In 1992, at the age of 70, a US citizen suffered a severe case of viral encephalitis, a swelling of the brain caused by infection. After he recovered two years later, he appeared completely average based on an IQ test (indeed, he scored 103). Yet in other ways, he was completely different. Several decades of his past life were wiped completely from his brain. His only accessible memories came from his 30s, and from the point … Read More → "Understanding the brain of a man with no conscious memory"

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield tweeted this amazing photo of Berlin, Germany as seen from the International Space Station with the caption “Amazingly, I think the light bulbs still show the East/West division from orbit.” The more dense, commercial district on the west is lit up by bright white lights, while the eastern half of the city emits a softer, yellow glow.
via Read More → "Photo of Berlin taken From space illustrates the east-west divide"

A new study seems to confirm that humans harbor a great deal of empathy for their robotic brethren, reacting to affection towards — or violence against — them in the same way they react to these things in humans.

The paper, scheduled to be presented this summer at the 63rd Annual International Communication Association Conference, combines the results of two small studies. In one, participants were shown video of a … Read More → "Empathy for robots looks very similar to the empathy we feel for humans"

As demonstrated in this video, a large shield mounted to a turtle’s shell can be remotely spun to make it think there’s an obstacle to the left or right of it. And instinctively it goes in the opposite direction to avoid it, allowing someone at the controls to effectively steer it remotely.

Of course this setup is a little clunky—and a little conspicuous—to be used in the field. … Read More → "Remote control turtles could one day be our secret slow and steady drones (video)"

… Read More → "Hexapod robot vehicle"

The dream of one day completely doing away with frustratingly long transplant lists in favor of made to order, 3D-printed organs is closer to becoming a reality. Scientists at Organovo in San Diego have, for the very first time, been able to 3D print tiny replicas of human livers.
via Gizmodo

Read More → "Scientists have 3D-printed mini human livers for the first time ever"

SpaceX’s Grasshopper is a great example of a simple idea with awesome execution. The Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) craft goes up, and it goes down. That’s about all it does, but when you consider the fact that it goes up over 800 feet in the air, hangs out for a little while, and then gently sets itself back down on the landing pad like nothing ever happened…well, we’re pretty impressed, anyway.
via Geekosystem

Consider for a moment that just a few decades ago, the only way you could manipulate a 3D map of the planet Earth was by using a spinning globe made of paper and plastic. Then we had those early world atlas CD-ROMs that seemed so amazing as the Web was just gearing up. Now, thanks to Google Earth and the technology of Leap Motion, we can virtually fly around the globe using our hands to guide the way.

via DVICE& … Read More → "You can now fly around Google Earth, Superman-style"

Looking similar to a bulletproof vest, Chau’s wearable drum kit consists of four neoprene drum pads attached to an outer covering with velcro, allowing an artist to position them almost anywhere on the vest to suit individual performance or preference. Each drum pad has a piezo sensor embedded in it to measure any changes in pressure, allowing the wearer to hit it, press on it, or just rake their fingers across it to … Read More → "Drop The Beat builds a reconfigurable electronic drum kit into a vest (video)"

How can Tetris improve failing vision? Wel, a lazy eye is where just one eye is underperforming, meaning that there are ways it can be trained back into shape. To bring the lazy eye back into sync with the healthier eye, researchers used a 2 lens system in which one eye only gets to see the falling pieces, while the other sees only the pieces that have already … Read More → "Need to cure a lazy eye? Try playing Tetris"