Building, Living Breathing Supercomputers

The substance that provides energy to all the cells in our bodies, Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), may also be able to power the next generation of super-computers. That is what an international team of researchers led by Prof. Nicolau, the Chair of the Department of Bioengineering at McGill, believe. They've published an article on the subject earlier this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), in which they describe a model of a biological computer that they have created that is able to process information very quickly and accurately using parallel networks in the same way that massive electronic super computers do.

Except that the model bio supercomputer they have created is a whole lot smaller than current super-computers, uses much less energy, and uses proteins present in all living cells to function.

Solar Cells as Light as a Soap Bubble

Imagine solar cells so thin, flexible, and lightweight that they could be placed on almost any material or surface, including your hat, shirt, or smartphone, or even on a sheet of paper or a helium balloon.

Researchers at MIT have now demonstrated just such a technology: the thinnest, lightest solar cells ever produced. Though it may take years to develop into a commercial product, the laboratory proof-of-concept shows a new approach to making solar cells that could help power the next generation of portable electronic devices.

The new process is described in a paper by MIT professor Vladimir Bulovic, research scientist Annie Wang, and doctoral student Joel Jean, in the journal Organic Electronics.

Graphene 'Moth Eyes' to Power Future Smart Technologies

New research published in Science Advances has shown how graphene can be manipulated to create the most light-absorbent material for its weight, to date. This nanometer-thin material will enable future applications such as "smart wallpaper" that could generate electricity from waste light or heat, and power a host of applications within the growing Internet of Things.

Using a technique known as nanotexturing, which involves growing graphene around a textured metallic surface, researchers from the University of Surrey's Advanced Technology Institute took inspiration from nature to create ultra-thin graphene sheets designed to more effectively capture light. Just one atom thick, graphene is very strong but traditionally inefficient at light absorption. To combat this, the team used the nano-patterning to localize light into the narrow spaces between the textured surface, enhancing the amount of light absorbed by the material by about 90%.

New Form of Electron-beam Imaging Can See 'Invisible' Elements

Electrons can extend our view of microscopic objects well beyond what's possible with visible light--all the way to the atomic scale. A popular method in electron microscopy for looking at tough, resilient materials in atomic detail is called STEM, or scanning transmission electron microscopy, but the highly-focused beam of electrons used in STEM can also easily destroy delicate samples.

This is why using electrons to image biological or other organic compounds, such as chemical mixes that include lithium--a light metal that is a popular element in next-generation battery research--requires a very low electron dose.

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a new imaging technique, tested on samples of nanoscale gold and carbon, that greatly improves images of light elements using fewer electrons.

The newly demonstrated technique, dubbed MIDI-STEM, for matched illumination and detector interferometry STEM, combines STEM with an optical device called a phase plate that modifies the alternating peak-to-trough, wave-like properties (called the phase) of the electron beam.

Researchers Determine Carnivorous Dino’s Max Size

A fossilized femur bone hidden away in a drawer at The G. Gemmellaro Geological Museum, in Palermo, Italy, has helped researchers discover just how large a feathered, carnivorous dinosaur with diminutive forelimbs grew.

Abelisaurs were a predatory group of dinosaurs that traversed the Earth around 95 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period. According to researchers Alessandro Chiarenza and Andrea Cau, the specimen observed in their study, which was published in PeerJ today, would have called North Africa home. During the late Cretaceous, North Africa was a luscious savannah environment, which boasted rivers and mangrove swamps. There, abelisaur would have fed on other dinosaurs and aquatic animals, such as turtles, crocodiles, and fish.  

Microsoft to Ship Developer HoloLens for $3K in March

Microsoft said it will start shipping a developer version of its augmented reality device, HoloLens, for $3,000 on March 30.

That's around the same time Facebook's Oculus will begin shipping the consumer version of its Rift virtual-reality headset for $600. HoloLens differs from the Oculus Rift in that it makes the viewer see three-dimensional objects in the real world, rather than blocking out the real and replacing it with a 360-degree fictional universe.

New Skin Disease Therapy Offered through Nanotechnology

Researchers at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a nanotechnology-based delivery system containing a protective cellular pathway inducer that activates the body's natural defense against free radicals efficiently, a development that could control a variety of skin pathologies and disorders.

The human skin is constantly exposed to various pollutants, UV rays, radiation and other stressors that exist in our day-to-day environment. When they filter into the body they can create Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) - oxygen molecules known as Free Radicals, which are able to damage and destroy cells, including lipids, proteins and DNA.

Activity Monitoring Devices Provide Reliable Records of Activity

Fitbit, the popular physical activity monitoring device, is a valid and reliable way of monitoring physical activity, finds a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Whilst Fitbit-Flex is one of the most popular wearable devices currently available to measure physical activity, very little research has been conducted on its accuracy. The use of such devices also offers significant promise to researchers and clinicians working in cardiac rehabilitation program to evaluate, monitor and encourage physical activity that is integral to recovery. As the researchers from the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney explain:

Robots Help Scientists Understand Ocean Biodiversity

Mark Moline, of the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, spent his childhood summers on the beach. He went diving at an early age, learning firsthand of the riches below the waves. Like a fish on a line, he was hooked to the water. And the experiences pointed him towards the path of becoming a marine biologist.

For Moline, understanding how the ocean works is an excellent gage for how well the Earth is functioning. With the planet covered in nearly 70 percent water, it’s staggering to think that 95 percent of those blue depths are uncharted mysteries.

Ultrasound Tech Helps Scientists Understand Tiger Shark Reproduction

An apex predator, tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) are a widely spread shark species. In addition to their oceanic roving nature, the striped skin creatures also inhabit coastal regions, including coral reefs and atolls. Near Little Bahama Bank, a shallow region of water has become a hotspot for female tiger shark activity, so much so that the area was nicknamed Tiger Beach. Research into the area has revealed that females spend prolonged periods of time in the area (up to 180 days).

Researchers from the University of Miami and the University of New England recently performed a multi-year, multi-season study of the region’s female tiger sharks to understand their gestation habits. The study, published in February in Aquatic Biology, made use of the same imaging technology used by medical professionals on pregnant women.