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Loosely related to an old ACT project on optical flow (if I remember correctly but even if not still an interesting read I think): "At first glance, the eyes of mammals and those of insects do not seem to have much in common. However, a comparison of the neural circuits for detecting motion shows surprising parallels between flies and mice. Scientists have learned a lot about the visual perception of both animals in recent years."

Could be fun actually... I liked most the part: "They were asked to (...) find food: meaning fishing, trapping animals, preparing food and cooking with primitive tools.". Roasted squirrel anyone?

'mushroom' (invertebrate brain) or 'cauliflower'(vertebrate cerebral cortex)? Both are responsible for associative learning and memory formation.

thats disgusting

There it goes :)

"So a new tablet will never be exciting the way that a new, luxury gel ink pen will be exciting" Man, I immediately felt like ordering some new luxury gel ink pens!

like also this one: "Some of the really savvy new media efforts like Flipboard are exciting, but after the initial "wow" factor wears off, these apps mainly serve to remind me that there's already too much good stuff to read out there, and that my life is slipping away from me in an infinite stream of interesting bits about smart animals, dumb criminals, outrageous celebs, shiny objects, funny memes, scientific discoveries, economic developments, etc.. I invariably end up closing the app in a fit of guilt, and picking up one of the truly fantastic dead tree or Kindle books that I'm working my way through at the moment, so that I can actually exercise my brain (as opposed to simply wearing it out)."

Nice!!

ARCA is the romanian google X prize competitor.

I like the 4 stage system. But how did they solve the plume issue ?

The plume issue is not that difficult. I think they used something similar on Apollo LES. The problem is stabilizing the entire system, which is extremely difficult. The entire system will most likely plummet down after the solar balloon phase (which is the only phase they tested before). At least they are not using government money :).

Bio-inspired robots. Cockroaches are also in.

One basic molecule allows to achieve a broad range of material stiffness.

Some rules of swarming.

any of us has knowledge how to use this open source 3D rendering software? -LS I used it, but it was a while ago. Why? - MR

A review paper appeared in Physics Today.

A good occasion to get the idea out of the idea pool...?

Technology/Robotics Scientists have developed an octopus-like robot, which can zoom through water with ultra-fast propulsion and acceleration never before seen in man-made underwater vehicles. Most fast aquatic animals are sleek and slender to help them move easily through the water but cephalopods, such as the octopus, are capable of high-speed escapes by filling their bodies with water and then quickly expelling it to dart away.

You've heard of the catastrophic effects of radiation on environments, animals and humans. A seemingly silent and invisible destroyer, radiation can make whole cities inhabitable for hundreds of years. But have you ever wondered what radiation actually looks like? There may be one image that jumps to mind. We saw the same detector setup in the room opposite to ours during the Open Day! Using uranium is just cooler. :)