Google patents smart glasses

Google has received three patents for a “wearable display device” which appear to be the foundation for its most talked about latest technology gadget – Project Glass augmented reality glasses. The new glasses could be used much the way a smart phone is by corresponding with friends, listening to music, and searching information. They can also be used as a navigator. Engineers behind Project Glass say that early tests show the glasses are best suited for taking and sharing photos. So far there is no information as to when the new gadget will hit the stores and for how much. Earlier reports said the smart galsses would be commericially available by the end of this year. RIA,  Source; Voice of Russia

Read More........→January 10, 2013

US research says mice can 'sing'

Researchers from Tulane University in New Orleans, US, have found that mice can ‘sing’ like a choir by matching the pitch of their voice to that of others.

The experiment shows that when two male mice of different types are housed together, they slowly began to match the pitch of their songs to each other. The finding contradicts a long-held assumption that mice cannot learn to adapt their voices – a trait thought to be common only to humans, bats and a handful of bird and large mammal species. Although it was previously known that mice make an ultrasonic noise referred to as a “song” to attract mates, it had never been demonstrated that they were capable of changing pitch. The Telegraph, TASS, Source: Voice of Russia

Read More........→December 02, 2012

Now, a musical app that listens to your heart during exercise

Researchers have designed a new "Musical Heart" that enables your smartphone to select music to get your heart pumping during workout. The biofeedback-based system developed by a University of Virginia graduate researcher helps smartphones select music that will help get their owners' heart pumping during exercise and slow it down when they want to cool down or relax. "Whether I am driving, jogging, travelling or relaxing – I never find the appropriate music to listen to," said Shahriar Nirjon, a doctoral student in computer science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. "I believe there are many like me. The problem is: The heart wants to hear something, but our music player does not understand the need. My joy was in connecting them together - in a non-invasive and cost-effective way," Nirjon said. Called "Musical Heart", the system "brings together wellness and entertainment," Nirjon said in a statement. Musical Heart works by merging a microphone that detects the pulse in arteries in the ear with earphones that bring in music from a playlist on a smartphone. An app selects tunes that optimise the heart rate of an individual user based on a given activity, whether running, walking or relaxing - playing fast-paced music for hard workouts, and slowing the beat for cool-downs. An algorithm refines the music selection process of the system by storing heart rate data and calculating the effects of selected music on the rate. Over time, it improves music selections to optimise the user's heart rate. "We've designed Musical Heart to be convenient, non-invasive, personalised and low cost," Nirjon said. Musical Heart uses a pair of specially built earphones equipped with tiny sensors to continuously monitor the user's heart rate and activity level. That physiological information, along with contextual information, is then sent to a remote server, which provides dynamic music suggestions to help the user maintain a target heart rate. The system learns, in essence, to select music that will have a desired effect on heart rate customised to the individual user, based on the effects of past music selections on the heart rate. Source: Indian Express, Image: flickr.com

Read More........→November 15, 2012

Music lessons boost brain, slow aging

By Kerry Ludlam, Woodruff Health Sciences Center It turns out mom was right. Music lessons are good for you, and those benefits may last a lifetime. A recent study conducted by Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, a clinical neuropsychologist in Emory's School of Medicine, offers additional evidence that musical instrumental training, when compared to other activities, may reduce the effects of memory decline and cognitive aging. This is the second study published by Hanna-Pladdy, which confirms and refines findings from an original study published in Neuropsychology in 2011 that revealed that musicians with at least 10 years of instrumental musical training remained cognitively sharp in advanced age. The new findings were published in the July issue of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. “The study confirms that musical activity preserves cognition as we age, by comparing variability in cognitive outcomes of older adults active in musical instrumental and other leisure activities,” says Hanna-Pladdy. “A range of cognitive benefits, including memory, was sustained for musicians between the ages of 60-80 if they played for at least 10 years throughout their life, confirming that maintenance of advantages is not reliant on continued activity. In other words, you don’t use it or lose it. Nonetheless, the study highlighted the critical importance of the timing of musical activity, which may optimize cognitive benefits.” The cognitive enhancements in older musicians included a range of verbal and nonverbal functions, as well as memory, which is the hallmark of Alzhemier’s pathology. The study evaluated the timing of musical engagement to determine whether there is a critical period of musical training for optimal cognitive advantages in advanced age. While years of playing music were the best indication of enhanced cognition in advanced age, the results revealed different sensitive periods for cognitive development across the lifespan. Early age of acquisition, before age nine, predicted verbal working memory functions such as remembering and reorganizing digits in your head, consistent with early sensitive periods in brain development. Sustained musical activity in advanced age predicted other non-verbal abilities involving visuospatial judgment, suggesting it is never too late to be musically active. Continued musical activity in advanced age also appeared to buffer lower educational levels. “This is an exciting finding in light of recent evidence suggesting that high educational levels are likely to yield cognitive reserve that may potentially delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms or cognitive decline,” says Hanna-Pladdy. “This also highlights the promising role of musical activity as a form of cognitive enrichment across the lifespan, and it raises the question of whether musical training should eventually be considered an alternative form of educational training.” According to Hanna-Pladdy, to obtain optimal results, individuals should start musical training before age nine, play at least 10 years or more and if possible, keep playing for as long as possible over the age of 60. Source: eScienceCommons

Read More........→August 17, 2012

Amazon Fish In Illinois Lake: South American relative of piranha being caught by fishermen

Writing in his Outdoor blog, Grind TV's Pete Thomas noted another example of an aquarium fish potentially becoming an invasive species due to the careless or irresponsible actions of an home aquarium owner. In the Amazon River there lives the pacu, a relative of the piranha. The pacu has a similar shape to the piranha but can grow to be much larger, weighing in at over 50 pounds. And also similar to the piranha are its set of teeth, but with an interesting twist. They look more like a set of human

molars as the pacu primarily feeds on nuts and seeds which it crushes and grinds up with its teeth and powerful jaws. Because of its piranha-like appearance but less than hostile manner, the pacu pops up in aquariums around the world from time to time. But as it ultimately outgrows most home habitats, they sometimes find themselves cast aside in local rivers or lakes. As supposed herbivores, it would possibly seem that the pacu would be a harmless addition, but there apparently are reports of this fish being responsible for the deaths of two men in Papua New Guinea by castrating them - eeyeowch! So, it is with a measure of concern to city officials, residents and tourists, as we enter the warm summer months, that pacus were reportedly being caught by fishermen in Lake Lou Yaeger in Illinois. With more and more bathers entering the lake to escape the heat, the possibility of someone being bitten begins to increase. As Pete humorously reported in his blog, one key lake official was taking a less than alarmist position regarding the pacu. "Lake superintendent Jim Caldwell, sounding a bit like the Amity Island mayor in Jaws, assured that everything's OK, adding that he has a small swim in the lake regularly. It was about then that you half-expected the scary theme music to begin playing."  Responsible home aquarists always consider the repercussions of disposing of any fish - large or small, teeth or no teeth - in local waterways. Many fish that are sold to fresh and salt water aquarium enthusiasts are, in fact, juveniles only a few weeks old. This makes them fragile and mortality can be high. But if the fish survives and thrives, the owner often can find that they have a fish that is soon outgrowing its habitat. When I was in my junior high school years, I owned several aquariums in which I prided myself in having a dazzling array of fish to impress my folks and the neighbors. (My friends weren't all that interested. It was a bit nerdish, in an age of pre-computer nerds.) There was a local tropical fish store which had some nefarious connections and was able to procure for me a pacu, which I didn't have for too long; the poor thing could barely turn around in the tank. The shop was also able to get me a series of actual piranhas, which are illegal for regular consumers to own, buy, sell, or trade (I'm guessing the statute of limitations has expired). The laws existed to prevent a piranha from ending up in the local watering hole and, even as a kid, I could appreciate that since one nearly bit my finger when I was cleaning the tank one day. So, I can understand the fascination that home aquarists can have in owning exotic fish, but there is a very serious side to their activity that demands responsible decision-making. Many fresh water fish are raised rather than caught in the wild, but some of those fish can grow to be quite large with hungry appetites. Salt water fish can also be raised but some are caught in the wild and at great harm to the reef from where they came. Collectors will sometimes use chemicals or poisons that stun the fish for ease of capture. Unfortunately, the poisons kill the coral and damage the caught fish's internal organs so that it's life expectancy is shortened. While one can debate the value or purpose of home aquariums, there should be total agreement that transplanted fresh or salt water plants and animals can have unforeseen consequences on marine ecosystems. Source: RTSea

Read More........→July 29, 2012