Before birth and early in life, the developing brain is acutely sensitive to its environment. A symposium at the Fifth Annual Aspen Brain Forum, hosted by the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City, explored how certain social and psychological aspects of environment influence biology and behavior. Tracy L. Bale, of the University of Pennsylvania, noted that maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and schizophrenia ...

First came sound, then color, then 3D—now virtual reality (VR) is lining itself up to be the next major innovation in filmmaking. Watching a movie in VR allows you to view a movie theater size screen in your living room. If the film is 360 degree you can step into the movie and be part of it not just watch it. Unlike conventional animation, motion-capture experienced in VR injects a stronger dose of realism by making viewers feel like they are actually in the movie. Virtual-reality (VR)...

ZYILA is Poland based company which has developed  world’s first spherical microphone which records and separates each instrument and vocals into a separate track. ZYLIA is an innovative and patented recording sound-source separation technology, a complete Portable Recording Studio for multi-track in one integrated solution. It isolates every instrument playing around it and records the results via dedicated software and cloud processing. Music band recording is a difficult task which requ...

University of Leeds (UK) has initiated a 'Smart Agriculture' project for organic farms in Riverford. Theobjective of the project was to collect real-time data for optimized yield. The project was to be able to capture useful data to start predicting measurements and events that could help farmers and agronomists to save time and money with its farms. In this project, the type of farm was not determining, because it has been deployed in a diverse range of crops, from vegetables to grain. Th...

A CubeSat (U-class spacecraft) is a type of miniaturized satellite for space research that is made up of multiples of 10×10×11.35 cm cubic units. California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and Stanford University developed the CubeSat specifications to promote and develop the skills necessary for the design, manufacture, and testing of small satellites intended for low Earth orbit (LEO) that perform a number of scientific research functions and explore new space technologies. CubeS...

Senseonics has developed a new way to continuously monitor glucose levels around-the-clock, without the need for weekly sensor insertions or having to carry another receiving device.   Senseonics a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of a long-term, implantable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system for people with diabetes, today announced topline results of the PRECISE II (A Prospective, Multicenter Evaluation of the Accuracy of a Novel Co...

Surgeries are becoming less-invasive and easier to perform thanks to creative ideas and smart engineering. Any surgeon performing laparoscopic procedures would be amazed by the intuitive controls of the FlexDex instrument platform. Unlike traditional laparoscopy instruments that involve dials, triggers, switches, and knobs, and that are clunky and not at all ergonomic, the FlexDex operates much like how a novice would expect it. Designed to magnetically retract and maneuver the gallbladder, ...

About six years ago, Stephen Smith was stopped at a traffic light in East Liberty, driving home from Carnegie Mellon University. The robotics professor had been working over a tricky problem — how to make urban traffic flow more efficiently. Computer simulations showed his proposed system worked, but he needed a place to test it amidst aggressive drivers, slow buses and errant pedestrians. And then he saw it: At the traffic light, mounted on a pole, was a camera. Smith, 63, had no experien...

Measure and manage your brain health and performance with connected technologies to address the effects of stress, rest, and activity on how you work, live, and play. Wearables for everyday life NeuMitra has embedded biomodules that help measure and manage the autonomic nervous system. It provides you with a real-time autonomic score, assessing your physiology and its interaction with movement and temperature. The biomodules are encased in a design that seamlessly blends into your daily ...

Medical device developer Lumendi said today it won FDA 510(k) clearance for its DiLumen endoscopic accessory. The Connecticut-based company’s DiLumen device is now indicated for use in positioning endoscopes in the large intestine and assisting with optical visualization, diagnosis and endoscopic treatment. Lumendi’s endolumenal interventional platform is designed to enhance and facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal disease through a less invasive approach. “DiLumen is th...

Honda's new 'NeuV 'autonomous car that uses artificial intelligence to generate emotions that will help stronger connection between the car and human passenger. Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data to transform the mobility experience, Honda today announced that “Cooperative Mobility Ecosystem” will be the theme for its participation at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.  Honda will kick off its CES presence with an 11:00 am PST press con...

Aviator NORDIC DINO robot is a computerised and self-contained system purpose built for washing aircraft exteriors. The system consists of a mobile power unit, spray nozzles and rotating cleaning brushes powered by a lightweight remote control that permits safe and simple one-man operation. NORDIC DINO meets the requirements for washing aircraft exteriors and incorporates safety features designed to prevent accidental personal injury and aircraft damage. NORDIC DINO II The NORDIC DIN...

Spanish wireless sensor maker Libelium released MySignals, a biometrical IoT platform that allows developers to create new software e-health applications and medical devices measuring 20 different body parameters. The e-health development platform has 15 different sensors that measure the most important body parameters (ECG, glucose, airflow, pulse, oxygen in blood, blood pressure, among others). All the biometric data is encrypted and sent to the Libelium Cloud in realtime to be visualised on...

'NIMA' is a portable gluten tester from 6SensorLabs that can detect if a food has 20 parts per million or more of gluten. Options for understanding what’s in our food are minimal, and Nima has the vast potential to fulfill a visceral need in the food transparency sector,” said Brad Feld, managing director of Foundry Group, who assumes a new seat on Nima’s board of directors. “Nima leverages human computer interaction to provide the community with better data about our food to potentially s...

World's first solar highway has been opened in France. Wattway is a patented French innovation that is the fruit of 5 years of research undertaken by Colas, world leader in transport infrastructure, and the INES (French National Institute for Solar Energy). By combining road construction and photovoltaic techniques, Wattway pavement provides clean, renewable energy in the form of electricity, while allowing for all types of traffic. As the energy transition becomes reality, imagine a road ...

  Artificial intelligence promises to transform society on the scale of the industrial, technical and digital revolutions before it. Machines that can sense, reason and act will accelerate solutions to large-scale problems in myriad of fields, including science, finance, medicine and education, augmenting human capability and helping us to go further, farther, faster. Buoyed by Moore’s Law and fed by a deluge of data, AI is at the heart of much of today’s technical innovation. Industr...

Generally speaking, a biological pacemaker is one or more types of cellular components that, when "implanted or injected into certain regions of the heart," produce specific electrical stimuli that mimic that of the body's natural pacemaker cells. It's indicated for issues such as heart block, slow heart rate, and asynchronous heart ventricle contractions. In healthy individuals, the sinoatrial node (SAN) is responsible for initiating excitation >100 000 times per day. As with all cardiac ...

It’s only a matter of time before drugs are administered via patches with painless microneedles instead of unpleasant injections. But designers need to balance the need for flexible, comfortable-to-wear material with effective microneedle penetration of the skin. Researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm say they may have cracked the problem. In a study published recently in PLOS ONE, the research team from KTH reports a successful test of its microneed...

A novel technology that could allow for accurate, guided landing of payloads returning to Earth from the International Space Station will soon undergo testing in orbit. The technology, called "Exo-Brake," is a "tension-based, flexible braking device resembling a cross-parachute that deploys from the rear of a satellite to increase the drag," NASA officials said in a statement. Developed and tested by engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center in California, the Exo-Brake is a de-orbit device...

Scientists have witnessed the birth of atmospheric ice clouds, creating ice cloud crystals in the laboratory and then taking images of the process through a microscope, essentially documenting the very first steps of cloud formation. The team witnessed a process known as ice nucleation in unprecedented detail, taking time-lapse movies of the first few seconds when a particle attracts water vapor, forming ice crystals that become the core of icy cirrus clouds — the high, wispy clouds that act ...

Medical students and researchers at Nova Southeastern University are stepping into the virtual world to better serve patients. Using Second Life®, students at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine create avatars that fly into a virtual clinic where students can practice communication skills and diagnostic procedures on virtual world patients. The program allows students to practice in a relaxed environment where they are not afraid to make mistakes. Researchers at NSU...

What would happen if an electric current no longer flowed, but trickled instead? This was the question investigated by researchers working with Christian Ast at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. Their investigation involved cooling their scanning tunnelling microscope down to a fifteen thousandth of a degree above absolute zero. At these extremely low temperatures, the electrons reveal their quantum nature. The electric current is therefore a granular medium, consisting of...

Collabody™ is a unique fusion protein design platform which utilizes a short triplex-forming collagen-like peptide (about 40 amino acids in length) as a scaffold protein binder for fusing with antibody fragments, hormones, cytokines, lymphokines, growth factors, lectins, enzymes, soluble receptor fragments and chemo agents. The autoimmune system in our body is vital for the protection against invading viruses and bacteria germs. Anti-CD3 Collabody™ The malfunctioning of thi...

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...

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...

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: ...