Sunday, 26 August 2012
Thursday, 23 August 2012
New record for DNA digital storage
A 5.27-megabit e-book containing 53,426
words, 11 jpeg images and one Javascript program has been encoded in DNA and
then read using next-generation DNA sequencing.
The modern world is a society of digital
information hoarders that will one day run out of space for its countable
volumes of photos, videos, blogs and emails. Genetic storage offers a
theoretical solution due to its information density and stability. In
comparison to CDs and DVDs, DNA can store around 100 billion times more
information, which in addition to its durability makes it an incredibly
feasible data store.
One of the researchers involved in this,
Sriram Kosuri, stated that costs of DNA processing is declining, giving way for
further development and availability of this technology. Get ready to replace your hard-drives!
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Dinosaur in Melbourne
Last week in Melbourne, shoppers were caught off their guard by the
presence of a roaming Utahraptor dinosaur.
Further information can be found on the official website: http://www.dinosaurlive.com/
Despite being led by a woman with a lead, the dinosaur certainly
seemed to be taking her for a walk, sniffing at shop entrances, shoppers and
cameramen alike. The dinosaur’s trip to the high street was in promotion of the
live show, Walking with Dinosaurs: The
Arena Spectacular, which starts its new European tour in September this
year.
The show is a live adaptation of the six-part BBC TV series, which
started its first global tour in January 2007. Living up to the documentary’s
BAFTA winning reputation, the show uses life-size animatronic puppets, computer
imagery and the expertise of mechanics and artists to bring the dinosaurs to
life.
After touring in the UK for two months in 2009, the show returns
this December, touring arenas around the country till May 2013. I certainly do
not want to miss the opportunity to see the greatest show on Earth! So how
about you? Will you be seeing it?
Further information can be found on the official website: http://www.dinosaurlive.com/
Monday, 20 August 2012
Salt Wins Art Competition
The Swansea Univeristy Research Forum holds an annual competition
celebrating art and photography in research.
The competition invites anyone
from the university to submit a piece of art that was self-produced or a source
of inspiration. A professional judging panel had to choose a winner from over
100 entries eventually selecting a grain of salt to be the winner.
Hollie
Rosier submitted an electron microscope image of a salt grain from a laboratory
that studies salt formation on jet turbines.
Some of the other entries included, “Search for a Mutation”, “Blue
Flow”, “Drowned Skull” and “Magnet Mania”. Check them out on this link:
Fire in the hole!
Geology researchers from the University at Buffalo have recently conducted
an experiment mimicking volcanic eruptions.
Measuring 12 feet by 12 feet, a test-bed was filled with gravel,
limestone and asphalt and post-holes surrounding the bed were filled with
explosives. Greg Valentine, the geology professor working on this project
stated that the eruption was “exactly what we wanted” which blew the test-beds
contents 50 feet into the air. PhD volcanologist Jacopo Taddeucci, from Rome,
Italy, using high-speed cameras, recorded the experiment.
The project aims to provide an insight into what occurs during and
after an eruption. Obviously these experiments are not accurate to naturally
occurring eruptions, but researchers can control the strength of the blast
making the test-bed an accurate barometer.
Results from this experiment need to be analysed by Valentine with
hopes of a journal publication in the future.
A video of the experimental blast is
available from the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeN7R_H5N8w
Jon Richardson on OCD
This summer, Channel 4 aired a programme
surrounding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, hosted by the comedian Jon
Richardson, who insists he is a perfectionist rather than a sufferer of the
anxiety disorder.
“Obsessive Compulsive Hoarder” was also shown on Channel 4, telling
the story of Richard Wallace, a chronic hoarder from Surrey. The public was
first introduced to Richard’s story in late 2011 with the follow-up being aired
late July this year.
OCD is no laughing matter and having obsessive tendencies
is far from being a chronic sufferer. Public campaigns, charity work and
programmes such as those aired on Channel 4 raise awareness and shed light on
how sufferers deal with this debilitating disease.
OCD-UK organizes OCD Awareness Week every year with a
series of events hosted around the UK. This year OCD Awareness Week runs from 8th
October – 14th October, so if you want to get involved, do get in
touch with OCD-UK.
If you wish to talk to anyone about issues surrounding OCD,
if you’re sufferer or if you think you suffer from OCD contact a local GP or
talk to OCD-UK.
You can find the Channel 4 programmes listed on 4oD for any of
you that missed it first time round.
Thursday, 16 August 2012
The USA and Pi (the mathematical kind!)
...After 2:29pm on Tuesday, August 14th 2012, the U.S population reached Pi (π) times 100 million!
That's 314,159,265 people!
Folding into a parking space
Saw this article in the news today and was very excited by the
locality of the automobile in question - the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain; one
of my travelling destinations in 2011. Onto the story!
Electric vehicles (EV) have been around nearly a century and have in the past few years become commercially available (albeit at a price!). One such new electric vehicle is the new Hiriko Fold developed by MIT’s Changing Places group and development agency Denokinn.
This modern looking EV is eco-friendly and highly convenient for
city community due to its most defining feature…it can fold itself into a parking
space! As a two-seater vehicle, the EV is capable of travelling around 75 miles
between charges. Prototypes are on trial and the Hiriko Fold is set to go on
sale in 2013 for £10,000…so start saving!
Check out this video of the Hirikon Fold driving round Bilbao, Spain:
http://vimeo.com/45889231
New Scientist Photography Competition
It’s
that time again…the magazine New Scientist’s Eureka photography competition and
the entries are in!
The
New Scientist Eureka Prized for Science Photography goes to an Australian over
the age of 18 for “a single photograph taken in
the past two years that most effectively communicates an aspect of
science". First prize wins $5000, second prize $3000 and third
prize $2000 (damn not being Australian I hear you cry!).
Check out the final 10 entries here: http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/technology/sci-tech/2012-new-scientist-eureka-prize-for-science-photography-top-ten-20120814-245wx.html
The
winner of the 10 finalists will be announced on the 28th August, I’ll
be posting up the winner’s photograph then so keep an eye out!
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