Important Innovations

Amazing Scientific Breakthrough in Spain Source:  Stock Eye Image Source:  Patient Bernadetta Gomez Blind Woman Sees Again In Spain, a 57 year old blind woman, Bernadetta Gomez who lost her sight 16 years ago, can see again.  This miraculous outcome is thanks to a breakthrough technology system developed by Dr. Eduardo Fernandez, the director of neuro-engineering at the University of Miguel Hernandez.  Ms. Gomez is able to see light, letters, people, objects and even play basic video games.  The images are sent directly to her brain via a brain implant.  It's a world first and the images are generated in the brain.  The innovative system has nothing to do with the eyes. How It Works Doctors placed a tiny implant directly in Ms. Gomez' brain.  The implant sends signals directly to her brain's visual cortex.  As part of the system, the team embedded a camera into a pair of glasses. The camera records the patient's field of vision and sends

Stardust 5 to 7 Billion Years Old Found in a Meteorite in Australia Source:  NASA Meteorite  Stardust Material That's Older than the Sun This is an extraordinary scientific discovery just announced by a team of astronomers led by University of Chicago Professor Dr. Philipp Heck. In a meteorite that fell from space in Australia 50 years ago, there is awesome stardust dating back 5 to 7 billion years.  This stardust predates the Sun. Heck and his team analyzed the contents of the meteorite.  They found it to be the oldest, solid material ever found on Earth.  Their work has just been published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What This Discovery Opens Innovative Views On The scientists say this stardust will tell us how parent stars were formed in our galaxy. It will tell us about the origins of the oxygen that we breathe and provide the opportunity to trace materials back before the creation of the Sun. The stardust is the oldest materi

One of Nature's Most Beautiful, Unsolved Mysteries Source:  Great Smoky Mountains National Park.org Natural Wonder Light Shows They are called Synchronous fireflies.  Thousands of them blink their lights in unison for ten seconds, go dark for a minute and then light up the forest again.  These fireflies are extremely rare and are found in only a few places around the world, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee where they put on a magnificent light show from mid May to mid June every year. The Synchronous fireflies are a natural mystery that still baffle scientists.  For a great news blog with more details, go to Important Innovations Collection: Synchronous Fireflies Rare & Mysterious : A Light Show That Baffles Scientists Source:  Great Smoky Mountains National Park.org Inspiration from Nature It's one of the m...

How to Protect Your Lunch from Gulls at the Beach Source:  Cape Cod Seagull Remedy in New Scientific Research from UK It's a beautiful summer day here on Cape Cod. The beach is dotted with seagulls that are gliding Atlantic Ocean waves, soaring winds and walking the pristine shoreline.  Cape Cod, MA is surely one of the seagull capitals of the world and soaring seagulls are a symbol of this beautiful region.  But, what do you do if a seagull wants to join in your beach lunch?  They can be quite nudgy!  British scientists have just come up with an innovative remedy.  Just stare them down.  And they get the message. UK's Battle With Pushy Seagulls The UK is battling seagulls trying to get a piece of tourists' lunches and snacks in seaside communities.  UK scientists have come up with great research and a smart solution.  University of Exeter scientists examined whether if staring at seagulls might make them decide to back-off and not steal your food.  Apparently it

Novel, Tiny Robot Has Big Applications for Drones DelFly Robot - Image Courtesy of Delft University New Robot Mimics Insect Flight Researchers at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands have developed a novel flying robot that mimics the flight control and dynamics of insects.  Its flying wings beat 17 times per second.  And it generates enough force to stay airborne and controls the flight by slight changes in wing motion. DelFly Nimble The engineers have named it DelFly Nimble. The tiny robot is autonomous.  It can hover on the spot,  do 360० flips and fly any direction with agility like an insect.  Right now it has top speeds of 15.5 mph and excellent power efficiency with a flight range of 1 km on a fully charged battery. Important Applications DelFly Nimble has exceptional flight qualities which open up new drone applications.  Scientists say it's also exceptionally well suited to advance biological and engineering research into insects and their fli