#Thermal'Invisibility Cloak'Could Keep People Cool A new thermal"invisibility cloak"that channels heat around whatever it is trying to hide may one day help keep people and satellites cool,
researchers say. Invisibility cloaks, once thought of only as the province of"Harry potter "or"Star trek,"work by smoothly guiding light waves around objects so the waves ripple along their original trajectories
as if nothing were there to block them. Cloaking devices that redirect other kinds of waves,
such as the acoustic waves used in sonar, are possible as well. Previous research had developed cloaking devices that could hide objects from heat essentially making them thermally invisible.
However these cloaks could not be turned on and off. In addition, each of these cloaks had to be tailored to whatever item they were cloaking."
"In realistic cloaking applications, the environment changes; the object to be cloaked changes; everything changes,"study co-author Baile Zhang,
a physicist and electrical engineer at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told Live Science.""Therefore, a controllable cloak that can adjust its performance is very desirable."
"Now, Zhang and his colleagueshave developed an active thermal cloak that can be switched on and off and can change its shape without affecting its performance.
The cloak is made up of 24 devices known as thermoelectric modules, which serve as heat pumps, moving heat from one place to another.
Each of these small devices measures 0. 24 by 0. 24 by 0. 15 inches (6 by 6 by 3. 8 millimeters.
When the cloak is turned on, it redirects heat around an air hole that is 2. 44 inches (62 mm) wide in a steel plate just 0. 2 inches (5 mm) thick.
It can prevent heat from diffusing through the hole across temperatures ranging from 32 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to 60 degrees Celsius.
The heat pumps can also be rearranged to shield a rectangular hole 2. 36 inches (60 mm) wide just as effectively,
the researchers said. This so-called active thermal cloak could, in principle, be made as thin as skin,
It could help protect sensitive electronic components on microchips such as mobile devices, high-power engines and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI SCANNERS from the heat,
he added say, by unfolding antennas. But the futuristic technology is still in its infancy,
"Although the current work shows the possibility of controllable thermal cloaking, it's not an off-the-shelf product,
and it will take years to incorporate this work into current heat-dissipation technologies, "he added.
which is currently about as good as that of a refrigerator, Zhang said. In addition, they are"currently considering placing sensors on the cloak,
such that the cloak can sense the temperature of the environment and adjust its cloaking performance automatically,
"he said. The scientists detailed their findings online Sept. 21 in the journal Applied Physics Letters s
This research could one day lead to a"quantum Internet"that offers next-generation encryption,
which finds that the fundamental building blocks of the universe can essentially exist in two or more places at once.
In a recent experiment, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were able to teleport photons farther across an optical fiber than ever before."
The new distance record was set using advanced single-photon detectors made of superconducting wires of molybdenum silicide that were about 150 nanometers
The experiment involved a near-infrared wavelength commonly used in telecommunications, the researchers said.""Only about 1 percent of photons make it all the way through 100 kilometers (60 miles) of fiber,
"Stevens said in a statement.""We never could have done this experiment without these new detectors,
which can measure this incredibly weak signal.""The detectors used in this new experiment could record more than 80 percent of arriving photons, according to the scientists.
In comparison, the previous record-holder had operated detectors that with about 75 percent efficiency at best. Moreover, the new experiment detected 10 times fewer stray photons than the previous record-holder.
Prior research did achieve quantum teleportation over longer distances over open air a span of 89 miles (144 kilometers) between the two Canary islands of La Palma and Tenerife, located off the northwest coast
"Quantum teleportation could enable the development of a"quantum Internet"that allows messages to be sent more securely,
"A quantum Internet could allow you to establish communications channels that are much more secure than what we have with the standard encryption protocols we use everyday nowadays,
The researchers now plan to develop even better single-photon detectors to push distances for quantum teleportation even farther,
of the Georgia Institute of technology in Atlanta, told Space. com via email.""The presence of liquid water on Mars'present-day surface therefore points to environment s that are more habitable than previously thought."
"Ojha was part of the team that first discovered RSL in 2011, by studying images captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (Hirise) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
but instead are from the presence of the mineral pyroxene. RSL occur in many different locations on Mars, from equatorial regions up to the planet's middle latitudes.
Ojha and his colleagues scrutinized data gathered about four different RSL locations by another MRO instrument, the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM."
. so I think this hydrated signature of the salts is definitely a'smoking gun, '"he said.
which is why the discovery of RSL sites has generated so much excitement over the past four years:
#Signal-Scrambling Tech'Freezes'Drones in Midair A new device that can detect, target and deter commercial drones could be used to keep the flying robots away from areas where they're not wanted, like government properties, airports or your own backyard.
The new Anti-UAV Defense system (AUDS) was developed by three tech companies in the United kingdom. It has a radar detection component,
advanced tracking capabilities and a sneaky little onboard device that keeps drones at bay. Rather than melting drones in midair like Boeing's new Compact Laser weapons System, AUDS shoots the flying vehicles with something that doesn't destroy them radio waves.
Drone operators typically communicate with and direct, the aerial bots using radio signals. Enter AUDS, which uses a drone's communication system against it.
Using directional antennas pointed at the drone, AUDS sends the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) radio signals that interfere with the radio signals coming from the remote operator.
When the drone picks up AUDS'signals, it"freezes, "unsure of where to fly. Whoever is controlling the anti-drone system can keep the UAV hovering at a distance until the machine runs out of battery life and crashes to the ground, according to a report by the BBC.
AUDS can spot a drone from about 5 miles (8 kilometers) away. After zeroing in on its target
it uses video and thermal imaging software to keep the flying vehicle in its sight. Once the drone gets close enough to the anti-drone system,
it's"game over"for the drone. Drone disturbance Even though drones can be incredibly usefulthey can help conservationists keep tabs on protected areas
and help farmers survey their crops more quickly these flying robots have stirred up quite a few problems in recent months.
Just today (Oct 9), two people operating a small drone near the Washington monument in Washington, D c,
. accidentally crashed their UAV on the back lawn of the White house. A similar incident occurred at the presidential residence in January.
Drones are prohibited from flying in the U s. capital but laws and heavy fines don't seem to keep all drones out.
Commercial drones have also been used in attempts to smuggle contraband goods, like cellphones and weapons, into prisons.
And camera-toting drones hovering over private homes have been derided as both a security and privacy concern for residents.
The U s. Federal aviation administration (FAA), which sets guidelines for how and where commercial drones can be flown,
has ruled that small UAVS cannot be flown within 5 miles of airports and that they must remain below 400 feet (122 meters),
where they are unlikely to interfere with piloted aircraft. But a recent deluge of complaints from pilots
as well as U s. Forest Service employees who have spotted the flying bots near wildfires, has led the FAA to take further action against rule-breaking drone operators.
The FAA signed an agreement this week that will allow it to test technologies that can detect the position of operators who are flying their drones in restricted areas,
such as near airports, according to a report by Phys. org. Though the AUDS system doesn't promise to help locate errant drone operators,
it could be used to keep drones away from restricted areas altogether. The radio-jamming technology aboard AUDS doesn't scramble signals from commercial or military aircraft
which use encrypted signals, so it might be safe to use near airports. The new anti-drone system has been tested in the United kingdom, the United states and France, according to the BBC.
But there's no word yet on when or where this drone-freezing technology could be used in these countries u
#Beyond the Helix:''Supercoiled'DNA Twists into Crazy Shapes DNA doesn't just coil in the iconic double helix immortalized in every high school biology textbook.
It also loops into a menagerie of fantastical shapes, new research finds. By revealing the hidden shape of DNA,
the new insights could provide a more detailed look at the workings of drugs such as chemotherapeutic agents,
which interact with DNA.""This is because the action of drug molecules relies on them recognizing a specific molecular shape much like a key fits a particular lock,
"said study co-author Sarah Harris, a physicist at the University of Leeds in England. Building blocks of life After molecular biologists James Watson and Francis Crick first published a paper on the structure of DNA in 1953, the double helix became the iconic symbol of the code of life.
But that picture is actually just a tiny part of nucleic acid structure, researchers now say.""When Watson and Crick described the DNA double helix,
they were looking at a tiny part of a real genome, only about one turn of the double helix.
This is about 12 DNA base pairs, which are the building blocks of DNA that form the rungs of the helical ladder,
"Harris said. But DNA is made of about 3 billion base pairs, and all 3. 3 feet (1 meter) of this genetic information must fit into the nucleus of a cell,
which measures just 10 micrometers across. For comparison, the average width of a single strand of human hair is 70 micrometers.
To squeeze into such tight quarters, the DNA must be precisely, and tightly, coiled. Fantastical shapes To understand this process,
the researchers recreated DNA molecules in the lab . Because linear strands of DNA don't coil,
the team painstakingly coiled and uncoiled a helix turn by turn, using short circular snippets of DNA made up of thousands of base pairs."
a biochemist at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in a statement. To make sure that this supercoiled DNA actually shows up in the body,
and to understand how these loops of genetic code act in real-time, the team created computer simulations that revealed the supercoiled loops wriggling over time.
Typically, the DNA helix is formed when complementary base pairs such as the nucleotide adenine and its partner guanine bind together, forming a bridge across the helix.
But the new simulation revealed that these base-pair bridges peel apart both when the helix is unraveled,
and when it is very tightly wound. The team speculates that base-pair separation in supercoiled DNA allows it to hinge sharply,
Futuristic Flying vehicles Could Vanish After Deliveries Picture this: A tiny, floating device delivers a package into your arms,
which is devoted to building small electronic systems that do their jobs and then self-destruct. Although it might sound counterintuitive to build something that's going to disappear,
For example, sophisticated technologies (such as environmental sensors or communications tools) are used often on battlefields and then are left behind, where they can be scooped up by people who aren't authorized to use them,
Discarded electronics also pose a threat to the environment as they rust and decompose. But electronics that just disappear aren't saddled with these problems
DARPA officials said. VAPR researchers have developed already a few materials that can disappear into thin air,
including a small polymer panel that literally goes"poof,"changing from a solid into a gas.
Researchers also developed a glass material embedded with electronics that shatters into tiny particles after use."
Creating vanishing delivery vehicles is the next order of business for DARPA, which recently announced a new program called ICARUS short for Inbound, Controlled, Air-Releasable,
which calls for the"design and prototyping of vanishing air delivery vehicles capable of precise, gentle drops of small payloads."
"The flying vehicles could be used to deliver materials such as food, water and vaccines to people living in remote parts of the world,
or to transport supplies to people who have been stranded by natural disasters. Normally, the organizations that distribute such materials
either return to collect the vehicles they used to drop the supplies or leave the vehicles on the ground to decompose.
The option to just drop something out of a plane and then totally forget about it hasn't existed, according to DARPA.
Just don't expect these vanishing vehicles to replace your local mail delivery person or even high-tech delivery drones.
#Real-life Sonic'Tractor Beam'Can Levitate Objects Using Sound waves It may seem straight out of"Star trek,
Scientists have created a sonic"tractor beam"that can pull, push and pirouette objects that levitate in thin air.
The sonic tractor beam relies on a precisely timed sequence of sound waves that create a region of low pressure that traps tiny objects that can then be manipulated solely by sound waves,
or target the release of medicine locked in acoustically activated drug capsules, said study co-author Bruce Drinkwater,
a mechanical engineer at the University of Bristol in the United kingdom. Levitating objects In the past, scientists have used everything from laser beams to superconducting magnetic fields to levitate objects.
And in 2014, researchers at the University of Dundee in Scotland showed that acoustic holograms that act like a tractor beam could theoretically suck in objects."
"They really just showed the force was there; they weren't able to grab or pull anything,"Drinkwater said.
But figuring out the exact pattern of sound waves to create this tractor force is difficult,
his Ph d. student Asier Marzo and other colleagues ran computer simulations through myriad different patterns of sound waves to find the ones that produced the signature combination of a low-pressure region surrounded by high-pressure zones.
One works like tweezers and seems to grab the particles in thin air. Another traps the object in a high-pressure cage.
The third type of force field acts a bit like a swirling tornado with a rotating high-pressure field surrounding a low-pressure, quiet"eye"that holds the object in place,
The team demonstrated their tractor beam using tiny balls of polystyrene the same material used in packing peanuts.
"The team currently levitates lightweight polystyrene balls that measure up to 0. 2 inches (5 millimeters) across.
But for the system to be useful for medical operations, the team would need to miniaturize it to manipulate objects on the micron scale.
A team from Linköping University and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a device that delivers the neurotransmitter?
Therapy using implanted organic bioelectronicsource: Linköping University i
#First 3d printed Drug Approved by FDA Youl rarely see medication news on the pages of Medgadget,
but a newly FDA approved drug has raised our eyebrows because of how it produced. Aprecia Pharmaceuticals has developed a way of producing individually dosed tablets that dissolve on contact with liquid.
The specific FDA approval is for SPRITAM (levetiracetam) that used as a therapy for epileptics to help control partial onset seizures, myoclonic seizures,
and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. The fascinating part is that each tablet is produced using a layering technique similar to now common 3d printing.
The drug in powder form is placed on a surface and a drop of luethat makes it stick together is placed on top.
and the process is repeated until the correct amount of drug is embedded within the tablet. Each tablet is extremely porous
and breaks down once in contact with a liquid, so even kids and those having trouble swallowing can put one in the mouth,
#3d printed Brain regions Help Neurosurgeons Prepare for Difficult Procedures While neurosurgeons have been able to virtually navigate volumetric images of patientsbrain structures gathered from CT and MRI scans,
difficult procedures within complex anatomy still remains challenging. At Boston Children Hospital, physicians are now using 3d printed replicas of brain regions theyl be working on to practice with before actual surgery.
The researchers studying how the new capability may help in neurosurgery have focused on pediatric patients with cerebrovascular malformations requiring surgical or radiological intervention.
They used high resolution scans to recreate the patientsmalformed blood vessels and nearby anatomy using 3d printed resin.
They then used them to train on in preparation to the surgeries and also compared the models to the anatomy they were copied from,
#Braille Smartwatch Helps Blind People Communicate, Navigate, Read Ebooks There a new smartwatch soon to be coming to market,
but it designed for blind people, especially those who already know or are learning to read in Braille.
The Dot watch has a Braille reader on its face and can connect to a smartphone via Bluetooth for programming.
It works as a regular watch that tells time that also includes an alarm feature,
and that can also provide navigation information when going on your own for a stroll. The main idea of the device,
though, is to be an ebook reader that is always there and easily accessible. It syncs wirelessly to download books into its memory that can then be accessed on the wrist.
It has a battery life of about ten hours, of course depending on the reader speed. The developers also plan for the device to display text messages and other notifications,
as well as one day even pair up with external devices like public cash machines and information displays to offer Braille capability just about anywhere e
#Use of Ultrasound to Promote Faster Healing of Wounds Sometimes discoveries in science are not about the development of new medical devices or drugs,
but about repurposing existing technologies for new applications. Researchers from University of Sheffield have used now ultrasound to reduce healing times of diabetic wounds by 30%.
%The study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, describes the use of ultrasonic waves to promote wound healing cells called fibroblasts to migrate into the wound through mechanical stimulation.
This technology can be used to reduce long hospital stays and delayed wound healing of diabetic and elderly patients. sing ultrasound wakes up the cells
and stimulates a normal healing process. Because it is just speeding up the normal processes,
this technique for accelerated wound healing is expected to be in broad clinical use in the next 3-4 years.
Treatment of diabetic and aged mice recruits fibroblasts to the wound bed and reduces healing times by 30,
we discover that the migration defects of fibroblasts from human venous leg ulcer patients can be reversed by ultrasound,
#Nanoparticles Penetrate Mucus Barrier to Bring Gene therapy to Lung Parenchyma A collaboration between researchers at Johns hopkins university
and Federal University of Rio de janeiro in Brazil has managed to develop nanoparticles capable of carrying DNA molecules through the previously impenetrable mucus barrier of the lungs.
The technology may have significant implication for patients with COPD, cystic fibrosis, and other conditions affecting the lungs by offering the ability for gene therapy to be delivered directly into pulmonary tissue through inhalation.
The nanoparticles are biodegradable and don present problems associated with DNA ferrying viruses. Previously developed nanoparticles suffered from a poor ability to pass through mucus due to their charge
and also bunched in groups, further limiting their usefulness. The nanoparticles are made of biodegradable polymers called poly (ß-amino esters)( PBAES)
and in lab tests were able to pass through mucus taken from real patients. To test whether genes delivered this way would actually work inside a real body,
the researchers loaded DNA strings coding for light producing proteins into the nanoparticles and had animals inhale them into their lungs.
The team then looked at the animal lungs and saw the light producing proteins create a glow that lasted for up to four months after a single administration,
#Virtual Incision Robot Hopes to Lower Cost of Robotic Surgery (VIDEO) Thanks to Massdevice, we learned of a new company that developed a small surgical robot for performing laparoscopic procedures that may
and offer robotic capability to clinics that don have millions of dollars in discretionary funds.
Virtual Incision Corporation is a spin-off out of the University of Nebraska and the company just raised $11. 2m in equity financing to sponsor a feasibility study of its robotic technology.
The system was designed to fit almost completely into the abdominal cavity via a single incision with only the handle and cables staying on top.
It intended for surgeries that are performed often in an open fashion that can benefit from robotic laparoscopy, such as colon resections.
The system doesn require its own room or complicated infrastructure, instead being lightweight, self-contained, and fully mobile,
so it can be taken from room to room as necessity requires. Here a quick company video showing off the capabilities of the new Virtual Incision robot:
#Lab-on-a-Disc Device Detects Urinary tract infections in About an Hour UTIS are a common occurrence in hospitalized patients with catheters,
but theye typically detected too late and can lead to sepsis. Currently, a diagnostic test can take hours to provide results.
Researchers from Ireland and Germany have created now a ab-on-a-Discdevice that can separate
This may allow clinicians to quickly screen patients for sepsis and begin antibiotic treatment a full day earlier than is now typically possible c
#Optogenetics With Closed-Loop Control for Complex Brain Experiments Wee excited about optogenetics, the new technology that allows scientists to selectively control the firing of genetically modified neurons within living animalsbrains.
The potential for it is huge, from learning how the brain works to treating previously unmanageable neurological conditions.
So far, the triggering of neurons has been compared pretty dumb to how existing biofeedback devices and many electronic systems work.
Scientists decide when to activate neurons and then look for certain responses, then again decide when and for how long to shine the light that excites the brain cells.
Now researchers from Georgia Tech MIT, and Emory University have developed a losed-loopoptogenetic control system that can achieve optimal excitation of neurons all on its own.
It will allow for more complicated and nuanced experiments that are fairly easy to perform and may set the stage for advanced neurological rehabilitation techniques.
The so-called ptoclamptechnique involves continuous monitoring of the electrical activity of the neuronal cells excited via optogenetics
and using a computer to identify when to deliver light to maintain a desired level of activity.
The system constantly adjusts when to turn the light on and off depending on the signals received from the genetically modified cells.
The researchers were able to show that the approach works in cultured neuronal cells before moving on to demonstrating the same in living animal models a
#Implantable Electrical Stimulation Therapy for Treating Scoliosis Some scientists believe that in many people scoliosis develops because of the unequal pressure that muscles on the sides of the spinal column tend to exert.
A team of European researchers has developed a special implant designed to actively stimulate muscles near the spinal column to train the weak side to catch up with the strong one.
It features wireless charging and data transmission as well as the ability to program it for individual patient needs.
The implant has a set of electrodes leading to muscles on the weak side of the spine,
though there are no clinical trials that have confirmed this therapy or how to use it properly.
the technology may be a new way of treating scoliosis at an earl stage in a large percentage of the population with the condition n
#New Blood test Predicts Breast cancer Relapse Months In advance (VIDEO) Researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research in London have developed a new blood test,
or a so-called liquid biopsy, that can detect breast cancer relapse months in advance compared to traditional scans.
The technology, published in journal Science Translational Medicine, measures the level of circulating tumor DNA (ctdna),
the DNA that has been shed by circulating tumor cells, in plasma isolated from blood. By measuring the level of genetic mutations in the ctdna,
the test can predict the nature of metastatic disease and can inform doctors about the potential treatments that could be targeted to address the genetic mutations.
It will take at least a few years for this diagnostic technology to reach the market. However, the researchers plan to perform a much larger clinical study next year,
which could bring the technology a step closer to quick clinical translation n
#Modular Add-on Brings Polarized Light Microscopy, Malaria Diagnosis to Smartphones Researchers at Texas A&m University have developed a novel point-of-care device for field-based diagnosis of malaria using a smartphone.
The mobile-optical-polarization imaging device (MOPID) attaches to smartphones or tablets and co-opts the camera to detect birefringent hemozoin in histological samples,
which is indicative of malarial infection. Despite advances in diagnostic approaches and treatment, malaria remains one of the leading sources of disease and death in developing nations.
The old standardof detection, evaluation of Giemsa-stained blood smears via bright-field microscopy often requires skilled technicians
and laboratory environments that are few and far between in the regions that are need most in.
Even when available for field-testing, white light microscopy tends to report many false positive diagnoses as well.
Bench-top polarized light microscopy systems, while more definitive, are large, expensive pieces of equipment that are complex to operate,
and to maintain as well. The MOPID, though, appears to offer a highly-mobile and effective alternative,
The MOPID device marks another in a series of recent mobile device imaging innovations that are empowering clinicians
and researchers without access to traditional acquisition tools (see our recent post on the smartphone-powered D-EYE Digital Ophthalmoscope
or read about technology pioneer Jonathan Rothberg plan to bring ultrasound to mobile devices) d
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