Collaborate Disseminate
Scientists at the University of Chicago have developed a new pacemaker that’s thinner than a human hair, wireless and operated entirely by light from an optic fiber. The non-invasive device could help regulate heart activity or even stimulate neurons i… Continue reading Ultrathin, wireless, light-operated pacemaker cuts invasive surgery
Robert Legare and Nicole Sganga report: Hackers backed by the Chinese government are targeting U.S. water treatment plants and electrical grids, strategically positioning themselves within critical infrastructure systems to “wreak havoc and cause… Continue reading FBI director to warn Congress of dangers Chinese hackers pose to American infrastructure, innovation
Researchers have developed a soft conductive electrode that doesn’t require invasive surgery to implant and is resorbed by the body over time. They say their method could be a novel way of treating non-chronic conditions such as cancer and nerve injuri… Continue reading Organic electrode may allow short-term electrotherapy without surgery
Whether they’re hacking the brains of bugs or mining for gold, fungi are craftier than we give them credit for. Now researchers in Japan have studied how forest mushrooms communicate with each other, and found that they’re mostly chatty when it rains.C… Continue reading Forest fungi overheard talking to each other after rain showers
Concrete is pretty useful, which is why it’s the most widely used construction material in the world. But it could be argued that it doesn’t really do anything. Now, engineers have made concrete that can conduct electricity and produce heat, by mixing … Continue reading Dash of nanocarbon black makes conductive, heat-generating concrete
“Strange metals” have that name for a reason – these materials exhibit some unusual conductive properties and surprisingly, even have things in common with black holes. Now, a new study has characterized them in more detail, and found that strange meta… Continue reading Strange metals: New state of matter shares properties with black holes
At the University of Oxford, [Jen Chesters] conducts therapy sessions with thirty men in a randomized clinical trial to test the effects of tDCS on subjects who stutter. Men are approximately four times as likely to stutter and the sex variability of the phenomenon is not being tested. In the randomized sessions, the men and [Jen] are unaware if any current is being applied, or a decoy buzzer is used.
Transcranial Direct Current, tDCS, applies a small current to the brain with the intent of exciting or biasing the region below the electrode. A credit-card sized card is used to …read more
Continue reading Help With Stuttering Could Come From Electricity
Newston’s Cradle is thought of as the most elegant of executive desk toys. But that 20th-century dinosaur just got run off the road as [Ben Katz]’s Furuta pendulum streaks past in the fast lane, flipping the bird and heralding a new king of desk adornments.
This Furata pendulum has wonderfully smooth movement. You can watch it go through its dance in the video after the break. Obviously you agree that this is the desk objet d’art for the modern titan of industry (geek). Just don’t stop at watching it in action. The best part is the build log that [Ben] …read more
Continue reading Furuta Style Inverted Pendulum Is King of Geek Desk Ornaments