#Remote control out, change TV channels with mind LONDON: A new technology that reads brainwaves to allow users to change TV channels with their mind has been developed in the UK.
For its latest project, the BBC took a simple low-cost brainwave reading headset and, working with UK-based user experience studio This Place, created a`Mind Control TV'prototype.
It allows users to open an experimental version of BBC iplayer and select a TV programme to view,
using nothing but their brainwaves. A first trial run saw 10 BBC staff members try out the app,
and all were able to launch BBC iplayer and start viewing a programme simply by using their minds."
"It was much easier for some than it was for others, but they all managed to get it to work,"Cyrus Saihan,
head of business development for the BBC Digital, wrote in a blog post. However, Saihan said the technology was still at an`experimental'stage.
An important potential benefit that brainwave technology might offer is the ability to improve the accessibility of media content to people with disabilities.
For example, people affected by motor neurone disease or suffering locked-insyndrome may increasingly be able to use brain-computer interfaces to get a better experience of digital
and media services than they currently do. The electroencephalography (EEG) brainwave reading headset has one small sensor that rests on a user's forehead
and another on a clip that attaches to the ear. These sensors measure electrical activity in the brain.
In the case of this experimental app, a user can select either`concentration'or`meditation'as the brain control mechanism.
If the user selects`concentration, 'the headset and app monitors their level of concentration and a`volume bar'of brainwaves is displayed on the screen,
to visually illustrate their level of concentration n
#New breath test may detect pneumonia LONDON: A simple breath test can now detect if a critically ill patient is infected with pneumonia or not.
Chemically analysing breath specimens from patients in intensive care can reveal bacterial infection in the lower respiratory tract of ventilated patients at risk of developing pneumonia.
Though the study is at an initial stage, the results so far look promising and could potentially have a huge effect on clinical practice as healthcare associated infections are a major issue worldwide."
"Pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics but there are two major problems-it can be difficult to detect
and diagnose and because of that we tend to use potent broad spectrum antibiotics in anyone who shows symptoms of infection,
"said Paul Dark, one of the researchers and honorary consultant in intensive care medicine at Salford Royal.
Current methods of confirming the presence of infections involve laboratory tests of samples from deep in the lungs,
which is time consuming.""Now we know that it is feasible to capture and measure breath chemicals of patients on mechanical ventilators,
we plan to develop a simple noninvasive system that will be part of the normal connections on the machine,
"said Stephen Fowler, clinical lecturer in the University of Manchester's Centre for Respiratory Medicine and Allergy.
The unique'first in man'project was carried out at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and appeared in the journal Thorax x
#A robot that builds a house in 2 days An Australian engineer has built a robot that can build a house in two hours,
and work every day to build houses for people. While, humans need four to six weeks to put a house together,
besides availing weekends and holidays, the robot can work much faster without breaks. Mark Pivac said the reason behind its creation is due to the lack of available workers-the average age of the industry is getting much higher,
and the robot might be able to fill some of that gap.""People have been laying bricks for about 6, 000 years,
and ever since the industrial revolution they have tried to automate the bricklaying process, "Pivac said. But despite thousands of years gone by,
most bricklaying is done still by hand. Hadrian works by laying 1, 000 bricks an hour, letting it put up 150 houses a year.
It takes a design of the house and then works out where all of the bricks need to go,
before cutting and laying each of them. It has a 28-foot arm, which is used to set
and mortar the brick, thus it doesn't need to move during the laying. Pivac will now work to commercialize the robot, one of its first kinds globally.`
`Robots will make us their pets in future'Robots will make us into their pets
because we just want to be taken care of, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak has warned. Wozniak, who is sceptical of artificial intelligence taking over the world,
believes that it will be good for us since robots will opt to keep us as part of nature."
An Australian engineer has built a robot that can build a house in two hours, and work every day to build houses for people.
While, humans need four to six weeks to put a house together, besides availing weekends and holidays,
the robot can work much faster without breaks. Mark Pivac said the reason behind its creation is due to the lack of available workers-the average age of the industry is getting much higher,
and the robot might be able to fill some of that gap.""People have been laying bricks for about 6, 000 years,
and ever since the industrial revolution they have tried to automate the bricklaying process, "Pivac said. But despite thousands of years gone by,
Hadrian works by laying 1, 000 bricks an hour, letting it put up 150 houses a year.
It takes a design of the house and then works out where all of the bricks need to go,
before cutting and laying each of them. It has a 28-foot arm, which is used to set
and mortar the brick, thus it doesn't need to move during the laying. Pivac will now work to commercialize the robot, one of its first kinds globally.`
Wozniak, who is sceptical of artificial intelligence taking over the world, believes that it will be good for us
#`E skin'gets a step closer to reality with new tech Researchers have developed a new technique to produce high-quality,
low-cost graphene that could pave the way for the creation of the firondonst flexible`electronic skin,
Researchers from UK's University of Exeter through the new method can develop graphene now in simpler way.
Led by professor Monica Craciun, the team has used this technique to create the first transparent and flexible touch-sensor that could enable the development of artificial skin for use in robot manufacturing."
"Currently, industrial graphene is produced using Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD), which is pretty expensive and time consuming process,
The new technique grows graphene in an industrial cold wall CVD system, a state-of-the-art piece of equipment recently developed by UK graphene company Moorfield.
#UK plans world's first artificial blood transfusions by 2017 LONDON: The world's first human trial of artificial blood grown in a lab from stem cells is set to take place in the UK by 2017.
The UK's NHS (National Health service) Blood and Transplant has announced that manufactured blood will be used in clinical trials with human volunteers within two years.
Research led by scientists at the University of Bristol and NHS Blood and Transplant, used stem cells from adult and umbilical cord blood to create a small volume of manufactured red blood cells.
and thalassemia who require treatment with regular transfusions and for whom it is difficult to find compatible donors.
This will involve a group of 20 volunteers who will receive a small volume transfusion of between five and ten millilitre of the lab-produced blood."
"said Dr Nick Watkins, NHS Blood and Transplant Assistant Director of research and Development.""We are confident that by 2017 our team will be ready to carry out the first early phase clinical trials in human volunteers,
"Research has laid the foundation for current transfusion and transplantation practices. Continued investment in research and development is critical to our role in saving and improving lives through blood and organ donation,"he added d
#ost sensitivetest to detect superbugs Researchers have developed the world's most sensitive test to quickly detect dangerous infectious diseases and deadly superbugs such as C difficile and MRSA.
Researchers at the Mcmaster University in Canada developed a new way to detect the smallest traces of metabolites, proteins or fragments of DNA.
In essence, the new method can pick up any compound that might signal the presence of infectious diseases,
be it respiratory or gastrointestinal.""The method we have developed allows us to detect targets at levels that are unprecedented,
where the work was done.""The test has the best sensitivity ever reported for a detection system of this kind-it is as much as 10,000 times more sensitive than other detection systems,
researchers developed a molecular device made of DNA that can be switched'on'by a specific molecule of their choice-such as a certain type of disease indicator
or DNA molecule representing a genome of a virus-an action that leads to a massive,
"said Yingfu Li, a professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Biomedical sciences, Chemistry and Chemical Biology."
"This invention will allow us to detect anything we might be interested in, bacterial contamination or perhaps a protein molecule that is a cancer marker.
allowing users-family physicians, for example-to run the test. The research was published in the journal Angewandte Chemie h
A joint project between the computer science and electrical and computer engineering departments and the College of Veterinary medicine has developed the technology designed to improve communication between dogs and humans."
'and you can think of it as a platform for two-way computer-mediated communication between dogs
an assistant professor of computer science whose dog Diesel is one of their primary lab partners. The smart harness is equipped a computer backpack that fits comfortably on a dog's back.
One of the project's prototypes features a twin battery back on both sides of the dog, a mounted webcam,
vibrating motors similar to the technology that makes a cell phone buzz, and a wireless USB adapter, among other technologies.
Using a tablet to send signals to the harness and to the dog, the researchers are able to see how the dog reacts
and interprets the modes of communication. On a recent day, the team was training Diesel to associate the vibrating buzz on its sides with hand signals given by Roberts.
One member of the team used a tablet to prompt the vibration on the side of the dog's body which he wanted the dog to turn.
Roberts then used his hand to reinforce the direction of the command.""We're using this technology to ask some very fundamental questions about the nature of the way animals can perceive computer-mediated communications
and the way they can interact with computers in order to send digital signals across wireless communication links to handlers,
"Roberts says. The technology can also reveal the position of the dog -whether it's standing,
sitting, walking or running-by sending signals back to the handler. Researchers say it has multiple applications,
and rescue dogs and training pets. The technology can also be customized for different purposes. One prototype features three electrocardiography electrodes
which can monitor the heart rate and transmit that data to a tablet. This allows researchers
and dog handlers to monitor the dog's physical well-being.""Just as one example, this project gives us the capability for the dog to inform us of that sort of information
"says Dr. Barbara Sherman, a clinical professor of behavioral medicine. Much of the technology comes off the shelf
Dr. Alpert Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, says that the technology offers everyday people an opportunity to bond with their dogs
when there's a big disaster in an urban environment, hundreds of houses collapsed, and there's only a certain number of trained dogs,
A joint project between the computer science and electrical and computer engineering departments and the College of Veterinary medicine has developed the technology designed to improve communication between dogs and humans."
'and you can think of it as a platform for two-way computer-mediated communication between dogs
an assistant professor of computer science whose dog Diesel is one of their primary lab partners. The smart harness is equipped a computer backpack that fits comfortably on a dog's back.
One of the project's prototypes features a twin battery back on both sides of the dog, a mounted webcam,
vibrating motors similar to the technology that makes a cell phone buzz, and a wireless USB adapter, among other technologies.
Using a tablet to send signals to the harness and to the dog, the researchers are able to see how the dog reacts
and interprets the modes of communication. On a recent day, the team was training Diesel to associate the vibrating buzz on its sides with hand signals given by Roberts.
One member of the team used a tablet to prompt the vibration on the side of the dog's body which he wanted the dog to turn.
Roberts then used his hand to reinforce the direction of the command.""We're using this technology to ask some very fundamental questions about the nature of the way animals can perceive computer-mediated communications
and the way they can interact with computers in order to send digital signals across wireless communication links to handlers,
"Roberts says. The technology can also reveal the position of the dog -whether it's standing,
sitting, walking or running-by sending signals back to the handler. Researchers say it has multiple applications,
and rescue dogs and training pets. The technology can also be customized for different purposes. One prototype features three electrocardiography electrodes
which can monitor the heart rate and transmit that data to a tablet. This allows researchers
and dog handlers to monitor the dog's physical well-being.""Just as one example, this project gives us the capability for the dog to inform us of that sort of information
"says Dr. Barbara Sherman, a clinical professor of behavioral medicine. Much of the technology comes off the shelf
Dr. Alpert Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, says that the technology offers everyday people an opportunity to bond with their dogs
when there's a big disaster in an urban environment, hundreds of houses collapsed, and there's only a certain number of trained dogs,
#New discovery may generate ways to beat deadly malaria WASHINGTON DC: Scientists have identified new ways which help the malaria parasite survive in the blood stream of its victims,
and the finding could lead to new treatments for the disease. Medical Research Council's (MRC) Toxicology Unit researchers at the University of Leicester and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found a key protein,
called a protein kinase (Pfpkg), that plays a central role in various pathways and allow the parasite to survive in the blood.
Understanding the pathways the parasite uses means that future drugs could be designed precisely to kill the parasite but with limited toxicity
Co-lead author of the study professor Andrew Tobin said that the understanding of malaria's survival in the blood stream was a real breakthrough
and could lead to cure that stops malaria in its tracks without causing toxic side-effects.
According to the World health organization malaria currently infects more than 200 million people worldwide and accounts for more than 500,000 deaths per year.
Malaria has been a problem in India for centuries. At present, official figures for malaria in India, available at NVBDCP
indicate 0. 7-1. 6 million confirmed cases and 400-1, 000 deaths annually. Professor Patrick Maxwell, chair of the MRC's Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board,
said tackling malaria was a global challenge, with the parasite continually working to find ways to survive our drug treatments.
This study opened the door on potential new treatments that could find and exploit the disease's weak spots but with limited side-effects for patients s
#New sensor chip to detect prostate cancer early Researchers have developed a smart sensor chip that can detect prostate cancer more accurately
and efficiently than current tests which rely heavily on antibodies. The sensor chip, able to pick up on subtle differences in glycoprotein molecules,
will help improve the process of early stage prostate cancer diagnosis, researchers said. Glycoprotein molecules play an essential role in our immune response, because of
which they are useful clinical biomarkers for detecting prostate cancer and other diseases. The team of chemical engineers and chemists at the University of Birmingham, created a sensor chip with synthetic receptors along a 2d surface to identify specific
targeted glycoprotein molecules that are differentiated by their modified carbohydrate chains.""There are two key benefits here.
Crucially for the patient, it gives a much more accurate reading and reduces the number of false positive results,
"said Paula M Mendes, professor of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at the University of Birmingham."
"Furthermore, our technology is simple to produce and store, so could feasibly be kept on the shelf of doctors'surgery anywhere in the world.
It can also be recycled for multiple uses without losing accuracy, "she said. The findings show how the rate of false readings that come with antibody based diagnosis can be reduced by the new technology that focuses on the carbohydrate part of the molecule.
The complex sugar structure in glycoprotein can be subtly different between samples from healthy and diseased patients.
the team wanted to identify the presence of disease by detecting a particular glycoprotein which has specific sugars in a specific location in the molecule."
"Biomarkers such as glycoproteins are essential in diagnostics as they do not rely on symptoms perceived by the patient,
"However, the changes in the biomarkers can be incredibly small and specific and so we need technology that can discriminate between these subtle differences-where antibodies are not able to,
"Mendes said. The study was published in the journal Chemical science e
#Indian scientists develop e-Nose to sniff out hazardous gases Indian scientists have developed a sensor-based'Electronic Nose'for sniffing out variety of gases at pulp and paper mill industries and environmental monitoring at other
sensitive locations. The gases, emitted by these industries beyond certain concentration, may adversely affect human health and environment.
This sophisticated portable device can measure odour concentration and odour intensity and thereby can immediately alert workers in such industrial units for remedial action.
Though the'Electronic Nose'is currently being used successfully in couple of paper mills in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
the researchers are also working on its application to monitor gas emissions from any source, be it an industry
The devices is developed by the Nagpur-based National Environmental engineering Research Institute (NEERI) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) of the Department
of Electronics and Information technology of the Government of India.""This has been the first attempt in India to develop such a product using odour sensors that make use of intelligent software to identify odorous molecules.
It is also possible to train the software by feeding information based on observation of experts,
"said a statement, issued by the ministry of science and technology on Wednesday night. The pulp and paper industry emits a variety of gases, namely, hydrogen sulphide, methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulphide,
These gases beyond a certain concentration may adversely affect the environment and human health.""This newly developed'Electronic Nose'helps in continuous monitoring of these gases,
The'Electronic Nose'uses an array of sensors that function on the principle similar to that of human olfaction.
The sensor array generates a pattern based on the type of aroma. The patterns obtained are trained to help interpret
such as pattern recognition algorithms, principal component analysis, discriminant function analysis, cluster analysis, and artificial neural networks s
#New air filter to clear cigarette smoke quickly SEOUL: A new air-cleaning filter can get rid of all the harmful smoke substances in a room-where ten people are simultaneously smoking-in less than an hour,
The filter is coated with a manganese oxide-based nanocatalyst, which can be used in a smoking room to reduce
The research team has developed a nanocatalyst filter by evenly coating a manganese oxide-based nanocatalyst powder onto a ceramic-based filter media.
The nanocatalyst filter uses a technology that decomposes elements of cigarette smoke using oxygen radical
which is generated by decomposing ozone in the air on the surface of the manganese-oxide-based nanocatalyst filter.
Also, from the convergence perspective, the new nanometre catalyst filter can be integrated with other air cleaning products such as air purifiers and air conditioners,
The filter is coated with a manganese oxide-based nanocatalyst, which can be used in a smoking room to reduce
The research team has developed a nanocatalyst filter by evenly coating a manganese oxide-based nanocatalyst powder onto a ceramic-based filter media.
The nanocatalyst filter uses a technology that decomposes elements of cigarette smoke using oxygen radical
which is generated by decomposing ozone in the air on the surface of the manganese-oxide-based nanocatalyst filter.
Also, from the convergence perspective, the new nanometre catalyst filter can be integrated with other air cleaning products such as air purifiers and air conditioners,
The filter is coated with a manganese oxide-based nanocatalyst, which can be used in a smoking room to reduce
The research team has developed a nanocatalyst filter by evenly coating a manganese oxide-based nanocatalyst powder onto a ceramic-based filter media.
The nanocatalyst filter uses a technology that decomposes elements of cigarette smoke using oxygen radical
which is generated by decomposing ozone in the air on the surface of the manganese-oxide-based nanocatalyst filter.
Also, from the convergence perspective, the new nanometre catalyst filter can be integrated with other air cleaning products such as air purifiers and air conditioners,
#Cern experts discover new particle pentaquark Scientists at Cern's Large hadron collider on Tuesday announced the discovery of a new class of exotic subatomic particles called the pentaquarks.
Gell-Mann was awarded the Nobel prize in physics for this work in 1969. This quark model also allows the existence of other quark composite states
#Sugar trail may lead to early cancer detection NEW DELHI: In a breakthrough that could lead to a new protocol for cancer detection and treatment,
scientists have identified a glucose delivery mechanism which helps cancer cells to survive and grow. The discovery can help in early detection of not only pancreatic and prostrate cancer but many others like cancer of the breast and colon.
Announcing the findings, scientists from the University of California, Los angeles (UCLA) also suggested the use of certain antidiabetic drugs to reduce the growth of tumours.
Experts and doctors say the findings can give a new protocol worldwide for cancer detection and treatment.
Cancer cells require large amounts of glucose to survive and grow. So far passive glucose transporters membrane proteins known as GLUTS were known to be the primary method used by the body to deliver glucose to tumours.
along with positron emission-tomography tomography (PET) that can enable early detection of these cancers cells. Experts say this is the first promising evidence that PET imaging techniques
and SGLT2 inhibitors could be used to better diagnose and treat pancreatic and prostate cancers. The findings also provide strong evidence that certain type-2 diabetic drugs,
belonging to a new class known as SGLT2 inhibitors which are approved already by the US Food
and Drug Administration and were launched recently in India, could potentially block glucose uptake and reduce tumour growth and increase survival among pancreatic and prostate cancer patients.
Pancreatic cancer, estimated as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US behind only lung,
colon and breast cancers, is also increasing significantly in India. In most cases, the tumour is detected at a very late stage,
making it very difficult for doctors to remove it. Prostate cancer, though generally more treatable, is also witnessing a rapid increase in incidence in India as well as globally.
While globally it is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in India, the incidence of prostate cancer among men has increased by over 220%between 1900 and 2013.
Researchers at UCLA will next begin a clinical study to further investigate the importance of sodium-dependent glucose transporters in glucose delivery.
They hope that these findings will lead to the potential use of the existing antidiabetic medicines to reduce the viability of pancreatic and prostate cancer cells
and improve the survival rate in patients i
#Why HIV progresses slowly in some people Even in the absence of HIV therapy, some HIV-infected people may not suffer from AIDS for many years due to enhanced cholesterol metabolism in certain immune cells,
which is inherited an trait, shows research. The findings may lead to potential development of new approaches to control HIV infection by regulating cellular cholesterol metabolism."
"We have known for two decades that some people do not have the dramatic loss in their T cells
and progression to AIDS that you would expect without drug therapy, "said lead author Giovanna Rappocciolo, assistant professor at University of Pittsburgh in the US.
T-cells are a type of white blood cells that play a very important role in human immunity by scanning for cellular infections."
"Instead, the disease progresses more slowly and we believe altered cholesterol metabolism in certain immune cells may be a reason,
"Rappocciolo said. These people are known as"nonprogressors.""This discovery was made possible by using 30 years of data and biologic specimens.
Rappocciolo and her colleagues searched for patterns in gene expression, or the degree to which specific genes are turned on or off."
"These results improve understanding of how nonprogressors control HIV without drug therapy and potentially may contribute to new approaches to manage HIV infection,"Rappocciolo added.
The findings were presented at the eighth INTERNATIONAL AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Vancouver, Canada a
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