using the environment as a helping hand. The team, led by Alberto Rodriguez, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering,
and graduate student Nikhil Chavan-Dafle, has developed a model that predicts the force with which a robotic gripper needs to push against various fixtures in the environment
it could use the environment to adjust its grasp. Instead of releasing the pencil and trying again
just enough to slide the robot gripper closer to the pencil midpoint. robotic gripper A simple robotic gripper can adjust its grip using the environment.
Image courtesy of the researchers) Partnering robots with the environment to improve dexterity is an approach Rodriguez calls xtrinsic dexterityas opposed to the intrinsic dexterity of,
and other gripper-based applications may interact with the environment, in a cost-effective way, to perform more complex maneuvers. hasing the human hand is still a very valid direction in robotics,
which the environment may be exploited to increase the dexterity of simple robotic grippers. In ongoing work
In this most recent paper, the group investigates an approach to extrinsic dexterity called rehensile pushingexploiting fixtures in the environment to manipulate a grasped object. ee sort of outsourcing that dexterity that you don have in the gripper to the environment and the arm,
Rodriguez explains. nstead of dexterity that intrinsic to the hand, it extrinsic, in the environment.
and between the object and the environment, as well as the object mass, inertia, and shape. MIT engineers have devised a way to give more dexterity to simple robotic grippers using the environment as a helping hand.
Their model predicts the force with which a robotic gripper must push against surrounding fixtures
Robot footage and additional editing by Nikhil Chavan-Dafle and Alberto Rodriguez) xploiting the environmentin its current iteration, the model predicts the force a gripper must exert, on the object and the environment,
How do you engineer fixtures in the environment so that a robot motions are more reliable,
while a forensic robot in the field may angle a piece of evidence against a nearby rock to better examine it. xploiting the environment is,
a process that stops the greenhouse gas before it escapes from chimneys and power plants into the atmosphere and instead turns it into a useful product.
Carbon dioxide emissions are an ongoing environmental problem, and according to the authors, it's important that research identifies optimal ways to deal with the waste."
"We're interested in finding new catalytic reactions that will be more efficient than the current catalysts,
"With global warming becoming a bigger burden, it's pressing that we keep trying to turn carbon dioxide emissions back into something useful."
"For this research, the team used the Center for Nanoscale Materials as well as beamline 12-ID-C of the Advanced Photon Source, both DOE Office of Science User Facilities.
which set of genes was expressed consistently throughout all the different growth environments and used this set to construct the paleome.
genomic profiling and environmental impact studies. However, since most cell-based assays rely on population-averaged measurements,
Such a tool could prove extremely useful in investigating the influence of subtle local environmental changes on cell behavior, for example, stem cell differentiation,
The conjecture is that this arises from an avalanche of electrons from the top surface of the film to the bottom,
Other samples were placed in harsh environments, where dissolved gas was removed from the ambient liquid, and they also remained dry."
#Biodiesel made easier and cleaner with waste-recycling catalyst Researchers at Cardiff University have devised a way of increasing the yield of biodiesel by using the waste left over from its production process.
Fuel suppliers are required also to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the EU fuel mix by 6 per cent by 2020 in comparison to 2010.
which waste is dealt with, and seriously improve the quality of life by reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuels and encourage efficient use of resources."
"Professor Matthew Rosseinsky, Professor of Inorganic chemistry at the University of Liverpool, who was not part of the study,
but it is also a major greenhouse gas. Conversion of CO2 to something useful could dramatically reduce its emission into the atmosphere
and help alleviate the global warming problem. With their model and their design approach they have identified a few promising copper multi-metallics with a higher energy conversion efficiency and possibly higher selectivity in carbon dioxide electro-reduction to ethylene,
The researchers worked to mimic the complex environment where megakaryocytes develop and mature into platelets.
This environment includes endothelial cells (the cells lining the inside of blood vessels) and extracellular matrix (ECM) components,
In order to mimic the production environment and microvasculature, the structures through which blood flows, the researchers formed silk sponges around porous silk microtubes.
This could reduce emissions of a principal greenhouse gas that fosters climate change, and transform it into a useful, renewable fuel.
however, has eluded long researchers, especially outside of the carefully controlled environment of a chemistry lab.""Nobody has been able to make these kinds of materials with the degree of complexity that we have demonstrated now,
The new material could also lead to optical sensors that are highly sensitive to the electrical field in the environment on the nanometer scale e
and can accumulate over time in the environment and living animals, including humans. Flame retardants are added to foams found in mattresses, sofas, car upholstery and many other consumer products.
these chemicals can migrate out of the products over time, releasing toxic substances into the air and environment.
This robot uses neural schemes similar to humans to navigate an office environment. The human navigation function is operated by two types of brain cells-place cells and grid cells.
humans and animals are able to accurately move through the environment. Yuan and the team have implemented the same neural scheme for robots,
The algorithm was tested in a robot (see image) that explored a 35 meter x 35 meter indoor office environment.
The computer navigation system assists the robot in situations where it is lost in a new environment,
because they can provide global topological information of the navigating environment to help the robot localize itself f
#Analyzing protein structures in their native environment Proteins can fold in different ways depending on their environment.
Until now, it has been difficult to fully characterize the different structures that proteins can take on in their natural environments.
isolated from their usual environment. ynamic nuclear polarization has a capacity to transform our understanding of biological structures in their native contexts,
You can study them in their natural environment, and that tremendously exciting, says Cross, who was not part of the research team.
a pollutant gas commonly found in vehicle exhaust that also results from fossil fuel combustion. Prolonged exposure to nitrogen dioxide can be dangerous to human health,
of which are harmful to the environment. If scaled-up, this material could provide a cleaner, more cost-efficient alternative."
a long-sought breakthrough that could help researchers answer essential questions about climate and the environment.
which pollutants attach themselves to ice crystals, and why no two snowflakes are alike.""Ice crystals are ubiquitous
and could hold the answer to some very important, fundamental questions about our environment, but until now we haven't had the tools to reliably reproduce ice crystal faces in a lab for study,
which pollutants attach themselves to ice crystals and why no two snowflakes are said alike Shultz, principal investigator of the Laboratory for Water and Surface Analysis. Those answers could have implications for important issues such as seeding rain clouds and protecting the environment.
Scientists have been pursuing a reliable way to prepare ice crystal surfaces in the laboratory since at least the 1930s, according to Shultz,
That has left gaps in our understanding of the important role that ice plays in the environment,
this won't have a negative effect on the environment.""You won't generate carbon dioxide or waste, "he said.
Mendoza-Cortes, a computational and theoretical chemist, said the challenge he faced was designing something that didn't rust from the process of breaking down water that also trapped the energy
a dangerous atmospheric pollutant emitted from automobile tailpipes. In addition to detecting toxic or flammable gases, theoretical work indicates that boron-doped graphene could lead to improved lithium-ion batteries
or sterile growing environments where plants were protected from disease --and space was an intriguing option."
and environment monitoring of important molecules at high sensitivity by SERS.""SERS substrates are used to analyze the composition of a mixture at the nanoscale for environmental analysis, pharmaceuticals, material sciences, art and archeological research, forensic science, drug detection, food quality analysis,
While those platforms attempt to mimic the in vivo environment, they do not truly resemble the three dimensional (3d) microstructure of neuronal tissues.
a complex system that clears wastes and other harmful chemical solutes from the brain, Stony Brook University researchers Hedok Lee, Phd, Helene Benveniste, MD, Phd,
where cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) filters through the brain and exchanges with interstitial fluid (ISF) to clear waste, similar to the way the body lymphatic system clears waste from organs.
has developed a brain-friendly extracellular matrix environment of neuronal cells that contain very little foreign material.
an assistant professor of animal and dairy science in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental sciences. his is proof of concept that extracellular matrix can be used to ensheathe a functioning electrode without the use of any other foreign
and to react safely to unexpected forces in everyday environments, you need robotic hands that have more sensors than is said typical today
working in a controlled environment where people don venture, are capable of extremely precise manipulation with only limited sensors.
Computation used a cluster computer awarded by Silicon Mechanics and the Campus Champion Allocation for Tufts University TG-TRA 130003 at the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment,
Climatologists predict that persistent"megadroughts"are going to be a feature of climate change in the American West.
Carbon dioxide emissions from power plants could be put to good use, preventing fracking chemicals from contaminating drinking water supplies.
#Earthquake algorithm picks up the brain vibrations Your brain is buzzing. Analysing those natural vibrations might help spot tumours and other abnormalities,
and now an algorithm normally used to study earthquakes has been adapted to do just that. The elasticity of different parts of the body is a useful way to tell
who study how to extract information from the seismic waves created by earthquakes. He borrowed the algorithm his colleagues used to analyse the Earth vibrations,
They also showed that the cloak could work as the environment around the toy varied between 30°C and 45°C (Advanced Optical Materials
Once theye there, they can do serious science, from climate modelling to exoplanet hunting. But they are stuck also in that orbit for their entire working lives.
to prove the presence of environmental pollutants, or to control the quality of biological processes. Now the Fraunhofer FIT, based in Sankt Augustin,
Sept. 9, 2015 Responsive to a range of stimuli, a color-changing metallic substance could help detect problems as varied as mechanical strain and pollution.
Its light emission can be tailored to reflect very subtle changes in the environment, providing a color-coded output that reveals details of those conditions.
For example, the material could be engineered to detect specific pollutants, toxins or pathogens, with the results instantly visible through color emission.
and to react safely to unexpected forces in everyday environments, you need robotic hands that have more sensors than is said typical today
Industrial robots, working in a controlled environment where people aren't present, are capable of extremely precise manipulation with only limited sensors.
The rate at which the patch biodegrades can be slowed or accelerated depending on how quickly the surrounding tissue grows over it.
Vision is really important to cultivating a sense of where your body is within the surrounding environment.
or a plainclothes guy surveying an environment, they would be OK. But in a military environment, where they might get stepped on or dropped,
and theye prototypes that cost roughly $20, 000 apiece? says Fitzpatrick. hen we talk to MARSOC (Marine corps Special Operations Command),
part of a competition to see who could create an affordable desalination solution for developing countries.
Using the sun instead of fossil fuels to power a desalination plant isn't a totally new idea.
Larger solar desalination plants are being investigated seriously in areas where water is becoming a scarce resource,
The MIT/Jain team and their competitors tested their projects at the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility in New Mexico,
The next step is to test it in an even harsher environment, exposing it to everyday use with rural farmers in an area where USAID is active.
#Massive Earthquake Shakes Nepal; Avalanches On Everest An earthquake struck Nepal early Saturday causing numerous casualties,
large amounts of damage to structures and avalanches on Mount everest where a closely watched climbing season was started just getting.
The magnitude 7. 8 earthquake occurred only 50 miles away from Nepal's capital, Katmandu.
Last year, an avalanche in April killed 16 Sherpa guides, a tragedy that brought the climbing season to an abrupt end.
But the movement of the earth's tectonic plates isn't like the smooth movement of gears in a machine.
like the one that caused the earthquake Saturday, is a fault where one part of the earth is pushed up and over another section of the earth.
Living in an area between a rock (the Indian subcontinent) and a hard place (Eurasia) residents of the region have gotten used to earthquakes.
A 2005 earthquake in neighboring Kashmir killed 75,000 people, and left millions homeless. Those kinds of large earthquakes aren't as common in Nepal.
The USGS reports that in the past 100 years only four earthquakes larger than a magnitude 6. 0 on the Richter scale have occurred in the immediate area.
The most recent was in 1988, a 6. 9 temblor that killed 1500. The largest in that time frame was a magnitude 8 in 1934 that killed around 10,000,
But just because a large earthquake hadn't occurred in Nepal recently didn't mean that people weren't worried about it.
Early calculations suggest that this magnitude 7. 8 earthquake is probably not big enough to rupture all the way to the surface,
and we should probably expect another big earthquake to the west and south of this one in the coming decades, Laurent Bollinger,
#Humanitarian Mapping Program To Help Nepal Earthquake Recovery Efforts Pallets of supplies, including shelter kits
The death toll of the earthquake that shook Nepal over the weekend just topped 5, 000.
and perhaps even automatic parking in environments where space is limited. The good news is that
#Walk Through The Belly Of A Tornado In Virtual reality On May 20, 2013, a massive tornado slammed into Moore, Oklahoma, killing 24 people and leaving 353 injured,
and causing nearly $2 billion in damage. The tornado was determined to be an EF5, the most destructive type of tornado on the Enhanced Fujita classification scale.
Because tornadoes are lived so short (and also really destructive) it is difficult for scientists to get a good look inside these disasters.
But now, researchers at Virginia Tech are able to walk inside a virtual reality version of the Moore tornado
seeing the disaster from all angles. The researchers built the visualization using radar data taken during the storm.
That way they can better predict how bad the tornado might be before it touches down n
could be used to repair devices in water-filled environments that are difficult to access, such as the human body,
could be used to repair devices in water-filled environments that are difficult to access, such as the human body,
Unfortunately, a study published today in Nature climate change does just that. And the news is ominous.
Unfortunately, climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of these types of droughts, and the Sierra Nevadassnowpack is expected to drop a further 25 percent by 2050.
and as climate change continues, many other states will feel the squeeze s
#DARPA Taps Into the Brain To Give Patients Robo-Touch and Better Memory ST LOUIS By hardwiring into the brains of people with traumatic injuries,
-And-Trade Program To Limit Carbon emissions President Xi Jinping of China announced today during a visit to the White house that China will start a national cap
-and-trade program to limit greenhouse gas emissions in 2017. Under cap-and-trade programs, a governing body limits the amount of pollution that can be emitted,
and then sells permits to companies that want to emit pollutants. Companies can trade their permits,
creating a market for emissions and providing an economic incentive for companies to reduce their carbon footprint.
The announcement comes on the heels of last November climate accord between the U s. and China
In 2013, China accounted for nearly 30 percent of total global carbon emissions, with many of its emissions coming from coal fired power plants,
and making China the largest contributor to modern climate change. However the United states still exceeds China by more than double in per capita emissions,
which Chinese officials have argued are a better yardstick for contributions to global climate change. China has yet to announce specifics about its cap-and-trade plan, leaving some concerned about the political and technical challenges that lie ahead."
"said Timmons Roberts, a professor of environmental studies at Brown University.""It really does matter what the actual cap is."
"Cap-and-trade programs have been praised by some policymakers as an efficient way to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions,
while others argue that the strategy rewards big polluters that can afford to buy permits. In his first term, President Obama tried to pass a similar cap-and-trade program,
. and China to lead discussions at the UN climate change conference that will take place in Paris in December.'
when it comes to climate change
#The Future Of The DNA Hard drive Back in August at a chemistry conference, the worlds of science fiction and fact merged with the announcement of a technological advancement in data storage.
Because DNA is always present in a variety of biological environments the idea of a personal DNA hard drive within the body may also be possible.
But like organic foods or hybrid vehicles, it will help the environment. he more solar we use,
The drawn blood will be deactivated using chemical compounds so there is no infectious waste after. At the end of the entire Hoope process is a smartphone app that connects to the ring
they won change your entire environment so that it feels as if you umped into the show
Morocco environment minister, Hakima el-Haite, believes that solar energy could have the same impact on the region this century that oil production had in the last.
This could one day include water desalination, in a country that is increasingly being hit by drought as the climate warms.
For Hajar Lakhael, a 25-year-old environment and security manager from Meknes rehearsals are almost over
The researchers discovered that heat-treating graphene oxide and small amounts of cobalt salts in a gaseous environment forced individual cobalt atoms to bind to the material.
by rapidly changing the environment around the emitter, "Zia said. The work was led by Sebastien Cueff,
akin to earthquake tremors on land. Cell phones, for example, use resonances of these surface waves to filter electric signals in a manner similar to a wine glass resonating when a voice hits it at exactly the right pitch.
First, it scans 3-D space to capture wireless reflections off objects in the environment,
the device then monitors how these reflections vary as someone moves in the environment and intelligently stitches the person reflections across time to reconstruct his silhouette into a single image.
First, it scans 3-D space to capture wireless reflections off objects in the environment,
the device then monitors how these reflections vary as someone moves in the environment and intelligently stitches the person reflections across time to reconstruct his silhouette into a single image.
long-lasting, friendly to the environment and produces no greenhouse gas emissions. Cost, dependability and efficiency have been the primary constraints. ith the compounds wee studying,
The recycling of electronic waste will provide a'competitive source'of neodymium, dysprosium and praseodymium for growing the clean tech sector-including electric vehicles, according to Kevin Cassidy, ceo of US Rare earths, Inc I
#USDA and EPA set nation's first food waste reduction goals Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack and Environmental protection agency (EPA) Deputy Administrator Stan Meiburg announced the United states'first-ever national
food waste reduction goal, calling for a 50-percent reduction by 2030. As part of the effort, the federal government will lead a new partnership with charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, the private sector and local,
and waste in order to improve overall food security and conserve our nation's natural resources.""The United states enjoys the most productive and abundant food supply on earth,
but too much of this food goes to waste, "says Vilsack.""An average family of four leaves more than two million calories, worth nearly $1, 500, uneaten each year.
cutting environmental pollution and promoting innovative approaches for reducing food loss and waste.""According to the U s. Department of agriculture (USDA) and EPA, food loss and waste in the U s. accounts for approximately 31 percentr 133 billion poundsf the overall food supply available to retailers and consumers and has far-reaching
impacts on food security, resource conservation and climate change. Food loss and waste is single largest component of disposed U s. municipal solid waste,
and accounts for a significant portion of U s. methane emissions. Landfills are the third largest source of methane in the United states. Furthermore,
experts have projected that reducing food losses by just 15 percent would provide enough food for more than 25 million Americans every year,
By reducing wasted food in landfills, we cut harmful methane emissions that fuel climate change, conserve our natural resources,
USDA and EPA launched the U s. Food waste Challenge, creating a platform for leaders and organizations across the food chain to share best practices on ways to reduce,
recover, and recycle food loss and waste. By the end of 2014, the U s. Food waste Challenge had over 4, 000 active participants,
well surpassing its initial goal of reaching 1, 000 participants by 2020. In addition to the U s. Food waste Challenge, USDA has unveiled several food loss reduction initiatives over the past few years
including an app to help consumers safely store food and understand food date labels, new guidance to manufacturers on donating misbranded or sub-spec foods,
and waste cost effective. USDA will build on these successes with additional initiatives targeting food loss and waste reduction throughout its programs and policies.
Moreover, a new section on Choosemyplate. gov will educate consumers about reducing food waste to help stretch household budgets.
and moreo set their own aggressive goals for reducing food loss and waste in the months ahead.
which recently approved a new resolution to halve food waste within the operations of its 400 retailer
the business of car manufacturing is destroying the environment.""3d printing of metal radically changes that.
Even the most fuel efficient car has a large carbon footprint before ever leaving the plant. Czinger and his team's approach was to take the large plant out of the equation.
reducing its carbon footprint even further. Balzer says designing an eco-friendly speed demon supercar as their first prototype was intentional."
The prototype is based on advances in so-called'electronic skin'that allow robots to better sense their environment,
an important element of mitigating climate change, and displayed reduced productivity and pollination. o matter the place,
which thrives in the new environment it has created. But it's another story for myriad other bacterial species residing in the intestine--and disastrous for the infected individual's health,
and the disruption of colon tissue without making the intestinal environment inhospitable to normal, beneficial bacteria the way antibiotics do said
following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Since 2013, the two universities have been conducting cohort studies,
""Understanding the mechanisms used by cancer cells to adapt to their environment creates new possibilities to treat this deadly disease,
-because even if you don give a damn about the environment, it still a smart business move n
Developed by a team of researchers at Alexandria University in Egypt, the procedure uses a desalination technique called pervaporation to remove the salt from sea water
"It can effectively desalinate water with high concentration of salt like that of the Red sea, where desalination costs more and yields less."
There's also the issue of how to deal with the waste produced from the process.
the American Midwest was devastated by heavy and repeated flash flooding as a result of Hurricane Dean and Tropical Storm Erin dumping massive amounts of rain on several states.
Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, said in a press statement.""This complements our wider work to make other forms of public transport cleaner
and this technology-a world-first for metro railways-is one of a number of innovations we're embracing to lower our environmental impact."
not just because it better for the environment-you just can argue with the economics of renewables anymore,
to produce net zero emission fuels, "company chief executive Adrian Corless told the AFP. Funded by private investors,
but it claims to be the first to demonstrate how its technology can be scaled up to have both an actual environmental impact and commercial potential.
-because there are existing machines that do this pretty well-the Carbon Engineering'direct air capture plant'will deal with everyday carbon emissions from buildings, transportation, and agriculture."
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