Aug 10, 2009

A new procedure to turn blocks of wood into artificial bones has been developed by Italian scientists, who plan to implant them into large animals, and eventually humans.

Wood-derived bone substitute should allow live bones to heal faster and more securely after a break than currently available metal and ceramic implants.

The researchers chose wood because it closely resemble the physical structure of natural bone, “which is impossible to reproduce with conventional processing technology.”

“Our purpose is to convert native wood structures into bioactive, inorganic compounds destined to substitute portions of bone,” said Anna Tampieri, a scientist at the Instituto Di Scienza E Techologia Dei Materiali Ceramici in Italy.

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Aug 10, 2009

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed an aquarium tank in Florida. About a half-dozen spiny, venomous lionfish washed into the Atlantic Ocean, spawning an invasion that could kill off local industry along with the native fish.

People come to the Exuma Islands in the Bahamas to kayak between tiny, uninhabited islands and dive in the shallow, turquoise water. Above the water, the landscape looks like a pristine tropical paradise. But the same isn’t true beneath the waves.

“In 2005, the first lionfish showed up, and we didn’t pay much attention to it,” says Oregon State University zoology professor Mark Hixon, who has studied reef fish here for almost two decades. “The next year, we saw a few more. Then in 2007 there was a population explosion. There were so many lionfish around that they were eating the fish we were studying, and we had to start studying the lionfish. There was nothing else to do.”

Lionfish are native to the Indian and Pacific oceans. But in the past few years, they’ve spread up the Eastern seaboard and throughout the Caribbean. The Bahamas have been hit the hardest.

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Aug 10, 2009

Designers Leonie Lawniczak, Deniz Örs and Georg Milde have dreamed up a magnetic launch system that gives airplanes of the future a boost at take off in much the same way as an aircraft carrier's catapult. The separate shuttle would remain on the ground, but the helping hand it offers would allow the craft to carry less fuel, making it lighter overall. As for the plane itself, the designers aren't holding back for its method of propulsion: scramjets.

Jump on through to see another shot of the MagLevAir, as well as a video showing the system in action.

Aug 10, 2009

In Bojonegoro, Indonesia, development of a large oil field is likely to to get the economy pumping.

Oil production could start to flow from the huge Cepu field straddling East and Central Java later this month and eventually add millions of dollars to the coffers of local governments, as well as an influx of workers and a wave of new expectations.

The Bojonegoro regency, which has a population of about 1.2 million, is currently the 4th poorest district in East Java, relying on a rural economy based on rice, corn and tobacco.

Suyoto wants to prioritize using the district’s share of oil revenue, which is due to hit an annual peak of 2 trillion rupiah (about $200 million) in the next few years, to develop its pot-holed roads and upgrade agriculture through irrigation and greater use of livestock such as cattle and sheep.

Cepu was discovered by U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil in 2001, but then faced hurdles ranging from land disputes to rows over revenue sharing and the routing of pipelines. The arguments raged despite a dire need for Indonesia to raise flagging oil output.

A deal was finally struck with state oil firm Pertamina in 2006 to jointly develop Cepu with Exxon as operator. Both firms hold 45 percent in the project and the remaining 10 percent is held by four local governments in Central and East Java.

Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE57903420090810?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews

Aug 10, 2009

Behold the future of lighting. British lighting company Thorn and the U.K. government created this remarkable OLED desk lamp prototype. Part of Project TOPLESS (Thin Organic Polymeric Light Emitting Semiconductor Surfaces), the lamp emits high-quality white light using a mere 3.5 Watts, giving you the same amount of light you'd get from a 50-Watt halogen desk lamp.

Take a look at how outlandishly thin and elegant this desk lamp is, and start thinking about what the world will be like when these OLED fixtures populate the planet instead of incandescent light bulbs using technology invented 130 years ago. Here's a video showing this unreal OLED lamp in action:

Aug 10, 2009

I want these so badly it isn't even funny.

From particle zoo:

"The UNIVERSE-IN-A-BOX contains all the particles from the Standard Model plus four theoreticals and two nucleons, for a total of 22 particles, covering most of the known universe."

The site also sells large versions of all ...

By: Lithium Rain

Aug 10, 2009

When building this turbine we will be using some powertools.If you are not used to working with powertools ask someone who knows how to use them.After building this turbine you will still need you fingers so.PLEASE BE CAREFULL !!! Tools and parts TOOLS- Jigsaw and or band saw- Hand saw- Lathe- ...
By: rikkiesix

Aug 10, 2009

We told you a bit about the Robot Operating System (or ROS) before when it was helping a 'bot from Willow Garage find power outlets and — after the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Pasedena, California last month — it looks like support for the idea of an ROS is really gathering steam.

The trouble right now is that all 'bots are more or less unique. Each one is programmed and built from the ground up, with a body and mind that work harmoniously together. This is (as you'd expect from us humans) inefficient, as a lot of robots perform similar functions and could benefit from similar programming.

What a Robot Operating System would do is create a space where programmers could code functions for robots even without knowing much about the robot itself. Programming could then be adapted and tailored to each 'bot, cutting out a lot of the legwork. At the same time, robots could be built around the ROS, giving the field a bit more structure and allowing it to move forward faster, as well as giving robots a standard architecture that will allow them to interact with one another more easily.

A lot of robot builders, such as Chad Jenkins in his talk with New Scientist, see this as a similar approach toward what helped personal computers boom:

"Robotics is at the stage where personal computing was about 30 years ago," says Chad Jenkins of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Like the home-brew computers of the late 70s and early 80s, robots used for research today often have a unique operating system (OS). "But at some point we have to come together to use the same resources," says Jenkins.

It's the hope of robotics researchers and enthusiasts backing the platform that the ROS will not only advance the way we build 'bots, but bring us closer to the dream of robots that could interact with humans in a meaningful and useful way.

Check out a video on the Robot Operating System below.