Thursday, August 27, 2009

IBM Takes First 3D Image of Atomic Bonds - Quantum Computing - Gizmodo

IBM Takes First 3D Image of Atomic Bonds - Quantum Computing

Now, the picture above is pretty unremarkable, right? Black and white (trivia: molecules have no color), grainy, shot in the kind of out-of-focus manner you expect from a guy like me, who can't seem to venture out beyond the Auto setting on his entry-level Nikon D40 DSLR. But wait a second. Doesn't the image kind of seem, well, familiar? Like high school chem class familiar? Balls and sticks familiar?

Here's another image; a computer generated image that's much more at home for anyone who studied atoms and molecules in the dead and gone days of 1997:

Make sense now? That B&W structure is an actual image of a molecule and its atomic bonds. The first of its kind, in fact, and a breakthrough for the crazy IBM scientists in Zurich who spent 20 straight hours staring at the "specimen"—which in this case was a 1.4 nanometer-long pentacene molecule comprised of 22 carbon atoms and 14 hydrogen atoms.

You can actually make out each of those atoms and their bonds, and it's thanks to this: An atomic force microscope.

Like the venerable electron microscope, but more powerful and with an eye for the third dimension, the AFM is able to make the nano world something we humans can appreciate visually. Using a silicon microscale cantilever coated in carbon dioxide (tiny, tiny needle), lasers, an "ultrahigh vacuum" and temperatures that hovered around 5 Kelvin, the AFM imaged the pentacene in nanometers. It did this while sitting a mere 0.5 nanometers above the surface and its previously invisible bonds for 20 long, unmoving hours. The length of time is noteworthy, said IBM scientist Leo Goss in statement from IBM, because any movement whatsoever would have disrupted the delicate atomic bonds and ruined the image.

And that's the real beauty of this image. For the first time ever we can see where each of those carbon and hydrogen atoms line up, and the overall symmetrical shape they create. In 3D.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

‘Air shower’ set to cut water use by 30 per cent (Media Release)

Image of a showerhead tied in a knot.
The Aerated Showerhead can reduce water use by 30 per cent.

‘Air shower’ set to cut water use by 30 per cent

The scientists have developed a simple ‘air shower’ device which, when fitted into existing showerheads, fills the water droplets with a tiny bubble of air. The result is the shower feels just as wet and just as strong as before, but now uses much less water.

The researchers, from CSIRO Manufacturing Materials Technology in Melbourne, say the device increases the volume of the shower stream while reducing the amount of water used by about 30 per cent.

Monday, August 24, 2009

YouTube - VideoTrace - 3D modelling using real video

YouTube - VideoTrace - 3D modelling using real video

VideoTrace is a system for interactively generating realistic 3D models of objects from video—models that might be inserted into a video game, a simulation environment, or another video sequence. The user interacts with VideoTrace by tracing the shape of the object to be modelled over one or more frames of the video. By interpreting the sketch drawn by the user in light of 3D information obtained from computer vision techniques, a small number of simple 2D interactions can be used to generate a realistic 3D model. Each of the sketching operations in VideoTrace provides an intuitive and powerful means of modelling shape from video, and executes quickly enough to be used interactively. Immediate feedback allows the user to model rapidly those parts of the scene which are of interest and to the level of detail required. The combination of automated and manual reconstruction allows VideoTrace to model parts of the scene not visible, and to succeed in cases where purely automated approaches would fail..


Friday, August 21, 2009

New DNA test uses nanotechnology to find early signs of cancer

New DNA test uses nanotechnology to find early signs of cancer: "Using tiny crystals called quantum dots, Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a highly sensitive test to look for DNA attachments that often are early warning signs of cancer.

This test, which detects both the presence and the quantity of certain DNA changes, could alert people who are at risk of developing the disease and could tell doctors how well a particular cancer treatment is working."

Monday, August 17, 2009

12 surprising signs you’ll live to 100 - Aging- msnbc.com

12 surprising signs you’ll live to 100 - Aging- msnbc.com

Outgoing people are 50 percent less likely to develop dementia;

Scientists in California found that middle-aged people who did just that — for a total of about 5 hours per week — lived longer and functioned better physically and cognitively as they got older; the researchers tracked runners and nonrunners for 21 years.

Most Americans eat 14 to 17 g of fiber per day; add just 10 g and reduce your risk of dying from heart disease by 17 percent

You embrace techie trends
Learn to Twitter or Skype to help keep brain cells young and healthy, says Sherri Snelling, senior director for Evercare (part of United-Healthcare), a group that sponsors an annual poll of U.S. centenarians. Many of the oldest Americans send e-mails, Google lost friends, and even date online. Researchers say using the latest technology helps keep us not only mentally spry but socially engaged: "Stay connected to friends, family, and current events, and you feel vital and relevant," says Snelling.

Researchers in St. Louis reported that men and women who limited their daily calories to 1,400 to 2,000 (about 25 percent fewer calories than those who followed a typical 2,000-to 3,000-calorie Western diet) were literally young at heart — their hearts functioned like those of people 15 years younger.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

YouTube - Craig Ferguson 7/21/9A Late Late Show beginning

YouTube - Craig Ferguson 7/21/9A Late Late Show beginning

Craig has figured it out; Why everything sucks. Very insightful monologue!

Asimo and HRP-2 Promet go to work

Asimo-planningResearchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed novel approaches to humanoid robot navigation and path planning using a Honda Asimo and HRP-2 Promet as their test subjects. The robots are able to perceive obstacles in their environment and walk around them to reach a goal destination. They can even predict the velocity of moving obstacles and time their footsteps in order to get through unharmed using computer vision algorithms.







Asimo and HRP-2 Promet go to work

COOLPIX S1000pj from Nikon

Nikon introduces the first Projector Camera. Awesome.

COOLPIX S1000pj 26186

COOLPIX S1000pj


COOLPIX S1000pj from Nikon

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