universityofleicester
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Mars' veins were created by vanishing ancient lakes
Scientists just produced stronger evidence that Mars once had water lakes that might have nurtured life. After combing over Curiosity rover data, the researchers determined that veins in places like the planet's Gale Crater were likely created by evaporating lakes whose sediments were buried, heated and corroded. The discoveries also suggest that the water in these areas would have been habitable, if not exactly pleasant to drink -- it would have had about 20 times more sodium and sulphate than your bottled water back on Earth. There were likely "multiple generations" of water, NASA adds.
New radio wave technique could detect alien planets, receive interstellar tunes
Any experienced planet hunter will tell you: finding exoplanets is the real challenge, where hardened professionals go to test their mettle. These tricky bodies stymie conventional methods – like seeing a planet pass in front of its parent star – because exoplanets often have decades-long orbits, meaning you could spend a lot of lonely nights fruitlessly searching the skies. So scientists at the University of Leicester in England developed a new approach: looking for radio waves emitted when ultraviolet flares light up the atmospheres of planets like Saturn and Jupiter. The flares – auroras – even if invisible to ordinary telescopes, are detectable by radio telescopes like the European Low Frequency Array (or LOFAR, pictured above). The scientists hope those methods will help them discover planetary systems up to 150 light-years away, perhaps even some that can sustain life. And, of course, keep them one step ahead of Richard Branson. [Image credit: LOFAR / ASTRON]
Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar robots that fly, CO2 fabric dye, and the dark silicon that boosts battery life
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Solar power blazed a trail this week as we took a look at several hot new technologies, starting with SkyFuel's SkyTrough, which is being billed as the world's most efficient solar collector. We also saw solar energy take to the skies as designers unveiled plans for a fleet of high-flying solar robots, and we were surprised to learn that common household dyes could significantly increase the efficiency of photovoltaic panels by optimizing their color absorption spectrum. Speaking of dye, from the realm of wearable tech we also brought you a breakthrough new technique for dying fabric that saves water by utilizing fluid CO2. We also saw a prototype for a wired "safe cuddling" suit for kids that wards off improper touching by sounding an alarm, and if you're a fan of high-tech footwear, check out these tricked-out kicks that do double duty as Wii controllers. This week also saw a tremendous green boost for bits and bytes as the University of Leicester switched on its hyper-efficient ALICE supercomputer, which is ten times more powerful than its predecessor and stands to reduce yearly CO2 emissions by 800 tons. Meanwhile, researchers at UC San Diego revealed work on a new mobile phone chip that harnesses "dark silicon" to boost smartphone battery life by a factor of eleven. We also showcased several efficient autos as Southern California rolled out a fleet of all electric buses that can recharge in 10 minutes flat, and the hyper-miling Avion car embarked on a trip from Canada to Mexico with just 14 gallons of gas. And if you'll be doing some traveling of your own back to school this fall, you wont want to miss this chance to pick up an awesome solar-powered Sakku satchel. Finally, with Labor Day on its way why not upgrade your BBQ with an adorable altoids tin mini grill - it's curiously awesome!
Researcher claims to read thoughts from neuronal activity
Mind reading developments seem to pop up every so often, but this particular case is somewhat extraordinary. How so? Probably because a University of Leicester researcher has outright proclaimed that his team "can read human thoughts from neuronal activity." Reportedly, Dr. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga and colleagues were able to optimize a decoding algorithm and use it to "infer the stimulus from the neuronal firing," and during tests in which patients were presented with a vast database of images, the team was seemingly able to "predict what picture the subject was seeing far above chance." Beyond giving sci-fi drama creators a bit more to work with, the technology could also be used to transmit thoughts to bionic appendages in order for paralyzed individuals to better care for themselves. Still, there's quite a few ethical / clinical issues that would have to be worked out before this stuff ventured beyond the lab, but we definitely can't argue with the premise.[Via Physorg, image courtesy of University of Leicester]
