Psychologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have found evidence for the value of mind-wandering.
The researchers presented 145 undergraduate students with two “unusual uses” tasks that gave them two minutes to list as many uses as possible for everyday objects such as toothpicks, clothes hangers and bricks.
After the two minutes were… [ Nature News ]
A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots in primates has found the tiny luminescent crystals are safe over a one-year period, a hopeful outcome for doctors and scientists seeking new ways to battle diseases like cancer through nanomedicine.
In the study, scientists found that four rhesus monkeys injected with cadmium-selenide quantum…
Researchers from North Carolina State University have devised a method to improve the quality and efficiency of data transmission in Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs).
MANETs allow people in multiple, rapidly-moving vehicles to communicate with each other, such as in military or emergency-response situations.
Leap Motion is unveiling its Leap 3D motion control system, Technology Review Hello World reports.
Leap Motion appears to outrank Kinect in terms of its capability. The technology, reports CNET, can detect motion with up to a hundredth of a millimeter accuracy; it’s nuanced enough to detect fingers, for instance,…
Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania engineers have used “plasmonic cloaking” to create a device that can see without being seen.
It is the first example of what the researchers describe as a new class of devices that control the flow of light at the nanoscale to produce both optical and electronic functions.…
A method for repeatedly encoding, storing and erasing digital data within the DNA of living cells, using natural enzymes adapted from bacteria — the genetic equivalent of a bit — has been developed by Stanford University scientists in the Department of Bioengineering, a joint effort of the School of Engineering and the…
AlertMe, the smart home tech company has sealed a deal with British Gas to provide a personalized energy efficiency advice service to UK customers with smart meters.
Smart meters will have a display that shows customers how much energy they are using. The AlertMe service breaks down the… [ The Next Web ]
Apple has finalized the proposed design of its futuristic “spaceship” campus, featuring a rooftop with one of the biggest corporate solar installations in the entire world, to be operational by 2015.
See also: Apple plans new ‘spaceship’-like campus [ Time Techland ]
SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifted off Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 3:44 a.m. EDT, kicking off the second demonstration mission for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program/
Comcast’s plans to do away with its 250 GB data cap and charge users based upon usage marks the end of an era for cable TV providers, and for the online video industry, TechCrunch reports.
Over the weekend, Microsoft quietly launched an experimental social network called So.cl — a mix between Google+ and Storify.
You can search for information about a particular topic, then compile the best results — textual content, images and videos — into a single document.
So.cl is initially targeted to… [ ReadWriteWeb ]
On May 9, researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China in Shanghai claimed that they had demonstrated quantum teleportation at a distance of 97 km (60 mi) across a lake in China. The previous published distance record was 16 km.
Quantum teleportation is actually not about teleporting matter — it’s the process…
Exercise clears the mind. It gets the blood pumping and more oxygen is delivered to the brain. But Dartmouth’s David Bucci thinks there is much more going on.
“In the last several years there have been data suggesting that neurobiological changes are happening — [there are] very brain-specific mechanisms at work here,” says…
Do you feel guilty when you read a newspaper?
You probably should, according to BuzzFeed co-founder Jonah Peretti, who has “a moral issue” with print publishing and its environmental impact. [ The Next Web ]
A Chinese manufacturer has introduced the Model MK802, a $74 USB thumb-drive sized computer, liliputing reports, beating the FXI Cotton Candy PC on a stick to market (it will be available soon for $200).
The MK802 is available from AliExpress for $74, or less if you order in bulk.…