news

science + technology news

Page 6 of 1,222first previous 2 3 4 567 8 9 10 11 next last

How to program DNA like we do computers

Researchers program DNA molecules to follow specific instructions to create sophisticated molecular machines for medical and research uses

December 18, 2017

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have programmed DNA molecules to follow specific instructions to create sophisticated molecular machines that could be capable of communication, signal processing, problem-solving, decision-making, and control of motion in living cells — the kind of computation previously only possible with electronic circuits.

Future applications may include health care, advanced materials, and nanotechnology.

As a demonstration, the researchers constructed a… read more

Topics: Biotech | Synthetic Biology

A new low-cost, simple way to measure medical vital signs with radio waves

December 15, 2017

Replacing devices based on 19th-century technology* and still in use, Cornell University engineers have developed a simple method for gathering blood pressure, heart rate, and breath rate from multiple patients simultaneously. It uses low-power radio-frequency signals and low-cost microchip radio-frequency identification (RFID) “tags” — similar to the ubiquitous anti-theft tags used in department stores.

The RFID tags measure internal body motion, such as a heart as it beats… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Electronics

Video games and piano lessons improve cognitive functions in seniors, researchers find

December 13, 2017

For seniors, playing 3D-platform games like Super Mario 64 or taking piano lessons can stave off mild cognitive impairment and perhaps even prevent Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study by Université de Montréal psychology professors.

In the studies, 33 people ages 55 to 75 were instructed to play Super Mario 64 for 30 minutes a day, five days a week for a period of… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

AlphaZero’s ‘alien’ superhuman-level program masters chess in 24 hours with no domain knowledge

Like a robot building a Ferrari from thousands of metal bits and parts, but no knowledge of a combustion engine

December 11, 2017

Demis Hassabis, the founder and CEO of DeepMind, announced at the Neural Information Processing Systems conference (NIPS 2017) last week that DeepMind’s new AlphaZero program achieved a superhuman level of play in chess within 24 hours.

The program started from random play, given no domain knowledge except the game rules, according to an arXiv paper by DeepMind researchers published Dec. 5.

“It doesn’t play like… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics

3D-printing biocompatible living bacteria

Applications include skin transplants and nanofilters that break down toxic substances

December 8, 2017

Researchers at ETH Zurich university have developed a technique for 3D-printing biocompatible living bacteria for the first time — making it possible to produce produce high-purity cellulose for biomedical applications and nanofilters that can break down toxic substances (in drinking water, for example) or for use in disastrous oil spills, for example.

The technique, called “Flink” (“functional living ink”) allows for printing mini biochemical factories with properties… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Nanotech/Materials Science

New technology allows robots to visualize their own future

December 6, 2017

UC Berkeley | Vestri the robot imagines how to perform tasks

UC Berkeley researchers have developed a robotic learning technology that enables robots to imagine the future of their actions so they can figure out how to manipulate objects they have never encountered before. It could help self-driving cars anticipate future events on the road and produce more intelligent robotic assistants in homes.

The initial prototype focuses on… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics

Why (most) future robots won’t look like robots

Plus: soft robots get superpowers (equivalent to a duck lifting a car)

December 4, 2017

Future robots won’t be limited to humanoid form (like Boston Robotics’ formidable backflipping Atlas). They’ll be invisibly embedded everywhere in common objects.

Such as a shoe that can intelligently support your gait, change stiffness as you’re running or walking, and adapt to different surfaces — or even help you do backflips.

That’s the vision of researchers at Oregon State University, the University of Colorado, Yale University, and… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics | Nanotech/Materials Science

Using light instead of electrons promises faster, smaller, more-efficient computers and smartphones

December 1, 2017

By forcing light to go through a smaller gap than ever before, a research team at Imperial College London has taken a step toward computers based on light instead of electrons.

Light would be preferable for computing because it can carry much-higher-density information, it’s much faster, and more efficient (generates little to no heat). But light beams don’t easily interact with one other. So information on high-speed… read more

Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI | Electronics

New nanomaterial, quantum encryption system could be ultimate defenses against hackers

November 29, 2017

Recent advances in quantum computers may soon give hackers access to machines powerful enough to crack even the toughest of standard internet security codes. With these codes broken, all of our online data — from medical records to bank transactions — could be vulnerable to attack.

Now, a new low-cost nanomaterial developed by New York University Tandon School of Engineering researchers can be tuned to act as… read more

Topics: Nanotech/Materials Science | Quantum

Space dust may transport life between worlds

A hypervelocity bioparticle from Earth could have reached identified potential habitable planets

November 26, 2017

Life on our planet might have originated from biological particles brought to Earth in streams of space dust, according to a study published in the journal Astrobiology.

A huge amount of space dust (~10,000 kilograms — about the weight of two elephants) enters our atmosphere every day — possibly delivering organisms from far-off worlds, according to Professor Arjun Berera from the University of Edinburgh School of… read more

Topics: Biotech | Physics/Cosmology | Space

Using microrobots to diagnose and treat illness in remote areas of the body

November 24, 2017

Imagine a swarm of remote-controlled microrobots, a few micrometers in length (blood-vessel-sized), unleashed into your body to swim through your intestinal track or blood vessels, for example. Goal: to diagnose illness and treat it in hard-to-reach areas of the body.

An international team of researchers, led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is now experimenting with this idea (starting with rats) — using microscopic Spirulina algae coated… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Nanotech/Materials Science

Take a fantastic 3D voyage through the brain with immersive VR system

Plus a "journey to the center of the cell" with 360 VR movies

November 23, 2017

Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering/Lüscher lab (UNIGE) | Brain circuits related to natural reward

What happens when you combine access to unprecedented huge amounts of anatomical data of brain structures with the ability to display billions of voxels (3D pixels) in real time, using high-speed graphics cards?

Answer: An awesome new immersive virtual reality (VR) experience for visualizing and interacting with up to 10 terabytes (trillions of bytes)… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience | VR/Augmented Reality/Computer Graphics

Disturbing video depicts near-future ubiquitous lethal autonomous weapons

The technology described in the film already exists, says UC Berkeley AI researcher Stuart Russell

November 18, 2017

Campaign to Stop Killer Robots | Slaughterbots

In response to growing concerns about autonomous weapons, the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of AI researchers and advocacy organizations, has released a fictional video that depicts a disturbing future in which lethal autonomous weapons have become cheap and ubiquitous worldwide.

UC Berkeley AI researcher Stuart Russell presented the video at the United Nations Convention on… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics | Singularity/Futures | Survival/Defense

How to open the blood-brain-barrier with precision for safer drug delivery

November 17, 2017

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a safer way to use focused ultrasound to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier* to allow for delivering vital drugs for treating glioma brain tumors — an alternative to invasive incision or radiation.

Focused ultrasound drug delivery to the brain uses “cavitation” — creating microbubbles — to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier. The problem with this method has been that if these bubbles… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience | Electronics

Consumer Technology Association inducts Ray Kurzweil, 11 other visionaries into the 2017 Consumer Technology Hall of Fame

November 16, 2017

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) inducted Ray Kurzweil and 11 other industry leaders into the Consumer Technology (CT) Hall of Fame at its 19th annual awards dinner, held Nov. 7, 2017 at the Rainbow Room, atop 30 Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.

CTA, formerly Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), created the Hall of Fame in 2000 to honor industry visionaries and pioneers.

A noted inventor, author, and futurist, Ray Kurzweil was… read more

Topics: Electronics | Innovation/Entrepreneurship