Transparent Wood Windows to Keep Houses Cooler

                Scientists have developed new window made of transparent wood that could provide more even and consistent natural lighting and keep houses cooler than glass. Researchers showed that their transparent wood provides better thermal insulation and lets in nearly as much light as glass, while eliminating glare and providing uniform and consistent indoor lighting. The transparent wood lets through just a little bit less light than glass, but a lot less heat. It is very transparent, but still allows for a little bit of privacy because it is not completely see through. The channels in the wood transmit light with wavelengths of visible light, but that it blocks the wavelengths that carry mostly heat.

New 3D-Imaging Sensor Lets You See Inside Walls

                A company in Israel has developed a new 3D-imaging sensor that can let you ‘see’ inside walls using your smartphone. The device, called Walabot, can look through walls to detect structural foundations, plastic and metal pipes, electrical wires and studs. Walabot instantly turns a smartphone into a powerful 3D-imaging system at your fingertips. This advanced technology lets people see all kinds of things hidden in the world around them, adding yet another dimension to the way people use smart devices today. The device looks into cement, drywall and tells you it’s depth, and even detect movement behind walls.

                Apart from various sample apps, Walabot also gives makers and inventors around the world the opportunity to develop content that takes advantage of the 3D imaging sensor technology. Walabot technology is simple and intuitive, so people with any level of experience can use it. Walabot makes highly sophisticated imaging technology approachable, affordable and usable for everyone. It can help the blind avoid obstacles, sense – and alert you – if your mother or father has fallen in the shower and much more.

Now, Heart Attack Diagnosis in a Minute

                Researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have developed an electrical immunosensor for detection of heart attacks, which provides results in just one minute. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women and, therefore, a fast and reliable diagnosis is urgently needed. The system works by measuring the level of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a protein that is excreted by the heart muscle into the blood following a heart attack.  This new immunosensor is constructed in a different way than any other sensors. Owing to the new design, this device is able to rapidly diagnose the level of heart attacks at the point of care. Using just a single droplet of blood, this immunosensor detects the target protein present in the serum following a heart attack and provides the result in one minute.

                In the study, dielectophoretic (DEP) forces were applied to attract target protein. The incubation time required for detection was decreased through DEP-mediated biomarker concentration, where the target protein was attracted onto the sensing areas via electrical forces. This reduced the incubation time from 60 minutes to one minute. The level of cTnI within a single droplet of blood serum is not great. However, they were able to attract the target protein onto the sensing areas via electrical forces, thereby greatly improving detection time and detection limit. According to researchers, this immunosensor holds considerable potential for use as a platform for sensing distinct types of proteins, along with the feasibility of miniaturization and integration for biomedical diagnosis.

Has The 5th Force of Nature Been Found?

                The possible discovery of a previously unknown subatomic particle may indicate that a fifth fundamental force of nature exists, a revolutionary finding that could change our understanding of dark matter and the universe. We’ve known of four fundamental forces: gravitation, electromagnetism and strong and weak nuclear forces.  The researchers came upon a 2015 study by physicists Hungarian Academy of Sciences who were searching for “dark photons”, particles that would signify unseen dark matter, which physicists say makes up 85% of universe’s mass. They were not able to claim that it was a new force. Instead of being a dark photon, the particle may be a “protophobic X boson”. While normal electric force acts on electrons and protons, this boson interacts only with electrons and neutrons – and at an extremely limited range.

New Software Can Analyse & Mimic Your Handwriting

                Scientists have developed a software that can analyse the handwriting of any individual and accurately replicate it, and advance that may spark the comeback of the handwriting word in a world dominated by the QWERTY keyboard. Researchers created ‘My Text in Your Handwriting’, a programme which examines a sample of a person’s handwriting and generates new text saying whatever the user wishes, as if the author had handwritten it themselves. Stroke victims, for example, may be able to formulate letters without the concern of illegibility, or someone sending flowers as a gift could include a handwritten note without even going into the florist. It could also be used in comic book where a piece of handwritten text can be translated into different languages without losing the author’s original style. The machine learning algorithm is built around glyphs. The software learns what is consistent across an individual’s style and reproduces this. To generate an individual’s handwriting, the programme analyses and replicates an author’s specific characters choices, pen-line texture and color, the joining-up between letters, and vertical and horizontal spacing.

'Passphrases' Are The New Passwords

                Move over passwords!  Long passphrases are emerging as a better alternative for digital security than complex codes made of letters, numbers and special keystrokes. No longer must passwords be changed so often, or include an incomprehensible string of special characters. The new direction champions less complexity in favour of length. To a computer, poetry or simple sentences can be just as hard crack. People are less likely to forget them.

This Blood Test Detects Alzheimer's in Just 3 Hours

                A low-cost biochip based blood test that can identify people at a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease in just three hours has been developed. A study showed that the test, which allows multiple tests to be run on one blood sample, was accurate as existing molecular tests that analyse DNA. This is the first time that researchers have used this technology to test for an increased risk of Alzheimer’s. This can empower patients to understand risks, consider medication. This test detects the presence of protein in the blood produced by a specific variation of apolipoprotein gene (ApoE4), which is associated with increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The apolipoprotein gene is inherited from each parent and when a patient inherits the ApoE4 variant from one parent they have a three times greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s, whereas a patient who inherits ApoE4 from both parents is 8-to-12 times more likely to develop the disease.