NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Conditions Once Suited For Life On Mars
NASA's Curisoity Rover has discovered evidence that Mars had the conditions necessary to support life. An analysis of a rock sample collected by Curiosity shows the red planet could have supported living microbes in its history.
'Sonopill.' Project To Create An Ultrasound Pill Awarded £5m
A University of Dundee-led project to develop a pill carrying ultrasound technology, named "Sonopill," has been awarded a £5million grant by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
3D Printed Robotic Hand Hits Kickstarter
Robotics have rarely been described as cheap, and when it comes to hands and arms this is especially so. With just an arm costing upwards of $10,000 it's clear why research and development of prosthetic limbs is an expensive pursuit. Chris Chappell and Easton LaChappelle are seeking crowd funding from Kickstarter to help change this.
Researchers Say Action-Packed Videogames Help Dyslexia
According to a new study in the latest issue of Current Biology, action-packed videogames with absolutely no reading or linguistic elements whatsoever can actually improve the reading ability of children with dyslexia. Using Rayman Raving Rabbids as the game of choice, the study suggests that dyslexia not only effects the linguistic centers of the brain, but also areas of the brain which govern attention and motor skills as well.
NASA Finds A Space Invader In The Deep Cosmos
NASA's Hubble Telescope found a Space Invader in this massive cluster of galaxies, known as Abell 68. The gravitational field surrounding it acts as a naturally distorting lens. This produces a fun house mirror effect, and created this shape similar to that of a simulated alien from the classic 1970s game.
Researchers Create The First Wireless Brain-Computer Interface. Move Things With Your Mind On The Go
Researchers at Brown University have created the first wireless, implantable, rechargeable brain-computer interface. This presents a medical breakthrough for the disabled, which will be tested on humans soon after 13 months of successful trials with monkeys and pigs.
Astronomers Identify The Possible Birth Of A New Planet
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found what could prove to be the beginnings of a Gas Giant planet. Roughly 335 lightyears away, still in the swirling disc of gas and dust, it could be the world's first observable planetary formation.
Scientists Give Rats Ability to Share Sensory Information Via The Internet
These are fast-paced times we live in, and sometimes fishing your smartphone out of your pocket to check out the latest facebook status takes too darn long. But worry not! We're only a few steps away from brain-to-brain interfacing, as evidenced by two enterprising rats.
Astronomers Trace Origin Of Russian Meteor
A team of astronomers have tracked down the origin of a meteor that hit Russia, injuring about 1,000 people earlier this month.
Using the thounsands of videos footage posted online, chronicling the strike, the team plotted the meteor's trajectory through the Earth's atmosphere, reconstructing it's orbit around the Sun and tracing it to a source of origin.
New Retinal Implant 'Alpha IMS' System Restores Sight For The Blind
Advances in the restoration of vision have been fascinating to see, pardon the pun. Argus II relies on an external camera mounted to a pair of glasses, powered by an external processor. However, the Alpha IMS system, Developed by researchers at the University of Tübingen, Germany, uses electrodes placed within the patient's retina, re-engineering the human eye into a prosthetic.
Meteor Explosion Hits Russia
A meteor exploded 10,000 metres above Russia this morning, breaking up and showering the Ural Mountains with fragments. Reports say around 400 people have been injured.
Two Makers Create 3D Printed Prosthetic Hand For A 5-Year-Old Boy
Liam is a 5-year-old South African boy who was born without fingers on his right hand. When his mother stumbled upon the work of two prosthetic hobbyists and shared this story, they went on to create a new hand for the boy, using a 3D printer, bits of cable, bungee cord and rubber thimbles.
UK Scientists Will Launch A Smartphone Satellite Into Space
A team of scientists from the University of Surrey are preparing to send the world's first smartphone satellite into orbit.
Called STRaND-1 (the Surrey Training, Research and Nanosatellite Demonstrator), this 30cm CubeSat weighing 4.3kg is powered by the Google Nexus One smartphone, and will launch into a 785km sun-synchronous orbit.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Weighs Up Thor's Hammer
Hard hitting physics questions can plague scientists for decades; but none quite as pressing as ‘how heavy would the Hammer of Thor really be?' Neil deGrasse Tyson has answered one of those questions in a recent tweet, saying that 'Mjolnir' would weigh as much as 300 Billion elephants.
Robot Driven By A Moth. Scientists One Step Closer To Lifelike Automatons
A team of scientists at the University of Tokyo have created a two-wheeled robot, which was driven by male silkmoths in pursuit of a female moth pheromone. This has been done to study and apply the moth's tracking skills, furthering the scientific pursuit towards autonomous robots that mimic life.
Microsoft Predicts The Future Using News Headlines Of The Past
Scientists from Microsoft Research and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed software, which could predict future events such as disease outbreaks with 70%-90% accuracy.
ESA Proposes 3D Printed Moon Bases Made Out Of Lunar Soil
Setting up a lunar base could be made much simpler by using a 3D printer to build it with materials taken from the Moon itself. Industrial partners including renowned architects Foster + Partners have joined with European Space Agency (ESA) to test the feasibility of 3D printing on this scale.
NASA's 'RASSOR' Robot Could Help Us Colonise The Moon
NASA is working on a robot that will help them find water on the moon. Named RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot), this excavator has been built to extract water, ice, and other resources from lunar soil.
£1 Billion Supercomputer To Reconstruct And Simulate 'Entire Human Brain'
An international group of researchers have secured over £1 billion to fund the incredibly ambitious 'Human Brain project.' Scientists will spend the next decade understanding, mapping, and virtually simulating the network of over a hundred billion neuronal connections that illicit thought, emotion, and consciousness.
Scientists Create Real-Life 'Tractor Beam.' Star Trek Becomes Reality
A team of scientists from Scotland and the Czech Republic has created a real-life “tractor” beam, as featured in the Star Trek movies, which for the first time allows a beam of light to attract objects.