News
Growing new arteries, bypassing blocked ones
April 29, 2013 12:04 pm | by Yale UniversityYale University | CommentsScientific collaborators from Yale School of Medicine and University College London (UCL) have uncovered the molecular pathway by which new arteries may form after heart attacks, strokes and other acute illnesses — bypassing arteries that are blocked. Their study appears in the April 29 issue of Developmental Cell....
Kodak to sell 2 businesses to U.K. pension plan
April 29, 2013 11:33 am | by The Associated Press | CommentsEastman Kodak Co. has agreed to sell its personalized and document imaging businesses to its U.K. pension plan as part of an agreement that settles $2.8 billion of claims that the retirement fund had sought from the photography pioneer. Eastman Kodak Co. said Monday that it is selling the...
Google's virtual assistant invades Siri's turf
April 29, 2013 11:12 am | by MICHAEL LIEDTKE - AP Technology Writer - Associated Press | CommentsGoogle is trying to upstage Siri, the sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad. The duel begins Monday with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same...
Computer scientists suggest new spin on origins of evolvability
April 29, 2013 10:54 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsScientists have long observed that species seem to have become increasingly capable of evolving in response to changes in the environment. But computer science researchers now say that the popular explanation of competition to survive in nature may not actually be necessary for evolvability to increase.
Shape-shifting mobile devices
April 29, 2013 10:48 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsPrototype mobile devices that can change shape on-demand will be unveiled today and could lay down the foundation for creating high shape resolution devices of the future. The research paper, to be presented at one of the world's most important conferences on human-computer interfaces, will introduce the term "shape resolution..."
Germ-zapping 'robots': Hospitals combat superbugs
April 29, 2013 10:39 am | by MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer | CommentsThe rise of superbugs, along with increased pressure from government and insurers, is driving hospitals to try all sorts of new approaches to stop their spread: Machines that resemble "Star Wars" robots and emit ultraviolet light or hydrogen peroxide vapors. Germ-resistant copper bed rails, call buttons and IV poles...
B787 1st test flight in Japan since battery fire
April 29, 2013 10:29 am | by The Associated Press | CommentsJapan's All Nippon Airways has successfully conducted its first test flight of the Boeing 787 aircraft since battery problems grounded the planes earlier this year. Ray Conner, president of Boeing's consumer airline division, and ANA President Shinichiro Ito were aboard the flight Sunday.
Federal food assistance program encourages healthy beverage purchases
April 29, 2013 12:07 am | by Yale UniversityYale University | CommentsEfforts to encourage healthy beverage choices by people receiving federal food assistance are paying off, according to a study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The study shows that purchases of 100% juice declined among participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) after the program changed in 2007 to offer foods that better reflect dietary recommendations for Americans. The st...
Robots Able to Reach through Clutter with Whole-Arm Tactile Sensing
April 29, 2013 12:00 am | by Georgia Institute of Technology | CommentsRobots are now able to intelligently maneuver within clutter, gently making contact with objects while accomplishing a task, thanks to technology developed by Dr. Charlie Kemp and the Healthcare Robotics Lab. ...
IRI Intros: 5 Questions with Tim Lieuwen
April 29, 2013 12:00 am | by Georgia Institute of Technology | CommentsYou’ve probably heard that Georgia Tech has a number of Interdisciplinary Research Institutes (IRIs) – but do you know much about them? This article is the second in a series of Q&As to introduce the Tech community to the eight IRIs and their faculty leaders. In this installment, Executive Director Tim Lieuwen answers questions about the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute....
Understanding the turbulence in plasmas
April 29, 2013 12:00 am | by Massachusetts Institute of Technology | CommentsA longstanding joke holds that practical fusion power is about 20 years away — and always will be. One simple phenomenon explains why practical, self-sustaining fusion reactions have proved difficult to achieve: Turbulence in the superhot, electrically charged gas, called plasma, that circulates inside a fusion reactor can cause the plasma to lose much of its heat. This prevents the plasma from reaching the temperatures needed to over...
MIT students win twice in White House competition
April 26, 2013 4:05 pm | by Massachusetts Institute of Technology | CommentsFor the second year in a row, a team of MIT students — including two this year from the MIT School of Architecture + Planning — have won double awards in the Better Buildings Case Competition conducted at the White House by the U.S. Department of Energy. In support of President Obama's goal of cutting energy waste from homes and businesses by half over the next two decades, the annual competition invites university energy clubs to pro...
Smartphones overtake 'dumb' phones worldwide
April 26, 2013 4:04 pm | by PETER SVENSSON - AP Technology Writer - Associated Press | CommentsResearch firm IDC said more smartphones than "dumb" phones are being made this year, a milestone in a shift that's putting computing power and Internet access in millions of hands worldwide. Manufacturers shipped 216 million smartphones worldwide in the first three months of this year, compared...
Imminent emergence of 17-year cicada creates buzz at Yale Peabody Museum
April 26, 2013 2:58 pm | by Yale UniversityYale University | CommentsThis spring will mark the return of the 17-year cicada, as nymphs of this common species emerge in late May — for the first time since 1996 — from colonies in forested regions in south-central Connecticut. In conjunction with this phenomenon, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History will present an exhibition offering an in-depth look at this unusual creature, including information on the biology, life cycle, and range of the noisy insect....
Tracking gunfire with a smartphone
April 26, 2013 12:06 pm | by Vanderbilt University | CommentsYou are walking down the street with a friend. A shot is fired. The two of you duck behind the nearest cover and you pull out your smartphone. A map of the neighborhood pops up on its screen with a large red arrow pointing in the direction the shot came from.
