2014 | TechieTonics

Hyperloop is crossing the threshold of a Pipe Dream: Elon Musk’s 760mph Supertube

December 23, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Last year, Elon Musk, the Tony Stark of our real world when surfaced his futuristic concept of human transportation at the speed of sound via pods, some of the people, who doubted his abilities considered it no more than a figment of imagination, which was far from becoming a reality. However, Musk, the man behind PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX, showed an air of seriousness for his pipe dream. In order to herald a revolution in travel industry, bypassing the traffic and the railroad project, he created a new firm by…

Geologic processes in Earth’s Interior responsible for creating Oceans: Geoscientific Mystery

December 19, 2014 Neha Shukla

Emergence of water is the best part in the origin of life on the planet Earth. Without water, Earth might not have looked like what it is today, but the question how water first appeared on our Blue Planet is still a mystery. The most popular theory suggests that the collision of enormous icy comets with dry and inhospitable Earth, resulted in deposition of water on the surface.

Bell’s Palsy is linked with Migraine: Facial Paralysis

December 18, 2014December 18, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Recent study in Migraine, the neurological disease that causes extreme headaches, has surfaced more than it was thought till now. Not only does the killer pain causes nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, sound, or smell, it also leads to weakness or paralysis of the face called Bell’s palsy.

Speecys Hi-tech set of Karakuri Puppets: MF201 is Small and Agile Robot Figure

December 18, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Japan has revolutionized their traditional karakuri puppets by embedding a set of servomotors within the plastics. Market of action figures is already booming in Japan, hence, the plastic model industry is going to be the next big thing in the country. Taking this into consideration, Speecys, a robotics company came up with their Motion Figure system, which they claim is pioneering the spirit of robotic action figures not only in the nation but also across the globe.

Femme Fatale Mantis deceives Males for Snacking: Risking Lives for Sex

December 18, 2014 Neha Shukla

Sexual cannibalism in mantis is a very well known phenomenon. Female mantises bite off the male’s head after or during sex, therefore, is also known as fatale femme. However, the reason behind such sexual cannibalism remains debatable. Female mantises use pheromones to attract males for mating, however, females most of the time ends up eating male mantis, even before the poor male gets a chance to mate. Researchers until now believed that well fed females attracts more males and in turn laid more eggs. Nevertheless, a new study rebuts this…

Biomimicry: Robotic Spy Fish will do the Reconnaissance (ISR) Missions

December 17, 2014December 17, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Boston Engineering in collaboration with the U.S. Navy is developing a ‘tuna fish’, their new unmanned underwater vehicle. Developers envision that the fish would autonomously navigate across the sea for fetching information including surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The project has been named Project Silent Nemo that comes from Disney’s famous movie, Finding Nemo, where Nemo was the subject of search but in here, Nemo will do the finding. Swimmer drone The unmanned underwater vehicle weighs around 100-pound while it’s length is about 5 feet. As a product of…

Helena device can create Oxygen on Red Planet: Global Contest for Mars One’s First Unmanned Lander

December 16, 2014December 16, 2014 Neha Shukla

Mars One, the controversial project that plans to create a permanent human settlement on the Red Planet has organized a competition called the Mars One University Competition. The competition has invited designers to prepare technology that can supply Mars citizens with breathable air. The victorious payload will have the opportunity to travel to Mars One initial unmanned lander mission that is scheduled to land on Mars in 2018. This mission will in turn prepare the way for the future colonists planning to reach Mars in 2025. A student team from…

Volcanic Eruptions or Asteroid Collision: What really killed the dinosaurs?

December 15, 2014 Neha Shukla

Reason related to what led to the extinction of dinosaurs remains debatable. Until now, the most acceptable theory states that around sixty six million years ago, an asteroid as wide as 5 miles and moving at a speed of 70,000 miles per hour bumped into the Earth. The dust from this massive collision blocked the sun and in turn causing catastrophic chains of events that led the extinction of dinosaurs along with three-quarters of other species of the planet.

Peruvian Mummy curled up for 1,000 years: Human Remains on Display

December 14, 2014December 14, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

In an excavation work near Lima, capital and the largest city Peru, a mummy dating back to the eleventh century has been discovered. As per the experts, the skeleton is that of a 50-year-old woman, sitting in a foetal position. It is expected that during some ceremonial ritual of the Pachacamac civilization, the resting position was such that with the passage of time (years), the skeleton retained the foetal position. Burial site was happened to be at a significant distance from the abandoned civilization’s temple.

Silicon Chip that mimics Nature’s Gene: A Step towards Artificial Cells

December 13, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel have come up with a silicon chip that can mimic a human cell in producing proteins from DNA. The most basic function of cell is to produce proteins after receiving instructions in the form of DNA sequences. Other genes determine production of the quantity of churning out protein by a complex process involving feedback loops.

Cat-Sized Dinosaur Fossil Discovered in Montana: Aquilops americanus

December 12, 2014April 15, 2015 Pooja Kashyap

Dr Andrew Farke a paleontologist and his team from Raymond have surfaced a new species of dinosaurs that were herbivorous and beaked belonging to the family of Ceratopsia or Ceratopia. These genus dinosaurs occupied North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, nearly 108 million years ago. American eagle face Due to its looks, it’s also called the Aquilops americanus that stands for American eagle face. Unlike Triceratops, also the herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaurs that were expected around late Cretaceous period, its famous relatives, it did not have horns neither…

Automated Valet Parking and Charging for e-Mobility: A Smart Car System

December 11, 2014December 11, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

A research conglomerate in Europe is about to finish a futuretech project involving an autonomous car dropping passengers at a railway station and then getting itself parked by identifying an empty spot and later picking up its commuter again. V-Charge is the name of the project that not only helps in commuting, parking but also includes charging up of the automobiles, autonomously. However, the mobility during the entire operation would be slow, so that the sensors may decipher the surrounding accurately.

Animals Self-Medicate to Detoxify Stomach and even Induce Birth: Zoopharmacognosy

December 11, 2014December 10, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

It’s been quite some time now that I have had noticed our pets, a cat and two dogs trying to eat grass (at times) and I have always thought that it might be their natural process of cleaning out stomach, now I feel like sharing it here that I was correct. Animals across Brazil, Kenya, US and the UK have been observed doing self-medicating, also called the zoopharmacognosy.

Polymer that Mimics Sensory Capabilities of Real Skin: The New Smart Skin

December 10, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Even the most cutting edge technology in prosthetic limbs cannot identify the sensory capabilities of real skin. Although, its manipulation and controls are done with the help of attached muscles and brain yet there have been no way out for detecting the coldness or hotness of a glass its holding. Neither can the wearer detect whether a glass is slipping out of its appendage’s grasp. However, things would no more be the same now, for prosthetics. Korean researchers in collaboration U.S. experts have fabricated an innovative polymer that mimics not…

Nanobuds based Bendable and Flexible Touch Sensor: Touch Screens to New Applications

December 8, 2014December 11, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

A Finnish startup, Canatu, has come up with a touch sensor based on transparent films that are fabricated from carbon nanobuds (CNB). What’s interesting about the (CNB based) innovative sensors is that they can be adjusted and can be turned on any surface irrespective of its background shape. For instance, it could be applied on the touch controls of curved surface of automobile dashboard or any gaming consoles or play stations.