| Physicists take photonic topological insulators to the next level Dec 21st 2012, 17:35 Researchers have designed a simulation that for the first time emulates key properties of electronic topological insulators. Topological insulators, a state of matter that was only discovered in the past decade, may enable dramatic advances in quantum computing and spintronics. |  | Armchair science: Bag and tag glowing galactic clouds Dec 21st 2012, 02:06 A new galactic game launches today that lets citizen scientists identify the glowing clouds where future stars will be born. The online experience, called Clouds, is a new addition to the Milky Way Project, where everyone can help astronomers to sort and measure our galaxy. Clouds features images and data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Herschel Space Observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important participation from NASA. | | Woman with quadriplegia feeds herself chocolate using mind-controlled robot arm Dec 17th 2012, 08:09 Reaching out to "high five" someone, grasping and moving objects of different shapes and sizes, feeding herself dark chocolate. For Jan Scheuermann and a team of researchers, accomplishing these seemingly ordinary tasks demonstrated for the first time that a person with longstanding quadriplegia can maneuver a mind-controlled, human-like robot arm in seven dimensions (7D) to consistently perform many of the natural and complex motions of everyday life. | |
