A July 19, 2019 news item on phys.org describes research that may result in a substantive change for information technology, A team of researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology has gained unprecedented insight into the inner workings of an atomic switch. By investigating the composition of the tiny metal ‘bridge’ that forms inside the switch, their findings may spur the design of atomic switches with improved performance. A July 22, 2019 Tokyo Institute of Technology…

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I have briefly speculated about the importance of touch elsewhere (see my July 19, 2019 posting regarding BlocKit and blockchain; scroll down about 50% of the way) but this upcoming news bit and the one following it put a different spin on the importance of touch. Exceptional sense of touch Robots need a sense of touch to perform their tasks and a July 18, 2019 National University of Singapore press release (also on EurekAlert) announces…

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Having been brought up in a somewhat dogmatic religion, I was a bit resistant when I saw ‘religion’ mentioned in the news release but it seems I am being dogmatic. Here’s a definition from the Religion Wikipedia entry (Note: Links have been removed), Religion is a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements. However, there is no…

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Frog and phone – Credit: Marta Yebra Alvarez There is a ‘frogphone’ but you won’t be talking or communicating directly with frogs, instead you will get data about them, according to a December 6, 2019 British Ecological Society press release (also on EurekAlert), Researchers have developed the ‘FrogPhone’, a novel device which allows scientists to call up a frog survey site and monitor them in the wild. The FrogPhone is the world’s first solar-powered remote…

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She does sit-ups! I love those opening scenes (Hint: It was a dark and stormy night …). Now for the science, from a July 17, 2019 news item on Nanowerk, Scary movies about dolls that can move, like Anabelle and Chucky, are popular at theaters this summer. Meanwhile, a much less menacing animated doll has chemists talking. Researchers have given a foil “paper doll” the ability to move and do sit-ups with a new material…

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There are three (or more?) possible applications including neuromorphic computing for this new optoelectronic technology which is based on black phophorus. A July 16, 2019 news item on Nanowerk announces the research, Researchers from RMIT University [Australia] drew inspiration from an emerging tool in biotechnology – optogenetics – to develop a device that replicates the way the brain stores and loses information. Optogenetics allows scientists to delve into the body’s electrical system with incredible precision,…

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Courtesy: University of Manchester [1920_stock-photo-red-wine-pouring-58843885-927462.jpg] A July 12, 2019 news item on Nanowerk may change how you view that glass of red wine, A team of scientists are seeking to kick-start a wearable technology revolution by creating flexible fibres and adding acids from red wine. Extracting tannic acid from red wine, coffee or black tea, led a team of scientists from The University of Manchester to develop much more durable and flexible wearable devices. The…

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There’s a very good November 11, 2019 article by Natalie Angier for the New York Times on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the colour black, On a laboratory bench at the National Institute of Standards and Technology was a square tray with two black disks inside, each about the width of the top of a Dixie cup. Both disks were undeniably black, yet they didn’t look quite the same.Solomon Woods, 49, a trim, dark-haired, soft-spoken physicist,…

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There are some interesting events coming up in that constellation of science museums clustered under the Ingenium brand name in Ottawa. I’m highlighting two of the events here in date order. Canada Agriculture and Food Museum on December 5, 2019 That is an actual gingerbread house made by Catherine Beddall, the featured artist at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum’s December 5, 2019 event. Here’s more from a November 27, 2019 Ingenium newsletter (received via…

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I’m always happy to see discussions about the social implications of new and emerging technologies. In this case, the discussion was held at the Fast Company (magazine) European Innovation Festival. KC Ifeanyi wrote a July 10, 2019 article for Fast Company highlighting a session between two scientists focusing on what I’ve termed ‘machine/flesh’ or is, sometimes, called a cyborg but not with these two scientists (Note: A link has been removed), At the Fast Company…

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