Clipmarks | shandora's clips

3.8 billion years of R&D - 30 millions adapted solutions

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:25:08 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: Janine Benyus speaks about biomimicry and
engineering solutions inspired by nature.
Another interesting video from TED.

Clip Source: video.google.com

[Video]

Tags: science, nature, biomimicry, design

Building 'The Matrix'

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:57:09 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Feynman envisioned, a general purpose, programmable quantum computer could itself carry out quantum simulations. But such machines are still decades away, most researchers say, while machines designed only for quantum simulations may become available sooner.

Clip Source: www.sciencenews.org

Simulating the complexity of quantum physics would quickly overwhelm even the most advanced of today’s computers.

If The Matrix really existed, it would probably have to be a quantum simulator. The fictional computer in that story can create virtual worlds indistinguishable from the real one and project them into people’s minds. But the real world includes quantum phenomena, something ordinary computers can’t fully simulate.

Now physicists have created a rudimentary prototype of a machine that simulates quantum phenomena using quantum physics, rather than using data kept in a classical computer. While the new device can't make people fly like the Matrix does, it demonstrates a technique that could enable physicists to create, in the virtual world, materials that don't yet exist in nature and perhaps figure out how to build, in the real world, superconductors that work at room temperature, for example.

Tags: complexity, quantum mechanics, matrix

Sun Tatoo

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:45:03 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: Design by Yu-Chiao Wang

Clip Source: www.coroflot.com

Sun Tattoo is a soft stencil which can be used for making the tattoo pattern on the skin by sunshine. It's better to use it with sunless tanning cream.

Tags: art, body, tattoo

A Walk In The Park

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:57:53 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks:

Clip Source: www.thelondonpaper.com

Doughnut firm Krispy Kreme has created the world's first grass flip-flops to bring summer magic to the city. The al fresco flip-flops take up to three weeks to grow and each shoe is covered with over 5,000 blades of grass.

If watered regularly, the unique footwear can remain in season for over four months, meaning they are the perfect, head-turning summer-accessory for stressed-out men and women.

Krispy Kreme's Katie McDermott said: "What better way to escape the concrete jungle than by slipping on a pair of grass flip-flops and walking around in your own mobile meadow?

"We cheer people up every day with our one-of-a-kind doughnuts. But hopefully, by providing them with their own part of park life, we'll be able to bring a sense of natural calm to stressed-out workers."

Tags: fashion, green, london

Cuil: Search engine to ravel Google Launches

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:55:57 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: For one, Cuil has an impressive pedigree with its three founders: Tom Costello of IBM's WebFountain project, plus Anna Patterson and Russell Power of Google's TeraGoogle project, Google's massive search index. Cuil also counts former AltaVista founder Louis Monier -- who later went to eBay and then Google -- as part of the team.

These people know search. In particular, they know on-the-firing line, heavy duty, industrial strength search. Not only that, they're unleashing what appears to be a comprehensive service that anyone can use. Indeed, Google already did a blog post in reaction to Cuil and its size claims on Friday, before Cuil even launched or those claims became public. If Google's paying that much attention, then anyone should.

Clip Source: searchengineland.com

Can any start-up search engine "be the next Google?" Many have wondered this, and today's launch of Cuil (pronounced "cool') may provide the best test case since Google itself overtook more established search engines. Cuil provides what appears to be a comprehensive index of the web, a unique display presentation and emerges at a time when people might be ready to embrace a quality "underdog" service. The big questions now are, how's the relevancy hold up? And can word-of-mouth really still build significant share? [Note: The Cuil site was supposed to be live for searches at of 9:01pm Pacific time on July 27, but so far, I'm still seeing only a holding page. I'd expect this to change fairly soon].

Tags: google, internet, search, technology

Mother Ship Unveiled By Branson

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:49:33 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: Video from the event can be found here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7529978.stm

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

MOJAVE, Calif., July 28 -- British entrepreneur and adventurer Richard Branson on Monday took the wraps off an aircraft that, for $200,000 a seat, may someday take tourists who can afford it on the first leg of regular, albeit very brief, commercial flights into space.

The dual-fuselage, all-composite plane expands and refines the smaller version that famed aircraft designer Burt Rutan twice used four years ago to begin the journey of a piloted capsule to sub-orbital altitude, winning the X-Prize competition aimed at encouraging private spaceflight.

Tags: science, space, technology

New breakthrough in cancer diagnosis

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:21:57 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: For the study, Dr Tewari and colleagues tested blood from mice and humans with advanced prostate cancers, as well as that from healthy controls, and could distinguish which individuals had cancer based on blood microRNA measurement.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A simple blood test that could act as a "crystal ball" to detect early signs of cancer could be tested on patients within two years.

They have found that scraps of genetic material - called microRNAs - that turn genes on and off are released by cancer cells to circulate in the blood, where they can be detected more easily than proteins.

The molecules have the potential to become a new class of "biomarkers" to reveal the presence of cancer at its earliest stages, which would make treatment more effective, reports the team led by Dr Muneesh Tewari in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

MicroRNAs have advantages over protein-based early-detection systems, including that they can be detected potentially in smaller quantities and that the technology exists to rapidly develop early-detection tests, said Dr Tewari, who has been studying how the scraps of genetic code sometimes fail to hold cell growth in check in prostate and ovarian cancers.

Tags: health, science, cancer

Molecule-shaped jewellery

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:59:55 GMT

clipped by: shandora

Clip Source: www.madewithmolecules.com

Silver Molecules

serotonin necklace
creativity necklace
dopamine necklace
focus necklace
mood charm bracelet
neurotransmitter earrings
estrogen jewelry
chocolate jewelry
caffeine jewelry
capsaicin necklace
endorphin necklace
amino acid bracelet
serotonin cufflinks

Gold Molecules

gold molecule earrings

Pewter & Glass Molecules

molecule keychains
serotonin lapel pins
ethanol glasses

Molecule Clothing

glucose baby onesie
oxytocin baby onesie
molecule shirts
testosterone boxers

Holiday Cards

DNA transcription tree
PEACE peptide
holiday spice
serotonin wreath
dopamine-love

Gift Certificates

Clip Source: www.madewithmolecules.com

Tags: science, art, cool

Give your loved one a disease

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:32:39 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: The professional series include HIV, Hepatitis & TB

Clip Source: www.giantmicrobes.com

Welcome to GIANTmicrobes!

We make stuffed animals that look like tiny microbes—only a million times actual size! Now available: The Common Cold, The Flu, Sore Throat, Stomach Ache, Cough, Ear Ache, Bad Breath, Kissing Disease, Athlete's Foot, Ulcer, Martian Life, Beer & Bread, Black Death, Ebola, Flesh Eating, Sleeping Sickness, Dust Mite, Bed Bug, Bookworm, and many more!

Each 5-to-7 inch doll is accompanied by an image of the real microbe it represents, as well as information about the microbe.

They make great learning tools for parents and educators, as well as amusing gifts for anyone with a sense of humor!

GIANTmicrobes® PROFESSIONAL

H.I.V., Hepatitis, TB, Polio

Clip Source: www.giantmicrobes.com

GIANTmicrobes(R) Original Set (6 Calamity dolls) $39.95

Tags: health, humor

Breakthrough in animal part transplants for humans

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:02:19 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: Surgeons have been able to transplant heart valves from pigs into patients for more than a decade, but these have a limited life span as they do not become populated by the patients own cells and are unable to repair any damage, meaning they must be replaced every 10 years.

For young patients this poses a particular problem as the valves do not grow with the child and so must be replaced frequently.

With the new technique the heart valves grow with the patient as if they were part of the original heart. The scientists use a combination of freezing, chemical baths and ultrasound to strip the animal tissue of its cells and prime the remaining biological scaffold so the patient's cells are encouraged to grow into it.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Blood vessels, tendons and bladders from animals are to be used in humans for the first time after a breakthrough in transplant surgery.

Scientists have overcome the problem of rejection, which has previously prevented animal tissues from being used in patients.

Children could be given pigs' heart valves that can grow with them, avoiding the need for repeated surgery; tissues such as ligaments, which have previously been difficult or impossible to repair, could be replaced.

By stripping the animal tissue of its cells with a series of chemical treatments, the scientists were left with a biological scaffold that provides a structure but no longer carries the factors that can trigger a recipient's body to reject a transplant. When the scaffold is surgically inserted into the patient's body, his or her own cells grow into it to create new tissue.

Tags: health, science, medical

EU report: Cloned meat and milk no health risk

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:54:37 GMT

clipped by: shandora

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The prospect of meat and milk from cloned animals ending up on supermarket shelves is a contentious issue in Europe, with authorities eager to avert a crisis over so-called Frankenfoods.

"No clear evidence has emerged to suggest any differences between food products from clones or their offspring, in terms of food safety, compared to products from conventionally bred animals," said Vittorio Silano, head of the agency's scientific committee.

However, the European Union's executive arm has promised to also take into account public opinion towards cloning and has commissioned a survey due in the coming months.

In reaction to the report, animal welfare campaigners, the Eurogroup for Animals, urged the EU to ban cloning.

Tags: science, cloning, news

The Astounding Sara Baras

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:43:27 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: "To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful." ~Agnes De Mille

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: dance, art

Solution to global warming: Floating cities

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:42:50 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: The 'Lilypad City' would float around the world as an independent and fully self-sustainable home. With a lake at its centre to collect and purify rainwater, it would be accessed by three separate marinas and feature artificial mountains to offer the inhabitants a change of scenery from the seascape.

Power for the central accommodation hub is provided through a series of renewable energy sources including solar panels on the mountain sides, wind turbines and a power station to harness the energy of the waves.

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

At first glance, they look like a couple of giant inflatable garden chairs that have washed out to sea

But they are, apparently, the ultimate solution to rapidly rising sea levels.

This computer-generated image shows two floating cities, each with enough room for 50,000 inhabitants.

Based on the design of a lilypad, they could be used as a permanent refuge for those whose homes have been covered in water. Major cities including London, New York and Tokyo are seen as being at huge risk from oceans which could rise by as much as 3ft by the end of this century.

This solution, by the award-winning Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut, is designed to be a new place to live for those whose homelands have been wiped out.

Tags: environment, global warming, science

Worms Do Calculus To Find Meals

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:49:34 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: In their paper, the researchers documented how two related, closely located chemosensory neurons, acting in tandem, regulate behavior. The left neuron controls an on switch, while the opposing right one an off switch. These sister neurons are situated much like the two nostrils or two eyes of mammals. Together these neurons are known as ASE for antagonistic sensory cues.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2008) — Thanks to salt and hot chili peppers, researchers have found a calculus-computing center that tells a roundworm to go forward toward dinner or turn to broaden the search. It's a computational mechanism, they say, that is similar to what drives hungry college students to a pizza.

"This computer does some nice calculus, differentiating the rate of change of the strength of various tastes," Lockery said. "The worm uses this information to find food and to avoid poisons."

It's possible, Lockery said, that the discovery someday could help research aimed at treating at least some of the 200,000 people in the United States who annually seek medical treatment, according to records of the National Institutes of Health, for problems involving taste and smell.

Tags: science, brain, nature

How to make popcorn with your mobile phone

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:02:38 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: ... maybe mobile phones can be dangerous after all

Clip Source: fr.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: video, mobile phone, technology, health