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Oct 9, 2018
Richard Branson says Virgin Galactic will be in space âwithin weeks, not monthsâ
Posted by Michael Lance in category: space travel
âWe will be in space with people not too long after thatâ
âWe should be in space within weeks, not months. And then we will be in space with myself in months and not years,â the Virgin founder and CEO told CNBC on Tuesday.
âWe will be in space with people not too long after that so we have got a very, very exciting couple of months ahead.â
Oct 9, 2018
Why China is going all out to invent new, stronger, cheaper drugs ⊠itâs not all about challenging the West
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: biotech/medical, innovation
In the United States â the worldâs biggest and most advanced pharmaceutical market â of the 46 new drugs given consent for marketing by regulators last year, 28 were developed by US firms and the realisation of all but four of the rest were led by European firms. None were Chinese.
Chinaâs big ambitions to become a powerhouse of pharmaceutical innovation is as much about the well-being of its people as it is about narrowing the gap with the West.
Oct 8, 2018
Brain Meets Machine: The Art and Science of Brain-Computer Interfaces
Posted by Mike Ruban in categories: computing, mathematics, neuroscience, science
Current brain-computer interface (BCI) research helps people who have lost the ability to affect their environment in ways many of us take for granted. Future BCIs may go beyond motor function, perhaps aiding with memory recall, decision-making, and other cognitive functions.
Have you ever studied a foreign language and wished you could upload the vocabulary lists directly into your brain so that you could retain them? Would you like to do mental math with the speed and accuracy of a calculator? Do you want a literal photographic memory? Well, these dreams are still the stuff of science fiction, but the brave new world of brain-computer interfaces, or BCI, is well on its way to making technological miracles of this sort a reality.
The story of BCI begins with the discovery of electrical signals emitted by the brain. In 1924, German scientist Hans Berger recorded the first electroencephalogram, or EEG, by placing electrodes under a personâs scalp. Although his research was at first met with derision, a whole new way to study the brain was born from his work. It is now well accepted that the human brain emits electric signals at a variety of frequencies currently known as brainwaves.
Continue reading “Brain Meets Machine: The Art and Science of Brain-Computer Interfaces” »
Oct 8, 2018
Frances Arnold, George Smith and Gregory Winter Win Chemistry Nobel for Directing Evolution
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: chemistry, evolution
By using the power of evolution to solve practical problems, three researchers opened new avenues to chemical discovery.
Oct 8, 2018
A âVaccineâ Created from Mushrooms Could Help Save the Bees
Posted by John Gallagher in category: biotech/medical
It could be a new way to fight colony collapse disorder.
A humble mushroom extract might help with many of beesâ woes, according to new research â and even, maybe, help rebuild their world population.
Oct 8, 2018
Overlooked Brain Region Key to Complex Thought?
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: neuroscience
The ornately folded outer layer of the human brain, the cerebral cortex, has long received nearly all the credit for our ability to perform complex cognitive tasks such as composing a sonata, imagining the plot of a novel or reflecting on our own thoughts.
Oct 8, 2018
Hydrogel nudges stem cells to grow into liver cells
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology
The new nanomaterial-based hydrogel, which gets certain stem cells to grow into liver cells, could help people with a range of liver conditions.
Oct 8, 2018
Genetic test to detect heart attack risk
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: genetics
The test could help explain why people with apparently no risk factors can still have a heart attack.
Oct 8, 2018
Graduate Student Solves Quantum Verification Problem
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: computing, quantum physics
Urmila Mahadev spent eight years in graduate school solving one of the most basic questions in quantum computation: How do you know whether a quantum computer has done anything quantum at all?