mold
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Chernobyl mold could shield astronauts from deep-space radiation
One of the biggest dangers of interplanetary travel is radiation exposure. In a single round trip to Mars, for instance, you may absorb 60 percent of the maximum recommend lifetime dosage. One surprising solution may be mold, according to researchers from Stanford and North Carolina universities. They discovered that fungus thriving in the nuclear fallout of Chernobyl blocked radiation on the international space station (ISS), and could be adapted for trips to the Moon and Mars.
Slime molds could hold key to new kinds of intelligence, help Statue of Liberty walk
See that yellow amoeboid slime mold? It's up to something. A team of Japanese scientists at Future University Hakodate led by professor Toshiyuki Nakagaki has found evidence that physarum polycephalum -- or grape-cluster slime -- are capable of navigating mazes and can organize their cells to find the most direct route. Nakagaki and others believe this could be the key to designing bio-computers capable of solving complex problems. According to Nakagaki, the slime's cells appear to have a kind of information-processing ability that allows them to "optimize" the route along which the mold grows to reach food while avoiding stresses -- like light -- that may damage them. Over at Kyushu University, researcher Atsushi Tero told the AFP news agency: "Computers are not so good at analysing the best routes that connect many base points because the volume of calculations becomes too large for them. But slime molds, without calculating all the possible options, can flow over areas in an impromptu manner and gradually find the best routes." Tero and other researchers have expressed hope that slime mold networks could be used in future designs of new transportation systems, electric transmission lines and understanding the human nervous system. Just remember, if you're going to coat the interior of the Statue of Liberty with some pink slime you found in the sewer, make sure you play some upbeat music to go along with it. It's just a good idea in the long run.
Sculpted Eers fills ears with silicon, molds custom-molded headphones in four minutes flat (ears-on)
We've actually seen custom fit headphones before, but we figured something cheaper would rise up in the future. Here at CES, we stumbled upon what Sonomax is calling Sculpted Eers. Starting at $199, this one-time-use, do-it-yourself molding kit will create custom fit in-ear headphones -- and the best part, it only takes four minutes. We actually got the chance to get a pair of our own molded for us. Head past the break for some hands, er, ears-on video action! %Gallery-112769%
English scientists set out to build first biological robot using mold
Researchers at the University of the West of England have snagged a grant to fund the building of a whole new type of robot -- a non-silicon, biological plasmobot, built using plasmodium, a vegetative type of slime mold. The mold, which is commonly found living in forests and gardens, is, according to researcher Andy Adamatzky, a "naturally occurring substance with its own built in intelligence," which is capable of carrying out complex tasks, like figuring out the shortest path between two points -- all on its own. The aim for the plasmobot will be for it to sense objects, span them in the shortest way possible, and carry tiny objects along pre-determined routes, controlled by light and electromagnetic fields. The plasmobot should also be capable of complex "number crunching power," enabled by parallel inputs and outputs. Long-term uses could include using the bots within the human body to deliver drugs to specific targets. Though much of this is still purely theoretical (and extremely complicated), we look forward to the day when we're all covered in mold, don't you?
3G iPhone case molds leaked in pre-WWDC hysteria?
The spy shots just get weirder and weirder in the breathless run-up to the presumed WWDC 3G iPhone launch. In fact, this is the first time we can recall seeing case molds -- in this instance, from Griffin -- leaked prior to an announcement. Nevertheless, that's exactly what iDeals China Insider claims they possess. While consistent with the XSKN case, specs, and other leaks we've already seen, it's proof of nothing except a lot of self-perpetuating nonsense. Check the 3D images purportedly used to make the silicon molds after the break.[Thanks Cal]
Today's one-to-one-scale video: Fan-made Halo helmet
We looked for something unrelated to Halo for our video pick, but eventually just learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. This Spike TV GameHead clip shows Halo fan, Devin White's rough process in creating Master Chief armor. (We'd call it cosplay, but that's like calling G.I. Joe a doll.) White casts molds from his clay sculptures to create plastic, glistening armor and helmets.The race is on to hollow-out the Legendary box into a small, pet-wearable helmet. Watch this fan build a human-wearable one from scratch after the break.
