TFOT - The Future Of Things
The Future of Things - Your source for future science and technology
-
Blind Assistance with Haptic Reader
Non-Braille books are made accessible to the blind with the Haptic Reader, designed by researchers at Handong Global University and Keimyung University, both in South Korea. When placed on a page, the reader scans typed letters and converts them to their Braille equivalent on the device's upper surf …
-
The H1N1 Swine Flu: A Look Inside
The H1N1 swine flu virus has become a pandemic. James Williams takes a look at where the swine flu originated and what happens to the virus once it gets inside our bodies. Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not commo …
-
�Darkfield' Lasers Let Mice Track on Glass
Logitech has recently introduced a new technology that allows optical PC mice to operate on glass. This feature can solve the common problem offices encounter when users work on stylish desktops made of glass, crystal or other transparent materials.
-
The Box Jellyfish
Box jellies, also called sea wasps and marine stingers, live primarily in coastal waters off Northern Australia and throughout the Indo-Pacific. They are pale blue and transparent in color and get their name from the cube-like shape of their bell. Tentacles grow from each corner of the bell and can …
-
Big Bang Cosmology: Planck
Planck was selected as the third Medium-Sized Mission (M3) of ESA's Horizon 2000 Scientific Programme, and is today part of its Cosmic Vision Programme. It is designed to image the anisotropies of the Cosmic Background Radiation Field over the whole sky, with unprecedented sensitivity and angular re …
-
Stroke Risk Linked to Birth Control Pills
She was only 30 years old, but she was experiencing the classic symptoms of a stroke. Her speech suddenly became slurred, and her left hand became clumsy while eating. What triggered her stroke, at such a young age, may have been the birth control pills she was taking. Oral contraceptives nearly dou …
-
Whales Are Polite Conversationalists
What do a West African drummer and a sperm whale have in common? According to some reports, they can both spot rhythms in the chatter of an ocean crowded with the calls of marine mammals -- a feat impossible for the untrained human ear. Now a group of marine biologists at the Littoral Acoustic Demon …
-
Windows 7 Upgrade Makes Some PCs Unusable
Some PCs are stuck in an infinite PC reboot loop following Windows 7 upgrade attempt. As is standard M.O. with any new version of Windows, a clean install is best. But clean installs are time consuming as they'd require back ups and reformats and installs and reinstalls and configurations. For some, …
-
Microsoft to Open Outlook .PST Format
The Microsoft Office Interoperability team on Monday announced that it would make the Outlook .PST file format - which stores email, calendar entries, and contacts - accessible to third-party developers. The move means that other software, both on the client and on servers, will be able to access an …
-
Report: Intel Delaying Support for USB 3.0
Last week EE Times reported that Intel Corp. has decided to delay its support for USB 3.0 until 2011. According to a "top tier" PC manufacturer who chose to remain nameless, Intel's hesitation will put mainstream adoption of the new USB standard on hold for at least a year. Intel originally planned …
-
Net Set for 'Language Shake-Up'
The internet is on the brink of the "biggest change" to its working "since it was invented 40 years ago", the net regulator Icann has said. The body said it that it was finalising plans to introduce web addresses using non-Latin characters. The proposal - initially approved in 2008 - would allow dom …
-
Tiny Devices Use Light to Grab Cells
Tiny optical devices that can grab small particles out of a liquid, using the force of photons, could make it possible to image and identify disease cells on a chip without the need for microscopes. The new types of optical traps, developed by physicists at Harvard University, are designed to be int …
-
Powermat Wireless Charger Launches Soon
Powermat manufactures a wireless device which uses magnetic induction to charge various devices like mobile phones, game consoles and other portable gadgets. You will need one receiver for each device and Powermat provides with a number of models to suit the various gadgets that are on the market. T …
-
Study Paves Way For Liver Cell Library
Scientists have for the first time produced liver cells specific to different ethnic groups. The University research could revolutionise the development of drugs to treat diseases and pave the way for the creation of a library of liver cells. These cells could be used to assess the reaction of drugs …
-
Some Vista Users Face Endless Reboots
Some users trying to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 have seen their PCs crippled by an endless series of reboots, according to reports on Microsoft's support forum. A Microsoft engineer writing on the same forum said the company was investigating users' problems, but downplayed them as "iso …
-
Comets Didn't Wipe Out Sabertooths
A comet impact didn't set off a 1,300-year cold snap that wiped out most life in North America about 12,900 years ago, scientists say. Though no one disputes the frigid period, more and more researchers have been unable to confirm a 2007 finding that says a collision triggered the change, known as t …
-
Tilera Announces First 100-Core Processor
Tilera Corporation today announced its new TILE-Gx family - four new processors from Tilera including the world's first 100-core processor: the TILE-Gx100. The TILE-Gx100 offers the highest performance of any microprocessor yet announced by a factor of four. Moreover, the entire TILE-Gx family raise …
-
Allen Telescope Array Delivers First Results
Researchers at the Allen Telescope Array in northern California have released the first results from the observatory. The most important images captured show the movement of atomic hydrogen clouds in the spaces between nearby galaxies. Researchers hope to use these images to prove atomic hydrogen cl …
-
ICON A5 Amphibious Sport Aircraft
The Sport Flying revolution has just begun. In 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), working closely with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) created what has been called "the biggest change in aviation in 50 years." They created an entirely new category of aircraft (Light Sport A …
-
Atherosclerosis
This 3D medical animation illustrates the story of how the buildup of cholesterol plaque causes a heart attack (myocardial infarction) from a blocked coronary artery due to atherosclerosis, which is a chronic inflammation of the blood vessels. Beginning with damage to the endothelial arterial wall, …
TFOT - The Future Of Things
