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Issue no. 7, 2007 Published: Feb 23, 2007
Artificial retina implant holds promise for blind
Mediaeval Muslims made stunning math breakthrough
Microscopic chain-mail could link wearable gadgets
Invention: Invisible watermarks
Researchers work on lip-reading machine
Traumatised troops treated in 'virtual Iraq'
NASA plans ear-powered space travel

Artificial retina implant holds promise for blind
A tiny electrical implant that attaches to the retina may someday restore partial sight to millions of patients blinded by age-related macular degeneration, according to researchers at the University of Southern California. The device, in the early stages of human clinical testing, is part of a new class of so-called 'smart' prostheses that link with the brain and nervous system to restore function lost to disease or injury. The artificial retina is designed to take the place of photoreceptor cells in the brain that are charged with capturing and processing light. The device consists of a tiny camera mounted on a pair of glasses that transmits information to the implant, which is attached to the outside of the eyeball with a cable running to the retina in the back of the eye. Patients wear a pager-size transmitter on their belt, which handles the processing and powers the device.
ZDNet Feb 16, 2007	back to top

Mediaeval Muslims made stunning math breakthrough
Magnificently sophisticated geometric patterns in mediaeval Islamic architecture indicate their designers achieved a mathematical breakthrough 500 years earlier than Western scholars, scientists say. By the 15th century, decorative tile patterns on these masterpieces of Islamic architecture reached such complexity that a small number boasted what seem to be 'quasicrystalline' designs, according to researchers at Harvard and Princeton. The researchers in particular cite designs on the Darb-i Imam shrine in Isfahan, Iran, built in 1453. Only in the 1970s did British mathematician and cosmologist Roger Penrose become the first to describe these geometric designs in the West. Quasicrystalline patterns comprise a set of interlocking units whose pattern never repeats, even when extended infinitely in all directions, and possess a special form of symmetry. The walls of many mediaeval Islamic structures display sumptuous geometric star-and-polygon patterns. The research indicated that by 1200 an important breakthrough had occurred in Islamic mathematics and design, as illustrated by these geometric designs.
Scotsman / Reuters / Science Feb 22, 2007	back to top

Microscopic chain-mail could link wearable gadgets
Microscopic chain mail made from miniscule metal links has been made by researchers at the University of Illinois. It could ultimately be used to create textiles with sensors and other electronics built in. The researchers made their chain mail using manufacturing techniques borrowed from the microchip industry. First, they deposited a patterned layer of light-sensitive material to create a mould of interlinking gaps. Then they filled these gaps with copper metal. Several repetitions of these steps created the finished links. They used the method to create a sheet interlocked rings and rectangles. Both types of link are about 500 microns across. The fabric has a similar tensile strength to nylon, can be bent around any shape and stretches to increase its length by one-third. It also readily conducts electricity.
New Scientist Feb 20, 2007	back to top

Invention: Invisible watermarks
No more fiddling those expenses. Fuji Xerox of Japan has come up with a cunning plan to foil attempts to tamper with paper documents. The text on a protected document is printed in normal, visible ink, made from a mix of magenta, cyan and yellow dyes. However, a fine pattern of dots that form slanting lines is also printed over the text, using ink made of copper and phosphorus oxides, which are invisible to the naked eye. The invisible ink absorbs infra red light but the visible dye does not. So, when the document is scanned with a wide band light source, the scanner captures an image of the text on top of the pattern. If any of the text has been altered - for instance, one number replaced with another, or a decimal point moved - the image should reveal a very obvious hole in the dot pattern, since one of the dots will have been overwritten or rubbed out. The exact angle of the invisible slanting lines created by the dots also conveys a code that adds an extra layer of security.
New Scientist Feb 19, 2007	back to top

Researchers work on lip-reading machine
Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK are starting a new project to develop computerised lip-reading systems that could be used to tackle crime. The three-year project will collect data for lip-reading and use it to create a system that can automatically convert video of lip-motions into text in a variety of languages. Researchers are taking advantage of work already carried out at UEA to develop state-of-the-art speech recognition systems. The university is teaming up with the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing at Surrey University, which has built accurate and reliable face and lip trackers, and the Home Office Scientific Development Branch, to investigate the feasibility of using the technology for crime fighting. Other potential uses for the technology include installing a camera in a mobile phone or on the dashboard for in-car speech recognition systems.
VNUnet UK Feb 22, 2007	back to top

Traumatised troops treated in 'virtual Iraq'
Traumatised US soldiers are being treated for post-war psychological disorders by going out on patrol in a computer-generated 'virtual Iraq'. The program simulates life in the war zone for Iraq veterans suffering from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The ground-breaking treatment allows soldiers to experience the sights, sounds, and even the smells of a war-zone, courtesy of wrap-around goggles linked to a startlingly realistic virtual world. The idea is to re-introduce veterans to the experiences that have inflicted mental scars until gradually they are no longer haunted by the memories, a long-established therapeutic technique known as 'exposure therapy'. Soldiers undergoing the treatment can be placed in a variety of situations - either as the passenger, driver, or gunner in an armoured vehicle, or as a soldier on a foot patrol walking through an Iraqi city. Fake aromas - including gunpowder, burning smoke, diesel fuel, body odours, exotic spices, and roast mutton - are wafted under the patient's nose. The boom of bombs is simulated by giant speakers placed under the patient's chair.
Middle East Times / AFP Feb 19, 2007	back to top

NASA plans ear-powered space travel
NASA is experimenting with a substance found in the human ear that could be used to power space exploration. The trials are based on the outer hair cells in the human ear, which use the natural electrical force all humans generate to move hairs and amplify sound. This is made possible by a protein called prestin that coats the hairs. A research group at bioelectric technology firm IntAct Labs has found a way to reverse the protein so that movement can be used to generate electrical power. Providing enough electricity to run a ship and its spacesuit systems is a major impediment to space travel and exploration. Although each prestin protein can only produce tiny amounts of electricity, researchers hope to meld large numbers and build 'power skins' so that astronauts could generate their own electrical power. It is eventually hoped that buildings on Mars could be covered by the substance and use the winds of the planet to generate power. The use of a biological substance may also make it possible for such skins to regenerate if they get torn or damaged.
VNUnet UK Feb 21, 2007	back to top