Here First - Science and Technology Blog

Fetching the real life into the brain digital scanner, men of science at The University of Western Ontario from The Centre for Brain and Mind can at present ascertain the action an individual was planning, bare moments ahead that action is actually accomplished. You can find this discovery in the Journal of Neuroscience. "This is a considerable step forward in our understanding of how the human brain plans actions," alleged Jason Gallivan, a Western Neuroscience PhD student, who was the first author on the paper. This was a study that lasted over an year. Human subjects let their brainpower activity scanned applying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when they executed hand motions: apprehending the top of an object, seizing the bottom of the object, or simply extending and touching the object. The group discovered that by utilising the signals from numerous brain areas, they could anticipate, better than chance, which of the activities the volunteer was ...

You want to hide your age? If that's the case, you need watch carefully where you spit. Men of science from UCLA discovered a saliva test that will reveal your real age. This new discovery opens doors for a wide range of applications. A fresh patented test could help crime-scene investigators to discover suspect's real age without knowing anything else about them. "Our approach supplies one answer to the enduring quest for reliable markers of aging," said principal investigator Dr. Eric Vilain, a professor of human genetics, pediatrics and urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "While genes partly shape how our body ages, environmental influences also can change our DNA as we age," Vilain said. "Methylation patterns shift as we grow older and contribute to aging-related disease." Vilain and his squad picture the test turning a forensic creature in crime-scene investigations. By examining traces of spit left in a tooth bit...

These are the first photos of asteroid 2011 MD as it makes its very close pass by Earth. The asteroid passed at only 7,600 miles above the Earth's surface. It is about 5-20 meters in diameter and in an orbit similar to Earth's around the Sun. Extra observations have determined that this object is not a space junk (as suggested early one). Bill Gray is notorious expert in orbital dynamics. He determined that 2011 MD could not have been close enough to Earth before . At the moment of it's closest approach, 2011 MD was bright as magnitude ~11.8. Although 2011 MD was pretty close, the record of nearby passing asteroids is held by 2011 CQ1. It came within 5,840 KM of Earth on 4th Feb 2011.

Stargazers’ research on stars could have an impact on the human body. Ohio State University uranologists are trying to develop a possible new radiotherapy treatment that will help combat cancer. The freshly discovered technology is designated to be harder on cancerous tumors, but softer on healthy tissue. “ As astronomers, we apply basic physics and chemistry to understand what’s happening in stars. We’re very excited to apply the same knowledge to potentially treat cancer, ” senior research scientist Sultana Nahar said. The team of scientist believe that nanoparticles embedded in cancerous tumors will absorb X-rays better at particular frequencies. This will produce electron ejections that will destroy malignant cells. Using X-Ray spectroscopy scientists can predict those energies and which molecules and atoms will work better. Read more on researchnews

A mere tap could be sufficient to charge your portable device thanks to a breakthrough made at RMIT University and Australian National University. Altough this is not new technology, it's a major step towards the discovery of self-powering gadgets. The men of science have determined the ability of piezoelectric films to turn mechanical pressure into electricity. There results were published in Advanced Functional Material Journal on 21 June Issue. "The power of piezoelectrics could be integrated into running shoes to charge mobile phones, enable laptops to be powered through typing or even used to convert blood pressure into a power source for pacemakers - essentially creating an everlasting battery," said lead co-author Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran. The mixed potential of this material is amazing, but it will take some time until we'll be integrated into smartphones and laptops. "The concept of energy harvesting using piezoelectric nanomaterials has been demonstrated...

If you thought Matrix was unreal, think again. Remember when Neo learned Jiu-Jitsu in seconds? Well it seems that it's not that far from possible. Men of science have discovered a chip that allows lab rats to instantly acquire new information. Applying an electronic scheme that duplicates the neuronic signals linked with memory, they coped to duplicate the brain function in rats affiliated with long-term learned behavior, even when the rats had been narcotized to forget. "Flip the switch on, and the rats remember. Flip it off, and the rats forget," said Theodore Berger of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering's Department of Biomedical Engineering. In a striking presentation, the experimenters froze the normal neural interactions between the two fields using pharmacological factors. The antecedently trained rats were no longer able to exhibit the long-term learned demeanor. "The rats still showed that they knew 'when you press left first, then press right...

New Japanese supercomputer is more powerful than the next five fastest computers combined A Nipponese supercomputer assembled by Fujitsu Co. Took hold of the title of world's fastest computer. The previous winner was a Chinese rival. This means Japan is getting back in the top of the computer arms race for the first time in seven years. Established at Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research,the "K Computer" executes more than eight quadrillion (8,000 trillion) computations per second. K Computer is a play on the Nipponese word "kei" for the number 10 quadrillion, which will be the total power this supercomputer is targeted to cover once it is completed in 2012. K Computer is a major progress from existing supercomputers. It's more potent than the following 5 fastest computer systems combined. This means it can execute 3 times as many computations per second as the No. 2 supercomputer, configured by China's National University of De...