Art Work That Can Be Touched And Felt

Like most artworks in galleries worldwide, visitors haven’t been allowed to reach out and touch Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” at its home at Belvedere museum in Vienna – until now. On October 12 a special 3D version of the masterpiece was unveiled, aimed at enabling the visually impaired to enjoy the work by running their finger over it. The “interactive tactile relief”, made using a 3D printer, makes it possible to touch details of the 1907-8 original, the Belvedere said. Klimt (1862-1918) made “The Kiss”, depicting a couple embracing and enveloped in colorful robes, using oil paints and gold leaf during Vienna’s “belle époque” heyday. The new reproduction, which is much smaller than the original, also has sensors that when touched trigger audio commentary about the work. Maybe in the future (they) will have a 3-D printer of their own at home and will be able to download 3-D files from museum homepages. The relief is part of an EU project called AMBAVis (Access to Museums for Blind and Visually Impaired People) which aims to offer visually impaired people “barrier-free” access to art.

Now, You Can Be Citizen Of First Space Nation

 Scientists have launched the first new space nation, and anyone can become a citizen of it. The new space nation of Astgardia hopes to save the human race twice over. First, it will look to protect it from warfare in space; and second it will try and keep humanity safe from outside of atmosphere, protecting us from threats like space debris and asteroid collisions. Those behind Asgardia hope that creating the country is the first step of a new era in the space age. And they intend to start that by sending rockets into the sky. The country will send its first satellite into space in 2017. From there, Asgardia hopes to “open up access to space for commerce, science and peoples of all countries on earth”. The scientists behind the plan launched it in Paris this week, and named it after the city of skies that was ruled by Odin from Valhalla in Norse mythology. It is being led by Igor Ashurbeyli, who lead the Aerospace International Research Center in Vienna and is chairman of UNESCO’s science of space committee. But Asgardia was created in consultation with “globally renowned scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and legal experts”, according to those behind it. The country is hoping to become a fully recognized country said Ashburbeyli. And when it does so it will be able to promote values central to scientists. Asgardia is a fully fledged and independent nation, and a future member of the United Nations – with all the attributes this status entails. The essence of Asgardia is ‘Peace in Space’ and the prevention of Earth’s conflicts being transferred into space. Asgardia is also unique from a philosophical aspect – to serve entire humanity and each and everyone, regardless of his or her personal welfare and the prosperity of the country where they happened to be born. The country will allow for anyone to apply for citizenship. But the new project also hopes that it can completely change the idea of the nation state. It hopes to create a new framework for how space activities are regulated and owned changing who’s responsible for what goes on there and how it can be governed. But the project hopes to keep people on Earth more safe, too. One of the project’s first initiatives will be to create a protective shield that keeps human kind from “cosmic manmade and natural threats to life on earth such as space debris, coronal mass ejections and asteroid collisions. Scientists have warned repeatedly that those threats are being underestimated. Scientists have warned that there are thousands of pieces of debris that could crash down to Earth, and that coronal mass ejections coming from the Sun could potentially wipe out all communications on Earth.

A Device To Make Healthy Food Taste Like Treats

A device that tricks people’s tongues could be used to make healthy foods into delicious, exciting tasting treats. The Taste Buddy is placed in the mouth before eating something boring. And it then uses thermal and electric signals to make that taste far better, by stimulating the taste buds. For the moment, that stimulation can only come in the form of sweet or salty tastes. But in the future the people behind the tool hope that they can change diets entirely, transforming salads into the taste of juicy steak or making broccoli taste like chocolate. Researchers said what started out as a fun engineering experiment has now led to something much more exciting with the potential to have a positive social impact. The Taste Buddy could eventually help save lives, by allowing people to switch to healthier food choice. In its current early form the Taste Buddy consists of a 2cm wide tab that sits on the tongue and is wired to a bulky processor. To enhance sweetness, the device warms up very rapidly and stimulates specific taste receptors that react to heat a weak electric current is used to target other taste buds responsible for salty flavours. Members of the Public will have a chance to try out the Taste Buddy for themselves at the Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair. The event, aimed at young people interested in science, technology and engineering, takes place from March 15 to 18 at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. It could be engineered to fit everyday utensils such as cutlery, cups and cans. The team has begun working on a prototype spoon. The invention exploits the chemical reactions happening in the mouth when we eat. Sour and salty tastes are recognized when taste receptors on the tongue detect the reaction between saliva and the acidity of hydrogen or sodium.

Self-Driving Cars Will Make Bike Rider Safer

Self driving technology promises to pretty much transform the auto industry as we know it. It may also change the business of selling motorcycles – but in a very different way. When robots are at the wheel, far fewer bikers will die on the road, which won’t be lost on all those people who pine for a motorcycle but have always been too scared to buy one. It would mean a dramatic enhancement in safety for the motorbike. And it would guarantee a wider user group. The math is as straight forward as it is compelling. Consider a left turn on an American road: A vehicle turning across a lane of opposing traffic has little to do with the bike rider, but is one of the most dangerous things in motorcycling. When motorcyclists die on the road, this is how it happens one out of five times, according to crash statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This year, about 1,000 riders in the US will lose their lives to the left turns of others. Cars travelling in the same direction as the motorcycle often don’t notice the bike overtaking on the left. Cars making a turn while coming from the opposite direction either fails to see the oncoming bike, or misjudge its speed. Robot cars, in theory, won’t make either of these mistakes. At first, they will be able to “see” the motorcycle with sensors or radar and either alert the driver or actively prevent the vehicle from cutting off the bike. But that’s just the beginning. Eventually, motorcycles will “talk” to all of the other vehicles on the road, constantly reminding them where they are, where they are heading, and at what speed. Once every aspiring biker realizes that the driver next to him isn’t an existential threat, sales will climb in some places.

Gene Therapy May Treat Alzheimer's

Injecting a specific gene directly into the brain may offer a potential new therapy for halting the progress of Alzheimer’s disease, especially when treated at an early stage, a new study has claimed. Scientists from Imperial College London in the UK used a type of modified virus to deliver a gene to brain cells in mice. Previous studies by the same team suggest this gene, called PGCI – alpha, may prevent the formation of a protein called amyloid beta peptide in cells in the lab. Amyloid beta peptide is the main component of amyloid plaques, the sticky clumps of protein found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. These plaques are thought to trigger the death of brain cells. Worldwide 47.5 million people are affected by dementia – of which Alzheimer’s is the most common form, researchers said. There is no cure, although current drugs can help treat the symptoms of the disease. Other researchers said this new findings may one day provide a method of preventing the disease, or halting it in the early stages. Although these findings are very early they suggest this gene therapy may have potential therapeutic use for patients.

After 2 Millennia, 3D Tech Brings Ancient House To Life

Researchers have used 3D technology to reconstruct a house in Pompeii, the ancient town city wiped out by the eruption of a volcano two millennia ago, to show what life may have been like for its people. By combining traditional archaeology with 3D technology, researchers at Lund University is Sweden have managed to complete the detailed reconstruction of a wealthy man’s bungalow. In 1980, the Pompeii city curator invited the international research community to help document the ruins before they suffered further damage. Thus began the Swedish Pompeii Project at the Swedish Institute in Rome in 2000. The town-city, destroyed in AD 79, was scanned during field work in 2011-2012. Among other things, the researchers have uncovered floor surfaces from AD 79, performed detailed studies of the building development through history, cleaned and documented three large wealthy estates, a tavern, a laundry, and several gardens. In one garden, they discovered that some of the taps of a fountain were on at the time of the eruption. In a shop, they found three intact windows (made of translucent crystalline gypsum) from ancient Rome.

A Patch To Help You Stay Safe In Sun

A high tech UV sensitive patch that changes color when it is time to reapply sunscreen may help protect people from sunburn and the risk of skin cancer. Currently, people usually rely on the two hour reapply recommendation to determine how long they can safely stay in the sun after sunscreen application. The researchers are looking at the usability of a newly developed wearable UV indicator that takes away the guesswork on when to reapply by changing color to warn wearers their sunscreen is no longer effective. As part this study researchers are looking for volunteers to test a patch before a larger trial to determine if it can reduce the incidence of sunburn. Participants will be asked to test the patch for 7 days and attend two focus group sessions at the start and end of the study.