588 results

[ News ] Automated ‘coach’ could help with social interactions

June 18, 2013

mit_mach_coach

New software developed at MIT can be used to help people practice their interpersonal skills until they feel more comfortable with situations such as a job interview or a first date.

The software, called MACH (My Automated Conversation coacH), uses a computer-generated onscreen face, along with facial, speech, and behavior analysis and synthesis software, to simulate face-to-face conversations. It then provides users with feedback on… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

Comments (3)

[ News ] ALS patient hopes to be cryopreserved

June 17, 2013

Aaron Winborn

I would like to introduce you to Aaron Winborn. It was his birthday this week. He just turned 46.

He has a wife named Gwen, a daughter Ashlin, age 9, and another daughter Sabina, age 3. He is an open-source software developer, author of the book Drupal Multimedia, and community activist.

At the age of 43, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Human Enhancement

Comments (11)

[ News ] Tracking people in complex indoor settings

June 14, 2013

tracking

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a method for tracking the locations of multiple individuals in complex, indoor settings using a network of video cameras, creating something similar to the fictional Marauder’s Map used by Harry Potter to track comings and goings at the Hogwarts School.

The method was able to automatically follow the movements of 13 people within a nursing home, even though… read more

Topics: Survival/Defense | VR/Augmented Reality/Computer Graphics

Comments (4)

[ News ] Nanofiber sensor instantly detects diabetes or lung cancer in breath

June 13, 2013

Breath sensor-cover

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a highly sensitive exhaled-breath sensor, using tin dioxide (SnO2)  fibers assembled from thin, wrinkled SnO2 nanotubes.

These metal-oxide nanofiber-based chemiresistive gas sensors allow for portable real-time breath tests that could be available on smart phones or tablets in the near future.

They sensors allow for diagnosing serious diseases such as diabetes or lung… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Electronics | Nanotech/Materials Science

Comments (5)

[ News ] Microsoft’s robot touch screen lets you palpate a brain

June 12, 2013

TouchMover

Microsoft Research is developing a prototype of a haptic feedback touch screen called TouchMover, IEEE Spectrum reports.

The robotic system behind a curtain pushes back with a pressure that reflects the physical properties of virtual objects on the screen.

Researchers uploaded a full set of MRI brain scans and demoed how doctors might scroll through them and annotate specific slides.

Wth some additional programming, the… read more

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

Comments (1)

[ News ] How do you feed 9 billion people?

June 11, 2013

(credit: Michigan State University)

An international team of scientists has developed crop models to better forecast food production to feed a growing population — projected to reach 9 billion by mid-century — in the face of climate change.

In a paper appearing in Nature Climate Change, Members  of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project unveiled an all-encompassing modeling system that integrates multiple crop simulations with improved climate change models.

AgMIP’s… read more

Topics: Environment/Climate | Social/Ethical/Legal

Comments (18)

[ News ] 3D-printing food in space

June 3, 2013

ISSfood

NASA and a Texas company are exploring the possibility of printing food on a 3D printer on deep space missions.

NASA has awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract to Systems and Materials Research Consultancy of Austin, Texas to conduct a study for the development of a 3D printed food system for long duration space missions.

As NASA ventures farther into space, whether… read more

Topics: Biotech | Nanotech/Materials Science

Comments (6)

[ Events ] The Future of Aromatics 2013

Dates: Oct 16 – 17, 2013
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The future of Aromatics

Challenges & Opportunities in Aromatics Arena

ACI’s The Future of Aromatics 2013 event will address the key success factors of aromatics and major derivatives businesses.

The volatility in both demand and prices has inevitably affected the aromatics business in recent years. The weak downstream demand is mainly attributable to economic uncertainty around the world. Asia continued to dominate aromatics consumption driven by new derivative production… read more

Event Site: The Future of Aromatics 2013

Topics: Energy

Comments (1)

[ News ] New nerve and muscle interfaces aid wounded warrior amputees

May 31, 2013

armMuscle1

Since 2000, more than 2,000 servicemembers have suffered amputated limbs. DARPA’s breakthrough research with advanced prosthetic limbs controlled by brain interfaces is well documented, but such research is currently limited to quadriplegics. Practical applications of brain interfaces for amputees are still in the future.

… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

Comments (3)

[ Blog ] book review | Dan Brown’s Inferno

May 31, 2013 by Giulio Prisco

Inferno

Dan Brown’s latest action thriller Inferno follows art historian Robert Langdon in a fast-paced roller-coaster hunt for the source of a genetic hack delivered to everyone on the planet via a highly contagious airborne virus.

As in previous novels, Langdon works against the clock to decipher hints hidden in the treasures of the world’s art and literature, fighting intrigue and deception.

I… read more

Topics: Synthetic Biology

Comments (31)

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