world

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have developed a platform technology for monitoring single-cell interactions in real-time

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Probing the cellular niche environment and signalling using cells engineered with an aptamer sensor. Aptamer sensors that bind to signalling molecules (PDGF in this case) are covalently attached to the surface of cells Nature Nanotechnology – Cell-surface sensors for real-time probing of cellular environments The ability to explore cell signalling and cell-to-cell communication is essential …

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China COSCO Suspended nuclear powered shipping study

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China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd, the country’s biggest shipping conglomerate by market value, said it has suspended its research into nuclear power as an alternative energy to replace fuel oil in vessels after Japan’s nuclear incident. The study on nuclear, wind and solar power, undertaken to find ways to cut carbon emissions, has been under …

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Bioprinting company finds stable revenue stream by making 3-dimensional “constructs” of diseased or dysfunctional human cells for better drug testing

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Xconomy reports that Organovo is bioprinting 3-dimensional “constructs” of diseased or dysfunctional human cells that can be used as models for testing new drugs. Creating a 3-D matrix of cells enables each cell to interact with adjoining cells, so they react to drug compounds much as they would in the body. Pharmaceutical companies are paying …

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Flywheels for cheaper hybrid cars

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Technology Review – The automakers Volvo and Jaguar are testing the possibility of using flywheels instead of batteries in hybrid electric vehicles to aid acceleration and help engines operate more efficiently. The devices could reduce fuel consumption by 20 percent and would cost a third as much as batteries. Volvo will begin road-testing a car …

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Recreating human livers, in mice for better drug testing and screening

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By growing human liver tissue inside mice, Alice Chen has created “humanized” mouse livers that respond to drugs the same way a human liver does. “What’s exciting to researchers is this idea that if we can create these mice with human livers, we can basically create a slew of human-like patients to do drug-development screens, …

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New MIT-developed materials make it possible to produce photovoltaic cells on paper or fabric

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Graduate student Miles Barr hold a flexible and foldable array of solar cells that have been printed on a sheet of paper. Photo: Patrick Gillooly Almost as cheaply and easily as printing a photo on your inkjet, an inexpensive, simple solar cell has been created on that flimsy sheet, formed from special “inks” deposited on …

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Accelerated evolution machine being adapted to human stem cells and creates the new field of Recombineering

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In May, 2010, Venter and his team successfully inserted a fully customized strand of DNA into a living cell, creating what they call the “first synthetic genome.” Church says MAGE (Multiplex Automated Genome Engineering) can achieve similar results faster and cheaper. His lab’s device will go on sale later this year for about $90,000, and …

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Russia puts nuclear energy in list of 27 technologies critical to Russia and Areva pushes ahead with Trekkopje uranium mine for 2013

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1. Nuclear energy has been formally recognised as a critical technology in a decree that makes nuclear development a priority for Russia. President Dmitry Medvedev signed off a list of 27 technologies as critical to Russia, including nuclear energy, the nuclear fuel cycle, safety of radioactive waste and used nuclear fuel. Nuclear power, along with …

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Arrays of indefinitely long uniform nanowires and nanotubes

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Nanowire array production from a macroscopic rod by iterative thermal size reduction. Step 1: A macroscopic cylindrical rod (diameter 10 mm, length 200 mm) is fabricated from the material that is to become nanowires upon axial alongation. An thermomechanically suitable polymer sheet (PES, PEI, PSU) is tightly rolled around the rod in a clean room …

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High-performance flat-panel solar thermoelectric generators with high thermal concentration

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Nature Materials – High-performance flat-panel solar thermoelectric generators with high thermal concentration The conversion of sunlight into electricity has been dominated by photovoltaic and solar thermal power generation. Photovoltaic cells are deployed widely, mostly as flat panels, whereas solar thermal electricity generation relying on optical concentrators and mechanical heat engines is only seen in large-scale …

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Steve Omohundro and the Future of Superintelligence

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Steve Omohundro is a computer scientist who has spent decades designing and writing artificial intelligence software. He now heads a startup corporation, Omai Systems, which will license intellectual property related to AI. In an interview with Sander Olson, Omohundro discuss Apollo style AGI programs, limiting runaway growth in AI systems, and the ultimate limits of …

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