Category: Science and Tech

New ExoHand Paves the Way for Automation

Festo, a German engineering company which focuses on automation technology, recently showcased their new ExoHand at the Hanover Trade Fair.

This mechanical exo-skeletal glove uses air pressure to boost the grip of a human hand, which can increase factory worker productivity as well as help rehabilitate patients who recently experienced a stroke.

Festo uses nature as an inspiration for its technological creativity, working on numerous bionic projects as well as energy efficiency, industrial training and education.


Learn more about the ExoHand:

 

You Light Up My Life…Says Philips with Its New Light Bulb

Yesterday, for Earth Day, Philips unveiled a new light bulb that is lighting up the energy world. The light bulb is supposed to last for as long as 10 years and could save consumers money while helping the environment.  Philips says that the bulb consumes less than 10 watts to create light that is equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent bulb. This would be the equivalent of an 83% savings in energy.

Philips says that the US could actually avoid 20 million metric tons of carbon emissions if they all used the new bulbs instead of their regular 60 watt bulbs.  The downside to the bulb, of course, is price. The full retail price is an astronomical $60, but the AP explains that consumers can get the price down to $10 with online deals, rebates and subsidies.

Time magazine, in their article on the new light bulb, pointed out that the average American home, with 45 light bulbs, would have to spend $2,250 to replace them all and get up to speed. As they so eloquently said, “Yikes.”

Ironically, the bulb was designed as part of the “L Prize,” which is a $10 million contract awarded by Congress in 2007 to any manufacturer who could create a replacement for the regular light bulb. Philips beat out all of the competition, of which there was none, to win the award.

Dinosaur Eggs Uncovered in Chechnya?

Geologists believe they have uncovered around 40 fossilized dinosaur eggs in the Chechnya region of Russia. According to Chechen State University geologist Said-Emin Dzhabrailov, “there could be many more laying under the ground” as well.

The eggs, theoretically dating back over 60 million years, were discovered as a result of construction in the area, through a controlled blast in the Caucasus Mountains. The stone-like objects are spherical, and range in size from 25cm to over a meter. Paleontologists have yet to determine which dinosaur species laid them.

In the meantime, Magomed Alkhazurov, another scientist from the Chechen State University, guessed that the eggs belong to a large, herbivorous species of dinosaur. Perhaps they belong to the hadrosaurs family. These slow-witted, herd-oriented reptiles are associated with deer, cows and other grazers today.

A sample from the findings has been sent to Yessentuki for examination, though many scientists around the world remain skeptical.


Dr. Aleksandr Averianov of the Institute of Zoology in St. Petersburg said “These are no dinosaur eggs. This is some kind of sand rock. Dinosaur eggs have a different shell structure.”

Other scientists agree, claiming that the egg-shaped formations are of a geological nature, not biological.

Chechnya’s violent reputation and dying tourism industry can actually support this claim, leaving a window for conspiracy theories. The country’s government has already revealed its hopes of creating a nature preserve in the area in an effort to attract tourists. Violence in the region has in fact lessened under Ramzan Kadyrov, who dedicates millions of dollars to construction, tourism and the general improvement of the area’s reputation.

First Flying Car Passes Flight Test

Terrafugia Inc. has managed to turn every inventor’s dream into reality by completing a test flight of its flying car called the Transition.

The car has two seats and four wheels, as well as foldable wings that allow the vehicle to drive on a road. Unlike commercial jets, the car was flown at 1,400 feet for nearly ten minutes last month. The development brings the Massachusettss-based company closer to its goal of selling the flying car before 2013.

Though the car will be sold for $279,000, over one hundred people have put down $10,000 deposits for vehicles. The number of customers will likely increase when the car is officially introduced to the public at the New York Auto Show this week.

Robert Mann explained that the flying car has been the dream of American inventors since the 1930s. He believes that Terrafugia’s creation is the closest a company has ever come to developing a flying car, though it will still need a runway for takeoff.

Mann added that the government has already granted permission for the use of special glass, tires and other materials in order to lower the weight of the vehicle. The Transition is also exempt from the law requiring vehicles to have electronic stability control, which adds six pounds to the total weight. The car is undergoing tests to make sure it meets the federal safety standards.

According to Mann, the most profitable industry for the Transition will likely be the western U.S. states.

Sweet Tooth Lacking in Many Mammals, Study Finds

You might have a sweet tooth- but apparently that meat-eating mammal you visit at the aquarium does not.  That’s the latest finding from a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Co-authored by Gary Beauchamp, the director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, the study looked at DNA samples of a dozen species to look at their taste receptor genes.

The researchers knew, already, that cats don’t care for sweet carbohydrates and that they don’t have a working copy of the taste receptor gene called Tas1r2.  They thought, however, that cats were unusual.  With DNA samples primarily from the San Diego Zoo, this team joined with one from the University of Zurich to look at taste receptor genes in various mammals.

Their discoveries shocked them. Seven types of species from sea lions and Asian otters to spotted hyenas, lack the properly functioning Tas1r2 receptor. The type of mutation that each type of species had was difference, however.


And sweet wasn’t the only issue. Sea lions also showed a lack of genes that create savory tastes and dolphins showed a lack of the working genes for bitter. Beauchamp said that the findings “illustrate the fact that the sensory world of animals is highly attuned to their dietary patterns.”

This research has been deemed ground-breaking and impressive. As Thomas Finger, a neurobiologist at the University of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center in Aurora said, the study was “pretty impressive.”

 

First Robotic Surgery for Prostate Cancer

There is a first for everything, and last week Stuart Ellis fell into the category. Undergoing surgery for prostate cancer, he was the first person in the world to be operated on for prostate surgery by a surgeon using a hand-held robot. The device has been used in gastrointestinal surgeries and for gynecological purposes. The surgery took place at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, England by urology surgeon Neil Oakley.

The benefits with this device are many – it has more flexibility than the human wrist, creating a precision that surgeons can’t and it actually creates a faster surgical procedure.  It also reduces the risk of potential mistakes since it offers the surgeon extra ability to maneuver and access to areas that are difficult to reach.

The robot is called a Kymerax robot that was made by the Japanese company Terumo. It’s actually much cheaper than larger robots, which can cost over a million dollars. This robot costs closer to $50,000 and has much smaller running costs.


Ellis was diagnosed with cancer last month and only recently found out that he would be the first to try this new procedure. As he explained,

“Being told you’ve been diagnosed with cancer is not a pleasant experience, but it’s good to know something positive for other people is coming out of this. If this means other cancer patients in the future can get quicker treatment with the most advanced technology, then I’m proud to be part of it. I was in shock when the surgeon said he would be using a robot but it sounds like a fantastic tool and I’m not apprehensive about it.”

The surgeon has explained that the procedure will be filmed for future training and he has explained that he is excited to use the new technology. As he said,

“The fusion of maintaining the feel and touch during an operation with the greater robotic articulation that makes it so special. This robot can do things not physically possibly with a human wrist and gives you the best of both worlds.”