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Category Archives: Science & Technology

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Spinal Cord Injuries Could be a Thing of the Past

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A 3D-printed device, loaded with neuronal stem cells, that can be implanted into an injured spinal...
A 3D-printed device, loaded with neuronal stem cells, that can be implanted into an injured spinal cord to help “bridge” the damage(Credit: University of Minnesota)

Spinal injuries can be like downed power lines – even if everything on either side of the injury is perfectly functional, the break can effectively shut down the whole system. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota have designed a device that could link everything back together again. A silicone guide, covered in 3D-printed neuronal stem cells, can be implanted into the injury site, where it grows new connections between remaining nerves to let patients regain some motor control. read more

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Samsung 4-Terabyte Solid State Drive

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"Samsung’s new 4-bit SATA SSD will herald a massive move to terabyte-SSDs for consumers," said Samsung's...
“Samsung’s new 4-bit SATA SSD will herald a massive move to terabyte-SSDs for consumers,” said Samsung’s Jaesoo Han(Credit: Samsung)

Just over a decade ago, Samsung announced the imminent arrival of the first laptops to come with 32 GB NAND flash storage. Now the company is set to shake up the storage tree again as it goes into mass production of the first consumer-level 4-bit, 4 TB SATA solid state drive, signaling a possible turning point for high capacity home storage. read more

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Even the EPA Admits Ethanol is no Good

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from IBD:

EPA Says Ethanol Damages The Environment — Isn’t It Time To Kill The Program?

Amid all the media hoo-ha over President Trump’s latest tweets, tariffs and the Russia investigation, you might have missed a significant report — the Environmental Protection Agency says ethanol made from corn and soybeans and added to our gasoline has become an environmental disaster. So why do we continue to make it?

The devastating report — based on, yes, actual “science” — shows that the forced addition of ethanol to the nation’s gasoline is making our air dirtier.

The irony, of course, is that ethanol’s entire rationale is that it would make our air cleaner. read more

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Google Glass for Autism

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Clinical research coordinator Jessey Schwartz (left) watches as 9 year-old Alex and his mother, Donji Cullenbine...
Clinical research coordinator Jessey Schwartz (left) watches as 9 year-old Alex and his mother, Donji Cullenbine (right), use a Google Glass-connected smartphone app(Credit: Steve Fisch)

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often find it difficult to gauge other people’s emotions based on their facial expressions – this can in turn lead to problems in communicating with those people. Scientists at Stanford University, however, are seeing new hope in an approach that utilizes Google Glass smart glasses. read more

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NASA Gets Voyager 1 Going Again

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After almost four decades of dormancy, NASA has successfully ordered the Voyager 1 deep space probe to fire a set of thrusters that have been inactive for 37 years. The November 28 test was carried out by mission control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, as part of an effort to keep the unmanned explorer functional for up to an additional three years as it speeds into interstellar space. read more

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First Annual Drone Photography Awards

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Mada’in Saleh: Winner in the Nature category
Mada’in Saleh: Winner in the Nature category(Credit: Gabriel Scanu)

The Drone Awards is a new photography competition dedicated to the emerging art of aerial photography. This year’s inaugural competition has just revealed its winning snaps, a spectacular assortment of photographs ranging from gorgeously abstract images to profoundly unique portraits of urban life. read more

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Baltic Sea Algae Bloom

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NASA has revealed an incredible image of a gigantic ‘whirlpool’ of algae in the Baltic sea.

Every summer, phytoplankton spread across the northern basins of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, with blooms spanning hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilometers.

Blooms this summer off of Scandinavia seem to be particularly intense, NASA said.

Scroll down for video 

On July 18, 2018, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired a natural-color image (above) of a swirling green phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Finland, a section of the Baltic Sea. Note how the phytoplankton trace the edges of a vortex; it is possible that this ocean eddy is pumping up nutrients from the depths. For scale, a ship is shown. The swirling bloom is at least 15 miles across, which means New York City¿s Manhattan Island could fit inside it with a little room to spare.

On July 18, 2018, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired a natural-color image (above) of a swirling green phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Finland, a section of the Baltic Sea. Note how the phytoplankton trace the edges of a vortex; it is possible that this ocean eddy is pumping up nutrients from the depths. For scale, a ship is shown. The swirling bloom is at least 15 miles across, which means New York City’s Manhattan Island could fit inside it with a little room to spare. read more

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Weapon Wednesday – Latest Israeli Tank

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The Merkava Mark 4 Barak includes an artificial intelligence system
The Merkava Mark 4 Barak includes an artificial intelligence system(Credit: IDF)

The Israeli Defence Force brings artificial intelligence to armored combat with the latest variant of its main battle tank. The Merkava Mk 4 Barak is billed as the first tank to have an advanced AI and sensor system that takes over many routine tasks, allowing crews to concentrate on the mission at hand. read more

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Lung Cancer Advancements

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A chance meeting may lead to a combination therapy that actually reduces side effect damage while...
A chance meeting may lead to a combination therapy that actually reduces side effect damage while improving effectiveness of chemotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer(Credit: muratart/Depositphotos)

Cancer treatment is often a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. You may well have some success with chemotherapy, but subsequent damage to otherwise healthy organs and tissue is a trade-off that clinicians and patients have had to juggle with for decades. But, thanks to a chance meeting at the Hudson Institute in Melbourne, lung cancer patients could be looking at more effective chemo with fewer side effects. read more

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Virgin Galactic Powers On

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VSS Unity firing its hybrid engine
VSS Unity firing its hybrid engine(Credit: Virgin Galactic)

Virgin Galactic’s manned spaceplane has hit another milestone, breaking Mach 2 as it roared into the mesosphere. With test pilots Dave Mackay and Mike “Sooch” Masucci at the controls, VSS Unity was released from the mothership VMS Eve at an altitude of 46,500 ft (14,200 m) before firing its hybrid rocket engine for 42 seconds to power it to 170,800 ft (32.3 mi, 52 km) and a speed of Mach 2.47 (1,832 mph, 2,948 km/h). read more