Scientists are reporting new evidence that the fat tissue — far from being a dormant storage depot for surplus calories — is an active organ that sends chemical signals to other parts of the body, perhaps increasing the risk of heart attacks, cancer, and other diseases.
They are reporting discovery of 20 new hormones… more
Researchers in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have developed software that can simulate complicated physical phenomena — how cracks form in building materials, for instance, or fluids flow through irregular channels — on an ordinary smartphone.
Although the current version of the software is for demonstration purposes, the work could lead to… more
MIT researchers have developed a new concept of personalized energy systems, in which individual homes and small businesses produce their own energy for heating, cooling and powering cars.
“Our goal is to make each home its own power station,” said study leader Daniel Nocera, Ph.D of MIT. “We’re working toward development of… more
Venture Beat, Sep 1, 2010 — Google TV and Apple TV, introduced Wednesday, both aim to redefine the home entertainment experience by creating a seamless system for viewing movies, videos, and music from various sources on a TV.
“Gmail Priority Inbox” video on YouTube is self-explanatory.
VentureBeat, Aug 31, 2010 — Author Neal Stephenson has launched Subutai, which has developed the “PULP platform” for creating digital novels, using a new model for publishing books in which authors can add additional material like background articles, images, music, and video. There are also social features that allow readers to create… more
the physics ArXiv blog, Sep 1, 2010 — For years, claims have circulated that red rain that fell in India in 2001 contained cells unlike any found on Earth. Now new evidence that these cells can reproduce is about to set the debate alive.
“The flourescence behaviour of the red… more
Technology Review, Sep 1, 2010 — The AlloSphere, a three-story-high globe at the California NanoSystems Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, facilitates interactive 3-D visualizations to enables scientists to dive into data in unprecedented ways. Inside the sphere, they can get their hands on the atoms making up the crystal structure… more
Technology Review, Aug 31, 2010 —
Hewlett-Packard announced today that it has entered an agreement with the Korean electronics manufacturer Hynix Semiconductor to make memristors, starting in 2013. Storage devices made of memristors will allow PCs, cellphones, and servers to store more and switch on instantly.
“The goal is to… more
Rice University scientists have created the first two-terminal memory chips that use only silicon to generate nanocrystal wires as small as 5 nanometers — far smaller than circuitry in even the most advanced computers and electronic devices. The technology breakthrough promises to extend the limits of miniaturization subject to Moore’s Law, and should be easily… more
Science, Reason and Critical Thinking, Aug 30, 2010 — Crispian Jago has developed a draft timeline (based on an original London underground map) showing the last 500 years of science, reason and critical thinking “to celebrate the achievements of the scientific method through the age of reason, the enlightenment and modernity.”
Some… more
ReadWriteWeb, Aug 30, 2010 — Google has released its latest “Chrome Experiment” in the form of a music video “experience” that shows off the power of tools like HTML5 and Google products like Chrome, Maps and Street View, using real-time graphics rendering and real-world imagery pulled from Google Maps satellite… more
New York Times, Aug 30, 2010 — Scientists at Rice University and Hewlett-Packard are reporting this week that they can overcome a fundamental barrier to the continued rapid miniaturization of computer memory by using memristors, or memory resistors, switches that retain information without a source of power.
New Scientist Tech, Aug 30, 2010 — Researchers are developing methods borrowed from medical nanotech to locate and extract the estimated 360 billion barrels of remaining oil in old U.S. oil fields.