If the phrase “I solemnly swear I’m up to no good” means anything to you, you’ll be happy to know that scientists have come one step closer to a Potter-style “invisibility cloak” so you can use your Marauder’s Map to the fullest. With the help of carbon nanotubes, researchers have been able to make objects seem to magically vanish by using the same principle that causes mirages. As anyone who’s been especially parched along Route 66 knows, optical illusions occur when heat changes the air’s temperature and density, something that forces light to “bend,” making us see all sorts of crazy things. Apply the same theory under water using nanotubes — one molecule carbon coils with super high heat conductivity — and scientists can make a sheet of the stuff “disappear.” Remember, it only works underwater, so get your gillyweed ready and check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Invisibility cloak made of carbon nanotubes uses ‘mirage effect’ to disappear

Invisibility cloak made of carbon nanotubes uses ‘mirage effect’ to disappear originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a small victory for gamers and TV junkies everywhere, scientists found that viewing 2D images helped create long-term memories, meaning that visual media can help your learn. To form lasting memories, nerve cells normally experience “long-term potentiation” and “long-term depression” — both essential for learning. Researchers found that long-term depression was achieved when they let rats actively wander around a new environment. When they replaced the explorable area with a computer screen, the same memory-making phenomenon still occurred. The study’s conclusion? Video games and TV shows can help us learn, similarly to traditional non-electronic methods. Of course, there are concerns that visual media overload could lead to shorter attention spans, interfere with lessons taught at school and… oh look! A cat! Check out the full findings by hitting the source link below.

Scientists prove that active exploration isn’t required to create memories, +1 for 2D learning originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 04:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Instead of lugging a heavy microscope into the field, doctors and nurses in remote regions may have a more portable choice — a lightweight microscope that replaces lenses with holograms. Researchers at UCLA announced a prototype dual-mode microscope that’s lightweight, costs between $50 and $100 to produce and is similar in size to a banana. Like a hologram that uses interfering rays to create an image, this device shines light on a sample where its sensor chip (apparently also found in iPhones and BlackBerrys) and a cloud-based software program analyze the interference pattern and reconstruct an image of the sample. Since it’s dual-mode, both large samples and small samples can be analyzed through processes called “transmission” and “reflection,” and doctors could potentially use their laptops or smartphones to access the images remotely. Although still considered a prototype, researchers think the development has the opportunity to revolutionize health care by allowing doctors to test things like water, blood and food. Check out the full PR after the break.

Continue reading UCLA creates portable microscope that uses holograms, not lenses

UCLA creates portable microscope that uses holograms, not lenses originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are talking up a type of millimeter-sized microbots that can swim and use their “jaws” to move around objects multiple times their own weight. The tiny ‘bots are made up of microparticles and don’t do much on their own, but once magnets are applied, they form star shapes and swim around, even opening and closing to push around non-magnetic objects. The “asters,” as they’re known, will also reshuffle their parts, if they lose any particles, effectively reassembling themselves. Videos of tiny robot dance numbers after the break.

Continue reading Microbots do heavy-lifting, self-repair, dance aquatic ballet (video)

Microbots do heavy-lifting, self-repair, dance aquatic ballet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CERN’s LHC@home 2.0 project simulates a Large Hadron Collider in the cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Herschel telescope finds first evidence of oxygen molecules in space originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Thanks, Rohit]

Quantum effect transistor is the world’s smallest, hopes to make a big impact originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 13:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Building a franken-brain has long been a holy grail of sorts for scientists, but now a team of engineering researchers have made what they claim to be a significant breakthrough towards that goal. Alice Parker and Chongwu Zhou of USC used carbon nanotubes to create synthetic synapse circuits that mimic neurons, the basic building blocks of the brain. This could be invaluable to AI research, though the team still hasn’t tackled the problem of scope — our brains are home to 100 billion neurons, each of which has 10,000 synapses. Moreover, these nanotubes are critically lacking in plasticity — they can’t form new connections, produce new neurons, or adapt with age. All told, the scientists say, we’re decades away from having fake brains — or even sections of it — but if the technology advances as they hope it will, people might one day be able to recover from devastating brain injuries and drive cars smart enough to avert deadly accidents.

Continue reading Researchers build synthetic synapse circuit, prosthetic brains still decades away

Researchers build synthetic synapse circuit, prosthetic brains still decades away originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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