A metal object can be made invisible to to electromagnetic radiation at microwave frequencies by approximately 70 per cent with the help of ordinary plastic, Aalto University researchers have shown.
In practical terms, this means that electromagnetic waves travelling, for example, between two antennas, do not detect an object located in their path, allowing the waves to travel the distance between them despite the obstacle, without any disruption… read more
They only have a single cell — no brain, but slime molds “remember” where they’ve been.
How? The brainless slime mold Physarum polycephalum constructs a form of spatial “memory” by avoiding areas it has previously explored, researchers at University of Sydney and Université Toulouse III have discovered.
“As it moves, the plasmodium leaves behind a thick mat of nonliving, translucent, extracellular slime,” the scientists said in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, October 8.… read more
Moore’s Law is losing steam due to delayed introduction of next-generation extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), said experts at the 2012 International Symposium on Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography, EE Times reports.
EUV systems need light sources that are nearly 20 times more powerful than the ones used today to lay down patterns on next-generation chips that target sizes as small as 14 nm. Lithography experts said that… read more
A new wave of imaging technologies is transforming the practice of medicine, The New York Times reports, to give doctors an instantaneous diagnosis, as well as inexpensive systems, often based on smartphones, that can extend advanced imaging technologies to the entire world.
Driven largely by the falling cost of computing and the increasing availability of other miniaturization technologies, including nanotechnology, they include:
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has awarded The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent.
The Nobel Prize recognizes two scientists who discovered that mature, specialized cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells capable of developing into all tissues of the body. Their findings have revolutionized our… read more
A team of Spanish scientists has developed nanoparticles to selectively release therapeutic substances in aged human cells.
They are intended to treat diseases involving cellular degeneration of tissue, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, among other accelerated aging pathologies.
The mesoporous nanoparticles contain galactooligosaccharide (a chemical normally used in probiotics, which are pills to stimulate growth of healthy bacteria).
The next step of this research is… read more
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2012 to Serge Haroche, Collège de France and Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France and David J. Wineland, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and University of Colorado Boulder, CO, USA ”for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems.”
Quantum mechanics, the study of how matter interacts with energy at the scale… read more
New low-cost, durable carbon nanotube sensors can be etched with mechanical pencils.
The methods typically used to fabricate carbon nanotube sensors are hazardous and not suited for large-scale production. But a new method created by MIT chemists — as simple to use as drawing a line on a sheet of paper — may overcome that obstacle.
MIT postdoc Katherine Mirica has designed a new type… read more
People can let their fingers — and hands — do the talking with a new touch-activated system that projects onto walls and other surfaces and allows users to interact with their environment and each other.
The system uses a Microsoft Kinect camera, which identifies the fingers of a person’s hand while touching any plain surface. It also recognizes hand posture and gestures, revealing individual users by their… read more
A new study from MIT cancer researchers reveals some of the cellular adhesion molecules that are critical to this how cancer cells break free from tumors, spread, and reattach to a new site.
Although tumor metastasis (spreading) causes about 90 percent of cancer deaths, the exact mechanism that allows cancer cells to spread from one part of the body to another is not well understood.… read more
The cryptography legend Phil Zimmermann is teaming up with two ex-Navy SEALs to offer encrypted phone calls, video conferencing, and text messages with no learning curve whatsoever.
The target market? Businesspeople and government employees traveling abroad, Fast Company reports.
Silent Circle, which launches on October 15, is a secure communications product for Android and iOS that works on a paid subscription model. Users will… read more
A study of bones from extinct birds suggests the double helix too has a measurable half-life — and that we have underestimated its ability to survive in the fossil record, New Scientist reports.
Part of the reason a DNA half-life has been so elusive is that it is hard to find a large enough cache of samples that have been exposed to similar conditions. The moa bones… read more
The growth pattern of long-range connections in the brain predicts how a child’s reading skills will develop, according to research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature News reports.
Literacy requires the integration of activity in brain areas involved in vision, hearing and language. These areas are distributed throughout the brain, so efficient communication between them is essential for proficient reading.
Jason Yeatman,… read more
Magnetic nanoparticles can be used to kill cancer cells by controlling cell signaling pathways, researchers from Yonsei University in South Korea have demonstrated.
They developed magnetic nanoparticles that turn on apoptosis cell signaling (commands to kill cells) in cancer cells by using a remote, non-invasive magnetic field.
The magnetic switch uses zinc-doped iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (Zn0.4Fe2.6O4), combined with a targeting antibody for death receptor 4 (DR4, a… read more
Imec, Holst Centre and Panasonic have developed a new prototype of a wireless EEG (electroencephalogram, or brain waves) headset designed to be a reliable, high-quality and wearable EEG monitoring system.
The system combines ease-of-use with ultra-low power electronics. Continuous impedance monitoring and the use of active electrodes increases the quality of EEG signal recording compared to former versions of the system.
How it works
The EEG… read more