Some of the world's most important discoveries – penicillin, vulcanized rubber and Velcro, to name a few – were made by accident. In fact, it's been said that upward of half of all scientific discoveries are by chance. Add vortex ring freezing to that long list of "accidents." Duo An, a doctoral student in the [...]
From Nanowerk News: Researchers at the University of Tokyo used MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology to produce spherical vesicles (asymmetric giant lipid vesicles/liposomes) surrounded by a membrane that, like the membrane of our cells, has an inner and outer layer composed of different phospholipids. In contrast to conventional methods of creating vesicles, this new [...]
From an article at www.kurzweilai.net: Could lead to high-speed, energy-efficient neuromorphic computers for accelerated cognitive computing. Scientists at IBM Research in Zurich have developed artificial neurons that emulate how neurons spike (fire). The goal is to create energy-efficient, high-speed, ultra-dense integrated neuromorphic (brain-like) technologies for applications in cognitive computing, such as unsupervised learning for detecting and [...]
From an article in New Scientist by By Joshua Sokol: Experiments are under way to mimic possible life-forming processes at alkaline vents on the sea floor, and perhaps elsewhere in the solar system In a collection of glass jars at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, Michael Russell’s team is trying to recreate the moment before life on [...]
From an article at kurzweilai.net: University of California, Berkeley engineers have designed and built millimeter-scale device wireless, batteryless “neural dust” sensors and implanted them in muscles and peripheral nerves of rats to make in vivoelectrophysiological recordings. The new technology opens the door to “electroceuticals” — bioelectronic methods to monitor and record wireless electromyogram (EMG) signals from muscle membranes [...]
From an article at Phys.org: Australian cancer researchers have developed a highly promising nanomedicine that could improve treatment for pancreatic cancer – the most deadly cancer in Australia. Australian cancer researchers have developed a highly promising technology to deliver gene-silencing drugs to treat pancreatic cancer – the most chemo-resistant and deadly cancer in Australia. When [...]
Many lower organisms retain the miraculous ability to regenerate form and function of almost any tissue after injury. Humans share many of our genes with these organisms, but our capacity for regeneration is limited. Scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, are studying the genetics of these organisms to find out how [...]
From AZNano: Scientists from the University of Basel have developed nanoparticles that have the potential to serve as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. In comparison to the actual contrast agents, these new nanoparticles produce around ten times more contrast and are responsive to particular environments. The results have been published in the journal Chemical [...]
Since humans launched Sputnik 1 in 1957, we have polluted the once-empty space around Earth to the point that it is now becoming dangerous, according to former NASA scientist Donald Kessler. “We’re at what we call a ‘critical density’ — where there are enough large objects in space that they will collide with one another [...]
From AZoNano: Graphene oxide is called a true wonder material. When added into nanocellulose foam, the lab-developed substance is light, flexible and strong, conducting heat and electricity efficiently and rapidly. Recently, a team of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a method to use graphene oxide sheets to convert dirty water into drinking [...]
