This tiny worm became temporarily paralyzed when scientists fed it a light-sensitive material, or “photoswitch,” and then exposed it to ultraviolet light.
In an advance with overtones of Star Trek phasers and other sci-fi ray guns, scientists in Canada are reporting development of an internal on-off “switch” that paralyzes animals when exposed to a beam of [...]

Scientists from the UCLA Department of Neurology have confirmed that blindness causes structural changes in the brain, indicating that the brain may reorganize itself functionally in order to adapt to a loss in sensory input.
Visually impaired people appear to be fearless, navigating busy sidewalks and crosswalks, safely finding their way using nothing more than a [...]

A reconstructed image of the giant extinct moa.
The evolutionary history of New Zealand’s many extinct flightless moa has been re-written in the first comprehensive study of more than 260 sub-fossil specimens to combine all known genetic, anatomical, geological and ecological information about the unique bird lineage.

Laboratory mouse.
At birth, children with Down syndrome aren’t developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development.

In everything from computer processor chips to car engines to electric powerplants, the need to get rid of excess heat creates a major source of inefficiency.
In everything from computer processor chips to car engines to electric powerplants, the need to get rid of excess heat creates a major source of inefficiency. But new research points [...]

The vaccine is injected and works by creating anti-bodies
Smokers could soon have access to an injectable vaccine to help them break the habit following a deal between GlaxoSmithKline and Nabi Pharmaceuticals, the company that developed the drug.  The NicVAX vaccine works by preventing nicotine in tobacco entering the brain, where it creates an addictive sensation [...]

 
A vending machine that dispenses gold.
While some buy water others invest in precious metals during times of possible apocalyptic turmoil.  The TG-Gold-Super-Markt is the first gold, yes gold vending machine.  In order to take it for a spin, though, you’ll have to travel to Germany’s Frankfurt Airport.  So if you happen to be in Terminal [...]

Audi Autonomous TTS
Audi is working hard on a car that doesn’t require the driver to anything except sit there and watch the scenery go by. It’s called the “Autonomous Audi TTS,” not the catchiest of names, and it’s “intended to explore the best capabilities of current and future driver assistance technologies.” (Pics and video)
 

The new TKTS booth in Times Square supports glass benches atop two-inch-thick windows
The largest load-bearing glass structure in the world, the new TKTS booth in Times Square, supports glass benches atop two-inch-thick windows. Sounds delicate, but it regularly holds 500 foot-stomping Jumbotron watchers. For reinforcement, engineers at Dewhurst Macfarlane used a plastic film called SentryGlas [...]

Postdoctoral student Greg Welch removing a sample from the microwave reactor.

Professor Guillermo Bazan and a team of postgraduate researchers at UC Santa Barbara’s Center for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS)  have announced a major advance in the synthesis of organic polymers for plastic solar cells.

Graphene layers are found in graphite flakes like those from pencil lead.
First, it was the soccer-ball-shaped molecules dubbed buckyballs. Then it was the cylindrically shaped nanotubes. Now, the hottest new material in physics and nanotechnology is graphene: a remarkably flat molecule made of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal rings much like molecular chicken wire.

Depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking, new research has found.
A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s College London has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking.

This image shows the mummy of Esankh, male, Third Intermediate Period (1070-712 BCE), undergoing CT scanning.
Hardening of the arteries has been detected in Egyptian mummies, some as old as 3,500 years, suggesting that the factors causing heart attack and stroke are not only modern ones; they afflicted ancient people, too.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Credit card fraud is something that we’ve heard of for a long time now, but it is comforting to know that those in authority are doing something about it. Emue Technologies has improved on their anti-fraud credit card by combining a world first embedded 14-segment E Ink display with a 12-button numeric keypad, microprocessor and [...]

ROAMS Robot uses off-the-shelf components to build 3D maps of an area
At a robotics conference, a vehicle called ROAMS demonstrated a cheap approach to mobile map-making. 
ROAMS (Remotely Operated and Autonomous Mapping System) was created by researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, with funding from the U.S. Army. It uses several existing [...]

A first search with Google Swirl turns up stacks of image thumbnails that users can click on to explore
Look for images of “Washington” online, and Google’s search engine may turn up a random sea of pictures showing the Washington monument, the White House, George Washington, and actor Denzel Washington. Now Google’s new “Image Swirl” feature [...]

A sensing surface developed by Microsoft researchers offers new ways to use computers.
Computer users have been typing on keyboards and clicking on mice for more than 20 years. An experimental new interface under development at Microsoft could give them a completely new way to use their system.
 

 
Anybots “QA” at Work
Having one of those days where even a hearty bowl of Fruit Loops and Jack Daniels can’t get you out of bed? A telepresence robot can come into the office for you, elevating telecommuting to a decidedly new level. The somewhat humanoid ‘bots, produced by Mountain View, California-based Anybots, are controlled via [...]

Artist’s conception of the “boiling disk” surrounding the massive young stellar object known as Orion Source I. A disk of hot, ionized gas surrounds the central star, blocking our view
The constellation of Orion is a hotbed of massive star formation, most prominently in the Great Nebula that sits in Orion’s sword. The glowing gas of [...]

An adult male extends his right arm toward an adult female in order to greet her.
Most of the linguistic functions in humans are controlled by the left cerebral hemisphere. A study of captive chimpanzees at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (Atlanta, Georgia), reported in the January 2010 issue of Elsevier’s Cortex, suggests that this [...]

This image shows the process by which Photosystem I in thermophilic blue-green algae can be catalyzed by platinum to produce a sustainable source of hydrogen.
In the quest to make hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel source, researchers have been stymied about how to create usable hydrogen that is clean and sustainable without relying on an [...]

Over 5000 worked flints came from one small area, including flint cores used for tool creation, blades, flakes and ‘debitage’

Staff at the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) have been excited by the results from a recently excavated major Prehistoric site at Asfordby, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. The Mesolithic site may date from as early [...]

A genetic variation may contribute to how empathetic a human is, and how that person reacts to stress.
Researchers have discovered a genetic variation that may contribute to how empathetic a human is, and how that person reacts to stress. In the first study of its kind, a variation in the hormone/neurotransmitter oxytocin’s receptor was linked [...]

Many people think that the hearing impaired would have lost a large part of being human, that is, being unable to experience the joy of music. Well, have you ever attended a deaf church’s worship service? Those involve drums that lets the congregation literally feel the beat of the song, and the Sounzzz concept is [...]