University of Tokyo researchers have revealed both theoretically and experimentally the anomalous behaviors of massless Dirac electrons, a special type of electron population, by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements, an experimental technique that allows detailed observation of electron behavior. It is well known that an electron at rest in a vacuum has a finite mass. On the other hand, in a crystal, an electron has an apparent mass (effective mass), which can take a variety...

Ours has become an "experience economy" in which people have shifted from passive consumption of products or services to active participation in the process. Recognizing this shift, many companies now invest in the delivery of experiences -- what might be called the Amazon-ification of retailing. Innovation activities with a human-centered design principle powered by a thorough understanding of what people want and need and what they like or dislike about the way a particular service is provi...

ZoomHRV is an athletic coach and fitness tracker that promises to be the smartest and the most accurate training device available in the market. It is a multifunctional tracking device that measures the user’s heartbeats while training. It tracks movements as well as detects user body readiness to train and advises on optimal training intensity. ZoomHRV is an advanced biometric device that gives accurate and precise information allowing users to see detailed data collected about their ever...

In 2016, NASA drove advances in technology, science, aeronautics and space exploration that enhanced the world’s knowledge, innovation, and stewardship of Earth. “This past year marked record-breaking progress in our exploration objectives,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “We advanced the capabilities we’ll need to travel farther into the solar system while increasing observations of our home and the universe, learning more about how to continuously live and work in space, and, of co...

The Belgium company ONAK created a new canoe, which can fold-up to the size of a large suitcase. When ONAK founders Otto Van de Steene and Thomas Weyn found themselves wanting to travel with a canoe they would be able to use within a city, they decided to make it themselves. The origami design and the ability to unfold the canoe in ten minutes from its rectangular suitcase on wheels fits their goal of creating a boat that people can store without a lot of space available. ONAK is the perfe...

Since the earliest days of the Internet, most government agencies have eagerly explored how to use technology to better deliver services to citizens, businesses and other public-sector organizations. Early on, observers recognized that these efforts often varied widely in their implementation, and so researchers developed various frameworks to describe the different stages of growth and development of e-government. While each model is different, they all identify the same general progression fro...

The earth sciences have defined a new human age - now social scientists are calling for broader and more interdisciplinary discussion. The Anthropocene is a proposed epoch dating from when human activities started to have a significant global impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems. The Anthropocence concept thus includes, but also transcends, the idea of anthropogenic climate change. The Early Anthropocene Hypothesis (sometimes called Early Anthropogenic) was proposed by William ...

Air in the home can be heavily polluted just by daily household activities. Unfortunately, since many indoor air pollutants are colorless and odorless, people often fail to detect them. A team of engineers at Michigan State University is perfecting new technology that not only warns of a problem with indoor air, but also identifies the source of the pollution and offers suggestions on how to remedy the situation. Mi Zhang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is h...

In science, sometimes the best discoveries come when you’re exploring something else entirely. That’s the case with recent findings from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where a research team has come up with a way to build safe, nontoxic gold wires onto flexible, thin plastic film. Their demonstration potentially clears the path for a host of wearable electronic devices that monitor our health. The finding might overcome a basic issue confronting medical engineers: ...

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have uncovered a marvel molecule that blocks a key driver of inflammatory diseases. The finding could meet a major unmet clinical need by inspiring new non-invasive treatments for arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Muckle-Wells syndrome, among a myriad of other inflammatory diseases. The molecule ‘blocks’ a key biological driver of inflammatory diseases. Marvel Molecule Could Lead to Treatments for Inflammatory Diseases and it could inspire non-invasive tre...

eSight is the only patented, assistive-device of its kind anywhere in the world. eSight is wearable, handsfree, portable - and most importantly, eSight is a non-surgical device. eSight is registered with the United States FDA. eSight Corporation is inspected by Health Canada. eSight’s wearable, hands-free headset houses a small, high-speed camera that captures everything the eSight user is looking at. The captured live video stream is instantly sent to a powerful computer that uses proprietar...

Horus is a wearable device that observes, understands and describes the environment to the person using it, providing useful information with the right timing and in a discreet way using bone conduction. Horus is able to read texts, to recognize faces, objects and much more. Horus is composed by a wearable headset with cameras and by a pocket unit that contains a powerful processor and a long lasting battery. The user can activate each functionality through a set of buttons located both on th...

Using JamKazam, you can now play music with other musicians from your homes across the Internet as if you were sitting in the same room. You can record your performances at the track level, share your recordings, and even broadcast your live sessions to family, friends, and fans. Basically, JamKazam takes the music you play that is captured into your computer – either by a device you already use for recording or by your computer’s built-in mic and headphones – and then uses an ultra-low laten...

Minecraft is a video game focused on creativity and building. Players build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D world–everything from a hut, to a train station, to a fully functional computer. Why can't we take those virtual creations, and bring them into the real world? Minecraft.Print() is our attempt to do so by creating a bridge between Minecraft and the real world, via 3D printers. A Minecraft player defines a 3D space to be printed, after which the software extracts the object, ...

A ‘living bandage’ made from stem cells, which could revolutionise the treatment and prognosis of a common sporting knee injury, has been trialled in humans for the first time by scientists at the Universities of Liverpool and Bristol. Meniscal tears are suffered by over one million people a year in the US and Europe alone and are particularly common in contact sports like football and rugby. 90% or more of tears occur in the white zone of meniscus which lacks a blood supply, making them diff...

Scientists have enlisted the exotic properties of graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of carbon, to function like the film of an incredibly sensitive camera system in visually mapping tiny electric fields in a liquid. Researchers hope the new method will allow more extensive and precise imaging of the electrical signaling networks in our hearts and brains. The ability to visually depict the strength and motion of very faint electrical fields could also aid in the development of so-called lab-on-...

Psychologists and neuroscientists have thoroughly investigated olfactory behaviours in newborns and adults, but relatively little is known about the characteristics of the sense of smell during infancy and adolescence. SISSA  - Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati - International School for Advanced Studies In a study carried out by SISSA in collaboration with the Please Touch Museum of Philadelphia (an interactive science museum for children), over 150 children aged 3 to 11...

Intelligent systems will shape our future: they could drive us as autonomous cars, help us out in the home on a daily basis or perform medical services as tiny robots. An initiative by the Max Planck Society and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in the Stuttgart-Tübingen area is bringing together partners from science and industry to establish Cyber Valley where systems can be developed that will be capable of performing such feats. Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of Bade...

UCLA research team has made a major advance toward developing oxide supercapacitors, energy-storage devices that would combine the longevity of a battery with the fast-charge times and high-power property of capacitors. To resolve the trade-off between batteries, which last longer, and capacitors, which charge faster and hold more power, the researchers altered the atomic structure of a long-lasting energy storage material, opening up atomic “lanes” for more energy-carrying ions and electrons...

IBM (NYSE: IBM) Research today announced the creation of the prototype IBM Multi-Purpose Eldercare Robot Assistant (IBM MERA) done in collaboration with Rice University. IBM MERA is a first of a kind Watson-enabled application designed to help assist the elderly and their caregivers. IBM Research also has plans to work with Sole Cooperativa, an independent healthcare provider in Italy, to instrument senior housing with sensors to monitor day-to-day activities of its residents.   Accor...

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have made a major breakthrough that allows people to control a robotic arm using only their minds. The research has the potential to help millions of people who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases. The study is published online today in Scientific Reports, a Nature research journal. View a University of Minnesota video of the research subjects in action. “This is the first time in the world that people can operate a robotic arm t...

Amazon debuted Alexa last year for handling what Amazon calls “skills” like checking the weather, turning on lights, reading news, playing music from Amazon’s streaming music service, and the latest sports scores. GE has announced that it has developed voice-controlled lamp with embedded 'Alexa' and that it will be able to do everything that its Echo home automation cousin can do. For example, owners of the new lamp can ask for NFL scores by saying, “Alexa, tell me the latest score of the Bal...

eToro OpenBook enables investors to view, follow and copy the network's top traders automatically. As we engage more with social networking sites, there is always the danger of a “group think” mentality–when people follow a group consensus rather than critically evaluate information; make decisions without guidance from the social network; or follow “gurus” who provide them with bad information. So how do we avoid these errors and maximize the “wisdom of the crowd”? Part of the answer may ...

Identities, both on the level of the individual and the collective, are formed and develop in complex processes that negotiate attitudes, values and behaviours, and shape our social and cultural practices. Identity debates are occurring through reflection on the decade of commemoration and the wider re-evaluation of Irishness, and also in the context of massively changing migratory patterns in both Ireland and Europe.  These transformations are embedded within the context of greater global inter...

Testing blood glucose levels 5-10 times daily is a daily requirement for those living with Type 1 Diabetes. There is no way around it. With Genteel Lancing Instrument, you can test painlessly anywhere on your body, giving your fingertips a break! By using a combination of depth control, vibration, vacuum, people with diabetes, can now get test blood without fear or the pain of the dreaded finger-stick. Genteel® Lancing Device allows diabetics to draw the perfect drop of test blood without ...

Currently, all 3D TV viewing available for consumers has to be done by wearing 3D glasses. However, there are technologies in various stages of development that can enable you to see a 3D image on a TV or other type of video display device without glasses. The main issue with regards to viewing 3D on a TV (or video projection screen) is that humans have two eyes, each separated by a couple of inches. This physical state is the reason we are able to see 3D in the real world as each eye sees a...