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As if there weren't enough real jellyfish around to trigger our thalassophobia, researchers at Virginia Tech have created Cryo -- an eight-armed autonomous robot that mimics jelly movement with the help of a flexible silicone hat. The man-sized jellybot altogether dwarfs previous efforts, hence the upgrade from small tank to swimming pool for mock field tests. And unlike the passively propelled bots we've seen recently, Cryo runs on batteries, with the researchers hoping to better replicate the energy-efficient nature of jelly movement to eventually increase Cryo's charge cycle to months instead of hours. That's also the reason these robotic jellyfish are getting bigger -- because the larger they are, the further they can go. Potential uses include ocean monitoring and perhaps clearing oil spills, but the US Navy, which is funding the work, sees an opportunity to recruit jellies for underwater surveillance -- a job the researchers say is suited to their natural-looking disguise. But, before the tables are turned, you can spy on Cryo for yourself in the video below.
Via: Wired
Source: Virginia Tech (Vimeo)
Most modern cities have bad air, it just comes with the fact that when people live very close together, and they have a lot of cars and industrial complexes, they pollute the environment. Heavy traffic doesn’t help at all, and that’s why this unusual new kind of structure has been conceived to help clean things up.
The PH Conditioner Skyscraper is a concept for a large-scale floating pollution-combating platform that aims to manage the effects of acid deposition due to pollutants, and turn them into reclaimed water as well as chemical fertilizer.
While this might look and sound like science-fiction, designers Hao Tian, Huang Haiyang and Shi Jianwei developed this in the hopes of deploying them in Chongqing, China. The structures look like robotic jellyfish, and the project aims to set them at between 650 to 1,000 feet in height, where most of the acidic pollutants gather. The top of these structures would be filled with hydrogen to provide buoyancy. Porous membranes absorb the pollutants, which are collected and put into a purifier.
It will be interesting to see the impact on large cities if and when this is deployed in China. Personally, I welcome our robotic jellyfish overlords, especially when they come bearing clean air.
[via designboom]
You say you want a revolution? Too bad, because this Galaxy smartphone update is just that... an update. Samsung's newly unveiled Galaxy S 4 is an incremental step up, an evolution less "inspired by nature" and more by last year's GS III. Don't believe us? Just take a look at the two handsets side by side to see the overtly obvious heritage. Samsung's staying the course with the overall design language, though it's expanded the screen size to five inches -- now powered by a Full HD Super AMOLED display with 441 ppi (and yes, it's still PenTile).
On the inside, it has a processor setup that we're told will be either an Exynos 5 or Snapdragon depending on the region, along with 2GB of RAM, 16, 32 or 64GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2,600mAh battery. Starting to see the bigger picture here? Samsung had a good thing on its hands with the GS III and it's not willing to compromise much of the tried-and-true with the GS 4. It will launch globally in Q2, with a stateside debut on T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular and Cricket. Until then, join us past the break for our detailed first impressions.
Check out our event hub for all the action from Samsung's Galaxy S 4 event.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung, Google
If you think the picture above looks like droplets of blood being snared in a sticky tentacle, then you have a scarily active -- but in this case accurate -- imagination. It's actually a microfluidic chip that's been coated with long strands of DNA, which dangle down into the bloodstream and bind to any cancerous proteins floating past -- directly imitating the way a jellyfish scoops up grub in the ocean. If required, the chip can release these cells unharmed for later inspection. According to the chip's designers at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, the catch-and-release mechanism can be put to both diagnostic and therapeutic use in the fight against Big C, and can also be used to isolate good things, like fetal cells. The next step will be to test the device on humans -- at which point we may owe an even greater debt of gratitude to our gelatinous friends.
[Image credit: Rohit Karnik and Suman Bose]
Continue reading Jellyfish-mimicking device could snatch cancer cells right out of the bloodstream
Jellyfish-mimicking device could snatch cancer cells right out of the bloodstream originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 07:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Discovery News | Email this | Comments I remember gazing at the jellyfish with utter amazement in Hong Kong’s Ocean Park aquarium. Little did I know that their sting can be so painful and apparently some species’ sting can actually prove fatal for humans! I love the ocean and shudder to think how would it feel to get stung. The Ocean Guard is a series of buoys that use ultra-low frequency sound waves to prevent jellyfish from entering certain areas. It is a safer way to keep them at bay, without harming them. Peaceful co-existence I suppose.
Ocean Guard is an IDEA Award winning entry.
Designers: Dong-Woo Kang, Jung-Hoon Yang, Kyung-Chan Han, Kyung-Rok Kang, Kyung-Hong Kim, Minji Jeon and Bao Haimo
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There's a whole sea of jellyfish out there ready to sting indiscriminately. So, why do we keep trying to make them? Scientists from Harvard and Caltech have a pretty good reason for creating fake jellies -- they hope to mend broken hearts by adapting their 'pumping' style of movement. Much like our own vital organ, the creatures are a mass of muscle adept at shifting fluid, meaning the research has several medical applications, such as bioengineered pacemakers for busted tickers. In creating the Medusoids, the team used a silicon scaffold coated in functional rat cardiac tissue, copying the muscle layout of a real jellyfish as best they could. When immersed in salt water and treated to bursts of current, the cells contract and cause the silicon sheet to move in a way eerily similar to the real thing. Next step for the team? An autonomous version that can move and potentially feed without their influence, of course. And, after seeing the little swimmers in action, we've certainly got palpitations. See what we mean after the break.
Continue reading Fake jellyfish made from rat cells have a place in our hearts (video)
Filed under: Science
Fake jellyfish made from rat cells have a place in our hearts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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