Here’s what happened when a bunch of researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan decided to throw in some of the booze from their party into their experiments on superconductors.
From io9:
When they tested the resulting materials for superconductivity, they found that the ones soaked in commercial booze came out ahead. About 15 percent of the material became a superconductor for the water mixed with ethanol, and less for the pure water. By comparison, Shochu jacked up conductivity by 23 percent and red wine managed to supercharge over 62 percent of the material. The scientists were pleased, if bemused with their results.
Source: io9.com
Bioartificial Lungs Created, Not Quite Ready For Humanoids
From PhysOrg.com:
Researchers in the US have grown lungs in their laboratory and transplanted them into rats. The transplanted lungs functioned for up to six hours. The current work follows independent research announced last month by Yale University, in which the first ever bioengineered lung tissue was transplanted into rats. In those experiments the tissue carried out gas exchange for only two hours.
Source: physorg.com%2Fnews198390175.html
Be Creative, Go To Sleep
From a Times Online article on the creative benefits of sleep:
History is peppered with tales of phenomenal ideas taking shape in sleeping minds; Paul McCartney said that he awoke with the tune of Yesterday in his head, and Robert Louis Stevenson said that the idea for The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde came to him in a dream. But what exactly is going on in our minds while we sleep? Does slumber really prompt creative genius? And can the most uncreative of people receive flashes of inspiration once their head hits the pillow?
The After Life of Scientific Supermachines
The New Scientist asks the question: Where do science supermachines go when they die?
Daydreaming is Good
Daydreaming is usually considered to be counter productive, but scientists believe a wandering mind may be just the ticket to solve complex problems. So next time your boss catches you drifting off into fantasy world during the next excruciating staff meeting, tell them you’re just a hair away from solving those pesky supply chain management problems that have been dragging the company into the red.
From the Boston Globe article:
In recent years, however, scientists have begun to see the act of daydreaming very differently. They’ve demonstrated that daydreaming is a fundamental feature of the human mind - so fundamental, in fact, that it’s often referred to as our “default” mode of thought. Many scientists argue that daydreaming is a crucial tool for creativity, a thought process that allows the brain to make new associations and connections. Instead of focusing on our immediate surroundings - such as the message of a church sermon - the daydreaming mind is free to engage in abstract thought and imaginative ramblings. As a result, we’re able to imagine things that don’t actually exist, like sticky yellow bookmarks.”
Jurassic Park Dreams
Deep inside the dusty university store room, three scientists struggle to lift a huge fossilised bone.
It is from the leg of a dinosaur.For many years, this chunky specimen has languished cryptically on a shelf.
Interesting but useless — a forgotten relic of a lost age.
Now, with hammer and chisel poised, the academics from Montana State University in America gather round.
They are about to shatter this rare vestige of the past.
Why would they do such a thing?
The answer is that they believe that this single fragment of a beast which stalked the earth untold millions of years ago could hold the key which will unlock the secrets of the dinosaurs.
Extraordinarily, they contend that it could lead to a real life Jurassic Park, where dinosaurs are once again unleashed on the world by scientists.
Epsilon Flash Game
Epsilon is a Flash based game, a sort of light interpretation of the massive Large Hadron Collider experiment.
Review and walkthrough at Jay is Games:
Epsilon employs the same humorous test-subject theme that we’ve seen in Portal, Shift 2 and Falling Forever. Your job is to manipulate an orb to collect energy points and make it to the goal before time runs out. The story’s a little thin compared to the heavy, theoretical physics-based theme of the game. However, the loading screen displays a brief summary of the real-life Large Hadron Collider experiment, perhaps offering the game as an homage to the research that’s currently being done.
Gecko Flying Lessons
From BBC News:
A gecko’s tail is as crucial to the animal’s acrobatic ability as its “sticky” feet, scientists report.High-speed video reveals that the creature uses its tail as a “fifth leg” to prevent it from slipping as it climbs wet surfaces.
And the footage shows that if it does fall, a flick of the tail is all it takes for the gecko to land feet-down.
Read the full article and view a high speed video of the gecko in motion.
Out-of-body experience, on demand.
From BBC News:
Experts have found a way to trigger an out-of-body experience in volunteers.
The experiments, described in the Science journal, offer a scientific explanation for a phenomenon experienced by one in 10 people.
Two teams used virtual reality goggles to con the brain into thinking the body was located elsewhere.
The visual illusion plus the feel of their real bodies being touched made volunteers sense that they had moved outside of their physical bodies.
Read more about it here.
