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    Solar-powered Moisture Harvester Collects and Cleans Water from Air

    March 17, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Fei Zhao (L), co author of the study, and Guihua Yu (R) of Yu Research Labs at UT Austin examining a sample of their newly-developed hydrogel.
    Credit: Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

    Access to clean water remains one of the biggest challenges facing humankind. A breakthrough by engineers at The University of Texas at Austin may offer a new solution through solar-powered technology that absorbs moisture from the air and returns it as clean, usable water.

    The breakthrough, described in a recent issue of the journal Advanced Materials, could be used in disaster situations, water crises or poverty-stricken areas and developing countries...

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    Bernese Mars camera CaSSIS returns spectacular images

    March 17, 2019, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The image shows a panchromatic channel image of the InSight landing site on Mars. The image shows an area of about 2.25 km x 2.25 km in the Elysium Planitia region. The original image had a scale of about 4.5 m per pixel, and has been stretched by a factor of two for display purposes. The resulting resolution of this image is 5-6 m/pixel. The positions of the InSight lander itself, the blast marks from the retro rockets used during landing, the heatshield and the backshell of the entry descent and landing system are marked. The original image had a scale of about 4.5 m per pixel, and has been expanded to 2.25 m/pixel for display purposes.
    Credit: © ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS

    3 years ago, on March 14 2016, the Bernese Mars camera CaSSIS started its journey to Mars with the ‘ExoMars Trace Ga...

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    With Single Gene Insertion, Blind Mice Regain Sight

    March 17, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    injecting viruses into the eye

    The new therapy involves injecting inactivated viruses into the vitreous to carry a gene directly into ganglion cells. Earlier versions of viral therapy required injecting the viruses underneath the retina (bottom). The gene makes normally ‘blind’ ganglion cells light sensitive, returning sight to eyes that have lost the normal light sensors, the rods and cones. The right image shows the cell layers in a normal retina. (Image by John Flannery)

    Opsins make ‘blind’ cells light-sensitive; potential human treatment within three years. People left blind by retinal degeneration have one option: electronic eye implants. Neuroscientists have now developed an alternative: gene therapy that, in tests, restored vision in blind mice...

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    Seeing through a Robot’s Eyes Helps those with Profound Motor Impairments

    March 17, 2019, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    Retrieving a cup with the robot
    Showing its capabilities as a body surrogate, a PR2 controlled remotely by an individual with profound motor deficits picks up a cup in a research laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology. (Credit: Phillip Grice, Georgia Tech)

    An interface system that uses augmented reality technology could help individuals with profound motor impairments operate a humanoid robot to feed themselves and perform routine personal care tasks such as scratching an itch and applying skin lotion. The web-based interface displays a “robot’s eye view” of surroundings to help users interact with the world through the machine.

    The system, described March 15 in the journal PLOS ONE, could help make sophisticated robots more useful to people who do not have experience operating complex robotic systems...

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