In vivo work with neural dust using a wireless and scalable ultrasonic backscatter system for powering and communicating the implanted bioelectronics

Berkeley engineers have built the first dust-sized, wireless sensors that can be implanted in the body, bringing closer the day when a Fitbit-like device could monitor internal nerves, muscles or organs in real time. Neural dust researchers have already shrunk them to a 1 millimeter cube – about the size of a large grain of …

Read more

Most recent US Navy plan is to have 308 ships by 2021

Here is a draft of the US Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan and it holds to the Navy’s goal of reaching a 308-ship navy over the next five years. Congress is already considering additional ships they want to build. Virginia-class attack submarine Minnesota (SSN-783) under construction in 2012. US Navy Photo SOURCES – USNI, US Navy, …

Read more

Composite fiber reinforced concrete donuts can be used to repair quake damaged bridges in days instead of weeks

In an earthquake, a bridge is designed to take the brunt of the damage at the top and bottom of the vertical columns where they meet the foundation and the horizontal beams. If a bridge survives from collapsing but the columns are damaged, it is likely too unstable to be driven over. And if several …

Read more

Diet and other factors change the bacteria composition in our bodies which changes our health

The Flemish Gut Flora Project, one of the largest population-wide studies on gut flora variation among healthy volunteers, has presented its first major results. Through the analysis of more than 1,000 human stool samples, a team of researchers led by professor Jeroen Raes (VIB/VUB/KU Leuven) has identified 69 factors that are linked to gut flora …

Read more

Global military laser market will reach $4.63 billion by 2020

The global military laser market will reach $4.63 billion by 2020, according to a forecast by market research firm MarketsandMarkets. This reflects a compound annual growth rate of 8.86 percent from 2015. “The solid-state laser market is estimated to hold the largest market share in 2015 of the military laser systems market,” the report said. …

Read more

Graphene Leans on Glass to Advance Electronics which could finally enable scalable commercial graphene technologies

Brookhaven National Lab scientists’ have used common glass to optimize graphene’s electronic properties which could improve technologies from flat screens to solar cells. Graphene, the two-dimensional powerhouse, packs extreme durability, electrical conductivity, and transparency into a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon. Despite being heralded as a breakthrough “wonder material,” graphene has been slow to leap into …

Read more

DARPA funding ten approaches for millimeter sized products with nanometer/atomic precision

DARPA has a program to use nanoscale manufacturing while upsizing products to a more practical millimeter scale. The agency has now set that challenge to 10 laboratories nationwide in its Atoms to Products program. The goal of the Atoms to Product (A2P) program is to develop the technologies and processes required to assemble nanometer-scale pieces, …

Read more

Exercise to slow aging is most important for those aged 40 to 65

Almost any amount and type of physical activity may slow aging deep within our cells, a new study finds. And middle age may be a critical time to get the process rolling, at least by one common measure of cell aging. Dating a cell’s age is tricky, because its biological and chronological ages rarely match. …

Read more

Rideables and electric scooters

The Solowheel takes some time to learn but it won the Wired rideable review. However, the Wired reviewer would not commute with any of these handsfree scooters. The reviewers at Slate had a lot more trouble and never got over the learning curve. The reviewers at Slate really enjoyed folding electric scooters. However, electric scooters …

Read more

Granular gel as a 3D writing medium to create fragile and complex things like artificial jelly fish and can write and grow living tissue cells

University of Florida Researcher Angelini came up with the idea to use microscopic hydrogel particles as a medium for 3-D printing of soft matter. These particles are 99.8 percent water and 20 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. He found that he could manufacture soft materials into shapes more fragile than anything …

Read more