Ovarian cancer cell culture

Optical microscopes are limited by a phenomenon known as the diffraction barrier, wherein the microscope can’t differentiate two objects separated by less than half the wavelength of light used—roughly 200 nm on average for the visible spectrum. But by combining powerful optics and cutting-edge rendering algorithms, GE’s new DeltaVision OMX Blaze is bringing this hidden realm’s drama to light.
via < … Read More → "These images of the sub-microscopic world are amazing"

A research lab in Iran is hard at work building a new robotic lifeguard that could respond instantly to passengers and crew who fall from ships by flying to their rescue and dropping a life preserver to them from the sky…

The robot, known as Pars, is being developed by Tehran-based RTS Labs, and the design is pretty ingenious. The ship-based Pars is a simple quadcopter that can be alerted when someone falls overboard, or is … Read More → "Flying rescue robot could be the lifeguard of the future"

Astronomers have found a new kind of miniature supernova so comparatively small that some only shine a hundredth as brightly as their more common cousins. The newly-discovered stellar explosion is called a Type Iax supernova, and while the team that made the discovery still isn’t exactly sure what causes it, they’ve already identified 25 examples of the phenomenon.
via The Verge</ … Read More → "Scientists discover a new class of mini-supernova"

The Soccket Energy-Harnessing Soccer Ball houses ingenious gadgetry that converts the kinetic energy of the ball’s movement into electricity. Just a few minutes of play can provide hours of light. Currently used in rural off-grid areas of Mexico and disadvantaged regions of the US with plans to go global and help out poor communities throughout the world.

via Gear Culture</ … Read More → "Soccket: an energy-harvesting soccer ball"

At the beginning of a sunny Monday morning earlier this month, I had never cracked a password. By the end of the day, I had cracked 8,000. Even though I knew password cracking was easy, I didn’t know it was ridiculously easy—well, ridiculously easy once I overcame the urge to bash my laptop with a sledgehammer and finally figured out what I was doing.

My journey into the … Read More → "How I became a password cracker"

Given that scientists are already looking to sea sponges as an inspiration for body armor, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that foam is also being considered … not just any foam, though. Unlike regular foam, specially-designed nanofoams could someday not only be used in body armor, but also to protect buildings from explosions.
via Gizmag

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Researchers at the University of Texas in Austin have created a new, ultra-thin (0.15mm) Harry Potter-like invisibility cloak.

Until now, most invisibility cloaks have been large, cumbersome, desk-mounted constructions that really stretch the definition of the word cloak; for the most part, they’re more like proof of concepts for the invisibility material being tested, rather than actual invisibility cloaks. The University of Texas invisibility cloak, however, at just 166 micrometers thick, really is a cloak in the Harry Potter sense of the word.
via < … Read More → "Researchers create ultra-thin and flexible invisibility cloak"

Who would have thought traveling to outer space could be such a profound experience? OK, probably everybody, but these former astronauts really articulate it in a way that was just a little mind-blowing. 

via Upworthy 

… Read More → "Some strange things are happening to astronauts returning to Earth"

Scientists have discovered how a particular type of bacteria transfers electricity, a finding that they say will help them develop fully biological batteries. Scientists previously knew that the bacteria, shewanella oneidensis, attaches to rusty iron and other materials and breaks them down, transferring electrons in the process. But researchers weren’t sure just how the bacteria managed to do this, so they created a synthetic version in the lab and tested it … Read More → "Scientists get closer to ‘bio-battery’ by discovering how bacteria transfers electricity"

Every networked sensor package in your immediate vicinity can be used to spy on you unless it is well-designed and transparent to you and the wide community of security researchers. If that sounds paranoid, check out the video above, wherein some security researchers show that they can covertly operate WiFi-enabled personal cameras and turn them into bugs.
via Boing Boing

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… Read More → "Your WiFi-enabled camera might be spying on you"