Bad Dog Needs Rotten Home

THE NEW HOME FOR THE BEST STUFF ON THE WEB.

MODERN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES

Added on: 1st Jul 2016

 

SELF-DRIVING BUS IS LEGAL IN GREECE

16 w

Four tiny, driverless buses are already on trial in the Greek city of

Trikala, the first of five European cities to introduce the

automated transportation. The vehicles are part of CityMobil2,

an EU-funded research project that is staging tests of

automated road transport systems with self-driving buses

across Europe. Each bus can carry 10 to 12 passengers at

speeds of up to twenty kilometres an hour, around the same

speed as a milk float, but keep in mind that these buses

are electric, silent, and non-polluting.

 

 

3-D PRINTER CREATES FULL-SIZE HOUSES

IN ONE SESSION

3-D printer creates full-size houses in one session

The D-Shape printer, created by Enrico Dini, is capable of printing

a two-story building, complete with rooms, stairs, pipes, and

partitions. Using nothing but sand and an inorganic binding

compound, the resulting material has the same durability as

reinforced concrete with the look of marble. The building process

takes approximately a fourth of the time as traditional buildings,

as long as it sticks to rounded structures, and can be built

without specialist knowledge or skill sets.

 

 

DNA WAS PHOTOGRAPHED FOR THE FIRST TIME

14

Using an electron microscope, Enzo di Fabrizio and his team at the

Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa managed to capture the

famous Watson-Crick double helix in all its glory, by imaging

threads of DNA resting on a silicon bed of nails. This technique

now allows the researchers to see how proteins, RNA, and

other biomolecules interact with DNA.

 

 

GENETICALLY MODIFIED SILK IS

STRONGER THAN STEEL

13 w

At the University of Wyoming, scientists modified a group of

silkworms to produce silk that is, pound for pound, stronger than

steel. Different groups hope to benefit from the super-strong silk,

including the medical community for stronger sutures, businesses

for use as a biodegradable alternative to plastic, and the military

for lightweight armour.

 

 

DARPA ROBOT CAN TRAVERSE AN

OBSTACLE COURSE

12 w

DARPAtv, or Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency,

published a robot-themed viral video back in 2012 for a robotic

presentation. The so-called Pet-Proto bot traversed through a

specially made obstacle course using autonomous decision-making.

Many viewers couldn’t resist and commented that once the creepy

robot will be able to execute such things without the help of

wires, humanity is doomed.

 

 

LASER GUNS ARE NOW A REALITY

11 w

You’ve seen those flashy laser guns in films like Star Wars and

Terminator and you probably thought they only belong to the

world of science fiction. Well, you’re wrong! The US Army has a

weaponized laser called the Avenger. It’s twenty times hotter than

a stovetop and can cut through artillery shells. It’s currently in

use to dismantle IEDs, which do more damage to US forces

than any other weapon.

 

 

EYE IMPLANTS GIVE SIGHT TO THE BLIND

10 w

Recently two blind men in the UK were fitted with eye implants

during an eight-hour surgery with promising results. After years

of blindness, both had regained “useful” vision within weeks,

picking up the outlines of objects and dreaming in colour.

Doctors expect continued improvement as their brains

rewire themselves for sight.

 

 

QUADRIPLEGIC SUCCESSFULLY USES

MIND-CONTROLLED ROBOTIC ARM

9 commons

In 2012, a quadriplegic woman managed to move a robotic arm

using only her thoughts, to a level of proficiency that allowed

her to eat a chocolate bar with said arm. The University of

Pittsburgh team behind the study didn’t stop there, though.

By improving the technology in the arm and working more

closely with test subject Jan Scheuermann, researchers have

since enabled her to replace the simple pincer grip of before

with four new hand shapes, fingers spread, pinch, scoop

and thumb up, that allow for more complicated object

manipulation.

 


View by Month