Science

The Brits are using a simulated combat environment developed by the University of Southern California, to treat soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

By bringing to life a "virtual Iraq," complete with the realistic thumps and bumps of battle, the program allows troops to "relive and confront psychological trauma." All this takes place in a graduated manner so as not to re-traumatize, according to the University of Reading's Visualisation Centre.

The Iraq simulation experience is "fully immersive," meaning that patients wear VR goggles that transport them to the virtual battlefield. There, an attending … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--If you happened to be here for the South by Southwest edition of Dorkbot, the gatherings of artists and engineers in various cities that work with electronic art, I sure hope you saw the singing tesla coils.

I was in Brush Square Park for the Dorkbot meet-up Saturday evening, and the duo of singing coils were one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time.

I already love tesla coils--disruptive discharge transformer coils that shoot out bolts of electricity. But this took the concept to a whole new level: small, side-by-side versions of the electricity-spewing devices … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--If you happened to be in Brush Square Park Saturday evening for the South by Southwest edition of Dorkbot, the gatherings of artists and engineers in various cities that work with electronic art, I sure hope you saw the singing tesla coils.

I did, and it was one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. First of all, I love tesla coils--disruptive discharge transformer coils that shoot out bolts of electricity--to begin with. But this took the concept to a whole new level: Two small, side-by-side versions of the electricity-spewing devices that were working in … Read more

If you're really into robots, maybe it's time a robot got into you. Literally.

This miniature robotic prototype developed by researchers at the Ritsumeikan University and the Shiga University of Medical Science in Japan can be inserted into a patient's body through a small incision.

The doctors use prior MRI imaging of a patient as a sort of internal Google Map. Once it's in there, the robot can be controlled by doctors outside the body to capture images, take tissue samples, deliver medicine, and even perform minor surgical procedures.

As advanced as the robot is, it … Read more

It's one thing to have LEDs around the house or even on the head, but in your mouth? Um, no.

The "Ionic Teeth Whitener" promises to keep your pearly whites sparkling with a special blue LED that that "activates silver ions" in its accompanying toothpaste, according to Red Ferret. For $30, it promises to "remove stains from coffee, soda, wine, smoking and more."

More? If you've got more issues than these, you probably need more than a dental cleaner in your life.

Maybe you thought farmed salmon was a responsible way to consume some tasty fish without threatening the environment? Staying away from over-fished wild species?

Well, some recent research in the Pacific Northwest is not encouraging. The farmed salmon in both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans are Atlantic salmon. U.S. Forest Service research shows there is some threat of the farm salmon (PDF) getting loose, then spreading. They could become the next wild boar or rock pigeon, shoving their way into the environment and moving aside some at-risk native fish.

Well, step one: some farmed salmon have gotten loose. … Read more

The more carbon dioxide we put into Earth's atmosphere, the more dissolves in the ocean. University of Illinois research just published says that's causing a problem.

The world's oceans are getting more acidic. And the research shows this mechanism of rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and ocean is operating independently of any climate change.

So? Well, more acidic oceans result from carbon dioxide reacting with seawater. That acidity could start killing off ocean life, the researchers warn. It could even make it difficult for shellfish to maintain their shells, which would soften or even dissolve in … Read more

So there you are, tooling down the freeway at 100 mph and watching a DVD on your visor when you get the munchies. But you're not sure how long that raw steak has been sitting in your cooler.

So before you pop it in the portable microwave, be sure to pull out your trusty "SensorFresh Q," which Red Ferret describes as an "electronic nose that sniffs out bacteria in uncooked meat." That's fine, but what we really want to know is whether it works on leftover pizza.

What's good news and terrible news? Hopeful and horrendous? Economic growth, of course. A study of global air pollution done in Texas--where I'm told Houston leads the American league in polluting air--shows the economic boom in India and China adding to atmospheric pollution.

That's not all, says the team at Texas A&M. That pollution is affecting the storm track moving west to east across the Pacific and bringing weather to much of North America. From North America, that pollution continues to circle the globe.

One conclusion: "During the past few decades, there has been … Read more