7.23.2012
Microcomputers within our bodies: evolutions next step?
Traditionally tech devices have been rigid and boxy - until now. David Icke creates breathable, implantable microcomputers that conform to the human body, which can be used for a variety of medical applications.
David Icke at TEDMED 2012
7.03.2012
7.02.2012
6.09.2011
iCloud provides instant sync for Apple devices
no iTunes on the cloud however...
iCloud provides instant sync for Apple devices
5.31.2011
Investing in higher education...the entrepreneurial way
Is it possible to finance higher education the way we finance start-up companies?
5.16.2011
5.09.2011
Smart phones evolved from laptops which are evolving from smart phones
"certain aspects of desktop and laptop operating systems start imitating the little upstarts that had initially imitated them... Apple's Mac OS X Lion (which I includes the Mac App Store, full-screen apps, and multitouch gestures."(HP has webOS, Microsoft with Windows 8 is far behind in the field)COMPUTING
The Desktop Is Turning Mobile
Credit: Technology Review
"It's very likely that PC operating systems will be affected by mobile devices' operating systems—and more broadly, that the lines between the two will increasingly blur," Michael Dahlin - computer science professor at Univ. of Texas
5.04.2011
The Evolution of Global Learning
The curator of the world famous TED conference gives a terrific talk (using Prezi for his presentation) about the evolution of a global 'Learning Cycle' and how online video is shaping the way people form crowds, in a global sense, to spur education and innovation with no borders.
4.26.2011
Water into wine...Stem cells into neurons
Stable, self-renewing neural stem cells created
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco and colleagues have reported the creation of long-term, self-renewing, primitive neural precursor cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) that can be directed to become many types of neurons without increased risk of tumor formation.
To produce the neural stem cells, the researchers added small molecules in a chemically defined culture condition that induces hESCs to become primitive neural precursor cells, but then halts the further differentiation process.
Because the process doesn’t use any gene transfer technologies or exogenous cell products, there’s minimal risk of introducing mutations or outside contamination, the researchers said.
Stained mature neurons, derived from precursor cells, expressing the neurotransmitter dopamine (credit: UC San Diego School of Medicine)
The scientists were able to direct the precursor cells to differentiate into different types of mature neurons. ”You can generate neurons for specific conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), Parkinson’s disease or, in the case of my particular research area, eye-specific neurons that are lost in macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa or glaucoma,” said Kang Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
The same method can be used to push induced pluripotent stem cells (stem cells artificially derived from adult, differentiated mature cells) to become neural stem cells, Zhang said.
Harvesting water from fog
Fog harvesting for water
MIT researcher Shreerang Chhatre and associates have developed new ways to use “fog harvesting” to provide water to the world’s poor.
A fog-harvesting device consists of a fence-like mesh p anel, which attracts droplets, connected to receptacles into which water drips. To build larger fog harvesters, researchers generally use mesh, rather than a solid surface, because a completely impermeable object creates wind currents that will drag water droplets away from it.
In some field tests, fog harvesters have captured one liter of water (roughly a quart) per one square meter of mesh, per day. Chhatre is conducting laboratory tests to improve the water collection ability of existing meshes.Mesh being tested for use on fog-harvesting devices (credit: Patrick Gillooly)
4.25.2011
The NFL Lockout is finally over
A federal judge gave professional football players a significant victory Monday, granting an injunction to stop the N.F.L.'s six-week lockout Monday. Judge Susan Richard Nelson of United States District Court did not stay her decision, sending the N.F.L scrambling to seek a stay from the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to prevent the league from having to open for business immediately.
If the stay is not granted, the N.F.L. will have to put rules in place allowing players to return to work and free agency to open within days, creating a flurry of activity similar to the normal operations of an off-season. Teams will be allowed to hold workouts with players, players will be permitted to meet with trainers to rehabilitate injuries and coaches to study game film.NY Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/sports/football/26nfl.html?emc=na
Judge Grants Injunction to End N.F.L. Lockout, Pending Appeal
By JUDY BATTISTA
April 25, 2011
4.22.2011
Feel the drugs working
A startup is developing a simple ultrasound method to get cancer drugs into the brain.
Technology Review
Friday, April 22, 2011 By Courtney Humphries
4.14.2011
Crustaceans to the rescue
Material removes radioactive materials from drinking water
Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that a combination of forest byproducts and crustacean shells may be the key to removing radioactive materials from drinking water.
“As we’re currently seeing in Japan, one of the major health risks posed by nuclear accidents is radioactive iodide that dissolves into drinking water. Because it is chemically identical to non-radioactive iodide, the human body cannot distinguish it — which is what allows it to accumulate in the thyroid and eventually lead to cancer,” said Dr. Joel Pawlak.
The material is a combination of hemicellulose, a byproduct of forest materials, and chitosan, crustacean shells that have been crushed into a powder. It absorbs water and can extract contaminates, such as radioactive iodide, from the water. The material binds the iodide in water and traps it so that it can then be disposed of without risk to humans or the environment.
4.11.2011
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