Researchers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh have constructed an antenna that can be lengthened—or shortened—to adjust their frequency using liquid metal.
Continue reading… “Researchers construct shape-shifting liquid-metal antennas”
Researchers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh have constructed an antenna that can be lengthened—or shortened—to adjust their frequency using liquid metal.
Continue reading… “Researchers construct shape-shifting liquid-metal antennas”
The processors in smart phones and tablets leak radio signals that betray the encryption keys used to protect sensitive data.
Gary Kenworthy of Cryptography Research held up an iPod Touch on stage and looked over to a TV antenna three meters away at the RSA computer security conference last week. The signal picked up by the antenna, routed through an amplifier and computer software, revealed the secret key being used by an app running on the device to encrypt data. An attacker with access to this key could use it to perfectly impersonate the device he stole it from—to access e-mail on a company server, for example.
Continue reading… “Antenna’s can steal your smartphone’s secrets”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4efE_gO9lFo&hd=1[/youtube]
There may be a simple solution to your lack of a wireless signal soon. Scientists have developed a spray-on coating that can boost your phone’s reception, make your home amplify signals instead of attenuating them, or even turn a tree into a transmitter.
Continue reading… “Spray-on antenna for low power wireless everywhere”
Ormia ochracea is a small parasitic fly best known for its strong sense of directional hearing.
It’s no surprise that many bugs have excellent hearing thanks to finely honed antenna. Checking out the giant antenna on the tiny bug above, it seems no surprise that they can hear surprisingly well. In fact, some insect antennae are so powerful, engineers haven’t yet been able to come close to mimicking nature. And that’s especially when it comes to small, directional antennae. It’s one thing to have whip-like “ears” like the bug above, but what stumps engineers is making very small, but very acute sound sensors. Yet a minute fly — with minute antenna — is about to change that, and help revolutionize how we built these structures.
Continue reading… “Parasitic Fly Could Help Revolutionize Antenna Technology”
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health have found that less than an hour of cellphone use can speed up brain activity in the area closest to the phone antenna, raising new questions about the health effects of low levels of radiation emitted from cellphones.
Continue reading… “Study Finds Cellphone Use Tied to Changes in Brain Activity”
Modern antennas cost $25 to $150 and can display a picture sharper than cable or satellite.
Julie and Anthony Bayerl of St. Paul, Minn., love watching prime-time shows on the sleek 50-inch television in their bedroom. They also love that they pay nothing for the programming. The only thing they do not love is how a low-flying plane, heavy rain or just a little too much movement in the room can wipe out the picture.
Continue reading… “Rabbit-Ear Antenna’s – An Old Technology Making a Comeback”
A biosensor made from silk and gold can pick up tiny signals from proteins and chemicals in the body.
Silk and gold, usually a pairing for the runways of Milan, are now the main ingredients for a new kind of implantable biosensor. Researchers at Tufts University have crafted a small antenna from liquid silk and micropatterned gold. The antenna is designed to spot specific proteins and chemicals in the body, and alert doctors wirelessly to signs of disease. Scientists say the implant could someday help patients with diabetes track their glucose levels without having to test themselves daily.
Continue reading… “An Implantable Biosensor Could Alert Doctors to Signs of Disease”
Breast cancer is more likely to occur on the left side than on the right.
A Swedish study is trying to nail down the reason that cancer is 10% more likely to occur in the left breast over the right, on top of the steadily increasing risk of cancer over last 30 years. One theory? Your box spring could be a giant, radiation-emitting antenna.
Come this spring, parents will have another tool at their disposal when it comes to shutting up kids in the backseat. Called Cruisecast, it’s AT&T’s foray into car-based satellite TV, and it’s expensive.
Continue reading… “AT&T To Offer Satellite TV For Your Car”
Garmin’s new DC 30 collar is designed to stand up to the torturous abuse of hunting dogs. Whether it’s hounds crashing through thick and swampy woods, or bird dogs bounding through dense CRP fields, the DC 30 is made to take the beating that working dogs dish out daily.
Continue reading… “New GPS Dog Tracking Collar”
If you drive down the average city street, you’ll see scads of ugly satellite dishes protruding from the side walls, balconies and roofs of homes like some sort of convex grey metal virus. So it was only a matter of time before someone would come up with a way to do away with all those unsightly dishes.
Continue reading… “Sneaky New Satellite Dishes”