Quantum physics: Flavors of entanglement: "The entanglement of quantum objects can take surprising forms. Quantum physicists at the University of Innsbruck have investigated several flavors of entanglement in four trapped ions and report their results in the journal Nature Physics. Their study promotes further developments towards quantum computing and a deeper understanding of the foundations of quantum mechanics."
How injured nerves grow themselves back: "Unlike nerves of the spinal cord, the peripheral nerves that connect our limbs and organs to the central nervous system have an astonishing ability to regenerate themselves after injury. Now, a new report in the October 1st issue of Cell offers new insight into how that healing process works."
Solar cells thinner than wavelengths of light hold huge power potential: "(PhysOrg.com) -- Ultra-thin solar cells can absorb sunlight more efficiently than the thicker, more expensive-to-make silicon cells used today, because light behaves differently at scales around a nanometer, say Stanford engineers. They calculate that by properly configuring the thicknesses of several thin layers of films, an organic polymer thin film could absorb as much as 10 times more energy from sunlight than was thought possible."
Study says Turmeric may help prevent osteoporosis: "Research by Dr. Janet Funk at the University of Arizona College of Medicine supports the potential health benefits of the spice turmeric, showing that it may be an effective resource for preventing bone loss, a significant concern for postmenopausal women."
New book examines how ordinary women revolutionized health care in America: "As 40th anniversary celebrations get underway surrounding the book, 'Our Bodies Ourselves,' a new history examines the battles of ordinary women in demanding equality, choice and respect in medical treatment and education about their own bodies."
Unlocking the secret of beauty: Scientists discover the complexities of attractive female bodies: "Scientists in Australia and Hong Kong have conducted a comprehensive study to discover how different body measurements correspond with ratings of female attractiveness. The study, published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, found that across cultural divides young, tall and long armed women were considered the most attractive."
Can Caffeine Really Cause Insanity?: "A Kentucky man is citing 'temporarily insanity' brought on by 'caffeine intoxication' as his legal strategy to claim that he is not responsible for allegedly murdering his wife.
The Higher You Are, the Faster You Age: "Scientists measured a time dilation only 90 billionths of a second long.
New Drug Kills Pain by Boosting Body's Naturally Occurring Marijuana-Like Compound: "
In a boon for pain research, American and Italian scientists say they have found a new drug that allows a marijuana-like substance to control pain at a specific site in the body. Their study suggests cannabinoid compounds could be used in new pain medications that are non-addictive and non-sedative, unlike opiates.
The drug works by blocking an enzyme that degrades a compound called anandamide, whose name comes from the Sanskrit word for 'bliss.' Anandamide exists naturally in humans and is chemically similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. It was thought to work only in the brain, but with the new drug, URB937, anandamide works in peripheral tissues, too.
Led by Daniele Piomelli, director of the Center for Drug Discovery at the University of California-Irvine, teams from the Italian universities of Urbino and Parma gave the URB937 drug to rats and mice. It suppresses an enzyme called FAAH, which boosts the amount of anandamide. It doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier, but it still does lessen pain at the site of an injury, the researchers say.
Anandamide is part of the endocannabinoid system, which is involved in modulating appetite, pain, mood and memory. (The name is derived from the system's involvement in responding to THC.) Blocking FAAH can have the same pain-mitigation effects without generating a marijuana high, according to a UC-Irvine news release.
Only a handful of states allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes, one of which is modulating pain. So a drug that enhances the body's natural cannabinoid compounds could be helpful for millions of patients.
Or they could just move to Denver.
Robotic Swan Majestically Dances to 'Swan Lake,' Moving Viewers to Tears: "
In America, the animalistic automatons at Chuck E. Cheese entertain (and sometimes terrify) children with their inelegant, slack-jawed singing, spastic motions, and soulless, lifeless eyes. It's a stark contrast with Sweden, where a robot swan is literally moving people to tears with a four-minute, professionally choreographed routine, dramatically executed to Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake.'
The Dying Swan moves sometimes gently, sometimes with energetic passion, but apparently always beautifully, leading the few people who have witnessed its dance to describe it with words like 'touching' and 'beautiful.' In other words, its display conjures adjectives not usually associated with the motions of a robot.
The Dying Swan's creators at the Mälardalen University wanted to explore the role of robotics in art and dance, hiring a respected professional choreographer to teach the swan its routine, which it performs elegantly via 19 different joints that give it a high degree of flexibility and dexterity. While the routine hasn't been released publicly yet, the rest of the world won't have to wait very long to weep over the Dying Swan's majesty; it makes its public debut on Thursday at Sweden's largest book fair in Gothenburg.
DARPA Funds Neurophotonics Center to Develop Fiber-Optic Link Between Brain and Prosthetics: "
With some help from DARPA, researchers at Southern Methodist University may soon establish a lightning-fast two-way fiber optic connection between the brain and prosthetic limbs. Working with $5.6 million in DARPA funding, the Neurophotonics Research Center has a singular goal: build a biocompatible fiber optic sensor scaled down to carry individual nerve signals to and from the brain.
The ultimate objective is nothing less than the 'Skywalker hand,' prosthetics that interface seamlessly with the brain like real limbs. DARPA (and others) have pursued such technology actively for years, but while strides have been made modern prosthetics are still a long way from even closely mimicking the feeling of a real limb.
Most 'robotic' prosthetics simply connect to healthy tissue to trigger movement in the limb - for instance, connecting a prosthetic arm to healthy chest muscle that the user then clenches to manipulate the hand - which requires the user to learn a whole new way of operating his or her new limb. DARPA wants to change that by figuring out how to convert and carry nerve signals through synthetic channels.
To that end, fiber optics are ideal. Where metallic implants might be rejected or corroded by the body's natural processes, fiber optic technology can more easily be made compatible with living tissue. And optical technology can shrink signal channels down very small, so small that hundreds or even thousands of sensors could be embedded into a single fiber connecting brain and prosthetic.
That's not to say it will be easy. But SMU researchers and DARPA clearly think it's technology worth striving for. If they can figure out the right combination of optical nerve stimulation and nerve-sensing tech, they may just develop a two-way interface that not only lets the brain command the limb naturally, but also allows the limb to 'feel' sensations like heat or pressure. It might also allow for a spinal cord patch that could help those with spinal traumas regain mobility.
[SMU]
“We are entering a neurotechnology renaissance, in which the toolbox for understanding the brain and engineering its functions is expanding in both scope and power at an unprecedented rate,” says Ed Boyden, an Assistant Professor, Biological Engineering, and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the MIT Media Lab..
“Consider a system that reads out activity from a brain circuit, computes a strategy for controlling the circuit so it enters a desired state or performs a specific computation, and then delivers information into the brain to achieve this control strategy. Such a system would enable brain computations to be guided by predefined goals set by the patient or clinician, or adaptively steered in response to the circumstances of the patient’s environment or the instantaneous state of the patient’s brain.
“Some examples of this kind of ‘brain coprocessor’ technology are under active development, such as systems that perturb the epileptic brain when a seizure is electrically observed, and prosthetics for amputees that record nerves to control artificial limbs and stimulate nerves to provide sensory feedback. Looking down the line, such system architectures might be capable of very advanced functions–providing just-in-time information to the brain of a patient with dementia to augment cognition, or sculpting the risk-taking profile of an addiction patient in the presence of stimuli that prompt cravings.
“In the future, the computational module of a brain coprocessor may be powerful enough to assist in high-level human cognition or complex decision making.”
"Avatar therapy: From couch to cyberspace: "
(Second Life)
Proponents of “avatar therapy” in a virtual environment such as Second Life say it has some unique advantages that take psychotherapy to the next level.
In Second Life, therapy sessions are not confined to the therapist’s virtual office; they can also involve role-play scenarios to allow the patient to practice their newly learned coping skills in virtual environments tailored to their needs.
Many of the conditions treated by face-to-face talk therapy can also be treated virtually, including depression and anxiety. Avatar therapy is proving useful for traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia and Asperger’s syndrome. Studies have shown success rates similar to those of traditional therapy for social anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to James Herbert, head of the anxiety treatment and research program at Drexel University.
"Brain-hacking art: Making an emotional impression: "
Monet's Water Lilies
The blurry shapes and splashes of color mean that people have to draw on their own memories to fill in the missing visual details, he says.
These paintings may also be attractive because their blurred forms speak directly to the amygdala, a brain region involved in the processing of emotions, suggests Cavanagh. The amygdala acts like an early warning system, on the lookout for unfocused threats lurking in our peripheral vision, and it tends to react more strongly to things we haven’t yet picked up consciously.
"Researchers engineer adult stem cells that do not age: "(PhysOrg.com) -- Biomedical researchers at the University at Buffalo have engineered adult stem cells that scientists can grow continuously in culture, a discovery that could speed development of cost-effective treatments for diseases including heart disease, diabetes, immune disorders and neurodegenerative diseases."
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