First element discovered in Asia named ‘nihonium’, after Japan

Kyushu University professor Kosuke Morita, head of a team of scientists who discovered element 113, points to the superheavy synthetic element on a periodic table at a news conference at the RIKEN institute''s research centre in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo on June 9, 2016. Reuters

TOKYO: Japanese scientists behind the discovery of element 113, the first atomic element found in Asia — indeed, the first found outside Europe or the United States — have dubbed it "nihonium" after the Japanese-language name for their country.

"I believe the fact that we, in Japan, found one of only 118 known atomic elements gives this discovery great meaning," said Kosuke Morita, a university professor who led the discovery team from the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science.

"Another important meaning is that until now, all the elements in the periodic table have been discovered in Europe and the United States," he told a news conference on Thursday.

"There has not been a single atomic element found in Asia, Oceania or Africa."

Element 113 was first found in 2004, and the number refers to its atomic number, or the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom. It does not exist naturally and has had to be synthesised.

Though the element was publicly recognised by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in December 2015, the name was not announced by IUPAC until Wednesday. It will become permanent after a five-month public review.

If approved, it will join other newly announced elements: moscovium for element 116, tennessine for element 117 and oganesson for element 118.

It will also not be the only element to be named after a country, having been preceded by polonium and francium after the places they were discovered. — Reuters Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/

Read More........→November 18, 2016

Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi wins Nobel Prize in Physiology

Stockholm: Yoshinori Ohsumi, a Japanese cell biologist specialising in autophagy and a professor in Tokyo Institute of Technology's Frontier Research Centre, was on Monday awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries of the mechanism for autophagy, a process that deals with destruction of cells in the body. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet decided to award the prize to Ohsumi, 71, as his discoveries led to a new paradigm in the "understanding of how the cell recycles its content". "His discoveries opened the path to understanding the fundamental importance of autophagy in many physiological processes, such as in the adaptation to starvation or response to infection," astatement on the official website of the Nobel Prize said. Because of Japan's 23rd Nobel Laureate Ohsumi's works, it is now known that autophagy -- self eating -- controls important physiological functions where cellular components need to be degraded and recycled. The concept emerged during the 1960s, when researchers first observed that the cell could destroy its own contents by enclosing it in membranes, forming sack-like vesicles that were transported to a recycling compartment, called the lysosome, for degradation. Ohsumi reasoned that if he could disrupt the degradation process in the vacuole while the process of autophagy was active, then autophagosomes should accumulate within the vacuole and become visible under the microscope. Source: ummid.com

Read More........→October 04, 2016

Solar-powered plane breaks solo flight record

The solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse, flying from Japan to Hawaii, on the most perilous leg of a round-the-globe bid, has beaten the record for the longest solo flight, organisers said yesterday. They admitted though that veteran Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg was exhausted after over four days of continuous flying, which made the final 24 hours of flight particularly challenging. The plane was set to land this morning local time at Kalaeloa Airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu, some 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Honolulu. By 7:30pm GMT (1am IST, Friday) on Thursday, Solar Impulse 2 had traveled 86 per cent of the way to the tropical US state, after flying 7,075 kilometers. However, it was in the process of crossing a cold front that required careful navigation on the part of Borschberg, which would significantly increase stress levels for the 62-year-old. Borschberg had so far flown over 97 hours easily beating the previous longest solo endurance flight undertaken in 2006. The Japan to Hawaii trip was expected to take 120 hours. The Swiss aviator was napping for only 20 minutes at a time so as to maintain control of the pioneering plane and has on the plane a parachute and life raft, in case he needed to ditch in the Pacific. The experimental solar-powered aircraft left Japan around 6pm GMT (11:30pm IST) on Sunday the early hours of Monday local time after spending a month in the central city of Nagoya. The aircraft, piloted alternately by Swiss explorers Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, embarked on its 22,000-mile (35,000-km) journey around the world from Abu Dhabi on 9 March. ''Can you imagine that a solar powered airplane without fuel can now fly longer than a jet plane!'' said Piccard in a statement. ''This is a clear message that clean technologies can achieve impossible goals.'' The plane, weighs about as much as a family sedan and has 17,000 solar cells across its wingspan. The aircraft was expected to make the trip around the globe in some 25 flight days, broken up into 12 legs at speeds between 30 to 60 miles per hour. The Solar Impulse 2 initially left Nanjing, China, on 31 May for Hawaii, but its bid was cut short a day later due to what Borschberg termed ''a wall of clouds'' over the Pacific. The plane landed in the central Japanese city of Nagoya. The solo record was earlier set in 2006 by American adventurer Steve Fossett, who flew the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer for 76 hours non-stop. Source: domain-b.com

Read More........→July 05, 2015

In your face projection mapping delivers virtual make-up

Japanese artist, director and producer Nobumichi Asai has unveiled Omote, his latest project that uses projection mapping techniques to create stunning illusions on a model’s face. In his recently released video the model moves her head while projected graphics constantly transform how she appears; creating masks and cyber influenced visuals. He was inspired by the Japanese Noh mask.

Laser scanning was used to create a mesh that followed the contours of the model’s face and it’s rumoured that Asai is now looking to create a system the covers the whole body. Asai has built up a large

portfolio of work that includes a number of projection mapping projects, usually featuring huge backdrops including buildings, a dockyard and a large stage show for Subaru. Source: InAVate, Image-Courtesy: https://33.media.tumblr.com

Read More........→September 11, 2014

Docomo turns surfaces interactive with smart glasses

Docomo showed off a Google Glass rival that transforms any surface into a touchscreen at Japan's Ceatec show last week. The company demonstrated a number of applications including manipulation of virtual content on any surface using the 'intelligent-glasses' and a ring sensor. Ceatec ran from October 1 to 5, 2013 at the Makuhari Messe convention center outside Tokyo.

Other uses on show included facial recognition capabilities, which pulled up relevant profile information on the person being viewed and character recognition enabling instant language translation. Technology news site Slashgear reported on the technology showcased at  the mobile industry trade show, posting
the video featured above. The concept builds on existing Docomo developments. At last year’s Ceatec show Docomo demonstrated. glasses that enabled hands-free video calling. Source: InAVate

Read More........→October 13, 2013