Technology

RepRap: Open Source Lab Equipment Makes Science Cheaper- And Faster

Research lab and hospital equipment are two areas where competition drives costs up- if Lab A has a need for a new piece of equipment, Lab B has to get it and that same goes for hospitals. Companies have no reason to undercut each other because the actual ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 17 2014 - 3:30pm

Science 2.0: There Is No Magic Genetic Bullet For Complex Traits, But Here Are 18 Approaches

Anyone who tells you they have a super food or a potion to impact a complex trait is sellinf you something. Life is rarely simple. The things we care about most, from crop yields to disease risks, are instead "complex traits." Human height is a ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 18 2014 - 10:41am

Second Skin: Skintight Spacesuits Leave The Bulk Behind

For future astronauts, the process of suiting up may go something like this: Instead of climbing into a conventional, bulky, gas-pressurized suit, an astronaut may don a lightweight, stretchy garment, lined with tiny, musclelike coils. She would then plug ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2014 - 1:37pm

SideSwipe: Gesture Control Using Reflected Smartphone Transmissions

Mobile phones are in the hands of 80 percent of Americans so manufacturers are scrambling to find new ways to keep people buying the next model. Being able to use gestures in the space around the phone rather than needing a screen may be the next big thin ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2014 - 1:08pm

GelSight: Fingertip Sensor Gives Robot Dexterity In Real Time

Researchers have equipped a robot with a novel tactile sensor that lets it grasp a USB cable draped freely over a hook and insert it into a USB port. Its processing algorithm is faster, so it can give the robot feedback in real time.  The sensor is an ada ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2014 - 3:36pm

Nature Communications Switching To Exclusive Open Access

Nature Publishing Group has announced that Nature Communications will only accept open access research submissions starting October 20th 2014. This is a big win for open access.  The 2013 Impact Factor for Nature Communications is 10.742, according to the ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 22 2014 - 6:30pm

15 Biomarkers: Blood Test May Determine Risk For Psychosis

Preliminary results from a recent study show that a blood test, when used in psychiatric patients experiencing symptoms that are considered to be indicators of a high risk for psychosis, identifies those who later went on to develop psychosis.  It may lea ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 22 2014 - 12:30pm

'Greener' Transistors For Upcoming Flexible Displays

The iPhone 6 is apparently flexible, though that's a not a good thing; people are warping them when they sit down, and people without abnormal strength can simply twist them in their hands. But that won't always be a design and construction defe ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 24 2014 - 10:30am

5 Ways The Superintelligence Revolution Might Happen

Taking over one neuron at a time. Credit: viipeer, CC BY-NC-SA By Nick Bostrom, University of Oxford ...

Article - The Conversation - Sep 25 2014 - 3:30pm

Mechanized Human Hands Improve Function Lost To Nerve Damage

Engineers have developed and successfully demonstrated the value of a simple pulley mechanism to improve hand function after surgery. The device, tested in cadaver hands, is one of the first instruments ever created that could improve the transmission of ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 27 2014 - 1:29pm