Micro Tugs

Micro Tugs
A pair of Stanford University PhD students at the school's Biomimetics and Dexterous Manipulation Lab have developed what they call MicroTugs, or mini bots that use adhesive power similar to what's found on the feet of geckos and ants to pull off incredible feats of strength.

One robot weighing less than a third of an ounce can carry a 2.2-pound weight vertically up a glass wall.
Another robot weighs less than half an ounce, but can drag 2,000 times its own weight on a flat surface.

"This is the equivalent of a human adult dragging a blue whale around on land," the researchers note.

What's even more amazing is that the tests are actually bound by the limits of the actuators in the robots, not the adhesive power of the feet.

Watch:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rWuUUGWAp4&feature=youtu.be

Know more:
http://bdml.stanford.edu/Main/MicroTugs

Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/27/gecko-power-robots_n_7157692.html?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000030

#robotics   #gecko   #science   #research

Adjust your mind and think for yourself...

Adjust your mind and think for yourself...

Image via IBM
Credit: Melanie Swan

#think   #AI   #entertainmyfusimotors

Vrai...

Vrai...

#wordsofwisdom

A magnetic flux rope occurs on the sun’s surface.

A magnetic flux rope occurs on the sun’s surface. The S-shaped rope’s twisting, writhing structure is a surface instability made of current-carrying magnetic fields that explode out of the surrounding solar atmosphere. It emerged and evolved from the second of three layers in our star’s atmosphere called the chromosphere. 

Researchers recorded the event in August 2013 using the New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory east of Los Angeles. Imagery and analysis of the event appeared in the journal Nature Communications.

Paper:
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150428/ncomms8008/full/ncomms8008.html

Article:
http://txchnologist.com/post/117711510520/this-is-the-first-high-resolution-footage-of-a

#astronomy   #plasma   #physics   #sun   #space

Flyte: Levitating Lightbulb

Flyte: Levitating Lightbulb
Designer Simon Morris created a levitating light bulb which always remains suspended on air. To make this super human effect possible, Morris used a magnetic levitation pull powered wirelessly through induction. Since no batteries are used, the lightbulb uses a low energy LED. To turn on Flyte, you touch the surface of the base, which has touch sensors

Source & further reading:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flyte/flyte-levitating-light

#levitation   #lightbulb   #SciTech   #projectdesign  

Jar of gas igniting

Jar of gas igniting

#chemistry   #gif

Poliosis is a condition in which there is a lack of pigment in the hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, which appear...

Poliosis is a condition in which there is a lack of pigment in the hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, which appear whitish, grey. The condition normally occurs in patches. It is often associated with vitiligo, alopecia and forms part of the Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.
Microscopically, poliosis demonstrates either decreased or absent melanin and/or melanocytes in the hair bulbs of the affected hair follicles

#poliosis   #vitiligo

The Yellow Boxfish can be recognised by its box-shaped body, bright yellow colouration and black spots.

The Yellow Boxfish can be recognised by its box-shaped body, bright yellow colouration and black spots. The species occurs in tropical and temperate marine waters of the Indo-West Pacific.
When in danger or under stress, they excrete poisonous proteins from their skin that may be lethal to any fish swimming in the surrounding waters.

Know more:
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/puffers/polkadotbox.php
http://www.strangeanimals.info/2014/05/yellow-box-fish.html#ixzz3YfhlTd2z


#coolcreatures   #boxfish

Liquid nitrogen is made of two nitrogen atoms bonded into a molecule, just like the nitrogen in the air.

Liquid nitrogen is made of two nitrogen atoms bonded into a molecule, just like the nitrogen in the air. The only difference is that it is a liquid instead of a gas because it's kept colder than its boiling point — the temperature at which liquid turns into a gas.
Nitrogen is non-toxic, odorless, and colorless. It is relatively inert. It is not flammable.

Pouring small amount of liquid nitrogen into your hand won’t hurt, as long as you get a few seconds of recovery time between pours.

Please don’t try this at home!! 

Article:
http://www.businessinsider.com/these-gifs-show-how-awesome-liquid-nitrogen-is-2013-10

#liquidnitrogen   #science

iPhone 1983 version

iPhone 1983 version

Article:
http://mashable.com/2011/12/30/apple-iphone-1983/

#iphone   #apple   #techhistory

She would be half a planet away, floating in a turquoise sea, dancing by moonlight to flamenco guitar...

She would be half a planet away, floating in a turquoise sea, dancing by moonlight to flamenco guitar...

#memories

The hollow mask illusion is a feat of optical witchcraft that tricks your brain into thinking that the inside of a...

The hollow mask illusion is a feat of optical witchcraft that tricks your brain into thinking that the inside of a rotating mask is exactly like the outside – a face with protruding features.

The hollow-mask optical illusion is a simple test for the neurological dysfunction associated with schizophrenia. The visual senses of a person with a healthy brain will be overwhelmed by the illusion; a schizophrenic person reliably sees right through it.

What is the hollow-mask illusion? When a hollow mask is turned away from you, it will appear to be facing you; the nose, for example, will appear to be protruding from the mask. The illusion is so powerful that even if a test subject is told in advance what to look for, and even if he watches the illusion unfolding, his senses will still deceive him.

Seeing through the illusion isn’t a completely reliable indicator of schizophrenia. Some alcoholic test subjects may not be fooled by the hollow mask illusion. Being under the influence of cannabis (marijuana) may also yield a false positive.

Article:
http://www.cracked.com/article_22412_6-tiny-things-that-indicate-youve-got-huge-medical-problems.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16911-schizophrenics-see-through-hollowmask-illusion.html#.VT3B07mdK70

#neuroscience   #hollowmaskillusion   #schizophrenia

Good job #nexus5 !

Good job #nexus5 !

Alfred Russel Wallace charted a great dividing line in the living world—and found his own route to the theory of...

Alfred Russel Wallace charted a great dividing line in the living world—and found his own route to the theory of evolution.

ARW was a man of many talents - an explorer, collector, naturalist, geographer, anthropologist and political commentator. Most famously, he had the revolutionary idea of evolution by natural selection entirely independently of Charles Darwin. 

Read the correspondence between ARW and Darwin online:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/scientific-resources/collections/library-collections/wallace-letters-online/index.html 

#evolution   #history   #science   #AlfredRusselWallace   #darwin

Anatomie Spiegel (anatomical mirror) is an installation and an application by Simon Kirsch and Alexander Börner...

Anatomie Spiegel (anatomical mirror) is an installation and an application by Simon Kirsch and Alexander Börner which allows the user to slice through its virtual body and expose muscles, organs, bones and basic vessels, by simply walking forward and "dive" into specific layers.

The user gets some basic information of shape, volume, position and names.The whole installation simply needs a projector, a kinect v2 and some space in front of it.
Currently it's just a prototype and it can be expanded in any direction.

A very cool piece of art filled with a lot of educational potential ;)

#anatomy   #scitech   #science  
https://vimeo.com/120608996

Calbuco wakes up after 42 years

Calbuco wakes up after 42 years

Article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/23/americas/chile-volcano/

#calbuco   #volcanoes  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljrDn3Gel4M

Westerlund 2

Westerlund 2
http://hubblesite.org/videos/video_details/26-celestial-fireworks-star-cluster-westerlund-2

Video credit: 
Credit: J. Anderson, G. Bacon, L. Frattare, Z. Levay, and F. Summers (STScI)

Acknowledgment: The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), the Westerlund 2 Science Team, and ESO

#westerlund   #nasa   #esa   #hubble

Disney & Dali Friendship

Disney & Dali Friendship
An exhibition entitled "Disney and Dalí: Architects of the Imagination," will delve into the relationship between Walt and Salvador, two artists who challenged the rigid boundaries once separating dreams from waking life.

The two artists became drawn to each other after collaborating on an animated short titled "Destino," which began in 1945, though it wasn't released until 2003. The six-minute short follows Chronos, the serpentine-shaped god who is time personified, on his hapless pursuit of a mortal woman. The delirious ride features no dialogue, and an appropriately eerie soundtrack by Mexican songwriter Armando Dominguez. The artists' little-known lovechild is half "Fantasia," half "The Persistence of Memory," as nightmarish images made from animation, live dancers and special effects flow in and out of frame.

Dalí described the plot of the piece: "A magical display of the problem of life in the labyrinth of time." Walt Disney, appropriately enough, preferred a different synopsis: "A simple story about a young girl in search of true love."

After their initial collaboration, the two formed a mutual admiration and a strong friendship. The dreamy exhibition, guest-curated by filmmaker Ted Nicolaou, features original paintings, story sketches, conceptual artwork, correspondences, archival film, photographs, and audio from the unlikely creative comrades, thus illuminating one of the most innovation-filled bromances of all time.

"Disney and Dalí: Architects of the Imagination," will be on view from July 10, 2015, through Jan. 3, 2016 at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, and from late January through June 2016 at the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/23/salvador-dali-walt-disney_n_7110096.html

Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GFkN4deuZU

Image:
The Dalí and Disney families around the dinner table in Spain, 1957 Photograph Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company, © Disney.

#disney   #dali   #destino   #history

Sea Otters eat, sleep, hunt, mate, and give birth in the water. They also use rocks as tools to crack open mussels.

Sea Otters eat, sleep, hunt, mate, and give birth in the water. They also use rocks as tools to crack open mussels.

Sea otters often float at the water's surface, lying on their backs in a posture of serene repose. They sleep this way, often gathered in groups. Otters sometimes float in forests of kelp, or giant seaweed, in which they entangle themselves to provide anchorage in the swirling sea.

These aquatic otters do more than sleep while floating on their backs. They are often seen with a clam or mussel and a rock that has been deftly snared from the ocean floor. Otters will place the rock on their chests, and repeatedly smash the shellfish against it until it breaks open to reveal the tasty meal inside. They also dine on such aquatic creatures as sea urchins, crabs, squid, octopuses, and fish.

Sea otters are the only otters to give birth in the water. Mothers nurture their young while floating on their backs. They hold infants on their chests to nurse them, and quickly teach them to swim and hunt.

Source:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/sea-otter/

Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7ltOmuyazA

#seaotters   #amazingcreatures   #animalsworld

Latest SDO 24 hour movie for: 2015/04/23

Latest SDO 24 hour movie for: 2015/04/23

Source & credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory
http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

#nasa   #SDO   #sun   #space

What happens when a bowling ball and a feather are dropped together under the conditions of outer space?

What happens when a bowling ball and a feather are dropped together under the conditions of outer space?
Most of you know that any two objects dropped in a vacuum will fall at the same rate. Some of you have probably even seen it demonstrated in person. Even so this video is pretty amazing!

Physicist Brian Cox  visited NASA’s Space Power Facility in Ohio to check out the Agency's Space Simulation Chamber. At 30.5 meters across and 37.2 meters tall, the colossal aluminum construction has a volume of 22,653 cubic meters (or about ~800,000 cubic feet), making it the biggest vacuum chamber in the world.

If you haven't seen this video...maybe you should ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs

#gravity   #experiment   #science   #physics  

This...

This...

#bryanadams

Researchers create a free public library of versatile stem cells from ALS patients

Researchers create a free public library of versatile stem cells from ALS patients
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have transformed skin cells from patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), into brain cells affected by the progressive, fatal disease and deposited those human-made cells into the first public ALS cell library, enabling scientists to better study the disease.

Using a genetic engineering technique that causes adult skin cells to transform into “pluripotent” cells, otherwise known as induced pluripotent stem cells, which can take the form of many different cells found in other parts of the body, “we make brain cells out of the patient’s own skin,” says Jeffrey Rothstein, M.D., Ph.D., who directs the Brain Science Institute and the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research. 

While the technique for creating these human-made cells has been used by other researchers, Rothstein and his colleagues are the first to use these induced pluripotent stem cells to create the largest library of brain cell lines donated voluntarily by more than 20 ALS patients whose disease was caused by various genetic mutations.

“These human cellular tools will serve as a platform to understand ALS and someday discover new drugs to treat our patients,” says Rothstein, senior author of a study about the work, which was recently published online in PLOS ONE. 

Source and further reading:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/a_new_tool_for_understanding_als__patients_brain_cells%20

Image credit: Wellcome Images (Creative Commons)

#ALS   #braincells   #research   #neurology

Two huge magma chambers spied beneath Yellowstone National Park

Two huge magma chambers spied beneath Yellowstone National Park
Underneath the bubbling geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming sits a volcanic hot spot that has driven some of the largest eruptions on Earth. Geoscientists have now completely imaged the subterranean plumbing system and have found not just one, but two magma chambers underneath the giant volcano.

Source and further reading:
http://news.sciencemag.org/earth/2015/04/two-huge-magma-chambers-spied-beneath-yellowstone-national-park?

#science   #geology   #earth   #yellowstone  
https://vimeo.com/125629104

Spectacular Photo for Hubble Telescope's 25th Birthday

Spectacular Photo for Hubble Telescope's 25th Birthday
An awe-inspiring landscape of multicolored dust and jewel-like stars has been unveiled as the official image of the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope. 

More than 3,000 stars, radiating like cosmic fireworks, lie near the center of the epic new image. The stellar cluster is known as Westerlund 2. The colorful gas cloud to the left of the star cluster is a hotbed of stellar birth known as Gum 29, located 20,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Carina.

Image:
A stunning image of the star cluster Westerlund 2 and gas cloud Gum 29 was chose as the official photo for the Hubble telescope's 25th birthday.

Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team

Source:
http://www.space.com/29197-hubble-space-telescope-25th-birthday-photo.html

#esa   #nasa   #hubble   #space

Vrai...

Vrai...

#gracekelly   #wordsofwisdom

The buff-tip moth is a medium-sized moth that is on the wing at night from June to July.

The buff-tip moth is a medium-sized moth that is on the wing at night from June to July. It is quite a common moth in parks and gardens, as well as woodland edges, scrub and hedgerows. It has evolved to look like a stump of a twig to hide from predators.

Source:
http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/buff-tip

#moth   #bufftip   #invertebrates  

We don’t know what causes autism, but it’s not the MMR vaccine.

We don’t know what causes autism, but it’s not the MMR vaccine.
A new, huge scientific study has officially debunked the connection between autism and the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. Again. Even for children who are deemed to be at a higher risk for having autism, there is nothing connecting it with the MMR vaccine. Definitively. 

Vaccinate your children!!

Article:
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-mmr-vaccine-not-linked-to-autism-even-in-high-risk-kids-2015-4

JAMA:
http://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/no-association-found-between-mmr-vaccine-and-autism-even-among-children-at-higher-risk/

#vaccination   #MMR   #research   #science

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!
Let's try to keep this planet clean!

#earthday2015   #recycled

Real-Life Kermit the Frog Found in Costa Rica

Real-Life Kermit the Frog Found in Costa Rica
Wildlife researcher Brian Kubicki has identified a new species of glass frog that bears a striking resemblance to everyone's favorite childhood frog. Discovered in Costa Rica, Hyalinobatrachium dianae is easily identifiable by its lime green flesh, translucent underside and large, Kermit-like eyes.

Article:
http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/wildlife/real-life-kermit-the-frog-found-in-costa-rica/

#amphibian   #research   #frog

Arthur Compton

Arthur Compton
“At your next breath each of you will probably inhale half a dozen or so of the molecules of Caesar’s last breath.”

Arthur Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927 for his discovery of the Compton effect, which demonstrated the particle nature of electromagnetic radiation. It was a sensational discovery at the time: the wave nature of light had been well-demonstrated, but the idea that light had both wave and particle properties was not easily accepted. He is also known for his leadership of the Manhattan Project's Metallurgical Laboratory, and served as Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1945 to 1953. 

Know more:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1927/compton-bio.html

Image:
Arthur Holly Compton on the cover of Time Magazine on January 13, 1936, holding his cosmic ray detector

#physics   #ArthurCompton   #comptoneffect

Color my amygdala!

Color my amygdala!
My synesthetic brain loves it!
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh ...took me a while to find this artist..
Sign your work people!!!!!!!!!!

Animations by Marcus Martinez
http://isopoly.tumblr.com/

#animations   #c4d  

On 20th April 1972, Apollo 16's lunar module carrying astronauts John W.

On 20th April 1972, Apollo 16's lunar module carrying astronauts John W. Young and Charles M. Duke Jr., landed on the moon.

During the Apollo 16 mission, Charles Duke left a family photo on the moon that was enclosed in a plastic bag.

Know more:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo16.html

Article:
http://www.space.com/20691-charles-duke-astronaut-biography.html

#nasa   #apollo16   #charlesduke   #space

Vrai...

Vrai...

#cristopherpoindexter   #wordsofwisdom

NailO

NailO
Researchers at the MIT Media Laboratory are developing a new wearable device that turns the user’s thumbnail into a miniature wireless track pad.

They envision that the technology could let users control wireless devices when their hands are full — answering the phone while cooking, for instance. It could also augment other interfaces, allowing someone texting on a cellphone, say, to toggle between symbol sets without interrupting his or her typing. Finally, it could enable subtle communication in circumstances that require it, such as sending a quick text to a child while attending an important meeting.

Know more:
https://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/wearable-thumbnail-sensor-controls-digital-devices-0417

Article:
http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/nailo-out-of-mit-turns-your-fingernail-into-a-mini-trackpad/

#scitech   #wearable   #trackpad

Maple syrup helps antibiotics defeat bacteria

Maple syrup helps antibiotics defeat bacteria
Newly released research from McGill University in Montreal suggests that concentrated maple syrup extract may actually help fight bacterial infections, potentially reducing the need for antibiotics around the world.

Know more:
https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/could-maple-syrup-help-cut-use-antibiotics-246929

Article:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/292540.php

#infectiousdiseases   #bacteria   #maplesyrup   #MRSA   #research

Cenotes are natural swimming holes formed by the collapse of porous limestone bedrock, which has revealed a secret...

Cenotes are natural swimming holes formed by the collapse of porous limestone bedrock, which has revealed a secret subterranean world of groundwater pools. Most cave cenotes have fresh water that has been meticulously filtered by the earth, making them so clear and pure that you can see straight through to small fish frolicking in the plant life below. Open-air cenotes also have clear water, and often are home to vitamin- and mineral-rich algae that nourish and protect your skin

Know more:
http://www.divecenotesmexico.com/cenotes
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/yucatan-peninsula/travel-tips-and-articles/secret-swims-the-cenotes-of-mexicos-yucatan-peninsula#ixzz3XkV8zgF4

#cenote   #science   #geology

Dare to think for yourself!

Dare to think for yourself!
~ Voltaire ~

#wordsofwisdom   #voltaire

Looking into your dog’s eyes is like falling in love

Looking into your dog’s eyes is like falling in love
Researchers at Azabu University in Japan discovered that as dogs gaze into their human owners’ eyes, the hormone oxytocin, the “love hormone” which strengthens emotional bonds and links to maternal bonding, releases in both the dogs and the people.

Paper:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6232/333

Article:
http://mic.com/articles/115768/science-has-figured-out-why-looking-into-your-dog-s-eyes-is-like-falling-in-love

#dogs   #science   #brain   #research

Ummmm... swimmers ;)

Ummmm... swimmers ;)

Animation by Bees & Bombs

#processing   #animation   #entertainmyfusimotors

This is what cracking your knuckles really looks like

This is what cracking your knuckles really looks like
According to a research article published Wednesday in the journal Plos One by health scientists from the University of Alberta, cracking joints is from a process called tribonucleation, where “opposing surfaces resist separation until a critical point where they then separate rapidly creating sustained gas cavities.” Basically, instead of the cracking sound being from rubbing bones, or the less-worrisome popped gas bubble, it’s actually the sound of a pocket of space forming.

Paper:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0119470#sec015

Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/15/cracking-your-knuckles_n_7074354.html?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000030

#science   #cartilage   #hands   #synovialfluid

Émilie du Châtelet focused on natural philosophy, particularly that of Newton, Leibniz and Christian Wolff.

Émilie du Châtelet  focused on natural philosophy, particularly that of Newton, Leibniz and Christian Wolff.
She translated and annotated Isaac Newton’s “Principia Mathematica” into French, which includes her derivation of conservation of energy.

Nonetheless, she was more than just an expositor of others' works, and she was not interested in physics alone. Indeed, still squarely in the tradition of natural philosophy, Du Châtelet sought a metaphysical basis for the Newtonian physics she embraced upon rejecting Cartesianism.

Know more:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/emilie-du-chatelet/

Image: Portrait of Émilie du Châtelet by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, mid 1700s.

#womeninscience   #newton

The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands.

The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands.
~ Leonardo da Vinci ~
April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519

#leonardodavinci   #wordsofwisdom

Anna Fisher is an American chemist, emergency physician, and a NASA astronaut.

Anna Fisher is an American chemist, emergency physician, and a NASA astronaut. Formerly married to astronaut Bill Fisher, and the mother of two children, in 1984 she became the first mother in space. During her career at NASA, she has been involved with three major programs: the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station and the Orion project.

Know more:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/fisher-a.html

Image via Life Magazine 1985

#nasa   #womeninspace

How far does light travel in the ocean? - post for Matt

How far does light travel in the ocean? - post for Matt
Sunlight entering the water may travel about 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) into the ocean under the right conditions, but there is rarely any significant light beyond 200 meters (656 feet).
The ocean is divided into three zones based on depth and light level. The upper 200 meters (656 feet) of the ocean is called the euphotic, or "sunlight," zone. This zone contains the vast majority of commercial fisheries and is home to many protected marine mammals and sea turtles.
Only a small amount of light penetrates beyond this depth.

The zone between 200 meters (656 feet) and 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) is usually referred to as the “twilight” zone, but is officially the dysphotic zone. In this zone, the intensity of light rapidly dissipates as depth increases. Such a miniscule amount of light penetrates beyond a depth of 200 meters that photosynthesis is no longer possible.

The aphotic, or “midnight,” zone exists in depths below 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). Sunlight does not penetrate to these depths and the zone is bathed in darkness.
‘Photic’ is a derivative of ‘photon,’ the word for a particle of light.

Info via NOAA
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/light_travel.html

#ocean   #sunlight   #NOAA