Periodic Tableware has created a set of elegantly designed laboratory beaker stemmed wine glasses that reflect the the clean lines and sturdiness of the scientific glassware used to create the set.
via Laughing Squid
Image: Periodic … Read More → "An elegantly designed set of stemmed laboratory beaker wine glasses"
Growing new organs and tissues outside the body is the bleeding edge of biomedical research. Just imagine: if doctors could grow replacement hearts or kidneys from a patient’s own stem cells, that patient would no longer have to face the agonizing prospect of waiting to find a suitable donor. The risk of organ rejection would become nil. But there’s a lot of … Read More → "In the future, spider silk may help grow your replacement heart"
Many collision avoidance systems watch out for other cars or pedestrians to keep you safe. But this new one called Brains4Cars being developed by Cornell and Stanford University researchers adds a camera that monitors you (or the driver’s, if it’s someone else) body language, as well. The computer that’s watching you on cam can detect your face and head movements to find cues on whether you’re turning or changing lanes. With data from … Read More → "Car safety system monitors your body language to prevent accidents"
A snake robot swims underwater with vaguely unsettling ease in this video uploaded in 2013 by IEEE Spectrum. The robot in question is an ACM-R5, a waterproof articulated robot designed for underwater inspection and search operations. The robot has a wireless camera and additional sensors can be installed “upon request.” Each modular segment has wheels, which allows the robot to slither out of water as well. It’s much larger than it appears … Read More → "A slithering snake robot that can swim underwater with unsettling ease"
Doctors know that deep brain stimulation works as a therapy for Parkinson’s disease. But they’re still trying to figure out why and how. A new study sheds some light on the mechanism of action, suggesting that DBS disrupts a pattern of excessively synchronized activity in the brain.
In DBS, an implanted … Read More → "How brain pacemakers treat Parkinson’s disease"
Elon Musk and Tesla Motors continue to impress:
Tesla Motors plans to pay an average hourly wage of $25 at its huge battery factory under construction near Reno, Nev., the head of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada said.
That is higher than nearly all automakers in the U.S. are paying new hires and nearly double what most parts suppliers pay. It’s also above the $17 starting … Read More → "New Tesla battery factory will pay $25 per hour–higher wage than nearly all U.S. automakers"
In space, all they have is instant.
“For an instant coffee, it’s an excellent instant coffee,” says Vickie Kloeris, who manages the space station’s food supply for NASA. Astronauts are allotted up to three freeze-dried cups (pouches, actually) a day, and Kloeris says it’s “extremely popular.”
But, she adds, “Can it compete with brewed espresso? No.”
And that is a problem, particularly for the Italian astronauts … Read More → "The International Space Station gets a coffee bar"
Curious to know what secrets Mona Lisa is hiding beneath the newest layer of varnish on her surface? Up until recently, art conservationists were required to physically remove a sliver of a painting to get an accurate cross section of its many layers. But thanks to Haida Liang and her team of researchers at Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology, examining the layers beneath the surface of a painting … Read More → "Scientists figure out a non-invasive way to see what’s underneath famous paintings"
Pluto is over 3 billion miles away from Earth, smaller than the moon, has an average surface temperature over 200 degrees below freezing (in Celsius!), and isn’t even really a “planet” anymore, technically. But pretty soon you’re going to be able to see the little bugger up close and in color. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft just sent back its first … Read More → "Pluto’s first color portrait from the new horizons probe"
Stirring, adjusting the temperature, pouring and adding ingredients are all basic skills for a chef but they’re slightly harder to achieve for a robot.
However, that’s not the case for this pair of robotic hands, which could be set to revolutionise cooking and kitchen operations.
At present it’s able to knock up a crab bisque, which it creates by replicating the exact movements of a professional chef.</ … Read More → "Robot chef that can cook any of 2,000 meals at tap of a button to go on sale in 2017"
