News from the future
************************* Wall-E rogerebert.com June 26, 2008 ************************* Pixar's "WALL-E" succeeds at being three things at once: an enthralling animated film, a visual wonderment and a decent science-fiction story, says film critic Roger Ebert. Seven hundred years in the future, a rusty trash-compacting droid appears to be the last 'bot on earth... See also: WALL-E : Official... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8982&m=14673 ************************* U.S. Lifts Moratorium on New Solar Projects New York Times July 3, 2008 ************************* Under increasing public pressure over its decision to temporarily halt all new solar development on public land, the Bureau of Land Management said Wednesday that it was lifting the freeze, barely a month after it was put into effect. See also: Citing Need for Assessments, U.S. Freezes Solar Energy... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8981&m=14673 ************************* Blood -*test*-('") can monitor cancer spread Nature News July 2, 2008 ************************* Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have build a device that can detect and capture minute numbers of tumor cells circulating in the blood of lung cancer patients and find genetic characteristics of the cells that could determine the best treatment options. The research may one day make monitoring the disease as simple as taking a blood... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8980&m=14673 ************************* New Nanowire-Based Memory Could Beef Up Information Storage PhysOrg.com July 2, 2008 ************************* University of Pennsylvania researchers have created a type of nanowire-based information storage device that is capable of storing three bit values rather than the usual two. This ability could lead to a new generation of high-capacity information storage for electronic devices. The phase changes are achieved by subjecting the nanowires to... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8979&m=14673 ************************* Intel's Gelsinger Sees Clear Path To 10nm Chips ChannelWeb June 30, 2008 ************************* Intel sees a "clear way" to manufacturing chips under 10 nanometers, according to Pat Gelsinger, VP of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group. The next die shrink milestone will be the 32nm process, set to kick off next year, followed by 14nm a few years after that and then sub-10nm, he said.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8978&m=14673 ************************* First DNA molecule made almost entirely of artificial parts Nanowerk News July 2, 2008 ************************* University of Toyama researchers have built the first DNA molecule made almost entirely of artificial parts. The researchers used DNA synthesis equipment to assemble four artificial bases (basic building blocks of DNA) inside the framework of a DNA molecule. The unusually stable, double-stranded structures resemble natural DNA, which also has... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8977&m=14673 ************************* Supercomputer improves diagnosis of osteoporosis KurzweilAI.net July 3, 2008 ************************* Researchers at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory and ETH Zurich are using a Blue Gene supercomputer to simulate human bone structure and predict where bones are likely to fracture. The research could help bring clinical tools to improve the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, a widespread disease that worldwide affects one in three women and... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8976&m=14673 ************************* DNA Technology Posts Dramatic Speed Increases Wired Science July 1, 2008 ************************* The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute recently sequenced its trillionth base pair of DNA, highlighting just how fast genome sequencing technology has improved this century. That speed is thanks to the technology underlying genomics research, which has been improving exponentially every couple of years, similar to the way computer tech improves... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8975&m=14673 ************************* 'Gordon Gekko' trading bot profits from mood swings New Scientist news service July 1, 2008 ************************* A University of Southampton, UK researcher has developed a new trading program that can adjust how aggressively it trades to match market conditions.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8974&m=14673 ************************* Penguin-Recognition Software Technology Review July 1, 2008 ************************* Scientists studying a colony of rare penguins on a remote South African island are using sophisticated object-recognition software -- originally developed for recognizing individual human faces -- to identify and track individual animals, an approach that they believe could transform conservation fieldwork. (Tilo Burghardt) The Penguin... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8973&m=14673 ************************* Robot Learns to Use Tools Technology Review July 1, 2008 ************************* The UMass Mobile Manipulator, developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is able to learn to use objects that it has never encountered before. (Dov Katz) UMan uses a regular webcam to look down at a table from above. By analyzing differences between adjacent pixels, it guesses where an object's edges might be found. Then it... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8972&m=14673 ************************* Nanoparticles protect a potent anticancer drug, allow it to be taken orally KurzweilAI.net July 2, 2008 ************************* Children's Hospital Boston researchers have used protective nanoparticles to turn a potent anticancer medicine, TNP-470, into a nontoxic drug that can be taken orally. Lodamin nanoparticle The original TNP-470 opened up anti-angiogenesis (angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels) as a new way to treat cancer, but had neurotoxic... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8971&m=14673 ************************* Using a light touch to measure protein bonds KurzweilAI.net June 30, 2008 ************************* MIT researchers have used optical tweezers (light beams) to achieve a precise measurement of the strength of bonds between two protein molecules important in cell machinery. They focused on proteins that bind to actin filaments, an important component of the cytoskeleton that provide structural support, help the cell crawl across a surface or... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8970&m=14673 ************************* Scientists Identify the Brain's Activity Hub New York Times July 1, 2008 ************************* The cerebral cortex has a central clearinghouse of activity below the crown of the head that is widely connected to more-specialized regions in a large network similar to a subway map, researchers at University of Lausanne, Harvard, and Indiana University have found. (Indiana University) They used a new technique called diffusion spectrum... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8969&m=14673 ************************* Designer protein tackles HIV Nature News June 30, 2008 ************************* Researchers at Sangamo BioSciences and the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute have built a custom-designed enzyme that can make T cells (a type of immune cell) resistant to HIV by disabling (cutting the gene to make it nonfunctional) the T cell gene CCR5. The technique could allow scientists to design enzymes that bind to the genome at... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8968&m=14673 ************************* Tongue Drive system lets persons with disabilities operate powered wheelchairs, computers KurzweilAI.net July 1, 2008 ************************* Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have developed a tongue-driven system for severely disabled individuals that lets them operate a computer, control a powered wheelchair, and interact with their environments simply by moving their tongues. The system uses a rice-grain-sized magnet implanted in or attached to the tongue. Movement of... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8967&m=14673 ************************* 'Puncture repair kit' may minimize brain trauma Nature News June 30, 2008 ************************* Purdue University researchers have designed a simple treatment to reduce the impact of blunt traumas to the brain by mechanically "patching" burst cell membranes. Brain-injured rats that were injected with polyethylene glycol (PEG) within four hours of the injury had improved behavioral results compared with the control group. The therapy... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8966&m=14673 ************************* New Electrostatic-based DNA Microarray Technique Could Revolutionize Medical Diagnostics KurzweilAI.net June 30, 2008 ************************* Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have invented a technique in which DNA or RNA assays (for genetic profiling and disease detection) can be read and evaluated without the need for elaborate expensive chemical labeling or sophisticated instrumentation. A new method for reading DNA (or RNA) microarrays is... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8965&m=14673 ************************* How a quantum effect is gumming up nanomachines (article preview) New Scientist news service June 28, 2008 ************************* Researchers are making progress in overcoming static friction, or or "stiction," which sticks together the parts of micromachines on scales of between 10 and 300 nanometers and limits progress in reducing their size, affecting computer hard drives and other devices with small moving parts. Stiction is due to the Casimir effect, a... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8964&m=14673 ************************* Get Out of Your Own Way Wall Street Journal June 27, 2008 ************************* The brain appears to make up its mind 10 seconds before we become conscious of a decision, and "neural static" -- waves of disruptive signals -- precede an error by up to 30 seconds, neuroscientists have... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8963&m=14673 ************************* Citing Need for Assessments, U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects New York Times June 27, 2008 ************************* Faced with a surge in the number of proposed solar power plants, the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years. The decision has caused widespread concern in the alternative-energy industry, as fledgling solar companies... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8962&m=14673 ************************* Intel's Dominance Is Challenged by a Low-Power Upstart New York Times June 30, 2008 ************************* As the PC shrinks in size, it is on a collision course with the multifunction cellphone. The new smartphones change the rules of the game in computing because computing speed is no longer the most important factor. For a cellphone relying on a small battery, how efficiently a chip uses power becomes more important. A new market of MID's,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8961&m=14673 ************************* Hawking 'close' to explaining universe's inflation New Scientist (article preview) June 28, 2008 ************************* Starting with current observations of the universe and working back to narrow down the initial set of possibilities and by treating the early cosmos as a quantum object with a multitude of alternative universes that gradually blend into ours, Stephen Hawking and colleagues think they are close to perfecting an answer to explain why the infant... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8960&m=14673 ************************* New probe may help untangle cells' signaling pathways KurzweilAI.net June 30, 2008 ************************* MIT researchers have designed a new type of probe that can image thousands of interactions between proteins inside a living cell, giving them a tool to untangle the web of signaling pathways that control most of a cell's activities. To create the probes, the researchers used the enzyme biotin ligase and its target, a 12-amino-acid peptide.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8959&m=14673 ************************* Mechanism and function of humor identified by new evolutionary theory PhysOrg.com June 27, 2008 ************************* Humor occurs when the brain recognizes a pattern that surprises it, suggests Alastair Clarke in the forthcoming book, Humour. "Now that we understand the mechanism of humour, the possibility of creating an artificial intelligence being that could develop its own sense of humour becomes very real," he says. "This would, for the first time,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8958&m=14673 ************************* Unknown molecule opens the door to quantum computing PhysOrg.com June 27, 2008 ************************* Purdue University researchers have have created a new hybrid molecule in which its quantum state can be intentionally manipulated. The discovery could allow for quantum computing in semiconductors in the future.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8957&m=14673 ************************* Orbiting robots could repair satellites on the fly NewScientist news service June 28, 2008 ************************* Space agencies and satellite operators should accelerate their efforts to develop robotic mechanics that can more economically fix errant satellites on demand, three researchers argue.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8956&m=14673 ************************* The Brains Behind the Image Fulgurator Wired Blog Network June 27, 2008 ************************* The guerrilla-art stunt "Image Fulgurator" projects stealth images into the flash photographs of strangers. A photograph flash triggers a flash located behind a film camera to project an instantaneous image (from a 35 mm slide) onto the scene being photographed.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8955&m=14673 ************************* Biotime launches Embryome.com and the International Embryome Initiative KurzweilAI.net June 27, 2008 ************************* BioTime and its subsidiary Embryome Sciences, Inc. announced today the launch of Embryome.com and the International Embryome Initiative, intended to build the "embryome"--a complete database of embryonic cell types and the pathways they take as they differentiate into specific cell types. Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) have the innate... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8954&m=14673

KurzweilAI.net newsletter ************************* Nanotubes bring artificial photosynthesis a step nearer New Scientist news service July 11, 2008 ************************* Carbon nanotubes are the crucial chemical ingredient that could make artificial photosynthesis possible, say Chinese researchers. Artificial photosynthesis could efficiently produce hydrogen that could be used as a clean fuel and also mop up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. By covalently bonding a large number of phthalocyanine molecules... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9027&m=14673 ************************* Toxic Key To Alzheimer's Disease Memory Loss Identified ScienceDaily June 27, 2008 ************************* International researchers have found that a specific amyloid protein--amyloid-beta--appears to be the pathogenic (disease-causing) agent for Alzheimer's disease, and is not just a side-effect of the disease. Soluable amyloid-beta taken from the brains of Alzheimer's patients and given to rats caused multiple disease symptoms, including reduced... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9026&m=14673 ************************* Scientists Prevent Brain-Cell Suicide to Keep Birds Singing Wired Science July 9, 2008 ************************* University of Washington researchers have learned how to temporarily stop seasonal (natural) cell-death processes in birds by inhibiting enzymes called capases. Neurons used for singing during the mating season die off after the season is over. When the researchers used hormones to inhibit the capases, the song-control regions of the bird's... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9025&m=14673 ************************* Blood pressure 'link to dementia' BBC News July 8, 2008 ************************* Two studies have linked high blood pressure and dementia risk. Imperial College London researchers found that reducing blood pressure with drugs reduced dementia by 13%. Alzheimer's Society researchers found that one type of dementia (vascular dementia) was six times more likely to develop in people who had high blood pressure in their 40s... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9024&m=14673 ************************* New Generation Of Home Robots Have Gentle Touch Science Daily July 10, 2008 ************************* An advanced household service robot, the "Care-O-bot," has been developed by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart. (Fraunhofer) Stereo color cameras, laser scanners and a 3-D range camera enable the robot to register its surroundings in three dimensions in real time. It has a... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9023&m=14673 ************************* Wikipedia hosts human gene repository iTnews July 10, 2008 ************************* U.S. scientists from several organizations are developing a "Gene Wiki" with the aim of fostering a flexible, organic archive of human genetic information. The researchers developed a computer program that downloads information from existing databases, formats it, and posts the information as a "stub" article on Wikipedia. The stub articles... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9022&m=14673 ************************* Organic dye lets window panes harvest the Sun New Scientist news service July 10, 2008 ************************* MIT electrical engineer Marc Baldo had developed a method to turn up to 20% of incident light into electricity at a fraction of the cost of conventional photovoltaic cells. Exotic organic dyes are coated onto an ordinary sheet of glass, trapping light inside the glass and allowing it to be channelled to photovoltaic cells placed along the edges... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9021&m=14673 ************************* Seagate's La-*test*-('") Desktop HDD Has 1.5TB Capacity Hot Hardware July 10, 2008 ************************* Seagate announced Thursday three new consumer-level hard drives today, which it claims are the "industry's first 1.5-terabyte desktop and half-terabyte notebook hard drives." The company claims that it is able to greatly increase the areal density of its drive substrates by using perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR)... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9020&m=14673 ************************* Controlling the Size of Nanoclusters: First Step in Making New Catalysts KurzweilAI.net July 10, 2008 ************************* Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University have developed a new instrument that allows them to control the size of nanoclusters -- groups of 10 to 100 atoms -- with atomic precision. The device could allow for making nanoclusters with predetermined size, structure and... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9019&m=14673 ************************* Nanotubes Hold Promise for Next-Generation Computing Wired July 9, 2008 ************************* Two groups of researchers have recently published papers demonstrating advances in creating, sorting and organizing carbon nanotubes so they can be used in electronics. Stanford electrical engineers addressed the problem of getting nanotubes straightened out so they could be put to work in chips, by growing the nanotubes on crystalline quartz,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9018&m=14673 ************************* Robots aim to top humans at air hockey EE Times July 8, 2008 ************************* An upgraded robot developed by General Electric Fanuc and Nuvation Research can beat most human air hockey players, its developers claim. A video system that tracks the puck's position sends coordinates to a special PC board every 10 milliseconds. So far, the robot has defeated every human opponent when running in 32-bit mode, averaging... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9017&m=14673 ************************* Smart contact lens feels the pressure of glaucoma NewScientist.com news service July 9, 2008 ************************* University of California, Davis researchers have made a contact lens with a built-in pressure sensor that could help monitor conditions such as glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Prototype lenses with pressure sensors (Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co) PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane, the organic polymer traditionally used for contact lenses)... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9016&m=14673 ************************* New Technique Harvests Stem Cells at Earlier Stage HealthDay News July 9, 2008 ************************* Researchers at Vrije Universiteit Brussel have derived human embryonic stem cells (hESC) earlier in the development stage of a blastomere (when it only has four cells), so the whole embryo is not destroyed. Previously, scientists were able to derive hESC lines at the 8-cell stage, but that method had variable success rates and required the... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9015&m=14673 ************************* Common drugs may combat aging disease New Scientist news service July 9, 2008 ************************* University of Oviedo (Spain) researchers have found that two common drugs--statins (used to reduce cholesterol) and bisphosphonates (used to curb osteoporosis)--have reversed the effects in mice of progeria, a rare genetic disease that causes premature aging. Progeria accelerates aging from early childhood and is usually fatal before puberty.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9014&m=14673 ************************* Assembling Nanotubes Technology Review July 10, 2008 ************************* Stanford University and Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology researchers have developed a new method for sorting single-walled carbon nanotubes by electronic type and arranging them over a large area; it could be useful for manufacturing high-performance displays and other electronic devices. (Melburne LeMieux / Stanford University)... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9013&m=14673 ************************* "Plug and Play" Hospitals Technology Review July 9, 2008 ************************* Massachusetts General Hospital doctors have developed two demonstration projects that illustrate the idea of a "plug and play" operating room, based on the idea that device interoperability in hospitals could make hospitals safer and more efficient. Estimates of the number of preventable deaths caused each year by medical errors in American... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9012&m=14673 ************************* Zapping Individual Cancer Cells Technology Review July 9, 2008 ************************* Engineers at the University of Texas at Austin have patented a laser microscalpel that allows a surgeon to operate on tissue one cell at a time, precisely targeting disease while leaving healthy surrounding cells alive. The device combines two technologies--a femtosecond laser and two-photon fluorescence microscopy--into a single miniaturized,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9011&m=14673 ************************* Check Yourself for Genetic Abnormalities Wired How To Wiki July 7, 2008 ************************* Wired has assembled a wiki with ways to check yourself for inherited traits associated with some sort of health condition, grouped under three options: visit a genetic counselor, scan your whole genome, and perform lab -*test*-('")s at home.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9010&m=14673 ************************* Internet cable-laying boom PC Pro July 8, 2008 ************************* At least 25 new undersea Internet cables are set to be laid over the next couple of years, providing a huge boost to worldwide... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9009&m=14673 ************************* 50MP CCD Image Sensor unveiled by Kodak I4U News July 8, 2008 ************************* Eastman Kodak Company unveiled the world's first 50 million pixel CCD image sensor for professional photography. The sensor captures digital images with unprecedented resolution and detail. For instance, with a 50 megapixel camera, in an aerial photo of a field 1 1/2 miles across, you could detect an object about the size of a small notebook... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9008&m=14673 ************************* Google Introduces a Cartoonlike Method for Talking in Chat Rooms New York Times July 9, 2008 ************************* Google has introduced Lively, an online tool that allows people to embody a cartoonish online avatar and have text-based conversations with friends and other Internet users in virtual chat rooms that can be added to any blog or Web site. Vivaty, a virtual-world start-up, has introduced a similar 3-D chat room that runs on Facebook and... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9007&m=14673 ************************* Dopamine shown to induce both desire and dread KurzweilAI.net July 9, 2008 ************************* University of Michigan researchers have found that dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with motivation and positive rewards, can also promote negative feeling like fear and dread. The researchers had previously found that desire and dread functions were anatomically close together in the nucleus accumbens (a tiny section of the... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9006&m=14673 ************************* World Wide Wellness: Online Database Keeps Tabs on Emerging Health Threats Scientific American July 8, 2008 ************************* Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School have developed "HealthMap," an automated data-mining project that searches web-accessible information sources to track emerging health threats worldwide. HealthMap can often detect potential disease outbreaks in local pockets before health agencies such as the World Health... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9005&m=14673 ************************* AI beats human poker champions EE Times July 7, 2008 ************************* An artificial intelligence program called Polaris 2.0 defeated human champions in the second Man-Machine Poker Competition, in Las Vegas, July 3-6. Deveoped at the University of Alberta, Polaris 2 had learning built into its programming, thereby countering the learning ability of the humans by switching strategies whenever they did.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9004&m=14673 ************************* Gold, DNA Combination May Lead To Nano-Sensor KurzweilAI.net July 9, 2008 ************************* Duke University scientists have developed intracellular biological sensors based on gold nanostructures with tethered DNA recognition molecules that can create signals from subtle changes in light reflecting off their nanoscale surfaces. By measuring color changes, researchers can tell what is happening at the molecular level, and the... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9003&m=14673 ************************* Nanoscale lithographic tech to enable 25 nm chip features KurzweilAI.net July 9, 2008 ************************* MIT researchers have achieved a significant advance in nanoscale lithographic technology, creating lines about 25 nanometers wide separated by 25 nm spaces. The most advanced commercially available computer chips today have a minimum feature size of 65 nm. Intel recently announced that it will start manufacturing at the 32 nm minimum... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9002&m=14673 ************************* Miniaturised scanner zooms in on disease New Scientist Tech July 8, 2008 ************************* Harvard Medical School scientists have developed a miniaturized handheld nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scanner that can diagnose diseases and identify pathogens, and is 800 times more sensitive than standard NMR scanners used in many laboratories -- enough to detect just 10 bacteria in a given sample. The trick is the use of magnetic... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9001&m=14673 ************************* Nanosensors for Medical Monitoring Technology Review July 8, 2008 ************************* Vista Therapeutics is developing sensitive devices for continuous bedside monitoring of blood biomarkers for detecting organ failure and other problems in seriously injured or ill patients, such as those in the ICU after suffering a heart attack or traumatic injuries from a car accident. The devices use silicon nanowires developed by Harvard... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9000&m=14673 ************************* A Picowatt Processor Technology Review July 8, 2008 ************************* University of Michigan have made a processor (the Phoenix) that measures just one millimeter square with a power consumption so low (2.8 picojoules of energy per computing cycle) that emerging thin-film batteries of the same size could power it for 10 years or more. At this scale, it could be feasible to build the chip into a thick contact lens... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8999&m=14673 ************************* Microwave ray gun controls crowds with noise NewScientist news service July 3, 2008 ************************* Sierra Nevada Corporation plans to build a microwave ray gun, dubbed MEDUSA (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio), able to beam sounds directly into people's heads. The device exploits the microwave audio effect, in which short microwave pulses rapidly heat tissue, causing a shockwave inside the skull that can be detected by the ears. A... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8998&m=14673 ************************* For Future of Mind Control, Robot-Monkey Trials Are Just a Start Popular Mechanics July 7, 2008 ************************* A two-way mind-machine interface with a remote device might some day begin to redefine how we perceive and interact with our environment. A monkey at Duke University in Durham, N.C. made this 5-ft. robot in Kyoto, Japan walk on a treadmill (Masafumi Yamamoto/The New York Times/Redux) "One day, you could be sitting in an office and... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8997&m=14673 ************************* Scientists Find Way to Dim Cancer Switch HealthDay News July 1, 2008 ************************* Stanford University researchers have found a "dimmer switch" that stops a gene from sending protein signals that promote cancer. When the Myc gene makes too much of the protein Myc, cells lose the ability to kill themselves when they're damaged, and instead keep growing. The researchers found that by turning down the Myc switch, they could... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8996&m=14673 ************************* Herculean Device for Molecular Mysteries New York Times July 8, 2008 ************************* Researchers at Columbia University and D.E. Shaw Research are developing a special-purpose supercomputer that can achieve a thousandfold increase in throughtput for complex molecular simulations. The supercomputer can simulate biological processes that take place over a millisecond or longer, 1000 times longer than current molecular simulations... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8995&m=14673 ************************* 'Smart bomb' nanoparticle strategy to stop metastasis KurzweilAI.net July 8, 2008 ************************* Researchers at University of California, San Diego have developed a nanoparticles/anti-cancer-drug combination that acts as a "smart bomb" to target metastasis (spreading) in mouse pancreatic and kidney cancer. The 100-nm. nanoparticle comprises (unnamed) lipid polymers that deliver the drug doxorubcin, selectively targeting blood vessels that... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8994&m=14673 ************************* Are We in the Peak of an Oil Bubble? PhysOrg.com July 7, 2008 ************************* Since 2003, worldwide oil prices have quadrupled and according to a new study, the price of oil is rising at a faster-than-exponential rate, and cannot be sustained. In other words, we're in the midst of an oil bubble, say researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai, China. Since... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8993&m=14673 ************************* Pioneer Develops World's First 16-Layer Optical Disc PhysOrg.com July 7, 2008 ************************* Pioneer Corporation has developed a 16-layer read-only optical disc with a capacity of 400 gigabytes.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8992&m=14673 ************************* Synchronising 'heartbeat' saves sensor batteries New Scientist Tech July 7, 2008 ************************* IBM's TJ Watson Labs has developed a "heartbeat" design for sensor networks that allows the sensors' batteries to last four times as long: nodes only turn on when the beat reaches them, saving battery power.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8991&m=14673 ************************* Chip-cooling Technology Achieves 'Dramatic' 1,000-watt Capacity Science Daily July 2, 2008 ************************* Purdue University researchers have developed a technology that uses "microjets" to deposit liquid into tiny channels and remove five times more heat (1,000 watts per square centimeter) than other experimental high-performance chip-cooling methods for computers and... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8990&m=14673 ************************* Engineers show nanotube circuits can be made en masse Nanowerk News July 4, 2008 ************************* Stanford electrical engineers have developed a method for making integrated circuit chips with the needed variety of logic gates on the scale and with the parallelism that the semiconductor industry must employ to make chips that are economical. The Stanford-devised process involves growing nanotubes on a quartz wafer and then transferring... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8989&m=14673 ************************* Why Fly When You Can Float? New York Times July 5, 2008 ************************* As the cost of fuel soars and the pressure mounts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, several schemes for a new generation of airship, based on new materials and sophisticated means of propulsion, are being considered by governments and private... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8988&m=14673 ************************* Maybe Chicken Little Wasn't Paranoid After All New York Times July 6, 2008 ************************* NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has estimated that a Tunguska-size asteroid (just 90 feet across, leveling some 800 square miles of forest in Siberia) will enter Earth's atmosphere once every 300 years and says there may be 375,000 objects of such size out there. NASA only tracks potential "civilization killers" of 1 kilometer (.62 miles) or... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8987&m=14673 ************************* Electronic Papyrus: The Digital Book, Unfurled New York Times July 6, 2008 ************************* New technologies are developing that make displays flexible, foldable or even as rollable as papyrus, so that large screens can be unfurled from pocket-sized containers. Polymer Vision's Readius Flexible displays are thin, lightweight and rugged and offer the advantages of easy, relatively inexpensive and safe shipping and handling,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8986&m=14673 ************************* A Prosthesis for Speech Technology Review July 3, 2008 ************************* Boston University researchers are developing brain-reading computer software that is in the early stage of translating thoughts into speech, starting with vowels. An implanted electrode picks up nerve signals related to movement of the mouth, lips, and jaw. These signals are sent wirelessly to a computer, where software analyzes them for... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8985&m=14673 ************************* Do we have the technology to build a bionic human? New Scientist Tech July 4, 2008 ************************* Scientists have developed artifical bones, cartilege, lymph nodes, hands, arms, some complete organs, and even parts of the brain, but there are potential downsides, including immunorejection, possible cancer (from stem cells), and corrosion and wear and tear with electronic devices.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8984&m=14673 ************************* Laugh at High Gas Prices With a 282-MPG VW Autopia Wired Blog July 03, 2008 ************************* Volkswagen plans to build a limited number of cars in 2010 based on its 235 mpg (282 in Imperial gallons) One-Liter Car concept vehicle. The design makes extensive use of carbon monocoque fiber, magnesium, titanium, and aluminum to minimize weight (660 pounds).... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8983&m=14673

************************* Emotional robot has empathy, understands your frustration engadget July 18, 2008 ************************* The Feelix Growing project uses software that allows robots to adjust to how a person is feeling based on feedback from cameras and sensors. The bots look at a human's facial expression and key in on their voice and proximity to determine what kind of mood they're... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9063&m=14673 ************************* Google and the Real Search for Meaning on the Web New York Times July 17, 2008 ************************* Google has been publishing a series of posts about how its search engine works with meaning, going beyond page rank.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9062&m=14673 ************************* Losing the lasers turns CDs into memory sticks New Scientist news service July 16, 2008 ************************* A future generation of ultra-dense flash memory chips could be based on a new Phase Change Memory (PCM) technology, according to Numonyx, an Intel spinoff. Flash memory transistors (currently 65 nanometers wide) will face limited lifetime (write/erase cycles) when dimensions get below 20 nanometers, due to the retention of electric charge in... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9061&m=14673 ************************* Gore Calls for Carbon-Free Electric Power New York Times July 18, 2008 ************************* Al Gore said on Thursday that Americans must abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within a decade and rely on the sun, the winds and other environmentally friendly sources of power, or risk losing their national security as well as their creature comforts. He cited military-intelligence studies warning of "dangerous national security... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9060&m=14673 ************************* Say goodbye to the computer mouse BBC News July 17, 2008 ************************* A Gartner analyst predicts the demise of the computer mouse in the next three to five years for home entertainment or working on a notebook. Taking over will be gestural computer mechanisms like Nintendo's Wii, multitouch screens like the iPhone, and facial recognition devices such as products from Sony, Canon and other video and photographic... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9059&m=14673 ************************* Strongest Material Ever Tested Technology Review July 17, 2008 ************************* In a strain measurement using perfect samples of graphene, Columbia University researchers have confirmed that is the strongest material ever -*test*-('")ed. Illustration showning the one-atom-thick atomic structure of graphene (Jeffrey Kysar, Columbia University) The finding provides evidence that graphene transistors could be the most effective... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9058&m=14673 ************************* A Musical Score for Disease Technology Review July 18, 2008 ************************* Gil Alterovitz, a research fellow at Harvard Medical School, is developing a computer program that translates protein and gene expression into music. In his acoustic translation, harmony represents good health, and discord indicates disease. Using data collected from a study of protein expression in colon cancer, Alterovitz analyzed... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9057&m=14673 ************************* Quantum Leap Technology Review July 17, 2008 ************************* An international team of researchers has shown that it can control the quantum state of a single electron in a silicon transistor--even putting the electron in two places at once. Their discovery could help pave the way toward a practical quantum computer. The electronc could be in one of three states. At low electric fields, the electron... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9056&m=14673 ************************* Arthritis drugs help with other inflammatory diseases KurzweilAI.net July 18, 2008 ************************* The Imperial College London researchers who developed effective rheumatoid arthritis drugs through targeting cytokines (immune system signaling proteins) have found that similar anti-cytokine therapies may help with atherosclerosis and other medical conditions. The researchers previously discovered that in autoimmune diseases (such as... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9055&m=14673 ************************* New Targets for Treating Huntington's Disease Discovered Scientific American July 16, 2008 ************************* Researchers at University College London have discovered early blood markers (excess cytokines--signaling proteins--a sign of an overly aggressive immune system) in people with the gene for Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder . These markers show that the neurodegeneration may start more than 15 years before neurological symptoms... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9054&m=14673 ************************* Obsessed Brains May Be Sluggish ScienceNOW Daily News July 17, 2008 ************************* University of Cambridge researchers have found that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have reduced activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, the region that helps people make decisions and keep compulsive behaviors in check. Orbitofrontal cortex activity (Paul Wicks) The researchers took fMRI scans as participants engaged in a... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9053&m=14673 ************************* 'Ten Commandments' of race and genetics issued NewScientist.com news service July 17, 2008 ************************* A multidisciplinary group focused on contentious issues related to race, genetic markers and medicine has released a set of 10 guiding principles for the scientific community. The group--ranging from geneticists and psychologists to historians and philosophers--was led by anthropologist Sandra Soo-Jin Lee of Stanford University. The... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9052&m=14673 ************************* Quantum Rod System May Safely 'Sneak' Drugs, Diagnostics into Brain PhysOrg.com July 16, 2008 ************************* A nanoparticle system developed by University at Buffalo scientists takes advantage of the versatility of bioconjugated quantum rods to ferry novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents across the blood-brain barrier. The findings could lead to better treatment of neuronal... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9051&m=14673 ************************* Study: Low-carb diet best for weight, cholesterol AP July 17, 2008 ************************* A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the dueling weight-loss techniques. The study was conducted by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and will be published Thursday in the New England Journal of... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9050&m=14673 ************************* The Secrets of Anti-Aging Genes Technology Review July 17, 2008 ************************* An ambitious plan to sequence 100 genes in 1,000 healthy old people could shed light on genetic variations that insulate some people from the ailments of aging, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, allowing them to live a healthy life into their eighties and beyond. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and head of the Genomic Medicine Program... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9049&m=14673 ************************* Interior Dept. Opens 2.6 Million Alaskan Acres for Oil Exploration New York Times July 17, 2008 ************************* The Interior Department on Wednesday made 2.6 million acres of potentially oil-rich territory in northern Alaska available for energy exploration, holding an estimated 3.7 billion barrels of... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9048&m=14673 ************************* In Sync to Pierce the Cloud New York Times July 17, 2008 ************************* Apple's new MobileMe cloud-computing service is meant to keep the e-mail, calendars, address books and Web bookmarks on all of your computers --Macs, Windows PCs, iPhones and iPod Touches -- synchronized in real time.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9046&m=14673 ************************* Growing Neural Implants Technology Review July 16, 2008 ************************* University of Michigan are developing methods of preventing damage to neurons caused my implanted electrodes. They are using an electrically conductive polymer coating that increases the surface area of the metal-biological interface, which in turn boosts performance of the electrode and lowers both electrochemical reactions and needed battery... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9045&m=14673 ************************* Stress-generated cortisol found to cause premature aging of immune system KurzweilAI.net July 16, 2008 ************************* A new UCLA study suggests cortisol is the culprit behind premature aging of the immune system in stressed-out people. Immune cells (stained blue) end in protective caps called telomeres (stained yellow) that are shorter in the elderly -- and in persons suffering chronic stress. A new UCLA study suggests cortisol is the culprit behind... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9044&m=14673 ************************* Japanese boffins develop long-life Flash vnu.net July 14, 2008 ************************* Flash memory chips with a potential lifetime of hundreds of years and a lower rewriting voltage have been developed by University of Tokyo scientists. Current Flash chips are estimated to have a useful lifetime of around a decade or less for most... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9043&m=14673 ************************* UT pathologists believe they have pinpointed Achilles heel of HIV PhysOrg.com July 15, 2008 ************************* Researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston believe they have uncovered the Achilles heel in the HIV virus: the HIV envelope protein gp120. They have engineered antibodies with enzymatic activity ("abzymes"), which can attack the Achilles heel of the virus in a precise way. The next step is to confirm the theory in human... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9042&m=14673 ************************* Passive learning imprints on the brain just like active learning PhysOrg.com July 14, 2008 ************************* Dartmouth researchers determined that people can acquire motor skills through the "seeing" as well as the "doing" form of learning.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9041&m=14673 ************************* Self-Assembling Tissues Technology Review July 15, 2008 ************************* MIT and Harvard Medical School bioengineers have created "living Legos" -- building blocks of biofriendly gels of various shapes studded with cells that can self-assemble into complex structures resembling those found in tissues. (Ali Khademhosseini) They are currently working on making more-complex self-assembling structures that resemble... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9040&m=14673 ************************* Exercise Amps Up Alzheimer's Brain? WebMD July 14, 2008 ************************* A University of Kansas School of Medicine study links cardiorespiratory fitness to less brain shrinkage in people with early Alzheimer's... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9039&m=14673 ************************* Schwarzenegger tours NASA/Ames to tout agency's fire-fighting technology Mercury News July 14, 2008 ************************* NASA/Ames Research Center researchers are taking data from a remotely controlled airplane and delivering real-time infrared images of hot spots and flare-ups to fire commanders on the ground. The $6 million Ikhana aircraft has an onboard sensor that can look through the smoke and detect temperatures ranging from one-half degree to 1,000... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9038&m=14673 ************************* Sequencing a Single Molecule of DNA Technology Review July/August 2008 ************************* Helicos BioSciences has developed the HeliScope, the first commercial instrument that can directly read the sequence of a single DNA strand, making it the world's fas-*test*-('") DNA sequencer, the company claims. The high-­throughput machine, a complex configuration of tubes, lasers, and chemi­cals, contains two plates, each with 25... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9037&m=14673 ************************* 2008 State of the Future report proposes 15 global challenges KurzweilAI.net July 14, 2008 ************************* The future continues to get better for most of the world, but a series of tipping points could drastically alter global prospects, according to the 2008 State of the Future, a report due to be published late this month, and obtained by KurzweilAI.net Sunday. Half the world is vulnerable to social instability and violence due to rising food... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9036&m=14673 ************************* A good night's sleep really does improve the brain Telegraph July 14, 2008 ************************* Sleep improves performance in skill tasks, University of Geneva scientists have found, based on fMRI measurements. The results revealed that a period of sleep following a new experience can consolidate and improve subsequent effects of learning from the experience, they suggest.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9035&m=14673 ************************* 'Cross fire' from the brain makes patients tremble PhysOrg.com July 11, 2008 ************************* Scientists from Forschungszentrum Julich have demonstrated that the 5-Hz Parkinson's disease tremor results from synchronous signals from the thalamus and the basal ganglia transmitted in loop-like neuron pathways of the brain and spinal cord, not only via proprioceptive nerve signals from the muscles (the current theory). The finding supports... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9034&m=14673 ************************* Japanese team developing palm-held 3D display PhysOrg.com July 14, 2008 ************************* Researchers at Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology are developing the gCubik, which could enable people to hold a three-dimensional image of someone in the palm of their hand. Unlike conventional 3D displays, which are viewed only from the front, the gCubik can be seen from three sides, giving different... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9033&m=14673 ************************* A hands-on approach to Third World aid KurzweilAI.net July 14, 2008 ************************* About 60 people from 20 nations will descend on the MIT campus today to begin the International Development Design Summit, an intensive month-long process of creating technological solutions for the needs of people in the world's developing nations. The goal of the program is to develop simple, inexpensive devices that in some cases can be... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9032&m=14673 ************************* When Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans New York Times July 13, 2008 ************************* The environment committee of the Spanish Parliament last month voted to grant limited rights to our closest biological relatives, the great apes --chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans. The committee would bind Spain to the principles of the Great Ape Project, which points to apes' human qualities, including the ability to feel fear and... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9031&m=14673 ************************* High Cost of Driving Ignites Online Classes Boom New York Times July 11, 2008 ************************* Thousands of students nationwide have suddenly decided to take one or more college classes over the Internet, as fuel for commuting to campus now costs some students half of what they pay for tuition, in some cases more.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9030&m=14673 ************************* Tiny fishing reel gets DNA researchers out of a tangle New Scientist news service July 13, 2008 ************************* Kyoto University researchers have developed the world's smallest fishing reel to wind up DNA strands without damaging them. (K Terao/Kyoto University) The microdevice lets geneticists more precisely locate specific genes and identify genetic disorders. The researhers developed minuscule hooks and bobbins that mimic the way a fishing... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9029&m=14673 ************************* Sneeze-sensing software gives avatars a good laugh New Scientist news service July 11, 2008 ************************* Software that can automatically recognize "non-linguistic" sounds such as laughter and generate an appropriate facial animation sequence, could improve the quality of web-based avatars or computer-animated movies. University of Bath and University of Cardiff scientists used optical motion capture to record the facial expressions of four... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9028&m=14673

************************ Kites could provide electricity for 100,000 homes PhysOrg.com Aug. 8, 2008 ************************* High-flying kites tethered to generators could supply as much as 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 100,000 homes, according to researchers from the Delft University of Technology. Some researchers estimate kites could provide more than 100 times the amount of wind energy required to power the entire... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9179&m=14673 ************************* An Artificial Pancreas Technology Review Aug. 8, 2008 ************************* Scientists at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation are pairing continuous glucose monitors with insulin pumps to create an artificial pancreas for people with diabetes. (Medtronic,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9178&m=14673 ************************* Visions of our far future Nature Aug. 7, 2008 ************************* In Year Million: Science at the Far Edge of Knowledge (edited by Damien Broderick, Atlas, 2008), 15 futurists explore long-range posthuman extraterrestrial futures. One thread in the book is launch of an expanding wavefront of intelligence, converting matter into nano-engineered computronium that is then assembled into M-brains. These then send... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9177&m=14673 ************************* Fingerprint Test Tells What a Person Has Touched New York Times Aug. 7, 2008 ************************* In technology right out of the movie Gattaca, Purdue University scientists have developed a method that can identify what a person has been touching: drugs, explosives or poisons, for example. Desorption electrospray ionization, or Desi, involves spaying a liquid that has been electrically charged on a tiny bit of a fingerprint, such as one on... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9176&m=14673 ************************* Artificial eyeball does away with distorted images New Scientist Tech Aug. 6, 2008 ************************* University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne researchers have built a hemispherical digital-image sensor that can take wide-angle pictures without distortion by mimicking the curves of a human retina. (University of Illinois) They attached an array of silicon photodiodes on a curved "retina." The technology may make it possible to give... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9174&m=14673 ************************* First 'virophage' could take the fight to viruses New Scientist news service Aug. 6, 2008 ************************* Researchers at the University of the Mediterranean, France have discovered a new type of virus that spreads at the expense of other viruses and could be used to combat viral infections. The team says "Sputnik" is the first member of a new class they call "virophages" because of similarities with bacteriophages or phages (viruses that infect... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9173&m=14673 ************************* New Google tool aims to provide more insight into online searches Computerworld Aug. 6, 2008 ************************* Google has launched Google Insights for Search, an extension of Google Trends, designed to be used by advertisers, small business owners, academics and others. Like Google Trends, the Insights software lets users type in search terms and then see search volume patterns over time and the top related and rising searches. But users can also now... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9172&m=14673 ************************* Researchers mash Google Earth with electrical data to predict national grid problems Network World Aug. 7, 2008 ************************* Oak Ridge National Labs researchers have developed The Visualizing Energy Resources Dynamically on Earth (VERDE) system, which overlays real-time status data from the national electric grid and weather on Google Earth. Federal, state, and local agencies can use VERDE for wide-area situational understanding to coordinate and respond to major... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9171&m=14673 ************************* Intel reveals design for fast, efficient future chips AFP Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* Intel plans to release in 2009 or 2010 a first wave of Larrabee chips with 16 to 48 cores, tailored for handling computer game graphics. Multi-core chips cut energy use and heat while speeding performance by dividing tasks between cores. Intel Research director Andrew Chien predicts that multi-core chips will let computers "bridge the... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9170&m=14673 ************************* The Brain Unmasked Technology Review Aug. 6, 2008 ************************* A variation on MRI called diffusion sensor imaging allows scientists to map the neural fibers that relay signals in the brain. In this example, each fiber in the image represents hundreds to thousands of fibers in the brain, each traveling along the same path. (George Day, Ruopeng Wang, Jeremy Schmahmann, Van Wedeen,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9169&m=14673 ************************* Estrogen Relieves Psychotic Symptoms In Women With Schizophrenia Science Daily Aug. 5, 2008 ************************* When combined with antipsychotic medications, estradiol appears to be a useful treatment in women with schizophrenia, a study by The Alfred and Monash University and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia has... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9168&m=14673 ************************* Breakthrough In Quantum Mechanics: Superconducting Electronic Circuit Pumps Microwave Photons ScienceDaily Aug. 5, 2008 ************************* Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have used a superconducting electronic circuit known as a Josephson phase qubit to store up to six microwave photons in a superconducting microwave resonator. The research could help in the quest to build a quantum... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9167&m=14673 ************************* Designers on quest to build $12 computer Boston Herald Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* A six-member team at the MIT International Development Design Summit is attempting to design a $12 computer based on old Apple II computersVictor-70 NES (Famicom) clone gaming consoles. They are writing improved programs and hooking the devices to the Web via tethered cell phones. The group also wants to add memory chips to allow users to... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9166&m=14673 ************************* Obscura demonstrates Minority Report display PC Pro Aug. 5, 2008 ************************* Obscura Digital has released a video of a "multi-touch hologram" technolgy that shows a man interacting with holographic images projected before him, moving them around and resizing them much as you would on Microsoft's Surface. The product is dubbed... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9165&m=14673 ************************* Shape, not just size, impacts effectiveness of emerging nanomedicine therapies PhysOrg.com Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have demonstrated that nanoparticles designed with a specific shape, size and surface chemistry could deliver lower dosages of drugs to specific cells and tissues in the body and be more effective in treating tumors. For instance, the scientists discovered that long, rod-shaped... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9164&m=14673 ************************* Researchers introduce next generation tool for visualizing genomic data PhysOrg.com Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* Researchers at the Broad Institute have developed the Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV), a novel and freely available visualization tool that helps users simultaneously integrate and analyze different types of genomic data, and gives them the flexibility to zoom in on a specific genomic region of interest or to pan out for a broad, whole-genome... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9163&m=14673 ************************* A first in integrated nanowire sensor circuitry PhysOrg.com Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have created the world's first all-integrated sensor circuit based on nanowire arrays, combining light sensors and electronics made of different crystalline materials. Their method can be used to reproduce numerous... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9162&m=14673 ************************* Invention: Exoskeleton for grannies New Scientist news service Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* Yoshiyuki Sankai at the University of Tsukuba has developed an exoskeleton for a single arm that can improve the strength and utility of aging limbs. The device consists of a tabard worn over the shoulders with a motorized exoskeleton for one arm attached. The exoskeleton senses the angle, torque and nerve impulses in the arm and then... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9161&m=14673 ************************* Screensaver reveals new -*test*-('") for synaesthesia New Scientist news service Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* Caltech scientist Melissa Saenz has found that with certain visual stimuli, from moving dots to flashes of light, people described simple abstract sounds such as tapping, thumping, whirring or whooshing. Synesthesia... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9160&m=14673 ************************* Vitamin C jabs may combat cancer NewScientist news service Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases researchers injected immune-deficient mice with cells from three aggressive human cancers -- ovarian and pancreatic tumors, plus a form of brain cancer called glioblastoma -- and found that vitamin C injections slowed tumour growth by up to 53%. By injecting into the bloodstream,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9159&m=14673 ************************* Better Batteries Charge Up Technology Review Aug. 5, 2008 ************************* EEStor says that it has taken a big step toward high-volume production of an ultracapacitor-based energy-storage system three times the energy density of the top lithium-ion batteries... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9158&m=14673 ************************* Scientist: DNA led agents to anthrax suspect AP August 4, 2008 ************************* The new genome technology that tracked down anthrax suspect and scientist Bruce Ivins was either not available or too expensive to use often until about three years ago. Investigators noticed very subtle differences between the DNA of the strain used in the attacks and in other types of Ames anthrax. The science is known as DNA... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9157&m=14673 ************************* Rumors Abound About 'Potential for Life' on Mars (UPDATE) Wired Science Aug. 3, 2008 ************************* Rumors are flying this weekend that Mars Phoenix has made a major discovery relating to the potential for life on Mars. The White House has been alerted by NASA about plans to make an announcement soon on major new Phoenix lander discoveries concerning the "potential for life" on Mars, scientists told Aviation Week & Space Technology.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9156&m=14673 ************************* Anthrax Case Renews Questions on Bioterror New York Times Aug. 3, 2008 ************************* Has the unprecedented boom in biodefense research made the country less secure by multiplying the places and people with access to dangerous germs? FBI investigators have long speculated that the motive for the attacks, if carried out by a biodefense insider like Dr. Bruce Ivins, might have been to draw public attention to a dire threat,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9155&m=14673 ************************* Is our universe fine-tuned for life? (article preview) New Scientist Tech Aug. 2, 2008 ************************* The idea that certain aspects of our universe make it uniquely suited to life could well be an illusion, suggests Fred Adams of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, pointing out that "no one has done the calculations." So Adams selected a range of possible values for each of three basic constants involved in the formation of stars (the... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9154&m=14673 ************************* Pneumatic robot arranges limbs for MRI 'sweet spot' New Scientist Tech Aug. 1, 2008 ************************* A pneumatic robot that positions patients' limbs inside an MRI scanner allows physicians to exploit a bizarre phenomenon where hard-to-see tendons jump into sharp focus when held at the right angle.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9153&m=14673 ************************* Toyota -*test*-('")s Segway-like stand-up-and-ride machine AP Aug. 1, 2008 ************************* Toyota has developed the "Winglet," a motorized stand-up-and-ride Segway lookalike designed to help people scoot around at malls and airports. The Winglet goes up to 3.7 mph, about the same speed as pedestrians. Toyota envisions a future in which the Winglet will have wireless technology so it relays shopping information at stores. Or it... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9152&m=14673 ************************* The Brigh-*test*-('"), Sharpest, Fas-*test*-('") X-Ray Holograms Yet KurzweilAI.net Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* An international group of scientists has produced two of the brigh-*test*-('"), sharpest x-ray holograms of microscopic objects ever made, thousands of times more efficiently than previous x-ray-holographic methods. The two experiments demonstrate that massively parallel holographic x-ray images with nanometer-scale resolution can be made of... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9151&m=14673 ************************* Microsoft 'degrees of separation' study interpretation challenged KurzweilAI.net Aug. 4, 2008 ************************* In the "largest social network constructed and analyzed to date," Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University researchers investigated on a planetary scale the oft-cited report that people are separated by "six degrees of separation." Based on 30 billion Microsoft Messenger instant-message conversations among 240 million people, the study found... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9150&m=14673 ************************* Automated, Wearable Kidney Offers Continuous Dialysis HealthDay News July 26, 2008 ************************* Researchers at UCLA and Veterans Affairs in Los Angeles have designed an automated wearable artificial kidney (AWAK) that would allow kidney-failure patients to have hemodialysis (remove metabolic waste and regulate fluid levels) without being connected to a stationary machine. The new machine would be bloodless (no blood circulating outside... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9149&m=14673

KurzweilAI newsletter (Pubblicità) ************************* Cheats of Strength: 10 Next-Gen Olympic Doping Methods Wired Aug. 14, 2008 ************************* The future of doping could include manipulating genes to block naturally occurring muscle-growth inhibitors, pills to stimulate red blood cell production, vascular endothelial growth factor to grow new blood vessels, and injecting the beta-endorphin gene into spinal fluid to release painkilling... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9221&m=14673 ************************* Digitizing Old Text and Fighting Spam, Too ScienceNOW Daily News Aug. 12, 2008 ************************* Carnegie Mellon University scientists have developed a program called reCAPTCHA that collects words flagged as unreadable by optical scanners as they digitize texts, sending those words (in the form of OCR scans) to cooperating Web sites and used in place of random CAPTCHAs. The reCAPTCHA system now automatically collects about 4 million... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9220&m=14673 ************************* Hollywood Hair is Captured at Last PhysOrg.com Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* UC San Diego, Adobe, and MIT researchers have developed a new method for accurately capturing the shape and appearance of a person's hairstyle for use in animated films and video games. The left two images demonstrate different aspects of a real hairstyle that the computer scientists captured. The third image from left is the reference... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9219&m=14673 ************************* Self-assembling polymer arrays improve data storage potential PhysOrg.com Aug. 14, 2008 ************************* University of Wisconsin-Madison and Hitachi have achieved higher data-storage density by using self-assembling block copolymers to shrink the size of the pattern manufacturing templates used in disk drives and other data-storage devices, paving the way to smaller electronic devices and higher-capacity hard drives. When added to a... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9218&m=14673 ************************* Making a Solar Cell Component without Using Fossil Fuels ScientificAmerican.com Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* BioSolar is creating new plastic backing for photovoltaic cells out of renewable cotton and castor beans rather than petroleum products, while costing 25 percent less than conventional backsheets, the company... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9217&m=14673 ************************* Turning Waste Material into Ethanol KurzweilAI.net Aug. 15, 2008 ************************* Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University are combining gasification with high-tech nanoscale porous catalysts to create ethanol from a wide range of biomass, including distiller's grain left over from ethanol production, corn stover from the field, grass, wood pulp, animal waste, and... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9216&m=14673 ************************* Virtual hand gets under the skin New Scientist Tech Aug. 14, 2008 ************************* Amazingly realistic new animations of the human hand are detailed enough to shed light on the mystery of how the tendons and muscles of the human hand interact when we move, and should help surgeons reconstruct damaged hands more effectively. University of British Columbia animators used anatomical data from medical images to create a physics... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9215&m=14673 ************************* Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California New York Times August 14, 2008 ************************* Two photovoltaic power plants will be built in California with 800 megawatts peak generating capacity -- roughly equal to the size of a large coal-burning power plant or a small nuclear plant, and more than 12 times as much electricity as the largest such plant today, showing that that solar energy is starting to achieve significant scale. In... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9214&m=14673 ************************* Cheap, clean drinking water purified through nanotechnology Nanowerk News Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* Scientists at the University of South Australia have discovered a simple way to remove bacteria and other contaminants from water using tiny particles of pure silica coated with a nanometer-thin layer of active material based on a... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9213&m=14673 ************************* New nanoparticle film up to 1000 times more effective at killing E. coli bacteria Nanowerk News Aug. 14, 2008 ************************* Chemical engineers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have created a plastic film coated with a mix of silver and calcium phosphate nanoparticles that's up to 1000 times more effective at killing E. coli bacteria cells than conventional methods.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9212&m=14673 ************************* Networks of the Future: Extending Our Senses into the Physical World PhysOrg.com Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* Los Alamos National Laboratory computer scientist Sami Ayyorgun has developed a new communication scheme for wireless sensor networks with improved connectivity, energy, delay, throughput, system longevity, coverage, and security. Wireless sensor networks depend on small, independently powered multihop sensor "motes" to communicate.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9211&m=14673 ************************* Scientists to study synthetic telepathy PhysOrg.com Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* A team of UC Irvine scientists has been awarded a $4 million grant from the U.S. Army Research Office to study the neuroscientific and signal-processing foundations of "synthetic telepathy." The brain-computer interface would use a noninvasive brain imaging technology like electroencephalography to let people communicate thoughts to each other.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9210&m=14673 ************************* Cooking and Cognition: How Humans Got So Smart Live Science Aug. 11, 2008 ************************* A spurt in human intelligence about 150,000 years ago was caused by eating (mostly) cooked meals, which would have lessened the energy needs of our digestion systems, thereby freeing up calories for our brains, says researcher Philipp Khaitovich of the Partner Institute for Computational Biology in Shanghai. But some of our most common mental... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9209&m=14673 ************************* 'Slow' light to speed up the net BBC News Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* A huge increase in the speed of the Internet could be produced by using metamaterials to replace the bulky and slow electronics that do the routing of information carried on fiber cables, say researchers at University of California, Berkeley and the University of Oxford. Metamaterials could be used to temporarily store light signals, with... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9208&m=14673 ************************* More-Efficient Solar Cells Technology Review Aug. 14, 2008 ************************* Day4 Energy has found a way to cut the cost of solar power by 25 percent, using a new electrode that, together with a redesigned solar-cell structure, allows solar panels to absorb more light and operate at a higher voltage. The company estimates the cost per watt of solar power would be about $3, compared with $4 for conventional solar cells.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9207&m=14673 ************************* Spin flip trick points to fas-*test*-('") RAM yet New Scientist Tech Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* Researchers in Germany have built a Magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) system that is 10 times faster than existing MRAM systems. MRAM is a faster and more energy efficient version of the RAM used in computers today, and hardware companies think it will in a few years dominate the... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9206&m=14673 ************************* Quantum strangeness breaks the light barrier New Scientist Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* University of Geneva scientists sent pairs of entangled photons to labs 18 kilometers apart, showing that if superluminal signals are responsible for entanglement, they must travel at more than 10,000 times the speed of... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9205&m=14673 ************************* Rise of the rat-brained robots New Scientist Tech Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* Researchers at the University of Reading, Georgia Tech, and elsewhere are experimenting with "animats" created by culturing rat neurons in a vat and plugging them into simulations and robots. By stimulating the neurons with signals from sensors on the robot and using the neurons' response to get the robots to respond, they hope to gain insights... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9204&m=14673 ************************* Let the Games Be Doped New York Times Aug. 11, 2008 ************************* The "natural" myth is still alive in Beijing, but it's becoming so far-fetched -- and potentially dangerous -- that some scientists and ethicists would like to abandon it, arguing that legalizing doping would encourage more sensible, informed use of drugs in amateur sport and lead to an overall decline in the rate of health problems associated... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9203&m=14673 ************************* US boasts of laser weapon's 'plausible deniability' New Scientist Tech Aug. 12, 2008 ************************* The US Air Force Research Laboratory's Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) weapon, dubbed the "long-range blowtorch," can deliver the heat of a blowtorch with a range of up to 20 kilometers, so the aircraft carrying it might not be seen, especially at night. The 5.5-ton ATL combines chlorine and hydrogen peroxide molecules to release energy, which... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9202&m=14673 ************************* First All-Nanowire Sensor Technology Review Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have created the first integrated circuit that uses nanowires as both sensors and electronic components. With a simple printing technique, the group was able to fabricate large arrays of uniform circuits, which could serve as image sensors. The printing method could also allow nanowires... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9201&m=14673 ************************* 2028 vision for mechanical engineering: bio- and nanotechnology will dominate Nanowerk News Aug. 12, 2008 ************************* Nanotechnology and biotechnology will dominate technological development in the next 20 years and will be incorporated into all aspects of technology that affect lives on a daily basis, says an American Society of Mechanical Engineers report, "2028 Vision for Mechanical Engineering."... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9200&m=14673 ************************* Carbon nanotube rubber could provide e-skin for robots Nanowerk News Aug. 12, 2008 ************************* University of Tokyo researchers have developed a stretchable conductive material that combines the properties of metal and rubber. The material is made by grinding carbon nanotubes with an ionic liquid and adding it to rubber. It could be made into large rollable sheets and mounted on curved surfaces. Possible uses include elastic... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9199&m=14673 ************************* Stem Cell Lines Mark Birth of New Field ScienceNOW Daily News Aug. 7, 2008 ************************* Researchers at Harvard used cells from adults with genetic diseases to make nine stem cell lines (induced pluripotent stem, or iPS cells) capable of being turned into any type of cell or tissue) that have the genes for those diseases. These disease-specific cell lines (including Down syndrome, Type 1 diabetes, and Parkinson's disease) provide a... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9198&m=14673 ************************* Insufficient vitamin D linked to chronic pain, increased risk of death KurzweilAI.net Aug. 13, 2008 ************************* Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to chronic pain in women, and increased risk of death for all people. Researchers at Johns Hopkins analyzed a diverse sample of 13,000 people and found a 26% increased risk of death for participants in the lowest quartile of vitamin D levels. This is consistent with other studies that have linked low... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9197&m=14673 ************************* Running 'can slow aging process' BBC News Aug. 11, 2008 ************************* Stanford University Medical Center researchers have found that running on a regular basis can slow the effects of aging for elderly joggers. The runners were half as likely to die prematurely from conditions like cancer than non-runners, and enjoyed a healthier life with fewer disabilities and delayed onset of disability. The researchers... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9196&m=14673 ************************* Bringing Invisibility Cloaks Closer Technology Review Aug.12, 2008 ************************* Science and Nature posted papers on the new UC Berkeley metamaterials on Monday, revealing details of the research. However, it will require significant engineering developments before the new materials can be used for practical cloaking. A new fishnet metamaterial that can bend near-infrared light (Jason Valentine et al.) Meanwhile,... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9195&m=14673 ************************* RNAi Drug for Cholesterol Technology Review Aug.12, 2008 ************************* Scientists at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals have found that a single dose of a new drug using RNAi lowers cholesterol up to 60 percent in rodents and monkeys. The drug might one day provide another option for patients who are resistant to existing cholesterol-lowering drugs due to genetic factors, or it might also be used in combination with... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9194&m=14673 ************************* Canon Fuel Cell DSLR Update Photography Bay Aug.10, 2008 ************************* Canon has filed a patent application claiming a method for powering a digital SLR camera and external components, such as lenses and hotshoe... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9193&m=14673 ************************* How to turn gas guzzlers into green machines New Scientist Environment Aug.11, 2008 ************************* US citizens could save up to half of 140 billion gallons of gasoline they use each year, by driving around in lightweight hybrid vehicles, say MIT scientists. Hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars (with batteries that can be topped up from the grid) offer the grea-*test*-('") potential to replace gasoline in the next 15 to 30 years, they... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9192&m=14673 ************************* Lab-grown tendons gradually fade to bone New Scientist Tech Aug. 11, 2009 ************************* Georgia Institute of Technology bioengineers have demonstrated a way to grow tendons that gradually "fade" to bone at one end, strengthening the ends of the attachment The technique uses a gene that triggers the fibroblast cells that make up tendons to start forming bone. It should lead to more lifelike artificially-grown tendons, and better... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9191&m=14673 ************************* Handle With Care New York Times Aug. 11, 2009 ************************* A growing number of experts say it is time for a broad discussion of environmental effects of emerging geoengineering projects. Examples of such projects include "fertilizing" parts of the ocean with iron, in hopes of encouraging carbon-absorbing blooms of plankton; and injecting chemicals into the atmosphere, launching sun-reflecting mirrors... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9190&m=14673 ************************* A Plastic That Chills Technology Review Aug.11, 2008 ************************* Thin films of a new polymer developed at Penn State change temperature in response to changing electric fields (the electrocaloric effect). This could lead to new technologies for cooling computer chips and environmentally friendly refrigerators.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9189&m=14673 ************************* Robots learn to move themselves BBC News Aug. 6, 2008 ************************* Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences have demonstrated software for robots that allows them to "learn" to move through trial and error, using an artificial neural network. Simulated human learned to do back... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9188&m=14673 ************************* Practical Cloaking Devices On The Horizon? PhysOrg.com Aug. 10, 2008 ************************* University of California, Berkeley scientists have created a multilayered, "fishnet" metamaterial that unambiguously exhibits negative refractive index, allowing for invisibility in three dimensions for the first time, Nature magazine plans to report this week.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9187&m=14673 ************************* First Solar: Quest for the $1 Watt IEEE Spectrum August 2008 ************************* First Solar's solar cells will likely meet typical grid-parity prices ($1/Watt) for the off-peak market in developed countries in just two to four years, analysts say. Its product has three massive cost benefits: its ­active element is just a hundredth the thickness of silicon; it is built on a glass substrate, which enables the... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9186&m=14673 ************************* How recycling could keep your organs young NewScientist.com news service Aug.10, 2008 ************************* Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have prevented the livers of mice from aging by engineering mice in which the cellular cleaning machinery is stopped from breaking down, thus blocking buildup of damaged proteins. They developed mice with an extra copy of the gene that codes for a receptor protein that... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9185&m=14673 ************************* Six-legged robot spider does the limbo EE Times Aug. 7, 2008 ************************* A six-legged autonomous robotic spider jointly developed by Nanyang Polytechnic of Singapore, Schmid Engineering AG and Analog Devices has been designed to support rescue operations. The robot's highly mobile walking scheme design consists of six independent legs that move the robot, even across rough terrain. Walking and rotating are among the... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9184&m=14673 ************************* Researchers Halt Spread Of HIV With RNAi In Animal Model ScienceDaily Aug. 8, 2008 ************************* Researchers at Harvard Medical School-affiliated Immune Disease Institute have used RNA interference (RNAi) to dramatically suppress HIV infection in an organism (in this study, mice). Using an attached antibody molecule. the scientists delivered short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) -- molecules that silence genes by disrupting the protein... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9183&m=14673 ************************* A Bridge between Virtual Worlds Technology Review Aug.11, 2008 ************************* The first steps in developing virtual-world interoperability are now being -*test*-('")ed between Second Life and other independent virtual worlds, with the launch of Linden Lab's Open Grid Beta.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9182&m=14673 ************************* Google Translate now sports iPhone version Macworld Aug. 8, 2008 ************************* Google has created an iPhone/iPod Touch-specific version of its Google Translate website, allowing for bi-directional translation between more than 20 different languages, among them Chinese, French, Swedish, and German.... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9181&m=14673 ************************* $3 million grant awarded to build 'digital matter' KurzweilAI.net Aug.10, 2008 ************************* Research in diamond mechanosynthesis (DMS) -- building diamond nanostructures atom by atom using scanning probe microscopy -- just received a major boost with a $3 million grant from the U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, awarded to Professor Philip Moriarty at the University of Nottingham for a "Digital Matter" project, the... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=9180&m=14673 <------Related Company Message------------> Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, M.D. designed a science-based wellness program that can easily be customized for any individual's personal needs and goals. Their line of research-based natural supplements helps you pursue a long and healthy life. For details, see http://www.RayandTerry.com http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/adRedirect.php?id=26&m=14673

tl;dr