Assorted tech stories and images
Apr. 2nd, 2008 03:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dracodraconisPrototype transparent active matrix display created - Purdue researchers have succeeded in using nanowire transistors and OLEDs to create an active matrix display, a prerequisite to video-rate displays on glass or flexible surfaces. The circuits are created at room temperature so the process can be used to deposit circuits on plastics. More work is required before the process can be commercialized; they currently can only control rows of OLEDs, not individual pixels on each row. When not activated, the circuit looks like slightly tinted glass, making it potentially useful for automotive heads-up displays. The process can also be adapted to build finely focused microwave and radio emitters.
Airplane laser defence system a go - Northrop-Grumman has announced that their anti-missile defence system for aircraft has completed it's 14-month test phase and is ready for commercialization. The system consists of a 500-pound canoe-shaped pod that attached to the underside of a plane. Sensors in the pod scan the area looking for missiles, and when one is detected it tracks it until it has confirmed that it is a threat. It disables the missile using an eye-safe laser that jams the missile's guidance system.
Teaching fish to net themselves - Woods Hole researchers are training fish to come to a net when they hear a tone. They hope to use this to release sea bass into the wild, then call them to the net when they have grown big enough.
Nano-engineered gel promotes spinal nerve growth - Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a gel that both promotes nerve cell growth and inhibits the scar formation that impedes nerve cell growth. In particular, the gel promotes nerve cell growth both to and away from the brain so that both movement and sensation are partially restored. The material has, as yet, only been tested on mice.
Blocking the AIDS virus - University of Alberta researchers claim to have found a gene that effectively blocks HIV and hope to eventually use this to develop a treatment to prevent the onset of AIDS. Found on Slashdot.
Airplane laser defence system a go - Northrop-Grumman has announced that their anti-missile defence system for aircraft has completed it's 14-month test phase and is ready for commercialization. The system consists of a 500-pound canoe-shaped pod that attached to the underside of a plane. Sensors in the pod scan the area looking for missiles, and when one is detected it tracks it until it has confirmed that it is a threat. It disables the missile using an eye-safe laser that jams the missile's guidance system.
Teaching fish to net themselves - Woods Hole researchers are training fish to come to a net when they hear a tone. They hope to use this to release sea bass into the wild, then call them to the net when they have grown big enough.
Nano-engineered gel promotes spinal nerve growth - Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a gel that both promotes nerve cell growth and inhibits the scar formation that impedes nerve cell growth. In particular, the gel promotes nerve cell growth both to and away from the brain so that both movement and sensation are partially restored. The material has, as yet, only been tested on mice.
Blocking the AIDS virus - University of Alberta researchers claim to have found a gene that effectively blocks HIV and hope to eventually use this to develop a treatment to prevent the onset of AIDS. Found on Slashdot.
 No, that's not dirt in her teeth, that's a Bluetooth Dental Insert Microphone. The tiny microphone comes complete with a tiny solar display (so better keep smiling), and is implanted into the side of a tooth where it picks up, and transmits, vibrations from your mouth. Found on grinding.be. |
 The first flexible integrated circuit from the University of Illinois. Found on grinding.be. |
 Plantwall. made of a synthetic felt-like material into which plants are inserted in pockets. The wall is absorbent so the plants can be watered by soaking the wall. Found on grinding.be. |
 The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) on it's first run to the ISS. The phot was taken from the ISS so the sky in the background is the atmosphere seen from above, not within. Found on io9. |
 For the Star Wars fans, a map of the Star Wars galaxy. The image can be downloaded and expanded sufficient to read the notes on planets and trade routes. Found on io9. |
 Map of the evolution of human language. Click on the image to read na article on conlangers: people who construct languages for fun and profit. Found on io9. |
 The Swedish Navy's newest stealth warship. Seriously, this Visby Corvette is practically invisible to radar, has a low magnetic signature, and runs ultra-silent. Found on io9. |
 Corpus is a new museum in the Netherlands in which you can take a walk through the human body. The image here is from a room made up to look like the mouth, complete with a spongy tongue studded with taste buds. |
 Sculpture of the flying spaghetti monster, outside a Tennessee courthouse. |
 Social network popularity by country. Myspace (pale green) dominates the US while Facebook (purple) dominates Canada. Livejournal (yellow), is, of course, popular in Russia. Found on grinding.be. |