Flora Graham » New Scientist

Solving MRI mystery sets stage for portable scanners

admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:14:07 +0000

Physicists have only just cleared up why MRI scans seem to defy established physics, knowledge that could make the devices smaller.

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Voice recognition software reads your brain waves

admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:35:56 +0000

Just by monitoring brain activity, a new program can work out who is speaking to you and what they are saying.

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Mummy, that robot is making faces at me

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:38:00 +0000

Robotics engineers at the University of Bristol, UK, have been grimacing a lot recently, thanks to their copycat robotic head, Jules, which can mimic the facial expressions and lip movements of a human being.

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Robot spyplanes get new role as medical couriers

admin — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:39:03 +0000

Technology developed for war has been turned to the saving of lives. Engineers have converted uncrewed military aircraft into robotic carrier pigeons to ferry medical samples or even snake antivenom from remote regions to labs for testing.

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Artificial retina brings curvature to cameras

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:40:40 +0000

Even images from the most expensive cameras don’t yet rival the view of the world we get from our own eyes. The secret lies in the curved retina at the back of the eyeball – and now there is an artificial equivalent.

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GPS gadgets can reveal more than your location

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:42:26 +0000

We know GPS gadgets can tell where you are. But researchers at Microsoft are developing ways for them to know what you are doing too — even down to which mode of transport you use to get to work.

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New Scientist Technology Blog: Boost for social networking goldrush

admin — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:43:33 +0000

The big-money investments in social networking sites like Facebook are based on the notion that it will be possible to spin users’ networks of friends into gold. But as a Google co-founder admitted today, no one has yet perfected it.

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Shooting clouds with lasers triggers electrical discharge

admin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:44:46 +0000

In a step towards gaining the God-like ability to call down lightning bolts on a whim, researchers used an ultra-high-power laser to trigger electrical activity in storm clouds over New Mexico, US.

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Sweat ducts may act as giveaway ‘antennas’

admin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:45:47 +0000

(This article got Slashdotted.)

Our skin may contain millions of tiny “antennas” in the form of microscopic sweat ducts, say researchers in Israel. In experiments, they found evidence that signals produced by bouncing electromagnetic waves off the tiny tubes might reveal a person’s physical and emotional state from a distance.

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Fingernail camera makes any object a touchpad

admin — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:48:36 +0000

(This article got on Gizmodo.)

Using a camera to detect blood moving under the fingernail, a new system can make almost any object touch sensitive.

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