March 31st, 2007

Teaching nanoscience to the blind

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 9:58 am

Categories: Engineering & Innovation, Nanotechnology, Science & Nature, Social Sciences

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Nanoscale objects are much too small for us to see them. So, according to educators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, nanotechnology is a research field where blind students and sighted ones are equal. After all, "we're all blind at the nanoscale," says a member of the educational team. They've built 3-D models of nano-surfaces which can be explored with the hands. These plaster models, which are several inches long — even if the structures they represent are millions times smaller — replicate an earlier version of 'NanoBucky,' a nanoscale version of the UW-Madison mascot, Bucky Badger. The goal of this project is to encourage blind and visually impaired students to pursue science, technology and engineering.

These 3-D models are the 'nanobabies' of Andrew Greenberg, education and outreach coordinator for the UW-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) and Mohammed Farhoud, a senior biochemistry student working with the Center for Biology Education (CBE).

On the left is a photo of a "3-D model of "NanoBucky,' a nanoscale version of the University of Wisconsin-Madison mascot Bucky Badger made entirely from tiny carbon nanofiber 'hairs.' To create the 3-D model, Mohammed Farhoud, a UW-Madison senior in biochemistry, converted the 2-D information contained in a scanning electron microscopy image of the original NanoBucky into 3-D, and then used these data to 'print' the model in plaster with an engineering tool known as a rapid prototyping printer." (Credit: Aaron Mayes, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Here are two links to a larger version of this photo and to other related pictures. And if you want to learn more about the original NanoBucky, you can read a previous article from UW-Madison News, "The World's Tiniest Badger?" (August 29, 2005) and look at some photos.

Now, how the new NanoBucky was built?

Starting with a 2-D, grey-scale picture of the nano-mascot taken with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Farhoud first reversed the image, making the blacks appear white and vice versa. Next, he used the various shades of grey in the image to confer heights on the carbon nanofibers: the blackest black was assigned a maximum height, white got a value of zero, and the computing program MATLAB calculated all the values in between. Farhoud then sent these newly acquired 3-D data into the rapid prototyper, which lays down plaster layer-by-layer to "print" 3-D models.

The goal of this program is to open science and technology careers to all students. "Greenberg hopes the models will encourage more blind and visually impaired students to pursue science, technology and engineering. Because current learning and research tools don't allow them to experience science on their own, many blind students don't consider science an attractive career choice."

This research work has been presented on Tuesday at the 233rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (March 25-29, 2007, Chicago, IL) in one of the sessions focused on Teaching Chemistry to the Visually Impaired. The title of the presentation was "Teaching nanoscience to the blind and visually impaired." Here is a link to the abstract.

Sources: University of Wisconsin-Madison, via EurekAlert!, March 27, 2007; and various websites

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March 30th, 2007

Replace smileys with your face

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 10:44 am

Categories: Computers & Internet, Engineering & Innovation, Leisure

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According to Technology Review in "The New Face of Emoticons," computer scientists from U.S. and Taiwan have found a new way to personalize your messages. You just need a picture of you — preferably with a neutral expression — and their software will show your mood to your correspondent and tell them if you're happy, sad, or angry. The real innovation is that you will not have to transmit the whole image each time. Instead, your original picture will already have been stored on the recipient's device, and the desired expression will be automatically reconstructed when opening your message. Clever idea, which mixes emoticons and avatars, but will it work?

The "Face Alive Icons" project has been initiated at the University of Pittsburgh by Xin Li, who now works for Google in New York. Interesting fact, isn't?

The computer scientists started with seven common expressions: neutral, happiness, sadness, surprise, anger, disgust, fear. But to reconstruct their images, they reduced this number from seven to four. You can see below how they've implemented their method for the left eye (top) and the mouth (bottom). (Credit: University of Pittsburgh, USA; and Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan)

Here are some details from the Technology Review article.

This is not the first time that someone has tried to use photos in this way, says Li, who now works for Google in New York City. "But the traditional approach is to just send the image itself," he says. "The problem is, the size will be too big, particularly for low-bandwidth applications like PDAs and cell phones." Other approaches involve having to capture a different photo of the person for each unique emoticon, which only further increases the demand for bandwidth.

Li's solution is not to send the picture each time it is used, but to store a profile of the face on the recipient device. This profile consists of a decomposition of the original photo. Every time the user sends an emoticon, the face is reassembled on the recipient's device in such a way as to show the appropriate expression.

For more information, this research work has been published online on March 12, 2007, by the Journal of Visual Languages and Computing under the name "Face Alive Icons." Unfortunately, the Elsevier group doesn't even provide an abstract — you need to pay $30 to read the article. But here is a link to a previous paper about these Face Alive Icons (PDF format, 8 pages, 386 KB), which was presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering (SEKE'05), Taipei, Taiwan, July 14-16, 2005. The above illustrations have been extracted from this paper.

Finally, Li said that this software could be used for distance learning applications. But now that he works for Google, it's possible that it will be used for more mainstream applications than education.

Sources: Duncan Graham-Rowe, for Technology Review, March 27, 2007; and various websites

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March 29th, 2007

Smart fabric mimicking knights armors

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 9:43 am

Categories: Defense & Security, Engineering & Innovation, Health & Medicine, Wireless & Telecom

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have created the world’s smallest chain-mail fabric. This fabric looks like the chain-mail armor worn by medieval knights, but can embed much more recent sensors to create some smart textiles. This fabric, which consists of "a network of small rings about 500 microns in diameter and even smaller links about 400 microns long," has unique electrical properties. For example, such a smart fabric could detect movement or damage, and even generate electricity to power the sensors embedded into it. But don't expect to wear a dress or a jacket made with it anytime soon.

This fabric has been made by Chang Liu, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UIUC, and graduate student Jonathan Engel. Liu is the director of the Micro Nano Technology Research Group (MNTR) and is very active in other areas. Last month, I wrote a post about his research project about fish-like sensors for underwater robots (February 22, 2007).

Now, let's look at a micrograph showing the underlying structure of this world's smallest chain-mail fabric, with its rings and links (Credit: Chang Liu, UIUC). Here is a link to a larger version.

And below is a picture of this microscopic chain mail fabric over a metal ball (Credit: Chang Liu, UIUC; and Institute of Physics). Here you can see a larger version.

Here are some more details about the rings and links of the fabric.

The fabric is similar in construction to the chain-mail armor worn by medieval knights. It consists of a network of small rings about 500 microns in diameter and even smaller links about 400 microns long (a micron is 1 millionth of a meter). The rings and links are built upon a planar substrate and then released to create a flexible sheet that can bend along two axes and drape over curved surfaces.

Because the rings and links can slide and rotate against each other, the fabric possesses unique mechanical and electrical properties. For example, the electrical resistance changes when the fabric is stretched. These properties could prove useful for the development of smart fabric and wearable electronic devices for pervasive computing.

Last month, New Scientist published an article about this new way to embed sensors into fabric. Here is an excerpt of Tom Simonite's story, "Microscopic chain-mail could link wearable gadgets" (February 20, 2007).

The fabric could be used to make smart clothing, says Liu. "We are interested in perhaps using it as a flexible textile or fabric that has properties like sensing or heating." It might also be possible to make the micro chain-mail using other materials, Liu says. "We are interested in making it out of polymers or a mixture of conductive and non-conductive materials," he says. "That research is currently being pursued." Microchip-scale electronic components could perhaps also one day be built directly into the links of the chain-mail, Liu says. The manufacturing technique employed should make this feasible. And this would allow sensors, communications or power components to be completely embedded within fully flexible fabrics.

For more information, this research work has been published by the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering under the name "Creation of a metallic micromachined chain mail fabric" (Volume 17, Number 3, March 2007, Pages 551-556). Here is a link to the abstract.

Sources: James E. Kloeppel, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, via EurekAlert!, March 28, 2007; and various websites

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March 28th, 2007

Sunglasses changing color in a second

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 10:39 am

Categories: Engineering & Innovation, Leisure, Science & Nature

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Wouldn't it be nice to wear sunglasses that change colors according to the weather or to your new skiing suit? According to the American Chemical Society (ACS), scientists at the University of Washington have developed a new lens material that makes this possible. Their 'smart' sunglasses can change color on demand almost instantly. The key to this improved eyewear technology is an electrochromic polymer that has the ability to change levels of darkness and color in the presence of an electric current. By pushing a button on the frame, your glasses will become red, green, blue or virtually any color. Still, you might have to wait a couple of years before buying such sunglasses.

The two pictures on the left illustrate how these lenses work. These 'smart' sunglasses can be adjusted so the lenses block from 55 percent (top) to 95 percent (bottom) of the incoming rays. (Credit: Chunye Xu, University of Washington). Here is a link to a larger version of these images.

And as you have guessed from the credit listed above, this research work has been led by Chunye Xu, an assistant professor at the University of Washington and associate director of the University’s Center for Intelligent Materials and Systems (CIMS), whose research is focused on Electroactive Polymers [EAP] and EAP based actuators.

In its own news release, the University of Washington (UW) describes how these glasses were made.

Researchers made the glasses using electrochromic materials that change transparency depending on the electric current. Many groups, including the UW, are developing such materials for so-called "smart windows" that could soon be used in energy-efficient homes and offices. Most smart windows use liquid-crystal technology or inorganic oxides. Those materials are expensive to produce and require a constant or frequent injection of power to hold their tint. The UW glasses are based on a new type of smart window using organic, rather than inorganic, oxides. These are cheaper to manufacture and require less power.

So you'll need to have a battery in these glasses. But how long will it last?

The prototype glasses are powered by a watch battery that attaches to the glasses frame, and the wearer spins a tiny dial on the arm of the glasses to change color or shade. The lenses were created by sandwiching a gel between two layers of electrochromic material. Applying a small voltage moves charged particles from one layer to another, and changes the transparency. Once the glasses are a certain tint they will stay that way without power for about 30 days. A single watch battery is able to power thousands of transitions, Xu said.

Now, when will be able to get these glasses? Not immediately, and not in all colors, as notes the ACS news release.

Fashion-conscience shoppers will have to wait a little while for this latest thing in eyewear: A practical version of the ‘smart’ sunglasses won’t be available to consumers for another one to two years, says Xu, whose lab has filed several patents related to the color-changing glasses. More testing is needed, she notes.

So far, Xu and her associates have produced the electrochromic polymers in red, blue and green. By combining the polymers of different colors into multiple layers and supplying different levels of current from the batteries in the sunglasses, a wide variety of different colors can be produced in the lenses, Xu says.

This research work — including a prototype — has been shown on Tuesday at the 233rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (March 25-29, 2007, Chicago, IL) in one of the sessions focused on Conjugated Oligomers and Polymers. The title of the presentation was "Smart sunglasses and goggles based on electrochromic polymers." Here are two links to the abstract and to the full paper (PDF format, 3 pages).

Sources: American Chemical Society and University of Washington news releases, via EurekAlert!, March 27, 2007; and various websites

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March 27th, 2007

Growing metals on cotton

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 10:09 am

Categories: Engineering & Innovation, Nanotechnology, Science & Nature

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Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have created a new form of metal crystals grown on cotton. They've used acid-treated cellulose fibers from cotton to crystallize them. Then, they grew all kinds of metal nanocrystals measuring between 2 and 200 nanometers on what they call "a cotton assembly line." They successfully built nanocrystals of gold, silver, palladium, platinum, copper or nickel. And they think that this technology could be used in a wide range of applications, including biosensors, biological imaging, drug delivery and catalytic converters.

Before going further, below are two images showing some precious metal crystals obtained with this process. An electron micrograph (TEM) of a metal, in this case platinum, deposited on cellulose, is shown on the left. The crystalline cellulose without metal is shown as an inset. And on the right, you can see another TEM showing the pattern of platinum clustering along hydroxyl sites on the cellulose surface. (Credit: PNNL)

This research effort has been led by Yongsoon Shin and Gregory Exarhos, who both work at the PNNL's Fundamental Science Directorate. But how did they conduct their experiments?

Using acid-treated cellulose fibers from cotton as a natural template, the PNNL team has been able to grow gold, silver, palladium, platinum, copper, nickel and other metal and metal-oxide nanocrystals quickly and of uniform size, Shin said. The metals display catalytic, electrical and optical that would not be present in larger or odd-sized crystals.

The acid converts the cellulose to a large, stable crystallized molecule rich in oxygen-hydrogen, or hydroxyl, groups, predictably spaced along the long chemical chains, or polymers, that comprise the cellulose molecule's backbone. When most metal salts dissolved in solution are added in a pressurized oven and heated 70 to 200 degrees centigrade or warmer for four to 16 hours, uniform metal crystals form at the hydroxyl sites.

This research work has been presented on Monday at the 233rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (March 25-29, 2007, Chicago, IL) in one of the sessions focused on Nanotechnology: A Fiber Perspective. The title of the presentation was "The use of cellulose nanocrystal for the preparation of inorganic nanocrystals" and here is the beginning of the abstract written in plain English, but in scientific 'jargon.'.

Cellulose nanocrystal (CNXL), which is separated from cotton cellulose by acid hydrolysis, has been utilized for the synthesis of various kinds of metal and metal oxides. The surface hydroxyl groups serve to reduce metal ions such as Ag(I), Pt(IV), Pd(II), and Se(IV) to corresponding nanocrystalline metals at 160-200°C in air without adding any reducing agents. The original crystalline structure of the CNXL is maintained in the temperature range and the hydroxyl groups reduce metal ions to metal nanocrystals on the CNXL surface.

Now, let's look at a previous research project from Yongsoon Shin, who already turned instant petrified wood into super ceramics (PNNL news release, May 19, 2005). With his team, he developed a process "to create two new ceramic materials that are laboratory versions of petrified wood. These materials combine the hardness of metal with the high surface area of carbon to form metal carbides that are stronger than steel and can withstand temperatures to 1,400 degrees Celsius."

Below is an electron microscopic image showing "a cross section of wood that was artificially petrified in days, mimicking a natural process that takes millions of years" (Credit: PNNL). Here is a link to larger versions of this image.

So what will be Shin's next project? I guess we'll discover it in a couple of years.

Sources: DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory news release, March 26, 2007; and various websites

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March 26th, 2007

Seeing colors in the night

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 8:59 am

Categories: Computers & Internet, Defense & Security, Engineering & Innovation

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In "Things that show color in the night," the Boston Globe reports that a company named Tenebraex is helping color blind people to travel. But it's also developing goggles to help soldiers and physicians to see all colors at night, and not only the green color of current night vision systems. These goggles, which should become available this summer, will be sold for about $6,000 to the Army. But as states one of the founders of the company, with monochrome night vision, "blood is the same color as water." So these expensive night vision devices might be more targeted to Army physicians than to regular soldiers.

This technology has been developed by Tenebraex Corporation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, which works on military applications since 1992 in the visualization area. Here is a link to its ColorPath technology page.

On the left is a picture of the ColorPath CCNVD (Color Capable Night Vision Device) (Credit: Tenebraex). Here is what the company says about this device. [It] "uses one standard, green image intensifier tube to create a true, full-color image for the user. The system is also mechanical and filter based—not computer in the loop. This means that compared to other color systems, it is real time, unaffected by temperature, light weight, power frugal and low cost. The CCNVD can generate a color image down to quarter-moon light levels, At lower light levels, with the Model OP, a simple twist of a knob moves the ColorPath technology from the optical path, leaving the user with a standard, monochromatic green night vision device with all the overcast moonless night performance that he had before.

And on the picture on the side, you can see "Benjamin Butler, a scientist at Tenebraex, demonstrating a preproduction color night vision system" (Credit and copyright: Boston Globe/Barry Chin). Here is a link to a original photo on the Boston Globe website.

Here are some more comments from the article about how Tenebraex can help soldiers at night.

Tenebraex has come up with a new way to help the troops — if it can persuade the Pentagon to invest in some of the ColorPath scopes, priced at around $6,000. "We developed it with our own money, not government money," said Jones, and Tenebraex will have to swallow the loss if it can't make the sale. The first ColorPath scopes will be available this summer. Jones plans to make the rounds of military procurement trade shows in an effort to sell the technology. He's aiming at a vital niche market — Army medics. They've told him that it's tough to insert intravenous tubes or treat some kinds of wounds if you can't see colors properly.

Will the sales pitch work? We'll see. The company sure hopes so, and that special operations units will also purchase these night vision system.

In its article, the Boston Globe also looks at another technology developed by Tenebraex to help the color blind people. According to the eyePilot software, "one out of twelve men is color blind" and cannot accurately read subway maps or machine tool controls. I didn't know that the percentage of persons affected with color blindness was that high. Anyway, the eyePilot software, even if it's cheap ($35), cannot be used in the streets — at least today.

Sources: Hiawatha Bray, The Boston Globe, March 22, 2007; and various websites

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March 25th, 2007

The mystery of vitamin B12 finally solved

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 9:33 am

Categories: Health & Medicine, Science & Nature

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You probably think that scientists know everything about the common and essential vitamin B12, the only vitamin synthesized by soil microbes. In fact, one part of this biosynthesis has puzzled researchers for at least 50 years. But now, MIT and Harvard biologists have solved this vitamin puzzle by discovering that a single enzyme known as BluB synthesizes the vitamin. So what is the next challenge for the researchers? It's to discover why the soil microorganisms synthesize the vitamin B12 at all, because neither them — nor the plants they're attached to — need it to live.

This work "completes a piece of our understanding of a process very fundamental to life," said Graham Walker, MIT professor of biology, who led the research about the catalyzing effects of the BluB enzyme.

BluB catalyzes the formation of the B12 fragment known as DMB [dimethylbenzimidazole for the curious,] which joins with another fragment, produced by a separate pathway, to form the vitamin. One of several possible reasons why it took so long to identify BluB is that some bacteria lacking the enzyme can form DMB through an alternate pathway, Walker said.

Below is a "cross-section of BluB's molecular surface. The two-fold axis lies along the y axis such that the si-face of FMN is viewed on the left and re-face on the right. The surface is coloured according to electrostatic potential, where blue is electropositive, red is electronegative and kB is Boltzmann's constant." (Credit: Graham Walker laboratory, via Nature) Here are two links to a larger version of this picture and to other figures and tables.

It's really interesting to note that the vitamin B12 biosynthesis involves the unusual "cannibalization" of vitamin B2.

One of the most unusual aspects of BluB-catalyzed synthesis is its cannibalization of a cofactor derived from another vitamin, B2. During the reaction, the B2 cofactor is split into more than two fragments, one of which becomes DMB. Normally, the B2-derived cofactor would assist in a reaction by temporarily holding electrons and then giving them away. Such cofactors are not consumed in the reaction. Cannibalization of a cofactor has very rarely been observed before in vitamin synthesis or any type of biosynthetic pathway, says Michiko Taga, an MIT postdoctoral fellow in Walker's lab [and already co-author of 113 scientific papers according to PubMed.]

This work has been reported by Nature under the name "BluB cannibalizes flavin to form the lower ligand of vitamin B₁₂" (Volume 446, Number 7134, Pages 449-453, March 22, 2007). Here are two links to the abstract and to the editor's summary, "The long road to vitamin B₁₂."

So now that the biologists know how the vitamin B12 is synthesized, what will be their next research step? "Still to be explored is the question of why soil bacteria synthesize B12 at all, Walker said. Soil microorganisms don't require B12 to survive, and the plants they attach themselves to don't need it either, so he speculates that synthesizing B12 may enable the bacteria to withstand 'challenges' made by the plants during the formation of the symbiotic relationship."

Sources: Anne Trafton, MIT News Office, March 21, 2007; and various websites

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March 24th, 2007

The impact of nuclear attacks on U.S. cities

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 10:45 am

Categories: Defense & Security, Energy & Environment, Health & Medicine

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Researchers from the Center for Mass Destruction Defense (CMADD) at the University of Georgia have created a detailed simulation of the catastrophic impact a nuclear attack would have on American cities. They've looked at the detailed consequences that such attacks would have on four cities, Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., and concluded that the destruction of the major hospitals in the downtown areas of the four cities would be almost nearly complete. They've estimated the numbers of direct deaths from the blasts and indirect ones from burns and radiations. They also give some solutions to reduce the number of lost lives, which could reach 5 million for the New York City area. Frightening…

Below is diagram showing the thermal impact of a 550 kiloton surface nuclear detonation on New York City with weather as of September 17, 2004. The destruction of the major hospitals in the downtown area would be almost nearly complete in the city. (Credit: CMADD)

"The likelihood of a nuclear weapon attack in an American city is steadily increasing, and the consequences will be overwhelming," said Cham Dallas,Cham Dallas, the director of the Center for Mass Destruction Defense (CMADD), a CDC Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Georgia. He wrote this study with William Bell, CMADD senior research scientist.

It is interesting to note that the two researchers decided to focus on 20 kiloton and 550 kiloton nuclear detonation.

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March 23rd, 2007

A robot that paints like Jackson Pollock

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 10:50 am

Categories: Engineering & Innovation, Leisure, Robotics

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According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, computer scientists at the Washington University in Saint-Louis (WUSTL) have built a robot that makes drip paintings like Jackson Pollock's — who was also known as "Jack the Dripper." The robot, dubbed 'Action Jackson,' can finish an 'artwork' in just minutes, like Jackson Pollock probably did. But the paintings by this robot can be bought for about $10, which is far from the whopping $140 million price paid last year for "No 5, 1948." Anyway, the article raises an interesting question: who is the artist, the software designer or the robot?

Below is a painting done by Action Jackson which was presented at the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Design Fair in Whitaker Hall of WUSTL on December 8, 2006. (Credit: WUSTL). Here is a link to a short article about this exhibit (WUSTL News, January 18, 2007). As you can see, it's less complex than the real Jackson Pollock's painting, No. 5, 1948 (Credit: Wikipedia).

But even if the Action Jackson's paintings are 'simple,' can they be considered as art? And in this case, who is the artist? And can a robot be creative? Here is the answer of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Many artists and scientists say that before a robot can be credited with creativity, it must have autonomy. There's a difference between a robot that makes choices about its art, and a robot that carries out rigid instructions, said Gary Greenfield, a University of Richmond mathematician who makes computer-generated art. "We don't confuse Photoshop with being a creative entity," he said, referring to the digital imaging software. "We think of it as a tool."

But William Smart, a WUSTL computer science professor working in the Media and Machines Lab, tends to disagree.

If Action Jackson is a paintbrush — an extension of the artist's hands — then the seed of creativity is in the program that controls the machine. That seed is, most often, a program called "404," named after the number of the class in which Action Jackson was built. [Mechanical engineering student Topher McFarland] programmed the nozzle to trace out those numerals, sloppily, across the cardboard.

Just for your information, Action Jackson doesn't cost much. It has been assembled from leftovers of other engineering projects. "And empty Bic pens serve as sheaths for control wires."

Finally, for your viewing pleasure, you also can watch Action Jackson painting in this short movie (QuickTime format, 1 minute and 28 seconds, 6.65 MB).

Sources: Eric Hand, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 19, 2007; and various websites

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March 22nd, 2007

A microscopic alphabet soup

Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 10:45 am

Categories: Engineering & Innovation, Health & Medicine, Nanotechnology, Science & Nature

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UCLA researchers have produced microscale particles shaped like each letter of the alphabet. They've used 'lithoparticles' — microscale and nanoscale particles that can have a wide range of material compositions — to create this microscopic alphabet. They even can choose a specific font to create these colloidal letters, made of solid polymeric materials dispersed in a liquid solution. These letters could be used to 'mark' individual cells or for new medical applications. With the right microscope at home, you could even play Scrabble with these letters…

Let's start by looking at this microscopic alphabet soup. (Credit: Credit: Carlos J. Hernandez/Thomas G. Mason, UCLA Chemistry). Here is a link to related images.

This research project has been led by UCLA professor Thomas G. Mason and chemistry graduate student Carlos J. Hernandez who is a member of his research group. "We can even choose the font style; if we wanted Times New Roman, we could produce that," said Mason. [And] Hernandez designed a customized font for the letters and produced them.

"We have demonstrated the power of a new method, at the microscale, to create objects of precisely designed shapes that are highly uniform in size," said Mason, a member of UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute. "They are too small to see with the unaided eye, but with an optical microscope, you can see them clearly; the letters stand out in high fidelity. Our approach also works into the nanoscale."

Of course, if you can build microscopic objects shaped like letters, you also can design other kinds of structures such as triangles, crosses and doughnuts. But what can be they used for? Here is the answer of the UCLA scientists.

Because each letter is smaller than many kinds of cells, possible applications include marking individual cells with particular letters. It may be possible, Mason said, to use a molecule to attach a letter to a cell's surface or perhaps even insert a letter inside a cell and use the letter-marker to identify the cell. The research also could lead to the creation of tiny pumps, motors or containers that could have medical applications, as well as security applications.

This research work has been published by The Journal of Physical Chemistry C under the title "Colloidal Alphabet Soup: Monodisperse Dispersions of Shape-Designed LithoParticles" (Volume 111, Issue 12, Pages 4477-4480, published online on February 13, 2007). Here is a link to the abstract.

Even if the research work is very interesting, I'm not really sure it will have practical applications anytime soon, even if UCLA has applied for patent protection.

Sources: University of California Los Angeles, via EurekAlert!, March 20, 2007; and various websites

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