The identification of the DNA markers associated with aging has brought us one step closer to the ever-elusive Fountain of Youth. UCLA geneticist Steve Horvath just published details about the discovery, and says that this could actually lead to drugs that reverse the process of aging.
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There are surprisingly few documents from 1969 that mark the birth of the internet. We have some notes scribbled on a pad of paper, and a few newspaper articles after the fact. But there weren’t any reporters parked outside of 3420 Boelter Hall at UCLA on October 29, 1969 to witness that historic moment when the ARPANET gasped its first breaths. In fact, it wasn’t even above-the-fold news.
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The mechanical computers of yesterday may have been enormous, difficult to program, and amazingly clunky—but they sure were beautiful to watch in action. Released theatrically by Popular Science on August 6, 1948, this short film played before Paramount Pictures movies and demonstrated to the public how computers were freeing "research of old limitations" and provided "stimulus for unprecedented technical advancements." For those watching in darkened theaters, though, it was mostly just gorgeously choreographed machinery.
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Transparent photovoltaics have yet to grace the face of your smartphone, but don’t give up hope — UCLA researchers are working on a new see-through solar cell that’s showing potential. Using a new type of polymer solar cell, the team has been able to build a device that converts infrared light into electrical current. Current prototypes boast 4 percent energy conversion efficiency at 66 percent transparency — not crystal clear, but certainly clean enough to peer through. According to a study in ACS Nano, the technology could be used in “building-integrated photovoltaics or integrated photovoltaic chargers for portable electronics.” Translation? It could one day be used to build solar windows or better sun collecting smartphones. Don’t get too excited though, the technology still has a ways to go before any of these dreams come to fruition. Still, feel free to head past the break for the team’s official press release, or skip to the source to take in the full academic study.
Continue reading UCLA creates transparent solar cell, dreams of current generating windows
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Science
UCLA creates transparent solar cell, dreams of current generating windows originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jul 2012 03:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’re quite familiar with the fun you can have when you’ve got a high speed camera in your possession. But, even Phantom’s pricey and impressive 2,800 FPS cameras have nothing on the latest project out of UCLA. Engineers at the school have rigged up a microscope cam that uses serial time-encoded amplified microscopy (STEAM) to capture clips of individual cells at 36.7 million FPS. Let that sink in for a moment — that’s a “shutter” speed of 27 picoseconds. The school actually pioneered the method years ago, which uses ultra-fast laser pulses to generate images of cells as they speed by. The camera is capable of processing 100,000 cells a second, allowing doctors to spot cancerous anomalies that might have otherwise gone undetected. Now we just hope they can supersize the tech and sell it to HBO… boxing KOs can never be played back slow enough.
Continue reading 36.7 million FPS camera revolutionized cancer screening, next comes combat sports
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Science
36.7 million FPS camera revolutionized cancer screening, next comes combat sports originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
In the world of medical technology, detecting cancer cells are extremely important to monitor and prevent metastasis – the spread of a disease from one organ to another. However, detecting cancer cells is a difficult task. It will require a high-throughput instrument that is capable of examining millions of cells in a short span of time. That’s why a team of engineers from UCLA developed a high-throughput optical microscope that has the ability to detect cancer cells with sensitivity of one part per million in real time.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Hamilton robot capable of detecting and treating breast cancer, Sony flashes new high-definition wearable video camera,
At a size of just 100 nanometers, it may not be much to look at, but a new type of microwave oscillator developed by researchers at UCLA could open the door to mobile communication devices that are smaller, cheaper and more efficient. As PhysOrg reports, unlike traditional silicon-based oscillators (the bit of a device that produces radio-frequency signals), these new oscillators rely on the spin of an electron rather than its charge to create microwaves — a change that apparently bring with it a host of benefits. That includes a boost in signal quality, and a dramatic reduction in size. The new nanoscale system is fully 10,000 times smaller than current silicon-based oscillators, and can even be incorporated into existing chips without a big change in manufacturing processes. As with most such developments, however, it remains to be seen when we’ll actually see it put into practice.
UCLA researchers develop nanoscale microwave oscillators, promise better and cheaper mobile devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 05:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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