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Molecular spiders can cut grass, fight one another, and save lives?
If you've read Engadget for any period of time, you know that we love robots. What do we love more than ordinary robots? Spider robots. But what do we love even more than spider robots? There's only one obvious answer: molecular robot-like spiders. The BBC has just reported on such research from Columbia University by Dr. Milan Stojanovic, a professor of biochemistry. Dr. Stojanovic and his team have built what they call a "molecular spider" that has four legs, each of which are made up of 10nm strands of DNA. The spider, once let loose in a solution of molecular-sized grass, acts as a miniature lawnmower when it releases an enzyme catalyst that cuts the tiny blades. But Dr. Stojanovic isn't stopping there -- he says that he plans to build a microscopic arena for dueling spiders to go at it: "We could have a simple predator-prey system in which one of them would try to cleave the legs of the other." However, the Beeb had to go and get a practical answer from him, explaining that "insulin could be steadily released from the surface of a tablet: if the spiders were sensitive to blood glucose, they could be automatically activated or halted according to the diabetic patient's immediate needs." That's useful, but BOR-ING! Dr. Stojanovic, let us know when we can start betting on molecular spider gladiator fights, ok?[Thanks, Chris W., illustration courtesy of the BBC]
Computer-brain interface device will speed up video footage review
No matter how many spy cams and unmanned surveillance drones government and law enforcement officials can pack into public spaces, their utility has traditionally been limited by the finite amount of footage human monitors can review in a given time frame. New DARPA-sponsored research out of Columbia University, however, may soon allow folks tasked with keeping an eye on video feeds to perform their jobs up to ten times faster -- by leveraging the rapid image processing abilities of cortical vision. Since people are able to recognize suspicious activity much more quickly than they can consciously identify what's wrong, professor Paul Sajda and his team developed a computer-brain interface device -- similar to ones we've seen control an on-screen cursor and bionic limb -- that monitors an operator's neural output while he/she is watching streaming footage, and tags specific images for later perusal. Once the technology is perfected in the coming months (it still emits too many false positives, apparently), it could allow for more thinly-staffed monitoring departments, though we suspect it will probably just convince officials to deploy more and more cameras.
