This Technology Lets You Read Closed Books

Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have developed a new technology that may help archaeologists look into antique books without touching them. Researchers tested a prototype of the system on a stack of papers, each with one letter printed on it. The system was able to correctly identify the letters on the top nine sheets. The Metropolitan Museum in New York showed a lot of interest in this, because they want to, for example, look into some antique books that they don’t even want to touch. Researchers said that the system could be used to analyse any materials organized in thin layers, such as coatings on machine parts or pharmaceuticals. The researchers developed the algorithms that acquire images from individual sheets in stacks of paper, and interprets the often distorted or incomplete images as individual letters. The system uses terahertz radiation, the band of electro-magnetic radiation between microwaves and infrared light, which has several advantages over other types of waves that can penetrate surfaces, such as X-rays or sound waves.

Now, a 'Potalyser' to Detect Pot Intoxication in Drivers

Scientists have developed a new ‘potalyser’ – the first practical roadside test for marijuana intoxication that can detect the drug in a driver’s saliva in less than three minutes. No device currently on the market can quickly provide a precise measurement of a driver’s marijuana intoxications effectively as breathalyzer gauges alcohol intoxication. THC, the drug’s most potent psychoactive agent, is commonly screened for in laboratory blood or urine tests – not very helpful for an officer in the field. The device developed by scientists might function as a practical “potalyser” because it can quickly detect not just the presence of THC in a person’s saliva, but also measure its concentration. The created a mobile device that uses magnetic biosensors to detect tiny THC molecules in saliva. Officers could collect a spit sample with a cotton swab and read the results on a smartphone or laptop in as little as three minutes.

Researchers tackling the “potalyser” problem have zeroed in on saliva because testing it is less invasive and because THC in saliva may correlate with impairment better than THC in urine or blood. This device can detect concentrations of THC in the range of 0 to 50 nanogrammes per milliliter of saliva. While there is still no consensus on how much THC in a driver’s system is too much, previous studies have suggested a cutoff between 2 and 25 nanogrammes per milliliter will within the capability of the device. The researchers achieved such precision by harnessing the behavior of magnetism in nanoparticles, which measures just a few tens of billionths of a meter.

In the test, saliva is mixed with THC antibodies, which bind to any THC molecules in the sample. Then the sample is placed on disposable chip cartridge, which contains magneto-resistive (GMR) sensors pre-coated with THC, and inserted into the handheld reader. The device then uses Bluetooth to communicate results to the screen of a smartphone. The platform has potential usefulness beyond THC. The GMR biosensors in the device could detect any small molecule, meaning that the platform could also test for morphine, heroin, cocaine or other drugs. With 80 sensors built into it, the GMR biosensor chip could screen a single sample for multiple substances.

Now, You Can Update Your Car

Tired of your vehicle and its aging, limited features? Don’t trade it in just yet. Download new software instead. In some cases, that is already possible. And over the next few years, as the already extensive software on modern cars becomes even more feature-rich, manufacturers mean to step up the effort. They plan to offer many types of improvements through download that are beamed directly to the car via satellite. Wi-Fi or cellular signal, without the vehicle has to be brought into the shop. And your car will be serviceable like a giant smartphone, with new features added while your sleep.

A leading proponent of this is Tesla, which has been sending updated to its cars’ operating systems since 2012. The company is expected to announce an updated operating system next week. The chief executive has said that the updated will include improvements to the company’s Autopilot automated driving system. But Tesla is by no means alone in the download department. General Motors has been offering upgrades via the cellular-delivered OnStar entertainment and roadside assistance system since 2009. GM’s Acadia sport utility vehicle its entertainment system over the air.

Other manufacturers, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, send wireless uploads to update various in-vehicle apps, including maps and entertainment offerings like Spotify. Ford, which previously provided software updates to its Sync infotainment system using a USB memory stick, will soon send software uploads to deliver Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality to its 2016 models equipped with its Sync 3 infotainment system. CarPlay and Auto replicate certain iPhone and Android smartphone features on the vehicle’s display. Ford delivers the updated software via Wi-Fi, installing it when the vehicle is restarted.

Manufacturers are also looking at software downloads as a new source of revenue, turning on featured remotely if the owner pays a fee. Tesla has already incorporated fees for features into its business model. While late model Tesla vehicles are equipped with cameras and sensors to enable semiautonomous driving, this feature – Autopilot – requires a $3,000 to $3,500 software download to make it work. Remote software updated will become crucial as vehicles become more capable of driving themselves. Software upgrades will be almost mandatory once we move up to higher forms of autonomous driving. The artificial intelligence underpinning self-driving will require constant upgrading to deal with novel situations.

UK Surgeons Perform First Robotic Eye Operation

                British surgeons have carried out the world’s first robotic operation inside the eye – potentially revolutionizing the way vision conditions are treated. Patient said his eyesight was retuning following the procedure, having previously experienced distorted vision similar to “looking in a hall of mirrors at a fairground”. The procedure was carried out by surgeons at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital. The robotic eye surgery trial involves 12 patients undergoing operations with increasing complexity. On completing the operation, surgeon said: “We have just witnessed a vision of eye surgery in the future. Current technology with laser scanners and microscopes allows us to monitor retinal diseases at the microscopic level, but the things we see are beyond the physiological limit of what the human hand can operate on. With a robotic system, we open up a whole new chapter of eye operations that currently cannot be performed.” It was the first time a device had been available that achieved the three dimensional precision required to operate inside the human eye.

There Will Be No Wild Lands Left By 2100

                A tenth of the world’s world land – an area equivalent to half of the Amazon basin – has been lost in just 20 years in an “alarming” trend that requires urgent action on an international scale, experts have warned. At the current rate of decline there will be no significant areas of wilderness – area mostly free of human disturbance – left on the planet in less than 100 years. Mining, illegal logging, deliberately set fires to clear forest for agriculture, and oil and gas exploration were all contributing to the devastation of essentially natural environments, which are home to many endangered species. All wilderness areas, regardless of their size threshold, warrant immediate scrutiny for conservation action. The continued loss of wilderness areas is a globally significant problem with largely irreversible outcomes for both humans and nature: if these trends continue, there could be no globally significant wilderness areas left in less than a century.

Giraffes Are Four Species, Not One

                Genetic research on the world’s tallest land animal has found that there are four distinct species of giraffe, nor just one as long believed, with two of them at alarmingly low population levels. Scientists on 8 September unveiled a comprehensive genetic analysis of giraffes using DNA from 190 of the towering herbivores from across their range in Africa. The genetic data showed that four separate species of giraffes that do not interbreed in the wild inhabit various parts of the continent. Beyond genetics, the researchers identified differences among the four species including body shape, coloration and coat patterns. Genetic differences among the four species were comparable to those between polar bears and brown bears.

                Until now, scientists had recognized a single species, with the scientific name Giraffa camelopardalis. The study identified the four separate species as: the southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), with a population of 52,000; the Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi), with 32,500; the reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata), with 8,700; and the northern giraffe(Giraffa camelopardalis), with 4,750. The conservation implications are immense and our findings will hopefully help put giraffe conservation on the map. The giraffe currently is not listed as endangered, although its population has declined dramatically over the past three decades from more than 150,000 to fewer 100,000.

Now, Pollution Linked to Diabetes Too

                Long term exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes – especially for people with impaired glucose metabolism. Air pollution exposure at the place of residence increases the risk of developing insulin resistance as a prediabetic state of type 2 diabetes. Whether the disease becomes manifest and when this occurs is not only due to lifestyle or genetic factors, but also due to traffic related air pollution. For the current study, researchers from the German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD) analyzed the data of nearly 3,000 participants of the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA) study who live in the city of Augsburg and two adjacent rural counties.

                All individuals were interviewed and physically examined. The researchers took fasting blood samples, in which they determined various markers for insulin resistance and inflammation. In addition, leptin was examined as adipokine which has been suggested to be associated with insulin resistance. Non-diabetic individuals underwent an oral glucose tolerance test to detect whether their glucose metabolism was impaired. The researchers compared these data with the concentrations of air pollutants at the place of residence of the participants, which they estimated using predictive models based on repeated measurements at 20 sited (for particle measurements) and at 40 sited (for nitrogen dioxide measurements) in the city and in the rural countries.

                The results revealed that people who already have an impaired glucose metabolism, so-called prediabetic individuals, are particularly vulnerable to the effect of air pollution. In these individuals, the association between increases in their blood marker levels and increases in air pollutants concentrations is particularly significant. Thus, over the long term – especially for people with impaired glucose metabolism – air pollution is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.