galaxies and investigate new areas of science.
The MeerKAT array is a precursor telescope to the Square Kilometer Array and is 25% of the phase 1 scope. The full Square Kilometer Array telescope is expected to be completed in 2024, and MeerKAT is expected to be the largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere until that completion. The first of the MeerKAT antennas will be installed in late 2013 with all 64 antennas in place by the end of 2016.
General Dynamics to build 64 massive radio telescope antennas is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Built-in power supply? Check. Ability to survive anything? Check. Easy to control? Okay, anyone who’s had a cockroach as an uninvited houseguest knows that’s not the case. So, rather than re-inventing the biological wheel with a robotic version, North Carolina State university researchers have figured out a way to remotely control a real Madagascar hissing cockroach. They used an off-the-shelf microcontroller to tap in to the roach’s antennae and abdomen, then sent commands that fooled the insect into thinking danger was near, or that an object was blocking it. That let the scientists wirelessly prod the insect into action, then guide it precisely along a curved path, as shown in the video below the break. The addition of a sensor could allow the insects to one day perform tasks, liking searching for trapped disaster victims — something to think about the next time you put a shoe to one.
Researchers take full control of cockroach’s movement, turn it into a wireless sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple has taken the top spot for customer satisfaction in the latest J.D. Power survey, the company’s eighth successive win, and extending its lead over Android device manufacturers like HTC and Samsung. The iPhone maker scored 849 overall, up ten points over the last survey, and putting 59 points between it and second place holder HTC. The survey, which questions owners on their happiness with different aspects of the device ownership experience, found iPhone users were particularly pleased with the handset’s physical design.
That and ease of operation were cited most often, but J.D. Power says that the iPhone in fact scored strongly in all of the categories. That includes performance (weighted at 33-percent); physical design (23-percent); features (22-percent); and ease of operation (22-percent).
While HTC‘s recent sales have been underwhelming, actually satisfaction around the company’s phones puts the company in second place, with 790 points. Samsung comes in at third place, with 782 points, while Motorola and Nokia take fourth and fifth, with 777 and 763 respectively.
The study is all the more interesting, given Apple is believed to be preparing to reveal the new “iPhone 5” in just a week’s time. That event – which SlashGear will be liveblogging on September 12 from 10AM PT – is expected to see a new design of phone launched, with a larger touchscreen and the inclusion of 4G LTE connectivity.
iPhone keeps smartphone satisfaction crown; Builds lead over Android is written by Vincent Nguyen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If you wear contact lenses you’re already familiar with hydrogels—a jelly-like material made from polymers soaked with water. But a new type of hydrogel developed at Harvard University promises to be far more robust than your corrective lenses, stretching up to twenty times its original length without breaking. More »
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