Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, July 23, 2010

Looking Inside Fruits and Vegetables With MRI

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-07/looking-inside-fruits-and-vegetables-mri

If you are what you eat, then it makes sense to know what your food actually is. Taking this notion to a perhaps extravagant but nonetheless entertaining degree, someone out there decided to run a bunch of common fruits and vegetables through an MRI machine. The resulting videos and images let you see the Earth's bounty in a whole new way (literally).

If that's not cool enough, someone else who saw the MRI foods on Reddit decided to stitch all the corn images together with the modeling software Maya, creating a scrumptious 3-D model just like Grandma used to make. Dig in.

[Above, the MRI cross section of a head of broccoli. Below, 3-D modeling software puts the broccoli together again]

Check out the video MRI fly-throughs of several different fruits and veggies here.

[Inside Insides via Kottke]

Spitzer Telescope Finds First-Ever Buckyballs in Space

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-07/spitzer-telescope-finds-first-ever-buckyballs-space

The space discoveries are piling up this week. Next up: Astronomers working with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered buckyballs in space for the very first time, putting an end to a decades-long search for the largest molecules now known to exist in space.

Buckyballs are so named because they resemble the geodesic domes associated with architect Buckminster Fuller (the little magnetic balls that some people keep around as a desk ornament are also a tribute to this structure). The 60-carbon-atom molecules were first created in the lab a quarter century ago and have been long since thought to exist in space, but for years they eluded researchers.

The carbon atoms in buckyballs are arranged in a three-dimensional spherical structure that gives them a soccer ball-like appearance, with the atomic bonds creating an alternating pattern of hexagons and pentagons. The structure is more than just elegant; it's unique strength and properties have made it a sought after molecule for a range of applications including armor and superconductors.

Perhaps as impressive as the buckyballs themselves is the fact that Spitzer found them at all. They were detected in a planetary nebula called Tc 1, where an aging star had likely shed a layer of carbon rich material into a cloud. Light passing through the cloud gave off the unique spectral signatures of the buckyballs, which only made their presence known because they were at the right temperature to be seen. It's impressive enough that Spitzer can peer out into the universe and analyze its contents down to the molecule. Looking at the right place at the right time, that's just cosmic good fortune.

[NASA]

$35 Dollar Tablet Will Cost $20, Eventually $10 [Computers]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5594441/35-dollar-tablet-will-cost-20-eventually-10

Dollar Tablet Will Cost , Eventually The Indian government has revealed its super-super-low-priced tablet computer, which it says it'll start selling to students this year—for $35. It's a bit bulky, but for $35 you can't really whine about the bezel size.

Indian authorities expect to be able to make and sell the chunky computer for $35 at first, before economies of scale bring that down to $20—and eventually $10. But it won't be a stripped-down, feature-light machine—the impressive hardware spec includes support for video conferencing, PDF and multimedia compatibility, internet access (with Flash!) and much more.

The full press release from the Indian government's HR department can be read here. [TNW]

Apple starts refunding Bumper purchases automagically

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/apple-starts-refunding-bumper-purchases-automatically/

Automatic refunds, or so the email says. We've been on the receiving end of a deluge of tips this morning pointing out that Apple has begun funneling cash back into its users' pockets -- a most unusual event, to be sure -- to live up to its retroactive promise of free Bumpers for all (who buy their iPhone 4 before September 30). If the particular wording is to be trusted, that should mean that even those who haven't yet bothered to put in a claim, but did purchase a Bumper, will find themselves enriched in due course. Apple estimates this bandaid solution to its antenna problems will cost $175 million in real cash money, but we suspect the biggest price to pay will be in the form of pride and reputation.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple starts refunding Bumper purchases automagically originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iMac refresh is imminent, according to reseller sources

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/imac-refresh-is-imminent-according-to-reseller-sources/

The latest word from behind Apple-authorized cashiers is that Cupertino has stopped shipping out fresh stock of its entry-level 21-inch iMac. The Core 2 Duo-equipped machines were already looking long in the tooth in this Core i-something era, and so predictably the latest speculation centers around the idea of Apple taking its full iMac range into Core i3, i5 and i7 territory. Nobody really knows any of the specs for the moment, but resellers are apparently being advised to sell through what stock they have and to "keep inventories lean" for the next few weeks. Considering Apple's last all-in-one overhaul coincided with the introduction of the Magic Mouse, we're starting to suspect the company might have another iMac plus touch input device combo coming -- potentially in the very near future.

iMac refresh is imminent, according to reseller sources originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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