The collaboration between the University of Leicester and Medical center revealed how a neuron in the brain instantly fired differently
'We had hypothesised that we'd be able to see some changes in the firing of the neurons,
'said Matias Ison, Lecturer in Bioengineering, University of Leicester.''But the astonishing fact was that these changes were dramatic,
and that it occurred at the exact moment of learning.''Specifically, the study looked at neurons in an area known as the medial temporal lobe associated with something known as'episodic memory'.
such as the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Sydney Opera house. They found the same neurons that fired for the images of each of the actors also fired
when patients were shown the famous sites. This means the researchers were able to watch in real-time as the patients'neurons recorded a new memory of the person at a particular place.'
'The remarkable result was that the neurons changed their firing properties at the exact moment the subjects formed the new memories,
'said Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, head of the Centre for Systems neuroscience at the University of Leicester.'
'The neuron initially firing to Jennifer Aniston started firing to the Eiffel Tower at the time the subject started remembering this association.'
'The scientists hope that understanding how this type of memory is formed could someday help patients suffering from certain neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease e
#Hi-tech'dog translator'harness lets owners communicate with canine companions It could be the ultimate gadget for dog owners-a hi-tech back for their pet that lets them communicate.
The sensor-packed harness can sense the animal's movement, and the sounds it makes,
'and you can think of the'smart harness'as a platform for two-way computer-mediated communication between dogs and handlers,'
an assistant professor of computer science at North carolina State university 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.
'We're using this technology to ask some very fundamental questions about the nature of the way that 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,
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 behavioural 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,
The technology also includes physiological sensors that monitor things like heart rate and body temperature. The sensors not only track a dog's physical well-being,
but can offer information on a dog's emotional state, such as whether it is excited or stressed.
These technologies form the core of the platform but it can be customized with additional devices depending on the specific application.'
'For example, for search and rescue, we've added environmental sensors that can detect hazards such as gas leaks,
as well as a camera and microphone for collecting additional information,'Bozkurt says.''We're also very interested in addressing stress in working dogs, such as guide dogs for the blind,'sayssean Mealin,
an NC State Ph d. student and co-author of the paper.''We're reliant on the physiological and behavioral sensors to give us a picture of the dog's mental and emotional state.'
'This can help handlers identify and mitigate stress for the dogs, improving the length and quality of a dog's life,
'Mealin adds.''It's an important issue.''Particularly because guide dogs are bred and trained not to display signs of stress in their behavior.'
'In addition to disaster response research, the research team has done already work that uses the platform to assist in dog training.
They are now in the early stages of miniaturizing the technologies and improving the physiological sensors for use in animal shelters and hospitals.'
'This platform is an amazing tool, and we're excited about using it to improve the bond between dogs
and their humans,'says Dr. Barbara Sherman, a clinical professor of animal behavior at the NC State College of Veterinary medicine and co-author of the paper. t
#Nemo's Garden project is growing strawberries, beans, lettuce and herbs underwater They wouldn look out of place in a sci-fi film,
but these underwater pods are in fact the world most futuristic farm. In five transparent biospheres anchored to the bottom of the sea, strawberries, basil, beans,
garlic and lettuce are being grown. The plants are kept hydrated by drips of water condensing on the inner walls of the biospheres,
and the near-constant temperature between day and night creates ideal growing conditions, the scientists behind the project said.
The farm, named Nemo Garden has been installed in the Bay of Noli, in Savona, Italy. he main target of this project is to create alternative sources of plant production in areas where environmental conditions make it extremely difficult to grow crops through conventional farming,
including lack of fresh water, fertile soils, and extreme temperature changes, said a spokesman for the project. e are trying to find an alternative and economically viable technology enabling efficient production.
A control centre on dry land allows the scientists to monitor the status of crops without having to dive down every day to tend to them. e have installed many webcams
said spokesman Luca Gamberini. e also have a sensor panel with live data feed from the lab biosphere so all data is live on the internet and accessible to anyone. c
#Have scientists found a cure for deafness? Gene therapy that restores hearing in mice could be used on humans in just five years By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail. com and Reuters Published:
18:00 GMT, 8 july 2015 Updated: 01:22 GMT, 9 july 2015 Gene therapy to treat hereditary human deafness could be available within five years.
Research revealed today shows the revolutionary technique is capable of fixing faulty DNA to let genetic deaf mice hear again.
Separately, a similar Novartis gene therapy trial is under way to help restore hearing in people who have become deaf through damage or disease.
The latest study found that mice with genetic hearing loss could sense noises after receiving healthy copies of their faulty genes.
Scientists say the mice mutated genes are similar to those responsible for some hereditary human deafness
raising hopes the technique could be used on humans. Jeffrey Holt of Boston Children's said the technique still needed'tweaking
when safety scares set back research, gene therapy is enjoying a renaissance. The technique has had positive clinical results recently in conditions ranging from blood diseases to blindness.'
'We are somewhat late in the auditory field but I think we are getting there now,
'said Tobias Moser of the University Medical center Gottingen, Germany, who was involved not in the new research.'
'It's an exciting time for gene therapy in hearing.''A key element in current optimism is the development of better and safer viral delivery systems for getting corrective genes into the body.
In the case of deafness, this involves injecting a gene-carrying engineered virus into the inner ear.
There are currently no approved disease-modifying treatments for disabling hearing loss, which affects some 360 million people,
Hearing aids can amplify sounds, while cochlear implants turn sounds into electrical signals for the brain to decode,
but these devices can't fully replicate natural hearing. Much of the hearing loss in older people is noise-induced or age-related
but at least half of deafness that occurs before a baby learns to speak is caused by defects in one of more than 70 individual genes.
It is these infants Swiss and U s. researchers hope to help, after showing that replacing a mutated gene improved the function of hair cells of the inner ear and partially restored hearing in deaf mice.
Scientists from The swiss Federal Institute of technology in Lausanne and the Boston Children's Hospital, tested hearing in newborn mutant mice by seeing how high they jumped
when startled by a noise. The team focused on a gene called TMC1 which is a common cause of human genetic deafness, accounting for 4 to 8 percent of cases.
They injected viruses containing healthy genes into an engineered virus called adeno-associated virus 1,
or AAV1, This virus infected the hair cells in ears of deaf baby mice, giving them working genes.
Within a month, around half the mice with the mutation showed brainwave activity consistent with hearing
Scientists say other forms of hereditary deafness could also be fixed using the same strategy. Work at Novartis is advanced more,
disease or exposure to certain drugs, including some antibiotics. But it will not help the one to three babies per 1
000 born with severe genetic hearing loss in both ears.''There are a big range of deafness types needing different approaches,
'said Moser
#Behold the PENTAQUARK! Large hadron collider discovers new particle that has eluded scientists since the 1960s A new particle called the pentaquark has been discovered by scientists at the Large hadron collider (LHC).
The work earned him the Nobel prize in 1969. He claimed that the properties of particles called baryons
which have been named Pc (4450) +and Pc (4380)+(marked on this graph)+ 5 The physicists studied the way in
which an unstable subatomic particle called Lambda b turned into three other particles. They found that the production of the three new particles sometimes involved intermediate states,
which have been named Pc (4450) +and Pc (4380)+(marked on this graph) He also theorised that there could be called a particle a pentaquark,
made up of four quarks and an antiquark, which is the antimatter equivalent of a quark, the BBC reported.
which have been named Pc (4450)+ and Pc (4380+.+LHCB physicist Tomasz Skwarnicki of Syracuse University in New york, said:'
'We have examined all possibilities for these signals and conclude that they can only be explained by pentaquark states.''
The experts described the previous searches as looking for silhouettes in the dark, whereas LHCB conducted the search with the lights on.
The experts described the previous searches as looking for silhouettes in the dark, whereas LHCB conducted the search with the lights on.
made up of three quarks weakly bonded together+5 The experts described the previous searches as looking for silhouettes in the dark,
and one antiquark-and a baryon, made up of three quarks weakly bonded together Using the LHC allowed experts to look at data from four different perspectives, giving them a multidimensional view of the transformation of subatomic particles.
'In that environment, it quite possible that pentaquarks are formed, and if that so, it could have significant consequences for
'The discovery comes just four months after the LHC shut down for repairs and upgrades for two years.
are aiming to see dark matter for the first time ever thanks to the device's upgrade. Instead, they have discovered the pentaquark, for now.
and consists of nearly 17 miles of circular tunnels. It was shut down so that its energy levels could be doubled almost,
allowing scientists to carry out more extreme experiments. The LHC (pictured) was restarted on April 5 this year,
ran at a low'injection'energy of 450 giga-electron volts (Gev) when it restarted, but its power has now been increased to a record-breaking 13 tera-electron volts (Tev)- up from 7 Tev at the time it managed to detect the Higgs boson in 2013.
What is important is that we will have collisions at energies we've never had before.'.
and agonising delays as a result of costly road works. But a new design could mean when a section of road gets damaged,
and replaced, after a Dutch company announced their plans to build prefab plastic roads that could slot together like Lego bricks.
would see Rotterdam become the first city in the world to lay down plastic road tiles made in a factory in advance.
The company behind the idea, construction firm Volkerwessels, said that the surface would require less maintenance than the traditional road building material asphalt
as asphalt is responsible for 1. 6m tons of CO2 EMISSIONS a year globally, making up two per cent of all transport emissions, according to the firm.'
'Plastic offers all kinds of advantages compared to current road construction, both in laying the roads and maintenance,'Rolf Mars, the director of Volkerwessels'roads subdivision,
and streamlined construction process would reduce problems caused by road works. So far the project is still in a conceptual stage
but the company say they will be ready to lay down the first plastic roads within three years.
We have a"street lab"available where innovations like this can be tested. Mars said the idea had enormous potential for future developments.
we're thinking of the recycling sector, universities and other knowledge institutions.'
#The tiny beating heart grown from STEM CELLS -and scientists say other organs could be on the way Researchers have used stem cells to create a tiny,
beating heart-and say it could revolutionise medicine. The new hearts will allow new drugs to be tested,
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with scientists at the Gladstone Institutes, say their template for growing beating cardiac tissue from stem cells
'said Kevin Healy, a UC Berkeley professor of bioengineering, who is co-senior author of the study with Dr. Bruce Conklin, a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular disease and a professor of medical genetics and cellular and molecular pharmacology at UC San francisco.'
'This technology could help us quickly screen for drugs likely to generate cardiac birth defects, and guide decisions about
which drugs are dangerous during pregnancy.''Published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers used biochemical and biophysical cues to prompt stem cells to differentiate
and self-organize into micron-scale cardiac tissue, including microchambers. To test the potential of the system as a drug-screening tool,
a drug known to cause severe birth defects. They found that at normal therapeutic doses, the drug led to abnormal development of microchambers, including decreased size,
problems with muscle contraction and lower beat rates compared with heart tissue that had not been exposed to thalidomide.'
'We chose drug cardiac developmental toxicity screening to demonstrate a clinically relevant application of the cardiac microchambers,
'said Conklin.''Each year, as many as 280,000 pregnant women are exposed to drugs with evidence of potential fetal risk.
The most commonly reported birth defects involve the heart, and the potential for generating cardiac defects is of utmost concern in determining drug safety during pregnancy.'
and other UC Berkeley researchers publicly debuted a system of beating human heart cells on a chip that could be used to screen for drug toxicity.
By the end of two weeks, the cells that began on a two-dimensional surface environment started taking on a 3d structure as a pulsating microchamber.
cells along the edge experienced greater mechanical stress and tension, and appeared more like fibroblasts,
'This spatial differentiation happens in biology naturally, but we demonstrated this process in vitro, 'said study lead author Zhen Ma, a UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher in bioengineering.'
'The confined geometric pattern provided biochemical and biophysical cues that directed cardiac differentiation and the formation of a beating microchamber.'
'Modeling early heart development is difficult to achieve in a petri dish and tissue culture plates,
'The fact that we used patient-derived human pluripotent stem cells in our work represents a sea change in the field,
which is an imperfect model for human disease
#Lexus builds car with human HEARTBEAT in connection between driver and vehicle Lexus has built a car that pulsates with light in time with the driver's heartbeat in order to display the connection between the driver and the car.
Using electroluminescent paint, Lexus have converted an RC F coupe into a on-off model they are calling the'heartbeat car'.
'Unfortunately for petrol heads, the special project is a onetime collaboration, and won't go on general sale.
The aim of the project, a collaboration between the creative technology division of M&c Saatchi Australia, Tricky Jigsaw,
and Lexus Australia, was to connect the human body to the car. Pictured, the side panels light up The model uses biometric technology to visualise the physical and emotional connection shared by man and machine when at the wheel.
The aim of the project, a collaboration between the creative technology division of M&c Saatchi Australia, Tricky Jigsaw, and Lexus Australia
was to connect the human body to the car. The car with INFRARED headlights: Ford develops smart lights...
The village where only ROBOTS drive: University launches autonomous driving test track The village where only ROBOTS drive:
Inside the autonomous...Could we finally power cars with SOLAR PANELS? Nanowire...Forget the Insane Mode:
Elon musk says Tesla's new...'We're changing the conversation from top speeds, to talking about what the car does to you emotionally,'Ben Cooper,
innovation director at M&c Saatchi, told Mashable Australia. The build, which took six months, was started at a closed-off track in in southern New south wales,
but the first step was for the team to find out how driving affects our heart rate. Lexus unveil the world's first ever car with a heartbeat LEXUS RC F SPECS Unfortunately for petrol heads,
the'hearbeat car'special project is a onetime collaboration, and won't go on general sale. Here are the specs of the Lexus RC F
which was modified for the project. Engine: 5. 0 litre V8 Torque: 530 Nm Wheels: 19 inch (48 cm) forged alloy DIN hp:
477 Price: from £59, 995 ($93, 337)' We saw firsthand that when you sat in the passenger seat with a professional driver taking you around the track,
your heart goes through the roof when he takes that corner, 'Cooper said.''From there, we looked at how we were going to take the heartbeat and express it throughout the car.'
'A wireless heartbeat monitor sends the driver's heartbeat to a control board in the rear of the car.
A custom-built Arduino microcontroller takes the electrical pulse from the driver's heart, and uses it to trigger the electroluminescent paint to display the heartbeat in a pulsating pattern on the car's side panels.
The model uses biometric technology to visualise the physical and emotional connection shared by man and machine when at the wheel.
Pictured, the car on the test track The electroluminescent paint contains phosphorescent substances that emit light
and is made by the U s.-based company, Lumilor. Pictured, the side panels being prepared When the car is parked in the day time
and the system is shut down, the car has a standard silver finish, with its secret heart pulsing potential hidden from sight.
The system is powered by a 13v battery which can recharge itself when the engine is on.
Cooper is excited by the technology, as it could be used in future to show a multitude of different inputs.
For example, it could be programmed to glow along one side when turning, or light up in a special sequence when accelerating n
#UK scientists invent BIONIC EYE to save Ray Flynn's sight A revolutionary bionic eye implant has restored the sight of a British Man ray Flynn, 80, from Audenshaw,
Manchester, has become the first patient in the world to receive an artificial retina for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of eyesight problems in the UK.
Hundreds of thousands of those with the affliction could benefit from the technology, which was used previously only for those with a rare eyesight condition.
Surgeons at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital implanted a chip at the back of Mr Flynn eye in a four-hour procedure last month.
The retired factory supervisor can now make out shapes with his eyes closed proof that the system is working.
Since he was diagnosed with AMD eight years ago Mr Flynn eyesight has deteriorated progressively, until he could only see clearly out of the corners of his eyes.
Now the £80, 000 procedure has given him back his central vision, allowing him to read a newspaper without a magnifying glass for the first time in years.
Surgeons will now insert the Argus II retinal implant into more patients over the coming months to demonstrate that it can work for a variety of patients.
They hope that eventually the system will become available on the NHS. Age-related macular degeneration affects 500
000 people in Britain, 85 per cent of them with the dry form of the disease.
It occurs when the cells at the middle of the retina become damaged, resulting in a loss of central vision.
The bionic system works by transferring video images, captured by a camera in special spectacles,
The electronic signals are sent wirelessly on to an array of electrodes placed over the damaged cells at the back of the retina.
efore when I was looking at a plant in the garden it was like a honeycomb in the centre of my eye.
I can now walk round the garden and see things. is system was turned on for the first time on July 1,
Professor Paulo Stanga, consultant ophthalmologist at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, said: r Flynn progress is truly remarkable.
and his brain now needs to get use to interpreting it. he Argus II retinal implant was used previously on 130 patients with the rare eye disease retinitis pigmentosa.
with the electronic images in the centre of the eye melding with natural images from the surviving peripheral cells in the retina.
Professor Stanga said he hopes the system, developed by US firm Second sight Medical Products, might be used for patients with other vision problems.
But he said scientists have not yet worked out how to use it for patients who have been blind from birth,
advanced type of space travel received a boost as German scientists confirmed that it does in fact work.
which converts electrical energy into thrust without the need for rocket fuel. Martin Tajmar, professor and chair for Space Systems at the Dresden University of Technology, presented his work at the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics'Propulsion and Energy Forum in Orlando yesterday.
The website Hacked obtained a copy of Tajmar's Propulsion and Energy Forum paper.''Our measurements reveal thrusts as expected from previous claims after carefully studying thermal and electromagnetic interferences,
'wrote Tajmar in the paper, according to the website.''If true, this could certainly revolutionise space travel.'
'While there has been some scepticism surrounding the EMDRIVE, in April Nasa released results of their own test
'Thrust measurements of the EMDRIVE defy classical physicsexpectations that such a closed (microwave) cavity should be unusable for space propulsion because of the law of conservation of momentum,
'announced Nasaspaceflight. com in April The site has become an unofficial source of EMDRIVE news,
further vacuum tests and improved EMDRIVE models with higher Q factors and electronics that allow tuning for optimal operation.'
but their results have been controversial as no one has been exactly sure how it works. But earlier this year, Nasa built an EMDRIVE that works in conditions like those in space
according to users on forum Nasaspaceflight. com. A number of those discussing the plan on the technical forum claim to be Nasa engineers who are involved in the project.
The concept of an Emdrive engine is relatively simple. It provides thrust to a spacecraft by bouncing microwaves around in a closed container.
Solar energy provides the electricity to power the microwaves, which means that no propellant is needed. The implications for this could be huge.
For instance, current satellites could be half the size they are today without the need to carry fuel.
Last year, Pennsylvania-based scientist Guido Fetta and his team at Nasa Eagleworks published a paper that demonstrates that a similar engine works on the same principles.
'However, Nasa's official site says that:''There are many'absurd'theories that have become reality over the years of scientific research.'
New alloy has highest melting point of any known metal at 4, 126°C a new material with a higher melting point than any other known substance has been invented by scientists.
The exotic alloy, which is a combination of the rare metal hafnium, carbon and nitrogen, would only begin to melt into a liquid at temperatures of more than 4, 126°C (7,
460°F)- two thirds the temperature of the surface of the sun. The extreme melting point makes the metal a candidate for creating a real-life version of adamantium the almost indestructible fictional metal used to make Wolverine's claws in the X-men
comics. Scientists develop the new material using computer simulations to calculate the optimal composition that would give the material its record breaking melting point.
The researchers are now hoping to synthesise the material and to test its properties in the laboratory.
Professor Axel van de Walle, an engineer at Brown University, Rhode island, who led the research,
'Until the scientists have synthesised successfully the new alloy and tested its melting point, the record for highest melting point will remain with a substance made using hafnium, tantalum and carbon (Hf-N-c),
which melts at a temperature 3, 526°C. The researchers calculated the formula for the new alloy (Hf-N-c) by simulating the physical processes that occur at the atomic level when a substance melts.
They started by analysing the properties of the Hf-Ta-C material and then looked for compounds that might maximise those further.
They found Hf-Ta-C combined a high heat of fusion the energy absorbed or released when it transforms from solid to liquid and low differences in disorder of the atoms,
or entropy, as a solid or liquid. Most metals require high temperatures to melt because they have stable molecular structures that require a lot of energy to break.
The behaviour of the atoms as a liquid also determines this melting point. They found their Hf-N-c alloy would absorb similar amounts of energy
when it melted but had a smaller difference between the in the entropy between a solid and liquid.
They worked out its melting point would be 474°C higher than Hf-Ta-C. Professor van de Walle and Dr Qijun Hong,
who also took part in the research, say their research could help develop new types of heat shields on spacecraft
or be used in gas turbines. However, they caution that the exact uses of Hf-N-c will be unclear until they can test its other properties.
They are working with researchers at the University of California, Davis, to synthesise the compound.
Professor van de Walle added: Melting point isn't the only property that's important in material applications.'
'You would need to consider things like mechanical properties and oxidation resistance and all sorts of other properties.'
'So taking those things into account you may want to mix other things with this that might lower the melting point.'
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