Spring Break
Sci-Tech News
Shyunti Das and Kaushal Toprani
Issue date: 7/9/04 Section: Sci-Tech
Microsoft patents skin as a conduit for PDAs
Microsoft has recently filed a patent on human skin, citing it as medium for conducting power or data.
The patent states that skin can be used to network various wearable Personal Digital Assistants, PDAs, as an alternative to using radio, infrared signals or near-field intrabody communications.
Digital or audio signal transmissions are possible using this concept. A set of electrodes is connected to the human body, providing power through pulsed AC or DC signals.
Different frequencies are responsible for powering specific devices. This Personal Area Network, or PAN, reduces redundancies present when using multiple devices and alleviates the hassles of battery-powered sources.
Sony to release new digital walkman to rival Apple
Sony unveiled a digital music Walkman July 1, the original Walkman's 25th anniversary, that boasts a 20GB hard drive.
Though this is less than rival iPod's memory space, Sony claims it holds 13,000 songs based on its encoding system as opposed to 10,000 on Apple's iPod. Sony has also stated that the internal rechargeable battery that the device runs on can power it for up to 30 hours. Promotions include Sony Connect, the online music store that complements the Walkman.
The company also claims that at 3.5 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches and 3.9 ounces, it is the smallest device for the amount of storage capacity available on the market. The price range has been estimated at about $400. It will be released in the U.S. in August.
Human cadaver exhibit comes to the U.S.
Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds exhibit, described as the anatomical exhibition of real human bodies, opened for the first time in the U.S. July 2 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
It includes 25 human cadavers that have been preserved through plastination, a technique invented by Hagens at the Institute for Anatomy at Heidelberg University in 1978.
Various plastics are used to replace body fluids and fats in the body, allowing muscles, bones and organs to be visible. Included in the exhibitions are damaged organs, which demonstrate the effects of disease.
The aim of the exhibit is to allow laymen to appreciate and understand the body's anatomy and function. It includes information about the nervous, digestive, skeletal and circulatory systems.
The exhibit first debuted in Tokyo in 1996, and has since traveled through Asia and Europe, where it has instigated controversy.
More information about the exhibition can be found at http://www.bodyworlds.com.
Cassini-Huygens completes seven year journey to Saturn
On June 30, Cassini-Huygens completed a seven year, 2.2 billion mile journey to Saturn. The three billion dollar project is the work of 260 scientists from 17 European nations and the United States. The planetary spacecraft will orbit Saturn 76 times over the next four years in order to provide majestic photos of Saturn's rings and seven of its 31 moons.
Scientists hope to learn more about the period before living organisms appeared on Earth from these photographs since Saturn had conditions similar to those found on Earth before it became a life-bearing planet. In late December 2004, the Huygens probe will land on the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
Once on Titan, the 700-pound probe will begin to take scientific observations for 2.5 hours. Images and data from Cassini-Huygens is already giving scientists new clues about Saturn's rings.
Large masses of oxygen are being released from Saturn's rings, and scientists suspect that collisions in Saturn's "E-rings" are causing the oxygen emissions.
If this process continues without the rings being replenished, Saturn's majestic rings will be dissolved within 100 million years. Over the next four years, scientists and space enthusiasts hope that Cassini-Huygens will send back information that will help solve this and the many other mysteries of Saturn.
 Media Credit: http://news.com.com The patent includes this illustration, indicating the various locations of PDAs. |
Microsoft has recently filed a patent on human skin, citing it as medium for conducting power or data.
The patent states that skin can be used to network various wearable Personal Digital Assistants, PDAs, as an alternative to using radio, infrared signals or near-field intrabody communications.
Digital or audio signal transmissions are possible using this concept. A set of electrodes is connected to the human body, providing power through pulsed AC or DC signals.
Different frequencies are responsible for powering specific devices. This Personal Area Network, or PAN, reduces redundancies present when using multiple devices and alleviates the hassles of battery-powered sources.
Sony to release new digital walkman to rival Apple
 Media Credit: http://news.com.com/ |
Sony unveiled a digital music Walkman July 1, the original Walkman's 25th anniversary, that boasts a 20GB hard drive.
Though this is less than rival iPod's memory space, Sony claims it holds 13,000 songs based on its encoding system as opposed to 10,000 on Apple's iPod. Sony has also stated that the internal rechargeable battery that the device runs on can power it for up to 30 hours. Promotions include Sony Connect, the online music store that complements the Walkman.
The company also claims that at 3.5 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches and 3.9 ounces, it is the smallest device for the amount of storage capacity available on the market. The price range has been estimated at about $400. It will be released in the U.S. in August.
Human cadaver exhibit comes to the U.S.
 Media Credit: CNN |
Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds exhibit, described as the anatomical exhibition of real human bodies, opened for the first time in the U.S. July 2 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
It includes 25 human cadavers that have been preserved through plastination, a technique invented by Hagens at the Institute for Anatomy at Heidelberg University in 1978.
Various plastics are used to replace body fluids and fats in the body, allowing muscles, bones and organs to be visible. Included in the exhibitions are damaged organs, which demonstrate the effects of disease.
The aim of the exhibit is to allow laymen to appreciate and understand the body's anatomy and function. It includes information about the nervous, digestive, skeletal and circulatory systems.
The exhibit first debuted in Tokyo in 1996, and has since traveled through Asia and Europe, where it has instigated controversy.
More information about the exhibition can be found at http://www.bodyworlds.com.
Cassini-Huygens completes seven year journey to Saturn
 Media Credit: NASA |
On June 30, Cassini-Huygens completed a seven year, 2.2 billion mile journey to Saturn. The three billion dollar project is the work of 260 scientists from 17 European nations and the United States. The planetary spacecraft will orbit Saturn 76 times over the next four years in order to provide majestic photos of Saturn's rings and seven of its 31 moons.
Scientists hope to learn more about the period before living organisms appeared on Earth from these photographs since Saturn had conditions similar to those found on Earth before it became a life-bearing planet. In late December 2004, the Huygens probe will land on the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
Once on Titan, the 700-pound probe will begin to take scientific observations for 2.5 hours. Images and data from Cassini-Huygens is already giving scientists new clues about Saturn's rings.
Large masses of oxygen are being released from Saturn's rings, and scientists suspect that collisions in Saturn's "E-rings" are causing the oxygen emissions.
If this process continues without the rings being replenished, Saturn's majestic rings will be dissolved within 100 million years. Over the next four years, scientists and space enthusiasts hope that Cassini-Huygens will send back information that will help solve this and the many other mysteries of Saturn.
Be the first to comment on this story