Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, April 03, 2009

Light-activated lock could revolutionize drug delivery

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/light-activated-lock-could-revolutionize-drug-delivery/

The Gators may not be in the Final Four this year, but the brainiacs on campus are still toiling away, regardless. Researchers at the institution (that'd be the University of Florida) have just stumbled onto a remarkable discovery that could eventually "starve cancer tumors and prevent side effects from a wide range of drugs." The magic find? A "lock-like molecule" that clasps or unclasps based on exposure to light. Sure, we've seen our fair share of newfangled drug delivery tools, but none that have been this noninvasive or simple to activate. In tests, gurus found that they could use visible or ultraviolet light to open or close a clasp, letting blood flow or creating a clot; in theory, this could one day be used to "prevent the formation of tiny blood vessels that feed tumors." Everything about this sounds just fantastic on the surface, but seriously, can you imagine how dead we'd be if the robots ever got ahold of this?

[Via Physorg, image courtesy of NanotechNow]

Filed under: Science

Light-activated lock could revolutionize drug delivery originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT builds battery from bacterial virus, humans to power machines by 2012

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/mit-builds-battery-from-bacterial-virus-humans-to-power-machine/

We've been tracking MIT professor Angela Belcher's attempt to build batteries and nano-electronics from viruses since 2006. Scientifically speaking, the so-called "virus" is actually a bacteriophage, a virus that preys only on bacteria while leaving humans of diminishing scientific knowledge alone to doubt that claim. Now, in a new report co-authored by Belcher, MIT research documents the construction of a lithium-ion battery (pictured after the break) with the help of a biological virus dubbed M13. M13 acts as a "biological scaffold" that allows carbon nanotubes and bits of iron phosphate to attach and form a network for conducting electricity. Specifically, MIT used the genetically engineered material to create the battery's negatively charged anode and positively charged cathode. Best of all, MIT's technique can be performed at, or below room temperature which is important from a manufacturing perspective -- a process that MIT claims will be "cheap and environmentally benign." Already MIT has constructed a virus-battery about the size of that found in a watch to turn on small lights in an MIT lab. Belcher claims that just a third of an ounce (about 10 grams) of the viral battery material could power an iPod for 40 hours. In time and with enough effort MIT expects to scale the technology to power electronic vehicles. Remember, when the time comes choose the red pill.

[Via Scientific American, Thanks James]

Continue reading MIT builds battery from bacterial virus, humans to power machines by 2012

Filed under: Misc. Gad! gets

MIT builds battery from bacterial virus, humans to power machines by 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung 12.1-inch NC20 with VIA Nano power ready for Stateside purchase

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/samsung-12-1-inch-nc20-with-via-nano-ready-for-purchase/

A friendly tipster has pointed us over to NewEgg where Samsung's much loved NC20 is ready for purchase and presumably delivery. Mind you, this isn't just another Atom-based netbook. This 12.1-incher is one of the first to ship Stateside with a Via Nano processor of any type, the 1.3GHz U2250 in this case. You're also looking at Via Chrome9 integrated graphics, 160GB 5400rpm disk, 1GB of DDR2 memory, and 6-cell Li-ion battery. $550 is the pre-tax price for clicking all the way through to purchase where we suspect you'll be treated to a ship date. One thing's for certain; it'll be later than March 6th.

[Thanks, angelwolf71885]

Filed under: Laptops

Samsung 12.1-inch NC20 with VIA Nano power ready for Stateside purchase originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 05:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, April 02, 2009

Microsoft to spend $100M with JWT to Market New Search Engine - http://ping.fm/22XqQ - telling people is probably not gonna work :-(

Reactable multitouch table / musical instrument goes into production

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/02/reactable-multitouch-table-musical-instrument-goes-into-produc/

This so-called Reactable built by some researchers at Pompeu Fabra University has been making the rounds of trade shows and other events for quite a while now, but it looks like the group is now really getting their act together by forming a company (Reactable Systems) and putting the device into production. The table itself is not too dissimilar from some of the other multitouch tables out there, but it takes a slightly different tact by focusing primarily on the device's potential as a musical instrument. To make things even simpler for the users, the table makes use of a series of "pucks" that each control a different aspect of the system, and are able to interact with each other when they're in close proximity. No word on a price or actual release date just yet, as you might expect, but you can check it out in action in the video after the break.

[Via MusicRadar]

Continue reading Reactable multitouch table / musical instrument goes into production

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets