PMO announce Bharat Ratna for Prof CNR Rao and Sachin Tendulkar

Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao, also known as C.N.R. Rao (Kannada :ಚಿಂತಾಮಣಿ ನಾಗೇಶ ರಾಮಚಂದ್ರ ರಾವ್ ) (born 30 June 1934), is an Indian chemist who has worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry. He currently serves as the Head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. Dr. Rao has Honorary Doctorates from 60 Universities worldwide. He has authored around 1,500 research papers and 45 scientific books. On 16th November 2013, The Government of India decided to confer upon him Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India making him the third Scientist after C.V.Raman and A P J Abdul Kalam to get the award.

Early life and education: C.N.R. Rao was born in Bangalore in a Kannada family to father Hanumantha Nagesa Rao, and mother Nagamma Nagesa Rao. He obtained his bachelors degree from Mysore University in 1951, obtaining a masters from BHU two years later, and obtained his Ph.D. in 1958 from Purdue University. In 1961 he received DSc from Mysore University. He joined the faculty of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 1963.[He has received Honorary Doctorates from many Universities such as Bordeaux, Caen, Colorado, Khartoum, Liverpool, Northwestern, Novosibirsk, Oxford, Purdue, Stellenbosch, Universite Joseph Fourier, Wales, Wroclaw, Notre Dame, Uppsala, Aligarh Muslim, Anna, AP, Banaras, Bengal Engineering, Bangalore, Burdwan, Bundelkhand, Delhi, Hyderabad, IGNOU, IIT-Bombay, Kharagpur,Delhi and Patna, JNTU, Kalyani, Karnataka, Kolkata, Kuvempu, Lucknow, Mangalore, Manipur, Mysore, Osmania, Punjab, Roorkee, Sikkim Manipal, SRM, Tumkur, Sri Venkateswara, Vidyasagar, & Visveswaraya Technological University. Profession: Rao is currently

the National Research Professor and Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore, India. He is the founding President of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. He was appointed Chair of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Indian Prime Minister in January 2005, a position which he had occupied earlier during 1985–89. He is also the director of the International Centre for Materials Science (ICMS). Earlier, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur from 1963 to 1976 and as the Director of the Indian Institute of Science from 1984 to 1994. He has also been a visiting professor at Purdue University, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and University of California, Santa Barbara. He was the Jawaharlal Nehru Professor at  the  University  of  Cambridge  and  Professorial  Fellow  at  the  King's

College, Cambridge during 1983-1984. Rao is one of the world's foremost solid state and materials chemists. He has contributed to the development of the field over five decades.His work on transition metal oxides has led to basic understanding of novel phenomena and the relationship between materials properties and the structural chemistry of these materials. Rao was one of the earliest to synthesize two-dimensional oxide materials such as La2CuO4. His work has led to a systematic study of compositionally controlled metal-insulator transitions. Such studies have had a profound impact in application fields such as colossal magneto resistance and high temperature superconductivity. Oxide semiconductors have unusual promise. He has made immense contributions to nanomaterials over the last two decades, besides his work on hybrid materials. He is the author of around 1500 research papers. He has authored and edited 45 books. Rao serves on the board of the Science Initiative Group. Awards: He will be awarded the Bharat Ratna, as declared by the Government of India on 16 November, 2013. He was awarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society in 2000, and he became the first recipient of the India Science Award, instituted by the

Government of India, for his contributions to solid state chemistry and materials science, awarded in 2004.He had also been given the honours Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan by the Indian Government and Karnataka Ratna by the Karnataka state government. He has won several other international prizes and awards. He was awarded Dan David Prize in 2005, by the Dan David Foundation, Tel Aviv University, which he shared with George Whitesides and Robert Langer.[12] In 2005, he was conferred the title Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by France, awarded by the French Government. He is a foreign fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.[13]He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Calcutta in 2004. Dr Rao has also been conferred with China's top science award for his important contributions in boosting Sino-India scientific cooperation.[15] The award was given by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in January 2013, which is China's top academic and research institution for natural sciences. He received 'Distinguished academician award' from IIT Patna in 2013.He is a member of many of the world's scientific associations, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society (London; FRS, 1982), French Academy, Japanese Academy, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Pontifical Academy. Prime Minister's Office has released a statement deciding to confer BharatRatna, the highest civilian award to God of cricket Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist Prof C.N.R. Rao. Sachin will be the first sportsperson to receive Bharat Ratna. Prof. C.N.R. Rao is an eminent scientist. He has published over 1,400 research papers and 45 books. He has been honored with several national and international awards. Sachin Tendulkar has taken retirement from cricket today. He has played 200 test matches. For the past 24 years, this legend has served our country and millions of its people with several high class performances. Playing since the tender age of 16 years, Sachin has touched heart of millions across the globe and won laurels for our country. He has been a true ambassador of India in the world of sports. His  achievements  in cricket   are   unparalleled,   the   records   set   by  him unmatched, and the spirit of sportsmanship displayed by him exemplary. The announcement of the award has been described by one and all as a timely and befitting tribute to the legendary player, who has contributed immensely to the game of cricket. They said that it was appropriate that after he bid farewell to the game of cricket, the government had taken the initiative to give him the award. On Friday, veteran playback singer Lata Mangeshkar said Tendulkar deserved the Bharat Ratna and added that he could have carried on playing for at least another year. The scope of the Bharat Ratna, which was earlier restricted to the field of "exceptional services in arts, literature and science, and in recognition of public services of the highest order" has been recently expanded to include the performance of the highest order "in any field of human endeavor" which has enabled sportspersons to dream of the honor. Source: News Track India, Image Courtesy: Money Life, Chemistry Views, Nanodigest, livemint, Indiatechonline, Courtesy: Wikipedia, 

Read More........→November 16, 2013

Young Apes Manage Emotions Like Humans

Credit: University of Wisconsin - Madison

Researchers studying young bonobos in an African sanctuary have discovered striking similarities between the emotional development of the bonobos and that of children, suggesting these great apes regulate their emotions in a human-like way. This is important to human evolutionary history because it shows the socio-emotional framework commonly applied to children works equally well for apes. Using this framework, researchers can test predictions of great ape behavior and, as in the case of this study, confirm humans and apes share many aspects of emotional functioning. Zanna Clay, PhD, and Frans de Waal, PhD, of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, conducted the study at a bonobo sanctuary near Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the

Credit: University of Wisconsin - Madison

Congo. The results are published in the current issue of theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Detailed video analysis of daily social life at the sanctuary allowed Clay and de Waal to measure how bonobos handle their own emotions as well as how they react to the emotions of others. They found the two were related in that bonobos that recovered quickly and easily from their own emotional upheavals, such as after losing a fight, showed more empathy for their fellow great apes. Clay notes those bonobos more often gave body comfort (kissing, embracing, touching) to those in distress. The bonobo (Pan paniscus), one of our closest primate relatives, is as genetically similar to humans as is the chimpanzee. The bonobo is widely considered the most empathic great ape, a conclusion brain research supports. "This makes the species an ideal candidate for psychological comparisons," says de Waal. "Any fundamental similarity between humans and bonobos probably traces back to their last common ancestor, which lived around six million years ago," he continues. If the way bonobos handle their own emotions predicts how they react to those of others, this hints at emotion regulation, such as the ability to temper strong emotions and avoid over-arousal. In children, emotion regulation is crucial for healthy social development. Socially competent children keep the ups and downs of their emotions within bounds. A stable parent-child bond is essential for this, which is why human orphans typically have

Credit: University of Wisconsin - Madison

trouble managing their emotions. The bonobo sanctuary in this study includes many victims of bushmeat hunting. Human substitute mothers care for the juvenile bonobos that were forcefully removed at an early age from their bonobo mothers. This care continues for years until the bonobos are transferred to a forested enclosure with bonobos of all ages. "Compared to peers reared by their own mothers, the orphans have difficulty managing emotional arousal," says Clay. She observed how the orphans would take a long time recovering from distress: "They would be very upset, screaming for minutes after a fight compared to mother-reared juveniles, who would snap out of it in seconds.""Animal emotions have long been scientifically taboo," says de Waal, but he stresses how such studies that zoom in on emotions can provide valuable information about humans and our society. "By measuring the expression of distress and arousal in great apes, and how they cope, we were able to confirm that efficient emotion regulation is an essential part of empathy. Empathy allows great apes and humans to absorb the distress of others without getting overly distressed themselves," continues de Waal. He says this also explains why orphan bonobos, which have experienced trauma that hampers emotional development, are less socially competent than their mother-raised peers. Contacts and sources: Lisa Newbern, Emory Health Sciences. Source: Nano Patents And Innovations

Read More........→October 17, 2013

Elephants Understand Humans Says New Research

Credit: University of St. Andrews 

Elephants understand humans in a way most other animals don’t, according to the latest research from the University of St Andrews The new study, published today (Thursday 10 October 2013) by Current Biology, found that elephants are the only wild animals to understand human pointing without any training to do so. The researchers, Anna Smet and Professor Richard Byrne from the University’s School of Psychology and Neuroscience, set out to test whether African elephants could learn to follow pointing – and were surprised to find them responding successfully from the first trial. They said, “In our study we found that African elephants spontaneously understand human pointing, without any training to do so. This has shown that the ability to understand pointing is not uniquely human but has also evolved in a lineage of animal very remote from the primates.” Elephants are part of an ancient African radiation of animals, including the hyrax, golden mole, aardvark and manatee. Elephants share with humans an elaborate and complex living network in which support, empathy and help for others are critical for survival. The researchers say that it may be only in such a society that the ability to follow pointing has adaptive value. Professor Byrne explained, “When people want to direct the attention of others, they will naturally do so by pointing, starting from a very young age. Pointing is the most immediate and direct way that humans have for controlling others’ attention. Elephants making a point from University of St Andrews on Vimeo. “Most other animals do not point, nor do they understand pointing when others do it. Even our closest relatives, the great apes, typically fail to understand pointing when it’s done for them by human carers; in contrast, the domestic dog, adapted to working with humans over many thousands of years and sometimes selectively bred to follow pointing, is able to follow human pointing – a skill the dogs probably learn from repeated, one-to-one interactions with their owners.” The St Andrews’ researchers worked with a group of elephants who give rides to tourists in Zimbabwe. The animals were trained to follow certain vocal commands, but they weren’t accustomed to pointing. Anna Smet explained, “We always hoped that our elephant subjects – whose ‘day job’ is taking tourists for elephant-back rides near Victoria Falls – would be able to learn to follow human pointing. “But what really surprised us is that they did not apparently need to learn anything. Their understanding was as good on the first trial as the last, and we could find no sign of learning over the experiment.” The researchers say that it is possible that elephants may do something akin to pointing as a means of communicating with each other,

using their long trunk. Anna continued, “Elephants do regularly make prominent trunk gestures, for instance when one individual detects the scent of a dangerous predator, but it remains to be seen whether those motions act in elephant society as ‘points.’” The findings help explain how humans have been able to rely on wild-caught elephants as work animals, for logging, transport, or war, for thousands of years. Professor Byrne explained, “It has long been a puzzle that one animal, the elephant, doesn’t seem to need domestication in order to learn to work effectively with humans. They have a natural capacity to interact with humans even though - unlike horses, dogs and camels - they have never been bred or domesticated for that role. Our findings suggest that elephants seem to understand us humans in a way most other animals don’t.” Contacts and sources: Professor Richard Byrne, University of St Andrews. Source: Nano Patents And Innovation

Read More........→October 13, 2013

Interesting stuff about Einstein

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"Einstein Quotes and Interesting Facts: Assassination Lists, Autopsied Brains and Socks" by James Fenner

Guardian Express: According to a new book, entitled Einstein and the Quantum, written by A. Douglas Stone, Albert Einstein’s contributions towards the various fields of science, and the extent of his genius, may have been significantly overlooked. Stone, who is the chair of Yale’s Department of Applied Physics, argues, such was the magnitude of Einstein’s phenomenal works, the man could have been “… worthy of four Nobel Prizes…” In reality, the remarkable physicist was only awarded a single Nobel Prize. Throughout his book, Stone waxes lyrical about Einstein, highlighting his many accomplishments, and talking about his advancement of numerous concepts in quantum theory, and garnering enormous recognition for his theory of relativity. Einstein was, of course, renowned for his work as a physicist. However, he also contributed a great deal to philosophy, with most of his philosophical reflections having been driven by academic study. A young philosopher, called Robert Thornton, after completing his Ph.D. at Minnesota, was due to begin teaching physics at the University of Puerto Rico. Before beginning histutelage, he wanted to combine both scientific and philosophical perspectives to present a modern physics course to his students and, therefore, requested a few supportive words from Einstein. Here is what the great man had to say: “So many people today—and even professional scientists—seem to me like somebody who has seen thousands of trees but has never seen a forest. A knowledge of the historic and philosophical background gives that kind of independence from prejudices of his generation from which most scientists are suffering. This independence created by philosophical insight is—in my opinion—the mark of distinction between a mere artisan or specialist and a real seeker after truth.” To celebrate the great man and his many scientific achievements, we thought we would gather a list of some of the most interesting Einstein facts and trivia, alongside some of his most memorable quotes. The Assassination List : During 1933, Albert Einstein made a trip to the United States, before deciding not to return back to Germany, as a consequence of the Nazi uprising, spearheaded by the infamous Imagination is more important than knowledge Adolf Hitler. Later that year, Einstein made a voyage to Belgium, at which time he was informed that his cottage had been ransacked, and his sailboat

Einstein and the Quantum: The Quest of the Valiant Swabian Hardcover, By A. Douglas Stone, ISBN-10: 0691139687, ISBN-13: 978-0691139685

appropriated. Einstein immediately went to the German consulate in Antwerp, where he officially renounced his citizenship to Germany. The situation in fascist Germany deteriorated rapidly, during that same year, with anti-Semitic activities becoming the norm, and the instatement of laws that barred Jewish members of German society from holding formal occupations. Einstein was placed on an assassination target list, with a $5,000 bounty placed upon his head, whilst many of his publications had been burnt. Ruminating over the atrocities, Einstein had this to say to fellow physicist Max Born: “… I must confess that the degree of their brutality and cowardice came as something of a surprise.” Autograph Business: It seemed Einstein was never entirely comfortable signing autographs. Remarkably, he elected to charge one dollar for the privilege. The proceedings from his “autograph business” would later be given to charity. According to Ronald W. Clark, who authored Einstein: The Life and Times, he also charged five dollars for the signing of memorabilia. Einstein was known for a number of charitable acts. When en route to a series of lectures in Pasadena, California, he agreed to perform two radio broadcasts. Each speech generated $1,000, which he donated to a charitable organization that aided the impoverished people of Berlin. Now, the man’s autographs can sell for extreme sums of money. A signed photograph of Einstein sticking his tongue out, was sold for an incredible $74,000 by RR Auction in 509. University Entrance Examination: The cerebral powerhouse that is Albert Einstein, upon applying for early admission to a Swiss polytechnic school, actually failed his entrance examination first time round. He managed to successfully pass the mathematics and science sections of the test – his core strengths – but failed the remainder (languages, history etc.) At the behest of the Principal of the Polytechnic, Einstein then went on to complete his secondary schooling at the Aargau Cantonal School, based in Switzerland. The Manhattan Project During 1939, it had been reported that the Nazi German regime was engaged in atomic bomb research efforts. Troubled by these findings, Einstein, alongside
Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd, attempted to warn the American government. The pair drafted a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, outlining the dangers of remaining idle, and recommended that additional research be conducted to explore the uranium research, whilst bolstering America’s supply of uranium. Many suggest that Einstein’s role was pivotal in coaxing America into an arms race against the Nazis, leading to the Manhattan Project. Led by the United States, and supported by both Canada and the United Kingdom, the Manhattan Project yielded the very first atomic bombs, costing close to $2 billion. In issuing his requests for research development of the atomic bomb, Einstein went against his pacifist instincts. In a conversation with Linus Pauling, an esteemed American scientist, academic and fellow peace activist, Einstein looked back, retrospectively, at his involvement in the inception of the atomic bomb: “I made one great mistake in my life – when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atomic bombs be made; but there was some justification – the danger that the Germans would make them.” Einstein for Israeli President: Following the death of the Zionist leader of Israel, Chaim Azriel Weizmann, in 1952, Einstein was offered the place of President of Israel. The position was offered by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. However, Einstein rejected the offer, despite having been “deeply moved” by the extraordinary gesture: “All my life I have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official function.” The Socks: Unusually, Einstein also seemed to have an aversion to socks. Seemingly, the genius-level physicist virtually never wore socks. However, generally, Einstein was not one for formal attire. “When I was young, I found out that the big toe always ended up making a hole in the sock. So, I stopped wearing socks.” Einstein’s Illegitimate Daughter:  Einstein’s very first wife was Mileva
Maric', both of whom attended the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich. The pair’s relationship began to flourish, and they both studied and read books together. In 1901, however, before the couple had been wed, they took a romantic trip to Lake Como, located in Italy. It is alleged that Maric' was found to be pregnant, after the vacation had drawn to a conclusion. With the couple unmarried, and with the eminent physicist unable to provide financial support for a family, Einstein’s lover returned home to her parents. During 1987, early communications between Einstein and Maric' were published, exposing these startling revelations. The fate of their illegitimate daughter, who was named Lieserl, remains a mystery. Reports suggest that she either died from scarlet fever, or she survived the disease and was then given up for adoption. Later, the pair became estranged. Einstein then proposal a contractual agreement, where he outlines Maric'’s precise responsibilities, including the following: 

Clothes and laundry is kept in good order

Three meals are made and delivered to his room

His room is kept tidy, with his desk untouched

Contact was to be limited, and purely social in nature

Marriage to His Cousin

Another, not to well known, fact is that Einstein married his German cousin. Elsa Einstein was Albert’s second wife. Elsa was born with the Einstein surname, which she lost when she married textile merchant Max Löwenthal. After Elsa’s divorce from Löwenthal in 1908, she then sparked a relationship with Albert. As the pair’s mothers were sisters, Elsa and Albert were first cousins. The couple were later married in 1919, resulting in Elsa reclaiming the Einstein name. Einstein’s Brain: Albert Einstein had some incredible moments in life. However, even in death, the man was subject to remarkable dealings (or at least his corpse was). Einstein died of internal bleeding, which was found to be caused by an abdominal aortic aneurysm that had ruptured. One of Einstein’s final quotes was in utterance to surgeons’ recommendations on corrective surgery: “I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.” A pathologist, named Thomas Stoltz Harvey, performed Einstein’s autopsy at Princeton Hospital, New Jersey. Harvey removed the brain tissue and preserved it, intact, with formalin. Before cutting the brain into 240 different sections, he took vast numbers of photographs. A study was performed many years later by Marian C. Diamond and her colleagues, working from the University of California, which sought to measure the ratio between non-neuronal glial cells and neurons. They perceived high levels of glia for every neuronal cell. However, after obtaining Harvey’s original images of Einstein’s brain, from the National Museum of Health and Medicine, in Maryland, further discoveries were made. Parts of Einstein’s cerebral cortex showed huge numbers of convolutions, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with abstract thinking. We hope you have enjoyed our list of Albert Einstein’s top quotes and facts. When exploring the life and times of the theoretical physicist, it seems his personal life and philosophical outlook were as exceptional as his scientific discoveries. Source: Philosophy of Science Portal, 

Read More........→October 04, 2013

Clothes of the future: where hi-tech meets high fashion

Photo: EPA

It seems impossible to survive in the modern world without going either “smart” or digital, and clothes are no exception. The fashion industry is now working on technology to bring dressing habits to a completely new level. We're still in the stone age of nano-fibres and networked apparel but, in the not too distant future, you can count on having a coat which tells your mom where you are and having the Encyclopaedia Britannica embedded in your underwear! According to IMS Research, about 14m wearable tech devices were produced in 2011; by 2016, the global market could reach $6bn. Nancy Tilbury, designer to the stars and one of the creators of the futuristic Studio XO, predicts, “Generation Digital are constantly connected and live their lives digitally. Clothes are the next logical step”. Though thought of now as innovation, tampering with textiles and technology has been going on for over a thousand years. Artisans have been wrapping fine golden and silver foil around fabric threads since as early as the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. At the end of the 19th century, with the advent of electric appliances, designers and engineers sought to combine electricity with clothing and jewellery; the so-called Electric Girl Lighting Company hired out young ladies wearing light-adorned evening gowns to brighten up cocktail parties. In 1968, the Body Covering exhibition in New York City presented new fruits of the tech-fashion relationship, that is, clothing that could inflate and deflate, light up, heat and cool itself. In the mid-1990s, a team of MIT researchers led by Steve Mann developed the so-called wearable computers, traditional computer hardware attached to and carried on the body. The baton was later handed over to another MIT group, including Maggie Orth and Rehmi Post, who explored the plausible integration of such devices into clothing. Modern e-textiles are distinguished by either classical electronic devices such as conductors, integrated circuits, LEDs, and conventional batteries embedded in garments or fabrics, or by Internet connectivity. Smart clothes have many virtues: they are universal, customised, and eco-friendly. More than that, designers promise to make their dresses change colour by the mere touch and never wear out; I can see the last quality being debated by fashionistas though. Nanotech fabric will repel stains that normal cloth would absorb, thanks to molecular nano shields against stains, without changing the texture of the fabric. Digitalised and web-enabled apparel in health care, sports, and military service will, and already do, facilitate collecting physiological data and diagnostics. By now, smart textiles and Web-enabled clothing have passed the R&D stage and are on the verge of throwing themselves into mass production. However, many of the finest examples of this symbiosis already wow audiences with their alien hi-tech looks or versatility. Wanda Nylon makes transparent raincoats which can change colour like a bug's wing and are also 90% recyclable and totally nature-friendly. Another eco-friendly project is Orange Power Wellies, created in collaboration with renewable energy experts GotWind. The unique sole of these wellies converts heat from the feet into an electrical current, which can be used to re-charge a mobile phone. The more their owner moves, the more energy they generate. CuteCircuit a couture recruited by stars, specialises on dresses with hundreds of LED lights embedded in the fabric and USB rechargeable. The company made a statement by creating a powered dress which could receive and display tweets in real time. This Twitter Dress contained 2000 LED lights and 3,000 Swarovski crystals. It was introduced at the launch party of EE, the U.K. first 4G mobile network, the commissioner of this wonder-garment. Among wearable tech garments that do serve a purpose is the Hovding bicycle helmet created by Swedish industrial designers. It only inflates at the moment of danger, otherwise stowed around a person's neck in the form of a stylish shawl. The sensors gather data from around the cyclist and should danger present, a futuristic helmet of tough nylon covers the rider's head. Some designers are more hung up on devising ways of incorporating social networking in a dress in the discreetest way possible. Seattle-based Electricfoxy came up with a Ping garment, which can connect to Facebook wirelessly and from anywhere. Functions are performed by lifting a hood, tying a bow, zipping or buttoning. If a friend sends a comment or a message back, the garment will notify its owner with a tap on the shoulder. To surprise and stand out, any technology goes, based on the classic lie detector test, SENSOREE has crafted the so-called "mood sweater" which changes colour depending on mood through a number of sensors on the person's hands. When the sweater's owner is nervous, it lights up red and when calm in blue. The smart use of body heat was discovered by the Netherlands-based company Studio Roosegaarde, its high-tech garments entitled 'Intimacy White' and 'Intimacy Black' are made out of opaque smart e-foils which turn from black or white to transparent when exposed to body heat. Smart garments are not solely designed to turn heads, though, the armed services are one area in need of innovation. Smart uniforms will instantly detect gunshot wounds or even traces of nuclear, biological or chemical attacks in blood and sweat; they can report a fallen soldier's location with GPS coordinates and pass along other critical information for battlefield medics. Sensatex Inc. is already working with the military, emergency workers, and doctors to design what it calls a “smart shirt”; clothing featuring tiny microscopic wires interwoven with the fabric itself. This garment, turned into a communication device, could one day perform remote physiological monitoring or even heat up or cool down depending on the weather. "Throughout society, the ability to unplug from wires and utilise smart textiles to gather information through wireless communication will really be the textile of the future," said Sensatex CEO, Robert Kalik. The use of web-enabled clothing is vastly explored and introduced in areas like medicine and sport where continuity and precision of data are vital. Smart fibres are used to monitor systems in maternal and paediatric units where precise observation is constantly needed. Several companies, like Intelligent Clothing, are already engaging in these activities and create the first tele-monitoring systems, with Internet connectivity, for infants. A group of Ukrainian developers at the Microsoft Imagine Cup competition in 2012 made another smart use of smart fabrics. Their Enable Talk gloves help translate the sign language used by deaf-mute people. The glove sensors read gestures and translate them into words transmitted through bluetooth to a smartphone screen. Electricfoxy has developed the special MOVE technology for sports apparel which focuses on measuring precision in exercises such as yoga or pilates. The sensors transmit information to a mobile app which analyses the position and helps eliminate future errors. Besides, it stores all the information from previous training sessions to keep track of progress. It's clear that one day, while getting dressed in front of the mirror we might catch ourselves thinking how right the Star Wars author was. E-foils, nano cells, glowing LEDs and going online just by, quite literally, lifting your finger. People are however willing to go a long way in revealing their own physiological data; the fact that marketeers may be taking personal data and using it to support their advertising efforts might seem disturbing. When advertisers, and anyone else for that matter, have records of the customers' sleeping and eating habits, daily routine and physical activity and even certain medical conditions they acquire a certain power. Giving away information to strangers through social networks is already an issue, though seemingly inevitable in the modern world of computerised records, it still needs to be treated with caution. Source: Voice Of Russia

Read More........→May 21, 2013