#Dutch Harvest Electricity From Living Plants To Power Streetlights, Wi-fi & Cell Phones Plant-e, a company based out of The netherlands,
has found a way to harness electricity from living plants, using them to power Wi-fi hotspots, cell phone chargers,
and even streetlights. The company debuted their project, called tarry Sky, in November of 2014 near Amsterdam,
where they lit up more than 300 LED streetlights at two different sites. Their plant power technology is also being used to power the company headquarters in Wageningen.
and was a spin-off from the department of Environmental technology of Wageningen University. Again they develop products in
which living plants generate electricity. Their technology allows them to produce electricity from practically every site where plants can grow. ia photosynthesis a plant produces organic matter.
Part of this organic matter is used for plant-growth, but a large part can be used by the plant
Around the roots naturally occurring microorganisms break down the organic compounds to gain energy from. In this process, electrons are released as a waste product.
By providing an electrode for the microorganisms to donate their electrons to the electrons can be harvested as electricity.
Research has shown that plant-growth isn compromised by harvesting electricity, so plants keep on growing while electricity is produced concurrently.
Just imagine, a house with a roof full of plant/tree life powering your home. On the company website, they feature animated pictures of mini-forests growing on building rooftops supplying power to the entire building.
It pretty cool to imagine, isn it? It important to mention that at the moment, the main problem is the quantity of energy that can be generated.
There is still a long way to go with regards to making enough energy to have a completely reliable commercial product,
but things are looking promising, as the company is already selling products that enable you to harvest energy from plants.
Again, they are also using the technology to power their headquarters For more information on the technology
or to read some of their recent publications, see: www. plantpower. eu or visit their website listed in the sources.
More and more energy innovations seem to be emerging every single day, like this one. Perhaps this is why the powerful and wealthy Rockefeller family recently sold out of fossil fuels
and switched their investments towards clean energy? Change is coming, and it about time. The world largest private bank, UBS, is also urging investors to join the clean, renewable energy movement.
They did so with a statement expressing that power plants in Europe might be completely extinct within the next 10 to 20 year (you can read more about that story here.
It something that needs to happen, and it needs to happen now. Wee seen the solutions, now it time to implement them.
It become clear that there are many alternative ways to generate energy without destroying the planet d
#New martinsulin Patch Could Change Everything For Diabetics A new martinsulin patch could do away with painful injections
and revolutionize the way diabetics keep their blood sugar levels in check. For people affected by diabetes,
monitoring and regulating insulin levels can be a tedious and dangerous task. I remember my own grandmother,
a type II diabetic, would have a sugary snack on her at all times in case her blood sugar levels suddenly dropped,
which caused her to get sick or faint. Always coy or perhaps even slightly embarrassed, she would make
me turn away whenever she had to inject. At the time I didn fully understand but looking back now I see how her quality of life was compromised by one of today most shockingly prevalent diseases.
Thus, when I read about this latest innovation I was blown away. Painless Glucose Regulation The patch, created by researchers from the University of North carolina
and NC State, is a thin square covered with more than 100 tiny needles. According to researchers, the patch works fast, is simple to use,
and is made from biocompatible materials, IFLSCIENCE reports. The patch tiny, painless needles are packed with insulin
and glucose-sensing enzymes in microscopic storage units. The patch is able to release these enzymes
showed promising results in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes. Researchers hope to see similar success in subsequent clinical trials in humans. he whole system can be personalized to account for a diabetic weight
and sensitivity to insulin, said co-senior author Zhen Gu in a statement, o we could make the smart patch even smarter.
researchers suggest the patch can have a longer-lasting effect in diabetic patients. The patch emulates beta cells
which researchers inserted a core of solid insulin and enzymes, which are designed specially to sense glucose.
This means that the environment becomes starved of oxygen, which makes the water-loving NI molecules become water-fearing.
sending insulin into the bloodstream. he hard part of diabetes care is not the insulin shots,
said co-senior author John Buse. f we can get these patches to work in people,
The voxels are light emitted by plasma that created when the laser focused energy ionizes the air.
According to Ochiai, when touched the hologram texture feels like sandpaper. Although previous studies have used nanosecond
A camera underneath the hologram captures user interaction, allowing the dots to respond to being ouched.
Ochiai says the most surprising thing he realized was that plasma was actually safe to touch in this application,
#The turbines WITHOUT blades: Firm unveils radical design that claims to be quieter and safer than traditional wind farms By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail. com Published:
00:12 GMT, 19 may 2015 Updated: 00:15 GMT, 19 may 2015 Today wind turbines have colossal blades that spin at speeds of more than 200mph (320 km h).
others argue they are a threat to bird life and a noisy blight on the landscape.
a bladeless wind turbine that can generate more electricity for less. Scroll down for videocreated by Madrid-based Vortex Bladeless,
a long cone made from a composite of fiberglass and carbon fibre is designed to vibrate in the wind, according to a report in Wired.
The movements is transformed into electricity using an alternator that increases the frequency of the mast movement.
Vortex Bladeless say they now want to create a commercial, 100-watt turbine to market in 2018. b
The revolutionary device looks like an ordinary tablet, but it is packed with cutting-edge technology. The experimental pill works in the same way as gastric pacemakers to suppress appetite.
A gastric pacemaker is an implant that is surgically placed in the stomach and wired to the vagus nerve.
This nerve carries signals from the stomach to the hypothalamus, the area of the brain responsible for regulating appetite.
The pacemaker has a sensor that detects when food is entering the stomach. It then fires low-level electrical pulses into the vagus nerve to fool the brain into thinking the stomach has no more room.
Gastric pacemakers cost around £10, 000 and are reserved usually for patients who don't respond to dieting,
or who aren't suitable for more drastic gastric bypass surgery. They are not currently available on the NHS.
The latest invention, developed by Israeli firm Melcap Systems, can simply be swallowed with water and although the price has not been announced,
it's likely to be much cheaper than a pacemaker. Once swallowed, the high-tech tablet is controlled externally using a special mobile phone app.
When it reaches the stomach a few minutes later the app is used to trigger the release of a thin mesh.
This mesh stops the pill passing out of the stomach into the bowel. A powerful magnetic patch is applied then to the skin to draw the pill into position over the site where the vagus nerve runs through the abdomen-near the top of the stomach just under the breastbone.
This magnetic patch is worn round the clock and holds the smart pill in place. When it senses muscle contractions that tell it food is entering the stomach,
and the shell housing the tiny electronics, which then pass harmlessly out of the body as waste.
The patient can be given more pills if they still need to lose weight. The device is expected to enter clinical trials in the next year or so.
if it suffers the same problem as some gastric pacemakers, where the vagus nerve quickly becomes used to the extra stimulation
and the NHS is getting very tough on price, even when medication is known to be effective. v
#Mutebutton can train your brain to ignore tinnitus By Roger Dobson for the Daily mail Published:
23:02 GMT, 18 may 2015 A new device that stimulates the tongue may be a new way to tackle tinnitus.
The system includes headphones and a lollipop-like device that sits on your tongue and stimulates it in time with a relaxing mixture of music and nature sounds,
which is played through earphones connected to a signal generator the size of a mobile phone. Clinical trial results suggest it can reduce tinnitus loudness by an average of about 40 per cent.
Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the ear usually a ringing noise, although it can be pitched a high whistling or buzzing, ringing, or hissing.
It's estimated that 7 per cent of men and women will visit their GP about it at some point.
and it has been linked to depression, work and relationship problems and, in rare cases, suicide. It's not known what causes it,
although in some cases it is linked to hearing loss-one theory is that when some sounds can no longer be heard,
There is no cure although treatments such as maskers (ear-plugs that generate white noise to try to block out tinnitus noise), antidepressants,
and cognitive behavioural therapy, which aims to help patients to ignore or think differently about their tinnitus,
can help. However, the Mutebutton is designed to gradually re-train the brain (via the nerves in the tongue)
in order to reduce the loudness of tinnitus. The stimulator is held between the lips and creates a mild current to stimulate nerves in sync with the sound played through the earphones.
Each device is configured to the patient according to hearing tests with an audiologist. The idea is that the brain gradually begins to play down the illusory sounds of tinnitus
which is not related to the stimulation being felt on the tongue and the real sound being played into the headphones.
In a trial at the National University of Ireland, the system was tested on 60 people who'd had tinnitus for longer than six months.
The patients used the device for 30 minutes a day for ten weeks in the comfort of their own home or another relaxing environment of their choice.
Tinnitus volume reduced by 42 per cent on average. The Mutebutton is likely to be available in the UK later this year.
Louise Hart senior audiologist at charity Action On Hearing loss, says:''We welcome all new research,
as the mechanisms behind this debilitating condition are still not fully understood and more progress is needed to improve the chances of effective treatments in the future.'
'More evidence is needed on the effectiveness of this device before it can offer real hope to the millions of tinnitus sufferers across the UK.'
'Meanwhile, researchers have identified now the areas of the brain thought to be involved in tinnitus-with the hope that this new understanding could trigger new treatments.
Scientists at Newcastle University and the University of Iowa, in the U s.,have shown that more areas of the brain are involved in tinnitus than just the sound centre-the auditory cortex-which was thought previously to be responsible.
Using electrical implants to record the brain activity of a 50-year-old man they mapped the areas
which lit up during times of loud and quiet tinnitus. Their findings might explain why the condition can be difficult to treat,
as current therapies typically focus on the auditory cortex
#Artefacts destroyed by ISIS restored in 3d models by'cyber archaeology'Picturesque towers and artefacts covered in engravings are among the ancient treasures that have recently been destroyed by ISIS militants, and earthquakes.
Now experts and volunteers are recreating history to digitally rebuild lost artefacts using photos taken in museums
and historical sites. yber archaeologistsare busy making digital 3d models of items thought to have been destroyed,
to preserve engravings and important details for posterity. Phd students Chance Coughenour and Matthew Vincent, from the Initial Training Network for Digital Cultural heritage (ITN-DCH) came up with the idea of reconstructing objects digitally from crowd sourced images days after ISIS
militants reportedly smashed artworks in the Mosul Museum in Iraq. They use photogrammetry a technique that uses software to transform 2d photos into 3d images as well as photos from the public, the BBC reported.
The focus of their research is Project Mosul, which is an attempt to salvage the items destroyed by ISIS in cyberspace.
The website invites people to submit photographs they have taken, which are sorted then and rebuilt in 3d by volunteers and experts alike.
So far more than 700 photos have been sent in and 15 3d reconstructions made, including a metal gate, lion sculpture and intricate painted tablet.
The lion sculpture, which once stood in the museum, was clearly once popular with visitors, as the volunteers had 16 images to work from. he more photographs you have,
the more potential you have to create more 3d points and have a denser cloud,
Mr Vincent explained. He said that while the models don have the same scientific value as professional scans created from the original objects,
but the 3d models till have the value of the visualisation-being able to see what the artefact was like For example,
the crowdsourced model allows people to see that the lion had five legs so it looked like it was walking
and widespread looting of sites such as the Palace of Ashurnasipal II at Nimrud occurred, with fears that ISIS may destroy the ancient city of Palmyra.
#Game over for joysticks? Fove virtual reality headset lets players aim and interact with characters using just their EYES Gamers could soon be dropping their joysticks
and pushing their mouse to one side as eye-control becomes the latest way to play games.
Using the movement of the head and eyes, gamers using the Fove virtual reality device will be able to control games with the blink of an eye.
The unique tracking technology will let a player use their eyes to control guns and tools, stare to pull up dashboard or information panels,
and emotionally interact with characters to attract their attention. By making eye contact with virtual characters possible
gamers will also be able to use expressions and emotions to communicate and even influence actions.
The device combines a 2560x1440 VR display with both eye-tracking and motion tracking, allowing users to fully explore 360-degree virtual worlds using both their head and eyes.
The device projects the wearer's gaze into 3d space enabling them to quickly and accurately communicate with
and control the virtual environment. With Fove, eyes are used for enhanced input control, providing faster, more accurate,
and more natural input than with traditional mouse, keyboard, or controller as these were invented originally for 2d games and applications.
but also uses the pupils'reaction to light. Founders of the project claim that by being able to calculate the subtle changes in both pupils,
it can present virtual environments with realistic depth of field. Yuka Kojima CEO and Cofounder of Fove, explained:'
'Our eye-tracking technology is able to read very subtle eye movements and translate these into user-intention and emotion.
By adding this extra recognition we are bringing real human connection into virtual reality.''As well as being used in gaming and interactive cinema,
the technology can also be used in real-world applications, such in medicine, education, virtual tourism and for conferences.
enabling people with physical disabilities to play the piano, as we demonstrated with our Eye Play the Piano project.'
'The founders now plan to work with content developers to provide more games and films for Fove users.
The X-37b space plane, a secretive, experimental program run by the Air force, is capable of remaining in space for almost two years.
The mini military space plane is poised for liftoff Wednesday on another long orbital test flight. The three previous missions also began with rocket launches from Cape canaveral Air force station.
The mystery test vehicle essentially a technology test bed is designed to orbit the Earth and then land like one of NASA's old shuttles.
It is operated robotically, without anyone on board, and is reusable. It is 29 feet long about one-fourth the size of a NASA shuttle.
Although largely mum about this X-37b flight, the Air force has acknowledged a thruster experiment involving electric propulsion.
Air force researchers want to check design modifications to ion thrusters already flying on some advanced military communication satellites.
an Air force spokesman, told Space. com.'The Air force Rapid Capabilities Office will also host a number of advance materials onboard the X-37b for Nasa to study the durability of various materials in the space environment,'Hoyler added.
which is described as a'hall thruster electric propulsion test.''It is intended to improve performance of the units onboard Advanced Extremely high frequency (AEHF) military communications spacecraft,
AEHF satellites'Hall thrusters are 4. 5-kilowatt units that use electricity and xenon to produce thrust for moving satellites in space.
However, experts claim that refining an advanced manoeuvring thruster is probably just a small part of the vehicle's true mission set.
One leading secrecy expert previously told Dailymail. com that the drone is'very likely'be used to test technologies that will increase spying capabilities of the US.'
'said Steven Aftergood, a secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists.''As powerful as our intelligence satellites may be,
'The X-37b space drone, otherwise known as the Orbital Test vehicle, is blasted into orbit by a rocket.
However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft. The X-37b is too small to carry people onboard,
but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite.
According to X-37b manufacturer Boeing, the space plane operates in low-earth orbit, between 110 (177km) and 500 miles (800km) above earth.
Cosmetics firm has teamed with bioengineering experts to develop tissue By Sarah Griffiths for Mailonline Published:
13:07 GMT, 20 may 2015 Cosmetics giant Lreal is joining forces with a bioengineering firm to print human skin.
and some experts are questioning why a beauty company wants to use such cutting-edge technology.
for use in medical research. he technology will leverage Organovo proprietary Novogen Bioprinting Platform and Lreal expertise in skin engineering to develop 3d printed skin tissue for product evaluation and other areas of advanced research,
donated by plastic surgery patients. Adam Friedmann, a consultant dermatologist at the Harley Street dermatology clinic, told the BBC:
think the science behind it-using 3d printing methods with human cells-sounds plausible. can understand why you would do it for severe burns or trauma but
The 3d printed tissue is made from tiny building blocks that make up living human cells, so they share features with native tissue,
#Lightsail launches to test revolutionary solar technology in Earth orbit A small spacecraft designed to test solar sail technology in Earth orbit has taken flight in a successful launch.
The Planetary Society's revolutionary Lightsail vehicle took off on an Atlas v rocket today, and it will later unfurl its giant sail in orbit
If it works, the technology could signal a breakthrough in space propulsion and will allow vehicles to explore distant destinations,
such as the moon and Mars, at very low cost. Lightsail was designed by a Californian non-government organisation called The Planetary Society.
At its core is a tiny raftmade up of three ubesats which are essentially tiny spacecraft that can be launched relatively cheaply.
In total, the core of the vehicle weighs 22lbs (10kg) and is just 11.8-inches (30cm) high and 3. 9-inches (10cm) wide-about the size of a loaf of bread.
chief executive of The Planetary Society Bill Nye said in a webcast after the launch. On this particular flight,
But this flight will be a key test to not only prove that the physics of solar sailing works as theorised
#The HEADPHONES that detect brain damage: Pioneering device tracks changes in pressure caused by injury and infection Doctors have developed a brain pressure test using a special set of headphones that can detect life-threatening head injuries and infections.
The technique involves a patient wearing the headphones with an ear plug linked to a computer.
This enables doctors to measure fluid pressure in the skull-known as intracranial pressure (ICP)- without the need for surgery or painful spinal procedures.
The device is currently being used by Southampton General Hospital. In particular, the pressure tests measure fluid via a channel that links the inner ear with the brain.
As fluids in the ear and brain are connected a change in pressure in the brain is reflected by a corresponding change in the ear
-which can signal the need for intervention. Changes to ICP occur when the brain swells as a result of an injury or infection and prevents blood flow,
depriving the brain of the oxygen it needs to function. Currently, it can only be measured by drilling a hole through the skull to implant a pressure probe into the brain in theatre or a lumbar puncture,
The headphones are set to be used in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as meningitis and head trauma injuries
it is also being adapted by Nasa to analyse brain pressure levels in astronauts to help tackle space-related visual problems and sickness.
And doctors said they believe it could be used to distinguish between head injuries and post traumatic stress disorder in soldiers returning from combat zones.'
'We know that high pressure inside the skull resulting from injuries and infections can be fatal,
so it is essential it is detected as early as possible to avoid exacerbating symptoms and ensure treatment can begin promptly'explained Dr Robert Marchbanks, a consultant clinical scientist.'
'Current methods for testing ICP require procedures to be carried out under sedation or anaesthetic, which means they are limited to the most severe cases
and those with less obvious initial symptoms often go undetected until their symptoms have worsened.''However, as our CCFP device does not require a patient to do anything other than wear a set of headphones with an ear plug,
it has the potential to provide rapid, accurate and safe assessments to patients in much larger numbers than is currently possible.'
'Although the researchers are already working closely with Nasa and developing relations with the UK military,
They then hope to rollout CCFP acorss the health service'in the near future.'
#Bionic lens could give you SUPER SIGHT: Implant promises vision three times better than 20/20-and won't deteriorate over time From glasses to standard lenses
and even lasers, there are many ways people can restore or correct their vision. But the latest so-called'bionic'lens promises to not only restore sight,
And surgery to insert the lens takes just eight minutes, with sight being restored in seconds.
He explained that surgery to implant the lens into the patient's eye takes eight minutes
and involves folding the lens into a syringe in a saline solution and placing it in the eye.
'And he continued it was'as painless and gentle'as cataract surgery. Visual acuity-or the ability to see fine spatial details-is measured typically with a Snellen chart used by optometrists globally.
The chart displays letters that get progressively smaller in size. The benchmark, and vision that is considered healthy and'normal,
'is classified as 20/20. This means a person can see the same line of letters when stood at a distance of 20ft compared with
A basis for'normal'was determined using a large database of test results. By comparison 20/40 vision means the test subject sees at 20ft what a'normal'person sees at 40ft.
Legal blindness is categorised as 20/200. On the opposite scale, 20/15 offers enhanced vision.
Elsewhere the lens is made of'inert biocompatible polymeric materials that do not cause biophysical changes within the eye.
when worn with a pair of Samsung 3d glasses, could magnify scenes by 2. 8 times. The lens-glasses combination was designed to help restore the sight of people suffering from age-related macular degeneration, or blindness.
The 8mm contact lenses were fitted with a 1. 17mm magnifying ring around the edge and small aluminium mirrors were fitted into this magnifying ring.
When the lenses are being worn in'ordinary mode'this magnified image is blocked by polarising filters fitted to a pair of modified Samsung 3d glasses.
Elsewhere, ioptik announced at last year's CES it had developed contact lenses that allow the wearer to see high-definition virtual screens.
In particular, the system lets them see projected digital information, such as driving directions and video calls. The tiny'screens,
'which are the invention of Washington-based group Innovega, sit directly on a users'eyeballs
and work with a pair of lightweight glasses. Google is also working on'smart lenses'that contain a control circuit, an image capture component and an image sensor.
The system can be linked wirelessly to a mobile phone for data access and to issue commands via audio,
although it is unclear if the lens would be powered wirelessly or have wired a link to a battery. l
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