Artificial retina: Physicists develop an interface to the optical nerve

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Graphene electronics can be prepared on flexible substrates. Only the gold metal leads are visible in the transparent graphene sensor. (Photo: Natalia Hutanu / TUM) Physicists at Technische Universität München (TUM) are using the special properties of graphene to produce key elements of an artificial retina. With their research program the researchers were admitted to the heavily funded “Graphene” Flagship Program of the EU. Graphene is viewed as a kind of “miracle solution”: It is thin, transparent and has a tensile strength greater than that of steel. In addition, it conducts electricity better than copper. Since it comprises only a single layer of carbon atoms it is considered two-dimensional. In 2010 the scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for their ground-breaking work on this material. In October 2013, the “Graphene” project was selected alongside the “Human Brain Project” as a Flagship Project of the EU FET Initiative (Future and Emerging Technologies). Under the supervision of Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, it bundles the research activities and will be funded with one billion euro over ten years. In July 2014 the program took on 66 new partners, including the TUM. Optical prostheses for blind people Because of its unusual properties, graphene holds

The post Artificial retina: Physicists develop an interface to the optical nerve has been published on Technology Org.

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1. Scientists produce a novel form of artificial graphene

 
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Insect that ekes out a living in Antarctica has tiny genome

Science Focus

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The larval form of the midge (left) and the adult.

Denlinger Lab, Ohio State

When the term "extremophiles" gets thrown around, it's usually in reference to single-celled organisms that thrive in high salt or near-boiling water. But there are a few animals that also manage to make do in rather extreme conditions.

Perhaps the top example is a wingless midge that goes by Belgica antarctica. As its name implies, it's native to the frozen continent—in fact, it's the only insect that's native. (A few others have more recently introduced themselves from South America in recent years, and cockroaches undoubtedly ride in shipments to research bases.) Now, to try to help understand how anything can survive in such inhospitable conditions, researchers sequenced the genome of the midge and discovered it's gotten rid of a lot of the DNA that's frequently termed junk.

The researchers describe just how difficult the insect's living conditions are in detail: "The larvae, encased in ice for most of the year, require two years to complete their development and then pupate and emerge as adults at the beginning of their third austral summer. The [wingless] adults crawl over surfaces of rocks and other substrates, mate, lay eggs and die within 7–10 days after emergence."

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New approach to form non-equilibrium structures

Science Focus

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Although most natural and synthetic processes prefer to settle into equilibrium—a state of unchanging balance without potential or energy—it is within the realm of non-equilibrium conditions where new possibilities lie. Non-equilibrium systems experience constant changes in energy and phases, such as temperature fluctuations, freezing and melting, or movement. These conditions allow humans to regulate their body temperature, airplanes to fly, and the Earth to rumble with seismic activity.  But even though these conditions exist naturally and are required for the most basic life, they are rarely understood and difficult to find in synthetic materials. “In equilibrium thermodynamics, we know everything,” said Northwestern’s Igal Szleifer. “Non-equilibrium thermodynamics is an old subject, but we don’t have a complete set of rules for it. There are no guidelines.” Igal Szleifer     Szleifer is the Christina Enroth-Cugell Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of chemical and biological engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Science, and professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine.   Szleifer, his postdoctoral fellow Mario Tagliazucchi, and Emily Weiss, the Irving M. Klotz Research Professor of Chemistry at Weinberg, have developed a new technique for

The post New approach to form non-equilibrium structures has been published on Technology Org.

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AUDIO: Futurist: Moon mining 'is possible'

Science Focus

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A futurist says it is "possible" the Chinese could start mining for fuel on the Moon. 
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 » see original post http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-28667892#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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Stellar Nurseries RCW120 Rectangle Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Stellar Nurseries RCW120 Rectangle Sticker

tagged with: envelope sealers, nebulae, gstlnrsr, rcw120, breathtaking astronomy images, star nurseries, ionised gas clouds, star forming regions, european southern observatory, clusters of stars, galaxies, starfields, eso, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series

A fantastic set of stickers, with a monogram for you to change, featuring a colour composite image of RCW120.

It reveals how an expanding bubble of ionised gas about ten light-years across is causing the surrounding material to collapse into dense clumps where new stars are then formed.

The 870-micron submillimetre-wavelength data were taken with the LABOCA camera on the 12-m Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope. Here, the submillimetre emission is shown as the blue clouds surrounding the reddish glow of the ionised gas (shown with data from the SuperCosmos H-alpha survey). The image also contains data from the Second Generation Digitized Sky Survey (I-band shown in blue, R-band shown in red).

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Image code: gstlnrsr

ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA www.eso.org
Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

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Contrasting Terrains on Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko

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Scientists unveil new technology to better understand small clusters of atoms

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Physicists at the University of York, working with researchers at the University of Birmingham and Genoa, have developed new technology to study atomic vibration in small particles, revealing a more accurate picture of the structure of atomic clusters where surface atoms vibrate more intensively than internal atoms.



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Researchers unveil new solar cell made from carbon nanotubes that converts more sunlight into power

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(Phys.org) —A team of researchers with members from several research facilities in the U.S. has unveiled a new type of solar cell based on single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). In their paper published in the journal Nano Letters, the team claims they have overcome limitations with such technology resulting in a solar cell that is two times as good at converting sunlight into power as other SWCNT based cells.



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Boomerang Nebula Hubble Astronomy Wall Decals

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Boomerang Nebula Hubble Astronomy Wall Decals

tagged with: boomerang nebula, nebula, stars, nasa, astronomy, universe, outer space, hubble telescope, nature, cool space, nebulae, esa, hubble space telescope, hubble photo, cosmos, astronomical, astrophotography, cosmology, deep space, space, natural, science, space picture, space photo, space image, nebula picture, nebula photo, nebula image, blue, cool astronomy

Hubble photograph of the Boomerang Nebula

This photograph of the Boomerang Nebula was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998. It shows the bow-tie-shaped nebula in beautiful bright blue and white colours, against a dark starry background.

Credit: NASA, ESA, R. Sahai and J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and the WFPC2 Science Team

You can personalise the design further if you'd prefer, such as by adding your name or other text, or adjusting the image - just click 'Customize it' to see all the options. IMPORTANT: If you choose a different sized version of the product, it's important to click Customize and check the image in the Design view to ensure it fills the area to the edge of the product, otherwise white edges may be visible.

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V838 Monocerotis Hubble Space Telescope iPad Mini Cover

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

V838 Monocerotis Hubble Space Telescope iPad Mini Cover

tagged with: v838, monocerotis, hubble, astronomy, space, hubble space telescope, nasa, light echo

In January 2002, a dull star in an obscure constellation suddenly became 600,000 times more luminous than our Sun, temporarily making it the brightest star in our Milky Way galaxy. The mysterious star, called V838 Monocerotis, has long since faded back to obscurity. But observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of a phenomenon called a "light echo" around the star have uncovered remarkable new features. These details promise to provide astronomers with a CAT-scan-like probe of the three-dimensional structure of shells of dust surrounding an aging star. Sign up to Mr. Rebates for FREE and save 12% on any zazzle order in addition to a $5.00 sign up bonus All Rights Reserved; without: prejudice, recourse or notice (U.C.C. 1-308) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:V838_Mon_HST.jpg v838 monocerotis hubble astronomy space "hubble space telescope" nasa "light echo"

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Water and air are all you need to make ammonia—one of world’s most important chemicals

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Greener fertilisers are coming your way. James T M Towill, CC BY-SA Researchers have developed a method to produce ammonia simply from air and water. Not only is it more energy efficient than the century-old Haber-Bosch process currently in use all over the world, but it is also greener. Ammonia – made up of three parts hydrogen and one part nitrogen (or NH3) – has had a momentous impact on society. Without the mass production of this chemical, it is estimated that as many as a third of us won’t be alive. This is because its main use is to make fertilisers, which have helped improve crop yields and sustain a large population. Developed in 1909, the Haber-Bosch process – often cited as themost important invention of the 20th century – involves heating purified nitrogen and hydrogen gas at very high temperature and pressure in presence of an iron catalyst. The presence of the catalyst, which doesn’t take part in the reaction but lowers the energy threshold of the reaction, is vital. Despite which, ammonia’s production – about 140m tons in 2012 – consumes nearly 2% of the world’s energy supply. Apart from large energy requirements to achieve reaction conditions, the current production method is inefficient because it needs hydrogen gas, which

The post Water and air are all you need to make ammonia—one of world’s most important chemicals has been published on Technology Org.

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Time Travel: Dark Spots in Our Knowledge of Neptune

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Voyager 2 and the Hubble Space Telescope have offered tantalizing glimpses of Neptune that show how much more there is to learn about the planet.















via New York Times

Boomerang Nebula Hubble Astronomy Room Sticker

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space

Boomerang Nebula Hubble Astronomy Room Sticker

tagged with: boomerang nebula, nebula, stars, nasa, astronomy, universe, outer space, hubble telescope, nature, cool space, nebulae, esa, hubble space telescope, hubble photo, cosmos, astronomical, astrophotography, cosmology, deep space, space, natural, science, space picture, space photo, space image, nebula picture, nebula photo, nebula image, blue, cool astronomy

Hubble photograph of the Boomerang Nebula

This photograph of the Boomerang Nebula was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998. It shows the bow-tie-shaped nebula in beautiful bright blue and white colours, against a dark starry background.

Credit: NASA, ESA, R. Sahai and J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and the WFPC2 Science Team

You can personalise the design further if you'd prefer, such as by adding your name or other text, or adjusting the image - just click 'Customize it' to see all the options. IMPORTANT: If you choose a different sized version of the product, it's important to click Customize and check the image in the Design view to ensure it fills the area to the edge of the product, otherwise white edges may be visible.

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Click here to view all the other items with this design.

Click here to see a wide range of other astronomy & space designs.

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Hubble iPad case

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

Hubble iPad case

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Hubble

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