Medical Micro-robots Made As Small As Bacteria

Bacteria Sized Curative Nanotechnology Robots
Researchers in Zurich have built micro-robots as small as bacteria which are made to help cure disease in humans. The tiny spiral-shaped robots, similar in look to E. coli, are called "Artificial Bacterial Flagella" (ABFs).

They look like spirals with tiny heads, and screw through the liquid like miniature corkscrews. When moving, they resemble rather ungainly bacteria with long whip-like tails. They can only be observed under a microscope because, at a total length of 25 to 60 µm, they are almost as small as natural flagellated bacteria. Most are between 5 and 15 µm long, a few are more than 20 µm.
The tiny spiral-shaped, nature-mimicking lookalikes of E. coli and similar bacteria. are called “Artificial Bacterial Flagella” (ABFs), the “flagella” referring to their whip-like tails. They were invented, manufactured and enabled to swim in a controllable way by researchers in the group led by Bradley Nelson, Professor at the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH Zurich. In contrast to their natural role model, some of which cause diseases, the ABFs are intended to help cure diseases in the future.

With the software developed by the group, the ABF can be steered to a specific target by tuning the strength and direction of the rotating magnetic field which is generated by several coils. The ABFs can move forwards and backwards, upwards and downwards, and can also rotate in all directions. Brad Nelson says “There’s a lot of physics and mathematics behind the software.” The ABFs do not need energy of their own to swim, nor do they have any moving parts. The only decisive thing is the magnetic field, towards which the tiny head constantly tries to orientate itself and in whose direction it moves. The ABFs currently swim at a speed of up to 20 µm, i.e. up to one body length, per second.

For complete information read: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090418085333.htm

Shape changing car BMW

BMW’s GINA Visionary Model, a fabric-covered vehicle that can change shapes with the push of a button.

Chris Bangle (head of design at BMW) and his team actually built GINA( "Geometry and functions In 'N' Adaptions") six years ago, but BMW kept it under wraps. It's built on the Z8 chassis and has a 4.4-liter V8 and six-speed automatic transmission. BMW says the fabric skin - polyurethane-coated Lycra - is resilient, durable and water resistant. It's stretched over an aluminum frame controlled by electric and hydraulic actuators that allow the owner to change the body shape. Want a big spoiler on the back? Wider fenders? No problem. "The drastic reinterpretation of familiar functionality and structure means that drivers have a completely new experience when they handle their car," BMW says.

Doors open with hinges now; on the GINA concept, the cloth bends and the door bends open. Headlights now are always there, even when they are off; GINA ’s cloth would actually cover the headlights when they aren’t in use. The rear lights function in a similar manner. Since rear lights are used more often and not a feature one can turn on or off, the cloth covering the lights would be translucent so the light would shine through when on, but be unnoticeable when off.

Check the Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTYiEkQYhWY

Colour changing car

The Chameleon Mini

Mini will be debuting its first color morphing car in Singapore this June. Named the Mini Chameleon the car changes color according to weather conditions. For example, on a rainy day, the car's paint brightens to improve visibility while on a sunny day, it lightens to reflect heat and cool down the vehicle. The car gets its color morphing capability thanks to a special paint treatment technology called FeintPaint developed by a Spanish company. The paint has tiny magnetic iron oxide particles which react to changes in the magnetic field and change color in seconds. I can only imagine parking one along with others only to find out that all have the same color on a sunny day.

Read full article at: http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/article.php?AID=2013

SQUARE Watermelons

Grow your own SQUARE WATERMELONS: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-grow-a-square-watermelon-250894/

Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their US counterparts and therefore don't have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round, wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. If the supermarkets want a space efficient watermelon, they asked themselves, how can we provide one? It wasn't long before they invented the square watermelon.

The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn't nearly as difficult to solve for those who didn't assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box.

This made the grocery stores happy and had the added benefit that it was much easier and cost effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also loved them because they took less space in their refrigerators which are much smaller than those in the US - which resulted in the growers being able to charge a premium price for them.

Read the whole story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1390088.stm
What does this have do with anything besides square watermelons? There are a five lessons that you can take away from this story: http://www.hardknoxlife.com/2008/06/18/lessons-of-the-square-watermelon/
1.) Don’t Assume
2.) Question Habits
3.) Be Creative
4.) Look for a Better Way
5.) Impossibilities Often Aren’t

See the video at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqktRZ9t1GM

Thousands of Gaming (??) Factories, China

Ogre to Slay? Outsource It to Chinese
One of China's newest factories operates in the basement of an old warehouse. The people working at this clandestine locale are "gold farmers." Every day, in 12-hour shifts, they "play" computer games by killing onscreen monsters and winning battles, harvesting artificial gold coins and other virtual goods as rewards that, as it turns out, can be transformed into real cash. That is because, from Seoul to San Francisco, affluent online gamers who lack the time and patience to work their way up to the higher levels of gamedom are willing to pay the young Chinese here to play the early rounds for them.
On eBay, for example, 100 grams of World of Warcraft gold is available for $9.99 or two über characters from EverQuest for $35.50. It costs $269 to be transported to Level 60 in Warcraft, and it typically takes 15 days to get the account back at the higher level.
"For 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, my colleagues and I are killing monsters," said a 23-year-old gamer who works in this makeshift factory and goes by the online code name Wandering. "I make about $250 a month, which is pretty good compared with the other jobs I've had. And I can play games all day."
By some estimates, there are well over 100,000 young people working in China as full-time gamers, toiling away in dark Internet cafes, abandoned warehouses, small offices and private homes.
Most of the players here actually make less than a quarter an hour, but they often get room, board and free computer game play in these "virtual sweatshops."
"It's unimaginable how big this is," says Chen Yu, 27, who employs 20 full-time gamers here in Fuzhou. "They say that in some of these popular games, 40 or 50 percent of the players are actually Chinese farmers."
"What we're seeing here is the emergence of virtual currencies and virtual economies," says Peter Ludlow, a longtime gamer and a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "People are making real money here, so these games are becoming like real economies."

Want to read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/technology/09gaming.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Furit Packaging which feels and looks like the fruit!

Fruit Juice Packaging by Naoto Fukasawa: PACKET WHICH LOOKS LIKE THE FRUIT

Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa has created a series of creative fruit juice packages that have the look and feel of the fruit they contain.
“I imagined that if the surface of the package imitated the colour and texture of the fruit skin, then the object would reproduce the feeling of the real skin.”
Alongside banana, strawberry and kiwi fruit “juice skins” Naoto Fukasawa also offers a wild card “silken tofu skin” for a carton of soya milk.

For more images see: http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/03/29/juice-skin-packaging-by-naoto-fukasawa/

World famous in 4 days!

How do you become world famous in less than a week?
SUSAN BOYLE’s video has had >16 million hits in 5 days!

Susan Boyle (born 1961), is a Scottish church volunteer who came to public attention on 11 April 2009, when she appeared as a contestant on the third series of Britain's Got Talent.
Boyle leapt to almost immediate global fame with a stirring rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the competition's first round. Before she sang, both the audience and the judges had expressed scepticism about her based on her somewhat plain and unprofessional appearance. In contrast, her vocal performance was so outstanding that she has been dubbed "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell." She received a standing ovation from the live audience, attracting the "biggest yes vote in three seasons" from Piers Morgan and yes-votes from Cowell and Amanda Holden. Check her full story at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Boyle

Have you watched Susan Boyle yet? : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

MEGA LOK ADALAT: solve 2.5 lac pending cases in 2 days!

 Innovation: Initiated by Justice T. S. Thakur, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, this innovation aims to settle maximum number of cases through mutual consensus without following the lengthy judicial process.
 What was done: A two-day Mega Lok Adalat was organized to decrease the huge pendency of cases in the Subordinate Courts, as per the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice T S Thakur. Done on December 20 and 21, 2008.
 How it was done: The journey to make this experiment a smash hit started some three months before with high court authorities informing their subordinate courts that they would try and clear 2.5 lakh cases in 2 days. They were told to collaborate with various government departments and corporates and set a cut-off limit regarding value. Hence all cases below this amount were given a chance to be heard at the mega lok adalat. Arrangements were made for security to be provided by cops and medical facilities were arranged from the administration, which made it an `event to remember' on Saturday.
 Uniqueness:
 1st of its kind initiative in the world.
 Aims at solving cases in lakh’s and not in hundreds or even thousands.
 A solution for all states to provide speedier justice at a magnanimously large scale.
 Impact:
 In Chandigarh: more than 30,000 cases under various Acts were settled on Day One, with transaction of almost Rs 4 crore taking place in Chandigarh's district courts.
 In Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district, an area known for people taking every small matter to court, over 14,000 cases were disposed off in one day itself
 In Ludhiana district alone, 56 Judicial Benches were set up during the Mega Lok Adalat and more than 44000 cases were disposed off involving a compensation of around 37.71 crore.
 Haryana, Financial Commissioner& Principal Secretary (Power), Ashok Lavasa said here today that the distribution corporations had offered an attractive settlement scheme for all type of cases pending in various courts, to settle through Mega Lok Adalats by paying 50 per cent of the penalty in most of the cases. Surcharge levied on the arrears in such cases was to be waived off 100 per cent. Responding to the attractive scheme, as many as 3240 consumers came forward to get their cases settled in Mega Lok Adalats through mutual consent. An amount of Rs 1402 crore was involved in these cases out of which Rs. 405 crore have been recovered through settlement.
 A ‘mega’ Lok Adalat for settlement of the Motor Vehicle Act cases pending in the High Court, district courts of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy besides tribunals will be organised here on February 15, 2009 in Andhra Pradesh.

GPS Inhalers to track asthma triggers

Researcher hopes to learn when and where asthma attacks strike using GPS
Where asthma strikes, medical inhalers follow. Which got one disease detective thinking: Could asthma triggers be tracked via GPS technology?
Enterprising epidemiologist David Van Sickle at the University of Wisconsin-Madison decided to find out. He recruited four asthmatic undergraduates to carry around inhalers outfitted to relay location data when they were being used, via the Global Positioning System satellite network. The test successfully demonstrated the concept and gave Van Sickle footing — and funding — for a pilot program now under way in the city of Madison, Wis.
The device is now about the size of a nine-volt battery. And the weight, said Van Sickle, "is insignificant."
Current versions have additional technology to relay positioning data from inside buildings, a constraint that impacts most satellite-only receivers. Eventually, Van Sickle, who previously worked for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, would like to have thousands of people using the GPS-equipped inhalers so that accurate statistics can be complied about when and where asthma strikes.
"Asthma is unique in that people carry their inhalers around with them and use them at the time and place when they are having symptoms," Van Sickler said.
Read full article at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30091047/

Chapel of burnt wood

An extraordinary chapel built by wrapping concrete round a wigwam structure of tree trunks.
Swiss architect Peter Zumthor won the 2009 Pritzker Architect prize on 12 April 2009, for his many works, one of which was the Brother Klaus field chapel in Wachendorf, Eifel, Germany, 09 July 2007.

The interior of the chapel room was formed out of 112 tree trunks, which were configured like a tent. They were covered with layers of concrete. The trunks were then burnt away leaving their impression in the walls and a charred wood smell. The chapel floor was covered with lead and the bronze relief figure in the chapel is by sculptor Hans Josephsohn.

Read this very interesting article on how it got formed: http://www.iconeye.com/index.php?

The international Pritzker Architect prize is awarded each year to a living architect for significant achievement, and was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation in 1979. It is often referred to as “architecture’s Nobel” and “the profession’s highest honor,”.

The chapel is one of Peter Zumthor most admired works, for the others check this link: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1890768,00.html

GPS Inhalers to track asthma triggers

Researcher hopes to learn when and where asthma attacks strike using GPS
Where asthma strikes, medical inhalers follow. Which got one disease detective thinking: Could asthma triggers be tracked via GPS technology?
Enterprising epidemiologist David Van Sickle at the University of Wisconsin-Madison decided to find out. He recruited four asthmatic undergraduates to carry around inhalers outfitted to relay location data when they were being used, via the Global Positioning System satellite network. The test successfully demonstrated the concept and gave Van Sickle footing — and funding — for a pilot program now under way in the city of Madison, Wis.
The device is now about the size of a nine-volt battery. And the weight, said Van Sickle, "is insignificant."
Current versions have additional technology to relay positioning data from inside buildings, a constraint that impacts most satellite-only receivers. Eventually, Van Sickle, who previously worked for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, would like to have thousands of people using the GPS-equipped inhalers so that accurate statistics can be complied about when and where asthma strikes.
"Asthma is unique in that people carry their inhalers around with them and use them at the time and place when they are having symptoms," Van Sickler said.
Read full article at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30091047/

Solve 2.5 lac pending cases in 2 days!

MEGA LOK ADALAT
Initiated by Justice T. S. Thakur, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, this innovation aims to settle maximum number of cases through mutual consensus without following the lengthy judicial process. A two-day Mega Lok Adalat was organized to decrease the huge pendency of cases in the Subordinate Courts, as per the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice T S Thakur. Done on December 20 and 21, 2008.

The journey to make this experiment a smash hit started some three months before with high court authorities informing their subordinate courts that they would try and clear 2.5 lakh cases in 2 days. They were told to collaborate with various government departments and corporates and set a cut-off limit regarding value. Hence all cases below this amount were given a chance to be heard at the mega lok adalat. Arrangements were made for security to be provided by cops and medical facilities were arranged from the administration, which made it an `event to remember' on Saturday.

Impact:
In Chandigarh: more than 30,000 cases under various Acts were settled on Day One, with transaction of almost Rs 4 crore taking place in Chandigarh's district courts.
In Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district, an area known for people taking every small matter to court, over 14,000 cases were disposed off in one day itself
In Ludhiana district alone, 56 Judicial Benches were set up during the Mega Lok Adalat and more than 44000 cases were disposed off involving a compensation of around 37.71 crore.
Haryana, Financial Commissioner& Principal Secretary (Power), Ashok Lavasa said here today that the distribution corporations had offered an attractive settlement scheme for all type of cases pending in various courts, to settle through Mega Lok Adalats by paying 50 per cent of the penalty in most of the cases. Surcharge levied on the arrears in such cases was to be waived off 100 per cent. Responding to the attractive scheme, as many as 3240 consumers came forward to get their cases settled in Mega Lok Adalats through mutual consent. An amount of Rs 1402 crore was involved in these cases out of which Rs. 405 crore have been recovered through settlement.
A ‘mega’ Lok Adalat for settlement of the Motor Vehicle Act cases pending in the High Court, district courts of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy besides tribunals will be organised here on February 15, 2009 in Andhra Pradesh.

Human hair makes good fertilizer

All those snipped locks that are swept up after your haircut could be turned into crop fertilizer, researchers now say.
In addition to water and sunlight, plants need certain nutrients to grow, particularly nitrogen. While nitrogen is abundant in the Earth's atmosphere (composing about 78 percent of it), it is in the form of molecular nitrogen (two nitrogen atoms bonded together), which is unusable to plants. For plants to take up nitrogen, it must be "fixed" into compounds such as nitrate (one nitrogen and three oxygen atoms), which plant roots can absorb from the soil. While some plants, such as legumes, get their nitrogen through symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, others rely on fertilizers, whether organic (composted plant waste or animal manure) or inorganic (the man-made stuff you buy at the gardening center).
Vlatcho Zheljazkov and his colleagues at Mississippi State University pitted waste hair against commercial fertilizers. They compared the productivity of four plants, lettuce, wormwood, yellow poppy and feverfew, under four different treatments: non-composted hair cubes, a controlled-release fertilizer, a water-soluble fertilizer, and no treatment.
Plant yields increased for the hair-fertilized plants compared to the untreated controls overall, but were still lower than for the commercial, inorganic fertilizers in lettuce and wormwood, which are fast-growing plants. Yellow poppy, however, saw higher yields for the hair treatment.
The researchers suspect that some of the difference between hair and the inorganic fertilizers is due to the time it takes for hair to degrade and release its nutrients. So hair shouldn't be used as a sole fertilizer, at least for fast-growing plants, they concluded. Further research is still needed to see if human hair waste is a viable option for fertilizing edible crops though because of possible health concerns.

Read full article at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28509911/

Camera That Can Be Thrown for 360 degree pictures

Triops: the Panoramic Digital camera which takes digital photography to a whole new level
Finalist for BraunPrize 2007

The concept:
Triops is a robust digital camera which allows the user to experience new perspectives and perceptions and takes the potential of digital photography to a new level.

How it works:
The camera is equipped with three protected fisheye lenses and allows for an active, spontaneous and playful photography experience.

The benefits:
This product can take images while being thrown, suspended or just being placed in an unusual location. It captures the moment by responding to sound or movement, or by reacting to the manually
operated release. Sequentially taken photographs are possible as well as 360 degree panorama images. All working parts are integrated in the robust casing and can be operated easily and intuitively.
Pictures can be wirelessly transmitted to a separate display unit for display. This unit functions as a processing and storage device and the camera‘s charging station.

What the jury said:
This innovative, conceptual yet practical product captures the spontaneity of the moment by showing unexpected images and perspectives of our experiences. The product develops the idea that our point of view is sometimes arbitrary and not controlled by the photographer. As a result, the act of picture taking does not remove the photographer from the experience. The jury believes that further development and extension of the basic idea could result in a wide range of exciting applications in many different areas, such as children’s education and artistic expression.

Have Your Groceries Flied Home

Cargonaut : Humanoid Flight Robot That Carry Your Luggage

2026 – New York, Berlin, Shanghai. Millions of people are travelling through these cities day by day.

Due to technological progress in miniaturization, portable devices have become comfortable to carry. However city travellers are still heavily loaded with shopping bags, groceries or luggage which technology is not able to compress.
From now on, a revolution in personal urban transit has occurred:
Cargonaut, a humanoid flight robot, comes to your current position to relieve you of your loads. After placing your bags or luggage in one of the publicly available sky boxes, Cargonaut delivers within minutes to a chosen destination.