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ICYMI: Smart sweat detector, AI for gaming and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-261450{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-261450, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-261450{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-261450").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Berkeley researchers developed a wearable sensor that can track the chemicals inside your sweat. The idea is that it can help identify dehydration, muscle fatigue and stress, though it could also help spot disease flare-ups for the diabetic.
The BBC wants to right Hollywood's 'Golden Compass' wrongs
The Golden Compass was a critical flop, but thankfully Philip Pullman's epic trilogy of fantasy books, His Dark Materials, is being given another shot on TV. The BBC has commissioned an eight-part series based on the complete works, which will be made in Wales by Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema. The story begins with Lyra, an orphan that lives in a parallel world and finds herself swept up in a mystery surrounding strange "Dust" particles. She eventually encounters Will, a boy from our world, and the pair go on an epic adventure spanning countless cities and creatures. A TV mini-series should give the producers more space to explore the characters and their relationships. One concern, however, is the budget -- aside from Doctor Who, the BBC hasn't delivered many fantasy TV shows on the level of, say, Game of Thrones. His Dark Materials covers a dizzying number of worlds that, without the proper funding, could be rather tricky to pull off.
Project Aether films northern lights at 100,000 feet using a GoPro camera on a balloon (video)
Sadly we can't all be spacemen. Commercial travel beyond the atmosphere is getting closer but still priced way, way, way beyond the budgetary constraints of mere human beings. The closest many of us will get to outer space is photography and, thanks to ever-cheaper and ever-more-durable cameras, getting those pictures is easier than ever. We recently visited Project Aether on location in Fairbanks Alaska, a group working to study what happens in the upper atmosphere and, along the way, inspire students around the world. Using a helium-filled weather balloon and a payload made of carbon fiber tubing, the team lofted a set of GoPro HD Hero 2 cameras, one of which captured photos of the green aurora borealis and, off to the side, the lingering the glow from a long-set sun. That black arc below? That's the earth. We'll have much, much more to come on Project Aether in an upcoming Distro feature, but for now, enjoy the video below -- and keep your head in the clouds.
