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Showing posts from August, 2013

Alcohol Stops Brain from Interpreting Social Cues

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Alcoholics fail to communicate with people because their brains don't interpret social cues, a new study has found. Researchers said that long-term alcohol exposure can break communication between two areas of the brain that work together to interpret social signals. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine who found that alcohol inhibits signalling between amygdala and pre-frontal cortex. The pre-frontal cortex is a region associated with cognitive function, social behavior, decision making and modulation of intense behavior. Previous research too has shown that alcohol suppresses activity in amygdala- a part of the brain associated with processing social signals. Having a large amygdala has been linked with good social communication and larger circle of friends.

Human Brain-to-brain Interface Allows Researcher to Control Others' Motions

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Researchers from the University of Washington have developed a noninvasive human-to-human interface that enables one individual to control another's hand motions using a signal sent via the Internet. In the past, similar feats have been accomplished between mice and, in one case, even a human and mouse; however, in the most recent study, researcher Rajesh Rao was able to move his colleague Andrea Stocco's finger on a keyboard via a brain signal even as they sat on opposite sides of the university's campus. "The Internet was a way to connect computers, and now it can be a way to connect brains," Stocco said. "We want to take the knowledge of a brain and transmit it directly from brain to brain."

Daily Scriptural Light

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 6:11 NIV

Mini Brains Grown in Lab using Stem Cells

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Using human stem cells, researchers successfully grew "cerebral organoids" in the lab, effectively creating miniature brains which may lead to new levels of understanding how the brain develops from an embryo and what causes neurological disabilities such as autism and schizophrenia. Researchers have previously grown pieces of brain tissue from stem cells, but this is the first time a complex, three-dimensional organoid has been created, according to The Telegraph, which reports the mini-brain resembles that of a nine-week-old embryo.

Daily Scriptural Light

The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate. Psalm 34:22

New Method Allows Scientists to Read Letters in a Person's Brain Scan

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It's not exactly "mind reading," per se, but a team of researchers have developed a method through which they are able to determine what letter a person is looking at based on a scan of their brain. Published in the journal Neuroimage, the study includes using an fMRI to scan a person's brain while he or she views a specific image. An fMRI works by determining where in the brain blood is flowing most and has long been used in research designed to determine which brain areas are most active while a person performs a given task.

Daily Scriptural Light

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8 NLT

Quote of the day

Many of life's failure are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas Edison

Daily Scriptural Light

Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provide her meat in the summer, and gather her food in the harvest. Proverbs 6:6-8

Daily Scriptural Light

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105 NLT

Daily Scriptural Light

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith. 1 John 5:4 NASB

Researchers create battery-free wireless communication 'out of thin air'

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Engineers have created a battery-free communication technique that repurposes wireless signals that already surround us. This new wireless communication system seems like "magic," since it "provides connectivity between computers out of what is essentially thin air." It takes us a step closer to an Internet of Things reality as it lets devices talk to each other without relying on batteries or wires for power. Instead, it taps into already existing ambient Wi-Fi, TV or cellular signals to exchange information. University of Washington researchers call it "ambient backscatter;" it's so revolutionary that when engineers presented their work [pdf] at the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Data Communication 2013 conference in Hong Kong, they won the "best paper" award.

Headphones that can stop unwanted noise on the street

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Headphone maker SMS Audio’s Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson brand has launched the STREET by 50 over-ear wired headphones. They are built with Active Noise Canceling (ANC) technology to eliminate unwanted ambient noise anywhere, including on an airplane or other loud environments. Each side is equipped with 40 mm drivers inside soft leather memory foam ear cushions in between an adjustable headband, to deliver superior studio-grade audio while blocking outside noise, allowing users to enjoy music. Inside is a rechargeable (microUSB) lithium ion battery, good for 70 hours of ANC use. The headphones give you the option of turning off the noise canceling and will work (minus the ANC) if the battery loses its charge. The foldable headphones come with a removable cable with three-click microphone, soft touch cleaning cloth, micro USB charging cable, airplane adaptor and hard shell case for easy transport.

Microsoft New Invention: Ubi Interactive can make anything Windows touchscreen. A world in which every surface is a Windows touchscreen

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Microsoft has a vision for a world in which every surface is a Windows touchscreen. That became a whole lot closer to reality this week. A startup called Ubi Interactive is now selling $150 software that can turn any wall, desk, hand or screen into a 45-inch touchscreen. Just hook up a Microsoft Kinect sensor and a screen or projector, and the display will instantly gain touch-screen capabilities. Ubi's software can even support touchscreens of up to 100 inches, at a cost of $379 The software-Kinect combo senses when a finger touches a surface, allowing the user to click, drag, drop, scroll, and perform all the expected functions of a touchscreen. The selling point of Ubi's technology is that touchscreens are useful but incredibly expensive -- particularly large ones used in meeting spaces or in-store displays. But many businesses have projectors or televisions already set up in conference rooms. Those could soon become touchscreens by combining a Kinect, which costs $250...

Quote of the Day

When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God. Charles L. Allen

Plans for "warp drive" spacecraft to get humanity to stars faster than the speed of light

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“Warp drives” which could propel humanity to the stars faster than the speed of light will be discussed this week by space experts in Dallas, Texas. Spacecraft propelled by antimatter, harvested by robotic factories on Mercury will be under discussion - as will spacecraft made from hollowed-out asteroids and a laser-beam “highway” to provide energy for ships to “hop” to nearby stars. Some of these technologies may come into being within 20 years, the organisers claim - but the goal is interstellar travel by 2100, visiting planets such as those found by NASA’s Kepler space telescope.

Daily Scriptural Light

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Mark 9:23

Windows 8.1 is on is way, to be made available in October

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Microsoft is currently testing near-final versions of Windows 8.1, but the company won't release the final update publicly until October. According to sources familiar with Microsoft's plans, the software maker will finalize, or Release to Manufacturing (RTM), Windows 8.1, but the update will not be pushed out to existing machines until October. Partners and PC makers will receive the final bits later this month, and the gap until an October release will allow them to finalize their own testing and drivers for the roll out. Windows 8.1 includes a number of multitasking improvements, new smaller Live Tiles, and a built-in Bing-powered search engine. A near-final version of the update leaked to the internet recently, offering a closer look at the changes between Preview and RTM. Microsoft is adding in a number of tutorials and Windows Phone-like menus to ease complaints over the usability of the operating system. The Windows 8.1 update will be made available around 12 months...

Once Dominant, BlackBerry is Looking for Survival Today

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Like countless gee-whiz companies that captured and lost imaginations and dollars, BlackBerry, a giant of the pre-iPhone era, has faded with remarkable speed. After enduring years of dwindling sales, the company said on Monday that it was exploring “strategic options” — business code for searching for a savior. For the moment, few seem to want to buy BlackBerry or, for that matter, its newest products. Unless a suitor emerges, BlackBerry risks joining the ranks of technology has-beens like Palm, Gateway and Commodore. We are living in an era of smart phone. My advise for Blackberry is to get smart if they want to remain in this business. That is what Samsung is doing today, Samsung is taking advantage of the phone industry today through their smart innovating ideas. If they can do it, I think blackberry can do it as well. Four years ago, BlackBerry had 51 percent of the North American smartphone market, according to the research firm Gartner. And Mike Lazaridis, BlackBerry’s c...

Daily Scriptural Light

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Quote of the Day

When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. Helen Keller

New Robot Surpasses Competition by Leaps and Bounds

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In an effort to create robots capable of traversing increasingly difficult terrain, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say they have developed a device that boasts both jumping and climbing abilities. Doing so, the Associated Press reports, renders the device especially useful in regards to, for example, a military search mission or supply transport.

World's First Talking Robot Heading to International Space Station

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Japanese researchers launched the world's first talking robot into space Sunday aboard a supply mission headed toward the International Space Station (ISS). Called Kirobo, the machine will offer an opportunity for scientists to perform experiments on social interaction with robots as a way to reduce stress in confined living space, according to those behind the project. "I hope that through this project, humans and robots will be able to live together through communication with one another," Tomotaka Takahashi, a research professor with Tokyo University and one of the participants in the project, told the Wall Street Journal. Takahashi explained that while the Japanese are unique in their affinity with robots -- likely the result of growing up with manga stories about them -- he hopes that Kirobo's time in space will help widen that feeling of possible kinship to other nations.

A Computer Chips That Could Keep Your Phone Charge for Weeks (ReRAM)

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Now, a Californian-based start-up may have the answer, with a breakthrough in a new type of memory chip known as Resistive RAM (ReRAM or RRAM for short). Capable of of storing a terabyte of data (equivalent to 250 high-definition movies) on a chip the size of a postage stamp, and using 20 times less energy than current flash memory chips, ReRAM could offer next-gen smartphones with terabytes of onboard data that go weeks without a charge. The company is called Crossbar, and though they're not the only manufacturers working ReRAM memory (Pansonic and HP are amongst their competitors), they have announced that their models have already been succesfully manufacturered, meaning that commercialization is hopefully not too many years off. ReRAM is a new type of non-volatile memory (meaning it stores data even when it’s not being powered) that is twenty times faster than the fastest current flash memory. Crossbars says that it can write data to its chips at 140 megabytes a second,...

New Way of Inserting DNA into Living Cells

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A team of scientists have devised a new method of inserting foreign DNA into cells that, they say, is far more gentle and precise than any that have come before it. Described in the journal Bio-medical Optics Express , the technique includes poking holes on the surface of a cell using a high-powered "femtosecond" laser and retrieving a piece of DNA with "optical tweezers" like a high-tech version of the game Operation. The process, the researchers say, is an improvement on past methods for a number of reasons, including efficiency (many current techniques are clumsy and often require many tries) as well as its control at the single-cell level.

Daily Scriptural Light

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 1 Corinthians 4:7

Quote of the day

The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear. It is the storm within that endangers him, not the storm without.

Daily Scriptural Light

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastics 3:11

Quote of the day

What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself. Abraham Lincoln

Quote of the day

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Helen Keller

Daily Scriptural Light

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14 AMP

Quote of the day

The world is divided into people who do things and people who get the credit. Try, if you can, to belong to the first class. There's far less competition. Dwight Morrow

Daily Scriptural Light

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create calamity: I the LORD do all these things. Isaiah 45:7

How a desert city became one of the most expensive and beauty city in the world

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The world as we know is built upon the platform of ideas. Every attractive cities in the world today are product of creative ideas, Dubai can not be exempted. It is one of the city in our generation that makes many people dumbfounded today. It is so amazing how a desert can become so attractive, powerful, commercialize, industrious and economically expensive. Whatever we see today in Dubai is a product of thought that was nurture for several years in the womb of one man Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. He was responsible for the transformation of Dubai from a small cluster of settlements near the Dubai Creek to a modern port city and commercial hub. He ruled for 32 years from 1958 until his death in 1990. He was a man with fore-sight, fore-thought, vision, dream, desire, drive and passion for his people and the future of his community even after death. His drive to see Dubai as one of the most beautiful and commercial city in the world was born out of his famous line "...

China Air Pollution About Three Times Higher than Safe Particulate Leve

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Beijing registered air pollution levels that are at least three times higher than the "safe" level advised by the World Health Organization. The latest figures on the particulate matter in air were released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). The report included data from 74 cities.

Daily Scriptural Light

Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.  1 Chronicles 29:12

Quote of the day

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it only empties today of its strength. Corrie Ten Boom

Daily Scriptural Light on Technology

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

Quote of the day

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them. Attributed to George Bernard Shaw

Scientists Grow Teeth from Human Urine

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Chinese scientists used human urine to grow rudimentary teeth in a laboratory, according to a new study published in the Cell Regeneration Journal. While the teeth are rudimentary and the technique used to grow them is unappealing, researchers say it could one day be used as a way to replace teeth lost through aging or poor dental hygiene But the research has its critics. Chris Mason, a stem cell scientist at University College London, told the BBC that urine was a poor choice for a stem cell source. "It is probably one of the worst sources, there are very few cells in the first place and the efficiency of turning them into stem cells is very low," he told the BBC. "You just wouldn't do it in this way." Mason also warned that the risk of bacterial contamination is higher with urine than it would be in other sources. He also added that the researchers face the challenge of integrating the tooth pulp with nerves and blood vessels in order to grow functio...