*Berkeley Lab scientists help verify science behind geologic carbon sequestration*
A demonstration project on the southeastern tip of Australia has helped to verify that depleted natural gas reservoirs can be repurposed for geologic carbon sequestration, which is a climate change mitigation strategy that involves pumping CO2 deep underground for permanent storage.
The project, which includes scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), also demonstrated that depleted gas fields have enough CO2 storage capacity to make a significant contribution to reducing global emissions. (more…)
Researchers from North Carolina State University, Sandia National Laboratories, and the University of California, San Diego have developed new technology that uses microneedles to allow doctors to detect real-time chemical changes in the body – and to continuously do so for an extended period of time.
“We’ve loaded the hollow channels within microneedles with electrochemical sensors that can be used to detect specific molecules or pH levels,” says Dr. Roger Narayan, co-author of a paper describing the research, and a professor in the joint biomedical engineering department of NC State’s College of Engineering and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (more…)
A North Carolina State University invention has significant potential to improve the efficiency of solar cells and other technologies that derive energy from light.
Dr. Ahmed El-Shafei’s research group invented a new “sensitizer,” or dye, that harvests more ambient and solar light than any dyes currently on the market for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). (more…)
*New “iLab” will allow undergraduate students to design projects in a 3-D environment*
COLUMBIA, Mo. – One of the most difficult tasks architects and interior designers face when designing buildings and rooms is visualizing exactly what their projects will look like when they are finished. Now, the University of Missouri architectural studies department has developed the Immersive Visualization Lab (iLab) to help students visualize their designs more accurately. Bimal Balakrishnan, an assistant professor of architectural studies in MU College of Human Environmental Sciences, says the iLab will be one of few labs in the country to allow undergraduate students to get hands-on experience using immersive 3-D technology to complete and test their designs as part of their design studio curriculum.
“Most university immersion labs are reserved primarily for graduate students to use for research purposes,” Balakrishnan said. “While the MU iLab will be used for research, it will also serve as an excellent teaching and experiential tool for undergraduate students.” (more…)
*Rats free trapped companions, even when given choice of chocolate instead*
The first evidence of empathy-driven helping behavior in rodents has been observed in laboratory rats that repeatedly free companions from a restraint, according to a new study by University of Chicago neuroscientists.
The observation, published today in Science, places the origin of pro-social helping behavior earlier in the evolutionary tree than previously thought. Though empathetic behavior has been observed anecdotally in non-human primates and other wild species, the concept had not previously been observed in rodents in a laboratory setting. (more…)
*Microsoft BizSpark One startup aims to make animated movies as easy as typing.*
REDMOND, Wash. — Xtranormal’s tagline, “If you can type, you can make movies,” describes both the company’s mission and how to use its text-to-speech system to create animated movies. The Microsoft BizSpark One member is working to transform movie-making into an everyday activity, as simple and commonplace as composing a text message.
“We want to make animated movies ubiquitous,” says Graham Sharp, COO of Xtranormal. “I’d like to see people using the Xtranormal platform like they use Microsoft Word: just opening a document and starting to type.” (more…)
*Three members of Bing’s social search team chat with Microsoft News Center about working in the exciting technological frontier of search – and what they do when they’re not hard at work.*
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Sean Suchter’s last name is a misspelling of the German word for searcher, which has to be one of the greater aptronyms in the technology industry.
Suchter heads up Bing’s social search team on Microsoft’s Silicon Valley Campus, where he relishes his job as a frontiersmen in the field of search, particularly social search. (more…)
*In the year since Microsoft launched controller-free Kinect for Xbox 360, the device has taken on a life of its own. First Kinect became the fastest-selling consumer device in history and then it started showing up outside the living room in healthcare, education, and technology.*
REDMOND, Wash. – Oct. 31, 2011 – When it comes to technology and moon landings, there are small steps – and then there are leaps.
It’s been a year since Kinect for Xbox 360 jumped onto the scene, bringing with it a new era of controller-free, interactive gaming and entertainment for the living room.
“It’s been an amazing 12 months – it’s been absolutely inspiring,” says Alex Kipman, general manager of incubation for Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business. “When you have a great vision you expect it to do great things, but it’s humbling and inspiring to actually see it happen and exceed your expectations in terms of the ability – over a very short period of time – that you have affected the entire world.” (more…)
