Last year, Google TV devices received an update that added Google Play and simplified the entertainment discovery experience. The next update, starting this week, makes finding whatever you want on Google TV even faster and easier, Google TV Blog reports.
The update includes:
Just speak to watch TV shows and movies, start playing a YouTube video, open applications,
Hydrogen is an attractive fuel source because it can easily be converted into electric energy and gives off no greenhouse emissions. A group of chemists at the University of Rochester is now adding to its appeal by increasing the output of current light-driven hydrogen-production systems while lowering the cost.
The chemists say their work advances what is sometimes considered the “holy grail” of… read more
So far, alternative fuels from waste have not moved beyond small pilot plants, despite federal incentives to encourage companies to develop them. That could be about to change, The New York Times reports.
Officials at two companies that have built multimillion-dollar factories say they are very close to beginning large-scale, commercial production of these “cellulosic… read more
An international team led by the University of Edinburgh has discovered a new gene called miR-941 that helps explain how humans evolved evolved from apes by playing a crucial role in human brain development, and may shed light on how we learned to use tools and language.
The researchers say it is the first time that a new gene — carried only by humans and not by apes —… read more
University of Adelaide computer scientists are developing a network of sensors attached to objects and AI software to track what a senior is doing — a practical, low-cost solution for helping older people to keep living independently and safely in their own homes.
The researchers are adapting radio-frequency identification (RFID) and other sensor technologies to automatically identify and monitor human activity,… read more
The year ahead will feature new and increasingly sophisticated means to capture and exploit user data, escalating battles over the control of online information, and continuous threats to the U.S. supply chain from global sources.
Those were the findings by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC) and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in the Georgia Tech Emerging Cyber Threats… read more
Drawing heavily upon nature for inspiration, a team of researchers has created a new artificial lens made up of thousands of nanoscale polymer layers that is nearly identical to the natural lens of the human eye.
The lens may one day provide more natural performance in implantable lenses to replace damaged or diseased human eye lenses, as well as consumer vision products; it also may lead to… read more
Tumor cells circulating in a patient’s bloodstream can yield a great deal of information on how a tumor is responding to treatment and what drugs might be more effective against it. But first, these rare cells have to be captured and isolated from the many other cells found in a blood sample.
Many scientists are now working on microfluidic devices that can isolate circulating tumor cells (CTCs),… read more
Two professors at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering have developed a new method that doubles the efficiency of wireless networks and could have a large impact on the mobile Internet and wireless industries.
Efficiency of wireless networks is key because there is a limited amount of spectrum to transmit voice, text… read more
Conservationists in Brazil are poised to try cloning eight animals that are under pressure, including jaguars and maned wolves, New Scientist reports.
None of the targeted animals are critically endangered, but Brazil’s agricultural research agency, Embrapa, wants a headstart. Working with the Brasilia Zoological Garden, it has collected around 420 tissue samples, mostly… read more
The storage capacity of hard disk drives could increase by a factor of five thanks to processes developed by chemists and engineers at The University of Texas at Austin.
The researchers’ technique, which relies on self-organizing substances known as block copolymers, is being given a real-world test run in collaboration with HGST, a leading innovator in disk drives.
Near the end of… read more
Why is the polyp Hydra immortal? Researchers from Kiel University decided to study it — and unexpectedly discovered a link to aging in humans.
The study carried out by together with the Keil University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH)
The tiny freshwater polyp Hydra does not show any signs of aging and is potentially immortal. There is a rather simple biological explanation for this: these animals exclusively reproduce… read more
A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry has received a $1.7 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a hydrogel that can be injected into a patient to form an active biological scaffold for tooth repair, and possibly spinal cord regeneration, among other uses.
Rice bioengineer Jeffrey Hartgerink and co-investigator Rena D’Souza of Baylor won… read more
Ray Kurzweil’s new book — How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed* — was published today, Nov. 13, Viking has announced.
The book opened on Monday as #1 among all books on the Barnes & Noble bestseller list. It is now available from the book website or from all major booksellers, and available in all popular e-book formats.… read more
University of Texas at Arlington associate physics professor Wei Chen has helped create a hybrid nanomaterial that can be used to convert light and thermal energy into electrical current, surpassing earlier methods that used either light or thermal energy, but not both.
The team synthesized a combination of copper sulfide nanoparticles and single-walled carbon nanotubes to build a prototype thermoelectric generator that they hope can… read more