Computers: Coming Soon to Your Bloodstream

(Model of a single cell device in the bloodstream. Source:elec-intro.com)

Scientists have successfully figured out how to create the basic components of a computer system within DNA and bacteria. Researchers at the Imperial College London have found a way to create "logic gates" within gutted DNA and batceria strands. Logic gates are one of the most elementary components to a computer system, without it, a computer would not be able to process any information. Basically how these work as of right now is very similar to a binary system (values of 1 or 0) in that they could be "on" or "off". As of now the researchers were only able to put a single logic gate in each strand, but as the technology develops, they plan to make complex strands, that will contain multiple logic gates.

Escherichia Coli (Source:humenhealth.com)

This is a huge breakthrough in nanotechnology and bioengineering. With this technology,  microscopic computers may be able to measure plaque levels in major arteries, or release medicine from within the bloodstream to treat certain illnesses. Professor Martin Buck, co-author of the paper written at Imperial College London, says   "We believe that the next stage of our research could lead to a totally new type of circuitry for processing information. In the future, we may see complex biological circuitry processing information using chemicals, much in the same way that our body uses them to process and store information."  The first successful logic gate was created in an Escherichia coli (E. Coli) bacteria cell, where it was reprogrammed to be turned on or off by certain chemical triggers.  What is truly amazing is that scientist have found ways to take very harmful bacteria strands and turn them in to tools that we can use safely to better mankind.


Source of this article

Seeing Through Walls

Images of the X-ray security center in the movie "Total Recall"(Source:i-mockery.com)

Researchers at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory have developed a new radio technology that can allow them to "see" through solid walls. The system is an array of antennas in two rows; eight antenna are used to recieve signals, and thirteen are used to send signal, a total of twenty-one antennas. The researchers designed the antenna array to be mobile and as small as possible, in order for the military to be able to make full use of it in a combat situation. So far the technology can only work against walls that are eight inches thick or less, and cannot detect inanimate objects behind the wall, but they do work well in detecting people through the wall, and can be used at a distance of about 60 feet (from the wall). As well, the machine can provide a real-time view of whoever is behind the wall at a rate of about 11 frames per second. However, the images of the "people" behind the wall are displayed as blobbed areas on the screen.

Image of the Radar System (Source: img.mit.edu)

This radar system works very similar to the way human vision works. Our eyes can detect light reflected from an object and recieve it, allowing us to interpret what it is, just like radio waves can be recieved to an antenna. The only difference is that light cannot pass through solid objects, such as walls, and therefore we cannot see the other side. Even if light does pass through the solid object, we do not recieve enough of it back to be able to interpret what is on the other side. Radio waves have an easier time passing through solid objects, the problem is getting them to come back, as most of the signal strength is lost while passing through the wall. Signal amplifiers can be used to give the signal additional strength so it can be dectected.  Larger wavelengths have an easier time passing through solid objects, however the MIT Lincoln team decided to use S-band radio waves, which have smaller wavelengths, but allow the equiptment to be smaller, allowing the system to be mobile.

From there, the system uses a function from the wave recieved to interpret how far something is behind the wall. A certain distance will produce a certain type of wave in reception, according to Gregory Charvat. research leader at MIT: "So if the wall is 20 feet away, let's say, it shows up as a 20-kilohertz sine wave, ... If you, behind the wall, are 30 feet away, maybe you'll show up as a 30-kilohertz sine wave." The team is still working on making the real-time image clearer, as the wall itself does come up as the brightest object on the screen.


Read original article about the Radar System at dailytech.com

The Delorean is Back in our Future

Company Logo (Source: hotrodhomepage.com)

The Delorean Motor Company (DMC) has announced that they will be bringing the Delorean model back into production hopefully in 2013. The car that produced poor sales while in production in in the 1980s was immortalized by the popular movie franchise "Back to the Future" with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd.  While the Delorean Motor Company seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth due to the flop in sales, the company was actually purchased by Texan entrepreneur Stephen Wynne, who eventually acquired the remaining stock and the logo. Although Wynnes' company is not actually part of the original DMC, the company does offer service to the DeLorean DMC-12 in five locations throughout the world.

The DMC-12 (Source: retropopplanet.wordpress.com)

According to Fox News, Wynne says that "(we) got the idea for the battery-powered DeLorean after seeing the success of the Tesla Roadster, and thinks it would be a fitting tribute to the movie version of the car which famously needed 1.21 'gigawatts' of electricity to travel through time."  The car will be able to go from 0-60 in 8 seconds and will get approximately 100 miles per charge.  There have been requests from consumers to bring this car back into production for the past two decades, and a prototype has already been built and tested, according tgdaily. Wynne plans to sell at a price around $90,000 for the electric only DMC-12. Coincidentally, Back to the Future II took place in 2015, two years after the car is planned to be released. Maybe the movies weren't that farfetch'd after all.

Screenshot from Back to the Future film (Source:dreamroad.us)

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Read more at tgdaily
DMC Company history at Wikipedia

Cannibalism on Nuku Hiva Island

Anaho Bay, Nuku Hiva (Source: tallshiptales.de here)

A yachtsman ended up being a victim of cannibalism on the island of Nuku Hiva, part of the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific. Stefan Ramin, a business adviser, and his girlfriend, Heike Dorsch were roaming the South Seas, and had landed on the island to take in the sights. What exactly happened after they landed on the island is still under question by the police. What is known is that Ramin was invited on a traditional goat hunt by a guide named Henry Haiti. Mr.Haiti returned by himself from the goat hunt and told Ms Dorsch that Stefan needed help. When she went to his aid, Mr. Haiti grabbed her, tied her to a tree, and sexually assaulted her. Dorsch eventually was able to free herself and notify the proper authorities.


Ramins' remains were later found scattered around a campfire. After police found bones, teeth, and metal fillings, soldiers joined in the search to find Mr. Haiti, who remains at large as of now.  Mr. Haiti is being treated as a suspected cannibal, as the remains appear to have been cooked and eaten. Throughout history, Nuku Hiva has seen its share of cannibalism, as it was believed by tribal warriors that eat the remains of their enemies would allow them to increase their strength. Cannibalism in these South Pacific Islands continued late into the 19th century. Police suspect that Mr. Haiti had premeditated the murder, and that Ramin was simply murdered for his flesh.


Source for the Nuku Hiva Cannibalism.

Breaking the Universal Speed Limit?

The Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy. (Source: genevalunch.com here) 

Recently the scientists at CERN, otherwise known as the European Organization for Nuclear Research, released the results of an experiment that may have recorded neutrinos that were travelling faster than the speed of light. To date, light has the fastest speed of anything we've ever observed, clocking in at a speed of about 186,000 miles per second.  If these neutrinos were travelling faster than the speed of light, all of our theories of relativity (provided to us by the great Albert Einstein) could be completely wrong, and our modern physics would be gone ... just like that.


Now the reason that this is so important is that our theory of relativity is based on the speed of light being the fastest particle in our universe. For example, you right now are moving at a speed that is a very,very, very tiny fraction compared to the speed of light; therefore time is moving along at its normal rate. However, the closer you get to the speed of light, the slower time would pass. If you were to actually reach the speed of light, time would pause, and as well exceeding the speed of light would cause time to rewind. This concept is what we use to measure planets and galaxies hundreds of light-years away, by measuring the amount of time the light would take to originate from one spot and reach another.

(The Universe within 12.5 light-years , the Nearest Stars. Source: atlasoftheuniverse.com here)

Now what the scientists at CERN produced might be evidence that light may not be the fastest particle in the universe. Neutrino molecules are elementary subatomic particles that do not have an electrical charge, and can pass through matter without being effected by it. For example, lets say that you have two containers, both are closed, and one has a flashlight pointing out and the other has a neutrino gun pointing outward. The light would remain in the container because it cannot pass through its material, while the neutrinos are so small that they can pass freely through the material of the container.


CERN scientist, conducting research called the OPERA experiment, had sent neutrinos from Switzerland to a detector in Italy. After the scientists compenstate for all margins of error that they might have had during the experiment, the concluded that their results of the experiment might be off by 10 nanoseconds. They recorded the neutrinos reaching the detector 60 nanoseconds faster than what should be "physically" possible. 

The Neutrino trajectory. (Source: public.web.cern.ch here)


Since the release of the results, many scientists have been trying to figure out just how exactly this happened. One of the most convincing theories, as well as probably the most easily overlooked is that our technology is not fast enough. Ronald van Elburg, from the University of Groningen, proposes that the OPERA scientists forgot to compensate for the amount of time a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal takes to travel from Earth to orbiting satellites and back. Van Elburg believes that this amount of time will compensate for the approximate 60 nanoseconds that the results were off by.


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 Read more about the Neutrino experiments.
Read about the possible solution