Optogenetics, a recently developed technique that uses light to map and control brain activity, requires the genetic modification of an animal’s brain cells and the insertion of optical fibers and electrical wire into its brain. The bulky wires and fibers emerge from the skull, hampering the animal’s movement and making it difficult to perform certain …
Manufactured sapphire—a material that’s used as transparent armor on military vehicles—could become cheap enough to replace the glass display covers on mobile phones. That could mean smartphone screens that don’t crack when you drop them and can’t be scratched with keys, or even by a concrete sidewalk. Sapphire, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, probably …
Cordis – Two researchers funded by the EU have succeeded in developing and testing a state-of-the-art HIV detection test. The Imperial College London, United Kingdom duo says the test is 10 times more sensitive than other methods used to identify this disease, and it is inexpensive. The potential to bring this innovative technique to market …
BBC News – India has ambitious plans to increase graduate numbers in a way which would give it the size and status of an education superpower. The figures are staggering. India’s government speaks of increasing the proportion of young people going to university from 12% at present to 30% by 2025 – approaching the levels …
Bloomberg – The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecasts as the euro area’s debt crisis intensifies and warned of even slower expansion unless officials in the U.S. and Europe address threats to their economies. The world economy will grow 3.3 percent this year, the slowest since the 2009 recession, and 3.6 percent next …
EETimes – Moore’s Law, the engine of semiconductor innovation for decades, is losing steam due to delayed introduction of next-generation extreme ultraviolet lithography. That was the verdict of experts at the 2012 International Symposium on Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography. EUV systems need light sources that are nearly 20 times more powerful than the ones used today …
Forbes – Elon Musk’s Solar installation startup SolarCity this afternoon filed with the SEC for a $201.25 million initial public offering. For the six months ended June 30, the company reported revenue of $71.4 million, including $51.7 from solar energy systems sales, and the rest from operating leases. That’s up from $20.3 million in the …
King’s College Of London – Researchers at King’s College London, Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified for the first time a key factor responsible for declining muscle repair during ageing, and discovered how to halt the process in mice with a common drug. Although an early study, the findings provide clues as to …
Nature – Researchers in Germany have claimed a breakthrough: a material that can act as a superconductor — transmit electricity with zero resistance — at room temperature and above. Pablo Esquinazi and his colleagues at the University of Leipzig report that flakes of humble graphite soaked in water seem to continue superconducting at temperatures of …
The Economist magazine examines the question – Is the age of the growth miracle at an end? Harvard economist Dani Rodrik, in which he argued that the age of the “growth miracle” was over. Industrialisation, long the engine of economic development, is becoming less able to support catch-up growth, he suggested, thanks to the falling …
Eurekalert – By sequencing cancer-cell genomes, scientists have discovered vast numbers of genes that are mutated, deleted or copied in cancer cells. This treasure trove is a boon for researchers seeking new drug targets, but it is nearly impossible to test them all in a timely fashion. To help speed up the process, MIT researchers …