University of Southampton neuroscientists have developed a method called “multicolor RGB tracking” to improve our understanding of how the brain works by color-marking individual brain cells in mice allows them to be tracked over space and time.*
To mark a brain cell, they inject a solution that contains three viral vectors (delivery of genes by a virus) to create a fluorescent protein in each cell. Each cell… read more
New UCLA research indicates that lost memories can be restored, offering hope for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
For decades, most neuroscientists have believed that memories are stored at the synapses — the connections between brain cells, or neurons — which are destroyed by Alzheimer’s disease. The new study provides evidence contradicting the idea that long-term memory is stored at synapses.
“Long-term memory is not… read more
Brigham Young University (BYU) student civil engineers have constructed an affordable 3D immersive visualization system from commercial off-the-shelf components and open-source software.
The “VuePod” system uses 12 high-definition, 55-inch 3D televisions all connected to a computer capable of supporting high-end, graphics-intensive visualization. Images are controlled by a Wii remote that interacts with a Kinect-like 3D tracking device called SMARTTRACK. 3D glasses worn by the user create the… read more
Ibuprofen, a common over-the-counter drug used to relieve pain and fever, could hold the keys to a longer healthier life, according to a study by researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Publishing in PLoS Genetics (open access) December 18, scientists showed that regular doses of ibuprofen extended the lifespan of yeast, worms and fruit flies.
Brian Kennedy, PhD, CEO of the Buck Institute, said treatments, given… read more
A team led by postdoctoral associate John Heron of Cornell University has developed a room-temperature magnetoelectric memory design that replaces power-hungry electric currents with an electric field. It could lead to low-power, instant-on computing devices.
“The advantage here is low energy consumption,” Heron said. “It requires a low voltage, without current, to switch it. Devices that use currents consume more energy and dissipate a significant amount of that energy… read more
A new study from MIT neuroscientists has found that for the first time, one of the latest generation of “deep neural networks” matches the ability of the primate brain to recognize objects during a brief glance.
Because these neural networks were designed based on neuroscientists’ current understanding of how the brain performs object recognition, the success of the latest networks suggests that neuroscientists have a fairly accurate grasp of… read more
The team responsible for the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on NASA’s Curiosity rover has made the first definitive detection of organic molecules at Mars, but there’s not enough evidence to tell if the matter came from ancient Martian life or from a non-biological process, such as interplanetary dust or fragments of asteroids and comets.
The surface of Mars is currently inhospitable to life as we know it,… read more
In an experiment, a woman with quadriplegia shaped the almost-human hand of a robot arm with just her thoughts, directing it to pick up big and small boxes, a ball, an oddly shaped rock, and fat and skinny tubes and showing that brain-computer interface technology has the potential to improve the function and quality of life of those unable to use their own arms.
The findings by researchers at… read more
Natural scaffoldings perfected by evolution such as spider webs and leaf veins can lead to near-optimal performance when copied to create flexible and durable networks for optoelectronic applications such as photovoltaic devices and display screens, researchers at Boston College, South China Normal, and University of Houston reported in the journal Nature Communications.
A network design inspired by the quasi-fractal vein-laced structure of a leaf served as an effective electrode for solar… read more
Stanford University has invited leading thinkers from several institutions to begin a 100-year effort to study and anticipate how the effects of artificial intelligence on every aspect of how people work, live, and play.
This effort, called the One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100) is the brainchild of computer scientist and Stanford alumnus Eric Horvitz. As former president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence,… read more
Stanford engineers have build 3D “high-rise” chips that could leapfrog the performance of the single-story logic and memory chips on today’s circuit cards, which are subject to frequent traffic jams between logic and memory.
The Stanford approach would attempt to end these jams by building layers of logic atop layers of memory to create a tightly interconnected high-rise chip. Many thousands of nanoscale electronic “elevators” would move data between… read more
GCHQ, the British counterpart of the NSA, announced Friday a free Android (iOS planned) educational app called Cryptoy, which “enables users to understand basic encryption techniques, learn about their history, and then have a go at creating their own encoded messages.
“These can then be shared with friends via social media or more traditional means and the recipients can use the app to see “how… read more
A new technique to magnetically deliver drug-carrying nanorods to deep targets in the body using fast-pulsed magnetic fields could transform the way deep-tissue tumors and other diseases are treated, say researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) and Bethesda-based Weinberg Medical Physics LLC (WMP).
Instead of surgery or systemically administered treatments (such as chemotherapy), the use of magnetic nanoparticles as drug carriers could potentially allow clinicians to use external magnets to focus… read more
Here’s an idea: recycle that old grade-B movie Blu-ray disc to improve your future solar collector. Well, sort of. It turns out the Blu-ray data storage pattern when used with a solar collector increases light absorption by 21.8 percent, according to new research from Northwestern University, thanks to Blu-ray discs’ quasi-random pattern and high data density.
The researchers tested a wide range of movies and television shows stored on… read more
Engineers at UC Berkeley have designed a wearable organic (carbon-based) oximeter (for blood-oxygen levels) device that could ultimately be thin, cheap, and flexible enough to be slapped on like a Band-Aid.
“There are various pulse oximeters already on the market that measure pulse rate and blood-oxygen saturation levels, but those devices use rigid conventional electronics, and they are usually fixed to the fingers or earlobe,” said Ana Arias, an… read more