Most Recently Added Most commentedBy Title | A-Z

Page 970 of 1,035First1020309669679689699709719729739749759809901,000Last

Optical Observation Of Single Molecules In Their Natural State

February 5, 2003

Scientists at Cornell University have for the first time optically isolated individual biological molecules in naturally occurring molecular concentrations and watched their complex behavior as they interact with a protein.

The technique, made possible by the ability of nanofabrication to produce a microchip with light-impeding holes with a diameter one-tenth of the wavelength of light, could promise a new method of DNA sequencing by which the genetic code can… read more

Topics: Biotech

Comments (0)

Mutant Bacteria Become Microscopic Motors

February 5, 2003

University of Arkansas researcher Steve Tung is incorporating living bacteria into microelectromechanical systems to form living motors for pumps and valves. These tiny bioMEMS devices could be used in systems for drug delivery or DNA sequencing.

News tip: Walter Purvis

Topics: Biotech | Nanotech/Materials Science

Comments (0)

Turning a Digital Database Into Local Radio

February 5, 2003

A database of thousands of samples plus digital audio processing enables radio D.J. Carson Daly to do a synthesized, virtual top-10 countdown show tailored to the phoned-in requests of radio listeners in 11 different cities.

Phrases like “coming in at No. 4″ were recorded once and stored in the database for reuse. The call letters and phone numbers of the 11 stations, in Mr. Daly’s voice, are automatically inserted.

Comments (0)

Where Should Space Exploration Go From Here?

February 5, 2003

“Most of the punditry agrees that extending the shuttle program for many more years is a bad idea. So what are the practical alternatives? I’ve seen ideas for new spacecraft, a carbon nanotube space elevator, among other things….”

Topics: Singularity/Futures

Comments (0)

The robot gets connected

February 5, 2003

Mitsubishi has developed a robot on wheels that will become a house-sitter, caretaker, nurse and friend for the family.

It has cameras and voice and face recognition capabilities that allow the machine to search for and follow voices, faces and movements. It links to the Internet and can send its camera images to mobile phones and computers away from the home. It can also be programmed to send e-mail… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics

Comments (0)

To the Moon in a Space Elevator?

February 5, 2003

The Columbia disaster could spur faster development of a radically different approach to reaching outer space: the space elevator.

Using lightweight, strong carbon nanotubes, it’s feasible to talk of building a meter-wide “ribbon” that would start on a mobile ocean platform at the equator and extend 62,000 miles up into space. It would ferry materials such as satellites and replacement parts for space stations — or even people –… read more

Topics: Singularity/Futures

Comments (0)

Shuttle disaster revives debate on merits of manned flight

February 5, 2003

The Columbia crash likely will accelerate the move toward more unmanned space exploration. “Any specific mission you can identify to do in space, you can design and build an unmanned space craft to do it more effectively, more economically and more safely,” said Alex Roland, a professor of history at Duke University and for eight years a historian at NASA.

Comments (0)

Kurzweil responds to German newspaper on Shuttle disaster and Iraq

February 3, 2003

Frankfurter Allgemeine asked Ray Kurzweil if there would be any effects on the American psyche from the Columbia Shuttle disaster in relation to going to war with Iraq.

“Technology has always had a downside, from tragic failure as in today’s Shuttle disaster, to misappropriation as in the events of 9-11. Americans are hardly unique in their perception of this intertwined promise and peril of technology,” said Kurzweil.

“With… read more

Topics: Survival/Defense

Comments (0)

The Future Needs Us!

February 3, 2003

Freeman Dyson has written a libertarian response to Michael Crichton’s novel Prey and Bill Joy’s advice to relinquish research in genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics.

Dyson is Professor of Physics Emeritus at the School of Natural Sciences of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Topics: Nanotech/Materials Science | Survival/Defense

Comments (0)

From Nanotechnology’s Sidelines, One More Warning

February 3, 2003

Topics: Nanotech/Materials Science | Survival/Defense

Comments (0)

Tiny whiskers make huge memory storage

February 3, 2003

New, tiny magnetic sensors could help break a technical barrier to ushering in the next generation of computer disk storage capacity.

The sensors, filaments of nickel thinner than a wavelength of visible light, are capable of detecting extremely weak magnetic fields using a phenomenon called “ballistic magnetoresistance.”

The sensors also could be used to detect biomolecules.

Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI

Comments (0)

Random chat solves distributed problem

January 31, 2003

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers have developed a scheme to solve a fundamental difficulty with distributed grid computing: coordinating the efforts of all computers.

The simple solution avoids the need to have a global supervisor, which would introduce scaling problems. Each individual computer makes occasional checks with randomly-chosen others, to ensure it is properly synchronized. The result is a self-stabilising effect on the system as a whole; processors that are… read more

Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI

Comments (0)

New technology boom forecast

January 31, 2003

The availability of the Internet, coupled with a plethora of new ideas, dramatic increases in computer memory and artificial intelligence, will create a huge technology stimulus by the end of 2005, according to Ian Pearson, a senior analyst with British Telecom. This will be further enabled by the introduction of the semantic Web on the Internet in 2005 and expected improvement in the economy.

Topics: Singularity/Futures

Comments (0)

‘Battle for supremacy between man and machine’ unfolds, Kasparov says

January 30, 2003

The ultimate mind game is being played out here and, to believe participants, the future of human civilization hangs in the balance….

Topics: AI/Robotics

Comments (0)

Light Particles Are Duplicated More Than a Mile Away Along Fiber

January 30, 2003

Scientists have taken particles of light, destroyed them and then resurrected copies more than a mile away. Previous experiments in “quantum teleportation” moved particles of light about a yard.

Possible uses include sending unbreakable encrypted messages and as fiber-optics repeaters.

Topics: Quantum

Comments (0)

Page 970 of 1,035First1020309669679689699709719729739749759809901,000Last
close and return to Home