UniversityofNewMexico
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ICYMI: Google's so much closer to delivery by drone
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google's Project Wing is about to take off now that the US Government signed off on the company testing drone delivery within the country; perfect timing for Google's commercial launch of the service sometime in 2017. Physicists from the University of New Mexico created a laser that can cool a crystal down to negative 296 degrees Fahrenheit, which could be useful for infrared detectors on satellites or to detect skin cancer. In case you didn't see Instagram's video launching its new story function, you should see it just to sound informed when your friends talk about whether the company blatantly stole from Snapchat. Then wash that all down with YouTuber Eric Mouellic's video showing how close he came to a huge fin whale. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Salons of the future: New hair coloring technique etches patterns in your hair
Changing your hair color is easy enough: you can dye it, bleach it or rub some hair chalk on it. If you ask a research team from The University of New Mexico, though, they'll tell you that to get any hair color that remains as vivid as the day you applied, you need to etch your hair strands with nanopatterns. These scientists used focused ion beam in the lab to etch gratings on each hair strand that reflect light to show a specific color. They found that the technique works best for brown hair, but they've also successfully tested it on black and blonde hair. While the researchers have only been able to successfully etch nanopatterns in a lab setting (the image above is just a mock-up that comes with the university's blog post), they believe that in the future, people could use a flatiron with interchangeable paddles to color their locks. Since that might sound scary for some people (hey, you're permanently damaging your mane until it grows out, after all), the researchers suggest developing conditioner that coats each strand with polymers that mimic those gratings, so you can wash the color out afterward.
Robot targeting-intercepting system inspired by Marco Polo pool game
Engineers from Duke University and the University of New Mexico have just published the results of their most recent robotic escapades in the Journal on Control and Optimization. Silvia Ferrari and Rafael Fierro, leaders of the project, say that by applying the basic principles of the children's swimming game "Marco Polo" they have been able to advance robot's ability to both detect and intercept moving targets. By equipping robots with multiple types of camera sensors camera sensors which provide coverage of all the cells within the space the robot is able to more accurately predict where the moving target is at any given moment. The team sees all types of possible applications for robots equipped with the setup, but there's no real word on when we'll see any real life applications. [Via Gizmag]
Meet MAYA-II, the new DNA computer that can play Tic-Tac-Toe
While strands of DNA may be able to pick fights with other strands, one thing that they can't do yet is play computer games -- that is, until now. In what appears to be an early proof-of-concept for DNA computing, scientists at Columbia University and the University of New Mexico have created a basic computer, called the MAYA-II, which has a molecular array of YES and AND logic gates made up of 100 DNA circuits. This allows the MAYA-II to play a complete game of Tic-Tac-Toe against a human opponent, and apparently nearly always win. However, this isn't exactly a fair test, given that the MAYA-II always goes first, and always opens with the center square. Still, even though each move takes 30 minutes to complete, the lead researcher on the project, Dr. Joanna Macdonald of Columbia, says that a DNA computer would be perfect for injection into human subjects to combat disease, because in theory, it would be able to "diagnose and kill cancerous cells or monitor and treat diabetes by dispensing insulin when needed." Useful applications aside, we're ready to take on the MAYA-II in Connect Four whenever Dr. Macdonald thinks it's ready.[Via MedGadget]
