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Devices aim to deliver on stem-cell therapies

Bendable needle increases reach of a single injection to the brain
March 6, 2013

Neurosurgeon Daniel Lim's injection system can bend sideways, delivering therapeutic stem cells to the brain through fewer holes in the skull (credit: J. Bardi/UCSF)

Working with bioengineers and neurosurgeons, Daniel Lim, a neurosurgeon and stem-cell scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, has designed a needle that bends for for delivering stem cells to the brain,  Nature News reports.

The device can deposit cells anywhere within a 2-centimetre radius along a track, a volume bigger than an entire mouse brain.

Several researchers hope to use Lim’s device for clinical trials… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Biotech | Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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Global e-mail patterns reveal ‘clash of civilizations’

March 6, 2013

The mesh of civilizations in e-mail patterns (credit: Bogdan State et al.)

The global pattern of e-mail communication reflects the cultural fault lines thought to determine future conflict, say computational social scientists.

In 1992, the Harvard-based political scientist Samuel Huntington suggested that future conflicts would be driven largely by cultural differences. He went on to map out a new world order in which the people of the world are divided into nine culturally distinct civilizations.

His argument was that future… read more

Topics: Internet/Telecom | Social/Ethical/Legal

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Brain-boosting technique might help some functions while hurting others

March 6, 2013

transcranial_stimulation

Electrically stimulating the brain may enhance memory, but impede a person’s ability to react without thinking, MIT Technology Review reports.

Using a noninvasive technique called transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) to stimulate the brain, researchers found they could enhance learning when they targeted a certain spot.

But that also made people worse at automaticity, or the ability to perform a task without really thinking about it. Stimulating another… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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How to tell who a person is thinking about

March 6, 2013

Left LTC and dorsal mPFC

It is possible to tell who a person is thinking about by analyzing images of his or her brain.

Our mental models of people produce unique patterns of brain activation, which can be detected using advanced imaging techniques according to a study by Cornell University neuroscientist Nathan Spreng and his colleagues.

“When we looked at our data, we were shocked that we could successfully… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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Pushing the bounds of superconductivity

March 6, 2013

Superlattice structure of superconductor epitaxial thin films (credit: S. Lee et al./Nature Materials)

A multi-university team of researchers has engineered a unique multilayer material designed to achieve extraordinary superconducting properties — in particular, the ability to transport much more electrical current than non-engineered materials.

The team, led by Chang-Beom Eom, the Harvey D. Spangler Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering and physics at UW-Madison, includes experts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Florida State University and the University… read more

Topics: Electronics | Energy | Nanotech/Materials Science

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Graphene antennas would enable terabit wireless downloads

March 6, 2013

nanodevice_gatech

Researchers at Georgia Tech have drawn up blueprints for a wireless antenna made from atom-thin sheets of carbon, or graphene, that could allow terabit-per-second transfer speeds at a range of about one meter, MIT Technology Review reports

This would make it possible to obtain 10 high-definition movies by waving your phone past another device for one second. At even shorter ranges, such as a few centimeters, data… read more

Topics: Electronics | Internet/Telecom | Nanotech/Materials Science

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A ‘Google map’ of human metabolism

March 6, 2013

Human Metabolism-excerpt

An international consortium of university researchers has produced the most comprehensive virtual reconstruction of human metabolism to date.

Scientists could use the model, known as Recon 2, to identify causes of and new treatments for diseases like cancer, diabetes and even psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Each person’s metabolism, which represents the conversion of food sources into energy and the assembly of molecules,… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Biotech

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Graphene’s photovoltaic potential

March 5, 2013

Graphene

Researchers have demonstrated that graphene is highly efficient at generating electrons upon absorbing light, which suggests that the material could be used to make light sensors and perhaps even more efficient solar cells, MIT Technology Review reports.

Conventional materials that turn light into electricity, like silicon and gallium arsenide, generate a single electron for each photon absorbed. Since a photon contains more energy than one electron can… read more

Topics: Electronics | Energy | Nanotech/Materials Science

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A solar-to-fuel roadmap for crystalline silicon

March 5, 2013

thermodynamic_potential_solar_cell

An MIT research team has published a detailed analysis of all the factors that could limit the efficiency of an “artificial leaf” — a small device that, when placed in a container of water and exposed to sunlight, would produce bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen for storing energy.

The new analysis lays out a roadmap for a research program to improve the efficiency of these systems, and… read more

Topics: Energy | Nanotech/Materials Science

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The age of enhancement

March 5, 2013

amazing-spiderman

Technology is starting to give us superpowers once reserved for comic-book heroes, Slate reports.

Human enhancement is happening all the time, largely through incremental improvements on existing technologies.

Wearable technology is taking off. Muscle suits are starting to look more plausible. The military is working on “Spider-Man suits” that let the wearer scale vertical walls.

Devices that interact directly… read more

Topics: Human Enhancement

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Rapid point-of-care testing for multiple diseases from a drop of blood

March 5, 2013

color test

A diagnostic system using DNA powder and gold nanoparticles being developed by scientists at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering could provide rapid point-of-care diagnosis of the world’s leading infectious diseases in the near future.

BBME PhD student Kyryl Zagorovsky has developed a rapid diagnostic biosensor that will allow technicians to test for multiple diseases at the same time with one… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Biotech | Nanotech/Materials Science

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Mars may get hit by a comet in 2014

March 4, 2013

(Credit: Image credit: Mars: NASA/JPL/MSSS; Comet Halley: Hale Observatory; composite: Phil Plait)

A comet called C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) is expected to miss Mars around Oct. 19, 2014 by 37,000 km (23,000 miles), says Bad Astronomy Slate blogger Phil Plait.

Assuming it does hit, while the nucleus size is not well known, it may be as small as 15 kilometers (9 miles) or as big as 50 km (30 miles). Even using the small number means Mars would… read more

Topics: Space | Survival/Defense

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Atoms with quantum memory

March 4, 2013

vienna_atom_chip

Order tends towards disorder. This is also true for quantum states. Measurements at the Vienna University of Technology show that in quantum mechanics this transition can be quite different from what we experience in our daily lives.

Ice cubes in a cocktail glass melt until an equilibrium state is reached in which the ice cubes are gone. After that, the geometric shape of the ice… read more

Topics: Physics/Cosmology | Quantum

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Detecting evidence for extraterrestrial life on dying stars

March 4, 2013

A new study finds that researchers can detect oxygen in the atmosphere of a habitable planet orbiting a white dwarf (as shown in this artist’s illustration). Here the ghostly blue ring is a planetary nebula — hydrogen gas the star ejected as it evolved from a red giant to a white dwarf. (Credit: David A. Aguilar/CfA)

Even dying stars could host planets with life — and if such life exists, we might be able to detect it within the next decade.

This encouraging result comes from a new theoretical study of Earth-like planets orbiting white dwarf stars. Researchers found that oxygen in the atmosphere of a white dwarf’s planet could be detected much more easily than in an Earth-like planet orbiting a… read more

Topics: Space

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Space race underway to create quantum satellite

March 4, 2013

photons_in_space

In this month’s special edition of Physics World, focusing on quantum physics, Thomas Jennewein and Brendon Higgins from the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, Canada, describe how a quantum space race is under way to create the world’s first global quantum-communication network.

The field of quantum communication — the science of transmitting quantum states from one place to another… read more

Topics: Physics/Cosmology | Quantum | Space

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