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Researchers measure 3D objects using just a camera and projector, can tell if you've ironed your shirt (video)
For years the projector and camera have served us well, performing their respective tasks. Now, researchers at Japan's Advanced Industrial Science and Technology institute are using them together to measure 3D objects. By projecting a special pattern onto the subject and then using the camera to "read" the amount of distortion in the image, a three-dimensional model can be constructed. This thing is accurate, too, with precision down to 1 - 2mm which means it can measure wrinkles in clothes, or even details in hands. The technology can even be scaled to work with microscopes. The creators say that it could be used in video games (much like Kinect), and even for tracking athletes' movements thanks to its ability to capture fast-moving images -- something existing systems can struggle with. Jump past the break to see the tech in action.
IBM creates consistent electron spin inside semiconductors, takes spintronics one twirl closer
A fundamental challenge of developing spintronics, or computing where the rotation of electrons carries instructions and other data rather than the charge, has been getting the electrons to spin for long enough to shuttle data to its destination in the first place. IBM and ETH Zurich claim to be the first achieving that feat by getting the electrons to dance to the same tune. Basing a semiconductor material on gallium arsenide and bringing the temperature to an extremely low -387F, the research duo have created a persistent spin helix that keeps the spin going for the 1.1 nanoseconds it would take a normal 1GHz processor to run through its full cycle, or 30 times longer than before. As impressive as it can be to stretch atomic physics that far, just remember that the theory is some distance from practice: unless you're really keen on running a computer at temperatures just a few hops away from absolute zero, there's work to be done on producing transistors (let alone processors) that safely run in the climate of the family den. Assuming that's within the realm of possibility, though, we could eventually see computers that wring much more performance per watt out of one of the most basic elements of nature.
Armchair Darwinians discover new insect species on Flickr
Entomologist Shaun Winterton has discovered a new species of Malaysian Lacewing from the comfort of his computer. Idly browsing Flickr, he came across Guek "Kurt" Hock Ping's snap of an insect taken while hiking in the Malaysian jungle, which bore an unfamiliar black-and-blue pattern along its wings. When his colleagues couldn't identify the markings, he realized he was staring at a new species and hurriedly emailed the photographer -- who, a year later, had captured one of the elusive creatures. Sent to Simon Brooks at the Natural History Museum, the suspicion was confirmed. The armchair explorer named it Semachrysa jade after his daughter and promptly used Google Docs to co-author the paper with Guek and Brooks on opposite ends of the world. If your mom complains that you're spending too much time on your computer, you can tell her you're searching for strange life-forms and old civilizations with a straight face. [Image Credit: Guek "Kurt" Hock Ping, Flickr]
Amateur archaeologist finds possible pyramids using Google Earth
While most Google Earth hobbyists are satisfied with a bit of snapping and geotagging, some have far loftier ambitions. Satellite archaeologist Angela Micol thinks she's discovered the locations of some of Egypt's lost pyramids, buried for centuries under the earth, including a three-in-a-line arrangement similar to those on the Giza Plateau. Egyptologists have already confirmed that the secret locations are undiscovered, so now it's down to scientists in the field to determine if it's worth calling the diggers in.
Chemical sensors could detect plants' cries for help, reduce need for pesticides
It's a terrifying thought, but science suggests that when under attack, plants cry for help. Invisible and, often odorless, green leaf volatiles emitted from vegetation act as a defense mechanism, communicating to other foliage that danger is near. One researcher at the University of Georgia, however, is developing a chemical sensor to use these distraught emissions for good. Working in a similar fashion detecting glucose in the blood, the sensor would be able to alert farmers to when crops are under attack from pests, allowing them to trigger defenses reactively, and in a localized area. The net result being less chemicals on our food, and potentially lower costs for producers. Other suggested uses include helping us keep our produce at home fresher for longer by -- literally -- weeding out bad apples in a bag, before they affect the others. The technology is still being optimized for field use, but a testing device should follow once complete. In the meantime, we'll never feel the same about mowing the lawn again.
NASA's X-48C hybrid wing-body plane completes first test flight
After planting a rover firmly on Mars' surface and testing a new methane-fueled lander, NASA has squeezed in the first test flight of its X-48C hybrid wing-body aircraft. Thanks to its design, which combines those of flying-wing and conventional planes, the X-48 could offer 20 to 30 percent more fuel-efficiency, greater fuel capacity and a quieter ride in its final form than traditional craft. The finished model has a projected range of 11,000 nautical miles and a 240-foot wingspan. As an 8.5 percent scale of the full-sized airplane, the remotely piloted prototype weighs in at 500 pounds with a 20-foot wingspan. During the test, it successfully took to the skies for nine minutes and peaked at an altitude of 5,500 feet -- though it's capable of soaring for 35 minutes and climbing nearly twice as high. Another version of the craft (likely with a human behind the flight stick) is estimated to be at least four years down the road, and the final model isn't expected to arrive for another decade.
Scientists generate 281-gigapixel cell map using electron microscope
Electron microscopes can produce incredibly detailed and even 3D views of sub-cellular structures, but often at the cost of losing the bigger picture. Researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands, however, have leveraged a technique called virtual nanoscopy that enables researchers to observe the whole of a cell and its intricate details in a single image. With the method, the team stitches together nanometer resolution photographs of what's gone under the scope to create a map with adjustable zoom a la Google Maps. Their study created a 281-gigapixel image (packed with 16 million pixels per inch) of a 1.5-millimeter-long zebrafish embryo. If you'd like to take a gander at the ultra-high resolution fish or read up on the group's findings for yourself, check out the source links below.
Radio astronomy pioneer Sir Bernard Lovell dies at 98
Astronomy just lost one of its vanguards, as Sir Bernard Lovell has died at 98. The UK-born scientist was best known as a cornerstone of radio telescope development. While he wasn't the first to leap into the field, he established the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory to study cosmic rays in 1945 and organized the construction of what would ultimately be called the Lovell Telescope -- a radio telescope so large and useful that it's still the third-largest steerable example in the world, 55 years after it was first put into action. His work helped track some of the earliest spacecraft and was instrumental in confirming the first discovered pulsars and quasars. On top of his most conspicuous achievements, Sir Lovell played an important role in developing airborne radar during World War II and was lauded for having scientific curiosity long after he hung up his Jodrell director's hat in 1980. Science will be poorer without him. [Image credit: NASA; thanks, Darren]
Georgia Tech models swimming, cargo-carrying nanobots
The nanobot war is escalating. Not content to let Penn State's nanospiders win the day, Georgia Tech has answered back with a noticeably less creepy blood-swimming robot model of its own, whose look is more that of a fish than any arachnid this time around. It still uses material changes to exert movement -- here exposing hydrogels to electricity, heat, light or magnetism -- but Georgia Tech's method steers the 10-micron trooper to its destination through far more innocuous-sounding flaps. Researchers' goals are still as benign as ever, with the goal either to deliver drugs or to build minuscule structures piece-by-piece. The catch is that rather important mention of a "model" from earlier: Georgia Tech only has a scientifically viable design to work from and needs someone to build it. Should someone step up, there's a world of potential from schools of tiny swimmers targeting exactly what ails us.
NASA's Curiosity captures awe-inspiring shot of Mount Sharp, uploads video of descent upon Mars
NASA's Curiosity rover hasn't even been on Mars a full 24 hours, and already the science world is reaping the benefits. Nerds, too, actually. The shot above is the first high(ish) resolution photo shown to the public from its cameras, depicting a shadow of its top, a peculiar Martian landscape and the three-mile Mount Sharp. Just beyond the break, you'll find video footage of the intense descent onto Mars' surface. It's a low-res stop-motion affair displaying 297 frames as it found its way from space to a foreign land. Trust us -- it's worth the 1:03 time investment.
The role of the Mac at NASA and JPL is shown off by Mars Curiosity mission
My colleague Steve Sande touched on this subject of all the Macs at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in an earlier post, and I've been doing some digging to find out more about all the Mac love at our space agency and its field centers. JPL is managed by Caltech, but it falls under NASA's administrative and funding jurisdiction. I talked to a retired JPL engineer who was using Macs on his desk all the way back to the vintage Macintosh SE. He feels the population of Macs grew when the company started making solid notebooks, like the first MacBook Pro. "People started bringing their own into work, and pretty soon a lot of other people followed. Soon they became almost standard issue at JPL, where they were popular in imaging work, especially creating large mosaics, and when OS X came out there was the added advantage of an OS that was UNIX based." The engineer also cited the Pentium floating point division error in the 1990s as a factor in the Mac's adoption. PowerPC Mac workstations of that era didn't use the Intel microprocessor and were unaffected by the arithmetic flaw in the Pentium CPU; the flaw was so obscure that it took number theory experiments to expose it, but Intel's lackluster initial response didn't sit well with people who might be risking a multimillion-dollar interplanetary probe on the Nth decimal place of a calculation. Jerry Blackmon, who used to do desktop support at the Goddard Space Flight Center, also cited a bring-your-own-device attitude as part of the Mac movement. "The scientists and engineers can request whatever platform they desire, and they mostly pick Macs. And it isn't specifically for stuff that runs in X11 either; they use their Macs for everything and emulate when they need to use a Windows app." NASA even wrote Photoshop plug-ins so images from the Hubble Space Telescope could be opened on both Macs and PCs. The engineer I talked to says Macs now seem to dominate at JPL, and that is clear from the video from the landing of the Mars Curiosity probe last night. I saw a handful of ThinkPads as well, and some iPads scattered around the consoles. Those appeared to be functioning as extra monitors to keep an eye on spacecraft telemetry. When someone tells you "Macs are toys," you might gently remind them that they seem to be pretty popular for the "real work" of helping to bring a $2.6 billion dollar spacecraft 352 million miles down to a precise target. The MSL mission is tasked to explore the geological origins of Mars and perhaps learn if life ever existed there. Macs were always pretty good at the Lunar Lander game in the dim past, but this is something far beyond that. If you're also using your Mac in science and engineering, be sure to let us know why in the comments. [Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS (Malin Space Science Systems)]
Cell-infused 'spray-on-skin' helps leg ulcers heal more quickly
Spray-on medical solutions packed with cells certainly seem to be catching on. A new study published in The Lancet highlights a spray infused with skin cells and blood clotting proteins that helps leg ulcers heal quicker. Normally, the open wounds only undergo a compression bandage treatment and typically heal after six months. Patients who were also spritzed with the cell-imbued solution, however, experienced a rapid decrease in ulcer sizes soon after being treated. Three months into the regimen, 70 percent of those who had the mist applied were healed of the malady. Not only does the new remedy speed up the healing process, but it also avoids the need for a skin graft, another method used to hasten rehabilitation. Cost is a potential concern, but further tests are still needed to determine the therapy's practicality. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
Scientists create first quantum router, but don't throw your 802.11ac out yet
A common vision of the future has us with our feet up, while robots do all the work. Another one sees the end of silicon, with quantum computers doing all the heavy lifting. That second prophecy inches just a smidgen closer with the news of the world's first quantum router. Developed at Tsinghau University in China, the router makes a quantum photon from two separate photons in different polarized states. At this point, things start to get a little, well, mind-bending, as they are wont to do in the quantum world. The net result, however, is one qubit of data being "routed" at a time. While this won't be powering any serious networks anytime soon, the all important proof of concept is there, and we imagine, in a parallel universe simultaneously.
Visualized: Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine erupts in a web of lightning
Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine sounds like it belongs in a James Bond movie more than it does an Alberquerque research facility. Based on what it can do, that's not as far-fetched as it seems. What you see isn't the handiwork of some electric spider -- it's what you witness in the immediate fraction of a second after the Z's electromagnetic pulse kicks in and forks of lightning burst across the 108-foot distance inside. The pulse in question is key to Sandia's studies of fusion and the effect of very intense magnetic pressures on materials that normally refuse to change states. Even in 2006, the Z was putting out pressure more than 10 million times that of the atmosphere, and it successfully melted diamond at roughly half that strength. It goes without saying that we don't want to be anywhere near this kind of energy when scientists flick the switch, but we're glad to see that something so pretty and deadly can help us understand physics. [Image credit: Randy Montoya, Sandia National Laboratories]
Researchers develop cell spray to repair hearts, healthy dose of electricity included
Spray-on solutions have found a place in green technology and even in transmitting radio waves, and they're no strangers to medical research, either. Researchers at the British Heart Foundation are working on a bioelectric spray composed of heart cells to help mend that most vital of organs. Because the cells need to be extremely thin to form a sheet of heart tissue, they are passed through a conductive needle that charges them with up to 30,000 volts. Exposing the cells to an electric field turns the solution into small droplets, which in turn form the cardiac sheet. The scientists can also add other types of cells to create "three-dimensional" tissue, which can be grafted onto injured hearts or sprayed onto scar tissue to help patients' tickers pump more strongly. As is so often the case, the next step will be testing the technology on animals, and the project's ultimate goal is to use this spray-on solution rather than making patients wait for donor hearts.
Theory of cliodynamics uses science to predict history, sees violence erupt in cycles
Ever get the feeling that you've seen it all before? University of Connecticut researcher Peter Turchin has, and he (along with Russian partners Sergey Nefedov and Andrey Korotayev) has even crafted an entire scientific theory around the idea. Cliodynamics, as it's called, works on the view that broad trends of history occur in predictable patterns based on common factors like government strength, population size and social inequality. The surprise to Turchin is that violence outside of wars, at least in the US, triggers roughly every 50 years like clockwork: people rebel against a social crisis, but their children stay out of the fray and lead to the conditions that ultimately trigger another outbreak, like the 1970s civil rights and peace movements. Don't set your watch to cliodynamics just yet. Many historians are still skeptical, and even supporters note that one-off events or major wars fall through the cracks. If the theory pans out, however, science could be used to help governments do the right thing before they're made to do it at gunpoint. [Image credit: Steve Wilson, Flickr]
China's new liquid oxygen and kerosene-fueled rocket engine lights up for testing
Liquid oxygen and kerosene, that's what fuels China's new -- and freshly tested -- rocket engine. When fired up on Sunday, it withstood temperatures as high as 5,432 degrees Fahrenheit (3,000 degrees Celsius) for 200 seconds and powered through almost 20,000 revolutions per minute in a rotational test. "The successful tests confirm the reliability of China's LOX / kerosene engine," test commander Lai Daichu told China Daily. According to China Central Television, the engine is non-toxic, pollution-free and the first of its kind for which China holds proprietary intellectual property rights -- though similar engines have been used by other space agencies. The engine is on track to lend the upcoming Long March 5 rocket a total of 118 tons of thrust, giving it enough oomph to launch a 25-ton payload into low-earth orbit or 14-ton cargo into geostationary orbit. Its expected to haul additional portions of the country's space station and aid lunar exploration, but the first voyage isn't slated until 2014. [Image Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation]
X-RHex Lite robot grows a tail, always lands on its feet (video)
By far the greatest challenge for robots with legs is staying upright when the going gets rough. A team at the University of Pennsylvania's Kod*lab has a hunch that we don't need extra smarts to make that happen -- just an extra appendage. The upgraded X-RHex Lite (XRL) carries a tail that will swing in the right direction to keep the robot upright if it's caught out by a fall, much like a cat. That's impressive for a nearly 18-pound robot (the previous Tailbot was 0.4 pounds), but we're pretty sure no feline has six springy legs; the XRL can crash to the ground and still get back up like it ain't no thing, which gives it a fudge factor others don't have. We don't know if the hexapod critter will lead to more than further experiments. If there are fewer stuck rovers on future exploration missions, though, we'll know who to thank.
Researchers prove your grandmother right, modern music is louder and all the same
Are your elders always complaining about loud and monotonous music? Or perhaps you've started to feel similar sentiments? The Artificial Intelligence Research Institute in Barcelona says it's not just a matter of opinion. The team analyzed data on loudness, pitch and timbre from just under half a million tracks spanning 55 years, finding the average volume of recordings has increased in that time -- said to be the doing of record labels so songs stand out amongst other radio noise. But, they report that little has changed in the actual music, and whilst there are obviously differences in composition, most melodies are created from just ten popular chords. Variations in timbre, or tone quality, have also dipped since the 1960s, which the team attributes to the experimentation of shredders from that era. Creativity in music is obviously still abundant and it's important to point out only Western pop music was included in the analysis, but Gran was never really into the progressive stuff anyway.
Alt-week 7.28.12: social mathematics, Pluto's moons and humans-on-a-chip
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. It's a beautiful world we live in. And, while the sweet and romantic part is debatable, strange and fantastic is not. Our universe is one populated by non-planetary celestial bodies with their own non-planetary satellites, high school social hierarchies based on predictable mathematical formulas and military-funded "gut-on-a-chips." It's a weird place filled with weird stories, and we just can't get enough of it. So, what has the last seven days brought us from the fringes of science and tech? Keep reading after the break to find out. This is alt-week.
