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Posts Tagged ‘Discoveries & Developments’

We have all become accustomed to iTunes so much that we associate listening to music with the iTunes software. Sony however aims to change all that and it could bring a new competitor in the field of streaming of files. Sony will begin to launch the big new streaming software device and possibly a music library influenced software as well. However, it looks more like a competitor to Last.fm than Apple’s iTunes for the purpose of the software called “Music Unlimited” is to stream audio and video, and not to sell MP3 files like iTunes do.

It could become the next big thing and since Music Unlimited streams video than let people download, it is very similar to Last.fm. This service would be available for Sony’s 2010 network-enabled TVs, for Blu-ray Disc players and Home Theatre systems, and for PlayStation 3 systems and personal computers. The device would compete with Apple’s iTunes, and so much more. Moreover, it is also likely that Last.fm and Spotify, who have been in business for a very longtime. Cloud Computing can be checked from everywhere.

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An animation made with data from observatories and amateur astronomers shows the location of all known asteroids in the solar system.

The video begins with the year 1980 and will gradually increase the number of points as the years pass and make new discoveries made.

The new asteroids appear flashing white and appear to “follow” the Earth‘s rotation, they then get a color that indicates their closeness: those that cross the orbit of the planet appear in red, others arriving by less (1.3 times the distance from the Sun to Earth) are yellow, all other, more distant, appear in green.

The video was created with data compiled by the Lowell Observatory. The two numbers on the left represent the year and the number of discovered asteroids, respectively. In 2010, the count of the heavenly bodies is at 530 091.

It is worth remembering that NASA, the American Space Agency, has a monitoring program called Near Earth Object, as the name implies, keeps track of all objects ever detected near the Earth.

To see the video, just click in here and have fun.

Via: Geekosystem.

Doctoral student Sybel Saska, Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Araraquara campus, was honored during the 88th International Association for Dental Research General Session, held in July in Barcelona.

Sybel, featuring Doctoral Scholarship from FAPESP, was among the top five for the work entitled New [bacterial cellulose-collagen]-hydroxyapatite nanocomposite with growth factors for bone regeneration.

She received a cash prize awarded by the German company Heraeus poster presented, which consists in developing a new biomaterial for bone regeneration.

According to Reinaldo Marchetto, Professor of Chemistry Institute of Unesp, Araraquara campus, and lead researcher of biomaterial research brings important advances in relation to currently existing in the market.

The biomaterial is composed of some components of the bones, such as collagen (protein) and hydroxyapatite (inorganic agent) deficient in calcium, and bacterial cellulose membrane.

Synthesized by bacteria of the genus Gluconacetobacter, cellulose served as a biomaterial matrix to generate the structure with nanometer (billionth of a meter), since the bacteria synthesize cellulose fibers in a web of wires of that size.

The production of bacterial cellulose has been used in several areas. A major application is in use as a temporary substitute of human skin in cases of burns and other medical or dental procedures.

Via: Info.

One of the foremost elements that has greatly contributed in the rise of the global warming phenomenon, carbon dioxide, it seems has now finally met its match. At the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), scientists have revealed that, a little known substance called, Dry Water, that resembles powered sugar could be the answer to the problem of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

As per the findings, dry water could in fact be able to absorb and store carbon dioxide and other toxic material, thereby preventing their release in the atmosphere. The dry water substance is said to have multitude of applications that includes initiation of various chemical processes used in the manufacturing of consumer products, that too in a more energy efficient and environment friendly manner. The name for the substance has been derived from its properties as dry water is 95% made up of water and yet it is dry as a powder. Each and every particle of dry water is made of a water droplet, that is surrounded by silica, that provides the bonding properties, thereby preventing the water droplets from turning into a liquid.

Dry water was initially discovered in the year 1968 and was immediately considered for its practical applications in the field of cosmetics. Then, in the year 2006, scientists at the University of Hull, UK,  rediscovered this material and it was observed that, due to the structure of dry water, it was able to absorb three times the amount of carbon dioxide as against the absorption rate of uncombined water and silica in the same space of time.

According to Ben Carter (Ph.D),

“There’s nothing else quite like it. Hopefully, we may see ‘dry water’ making waves in the future. If you can remove the need to stir your reactions, then potentially you’re making considerable energy savings.”

Via PhysOrg

In today’s world of constant technological evolution, there has been a fast and predominant race for the search of alternative sources of energy, that are not only abundantly found in nature, but would also ease the pressure off the natural resources that are depleting at an alarming rate. Scientists have now found a unique method through which, they envision to capture the atmospheric electrical discharges of more commonly known as ‘lightning’ and turn it into an energy source.

As per a report submitted to the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), scientists and researchers have in fact reached the threshold of realizing this dream into a reality. Such a method of power generation could greatly reduce our need on fossil fuels and the amount of energy generated through the naturally occurring lightning phenomenon could in fact provide power to an entire household. When the lightning strikes, water vapor collected on microscopic particles of dust and other material in the air and that, is the key to harnessing the power of lightning and turning it into an alternative source of energy.

According to Fernando Galembeck (Ph.D),

“Our research could pave the way for turning electricity from the atmosphere into an alternative energy source for the future. Just as solar energy could free some households from paying electric bills, this promising new energy source could have a similar effect. If we know how electricity builds up and spreads in the atmosphere, we can also prevent death and damage caused by lightning strikes.”

Via PhysOrg

The world of space travel has taken yet another innovative turn, as a team of volunteers from Denmark have now successfully created the world’s first space rocket to have been funded entirely from donations and sponsorships. The entire project led by Kristian von Bengtson and Peter Madsen envisions sending a man into space and this incredible home made rocket will be going on its maiden launch in about a week’s time.

The all new HEAT1X-TYCHO BRAHE space rocket is scheduled to take off from a floating launch platform in the Baltic Sea, that has also been specifically designed and developed by the project team. This launch platform will be towed by a submarine called, ‘Nautilus’ which was part of the team’s ambitious submersible project some time ago. However, considering the security implications of sending a human into space in a backyard made space rocket, the team has decided to run the first launch with life sized crash dummy. The entire team of the this incredible project is comprised of member from the SomethingAwful web community and the team expects to see the rocket hit a suborbital altitude of 150,000 meters to complete the test. One the target altitude is achieved, the rocket will descend back to earth with the help of parachutes and the vehicle will be tracked by the team, using a GPS link.

According to the project members,

“Unlike Columbia we’re not moving at orbital speeds so ‘dying a gruesome death burning up on re-entry’ with our kit has a very low outcome probability. We should be able to receive a descent plot which can be used in projecting a splashdown ellipse pretty accurately, if we factor in wind speeds and so on.”

Via Wired & Copenhagen Suborbitals

It’s virtually impossible to not have technology touch every aspect of human life. This time, four mechanical engineering graduates from University of California thought of applying science to augment their surfboarding experience. They installed a computer and eight velocity sensors on a surfboard. These would aid in registering the speed at which the board skims along the water. The data then would be sent back to laptop wirelessly which could be alternatively saved in an internal memory card.

This board was a part of the team’s Science-of-Surfboards Project wherein they dream to design the “perfect” board. The embedded sensors measure both the water flow speed and the amount that surfboard bends. By analyzing these stats, the students will understand how boards change shape due to friction with water and how that flexibility affects their performance. These are actually the two key issues which stir up a lot of debate in the surfing community.

If this concept catches on, it would unleash a new era in sea surfing experience. The team intends to discover the optimum amount of bend and consequently build a state-of-the-art surfboard.

Via: Gizmag

These little dental cavity savers have been named as Soladey-J3X and are made by a Japanese Company. Dr. Gerry Uswak and Dr. Kunio Komiyama led a team of generous scientists to come up with this creation and I must say that this is going to be their gift to mankind and this is no exaggeration as we are talking about happy gums and no plaque related oral problems!

Its time to throw away those ancient toothbrushes that you have been using since the chalcolithic age. These revolutionary toothbrushes have made the ritual of brushing teeth as quick as a wink! No kidding, researchers should have thought of this idea a lot earlier and spared me the excitement. These toothbrushes use electron beam to kill bacteria and hence they wards off all oral problems.

Soladey-J3X has a solar panel which absorbs the solar energy and uses it to generate a beam of electrons which in turn catalyses a chemical reaction in the mouth and kills cent percent bacteria. Currently, these toothbrushes are doing rounds in the market for a customer follow-up, but soon they will hit the stores.

via: tgdaily

The Japanese now have a way of trying to save electronic gadgets that have come in contact with water. Just take the unit in any store Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo, and put it in a Dryer Box The machine promises to return it crisp, like new.

Of course the machine does not solve the potential problems caused by contact with water the gadget, but it’s something. According to the Wired site, the equipment works like a giant hair dryer, using hot air to dry “drowning”.

If the Dryer Box can successfully dry the device and it working again, the owner must pay a fee of 1000 yen, about $ 10. If the gadget does not work, the service is on the house.

The Popular Mechanics site gives some tips on what to do with phones that were wet. The first thing to do is cut the power of the device immediately – if it has not happened yet – removing the battery, Moreover, one should resist strongly connect the device while wet.

According to the site, and many others on the Internet, simply place the device in a closed container with silica gel, or dry rice, for those who do not have silica at hand. Charlie Sorrel, Wired magazine disagrees with the use of rice, saying that if that were true, all the world’s rice would absorb moisture from the air too, which he said does not happen.

In any case, Rain Noah, writing for the site Core77, says there are two places that he never moves on its mobile: the bathroom and on the edge of a subway platform. Perhaps it is best to follow the example of Noah to avoid future problems with the gadgets.

Via: Wired.

Technology has long taken up the baton to make life more convenient. As rightly said by some folks, human wants are never ending. First we wanted an automated machine to pop out our favorite soda, but apparently that wasn’t enough. JR EAST i.e. East Japan Railway Company is flaunting a beverage vending machine that can detect one’s sex and age and recommend an appropriate drink. The customer needs to stand in front of the system and wait the inbuilt camera to gather the statistics. If you like what the machine recommends, you got to push the drink’s icon on its touch panel.

The vending device has characteristics of the digital signage system which was earlier seen in Yahoo Japan’s innovative advertisement tool that scans passerby to pop up personalized ads, news and other info. The vending machine here puts a red star to its recommended drinks on its 47-inch touch panel. When in standby mode, the panel not only displays information on current time and temperature but can also function as an advertisement media to maximize revenues.

The Shinagawa Station in Central Tokyo was the first train station to feature this unique vending machine. JR East expects to put another 500 systems in the next two years.

Via: CrunchGear