Music gets so much easier when you instinctively know all the notes. But being able to reliably identify or reproduce a pitch without error is rare. If you’re not born with perfect pitch, prior studies suggest, your only hope of getting it is to receive musical training at a critical period in your childhood. New research at the University of Chicago suggests otherwise, however. Perfect pitch might be attainable well into adulthood.
via Read More → "Study suggests adults can be trained to develop “perfect pitch”"

At Stanford, brain surgery is a task that can now be delegated to the robots—at least when it comes to fruit fly research. 

A high-speed robot designed to be an automated lab assistant can study as many 1000 flies in a 10-hour period,  a group of Stanford roboticists and biologists report in the journal NatureMethods. Rather than employing … Read More → "Robots can perform brain surgery on flies"

The Han Solo Fridge really is big: it can hold up to 18 cans of soda. It’s also one of those neato fridges that cools or heats its contents (depending on which temperature you need). And though the Han Solo Fridge be mighty, it’s still made to travel. It’s even got a handle on top for grabbing, which, let us tell you, is more convenient than carrying a huge … Read More → "A ‘Star Wars’ Han Solo frozen in carbonite fridge that can hold up to 18 cans of soda"

Researchers find free-living parthenogenesis in the wild for the first time in history. Parthenogenesis is one type of asexual reproduction which, in this case, has a creature developing from an unfertilized egg. A female sawfish will give birth to a baby sawfish without the aid of a male sawfish. It’s been observed that this type of reproduction is taking place in the wild in an area where this particular species of sawfish is … Read More → "Endangered sawfish enact Jurassic Park prophesy"

We saw the prototype in action a few weeks ago, and now French creator Olivier C has put the finishing touches on his “Star Wars” X-wing RC quadcopter.

Olivier released a video to his YouTube channelon Monday showing the Rebel starfighter in action as it flies through the skies of southern France. Like his snowspeeder, Star Destroyer, TIE Interceptor and Millennium Falcon builds, the X-wing build is intricately detailed and looks like it would … Read More → "Ready, Red Leader? ‘Star Wars’ X-wing quadcopter takes flight"

As electronic devices are becoming outdated at an increasingly fast pace, e-waste continues to be a huge problem. That’s why scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have started producing “wooden” semiconductor chips that could almost entirely biodegrade once left in a landfill. As an added bonus, the chips are also flexible, making them prime candidates for use in flexible electronics.
via Gizmag

Microsoft might have scaled back its ambitions for Kinect, but creative modders and developers are still finding ways to put the peripheral to good use. Conductor Ludovic Morlot used the device to control three “kinetic” instruments — a robotic grand piano, 24-reedhorn sculpture and custom concert chimes — as part of an intimate Seattle Symphony performance on May 1st. During the 22-minute composition, Morlot could start, stop and control the volume of the instruments with gestures. Making a … Read More → "Seattle Symphony uses Kinect to conduct robotic instruments"

At ICRA 2015 in Seattle yesterday, researchers from MIT demonstrated an untethered miniature origami robot that self-folds, walks, swims, and degrades. That’s the title of their paper, in fact, and they delivered on all of those promises: from a flat sheet with a magnet on it, their robot folds itself up in just a few seconds, is immediately ready to zip around on land or water driven by magnetic fields, and then when … Read More → "Origami robot folds itself up, does cool stuff, dissolves into nothing"

To study how host birds, such as the American robin, reject brood parasite eggs, scientists have relied on making fake eggs. That could be eggs taken from another bird (problematic, also limited sizes and shapes) or eggs hand made from plaster or wood (not hollow and not realistic). A possible solution then? 3D printing.

In a paper published in … Read More → "3D-printed eggs can even fool wild birds into thinking they’re real"

Today at its annual I/O developer conference in San Francisco, Google announced a new implementation of Google Cardboard calledExpeditions, which brings the virtual reality platform to education.

Multiple Cardboards can see the same content as the teacher, as Google demonstrated in the video below. Teachers can sign up for the new program online. The Planetary Society, the Chateau de Versailles, and the American Museum of Natural History are on … Read More → "Google announces Cardboard Expeditions to let teachers take classes on field trips"