Cambridge, Mass. - February 15, 2012 - A new technique inspired by elegant pop-up books and origami will soon allow clones of robotic insects to be mass-produced by the sheet. Devised by engineers at Harvard, the ingenious layering and folding process enables the rapid fabrication of not just microrobots, but a broad range of electromechanical devices. In prototypes, 18 layers of carbon fiber, Kapton (a plastic film), titanium, brass, ceramic, and adhesive sheets have been laminated together in a complex, laser-cut design. The structure incorporates flexible hinges ...

Advances in technology in the medical field have done wonders for patients. Thousands of medical devices, for instance, have improved and saved the lives of so many people. However, negative consequences go in tandem, unfortunately, with the positive aspects of these technological wonders. One U.S. patient was diagnosed with Chondrolysis after the risks about the medical device that caused the injury were not adequately revealed to him. The patient's family has since filed a lawsuit, which has prompted many to wonder who is responsible for the injury--the doctor or ...

Fish are as good at evaluating numerical ratios as college students are, says a study published in the Feb. 15 issue of the open access journal PLoS ONE. Both the fish and the college students had to determine which of two collections of objects was larger. The students played a computerized game in which they chose the display showing more dots, without verbally counting them. The guppies were given the option to join either of two groups of fish, in adjoining tanks to each side; previous work has shown that guppies show a strong preference for larger groups. The results ...

While often difficult to reach, settlements between debtors and creditors involving debt forgiveness are usually not as attractive as they seem, and can often lead to additional, unforeseen burdens on consumers. This irony may become all too clear to the consumer trying to settle his or her high credit card debt. Credit cards are a popular vehicle for consumers to obtain and use debt. Astonishingly, the total consumer debt in the United States stands at nearly $2.5 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. Of that amount, credit card debt is categorized as "revolving ...

Does it matter whether long periods of hot weather, such as last year's heat wave that gripped the U.S. Midwest, happen in June or July, August or September? Scientists studying the subtle effects of heat waves and droughts say that when such events happen makes a big difference. Based on more than 25 years of data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site in Kansas--one of 26 such NSF LTER sites across the globe--ecologists looked at how droughts and heat waves affect grass growth during different months of the ...

Hampton Inn Spartanburg Hotel - North I-85 offers close lodging to holiday shoppers attending the President's Day Sale at Gaffney Premium Outlets. The annual event will take place, Friday, February 17 - Monday, February 27, 2012. Shoppers can enjoy extra discounts on top of already low outlet prices. Gaffney Premium Outlets offers over 70 outlet stores in a beautiful village-style setting. Stores include: COACH Factory, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Ann Taylor Factory Store, Pottery Barn Outlet, J. Crew, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, OshKosh B'gosh, Under Armour, ...

Ghost imaging (GI), and its even more oddly named cousin virtual ghost imaging (VGI), seem to contradict conventional wisdom by being able to image an object by simply counting photons in a "light bucket." This non-intuitive technique, however, can lead to better images when conditions are less than ideal. In a first-of-its-kind demonstration, a team of researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md., and the University of Maryland in Baltimore, captured reflected photons from a highly specialized laser beam to create a VGI image of a remote target. In ...

4t Networks is pleased to offer a $50 discount on their already amazing Cloud hosting service prices. From now through February 29th, 2012, enter coupon code FIFTYOFF98 to save $50 on any customized Virtual Machine! "Cloud machines are an essential component of modern business," says Kevin Gray, President of 4t Networks. "We feel that our superior Cloud hosting services will be a welcome addition to any company, and with $50 off, there's no reason not to give it a try." Cloud Virtual Machine hosting, utilizing 4t Networks' VMware infrastructure, ...

"Perhaps the earliest public demonstration of an electric motor," writes a team of researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, "involved the automatic rotation of a turkey on a spit over a fire" at a party put on by Benjamin Franklin in 1749. Franklin's electrostatic motor was self-commutating, meaning that it was able to provide a continuous torque while it turned without requiring external electronics to control its progress. Using artificial muscles, hyper-elastic materials that expand when a charge is applied, the New Zealand team has made a prototype ...

By adding an incredibly thin coating of alumina to a metal surface, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have doubled the rate that heat travels from a solid surface – such as a pot on a stove – into the liquid in the pot. The results are published in the American Institute of Physics' journal Applied Physics Letters. Pool boiling is the most common and familiar method of heating a container's contents, and is a remarkably efficient heat transfer method. The transfer of heat in this case is referred to as the "heat flux." There exists, however, a critical ...

Atlanta tree services company Yellow Ribbon Tree Experts wants everyone to remember that Arbor Day comes much earlier in Georgia than the Nation's Arbor Day. Arbor Day in Georgia is the third Friday in February, the 17th this year, to align with optimal tree planting season in Georgia, which is between November and mid-March. Arbor Day is observed nationally on the third Friday in April. Arbor Day is a reminder to take a moment and reflect on the important role that trees play in the great state of Georgia and across the nation. Arbor Day should be about the future and ...

Cyclone Giovanna crossed over the island of Madagascar leaving flooding and damages in its wake and has now entered the Mozambique Channel. NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image that showed a ragged eye still exists, and the storm is regaining strength in the warm Channel waters. Once Giovanna traversed the island nation of Madagascar and entered the Mozambique Channel, the body of water between Madagascar and Mozambique on the African mainland, NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead and captured a visible image with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ...

With more than 900,000 people travelling with British Airways this February half-term, the airline is giving travellers a light-hearted helping hand with their top travel and baggage tips collected from their staff all over the airline. The videos, which are located on YouTube, can be found at: http://bit.ly/y0jiLN (Travel) and http://bit.ly/xNZFgE (Baggage). The videos include tips pertaining to travelling with small children, remaining comfortable when travelling between different climates, how to remember passports and other essentials, and practical packing and ...

A UCLA study has found that a new parent-training program is effective in reducing the risk of low-income, preschool-age Latino children being overweight. Researchers found that after one year, there was a 9 percent reduction in overweight and obese children in the parent-training intervention group, while a control group that did not receive the parent training had a 16 percent increase in overweight and obese children. "This is the first pilot intervention study that reversed the weight gain seen in preschool Latino children living in low-income families," said ...

The Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Sligo has revealed that Dublin based couple, Delia Teahan and Neil O'Donnell have won the wedding of their dreams with the hotel. The competition was announced in the Sligo Champion, with hundreds of entries from couples longing to win a perfect wedding from the Rosses Point hotel. Ten deserving couples were chosen for the final and had to come face to face in the annual 'Wedding Olympics' competition which was held in the hotel. There were several rounds in the Wedding Olympics, including going against the clock dressing their partner ...

Vancouver, B.C. — February 15, 2012 — We are on the cusp of a new information revolution — a quantum leap in technology — and the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo is leading the way. With the world's largest concentration of researchers working to harness the forces of quantum mechanics, the institute stands to transform computing, communications and other technologies. "We are learning to speak the language of the quantum realm — of atoms and electrons and molecules," says IQC Executive Director Raymond Laflamme. "By controlling nature's ...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Climate change spells trouble for many tropical birds – especially those living in mountains, coastal forests and relatively small areas – and the damage will be compounded by other threats like habitat loss, disease and competition among species. That is among the conclusions of a review of nearly 200 scientific studies relevant to the topic. The review was scheduled for online publication this week in the journal Biological Conservation by Çağan Şekercioğlu (pronounced Cha-awn Shay-care-gee-oh-loo), an assistant professor of biology ...

Next are excited to launch their SS12 Lipsy shoe collection! From peeptoe heels to patent courts, the collection of fashionable footwear look great with Lipsy dresses, playsuits and pleated trousers alike. The collection has pretty party platforms in hot pinks, electric blues and sorbet tones as well as classic black suede heels and shoe boots. Fashion favourites include the beautiful Tilly Criss Cross Wedges, with a flattering design of chunky wedges mixed with delicate dainty straps as well as the Tara courts in pink or animal print. Other new arrivals from Lipsy London ...

Boating industry innovator Teleflex Marine has launched Optimus 360 by SeaStar, a revolutionary joystick steering/shift/throttle control system engineered for powerboats with mechanically-controlled twin outboards. With Optimus 360 by SeaStar, those boat owners can now upgrade their control systems and enjoy easy, precise, intuitive control of their vessel. Years in development and testing, Optimus 360 by SeaStar uses state-of-the-art electronics to provide easy 360-degree maneuvering capabilities when docking, negotiating crowded areas or loading a vessel onto a trailer. ...

Philadelphia, PA -- The trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) protein protects and maintains the integrity of the epithelial surface in the normal breast. New research has found that while TFF3 protein expression is higher in well-differentiated low grade tumors and therefore associated with features of a good prognosis, it has a more sinister role in breast cancer invasion and metastasis. The report is published in the March issue of the American Journal of Pathology. "Our findings suggest that TFF3 is regulated by estrogen and has beneficial properties in breast epithelia," says ...

As people seek healthier dietary regimens they often turn to things labeled "organic." Lurking in the background, however, is an ingredient that may be a hidden source of arsenic—an element known to be both toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Organic brown rice syrup has become a preferred alternative to using high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener in food. High fructose corn syrup has been criticized as a highly processed substance that is more harmful than sugar and is a substantial contributor to epidemic obesity. Unfortunately, organic brown rice syrup is not without ...

CEO Victor Rosenman today announced the launch of FeedVisor's algorithmic repricing platform, that will simplify and irrevocably improve merchants' pricing strategies on e-Commerce marketplaces such as Amazon.com. "FeedVisor's algorithmic repricing platform is fully automated and is designed to maximize e-Commerce marketplaces effectiveness and in turn, improve profitability," says Rosenman. "Other companies offer repricing tools that are needlessly overcomplicated. They are packed with features and have an extensive learning curve. FeedVisor, on the ...

New research shows that more than half of women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have fewer children than desired. While patient choice has some influence on the smaller family size, findings published today in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that higher rates of infertility and miscarriage may also impact the number of offspring born to women with these chronic conditions. According to the ACR up to 322,000 U.S. adults have systemic lupus—a disease in which the body's immune ...

A new RAND Corporation study concludes that eliminating a key part of health care reform that requires all Americans to have health insurance would sharply lower the number of people gaining coverage, but would not dramatically increase the cost of buying policies through new insurance exchanges. The study comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in March regarding the constitutionality of the individual mandate, a key provision of 2010's Affordable Care Act. According to estimates created using a microsimulation model created by the RAND Comprehensive ...

Children who play with puzzles between ages 2 and 4 later develop better spatial skills, a study by University of Chicago researchers has found. Puzzle play was found to be a significant predictor of cognition after controlling for differences in parents' income, education and the overall amount of parent language input. In examining video recordings of parents interacting with children during everyday activities at home, researchers found children who play with puzzles between 26 and 46 months of age have better spatial skills when assessed at 54 months of age. "The ...