Graphene has long-held notions of grandeur over its current silicon overlord, but a few practical issues have always kept its takeover bid grounded. Samsung, however, thinks it's cracked at least one of those -- graphene's inability to switch off current. Previous attempts to use graphene as a transistor have involved converting it to a semi-conductor, but this also reduces its electron mobility, negating much of the benefit. Samsung's Advanced Institute of Technology has created a graphene-silicon "Schottky barrier" that brings graphene this much-needed current-killing ability, without losing its electron-shuffling potential. The research also explored potential logic device applications based on the same technology. So, does this mean we'll finally get our flea-sized super computer implant? Maybe, not just yet, but the wheels have certainly been oiled.

Continue reading Samsung pushes graphene one step closer to silicon supremacy

Samsung pushes graphene one step closer to silicon supremacy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 04:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The FCC has been making a big push towards freeing up the airwaves for medical uses, and it just took one of its biggest steps on that front by proposing to clear space for wireless body area networks. Agency officials want to let devices operate in the 2.36GHz to 2.4GHz space so that patients can stay at home or at least move freely, instead of being fenced in at the hospital or tethered to a bed by wires. Devices would still need the FDA's green light, but they could both let patients go home sooner as well as open the door wider for preventative care. Voting on the proposal takes place May 24, which leaves our tech-minded hearts beating faster -- and if the proposal takes effect, we'll know just how much faster.

FCC wants to set aside wireless spectrum for medical body area devices, our hearts are literally aflutter originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The last time we saw T-rays, they were busy scanning bodies for tumors and security threats. Six researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology are now aiming the terahertz-level frequencies at a less organic target: fast wireless. Running at 542GHz, a rate that makes 60GHz ultra wideband look pokey, the scientists are sending data through the ether at about 3Gbps. The speed isn't as fast as the 7Gbps peak of WiGig, and the bandwidth runs dry at just 33 feet away, but it comes out of a resonant tunneling diode measuring 0.04 square inches -- definitely small enough to fit into a smartphone. The speed could magnify using higher frequencies and power levels, too, with 100Gbps being the dream. Knowing that it can take years for academic papers to translate to real products, we're not holding our breath for T-ray routers anytime soon. Still, the technology could make wideband a realistic option for handhelds and put the mere 1.3Gbps of 802.11ac WiFi to shame.

[Thanks, Andrew. Image credit: Deborah Miller and Warren Scott, Connexions]

T-rays produce 3Gbps short-range wireless, make WiFi pout in the corner originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The last time we saw T-rays, they were busy scanning bodies for tumors and security threats. Six researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology are now aiming the terahertz-level frequencies at a less organic target: fast wireless. Running at 542GHz, a rate that makes 60GHz ultra wideband look pokey, the scientists are sending data through the ether at about 3Gbps. The speed isn't as fast as the 7Gbps peak of WiGig, and the bandwidth runs dry at just 33 feet away, but it comes out of a resonant tunneling diode measuring 0.04 square inches -- definitely small enough to fit into a smartphone. The speed could magnify using higher frequencies and power levels, too, with 100Gbps being the dream. Knowing that it can take years for academic papers to translate to real products, we're not holding our breath for T-ray routers anytime soon. Still, the technology could make wideband a realistic option for handhelds and put the mere 1.3Gbps of 802.11ac WiFi to shame.

[Thanks, Andrew. Image credit: Deborah Miller and Warren Scott, Connexions]

T-rays produce 3Gbps short-range wireless, make WiFi pout in the corner originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grond writes "ScienceDaily reports, 'Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre have demonstrated that the mouse lifespan can be extended by the application in adult life of a single treatment acting directly on the animal's genes. Mice treated at the age of one lived longer by 24% on average (PDF), and those treated at the age of two, by 13%. The therapy, furthermore, produced an appreciable improvement in the animals' health, delaying the onset of age-related diseases — like osteoporosis and insulin resistance — and achieving improved readings on aging indicators like neuromuscular coordination.' Notably, the therapy did not cause an increase in the incidence of cancer."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

JSBiff sends this quote from MITnews: "A new study from MIT scientists suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine when to evacuate people following a nuclear accident may be too conservative. The study (abstract), led by Bevin Engelward and Jacquelyn Yanch and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found that when mice were exposed to radiation doses about 400 times greater than background levels for five weeks, no DNA damage could be detected. Current U.S. regulations require that residents of any area that reaches radiation levels eight times higher than background should be evacuated. However, the financial and emotional cost of such relocation may not be worthwhile, the researchers say."

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scibri writes "Omid Kokabee, a laser physics graduate student from the University of Texas who has been imprisoned in Tehran for the past 15 months, was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Sunday for allegedly conspiring with foreign countries against Iran. Kokabee was arrested in February 2011 while on a trip home, and charged with 'communicating with a hostile government' (i.e. Israel) and 'illegal earnings.' He has consistently denied the charges, and refused to speak at his trial, where no evidence against him was presented. Several international science groups, including the American Physical Society, have spoken up in his defense, and an online petition has been set up in support."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Playback of 3D motion capture with a computer is nothing new, but how about with a solid levitating object? MIT's Media Lab has developed ZeroN, a large magnet and 3D actuator, which can fly an "interaction element" (aka ball bearing) and control its position in space. You can also bump it to and fro yourself, with everything scanned and recorded, and then have real-life, gravity-defying playback showing planetary motion or virtual cameras, for example. It might be impractical right now as a Minority Report-type object-based input device, but check the video after the break to see its awesome potential for 3D visualization.

Continue reading ZeroN slips surly bonds, re-runs your 3D gestures in mid-air

ZeroN slips surly bonds, re-runs your 3D gestures in mid-air originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 16:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We're starting to think the Russians have an inside track on high-resolution space photos. When Nokia's 41-megapixel photo of Earth's horizon was just a twinkle in the 808 PureView designers' eyes, the Russian Federal Space Agency had long since finished taking 121-megapixel photos of the whole planet that we're just now seeing in earnest. Unlike NASA photos, which are usually composites of multiple shots, the Elektro-L weather satellite's images display the entire planet in one ridiculously detailed take from 22,369 miles away. Why the trippy colors? Instead of just displaying Earth as-is -- real colors are so passé, dahling -- the satellite layers on near-infrared imagery that paints vegetation in wide swaths of rust-like orange.

You can get a peep of what a day-night cycle looks like for Elektro-L in the video below, and hop over to the sources to get an inkling of just how insanely detailed the images can be. You can also be slightly jealous of the satellite's network connection: at a minimum 2.6Mbps and maximum 16.4Mbps for bandwidth, odds are that it has faster broadband than you do.

Continue reading Visualized: 121-megapixel satellite photos show Earth in glorious, psychedelic detail (video)

Visualized: 121-megapixel satellite photos show Earth in glorious, psychedelic detail (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 04:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What seems more futuristic: flying cars or self-driving cars? They both sound a bit like science fiction, but they're both getting closer to becoming a reality. In the latest chapter of Google's efforts to develop a car that uses video cameras, radar sensors and lasers to navigate through traffic, the state of Nevada just granted Google the world's first license for a computer-controlled, driverless Toyota Prius. Meanwhile, this week we also checked in on the PAL-V (which stands for "Personal Air and Land Vehicle"), a two-seat hybrid car and gyroplane that runs on gas, biodiesel or bio-ethanol. In other transportation news, the Texas Central Railroad floated a plan to build a $10-billion bullet train that would run between Houston and Fort Worth, and Toyota officially unveiled its second-generation 2012 RAV4 EV, which features a Tesla powertrain.

We also saw green technology cropping up in unexpected places this week, like the $1-billion ghost town that will be built on virgin desert land in Lea County, New Mexico to test emerging green technologies. Construction on the ghost town is set to begin in late June. Milwaukee native Bryan Cera invented Glove One, a 3D-printed glove that doubles as a cell phone. And in Tokyo, participants heaved 100,000 LED lights into the Sumida River as part of the 2012 Tokyo Hotaru Festival. Although it certainly looked cool, that's a lot of LED bulbs to literally dump in the river, and it raises some questions about e-waste. GE found a more practical use for LEDs, unveiling a new LED light bulb to replace the 100-watt incandescent.

Continue reading Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-driving cars, solar parasols and the ultimate DIY Iron Man suit

Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-driving cars, solar parasols and the ultimate DIY Iron Man suit originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 May 2012 21:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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