Scientists Create Replacement Fingers

Touchs Bionics,a Scottish company,has created a prothesis that can replace any or all fingers on a hand.The prothesis was recently fitted to a man whose fingers & thumb were amputed three years ago.The prothesis,named ProDigits is basically a set of motorised digits.Each replacement digit has a tiny motor & a gear box mounted at the base.Movement is controlled by a computer chip in the prothesis.Prodigits may be opened or closed not only by sensors that pick up muscle contractions,but also the fingres to detect pressures exacted by the remnant bone.The user starts the action by flexing or relaxing a muscle in the palm.Sensors in the prothesis pick up the signals sent by the muscles & send the message to the computer chip that controls the motor.

Silk Implant That Can Melt Into The Brain

As per a report published in the journal Nature Material on April19,2010,scientists at the university of Pennsylvania & Tufts University have created a revolutionary brain implant made partly of silk that can melt onto the surface of the brain.Tests of the device showed that the thin,flexible electrodes recorded signals from a cat's brain more accurately than thicker,stiff devices.The scientists made the electrode arrays using protein from silk & thin metal electrodes.

The silk is bio-compatible & water soluble,dissolving into brain & leaving the electrodes draped over its contours.the scientists tested the devices on cats who were anaesthestised but whose eyes were functioning.The electrodes recorded the signals from the eyes of the cats as they were shown images.

Hubble Telescope Turns 20

The Hubble space Telescope celebrated the 20th anniversary of its launch on April24,2010,with NASA releasing a new photograph from the orbiting observatory of a cosmic pillar of gas & dust in Carina Nebula galaxy.The photograph showed three light-years-tall towers of cool hydrogen laced with dust rising from the walls of the nebula,which where reminiscent of Hubble's classic "Pillars of Creation".

Hubble,named after the astronomer Edwin P.Hubble.

Super-Massive Black Holes Found

The ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS reported that there are four super-massive black holes.The scientists used the world's two largest optical/infrared telescopes,Keck,on top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii to find these black holes or dying stars that are called active galactic. For the first time, the team observed a quasar with an active galactic nucleus,as part of the group of four black holes.Scientists believe that these active nuclei are powered by accreting super-massive black holes.The accreting gas and dust are especially bright in the optical and infrared regions of electromagnetic spectrum.

Paper Batteries To Power Laptops,Drive Cars

Scientists at Stanford University,USA,have reported that they have successfully turned a specific type of paper coated with ink made of silver &carbon nanomaterials into a "Paper Battery".There is a specific feature which helps ink stick to the surface of paper.The same feature also allows it to hold on to the single-walled carbon nanotubes & silver nanowire films.Taking advantage of the mature paper technology,low-cost & high-performance energy storage are realised by using conductive paper as current collectors and electrodes.this type of battery could be useful in powering electric or hybrid vehicles.The best part about the new battery is that in addition to being useful for portable electronics & wearable electronics,the paper supercapitators can also be used for all kinds of applications that require instant high power.

Washing Machine Reuses Water

Common washing machines wash the clothing and send the dirty wateer down the drain.This results in a huge waste of water.Mr.Klein Washing Machine treats water as a scarce item.It cleans all the dirty clothes and saves the water to be used again for another round.It uses a filteration system to do this job and the system takes all of the contaminants out of the water before reusing it.Though it still a concept,it is going to be available very soon.

Robots Clones To Imitate Human Beings

Kokoro,a premier Japanese robot manufacturer,has made possible one of the most enduring fantasies of the scientific domain,i.e.to produce robots that resemble human beings in such aspects as looks,voice,etc.Kokoro is initially making only two robot clones.Both are made of silicone.The robots can move only their upper bodies.The Actroid & Geminoid androids are powered by quiet air servo system that moves their upper bodies.They cannot walk.Both the robots are based on two real persons-one version of Actroid is based on a popular Japanese newsreader,& the Germinoid is based on the famous robotics from Osaka University,Japan.