Genetically Engineered Animals Conceived by H.G. Wells

September 23, 2009

This week, science fiction fans around the world took a moment to recognize the accomplishments of author H. G. Wells, who was born on September 21, 1866. Wells is best known for his imaginative short stories and novels loaded with futuristic science and technology that confounded his contemporaries. He wrote about time travel (The Time Machine), cloaking technology (The Invisible Man), advanced weaponry (War of the Worlds), space travel (The First Men in the Moon), wireless communication (The Shape of Things to Come) and automatic sliding doors (When the Sleeper Wakes).

Wide Angle: Genetic Science

September 22, 2009

Not only has the human genome been sequenced, but so too have the genomes of many animals and crops. The sequences represent a genetic blue print of how these organisms function and how they might be repaired when they don’t function. In this Wide Angle on Genetic Science, we’ll look at the myriad ways, whys and hows researchers are modifying the genes of various life-forms in order to treat disease, modify crops, clone animals and repair tissue.

• News: Genetic Science Hub
  From treating disease to repairing tissue to enhancing crops, technology used to modify genes can have a positive impact on medicine and other aspects of our lives. Read the latest Discovery News stories digging into genetic science.

Human Organs and a Side of Chips

August 14, 2009

In order develop therapies or drugs to help people, medical researchers usually conduct their tests on live cells or in lab mice. These methods are not perfect. Live cells don't often live that long outside a human body and lab mice aren't human. But now scientists are finding ways to assemble cells onto glass or plastic chips that provide the control of a Petri dish but offer physical conditions that more closely resemble those in a living human body.

An artificial Liver designed by a group at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology to test drugs. Along those lines, there is also an artificial lung (right) in development at the University of Michigan.

The plastic wafer is about the size of a quarter and contains two tiny fluid channels that mimic airway branches in the lungs. Back in 2007, associate professor Shuichi Takayama and his colleagues reported on experiments where they flooded both chambers in the chip with a nourishing liquid that promoted the growth of lung cells. After they emptied the top chamber to simulate an airway, the lung cells continued to multiply and divide, eventually forming tighter tissue bonds and secreting airway proteins as if they were part of a real lung.

Scientists Develop Bioartificial Trachea

August 13, 2009

This week on the web site, it's all about tissue engineering -- that is, engineering artificial body parts such as bones, organs and skin for use in therapy. It's amazing how many researchers are working in this area and how many different types of tissue are being engineered in labs.

I came across this news piece recently about bio-engineered tracheas. The trachea is the airway through which respiratory air passes. If it's damaged during an accident or lost due to cancer, it's difficult to replace. Artificial prostheses don't exist and donor organs are impossible to use. Most patients end up receiving a stoma or permanent tracheostomy, which is a hole from the outside of the neck into the airway, so the person can breathe.

Growing Bones, Organs and Skin

August 10, 2009

We can rebuild him. We have the technology. Ok, it's not the bionic man, but tissue engineering is changing the face of medicine. It applies the principles of engineering and life sciences to grow bones, cartilage, blood vessels, bladders and even print organs. What does tissue engineering entail and what does it promise for the future of medicine? This Wide Angle series on Build Your Own Human will explore those questions and more.

• News: New Artificial Bone Made of Wood
  A new procedure to turn blocks of wood into artificial bones has been developed by Italian scientists, who plan to implant them into large animals, and eventually humans.

Sudoku Game Inspires Gene Sequencing Solution

July 01, 2009

Sudoku, logic puzzle that folks are addicted to, is not just for passing the time. It's helping to speed up genetic sequencing.

Geneticists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have a found a way to use Sudoku to sequence more than a hundred thousand DNA samples.

Until now, only a single DNA sample could be sequenced at a time.

Not only does the new method save time and improve efficiency, but it dramatically cuts cost. A sequencing project that uses conventional methods can cost $10 million. But that figure can be cut to $80,000 or less by using the Soduku method.

You can read the original paper, which was published in Genome Research here.

Video Sums Up Cool Tech Jobs Wide Angle

June 25, 2009

Green Roofs, Warp Engines and Cheap Solar Power

August 01, 2008

These are the coolest stories I read this past week.

July 25 / Scientific American
Urban Roofscapes: Using "Wasted" Rooftop Real Estate to an Ecological Advantage
How a green roof can minimize run-off and mitigate the urban “heat island effect.”

July 25 / BBC
HP's Plan to Fix Ailing Planet
Trillions of sensors deployed worldwide will monitor the state of the planet and pick up ailments (wildfires, hurricanes, bacteria, hazardous chemicals) that may need to be warded off or remedied.

July 26 / The New York Times
China Surpasses U.S. in Number of Internet Users
Is anyone surprised? I'm so not surprised that I almost didn't put this on the list. You're right. I'm taking it off. 

July 28 / Discovery News
Warp Drive Engine Would Travel Faster Than Light
Gather 'round Trekkies. Your time has come. Two physicists have figured out warp drive works without breaking the laws (of physics, that is).

July 28 / Scientific American
Engineering Silicon Solar Cells to Make Photovoltaic Power Affordable
One company is on a mission to get the cost of solar cells down to a buck a watt. Those are light bulb prices that would make energy from the sun competitive with that from coal-burning power plants.

July 28 / The New York Times
Former Employees of Google Prepare Rival Search Engine
This company pronounces their name, Cuil, as "cool." That, and the fact that they are trying to upstage Google, makes me narrow my eyes with skepticism.

July 30 / Nature
Energy: Upgrading the Grid
What it takes to make a stupid power grid super smaht.

July 30 / Wired
Project to Rebuild Internet Gets $12M, Bandwidth
There's a project dedicated to rebuilding the Internet's underlying architecture? Whoa. I didn't even know about that.

July 30 / BBC
Olympic Link to Early 'Computer'
A closer look at an ancient Greek timepiece discovered in 1901 reveals that it has dials that record the dates of the original Olympic games.

July 31 / Technology Trends
OmegaTable, A 24-million Pixel VR Display
This virtual reality display is a multi-sensory touch tabletop that gives people a 3D experience without looking like a giant dork in those special glasses.

July 31 / Technology Review
3-D Printing for the Masses
This printing service takes orders from customers and turns ideas into three-dimensional prototypes at an affordable cost. If you're an artist, architect, designer, or general hobbyist, you might want to read this article.

July 31 / The Guardian
Sweet Peas Make a Second Skin
Didn't know this, but an enzyme in sweet pea pods and seeds can cause floppy skin in grazing animals. That's totally weird. But that same enzyme, when used in a polymer gel wound dressing, could relieve shrinking or lumpy skin grafts on burn victims.

July 31 / Economist
Genetically Modified Olympians?
You can detect performance-enhancing drugs, for the most part, but how do you detect gene therapy?

July 31 / New Scientist
Solar-Cell Material Can Soak Up More Sun
The sun cranks out a ton of energy, but conventional solar cells are only able to absorb the visible light part of the sun's spectrum. A new material that absorbs the infrared could, in theory take energy absorption from 30 percent to 63 percent.

The Week of Tech (According to Me)

July 25, 2008

July 18 / New Scientist
People Power is New Weapon Against Olympic Terrorism
Q: How many people does it take to protect the Olympics from a terrorist attack? A: 15 million. Well, that's probably overkill. But if you can heighten the awareness of millions of people, you may get more leads on possible terrorists. Or you may just work up a big crowd into a paranoid frenzy.

July 18 / Wired
The Dark Knight: 'Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?'
Batman is a gadget freakazoid. He's got every high-tech gizmo you could ever hope to by on E-Bay. I'm gonna wait until the prices comes down.

July 19 / The New York Times
Sweeping Panoramas, Courtesy of a Robot
This robot repeatedly clicks a camera shutter in order to take hundreds of overlapping images from a variety of different angles. When combined into one big panoramic image, the high-res result is a one gigapixel shot. The benefit? Useful detail without the finger cramps.

July 21 / Discovery News
Could A Contact Lens Save Your Vision?
Now contact lenses correct eyesight. But soon, they fix medical problems such as glaucoma by administering medication.

July 21 / Guardian
Solve It
How to chat to people with different instant messaging applications.

July 21 / Xconomy
30 Startup Ideas from Y Combinator
From the category of "tech that hasn't been invented yet," here's a list of technologies that fill a need. If only they existed.

July 22 / The New York Times
If You Have a Problem, Ask Everyone
This web site capitalizes on the human nature to give advice. Only this place pays dividends.

July 22 / IEEE Specturm
Why Microwave Auditory Effect Crowd-Control Gun Won't Work
Well, now here's a way to control a big crowd (maybe those paranoid Olympic attendees?): fry 'em with a microwave auditory gun.

July 22 / Technology Trends
First Paper-Based Transistors
Portuguese researchers have created the first paper-based transistors. The advance could lead to disposable electronics devices, such as paper displays, smart labels and RFID tags.

July 23 / Guardian
Solar Power from Saharan Sun Could Provide Europe's Electricity, Says EU
Africa has so many natural resources: gold, diamonds, oil. And now scientist are saying that just a small part of the continent could generate enough solar energy to supply Europe with electricity.

July 23 / Technology Review
A Concrete Fix to Global Warming
A new process stores carbon dioxide in precast concrete.

July 23 / Wired
Intel CEO Calls for 10 Million Plug-In Conversions within Four Years
Andy Grove's called for 10 million vehicles to be converted to plug-in hybrids within four years and laid out some ideas to help get us there.

July 24 / Discovery News
Power From Poop: Putting Manure to Use
Methane from manure could supply more than 2 percent of the country's electricity needs.

Atom-Fusing Laser, Robotic Jellyfish, Invisibility Carpet, A Pregnancy Gene and More

July 18, 2008

These are the coolest tech stories I discovered this past week.

July 12 / The New York Times
Can’t Find a Parking Spot? Check Smartphone
If you live a big city, then you know what it's like to drive around and around looking for that elusive parking spot. But starting this fall, San Franciscans will be in for a treat. The city is testing the use of wireless sensors that will communicate to street signs or a smartphone the availability of free spaces. Now just don't run anyone over trying to get the spot first.

July 13 / Guardian
Doctors Rage At Being Rated Online
As a big fan of AngiesList and Yelp, I'm all for a Web site that will allow patients to rate their doctors online. Isn't it all about referrals anyway? And health care is a service for which we pay big bucks. So suck it up, GPs, and get with the times.

July 15 / Discovery News
Giant Laser in the Works to Achieve Fusion
Wouldn't Dr. Evil love this "laser?" It can't blow up the planet, but at 10 stories tall and 400 feet long, it will create enough heat and pressure to fuse atoms and create helium. The reaction will release massive amounts of environmentally friendly energy and enough helium to keep us all talking about it with high squeaky voices.

July 15 / New Scientist
Dirt-Repelling Tube Promises Cheap, Pure Water
Man, we've really messed up the world's water supply. Most of it can't be consumed without being purified first, and that's not good for people living in developing worlds. But a a new way of purifying water could offer a simple solution. The technique uses a material that naturally attracts water while at the same time repelling impurities.

July 15 / BBC
The Importance of Being There
You have to really not like your surroundings (or yourself?) to prefer a virtual world over reality. But even still, VR environments have a long way to go before they will supplant this world, says regular columnist Bill Thompson.

July 16 / Wired
Obama Wages Cyberwar
Even though the Bush administration has initiated a $30 billion effort to beef up cyber security, Obama says its too little too late.

July 16 / Popular Science
Robotic Jellyfish Just Like the Real Thing, But Without the Sting
Sure, it's great that the AquaJelly has sensors, a short-range radio system, LEDs for illumination and communication and is coated with conductive metal paint that helps it connect with a nearby charging station, but I think they're dern pretty and I sure wish I had one. Hint hint.

July 16 / Wired
Army Wants 'Psychologically Inspired' Robot Vision
Robots score a big "duh" when it comes to vision. They just can't see the world we do. That's why the Army has put out an APB for a "psychologically inspired object recognition system." But do we really want robots seeing the world through our eyes? What if they notice what a bunch of doofuses we are?

July 17 / Discovery News
Invisible Carpet Idea Close to Actual Invisibility
Invisibility cloaks are great for hiding giant spaceships, but an invisibility carpet is just way more practical. Scientists have created a material that can hide objects in visible light. My question: If we can't see it, how will we know it's working? (See what I mean about being a doofus.)

July 17 / Popular Science
A Gene for Baby Makin’
This could put an end to birth control pills, foams and devices and eliminate the need for testicle snipping. Scientists have located the gene that both regulates and blocks ovulation.

July 17 / Wired
Why China's Olympian Efforts to Clean Up Beijing's Air Won't Work.
China is doing a bunch of stuff to clean up the air in time for the Olympics. Smoking bans, traffic bans and turning off power plants to name of few. But it might not make any difference.

Photo: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory