Deadly pathogens like E. coli and HIV are rendered in surprisingly beautiful glass sculptures in the series “Glass Microbiology” by artist Luke Jerram. The handmade sculptures are each roughly one million times larger than the pathogens on which they are based
via Laughing Squid
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Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have grown liquid crystal flowers, making it possible to create lenses as complex as the compound eye of a dragonfly. When perfected, the technology could allow the growth of lenses on curved surfaces, and structures to be assembled out of liquid crystals to build new materials, smart surfaces, microlens arrays and advanced sensors.
To create the lenses from the liquid crystals, the researchers planted tiny silica beads … Read More → "Scientists grow liquid crystal “flowers” to use as lenses"
A team of Dutch neuroscientists recently devised an electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to “target and disrupt patients’ memory of a disturbing episode.” Nature explains how patients were showed two traumatic narratives in a slideshow and then subjected to the new technique:
The team later prompted patients to recall only one of the stories by replaying part of that slide show. Immediately afterwards, when the reactivated memory is thought to … Read More → "A real-life memory-erasing technique for humans"
For the best part of a decade, Paris’ Magasins Généraux Pantin has played host to street artists from all over the French capital and beyond. Originally an embodiment of French industry, the building closed at the turn of the century, only to be reimagined as “Graffiti Général,” a five-floor monument to graffiti. The building is now scheduled for … Read More → "Parisian graffiti block preserved in digital 3D ahead of demolition"
Back in October, we heard about MIT’s M-Blocks – they’re metal cubes that use internal flywheels to hurl themselves around, sticking together magnetically to form simple structures. Now, scientists from ETH Zurich have unveiled something similar. Their Cubli cubic robot also uses flywheels to move around, plus it can actually balance on one corner.
The robot measures 15 cm (5.9 in) per side and contains three “momentum wheels,” each one powered … Read More → "Cube-shaped robot balances on one corner and can move on its own"
The name Vampyroteuthis infernalis means “Vampire squid from hell”. And vampire squid are freaky looking creatures — red with cloudy eyes that can appear blue or blood red, depending on how the light hits them. But appearances can be deceiving. Turns out, the squid from hell has eating habits more in line with those of Bunnicula. The squids’ entire diet is … Read More → "Don’t be scared of the vampire squid"
A project to create artificial life has hit a key milestone – the simulated creature can now wriggle.
The Open Worm project aims to build a lifelike copy of a nematode roundworm entirely out of computer code.
This week the creature’s creators added code that gets the virtual worm wriggling like the real thing.
The next step is to hook the body up to a … Read More → "Artificial worm starts to wriggle"
Like many designers, Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay of Raw Edges pull inspiration from the strangest places. For example, in their Bloom bookshelf, the team combined the style of a loom with the functionality of a bookshelf. Users adjust black rubber stoppers on each of the vertical cords to adjust the height of the books put on display. The books look like they are floating on a wire, bringing attention to the individual titles … Read More → "The floating bookshelf"
The ability to simply print up new, living versions of the damaged parts of your body is a crazy thought. It’s also becoming more and more viable as a medical procedure, and cuts and scrapes aren’t the only maladies that medical 3D printing can help cure. Living, 3D printed retina cells could someday aid in curing many kinds of blindness.
At the University of Cambridge, reserchers have pulled off something of … Read More → "Today’s 3D printed eye cells could someday cure blindness"
In 1999, my elementary school got every single kid to love computer class with a single move: It replaced a fleet of Macintosh Classic IIs with iMac G3s. The candy-colored shells, bright graphics and whimsical shape made it feel like you were spending time with some hip, space-age machine. Computing was so in that year.
The G3 bas been discontinued for a decade, but it is still an icon of … Read More → "Gorgeous Robox 3D printer hopes it can do for 3D printing what the iMac did for personal computing"
