Science and research

Brain-machine interface helps move paralyzed hand

After "eavesdropping" on the electrical signals of monkeys' brains that tell their arms and hands how to move, researchers at Northwestern University are reporting this week in the journal Nature that they've devised new tech that could some day help paralyzed patients move their limbs in spite of their spinal cord injuries.

To analyze the monkeys' natural neuroelectrical activity, the researchers implanted tiny multi-electrode arrays that detected the activity of about 100 neurons in the brain to decipher the signals that generate hand movements.

They then recorded the electrical activity that occurred when the monkeys grasped, lifted, … Read more

Is asteroid mining in our near future?

The latest effort from James Cameron has all the earmarks of a science fiction movie -- but in real life.

The movie director has joined Google executives Larry Page and Eric Schmidt in backing Planetary Resources, a mysterious company that promises to "create a new industry and a new definition of 'natural resources.'"

It's not entirely clear what the company does, but according to a press release uncovered by MIT's Technology Review, Planetary Resources "will overlay two critical sectors -- space exploration and natural resources - to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP.&… Read more

Pharma firms could soon use 3D printers to create drugs

Sorry, Walter White. There's about to be a new gig in town, and it doesn't involve mixing volatile compounds in sketchy trailer park drug labs.

So say researchers at the University of Glasgow, who are reporting in the journal Nature Chemistry that their novel tech, which they call "reactionware," could turn a commercially-available $2,000 3D printer into a drug lab.

The team says its reactionware uses a robotically-controlled syringe to build objects out of a polymer-based gel that sets at room temperature. So instead of putting chemicals and catalysts in glassware to get a desired … Read more

Follow the patents: A fifth of filings now tied to mobile tech

As if anyone needed another data point to grasp where the hot money is heading, a new report has found that about 21 percent of all patents in the first quarter of this year were for mobile technologies.

The study compiled by consultant Chetan Sharma examined approximately 7 million patents granted both by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office. What she found underscores the trend that has been long in the making. In the last decade, the number of mobile-related patents granted by the USPTO and its European counterpart have soared: The U.S. … Read more

Mobile apps reshape toys and learning

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--While older generations simply had to memorize facts at school, today's children and young adults learn best by playing, often with digital gadgets, according to experts at the Sandbox Summit.

Held at the MIT Media Lab, the conference brings together educators and technologists seeking ways to better reach Generations Y and Z--groups ranging from toddlers to 20 somethings--and equip them with skills for the digital lifestyle of the 21st century. In additional to making compelling online games and educational content, they are also trying to design toys which bridge offline play with online apps.

New technology, particularly … Read more

Discovery's last voyage as seen from below

It wasn't an everyday sight. Hitched to the back of a NASA 747 jumbo jet, the Shuttle Discovery today made its final flight, going from Florida's Kennedy Space Center to Dulles International Airport en route to its new home at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's nearby Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

NASA has released some amazing official shots of the historic happening, but we wanted to see how it looked to the thousands of space enthusiasts on the ground pointing their cameras and phones skyward in hopes of capturing the orbiter's last airborne hurrah.

The results of their photographic efforts have been pouring in to Twitter all day (hashtag #SpotTheShuttle), and onto NASA's Spot the Shuttle Flickr site. Together, they make for a stunning crowdsourced chronicle of a big day in the life of the shuttle program. Scroll through the gallery below for just a few of our favorite shots. … Read more

Shuttle Discovery, bound for museum duty, makes final flight

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL -- The space shuttle Discovery, bolted to the back of a NASA 747 jumbo jet, departed the Kennedy Space Center for the last time today, putting on a final show for thousands of Space Coast residents and tourists who jammed area beaches just after sunrise for a low-altitude flyby.

"Oh my God," exclaimed Lynne Rover, who watched the shuttle pass overhead from a beach in Cape Canaveral. "I feel like part of America is dying. It really annoys me that we have to pay the Russians to bring our astronauts back and forth (… Read more

Neonatal monitor 'Babalung' could save preemies

Bioengineering students at Rice University have designed a $25 sleep apnea detector they hope to test on premature babies in developing countries this summer.

The Babalung Apnea Monitor was designed by Team Breath Alert-- a group of five female bioengineering undergrads as part of their senior year project. The project was inspired by estimates that almost half of babies born prematurely have apnea episodes and that caregivers in developing countries are less able to monitor them in neonatal units due to crowding and limited resources.

The system uses an elastic motion sensor embedded in a strap that surrounds the … Read more

Striking views of Earth captured in time-lapse video

The scientists aboard the International Space Station "have the best view in the solar system," videographer Alex Rivest says. Maybe that is why he created this time-lapse video of exactly what the scientists see so people around the world can also gaze at the same view.

Hovering close to Earth and completing 15 orbits per day, the ISS provides dozens of photos and videos of the views it records -- the same stunning scenes captured in Rivest's video. The habitable satellite tracks rolling scenes of the multi-colored planet with images of long winding rivers, high mountain ranges, … Read more