WildSpace

PROBLEM: Unlike Neo in The Matrix or the titular superspy in the comedy series Chuck, we can't master kung fu just by beaming information to our brain. We have to put in time and effort to learn new skills. METHODOLOGY: Researchers from Boston University and Japan's ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories designed a decoded functional MRI neurofeedback method that induces a pre-recorded activation pattern in targeted early visual brain areas that could also produce the pattern through regular learning. They then tested whether repetitions of the fMRI pattern caused an improvement in the performance of that visual feature. - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"The eye is going bionic, and companies are competing to develop the best technologies to restore vision to the blind, IEEE Spectrum Tech Talk reports. The company Second Sight has just brought its retina implant to market in Europe, and is hoping for FDA approval in the U.S. this year. Second Sight uses an external camera (mounted on a pair of sunglasses) to capture visual information, routes the info to a visual processing unit worn on a belt, and then sends the processed image to two antennae implanted around the eyes, where it’s forwarded on to a 60-electrode array that stimulates the remaining retinal cells. German company Retina Implant AG, which has an implant currently undergoing clinical trials in Europe and the U.S., has taken a different approach. Instead of an external camera, they built a camera into the eye itself, using an implant that contains an array of 1500 photodiodes with amplifiers and electrodes. The photodiodes convert light signals into electric signals, which attached electrodes send via the optic nerve to the brain." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"Mischel refers to this skill as the “strategic allocation of attention,” and he argues that it’s the skill underlying self-control. Too often, we assume that willpower is about having strong moral fiber or gritting our teeth and staring down the treat. But that’s wrong — willpower is really about properly directing the spotlight of attention, learning how to control that short list of thoughts in working memory. It’s about realizing that if we’re thinking about the marshmallow we’re going to eat it, which is why we need to look away." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"The 100 Year Starship (100YSS) study is an effort seeded by DARPA to develop a viable and sustainable model for persistent, long-term, private-sector investment into the myriad of disciplines needed to make long-distance space travel practicable and feasible. The genesis of this study is to foster a rebirth of a sense of wonder among students, academia, industry, researchers and the general population to consider “why not” and to encourage them to tackle whole new classes of research and development related to all the issues surrounding long duration, long distance spaceflight." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"In a study published in late 2011 in Nature, Stanford University geneticist Anne Brunet and colleagues described a series of experiments that caused nematodes raised under the same environmental conditions to experience dramatically different lifespans. Some individuals were exceptionally long-lived, and their descendants, through three generations, also enjoyed long lives. Clearly, the longevity advantage was inherited. And yet, the worms, both short- and long-lived, were genetically identical. This type of finding—an inherited difference that cannot be explained by variations in genes themselves—has become increasingly common, in part because scientists now know that genes are not the only authors of inheritance. There are ghostwriters, too. At first glance, these scribes seem quite ordinary—methyl, acetyl, and phosphoryl groups, clinging to proteins associated with DNA, or sometimes even to DNA itself, looking like freeloaders at best. Their form is far from the elegant tendrils... more... - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"Science in 2011: Triumphs, disasters and climaxes – in pictures There were extraterrestrial shenanigans, female orgasms, sabre-toothed squirrels and sperm-spattered squid; there was meltdown at Fukushima, the last flight of the space shuttle and a possible glimpse of the Higgs boson. Relive the defining scientific stories of the past 12 months" - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"Could this be the “Limitless” breakthrough we’ve been looking for? Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have discovered that when the activity of PKR — a molecule normally elevated during viral infections — is inhibited in the brain, mice learn and remember dramatically better. “We found that when we genetically inhibited PKR, we increased the excitability of brain cells and enhanced learning and memory in a variety of behavioral tests,” said Costa-Mattioli. For instance, they tested the mice ability to use visual cues for finding a hidden platform in a circular pool. Normal mice had to repeat the task multiple times over many days to remember the platform’s location. Mice lacking PKR learned the task after only one training session." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

+ - Amir

""We don't call it the 'God particle', it's just the media that do that," a senior U.S. scientist politely told an interviewer on a major European radio station on Tuesday. "Well, I am the from the media and I'm going to continue calling it that," said the journalist - and continued to do so. The exchange, as physicists at the CERN research centre near Geneva were preparing to announce the latest news from their long and frustrating search for the Higgs boson, illustrated sharply how science and the popular media are not always a good mix. "I hate that 'God particle' term," said Pauline Gagnon, a Canadian member of CERN's ATLAS team of so-called "Higgs hunters" - an epithet they do not reject." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"Anyone admiring David Hume as I do finds much to cheer, but much to lament in the state of academic philosophy, as this year, the 300th anniversary of his birth, comes to a close. Hume was an anatomist of the mind, charting the ways we think and feel — a psychologist or cognitive scientist before his time. The cheering feature of the contemporary scene is that plenty of people are following in those footsteps. The nature versus nurture battle has declared an uneasy draw, but the human nature industry is in fine fettle, fed by many disciplines and eagerly consumed by the public." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"A multi-purpose optical chip which generates, manipulates and measures entanglement and mixture -- two quantum phenomena which are essential driving forces for tomorrow's quantum computers -- has been developed by researchers from the University of Bristol's Centre for Quantum Photonics. This work represents an important step forward in the race to develop a quantum computer." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"In a major discovery, biologists at Tufts University were able to cause tissue to grow a new organ by simply altering the membrane voltage gradients of cells: they caused tadpoles to grow eyes outside of the head area. These findings break new ground in the field of biomedicine because they identify an entirely new control mechanism that can be used to induce the formation of complex organs for transplantation or regenerative medicine applications, according to Michael Levin, Ph.D., professor of biology and director of the Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology at Tufts University’s School of Arts and Sciences." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"New research published today in the journal Science suggests it may be possible to use brain technology to learn to play a piano, reduce mental stress or hit a curve ball with little or no conscious effort. It's the kind of thing seen in Hollywood's "Matrix" franchise." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

EVERYthing with the word "neuro" attached is the wrong kind of knowledge to understand ANYthing, not just art! .. ok, it's somewhat useful for tissues, physical stuff, but the physical is the limit - Gregory Lent

"t is estimated that around 16% of university students in the UK are taking ‘smart drugs’, medication available on prescription for conditions such as Alzheimer’s, that are now being used by healthy people to enhance memory, concentration and other cognitive abilities. Neither is it just students who are popping the pills, but their lecturers and a swathe of professionals eager to achieve that extra edge. Smart drugs inspired this year’s Hollywood film Limitless, with the tagline, ‘One pill. Anything is possible’. The scale of their use has also caused the UK’s leading expert on ‘cosmeceutical’ brain treatments, Barbara Sahakian, to speculate that students might soon have to take part in pre-exam drug tests to prevent wide-spread ‘cheating’. Although some are now taking pills to cram more memories in, others are looking forward to a time when they can wipe them out. Investigations into the nature of post-traumatic stress disorder have discovered certain ‘amnesia’ drugs can block,... more... - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"At the heart of the weirdness for which the field of quantum mechanics is famous is the wavefunction, a powerful but mysterious entity that is used to determine the probabilities that quantum particles will have certain properties. Now, a preprint posted online on 14 November1 reopens the question of what the wavefunction represents — with an answer that could rock quantum theory to its core. Whereas many physicists have generally interpreted the wavefunction as a statistical tool that reflects our ignorance of the particles being measured, the authors of the latest paper argue that, instead, it is physically real." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"Robot wardens are about to join the ranks of South Korea's prison service. A jail in the eastern city of Pohang plans to run a month-long trial with three of the automatons in March. The machines will monitor inmates for abnormal behaviour. Researchers say they will help reduce the workload for other guards. South Korea aims to be a world leaders in robotics. Business leaders believe the field has the potential to become a major export industry. The three 5ft-high (1.5m) robots involved in the prison trial have been developed by the Asian Forum for Corrections, a South Korean group of researchers who specialise in criminality and prison policies. It said the robots move on four wheels and are equipped with cameras and other sensors that allow them to detect risky behaviour such as violence and suicide." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"Most caffeine addicts would tell you that coffee sharpens the mind. It turns out that in rodents, a single dose of caffeine does indeed strengthen brain cell connections in an underappreciated part of the brain, scientists report online November 20 in Nature Neuroscience. A clearer idea of caffeine’s effect on the brain could allow scientists to take advantage of its stimulating effects and perhaps even alleviate some symptoms of brain disorders. “Caffeine is something people are very interested in,” says neuroscientist Susan Masino of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., who was not involved in the study. So far, most of caffeine’s effects have been illuminated by studies using doses much higher than an average person’s morning cup of joe, says study coauthor Serena Dudek of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"Scientists from around the world have completed a study that says harvesting the sun's energy in space can turn out to be a cost effective way of delivering the world’s needs for power in as little as 30 years. As important, the report says that orbiting power plants capable of collecting energy from the sun and beaming it to earth are technically feasible within a decade or so based on technologies now in the laboratory." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

I've always wondered what would happen if such an orbital power station becomes misaligned for whatever reason, I mean its downward transmitting beam. - Michael Bravo

Hydrocarbon lifeforms! Prepare! You will be beamed down! - Ваш Танерада

"In a significant finding in the search for life beyond Earth, scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and elsewhere have discovered what appears to be a body of liquid water the volume of the North American Great Lakes locked inside the icy shell of Jupiter's moon Europa." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"A fiercely contested experiment that appears to show the accepted speed limit of the Universe can be broken has yielded the same results in a re-run, European physicists said." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

How this plays out, to me, is far more interesting and exciting than Wikileaks or a bunch of suburbanites getting sprayed by Capsaicin. - Akiva

"Scientists at Chalmers University of Technology have succeeded in creating light from vacuum – observing an effect first predicted over 40 years ago. The results will be published tomorrow (Wednesday) in the journal Nature. In an innovative experiment, the scientists have managed to capture some of the photons that are constantly appearing and disappearing in the vacuum." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

My vacuum cleaner sucks. - Akiva

"Much to humans' chagrin, bacteria have superior survival skills. Their decision-making processes and collective behaviors allow them to thrive and even spread efficiently in difficult environments." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"Yesterday, four Wave Gliders—self propelled robots, each about the size of a dolphin—left San Francisco for a 60,000 kilometer journey. Built by Liquid Robotics, the robots will travel together to Hawaii, then split into pairs, one pair heading to Japan, the other to Australia. Waves will power their propulsion systems and the sun will power the sensors that will be measuring things like water salinity, temperature, clarity, and oxygen content; collecting weather data, and gathering information on wave features and currents. It’s not going to be an easy journey—the little robots will face rough weather and have to dodge big ships. But if it were easy, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting, say Liquid Robots executives. The point, explains Graham Hine, senior vice president of operations, is to “push the boundaries of science, and prove to the world that this type of technology is ready to increase our understanding of the ocean.” (Hine names the crafts in honor of great explorers in the video above.)" - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"A team of engineers claims to have created the world's lightest material. The substance is made out of tiny hollow metallic tubes arranged into a micro-lattice - a criss-crossing diagonal pattern with small open spaces between the tubes. The researchers say the material is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and has "extraordinarily high energy absorption" properties. Potential uses include next-generation batteries and shock absorbers. The research was carried out at the University of California, Irvine, HRL Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology and is published in the latest edition of Science. "The trick is to fabricate a lattice of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner than a human hair," said lead author Dr Tobias Schaedler." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"Scientists are getting closer to the dream of creating computer systems that can replicate the brain. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed a computer chip that mimics how the brain's neurons adapt in response to new information. Such chips could eventually enable communication between artificially created body parts and the brain. It could also pave the way for artificial intelligence devices. There are about 100 billion neurons in the brain, each of which forms synapses - the connections between neurons that allow information to flow - with many other neurons. This process is known as plasticity and is believed to underpin many brain functions, such as learning and memory." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"Humankind’s view of the future has changed throughout the ages. As we have learned more about the depths of our past, our ability to peer further has improved: with a knowledge of deep time and past changes has come a greater awareness of future possibilities. The scientific and industrial revolutions of the nineteenth century not only sped up progress, but also gave us the tools to imagine how our world could be different, rather than the repeating seasonal cycles to which we’d previously been limited. So argues Jon Turney in the early chapters of The Rough Guide to the Future. Once he has laid out how humans have viewed the future in our history, and come to terms with various models for prediction and the growing numbers of think tanks that try to do it, Turney sets out what makes a successful prediction alongside some — sometimes unsuccessful — predictions from the past. One of the strengths of this book is that it teaches us how to evaluate future visions before putting them in... more... - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"It’s been an interesting and awkward autumn for physicists. They’ve been presented with an experimental finding that threatens to blow their vision of the universe to smithereens. A team of scientists in Europe announced in September that they’d clocked tiny particles called neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light. Which is heresy. Nothing goes faster than light. Einstein said so; a century of experiments have backed him up." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"At the heart of the weirdness for which the field of quantum mechanics is famous is the wavefunction, a powerful but mysterious entity that is used to determine the probabilities that quantum particles will have certain properties. Now, a preprint posted online on 14 November1 reopens the question of what the wavefunction represents — with an answer that could rock quantum theory to its core. Whereas many physicists have generally interpreted the wavefunction as a statistical tool that reflects our ignorance of the particles being measured, the authors of the latest paper argue that, instead, it is physically real. “I don't like to sound hyperbolic, but I think the word 'seismic' is likely to apply to this paper,” says Antony Valentini, a theoretical physicist specializing in quantum foundations at Clemson University in South Carolina." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet