UNU-MERIT: I&T Weekly

	Search \| Sitemap \| Intranet \| PhD Intranet

Subscribe to I&T Weekly A free e-zine about Innovation & Technology developments

text html Please type the above code:
	RSS feed

Previous Issues I&T Weekly

>> back to archive

Previous issues of I&T Weekly:

2013: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

2012: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]

2011: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44]

2010: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]

2009: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]

2008: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]

2007: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

2006: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44]

2005: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

2004: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]

2003: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]

2002: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]

2001: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

Issue no. 21, 2006 Published: Jun 16, 2006
European university of technology gets green light
EC plans to turn Europe into tech powerhouse
Dry ice creates toughened glass
Quantum dots device counts single electrons
Software tracks proteins inside living cells
E-newspapers just around corner ... really
Japanese inventor wins major technology prize
No mow shocks
Invention: Palmtop Feng Shui

European university of technology gets green light
The European Commission has fleshed out its plan to build a European Institute of Technology (EIT). A governing board will spot areas of interest, such as green energy or nanotechnologies, and then support teams put together by universities, research organisations and industry will do the research. Education and training commissioner Ján Figel said the institute will be a 'flagship of excellence' that is able to attract the best students and researchers worldwide. The support of industry will be key in helping to nurture an entrepreneurial mindset among graduates and researchers, he added. The Commission is still discussing how the EIT should award degrees or diplomas and how much the project will cost. After the summer, the EC plans to present an impact assessment for the EIT, which will be followed by a formal proposal outlining key issues - such as the location of the governing board and a detailed budget - with the aim of the institute being ready for the 2009-10 academic year.
Silicon.com Jun 12, 2006	back to top

EC plans to turn Europe into tech powerhouse
The European Commission has set up a taskforce designed to make Europe's IT industry more competitive. The taskforce will organise a five-month long debate on the barriers holding European tech companies back from world domination and then come up with some policy ideas on how to overcome them before the end of the year. The board will be made up of executives from European tech's largest companies, including Nokia, Philips and SAP, as well as venture capitalists and academics. Convergence in particular will come under the EC's microscope as Brussels tries to assess how to squeeze opportunities from the coming together of digital networks, devices and content. The EU will study several areas in its attempt to give European IT a jump-start. Education will be looked at in an effort to interest young people in tech, and to make sure businesses have the skills to cope with changes in technology. SMEs will also be examined to see if they can contribute to improved tech competitiveness, and to look at how patents and financing affects them. The taskforce will also consider research and development and intellectual property issues.
Silicon.com Jun 08, 2006	back to top

Dry ice creates toughened glass
A form of solid carbon dioxide (CO2) that could be used to make ultra-hard glass or coatings for microelectronic devices has been discovered. The material, named amorphous carbonia, was created by scientists from the University of Florence in Italy. CO2 can be formed into a solid, such as dry ice, by cooling and squeezing. However, even in this solid, the molecules resist linking up with their neighbours and remain as discrete units. Simulations, though, had suggested that given the right conditions these molecules could be persuaded to join hands and form glass like materials. To create the glassy amorphous carbonia, the team heated solid CO2 between diamond teeth at pressures over 400,000 times greater than atmospheric pressure. The material was then cooled to room temperature to form the glass. The glass had a similar structure to silica, but is thought to be much harder and stiffer, like diamond. When the material is depressurised, it returns to a solid formed of discrete molecules. Applications could include ultra-tough glass or protective coatings for micro electronics and it will give planetary scientists insights into what happens in the interior of huge planets known as gas giants.
BBC News / Nature Jun 15, 2006	back to top

Quantum dots device counts single electrons
A device capable of counting the individual electrons in an electric current, by feeding them through a pair of quantum dots, has been developed by scientists at NTT Basic Research Laboratories in Japan. The device can even spot the 'backscattering' that occurs when electrons travel the wrong way through a circuit. The researchers created a circuit incorporating two quantum dots - semiconducting crystals just a few nanometres in diameter - which only let a single electron pass through at a time. After switching the current on, they used another nanoscale device, called a quantum point contact, to measure the charge contained within each quantum dot. This revealed whether it contained an electron or not. By taking measurements every 20 microseconds the researchers could count the flow of individual electrons as they passed through the quantum dots, and also determine the direction in which they were moving. The technology could be used to make an extremely sensitive ammeter, a device for measuring electric current. It could also be used to study the fundamental behaviour of electrons and for critical components inside quantum computers.
New Scientist / Science Jun 15, 2006	back to top

Software tracks proteins inside living cells
A computer system that automatically tracks the movements of proteins within a living cell has been developed by a team of biologists and computer vision experts at Manchester University in UK. It could save researchers the hours often spent analysing microscope images by hand, to determine the way a cell works. The system, called CellTracker, automatically analyses a series of still digital images captured through a microscope. IT uses image recognition algorithms to identify the membrane marking the edge of a cell as well as the one enclosing the nucleus, which contains the cell's DNA. It can track the movements of these features in multiple cells simultaneously. CellTracker can also monitor different proteins contained within the cell, providing these have been labelled with different fluorescent dyes, and produce graphs showing fluctuating levels of these proteins over time. This could help biologists understand the way cellular proteins affect cell function. The software has been publicly released for other researchers to use.
New Scientist Jun 14, 2006	back to top

E-newspapers just around corner ... really
The newspapers of the future — cheap digital screens that can be rolled up and stuffed into a back pocket — have been just around the corner for the last three decades. But this year the future may finally arrive. Some of the world's top newspapers publishers are planning to introduce a form of electronic newspaper that will allow users to download entire editions from the web on to reflective digital screens said to be easier on the eyes than light-emitting laptop or cellphone displays. Flexible versions of these readers may be available as early as 2007. The handheld readers couldn't come a moment too soon for the newspaper industry, which has struggled to maintain its readership and advertising from online rivals. Publishers Hearst in the US, Pearson's Les Echos in Paris and Belgian financial paper De Tijd are planning large-scale trials of the readers this year. E-newspapers would cut production and delivery costs that account for some 75 per cent of newspaper expenses. The readers employ screen technology by E Ink, which originated from MIT's Media Lab. The screens contain tiny capsules showing either black or white depending on the electric current running through it.
MSNBC / Reuters Jun 12, 2006	back to top

Japanese inventor wins major technology prize
Japanese inventor Shuji Nakamura was on Thursday named winner of the one million euro Millennium Technology Prize, the world's biggest technology award. Nakamura was chosen for his inventions on revolutionary new light sources, inexpensive energy and water purification, the Helsinki-based Millennium Prize Foundation said. His inventions include a high brightness blue laser which have opened the way to a new generation of high capacity DVD players and recorders. He is also responsible for other solid state light sources widely seen as the next big thing in lighting because they are sturdy, energy efficient and long lasting.
MSNBC / Reuters Jun 15, 2006	back to top

No mow shocks
Slice through a power cable with an electric lawn mower and you risk being zapped with a potentially fatal electric shock. Now three inventors from Indiana are patenting a new kind of cable that could protect clumsy gardeners from risking their lives in this way. Two live wires are insulated in the usual way but run alongside a bare, un-insulated ground, or earth, wire. The difference is in the material that encases all three wires. It is a polymer laced with carbon black, which means it can conduct electricity. Should you cut a cable by accident, the current always flows to earth via the path of least resistance. The new cable ensures that this path is through the conductive polymer to the ground wire rather than travelling via you and your unfortunate power tool. As an added bonus, the new cable can be mass-produced with conventional extrusion techniques, so is cheap to make.
New Scientist Jun 12, 2006	back to top

Invention: Palmtop Feng Shui
Ever felt the position of your home furnishings were seriously throwing your mystical chi – or life energy – out of balance? Then put your mind at rest. Motorola has patented a new kind of PDA that evaluates a property’s Feng Shui rating by measuring positive and negative chi and awarding plus and minus points accordingly. The device houses a camera that checks the colour of the property, a microphone that listens for noise from nearby roads and factories and a compass to find north – a crucial factor for Feng Shui enthusiasts. It can also measure the strength of AM and FM radio signals from local radio transmitters and connect to the nearest mobile phone base station to check for indications of cellphone signal strength. Weak radio signals indicate positive chi but strong signals mean negative chi and lead to a poor Feng Shui rating. Ironically, Motorola’s new gadget seems to help people avoid the signals that they need to connect their cellphones. It looks like city dwellers' chi may be in dire straits.
New Scientist Jun 12, 2006	back to top