Robotic Exoskeleton - A new hope for the one's on wheelchair

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A New Zealand based company named- Rex Bionics has developed robotic legs or the exoskeleton for the people who cannot walk and are on the wheel chair due to paralysis. It is a $130,000 motorized carbon fiber robot with a joystick on the armrests of the suit to control motions.

According to reports on dailymail.co.uk : These are exoskeletons made of metal and carbon fiber which encases the body and allows that part to move. It is believed that this exoskeleton will mark the end of wheelchair. The first person to experience these robotics legs is Sophie Morgan who is paralyzed from below chest after she met an accident in 2002. After using it she said- "It was wonderful to be eye to eye with each other".

The carapace of Rex held her firmly and the straps were there to hold it from torso to toes. The only movement needed is to move the joystick on the armrest which instructs 29 micro-controllers to react within milliseconds. The best part is- one can control it to move in any direction- sit down, ascend and descend stairs. The bad part: only 10 around the world as of October 2012.

Sophie was given the opportunity to try Rex for filming a News Story for Channel 4. "The benefits of this exoskeleton are not just limited to walking, standing. This also helps in digestion as sitting on the wheelchair makes the lower muscles relax and they also shrink so the digestive system is less efficient.  The robotic legs also helps in preventing the blood clot in legs"- says robotics expert Faisal Almesfer.

Through the stem cell therapy spinal cord tissues can be re grown and will undoubtedly be the ultimate solution of Spine Injuries but research is on this and till then exoskeletons can offer great help and support to the ones who are on wheelchair.

Image Source : Google 

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'Immortality' to billionaires: Coming up soon?

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Transplanting a human brain into robot bodies? It doesn't just sound like science fiction; it sounds like bad science fiction. But that’s what ambitious Russian Dmitry Itskov claims to be working towards. Granted, this isn’t a technology that is currently available, but Itskov plans to have it running in the next 10 years – well before all those billionaire baby boomers punch their final ticket. He says his technology will be of interest at first to the 'disabled and close to dying'.

The Russian entrepreneur heads a hi-tech research project called 'Avatar' and has contacted billionaires to offer them immortality. Itskov claims he will personally oversee their immortality process, in exchange for an undisclosed fee. Itskov, a media entrepreneur, seems to have hired 30 scientists to reach this goal - and aims to transplant a human brain into a robot body within 10 years. 

The process would upload the person’s consciousness like a computer program into the robot’s mechanical “brain.” The project, creatively dubbed “Avatar”, envisions lifelike humanoid robots by 2015 and full consciousness transplants by 2020. DARPA is taking a similar approach to thought transference by setting aside $7 million to a project (yes, also named Avatar.) that would allow soldiers to remotely operate robots on the battlefield through mind control.

'You have the ability to finance the extension of your own life up to immortality. Our civilization has come very close to the creation of such technologies: it's not a science fiction fantasy. It is in your power to make sure that this goal will be achieved in your lifetime,' says Itskov in a letter delivered to billionaires listed in Forbes magazine.

Itskov, the 31-year-old media entrepreneur.

'This project is leading down the road to immortality,' says Itskov. 'A person with a perfect Avatar will be able to remain part of society. People don’t want to die.' He hopes to then 'upload' minds without surgery, leaving human bodies as empty husks as their owners 'live on' inside robots.

Measuring brain waves with EEG machine: Recent breakthroughs have allowed scientists to 'see' what is inside people's heads for the first time

'The next effort of science will be to create a new body for the human being,' says Itskov, speaking at the Global Future 2045 conference. 'It will have a perfect brain-machine interface to allow control and a human brain life support system so the brain can survive outside the body.'

'The third phase will be to create an artificial human brain,' he says - a computer environment into which human minds can be uploaded. His final goal, he says, is to upload human minds into holographic bodies. Holograms give plenty of advantages. You can walk through walls, move at the speed of light, he says. 

Itskov says he wants to work with DARPA - the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency in the U.S military. DARPA is already  researching ways for its troops to use their minds to remotely control androids who will take human soldiers' place on the battlefield. The Pentagon's hi-tech research arm, has earmarked $7million for research into the project, also nicknamed Avatar.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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Aerogel or frozen smoke: The lightest solid material on the planet. [VIDEO]

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Aerogel is a synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with a gas. The result is a solid with extremely low density and thermal conductivity. It is nicknamed frozen smoke, solid smoke, solid air or blue smoke owing to its translucent nature; however, it feels like expanded polystyrene (styrofoam) to the touch.

Peter Tsou with a sample of aerogel at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.

 

A flower is sitting on a piece of aerogel which is suspended over a bunsen burner. Aerogel has excellent insulating properties, and the flower is protected from the flame. 

 

This photo illustrates the excellent insulating properties of aerogel. The crayons on top of the aerogel are protected from the flame underneath, and are not melting. 

A 2.5 kg brick is supported on top of a piece of aerogel weighing only 2 grams. 

Though with a ghostly appearance like an hologram, aerogel is very solid. It feels like hard styrofoam to the touch.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist Alex Gash shows us some remarkable properties of this truly unique substance. Check out this interesting Video:

It is the lightest solid material on the planet. Aerogel insulates space suits, makes tennis rackets stronger and could be used one day to clean up oil spills.

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30- STOREY BUILDING BUILT IN 15 DAYS IN CHINA

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The very thought that a 30-story building could be built in 15 days is truely beyond our imagination. But it happened in China, as a 30-storey hotel was built in just 15 days. 

This plan was undertaken by Broad Group and the building was built in the Hunan Province of China, near Dongting lake. This Chinese construction company specializes in sustainable architecture, and prefabricated modules placed on steel structures.

The Broad Sustainable Building’s foundation was laid ahead of time, while building itself was largely factory manufactured. Once the pieces were shipped to the site, all that was left was for construction workers to put it all together in record time.

According to the Broad Sustainable Building’s website, the building was 93 percent factory made, a process which they say eliminates risks associated with design and construction quality, budget and construction delays, ABC News reports.

Critics, however, questioned the safety the building, pointing to the lack of oversight and the pace at which it went up. The Broad Sustainable Building has attempted projects like this before, building a 15-story hotel in just a week as well as a six-story pavilion in less than a day.

Reports suggest the 30-story hotel built in 15 days is sturdy enough to stand up to a magnitude-9.0 earthquake. The hotel is also reportedly energy-efficient and more solid all the way around than one might surmise. But the most interesting fact of all remains: It is a 30-story building that was built in 15 days.

Check out the amazing time lapse video of the construction:

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Flowerhorn cichlids

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Flowerhorn cichlids are ornamental aquarium fish noted for their vivid colors and the distinctively shaped heads for which they are named. Their head protuberance, or kok, is formally termed a "nuchal hump." 

Like blood parrot cichlids, they are man-made hybrids that do not exist in nature. First developed in Malaysia and Taiwan, they are now kept by fish hobbyists worldwide.

The flowerhorn in the picture is SANTINO, champion in small category.

Basic tips for Flowerhorn Keeping:

The Flower horn is a sturdy fish that is not hard to care for. It needs neutral or slightly basic water, a water temperature around 28º C and nutritious food.

The aquarium has to be quite large, since the Flower horn can grow big. You can keep your Flower horn alone in the aquarium. Large cichlids from South America that will not tolerate being bullied by the Flower horn is one example of suitable tank mates. Since the Flower horn is a territorial species you should fill the aquarium with decorations that create natural borders. If the fish can keep out of each others way and stay inside their own territory, the amount of aggressive behaviour will decrease. Keep in mind that some Flower horns like to destroy plants. 

As mentioned above your Flower horn will appreciate neutral or slightly basic water conditions. It is however a though fish and will survive in a wide range of different water conditions as long as you avoid the extremes. A Flower horn will produce a lot of organic waste since it eats a lot. You must therefore perform frequent water changes to keep the water chemistry at suitable levels and prevent the organic compounds from reaching toxic levels that will harm the Flower horn. A 20 percent water change twice a week is the best solution, but once a week is usually okay if you change 25 percent.

It is not hard to introduce a Flower horn to new food. The Flower horn is an energetic and active fish and its metabolism requires plenty of food which makes this fish surprisingly hard to over feed. Feeding your Flower horn two or three times a day is a good rule of thumb. High quality pellets can be a good base and should be supplemented with more meaty foods such as shrimps and worms. With a varied diet it will be easier for your Flower horn to receive all necessary nutrients in order to stay healthy and good looking.

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Everyday Objects under Electron Microscope.. Part II

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1. A Termite

2. The Head Of A Mosquito

3. The Head Of A Bedbug

4. A Dust Mite

5. A Chicken Embryo

6. A Water Mite

7. A Marine Worm

8. Your Tooth

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Everyday Objects under Electron Microscope.. Amazing..

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1. Hydrothermal Worm

2. Eyelash Hairs

3. Human Head Lice

4. Cleptoparasitic Bee

5. A Maggot

6. The Surface Of A Strawberry

7. A Wasp's Head

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