Category: Science & Tech

New Chip Created That Functions Like The Brain

A schematic showing the layout of the new processor, named TrueNorth. Credit IBM
A schematic showing the layout of the new processor, named TrueNorth. Credit IBM

Inspired by the architecture of the brain, scientists have developed a new kind of computer chip that uses no more power than a hearing aid and may eventually excel at calculations that stump today’s supercomputers.

The chip, or processor, is named TrueNorth and was developed by researchers at IBM and detailed in an article published on Thursday in the journal Science. It tries to mimic the way brains recognize patterns, relying on densely interconnected webs of transistors similar to the brain’s neural networks.

Continue Reading “New Chip Created That Functions Like The Brain”

Speech Recovered From Vibrations of Potato-chip Bag Filmed Through Soundproof Glass

potato-chip-bag

Researchers at MIT, Microsoft, and Adobe have developed an algorithm that can reconstruct an audio signal by analyzing minute vibrations of objects depicted in video. In one set of experiments, they were able to recover intelligible speech from the vibrations of a potato-chip bag photographed from 15 feet away through soundproof glass.

Continue Reading “Speech Recovered From Vibrations of Potato-chip Bag Filmed Through Soundproof Glass”

Unexpected Stem Cell Factories Found Inside Teeth

Flexible. Nerve cells sometimes spontaneously transform into stem cells inside teeth, researchers have discovered. PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/CORBIS
Flexible. Nerve cells sometimes spontaneously transform into stem cells inside teeth, researchers have discovered. PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/CORBIS

Development is typically thought to be a one-way street. Stem cells produce cells that mature into specific types, such as the neurons and glia that compose nervous systems, but the reverse isn’t supposed to happen. Yet researchers have now discovered nervous system cells transforming back into stem cells in a very surprising place: inside teeth. This unexpected source of stem cells potentially offers scientists a new starting point from which to grow human tissues for therapeutic or research purposes without using embryos.

Continue Reading “Unexpected Stem Cell Factories Found Inside Teeth”

The Five Most Poisonous Substances: From Polonium to Mercury

Feared for a good reason. viperskin, CC BY-NC-SA
Feared for a good reason. viperskin, CC BY-NC-SA

With the announcement of an inquiry into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, talk of poisons is back in the news. There are many articles with lists of the most poisonous substances, which are often gathered based on their acute toxicity as measured by something called LD50. But acute toxicity is only one factor that needs to be considered, and relying solely on LD50 or similar measures is overly simplistic.

Continue Reading “The Five Most Poisonous Substances: From Polonium to Mercury”