Science and Technology -Net Catalogue

Experts at Aston University in Birmingham, England, have created an artificial brain, which is a first in the history of mankind. The researchers started the project on the premise that the dreaded disease Alzheimer could be cured by developing an artificial brain. Now after the completion of the project, those involved in the work have claimed that the most basic unit of the brain has the ability to process, connect and communicate, which are also the fundamental capacities of a natural human brain. The scientists first collected cells from a cancerous tumor. Then the cells were reprogrammed to create cells identical to those found in human nervous system. They made some balls of cells simulating those normally present in the brain. To keep these cells alive, the researchers fed them every two days by injecting them with minerals and nutrients. These reprogrammed cells were finally used to create an artificial brain capable of processing thoughts, although at the most basic level. The scientists, as also the outside observers, have confirmed that the most basic unit of the artificial brain has displayed the ability of processing, connecting and communicating.

This new development has been viewed as a critical breakthrough for the treatment of conditions such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Scientists have claimed that this cellular model can act as a useful research tool to understand how the brain functions. It is still very early days, but in the future, this interesting research could lead to a useful equipment for investigating dementia, Alzheimer’s and other such disorders.

NASA has recently concluded nearly two weeks in November-December testing of equipment and lunar concepts on Hawaii’s volcanic soil. The agency’s In Situ Resource Utilization Project, which studies ways astronauts can use resources found at landing sites, demonstrated how people might prospect for resources on the moon and make their own Oxygen from lunar rocks and soil.

The test helped NASA gain valuable information about systems that could enable a sustainable and affordable lunar outpost by minimizing the amount of water and oxygen that must be transported from Earth.

The Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, known as PISCES and based at the University of Hawaii, Hilo, hosted the tests. NASA ’s lunar exploration plan currently projects that on-site lunar resources could generate one to two metric tonnes of Oxygen annually. This is roughly the amount of Oxygen that four to six people living at a lunar outpost might breathe in a year.

When queried on how the Oxygen will be extracted from lunar soil, it was explained - in the reduction process, Hydrogen is combined with soil, heated and shaken. The Hydrogen breaks the bonds of metallic oxides and the end product is water, which is then stored until Oxygen is needed. Through electrolysis, a current breaks apart the Hydrogen and Oxygen. The Oxygen is stored and the Hydrogen returns to the processing system.

Hydrogen will be brought in from leftover fuel from the descent stage of the lunar lander. The field demonstrations in Hawaii showed how lunar materials might be extracted. They also showcased the Hydrogen reduction system used to manufacture Oxygen from those materials and how the Oxygen would be stored. A prototype system combines a polar prospecting rover and a drill specifically designed to penetrate the harsh lunar soil. A rover’s system demonstrates small-scale Oxygen production from soil. A NASA - developed robotic excavator known as Crators collected soil for the Oxygen system.

In addition to tests in laboratories and rock yards, NASA conducts tests at sites around the world known as analogs because they simulate the moonscape and other extreme environments. Why was Hawaii chosen as one of the locales for testing? It was answered -

“Hawaii’s volcanic terrain, rock distribution and soil materials provide a high-quality simulation of the moon’s polar region. Hawaii’s volcanic soil is very similar to regolith, the moon’s soil.”

Evidence of Microbial activity in a rock glacier high above tree line in the rocky mountains, a barren environment previously thought to be devoid of life has been discovered by a team from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Found in an intermittent stream draining from the glacier, the evidence  includes traces of dissolved organic materialand high levels of nitrates, said Mark Williams, a fellow at CU -Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.  The high nitrate levels are believed to be a result of microbes metabolizing nitrogen within the glacier. Rock glaciers require an extremely cold environment, large amounts of rock debris and enough of a slope to allow them to slide.

This is a very surprising findings. Generally, it is believed rock glaciers are not biological deserts as had been previously thought by scientists. This is one more example that microbes can live in the  most extreme of environments. The microbial signature discovered by the team in the rock glacier in the Green Lakes Valley watershed roughlyv30 miles west of Boulder, Colorado is similar to that found recently in semi-frozen lakes in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The unexpected discovery of microbes in that hostile Antarctica region has enthused scientists hunting for life in inhospitable environments. Both the amount of dissolved organic matter and nitrate levels from microbial activity in the rock glacier rose dramatically from the late spring to the early fall in 2003.

The research journal Nature published a communication announcing one of the most exciting advances built upon the landmark work of Nobel laureate Sir C. V. Raman called ‘Raman Effect’. Incidentally, it was the same journal in which phenomenal research of Sir C. V. Raman was brought out for the first time almost 80 years ago.

Mr. Haishing Rog and six other researchers with chip maker Intel, claim a scientific breakthrough by creating the world’s first continuous laser beam with a silicon chip.  And as they admit, the credit goes to the ‘Raman Effect’ whereby light is tremendously amplified when it passes through some transparent materials.

The proof that silicon can be used as a light-amplifying  material has far-reaching implications for the electro-optical industry. If a way is found to commercially produce Raman SiliconLasers in large numbers, it will reduce the dependence on costly and delicate fibre optic materials.

The processes based on the ‘Raman Effect’ might just turn out to be the compelling application that turns the Indian discovery into something that is truly a global technology. It is a great potentials toultimately change how and how fast we are able to communicate.