Author Archives: Guest Post

Tongue Analysis Software Developed at MU Uses Ancient Chinese Medicine to Warn of Disease

COLUMBIA, Mo. — For 5,000 years, the Chinese have used a system of medicine based on the flow and balance of positive and negative energies in the body. In this system, the appearance of the tongue is one of the measures used to classify the overall physical status of the body, or zheng. Now, University of Missouri researchers have developed computer software that combines the ancient practices and modern medicine by providing an automated system for analyzing images of the tongue. (more…)

Read More

Scientists Discover Huge Phytoplankton Bloom in Ice Covered Waters

A team of researchers, including scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), discovered a massive bloom of phytoplankton beneath ice-covered Arctic waters. Until now, sea ice was thought to block sunlight and limit the growth of microscopic marine plants living under the ice.

The amount of phytoplankton growing in this under-ice bloom was four times greater than the amount found in neighboring ice-free waters. The bloom extended laterally more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) underneath the ice pack, where ocean and ice physics combined to create a phenomenon that scientists had never seen before. (more…)

Read More

Former UA Students Invent Robot, Start Own Company

Peter Seid and Phu Nguyen invented smartphone-controlled robots that can learn from their environment and interact with people. Their company, Romotive, is based in Las Vegas.

Ever dreamed of having a robot in your home that you can interact with, talk to and even send on errands? If you have, then your dream is coming true, because two former University of Arizona students have invented just such a robot. (more…)

Read More

A Career of Thriving on ‘Impossible Projects’ – Including Kinect for Xbox 360

Alex Kipman, leader behind Kinect, on making technology ‘disappear.’

REDMOND, Wash. – June 12, 2012 – In June 2010, Alex Kipman sat in Los Angeles’ Galen Center as Cirque de Soleil performers helped introduce the world to Kinect. Acrobats, musicians and 10-foot tall puppets filled the sports arena, where 3,000 people watched a boy onstage discover Microsoft’s new controller-free gaming system. (more…)

Read More

Practical Tool Can ‘Take Pulse’ of Blue-Green Algae Status in Lakes

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have designed a screening tool that provides a fast, easy and relatively inexpensive way to predict levels of a specific toxin in lakes that are prone to blue-green algal blooms.

Blue-green algae is not your average pond scum – rather than consisting of plant-like organisms, blue-green algae actually are cyanobacteria, and some species are linked to the production and release of the toxin microcystin into the water. Human exposure to the toxin through drinking or recreational water contact can threaten public health by causing liver damage, neurological problems and gastrointestinal illness in humans. (more…)

Read More