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Aug 15, 2016

Stanford-led experiments point toward memory chips 1,000 times faster than today’s

Posted by in category: computing

Silicon chips can store data in billionths of a second, but phase-change memory could be 1,000 times faster, while using less energy and requiring less space.

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Aug 15, 2016

Legions of nanorobots target cancerous tumours with precision

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Researchers from Polytechnique Montréal, Université de Montréal and McGill University have just achieved a spectacular breakthrough in cancer research. They have developed new nanorobotic agents capable of navigating through the bloodstream to administer a drug with precision by specifically targeting the active cancerous cells of tumours. This way of injecting medication ensures the optimal targeting of a tumour and avoids jeopardizing the integrity of organs and surrounding healthy tissues. As a result, the drug dosage that is highly toxic for the human organism could be significantly reduced.

This scientific breakthrough has just been published in the prestigious journal Nature Nanotechnology in an article titled “Magneto-aerotactic bacteria deliver drug-containing nanoliposomes to tumour hypoxic regions.” The article notes the results of the research done on mice, which were successfully administered nanorobotic agents into colorectal tumours.

“These legions of nanorobotic agents were actually composed of more than 100 million flagellated bacteria — and therefore self-propelled — and loaded with drugs that moved by taking the most direct path between the drug’s injection point and the area of the body to cure,” explains Professor Sylvain Martel, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Medical Nanorobotics and Director of the Polytechnique Montréal Nanorobotics Laboratory, who heads the research team’s work. “The drug’s propelling force was enough to travel efficiently and enter deep inside the tumours.”

Continue reading “Legions of nanorobots target cancerous tumours with precision” »

Aug 15, 2016

Anti-inflammatory drug reverses memory loss in Alzheimer’s-disease-model mice

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics, life extension, neuroscience

(credit: NIH National Institute on Aging)

Anti-inflammatory drug mefenamic acid completely reversed memory loss and brain inflammation in mice genetically engineered to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and amyloid beta-induced memory loss, a team led by David Brough, PhD, from the University of Manchester has discovered.

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) drug targets an important inflammatory pathway called the NLRP3 inflammasome, which damages brain cells, according to Brough. This is the first time a drug has been shown to target this inflammatory pathway, highlighting its importance in the disease model, Brough said.

Continue reading “Anti-inflammatory drug reverses memory loss in Alzheimer’s-disease-model mice” »

Aug 15, 2016

Researchers discover that DNA naturally fluoresces

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

DNA naturalmente fluorescente.

Professores Vadim Backman, Hao Zhang, e Cheng Sun descobriram que as estruturas de macromoléculas em células vivas, de fato, naturalmente fluorescente. Esta descoberta pode abrir a próxima fronteira da descoberta biológica com a pavimentação de uma nova maneira para, imagiologia nanoscopic super-resolução sem rótulo e expandir a compreensão dos processos biológicos.

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Aug 15, 2016

Physicists confirm possible discovery of fifth force of nature

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics

Recent findings indicating the possible discovery of a previously unknown subatomic particle may be evidence of a fifth fundamental force of nature, according to a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters by theoretical physicists at the University of California, Irvine.

“If true, it’s revolutionary,” said Jonathan Feng, professor of physics & astronomy. “For decades, we’ve known of four fundamental forces: gravitation, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. If confirmed by further experiments, this discovery of a possible fifth force would completely change our understanding of the universe, with consequences for the unification of forces and dark matter.”

The UCI researchers came upon a mid-2015 study by experimental nuclear physicists at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences who were searching for “dark photons,” that would signify unseen dark matter, which physicists say makes up about 85 percent of the universe’s mass. The Hungarians’ work uncovered a radioactive decay anomaly that points to the existence of a light particle just 30 times heavier than an electron.

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Aug 15, 2016

China launches world‘ first quantum satellite

Posted by in category: quantum physics

Click on photo to start video.

China launches world’s first quantum satellite.

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Aug 15, 2016

Four Sets of Identical Twins Staged a Time Travel Prank on an NYC Subway

Posted by in categories: time travel, transportation

Most NYC subway riders are pretty blasé when panhandlers hit them up for cash between stations. When a panhandler announced he was collecting funds to build a time machine, riders chuckled at the odd request—until another man boarded the train and announced he was the inventor’s future self. He implored them not to give any money because time travel will ruin everything.

It sounds just like that X-Files episode (“Synchrony”) where a scientist travels from the future to stop his younger self from making the cryobiological compound that will one day enable time travel. But it’s actually an elaborate prank by Improv Everywhere:

For our latest mission, we staged an elaborate time travel prank on a New York City subway car with four sets of identical twins. A man enters a subway car and announces he is raising money to complete his time machine. At the next stop, his future self enters to try to talk him out of it. More and more time travelers convene on the subway car as the train rolls along, surprising the random commuters caught up in the middle.

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Aug 15, 2016

Step-by-Step Machine Learning

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI

Deep Learning and Machine Learning: Get the most out of your training and scoring, and algorithms and frameworks on Intel® architecture.

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Aug 15, 2016

Japan can now beam solar energy from space

Posted by in categories: solar power, space, sustainability

If you think the idea of powering the whole world with solar power is still many years away, prepare to be amazed. The inspired minds at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has succeeded in transmitting solar energy right through the air. Using wireless power transmission may be the best way to gather solar energy from space in order to use it here on Earth.

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Aug 15, 2016

SpaceX lands Falcon 9 rocket after launching Japanese satellite

Posted by in categories: drones, satellites

SpaceX successfully landed a reusable Falcon 9 rocket on a floating drone ship at sea early Sunday after the vehicle had sent a Japanese communications satellite into orbit.

The California-based company’s eighth launch this year was part of its ongoing effort to re-use costly rocket parts instead of jettisoning them into the ocean.

It was also the fourth time SpaceX has vertically landed a used Falcon 9 rocket aboard a floating platform at sea.

Continue reading “SpaceX lands Falcon 9 rocket after launching Japanese satellite” »