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Medical Tech 

Proteins team up to turn on T cells

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The fates of various cells in our bodies–whether they become skin or another type of tissue, for example–are controlled by genetic switches. In a new study, Caltech scientists investigate the switch for T cells, which are immune cells produced in the thymus that destroy virus-infected cells and cancers. The researchers wanted to know how cells make the choice to become T cells. “We already know which genetic switch directs cells to commit to becoming T cells, but we wanted to figure out what enables that switch to be turned on,”…

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Transport Tech 

Elon Musk’s Hyperloop: A Pragmatic Vision of the Future

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Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes? In August, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk announced his vision for Hyperloop, a levitating train that would shoot through a low-pressure, above-ground tunnel at 760 mph. Musk is famous for futuristic transit, such as his electric car company Tesla Motors and commercial space travel business SpaceX. But he has no intention of building a functional Hyperloop. His aim was to generate buzz with the idea, in the hope that others would develop and build it. The technology itself is old news. In 1972,…

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How Data Science is Interconnected to Urban Design, Development of Infrastructure and Risk Management

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How Data Science is Interconnected to Urban Design, Development of Infrastructure and Risk Management The recent advances in data science are influencing the domain of urban design, infrastructure development as well as risk management in a game changing way. Data science can therefore be viewed as an asset in the building of more intelligent and sustainable cities around the globe through better city planning, predictive maintenance, or risk management. Additionally, urban design has progressed due to the contribution of data science because architects of cities today use real time information…

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Other Tech 

Humans can now use mind control to direct swarms of robots

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There have been some amazing breakthroughs that enable humans to control a single machine with their thoughts. The next step is figuring out how to operate an entire fleet of robots with mind control. A team of researchers at Arizona State University’s (ASU) Human-Oriented Robotics and Control Lab have developed a system for managing swarms of robots with brain power. ASU’s new system can be used to direct a group of small, inexpensive robots to complete a task. If one robot breaks down, it’s not a big loss, and the rest can…

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IT 

Nvidia’s eye-tracking system blurs the lines for more immersive VR environments

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The human eye can only focus on one surprisingly small area at a time, while our peripheral vision gives us the general gist of what else is nearby. That means a lot of processing power that goes into fully rendering virtual reality environments in focus is wasted when you’re only really taking in a small area of the screen at any given time. Nvidia has developed a rendering technique that allows that wasted processing power to be redirected to allow developers to create more immersive VR environments. The technique, called…

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Other Tech 

Boeing unveils game-changing autonomous submarine

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When you hear the name “Boeing,” chances are you think of aircraft. The fact is, however, the company has also been developing underwater vehicles since the 1960s. Its latest such creation, the Echo Voyager, is designed to operate autonomously for months at a time. The 51-foot (15.5-m)-long Voyager joins two other Boeing unmanned undersea vehicles, or UUVs: the 32-ft (9.8-m) Echo Seeker and the 18-ft (5.5-m) Echo Ranger. Like them, it’s designed to autonomously gather data underwater for scientific, military or other purposes. Unlike them, though, it’s not limited to missions lasting no…

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Medical Tech 

Pure Oxygen in Hyperbaric Chamber Helps with Opiate Withdrawal in Mice

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With heroin growing in popularity and causing a serious public health issue, researchers are looking at new ways to help treat the addiction. At Washington State University researchers were curious to see whether a hyperbaric chamber pressurized with pure oxygen would let people going through withdrawal have fewer of the unpleasant side effects we all remember from Trainspotting.   The investigators had a group of mice hooked on the stuff via a couple morphine injections over four days. On the following day, the mice were split into groups, some receiving…

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Transport Tech 

BMW ConnectedDrive gets even more connected

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BMW ConnectedDrive provides drivers with a variety of services and apps for in-vehicle entertainment, information and safety. As the name suggests, the system is rooted in connectivity and, working with Deutsche Telekom, BMW is bumping up those capabilities to include high-speed LTE, a Wi-Fi hotspot and the new eSIM. eSIM technology is being touted as a replacement for the traditional SIM card that’s at the heart of your smartphone. It’s used to establish a high-speed LTE connection inside the vehicle. This, in turn, powers a password-protected Wi-Fi hotspot that can provide internet…

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Other Tech 

MIT movie screen delivers 3D dazzle without the glasses

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3D cinema might bring dinosaur jaws right up to your nose, but it’s a wonder the great beasts don’t just laugh when they see the oddball glasses on your head that makes the effect possible. A new advancement from MIT takes a well-known trick known as the parallax barrier and leverages it in a way particular to how we move our heads in movie theaters. A small prototype using 50 mirrors and lenses has been developed and, if researchers can advance upon the idea, glassless 3D viewing might just become…

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Medical Tech 

Medtronic’s New Guardian Connect Smartphone Powered Glucometer

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Medtronic won EU approval to introduce its Guardian Connect continuous glucose monitoring system for diabetics taking injected insulin. The wearable stick-on glucometer wirelessly connects to the Guardian Connect app via a Bluetooth, updating the iPhone with the latest readings on a regular basis. It takes readings every five minutes, which equates with 288 samplings every day. Sugar levels that fall outside preset boundaries raise an alarm through the phone app, and it can also send SMS messages to loved ones and caretakers when that happens as well. The app can upload a complete…

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