Pooja Kashyap | TechieTonics

10 Ways to Look at Linux Kernel based OS: Sneak Peek into the Android’s DNA

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

We are living in the smartphone era where the technology is taking giant strides and not just moving gradually. Every day there is an update making an individual choice of cellular devices all the more difficult. However, the cellular companies along with marketing of their product are not doing enough to educate the masses with respect to the embedded software. The post is not written with an intention of defending one OS over the other however, it is aimed for sharing some information, which I gained through my experience with…

Fabrication of Bi-Layer Molecular Electronic Devices: Nanoscale Circuitry

April 22, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Until now, it was difficult to charge particles at molecular scale and hence developing circuits at microscopic level has always presented a huge challenge. However, Alexander Shestopalov from University of Rochester has crossed the huddle making a step closer to the fabrication of microscopically small circuit. He powered an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with a nanoscale circuitry in where he coupled the positive and negative electrodes with one-molecule thin sheet of organic material. Experimental trials and errors have proved that it’s impossible to control current passing through such a single…

A Dialogue with Kiki van Eijk: Leading the New Generation of Dutch designers

April 21, 2014April 24, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Kiki van Eijk is one of the names that are leading the new generation of Dutch designers today. She graduated with honors from Design Academy Eindhoven. Currently, she is working on her own collection which is presented in galleries, museums and fairs worldwide, in London, Paris, New York, Milan, Cologne, Venice, Kuwait, Tokyo, Montreal, Rome, Amsterdam, Basel, Miami, Rotterdam, Brussels, Monaco, Moscow etc. Besides her own collection she works on projects for companies and institutions such as Studio delkoort Paris, Design Academy Eindhoven, SKITSCH, MOOOI, Ahrend, Royal Leerdam Crystal, BKKC,…

10 Weird Facts about Spiders: The Creepy Crawlers

April 21, 2014April 21, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Spiders are famous for their architectural skill that is displayed by weaving of web. Majority in the species prefer solitary life, alone in their cobwebs. They look eerie no doubts but they show such unique and weird characteristics that researchers across the globe are still trying to figure out the reasons behind these awestruck potentialities that these arachnids exhibit. Some of them are described below: 1) Bulky DNA The DNA of one spider egg is equal to the amount of genetic material of four humans combined. 2) Immortals There is…

Magneto-Optical Storage: The Next Generation of Plastic Computers

April 20, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

In an effort to replace silicon chips with flexible plastic within gadgets like computers, cellular devices and related systems, researchers from University of Iowa and New York University have come up with an alternative to the high capacity storage technology. During the fiber optic transmission, it is easier and convenient to encode data in light while magnetism helps in storing information with an unlimited expiry date. With the proposed technology, converting information from one form to another is a critical issue. Since, the energy cost for this process is insignificant…

X-Ray Triggered Nanoparticle Photosensitizer: Photodynamic Therapy

April 19, 2014April 18, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

While working upon new security-related radiation detection, researchers at the University of Texas, Arlington discovered an advance in photodynamic cancer therapy. Wei Chen, professor of physics at the UT Arlington, noticed an odd luminescence emitted by copper-cysteamine (Cu-Cy) nanoparticles when while working on an experiment where he was exposing the nanoparticles to X-rays. Upon further investigation, he found out that the luminescence was the byproduct of lost energy that the particles were diffusing. The same byproduct is also utilized in photodynamic cancer therapy to destroy cancer cells.

Bright Points in Solar Atmosphere: Gateway to Sun’s Roiling Interior

April 18, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has been able to collect data regarding the depth of the shining star, bright spots in the solar atmosphere and the strings of magnetic signatures observed on the surface of Earth. With this data, space scientists will get a peek into the insights related to the real-time mapping of the sun’s roiling interior. These understandings will help them on converging the decade long investigations of its 22-year sunspot cycle and emission of solar flares. As per Scott McIntosh, one of the lead researchers, this data…

Sliding Saltwater Over Graphene Generates Electricity

April 17, 2014August 7, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Call it serendipity or chance, a group of researchers at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in China while conducting an experiment of creating voltage by plunging carbon nanotubes in a flowing liquid hit upon a discovery of generating electricity by dragging saltwater over a piece of graphene. Traditional Techniques Conventionally, producing electricity via graphene has always been an expensive task plus its unique electrical properties have required for immense work from the end of researchers.

Optimizing the Storage of Solar Energy in Chemical Bonds: Solar Thermal Fuel

April 16, 2014April 16, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Researchers from MIT and Harvard University have come up with an innovative approach of tapping sun’s heat in form of chemical energy and releasing as per the requirement. The technique is not aimed for replacing the existing solar energy storage problem rather it is an effort of taking the solar power into the new areas which otherwise was not explored before. For instance, the output via this approach is heat, which could be directed towards cooking or industrial avenues where heat is required for powering processes. Molecules Act as Rechargeable…

Algorithm Aiding Machines for Determining Navigation: Scene Understanding

April 15, 2014April 15, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Re-orientation of scenes and multi-target tracking are the fundamental problems for majority of vision applications. Occlusions and slight change in scene alignment make tracking by detection approaches a lot more challenging. Thinking on the same lines, MIT researchers have come up with a new algorithm that would assist the vision applications in combating the re-orientation problems. The algorithm is chiefly written for bots and machines that are employed for navigational purposes. Manhattan Frames The mechanism is based on recognizing the main orientations in the given scene. These alignments act as…

Silicon Photonics Chip Mimics Human Brain

April 14, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Researchers from Ghent University came up with a breakthrough approach by demonstrating processing of information on a chip, mechanism of which was based on the functioning of human brain. Artificial neural networks or the bio inspired technique has been used in the past to bring about complex tasks which otherwise would have been tricky to solve by rule-based programming like computer vision and speech recognition. The researchers applied 16 nodes of neural network directly in hardware with the help of silicon photonics chip. Unlike the traditional computer chips that require…

Living Computers inside Alive Cockroaches to Deliver Drugs: DNA Installed Nano-Robots

April 13, 2014April 13, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

In an attempt to study complex programs and to identify and cure certain diseases, researchers at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and Bar Ilan University in Israel, have come out with a breakthrough that involves DNA-based nanobots. Researchers were able to embed these nanobots into a living cockroach. These origami robots bear fluorescent markers that allow the scientists to predict about their location within the insect. By interacting with each other, these nanobots were seen performing simple logical operations as well claimed the researchers.

Face-on Alignment More Efficient in Generating Power: Organic Solar Cell Technology

April 11, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

In an attempt to study the viability of organic solar cell technology, researchers from North Carolina State University and UNC-Chapel Hill have discovered that efficiency of energy transference within three-dimensional organic solar cells increases relatively when there is face-to-face alignment between the donor molecules and the acceptor molecules. Exciton or the concentration of energy formed by excited particle upon absorbing by the material is the phenomenon upon which efficiency of organic solar cells is dependent. Within a solar cell, easier the exciton between the donor and acceptor molecules, higher will…

Squarepusher and Z-Machines: Music Performing System

April 11, 2014April 11, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Squarepusher, UK based recording artist famous for the live instrumental playing and digital signal processing has again hit the music world but this time, in a collaborative effort with the Z-Machines, Japan’s party robot band. The evolved band has come up with a 78-fingered guitarist stringing out with 12 picks and a dreadlocked robot drummer. The effort is to explode the stereotypical myth, says Squarepusher where people think human touch or emotion is necessary to churn out the melody, which goes into the music. He wanted to prove that machines…

An Interview with Industrial Designer Ivan Luccion

April 6, 2014April 6, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Ivan Luccion is an industrial designer from Madison, Wisconsin Area. He has been recipient of the General Motors Fund Scholarship in Industrial Design from 2005 to 2007. As a child, he observed fondness to cars and their designs, which later in his life inspired him to go into the world of designing. Ivan’s current work includes designing cycling helmets and other cycling accessories for the Bontrager brand. He enjoys sketching as he feels it’s one of the most easiest and quickest medium to communicate an original idea. We asked him…