Roboy, the robotic 'boy' set to help humans with everyday tasks

Scientists have revealed an ambitious plan to create a humanoid helper robot with artificial muscles - in just nine months.

Engineers at the University of Zurich's Artificial Intelligence Lab hope that 1.2m tall Roboy, designed to look like a child, will eventually help the sick and elderly by acting as a mechanical helper.

To help the robot move, the team are developing radical artificial 'tendons'.

The team has already signed up 15 project partners and over 40 engineers, and hope to fund the project using a combination of commercial partners and crowdfunding.

'Financing the project  through sponsorship and crowd funding enables us to implement an extremely ambitious project in an academic environment", said Professor Rolf Pfeifer, wh is leading the project.

The team hope Roboy will become a blueprint for 'service robots' that work alongside humans.

Service robots are machines that are, to a certain extent, able to execute services independently
for the convenience of human beings,' the researchers say.

'Since they share their 'living space' with people, userfriendliness and safety are of great importance'.

The project will use artificial tendons.

'Thanks to his construction as a tendon-driven robot modelled on human beings ('normal' robots have their motors in their joints), Roboy moves almost as elegantly as a human,' the team claim.

'Our aging population is making it necessary to keep older people as autonomous as possible for as long as possible, which means caring for aged people is likely to be an important area for the deployment of service robots.

'We can very safely assume that service robots will become part of our environment in the future, as is already the case today for technologies such as smartphones and laptops.'

Creating humanoid robots presents researchers with great challenges,' the researchers say.

'Elements such as quick, smooth movements or robust, flexible yet soft skin are difficult to recreate.

'Fundamental new findings are needed for this purpose.

It is precisely through projects like Roboy that innovation is possible.'

Roby is expected to be 'born' in March 2013, when it will be unveiled at the Robots on Tour event in Zurich.

The lab is seeking donations to fund the work,and is offering to put a logo on the machine for
£34,000 ($55,000).

Scientists decode why universe is dominated by matter

Scientists have solved the puzzle of the universe being dominated by matter rather than its close relative anti-matter.

Physicists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison made a precise measurement of elusive, nearly massless particles, and obtained a crucial hint as to why the universe is dominated by matter.

The particles, called anti-neutrinos, were detected at the underground Daya Bay experiment, located near a nuclear reactor in China.

Anti-particles are almost identical twins of sub-atomic particles (electrons, protons and neutrons) that make up our world. When an electron encounters an anti-electron, for example, both are annihilated in a burst of energy.

Failure to see these bursts in the universe tells physicists that anti-matter is vanishingly rare, and that matter rules the roost in today's universe.

"At the beginning of time, in the Big Bang, a soup of particles and anti-particles was created, but somehow an imbalance came about," says Karsten Heeger, a professor of physics at UW-Madison.

"All the studies that have been done have not found enough difference between particles and anti-particles to explain the dominance of matter over anti-matter.

"But the neutrino, an extremely abundant but almost massless particle, may have the right properties, and may even be its own anti-particle, Heeger said in a statement.

"And that's why physicists have put their last hope on the neutrino to explain the absence of anti-matter in the universe," he said.

Reactors, Heeger says, are a fertile source of anti-neutrinos, and measuring how they change during their short flights from the reactor to the detector, gives a basis for calculating a quantity called the "mixing angle", the probability of transformation from one flavour into another.

The measurement of the Daya Bay experiment even before the last set of detectors was installed, showed a surprisingly large angle, Heeger said.

"People thought the angle might be really tiny, so we built an experiment that was 10 times as sensitive as we ended up needing.

Chinese medicine gets a second look from science

A study conducted at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has revealed the science behind the ancient Chinese medicine Chang Shan. Chang Shan is an herbal concoction that has been used to treat fevers that develop from malaria for thousands of years. Now, scientists have uncovered what makes the medicine so successful by looking at a high-resolution picture of its structure.

In the most recent edition of the journal Nature, the researchers explain how an image of a two-headed compound that makes up the active ingredient of Chang Shan is responsible for the medicine’s healing properties. Previously, scientists were aware that this two headed compound, known as halofuginone, which is a derivative of the febrifugine, worked to decrease the power of the immune system. However, until now, no one had discovered just how this drug worked.

By studying the structure of Chang Shan, scientists involved in the study discovered that halofuginone stops a process called aminoacylation, which is essential for organisms to produce the proteins necessary for life. In the paper, the researchers suggest that Chang Shan fights malaria fevers because the halofuginone in the medicine interferes with this process, killing the malaria parasites in the patient’s bloodstream.

Aminoacylation is am important step in creating proteins from DNA during gene expression. During the process, DNA is first transcribed into RNA. The RNA is then translated into amino acids that link to create a protein. Aminoacylation’s roles is to bring free amino acids to the site of translation so they can be linked to the growing strand of amino acids in the protein. Without aminoacylation, no amino acids are brought to the site of translation and no proteins can be made. Since proteins are essential for life, extreme interference of this process can cause death.

Paul Schimmel, who is the Ernest and Jean Hahn Professor and chair of molecular biology and chemistry ay TSRI, believes his research has a profound impact on the study of Chang Shan. “Our new results solved a mystery that has puzzled people about the mechanism of action of a medicine that has been used to treat fever from a malaria infection going back probably 2,000 years or more,” he said. Schimmel, who is also a member of The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at TSRI, worked on the project with a TSRI postdoctoral fellow, Huihao Zhou.

Looking forward, Chang Shan and specifically halofuginone are expected to make a big splash in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. The ancient medicine is already in clinical trials for cancer, and the new high-resolution images will help scientists discover new ways to use the drug to fight numerous diseases.

Greenpeace India launches 'The Forest Hero'

 Greenpeace India is launching a facebook application called ''The Forest Hero'' shortly. The application is part of Greenpeace's Junglistan campaign which aims at putting a stop to the inefficient mining practices and land allocation for coal mining.This application contains a video that narrates the story of a Forest Hero through a video where an individual's action has changed the life of people in a single village.

The person who uses the application can choose a picture of himself, which the application thereafter uploads into the video.

"The idea is that a person can add himself into the film, spreading the meddage of saving the forest. There are several points in the film where a photo of a 'hero' appears. The user can add their own photo in these spaces - either by selecting a photo from their Facebook, taking a pic with their webcam or uploading a photo from their desktop. Uploading the photo and starting the film also signs the petition to protect the forest and helps gather support for the forests. Once the film has finished the user is automatically prompted to share on Facebook, and then given a number of other sharing options," said a Greenpeace India volunteer.

Forest versus Coal is a discussion that involves more than just the environmental aspect. A common perception is that India needs to develop at the same rate or higher and it's only possible by burning more coal.

Greenpeace India, however, has been campaigning to bring about the right policy changes that will facilitate and promote alternatives to coal and keep India on the right development path, while being sustainable at the same time. The members of the group are hoping this application, will reach out to a large number of people and the content of the application will act as a conversation starter which in turn will lead to a discussion on the issue.

Significantly, Greenpeace India has been working on this issue for a long time and will continue doing so for the next year.

Alien life may be confirmed by 2024

Humans could make contact with alien life within 12 years, with the aid of the world's largest radio telescope, a leading UFO expert has claimed.

One of the key questions whether extra-terrestrial life exists, could be answered by 2024 with the development of a supersized 1.3 billion pounds radio telescope

Mangalore University announces scholarship to promote pure science

Study of basic or pure sciences is all set to receive a big fillip in Mangalore University.
This thrust comes at a time when Indian Science Congress Association is all set to host the centenary session of Indian Science Congress at University of Calcutta, Kolkata from January3-7, 2013 under the theme - Science for shaping the future of India. President Pranab Mukherjee and PM Manmohan Singh are scheduled to take part in the event.

Four hundred student toppers in basic sciences and mathematics courses at the under-graduate level will receive an annual scholarship of Rs 5,000 in the three years of the course. If these students go on to pursue their post-graduation and PhDs in the basic sciences subjects - physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology - they will continue to receive the scholarship.

The university is all set to make a budgetary provision for the special scholarship when its finance committee sits down to prepare the university's budget shortly, after which it will be presented to the Syndicate for approval. After that it will be placed before the academic council for ratification, said vice-chancellor TC Shivashankara Murthy. "This is aimed at encouraging students to take up studies of basic sciences subjects in the first place," he said.
In fact, students have to thank Srinivas Ramanujam, mathematics wizard whose 125th birth anniversary celebration held at University College on Saturday that inspired the VC to make the announcement. While VC said the scholarship will be given to 100 students at the anniversary celebration, chairing the third general meeting of the academic council later during the day, he increased the limit of students who will get the scholarship to 400.

VC also directed finance officer PM Pakirappa to include the scholarship amount in the budgetary estimates at the academic council meet. VC later TOI that the financial outgo on account of the scholarship will be Rs 20 lakh per annum. "If this succeeds in bringing back students to basic sciences from UG level onwards, it will be an investment worth it," he said recalling India's prowess in basic sciences in the earlier part of the 20th century.

NASA to turn asteroid into space station

NASA scientists are planning to capture a 500,000 kg asteroid, relocate it and transform it into a space station for astronauts to refuel at on their way to Mars.

It would be the first time a celestial object has ever been moved by humans.

The White House’s Office of Science and Technology will consider the $2.6 billion plan in the coming weeks as it prepares to set its space exploration agenda for the next decade.

A feasibility report prepared by NASA and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) scientists outlined how they would go about capturing the asteroid.

An ‘asteroid capture capsule’ would be attached to an old Atlas V rocket and directed the asteroid between the Earth and the Moon.

Once close, the asteroid capsule would release a 50 ft diameter bag that wrap around the spinning rock using drawstrings, the paper said.

The craft would then turn on its thrusters, using an estimated 300 kg of propellant, to stop the asteroid in its tracks and tow it into a gravitationally neutral spot.

From here space explorers would have a stationary base from which to launch trips deeper into space.

“The idea of exploiting the natural resources of asteroids dates back over a hundred years, but only now has the technology become available to make this idea a reality,” the report said.

“The feasibility is enabled by three key developments: the ability to discover and characterise an adequate number of sufficiently small near-Earth asteroids for capture and return; the ability to implement sufficiently powerful solar electric propulsion systems to enable transportation of the captured asteroid; and the proposed human presence in cislunar space in the 2020s enabling exploration and exploitation of the returned asteroid,” it said.

NASA declined to comment on the project because it said it was in negotiations with the White House, but it is believed that technology would make it possible within 10-12 years.

The technology would also open up the possibility of mining other asteroids for their metals and minerals.

Some are full of iron which could be used for in the making of new space stations; others are made up of water which could be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen to make fuel.

Scientists find clues to more disease-resistant watermelons

Are juicier, sweeter, more disease-resistant watermelons on the way? An international consortium of more than 60 scientists from the United States, China, and Europe has published the genome sequence of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) -- information that could dramatically accelerate watermelon breeding toward production of a more nutritious, tastier and more resistant fruit. The watermelon genome sequence was published in the Nov. 25 online version of the journal Nature Genetics. The researchers discovered that a large portion of disease resistance genes were lost in the domestication of watermelon. With the high-quality watermelon sequence now complete, it is hoped that breeders can now use the information to recover some of these natural disease defenses.

The authors reported that the genome of the domesticated watermelon contained 23,440 genes, roughly the same number of genes as in humans. The group compared the genomes of 20 different watermelons and developed a first-generation genetic variation map for watermelon. This information allowed them to identify genomic regions that have been under human selection, including those associated with fruit color, taste and size.

"Watermelons are an important cash crop and among the top five most consumed fresh fruits; however, cultivated watermelons have a very narrow genetic base, which presents a major bottleneck to its breeding. Decoding the complete genome of the watermelon and resequencing watermelons from different subspecies provided a wealth of information and toolkits to facilitate research and breeding," said Zhangjun Fei, a scientist at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University, and one of the leaders of this project.

Fei worked with BTI scientists on different aspects of the research, including James Giovannoni, to generate the gene expression data through RNA-sequencing and Lukas Mueller to provide additional analysis to confirm the quality of the genome assembly. Fei also collaborated with Amnon Levi, a research geneticist at the USDA-ARS, U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, Charleston, S.C., on genetic mapping and identifying candidate genes that might be useful to enhance disease resistance in watermelon. The genome sequences of the watermelon are publicly available at the Cucurbit Genomics Database, which is created and maintained by Fei's group.

Believed to have originated in Africa, watermelons were cultivated by Egyptians more than 4,000 years ago, where the fruit was a source of water in dry, desert conditions. They are now consumed throughout the world -- with over 400 varieties in global commercial production. China leads in global production of the fruit, and the United States ranks fourth with more than 40 states involved in the industry. Despite being over 90 percent water, watermelons do contain important nutrients such as vitamins A and C, and lycopene, a compound that gives some fruits and vegetables their red color and appears to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. Watermelon is also a natural source of citrulline, a non-essential amino acid with various health and athletic performance benefits.

Scientists from Bangalore and Mainz develop new methods for cooling of ions

Among the most important techniques developed in atomic physics over the past few years are methods that enable the storage and cooling of atoms and ions at temperatures just above absolute zero. Scientists from Bangalore and Mainz have now demonstrated in an experiment that captured ions can also be cooled through contact with cold atoms and may thus be stored in so-called ion traps in a stable condition for longer periods of time. This finding runs counter to predictions that ions would actually be heated through collisions with atoms. The results obtained by the joint Indo-German research project open up the possibility of conducting future chemical experiments to generate molecular ions at temperatures as low as those that prevail in interstellar space.

Scientists of the Raman Research Institute in the Bangalore in India and the Institute of Physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany combined two techniques for their experiment. They captured neutral atoms in a magneto-optic trap, cooled them with laser light to a temperature close to absolute zero at minus 273.15 degrees Celsius, and also stored charged particles in an ion trap. For this purpose, Professor Dr. Günter Werth had to set a Paul trap as used in Mainz in India, where it was combined with a magneto-optic trap. It was thus possible to trap ions and cold atoms at one and the same location to observe their development.

"The question was whether it would work at all," explains Werth. The experiment with rubidium ions and rubidium atoms then showed that the particles did actually exchange energy. The ions were effectively cooled during a collision with the cold atoms. As the scientists write in their article in Nature Communications, there are two fundamental processes that determine the outcome. During continuous cooling, the atoms indirectly extract energy from the trapped ions. In addition, the collision between ions and atoms causes both to exchange their charges and results in the transformation of a 'hot' ion into a 'cold' ion. As it is possible to maintain a constant concentration of atoms in the reservoir of the magneto-optic trap, the system has the capacity to cool a larger number of ions without immediate exhaustion of the atom reservoir.

The interaction between ions and atoms is particularly interesting to physicists because it is thought that similar interactions might also occur in the coldness of outer space. "The expectation is that the interaction of ions and atoms at very low temperatures will result in the formation of molecular ions. This is a process that we believe also occurs in inter-stellar space,"