Scientists build logic gates out of gut bacteria, then hopefully wash their hands
October 23, 2011 No Comment
Ever thought about upgrading your PC by breeding more cores ? Or planting a few GBs of extra storage out in the yard? Us neither, until we heard that scientists at Imperial College in London have succeeded in building “some of the basic components of digital devices” out of genetically modified E.Coli. We’ve seen these germs exploited in a similar way before, but Imperial’s researchers claim they’re the first to make bacterial logic gates that can be fitted together to form more complex gates and potentially whole biological processors. Aside from our strange upgrade fantasies, such processors could one day be implanted into living bodies — to weed out cancer cells, clean arteries and deliver medication exactly where it’s needed. So much for Activia. Scientists build logic gates out of gut bacteria, then hopefully wash their hands originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Scientists build logic gates out of gut bacteria, then hopefully wash their hands
October 23, 2011 No CommentEver thought about upgrading your PC by breeding more cores ? Or planting a few GBs of extra storage out in the yard? Us neither, until we heard that scientists at Imperial College in London have succeeded in building “some of the basic components of digital devices” out of genetically modified E.Coli. We’ve seen these germs exploited in a similar way before, but Imperial’s researchers claim they’re the first to make bacterial logic gates that can be fitted together to form more complex gates and potentially whole biological processors. Aside from our strange upgrade fantasies, such processors could one day be implanted into living bodies — to weed out cancer cells, clean arteries and deliver medication exactly where it’s needed. So much for Activia. Scientists build logic gates out of gut bacteria, then hopefully wash their hands originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Scientists build logic gates out of gut bacteria, then hopefully wash their hands
October 23, 2011 No Comment
Ever thought about upgrading your PC by breeding more cores ? Or planting a few GBs of extra storage out in the yard? Us neither, until we heard that scientists at Imperial College in London have succeeded in building “some of the basic components of digital devices” out of genetically modified E.Coli. We’ve seen these germs exploited in a similar way before, but Imperial’s researchers claim they’re the first to make bacterial logic gates that can be fitted together to form more complex gates and potentially whole biological processors. Aside from our strange upgrade fantasies, such processors could one day be implanted into living bodies — to weed out cancer cells, clean arteries and deliver medication exactly where it’s needed. So much for Activia. Scientists build logic gates out of gut bacteria, then hopefully wash their hands originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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MC Hammer already proved that you only need one hit record. But can you get by with just one search engine ? Not if you believe his pitch to the Web 2.0 Summit this week, which promoted a “deep search” technology called WIREDoo. The rapper-approved tool emphasizes relationships rather than keywords, which yields very different results to Google’s. Type in 90210, for instance, and instead of pages of links about the TV show , the pre-beta WIREDoo brings up stuff about the neighborhood — schools, homes, the crime rate and other supposedly useful information. You’ll find the full presentation after the break, but don’t expect any nostalgic dance moves — Hammer is serious about this, just like he was about those revolutionary tablets . Continue reading WIREDoo search engine gets running man stamp of approval (video) WIREDoo search engine gets running man stamp of approval (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Chromebooks now available to enterprise and education customers with a pay-once option
October 23, 2011 No Comment
Google made a big splash when it revealed plans to offer Chromebooks to enterprise and education customers under a subscription model . What’s not clear is how much of a splash it actually made in those markets. While the notion of paying a monthly fee for three years, instead of buying a machine up front sounds like a game changer, some people just like the comfort of the familiar. To that end Google is now offering those same customers the option to purchase a Chromebook (with a year of support included) in one lump sum — $449 for the WiFi model or $519 for the 3G to educational customers, while business are looking at $559 and $639 respectively. After that first year is through, customers have the option to sign up for a monthly support contract, at $5 a month for education and $13 a month for enterprise. Chromebooks now available to enterprise and education customers with a pay-once option originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Apple’s most highly sophisticated OS yet? Cupertino would have you think so, but as with any major update, there have been plenty of quirks to work through in the months following the introduction of Lion . For those of you who’ve made the 0.2 leap from 10.6.8 (or from further back, actually), we’re interested in learning how your overall experience has been. A good move? Still regretting it? What apps have broken on you? Has your workflow changed at all? Do you prefer “natural” scrolling? How would you tweak Lion if given the chance? What apps would you overhaul? What factory settings would you alter? Carefully considered thoughts are welcome in comments below. How would you change Apple’s OS X 10.7 (Lion)? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Looking forward to Dell’s latest Windows slate? Point your peepers here, the outfit’s Malaysian site just unleashed a promo video showing off the firm’s Latitude ST tablet. The preview confirms that the 10-inch tablet will sport front and rear cameras, HDMI-out, a built-in stylus and an Intel Atom processor. The Latitude ST can also be paired with a familiar looking docking station, leaving us to wonder if we’re looking at Dell’s ‘Peju’ Tablet in its final form. Care to wonder with us? You’ll find the video after the break. Continue reading Dell Latitude ST promo video shows off stylus, docking station Dell Latitude ST promo video shows off stylus, docking station originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Inhabitat’s Week in Green: quantum levitation, Zombie-Powered Vertical Farm and Macquariums
October 23, 2011 No Comment
Alternative transportation blasted off into the future this week as DeLorean revealed plans to launch an all-electric vehicle in 2013 and Richard Branson announced the official opening of the Virgin Galactic Gateway spaceport . Researchers also developed a next-gen quantum levitation technology that could lead to floating vehicles, and we spotted a cloud concept blimp that soars through the skies. We also brought you an exclusive interview with Revenge of the Electric Car director Chris Paine , and we shared a leaked brochure with specs on Toyota’s new Prius C . Renewable energy also rocketed towards a more sustainable tomorrow as Japan’s team Tokai took first place in the World Solar Challenge and Apple filed a set of patents for next-generation solar technology . Meanwhile Facebook announced plans to launch a new energy efficiency app in 2012 and we launched a contest where you can win one of 25 $600 home energy audits . We also showcased a stunning set of satellite photos of the world’s power lines, and since Halloween is on its way, we brought you a Zombie-Powered Vertical Farm designed to keep its inhabitants safe from the Living Dead. Speaking of Halloween, this week we shared instructions for making a DIY cardboard box robot costume , and we launched our 2011 Green Halloween Costume Contest for kids . We also brought you several developments from the realm of eco textiles — a material that repairs its own rips and tears and a Japanese company that recycles old bras into power-generating fuel . Finally, we showcased several slick developments in aqueous technology: an oil skimmer that cleans up spills four times faster, an artificial muscle that could one day propel nanobots through the body, and a quirky set of ‘ Macquariums ‘ made from Apple iMacs. Inhabitat’s Week in Green: quantum levitation, Zombie-Powered Vertical Farm and Macquariums originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On , a column about consumer technology. At AsiaD this week, Google’s Andy Rubin noted that there were at least six million Android tablets in use. That number included only those running Google services. One could question whether the briskly selling Nook Color — which is not open to Android apps at large — is relevant to that tally, at least from a developer perspective. It will certainly be the case, though, that the Kindle Fire — also expected to be a hot seller — will be an important addition to the number moving forward. Still, Rubin conceded, it was a tally far behind that of the 30 million cumulative units of the iPad, which broke open the modern-day tablet category, extended its lead with the iPad 2, and will likely see another revision this coming spring. When Apple introduced its tablet device, it set a precedent for third-party developers by rewriting core applications to take advantage of the iPad’s larger display with “HD” versions. And while there are still far fewer native iPad apps than iPhone apps, Apple is far ahead in the race for native tablet software. But not everyone wants to join that race. Continue reading Switched On: Android’s tablet traversal Switched On: Android’s tablet traversal originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you’re going to go to the trouble of sending a camera to the edge of space, you might as well send one capable capable of doing the trip justice, right? That hasn’t always been the case with similar DIY attempts (for obvious reasons), but the team behind the so-called Cygnus “spacecraft” decided to go all out when they sent their weather balloon / beer cooler contraption aloft this month to photograph the curvature of the Earth. In this case, going all out meant sending a Nikon D300s DSLR equipped with Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, which manged to capture some stunning pictures like the one you see above — although some got a bit obscured by ice build-up. There’s more where that came from at the Flickr link below, and you can check out a video of the launch after the break. [Thanks, Udi] Continue reading Nikon D300s travels to the edge of space, survives to share the results Nikon D300s travels to the edge of space, survives to share the results originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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