(Reuters) – A paralyzed woman has been able to feed herself chocolate and move everyday items using a robotic arm directly controlled by thought, showing a level of agility and control approaching that of a human limb. Jan Scheuermann, 53, from Pittsburgh, was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder 13 years ago and is paralyzed […]
Mind-controlled robotic arm gets closer than ever to human limb
Researchers in the United States have developed a robotic arm controlled directly by thought with a level of agility closer than ever to a normal human limb. Jan Scheuermann, a 52 year-old woman who was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder 13 years ago and is paralyzed from the neck down, was able operate the […]
New material for stretchy electronics inspired by nature
(Reuters) – Scientists in Switzerland have come up with a material mimicking the way tendons connect to bones, which could speed the development of stretchy, wearable electronic devices. The stretchable electronics industry is in its infancy but devices that are able to flex without breaking could revolutionize devices from smartphones and solar cells to medical […]
Italian court ruling sends chill through science community
(Reuters) – Scientists reacted with alarm to the manslaughter conviction of six earthquake experts in Italy for failing to give adequate warning of the 2009 earthquake in the city of L’Aquila that killed 308 people. Scientists warned that researchers in areas involving unpredictable natural threats, like volcanology and even meteorology, will now be more reluctant […]
Quantum teleportation tipped for Nobel Prize: Thomson Reuters
(Reuters) – Researchers who wrote the rulebook for quantum teleportation, described as “spooky” by an exasperated Einstein, are among the 2012 Thomson Reuters tips to win Nobel prizes for science. Nobel prediction expert David Pendlebury’s annual forecasts are based on the company’s “Web of Knowledge” data on how often a scientist’s published papers are cited […]
Dark energy is real, Anglo-German researchers argue
(Reuters) – Dark energy, the mysterious cosmic force thought to be the fuel behind the accelerating expansion of the universe, is real, according to an Anglo-German team of astronomers. After a two-year study, scientists at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom and LMU University Munich in Germany have concluded that the likelihood of […]
Cheap and cheerful: scientists find color that never fades
(Reuters) – Scientists have found nature’s way of creating color that never fades, a technique they say could replace pigments used in industry with natural plant extracts in products from food coloring to security features in banknotes. Layers of cellulose that reflect specific wavelengths of light – ‘structural color’ found in peacock feathers, scarab beetles […]
UK paraplegic woman first to take robotic suit home
(Reuters) – A British woman paralyzed from the chest down by a horse riding accident has become the first person to take home a robotic exoskeleton that enables her to walk. Although bionic exoskeletons have been used in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, Claire Lomas is the first to take the ReWalk suit home for everyday […]
Nobel prize-winning crystals fell to earth in meteorites
(Reuters) – The only known natural examples of a Nobel prize-winning crystal, now used in everyday objects like razor blades and non-stick frying pans, arrived on earth in meteorites, scientists have found. Israeli scientist Dan Schechtman won the Nobel Prize for chemistry last year for creating quasicrystals, which are harder than standard crystals and have […]
Space weather and the coming storm
(Reuters) – The delicate threads that hold modern life together are dramatically cut by an unexpected threat from outer space, with disastrous effects. It’s the stuff of science fiction usually associated with tales of rogue asteroids on a collision course with earth. But over the next two years, as the sun reaches a peak in […]