[sunnykerr]

I bet it will. And, someday, I'll know what it does.

[Barstool Prophet]

Yeah I am kind of tech savvy but some things are just so complex it's like they have been designed for engineers to use, but the kids all figure out how to use them.

[sunnykerr]

I'm not really tech savvy at all. By a fluke, we had a computer in the house around the time I started to write, so I learned how to type early on... but that's about it.

DNA computer 'calculates square roots' Researchers have shown off a "DNA computer" of unprecedented complexity, which can calculate square roots. DNA computing uses chemical reactions to solve problems in which a number of DNA strands act as "bits". The work, reported in Science, required 130 strands of DNA to work in a cascade of programmed chemical changes. The approach is not designed to rival traditional electronics, but rather to allow computing to occur in biological contexts, perhaps even in the body. DNA computing was first proposed by Leonard Adelman in 1994, to solve what is known as the "travelling salesman problem" - determining the shortest path that joins a number of geographically separated locations. Since then, a wide array of approaches has aimed to make use of the properties that make DNA attractive for computing: it can be made to order and its interactions with itself are well-studied and reliable. In 2006, Erik Winfree of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and his colleagues published an article in Science a framework making use of one of these approaches, known as strand displacement. Stretches of DNA made of just one strand (rather than the two joined strands that form the well-known double helix) were used as anchor points for other single strands. By carefully "programming" the movement of these strands, the researchers were able to recreate a number of elements familiar from conventional computing, including logic gates, amplification, and feedback. "Those circuits were smaller [than those of the current work], but more importantly, they were built using more complex DNA molecules that made systems more difficult to debug and had other problems," Professor Winfree told BBC News. Stranded Now, Professor Winfree and his collaborator Lulu Qian have employed a scheme using what they call "seesaw gates", which accomplish the shuffling and exchange of DNA strands using simpler machinery. The work showed that seesaw gates could again be used to create logic gates - the basis of electronic computing's manipulation of information - and represented a five-fold leap in the number of DNA sections ever implemented in such a DNA computer. The approach can be scaled up in complexity far further, the authors suggest - but the process is slow. For example, it was used to calculate the square root of a four-bit number, but the process took between six and 10 hours. However, Professor Winfree said that contrary to conventional electronics, the goal is not just high speeds. "We are no longer pursuing the goal targeted by Len Adleman's original DNA computing experiment: to compete with silicon by using the massive parallelism of chemistry to solve combinatorial problems in mathematics," he explained. "Instead, our goal is now - and has been for many years - to enrich chemistry itself so that molecular behaviours can be programmed. "We'd like to make chemical systems that can probe their molecular environments, process chemical signals, make decisions, and take actions at the chemical level." Binyamin Gil, a member of the research group that in 2009 published on a DNA computer that could "answer" logical conundrums, told BBC News that the DNA computer of the new work exhibited more "digital behaviour" than other molecular computing approaches and thus that "it may be more robust, reliable and scalable". "The complexity of the presented work - together with the potential of scalability and of interfacing it with other molecular computers - make this paper important and interesting," he said.

Source

If I understand this correctly, and they never use the word so I can't see that I am understanding it correctly... they're coming up with a technology that could potentially control cells before they develop cancerously, right?

'Cause that would be a good use of resources.

[Barstool Prophet]

Well I did some reading on this and I guess this will be a step in fighting disease, so that's really cool.

[sunnykerr]

I am in favour of all things fighting diseases.

[Barstool Prophet]

Sure and if we can find cures/vaccines faster that could save lives.

[sunnykerr]

Oh, I must have misunderstood the story then (not surprisingly). I thought they were talking about re-education at the cellular level, not vaccine creation.

Quantum mechanics rule 'bent' in classic experiment Researchers have bent one of the most basic rules of quantum mechanics, a counterintuitive branch of physics that deals with atomic-scale interactions. Its "complementarity" rule asserts that it is impossible to observe light behaving as both a wave and a particle, though it is strictly both. In an experiment reported in Science, researchers have now done exactly that. They say the feat "pulls back the veil" on quantum reality in a way that was thought to be prohibited by theory. Quantum mechanics has spawned and continues to fuel spirited debates about the nature of what we can see and measure, and what nature keeps hidden - debates that often straddle the divide between the physical and the philosophical. For instance, a well-known rule called the Heisenberg uncertainty principle maintains that for some pairs of measurements, high precision in one necessarily reduces the precision that can be achieved in the other. One embodiment of this idea lies in a "two-slit interferometer", in which light can pass through one of two slits and is viewed on a screen. Let a number of the units of light called photons through the slits, and an interference pattern develops, like waves overlapping in a pond. However, keeping a close eye on which photons went through which slits - what may be termed a "strong measurement" - destroys the pattern. Now, Aephraim Steinberg of the University of Toronto and his colleagues have sidestepped this limitation by undertaking "weak measurements" of the photons' momentum. The team allowed the photons to pass through a thin sliver of the mineral calcite which gave each photon a tiny nudge in its path, with the amount of deviation dependent on which slit it passed through. By averaging over a great many photons passing through the apparatus, and only measuring the light patterns on a camera, the team was able to infer what paths the photons had taken. While they were able to easily observe the interference pattern indicative of the wave nature of light, they were able also to see from which slits the photons had come, a sure sign of their particle nature. The trajectories of the photons within the experiment - forbidden in a sense by the laws of physics - have been laid bare. On one level, the experiment appears to violate a central rule of quantum mechanics, but Professor Steinberg said this was not the case. He explained to BBC News that "while the uncertainty principle does indeed forbid one from knowing the position and momentum of a particle exactly at the same time, it turns out that it is possible to ask 'what was the average momentum of the particles which reached this position?'" . "You can't know the exact value for any single particle, but you can talk about the average." Philosophical beginnings Marlan Scully of Texas A&M University, a quantum physicist who has published on the idea of sneaking around this quantum limit before, said: "It's a beautiful series of measurements by an excellent group, the likes of which I've not seen before. "This paper is probably the first that has really put this weak measurement idea into a real experimental realisation, and it also gave us the trajectories." He said that the work would - inevitably - raise philosophical issues as well. "The exact way to think about what they're doing will be researched for some time, and the weak measurement concept itself will be a matter of controversy - but now we have a very pretty experiment with these weak measurements," he added. For his part, Professor Steinberg believes that the result reduces a limitation not on quantum physics but on physicists themselves. "I feel like we're starting to pull back a veil on what nature really is," he said. "The trouble with quantum mechanics is that while we've learned to calculate the outcomes of all sorts of experiments, we've lost much of our ability to describe what is really happening in any natural language. "I think that this has really hampered our ability to make progress, to come up with new ideas and see intuitively how new systems ought to behave."

Source

This is so awesome. And the only reason I kinda grasp the significance of this experiment is because I watch The Big Bang Theory, but I'll take it.

[Barstool Prophet]

It's probably me.
I don't know if I am just way to tired, or not smart enough but this article is way over my head.

[sunnykerr]

All I got is they've started doing experiments that demonstrate things about the physical world that have heretofore been believed to be impossible to prove.

I think that's groovy, personally.

[Barstool Prophet]

LINK


CALGARY — At the tender age of 19, student inventor and entrepreneur Eden Full is making her mark on the world.
Full, who attended high school in Calgary, recently received the Scotiabank EcoLiving Student Leadership Award for her invention, the SunSaluter.
“It was a very simple and inexpensive invention, yet it has a huge impact,” said Green Living chief executive and president Laurie Simmonds. “Increasing and optimizing energy by 40 per cent — I mean, this is just remarkable that this young woman has done this.”
Designed to increase the efficiency of solar panels by orienting them to always be perpendicular to the sun’s rays, Full’s much-acclaimed device is driven by simple bi-metallic strips that expand during the day and contract as they cool at night.
As a result, it costs much less than comparable, motor-driven tracking systems and can be built using simple components locally available in developing countries.
According to Full, this is important for creating a system that can be sustainably maintained by the people who use it.
“I conducted a trip to Kenya last summer where I was able to build the SunSaluter using locally available materials, and I was able to work with people in the villages to build this project together,” Full said.
“I think this is really important, because if you want a technology to be sustainable — and you really want it to be viable and address the needs in the market — you’re going to have to be able to first go there and understand what is needed.”
Full spoke excitedly about her pilot project in Mpala, a small village of 1,000 people in central Kenya, where she deployed her invention in a real-world context. Full said she receives monthly e-mails updating her on the status of the small, zero-emission power station.
“Before I left, I bought them a camera so that they can send me a monthly report and they can show me the system’s working still,” said Full, noting they also tell her what they do with the energy. “It’s really in the middle of nowhere; they’ve never had electricity before and they’ve never really experienced the benefit of technology directly themselves.”
Full said it was really meaningful to meet and talk to the locals.
“When I was actually on the ground and presenting them with the technology, we really worked together to find a solution that catered to their lifestyle,” she said.
The $10,000 Scotiabank award is only the most recent in a string of successes for Full after developing the first prototype in high school.
Last month, she received a 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship, which will net her $100,000 in funding and mentorship from the Thiel Foundation’s network of entrepreneurs.
The fellowship is funded by multimillionaire PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and is designed to help innovative young entrepreneurs begin building high-level science and technology companies.
Full said she plans to use the money to get her invention out into the world.
Having now finished her second year at Princeton, Full said she plans to use the next year to develop her project, returning to university in the fall of 2013.
_________________________________________________

Amazing when younger people acheive amazing things. THis invention is so cool too, very helpful for the enviroment.

[Barstool Prophet]

NEWLINK




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Strange new class of ultra-bright supernova discovered




A new class of supernova has been discovered, with six examples of it seen so far. Powered by a mysterious source, they're brighter and longer-lived than the novae we know now.
The Palomar Transient Factory uses the telescopes at the Palomar Observatory to scan the skies, looking for flashes of light. The flashes could be flares, or friendly aliens saying hello in Morse Code, but often they are supernovae. In the late 2000s a group of supernovas appeared that were a little . . . off. They were bluer than most, and their light showed that they didn't have the same chemistry as other supernovae.
Each separate chemical element emits and absorbs certain wavelengths of light. Chemists, and astronomers, analyze the light of glowing substances to see what wavelengths are given off. They use these wavelengths to figure out what elements the substance is made of. These blue novae had no hydrogen. Hydrogen is the lightest chemical element there is. It's everywhere in the universe, and should abundant in a supernova, but these novae lacked the substance entirely. Were these four anomalies? There didn't seem to be other novae with the same chemical composition.
That is, until researchers checked back through earlier records. In 2007, the brightest nova yet recorded, 2005ap, had just made the news. It also gave off an unusual set of wavelengths of light, but not one that matched the supernovae discovered by the PTF. When scientists shifted the spectrum slightly, allowing for the redshift added to the more distant objects in the universe, the spectra matched. These were a new class of supernovae, and they were bright.
They were also long-lived. Although the PTF looked for 'flashes' in the sky, but these novae glowed for about fifty days. Most supernovae glow through radioactive decay, and so darken relatively quickly. These new ones had to be fueled by something else. And this myserious something has to only appear in dwarf galaxies, the only galaxies these supernovae have been observed in.
Some scientists believe the novae are just superhuge stars that have blown off their hydrogen before they go nova. Others believe that they are the result of 'magnetars,' rapidly spinning objects, whose equally rapidly changing magnetic fields cause the charged particles in space to glow. Other than that, there isn't much we know about these new supernovae, except that they're out there.
Image of Supernova Remnant: JAXA/NASA/Suzaku
______________________________________________

This is exciting to me, I love when we discover new space stuff. Beyond all the science implications - it's pretty.

[sunnykerr]

Sorry. I totally missed the story on the young inventor/entrepreneur. I do believe this is the kind of ingenuity that will preserve us as we more towards more insecure financial times.

As for the new supernovae... I wonder if they're new or we've just recently developed the technology that enables us to see them.

Either way, though? So pretty.

[Barstool Prophet]

LINK

Secret airline report probes risk of electronics CTV.ca News Staff Updated: Fri. Jun. 10 2011 9:22 AM ET A confidential airline industry report into the dangers posed by electronic devices should raise alarm bells among passengers who refuse to follow the rules, says one aviation expert. The secret industry report obtained by ABC News documents 75 cases where passengers' personal electronic devices (PEDs) were believed to have interfered with a plane's operation. The U.S. news agency reported that 26 of the incidents affected the plane's flight controls, such as the autopilot, auto thrust and landing gear. Another 17 affected navigation systems while 15 of the incidents documented interference with communication systems and 13 resulted in electronic warnings on the planes. The report is believed to comprise some of the first evidence that PEDs such as cellphones -- most often believed to be the culprit in the incidents cited in the report -- as well as laptops, iPads and iPods, can actually interfere with a plane's systems. While airlines have long warned of the risk and asked passengers not to use such devices, especially during takeoff and landing, many passengers openly ignore the warnings. Airline analyst Vernon Grose said the concerns in the report are legitimate. He told CTV's Canada AM that in the past planes used mechanical pulleys and cables running from the cockpit to the rest of the plane, to control its functions. Now, planes use a system called "fly by wire," meaning commands from pilots are converted into digital signals that are sent via wires through the plane, to control various functions. As a result, electronic devices have the potential to interfere with vital communication and navigation signals, he said. "The devices in the aircraft cabin that you've got the flight attendants worrying about, they can interfere with some of the aircraft's operation and have done so, and so we're concerned about that," Grose said. The report obtained by ABC covers the years 2003 to 2009 and is based on survey responses from 125 airlines comprising roughly a quarter of the world's airline traffic. The report does not confirm that the 75 incidents were caused by personal electronic devices. However, it documents the responses of flight crews while the incidents were taking place. In one case, a plane's autopilot disengaged itself while the plane was flying at about 4,500 feet. Suspicious that something was interfering with the plane's operation, flight attendants were asked to go through the cabin and look for electronic devices. They found four passengers using electronic devices, contrary to the rules. The passengers were told to shut off their devices, and the plane proceeded "without any further incident." In another case, a clock spun backwards and a GPS device on a plane failed while laptops were being used nearby. In another, an altitude tracking device changed rapidly until passengers were asked to turn off their electronics -- at which time it returned to normal functioning. The phenomenon occurred again an hour later. Passengers were again asked to shut off their devices, and once again the plane's controls resumed functioning as normal. While many still doubt the claims that PEDs can interfere with a plane -- and the Emirates airline even allows full in-flight use of electronics -- Grose said passengers shouldn't risk breaking the rules. For the sake of their own safety, and others, travellers should simply unplug for a few hours in the air, he said. "The problem is flying is a collective experience, it's not individual, and if you want to fly without rules go get your own business jet," Grose said.

I just don't understand why airlines let these things on board if they cause big problems. Make people check them I guess.

[sunnykerr]

If they really cause problems, then they should indeed be banned outright.

[Barstool Prophet]

Basement inventor makes low-cost artificial hand

[quote]

Sitting at the kitchen table of his Affton home, Mark Stark pulls out his friend Dave's left hand.
The fingers are clenched. With a quick movement, Stark opens the hand and picks up a wine glass.
"It's delicate enough to hold a glass," said Stark, a mechanical designer and basement inventor. "But you can also lift a chair." Stark stands up and does so, then places his prosthetic hand on the table.
Constructed from plastic, each finger and joint on the hand operates individually. The fingertips have attached rubber finger cots, much like postal workers use for rifling paper. The palm of the hand uses the grip from a glove. Other building materials include rivets, fishing line, screws and springs.
Stark calls his invention the "Natural Dexterous Hand," or "Stark Hand."
It's mechanically simple and decidedly low-tech.
But this humble device has already changed the life of Dave Vogt.
Pending negotiations with a manufacturer, it could soon be available to thousands more. At least one expert believes that it has the potential to have a major impact on the market for prosthetics.
Keeping it simple
Vogt, a long-time friend of Stark, was born without his left hand because of a congenital birth defect. He had used a hook prosthesis from birth.
Stark had always mused about improving his friend's quality of life, but the idea for the Stark Hand took years to crystallize.
"There really was no epiphany," Stark said. "My friend had used a hook his whole life and I saw the limitations. I always wanted to help him, but had no specific idea."
After a lengthy period of incubation, the idea for the hand finally emerged in the wake of another invention.
Stark said his idea came to him about 15 years ago after a robotic hand was developed by an American university. The hand used three motors on each finger to provide individually controllable joints.
"It was an awesome device," Stark said. "But it was also incredibly complex."
Stark, operating from the "keep it simple" principle of mechanical design, thought he could do better while gearing the device to prosthetics rather than robotics.
In the mold of the true basement inventor, he began scrounging for readily available items to create a prototype. Among the parts used for the first hand prototype were plastic cable housing and a hinge from a screen door.
"Things I could buy at a hardware store," Stark said.
While Stark was fairly certain the prototype would work, given its simple design, building the hand was no quick task. Working as a full-time mechanical designer for Emerson Electric's White-Rodgers division, Stark tinkered in his spare time.
Putting it to the test
When the first prototype was completed in 2004, Stark invited Vogt over to test it out. Vogt unscrewed his hook and screwed the hand into the slot.
Stark tossed him a tennis ball. Vogt caught the ball on the first attempt.
"It was absolutely amazing," Stark said.
Vogt was thrilled and gratified by the gift.
"I didn't know he had been working on it for years," Vogt said. "Then he called me and told me he had this thing. I was surprised and excited."
Vogt took awhile to adapt to the hand.
"I was so used to the hook," he said. "My body and brain had adapted to it."
Soon the compulsion to use the hook faded. Now, Vogt wears the hand everywhere, with the exception of work, where his job as a machinist requires heavy lifting better suited for the hook.
The hand works in much the same way as a hook. Vogt wears a body harness and a cable and can control the hand with upper body movement, such as a shrug. In essence, the hand is a screw-on attachment that replaces the hook.
Vogt said the Stark Hand offers superior functionality.
"On a personal level it's been a great help," he said.
Though the hand can grasp, it does not have the ability to perform more specialized tasks such as punching keys on a remote control.
Along with function, Vogt said the hand is an aesthetic improvement over the hook. Such considerations were in the forefront of Stark's mind during the design process.
"They give bad guys in films hooks to make them look more evil," Stark said. "That's terrible."
A low-cost alternative
The hand may have been designed to help a friend, but it also provides another choice among limited prosthetic options.
Hooks can cost only a few hundred dollars, but are limited functionally. Cosmetic prosthetic hands resemble the real thing, but are about as functional as a mannequin's hand.
Electric models offer the best of both worlds, but are often prohibitively expensive. The hand, plus surgery to attach, can cost up to $60,000.
Stark's hand aims to offer increased functionality at a cost closer to hooks.
He spent seven years and roughly $17,000 developing the device. Most of that money was spent in securing a patent.
When asked why such a relatively simple and useful device had yet to be invented, Stark conceded he wasn't sure.
"That's a good question," Stark said. "The basic concept could have been whittled from wood 100 years ago."
Stark said the final production model of the hand will likely feature changes, including improved materials and a more life-like appearance.
Commercial prospects
Publicity shy by nature, Stark didn't set out to make a pile of money, but the commercial prospects for the Stark hand appear promising. Edison Nation, a company that helps amateur inventors, is working with Stark to market the device to manufacturers.
"This is a low-cost solution to a pretty widespread problem," said Karen Dickson, a spokeswoman for Edison Nation.
Dickson said the company is negotiating with a major prosthetics manufacturer with the goal of bringing the Stark Hand to market. Kenneth Paulus, Edison Nation's vice president of business development, said the device could prove popular on the international market, given its projected cost of around $1,000.
"There's an opportunity to transform the lives of people in war-torn countries," he said. "People with war injuries, land mines, that kind of environment."
Jack Engsberg, an associate professor of occupational therapy at Washington University, said the invention possesses significant commercial potential.
"I believe there's a huge market for the device if it is as functional as it's (claimed to be)," Engsberg said.
Engsberg, who developed an easier and less expensive way to make sockets for artificial limbs, said the device takes the best elements of the hook system (feel and touch) while adding the extra-capability of five digits.
Achieving notoriety
Stark's invention has drawn national media attention. The Stark Hand earned a spot on the cover of last month's issue of Popular Science magazine, a mention on CNN, and is slated to appear on PBS this fall.
"The attention is kind of strange," Stark said.
Stark, who gives the impression he'd rather be quietly tinkering in the workshop, said he's trying his best to manage expectations.
"It's difficult," he said. "I don't know how much money I'll make or even how much I want. Notoriety was not the goal."
The goal was more personal.
"I was trying to help a friend," Stark said. "But there's more than one person out there missing a hand."[/quote]

LINK

I think this is so great. Artificial limbs are expensive.