GLOWING BIO-LED TREES Could Replace Street Lamps

New nanoparticles could replace lamps with biologically powered light that removes CO2 from atmosphere 24x7. Trees with naturally glowing leaves could one day offer an eco-friendly alternative to street lamps. Researchers from the Academia Sinica and the National Cheng Kung University in Taipei have implanted glowing, sea urchin shaped gold nanoparticles, known as bio light emitting diodes, or bio LEDs, inside the leaves of a plant. The new nanoparticles could replace the electricity powered street light with biologically powered light that removes CO2 from the atmosphere 24 hours a days. In the future, bio-LED could be used to make roadside trees luminescent at night. This will save energy and absorb CO2 as the bio-LED luminescence will cause the chloroplast to conduct photosynthesis,” Discovery News quoted Yen-Hsun Su . The gold, sea urchin-shaped nanoparticles are the key to turning a material that normal absorbs light into one that emits it. Chlorophyll, the photosynthetic pigment that gives leaves their characteristic green colour, is widely known for its ability to absorb certain wavelengths of light. However, under certain circumstances, such as being exposed to violet light, chlorophyll can also produce a light of its own. When exposed to light with a wavelengths of about 400 nanometres the normally green coloured chlorophyll glows red. Violet light is hard to come by though, especially at night, when glowing leaves would be useful. The scientists needed a source of violet light, and found it in the gold nanoparticles. When shorter wavelengths of light, invisible to the human eye, hit the gold nanoparticles, they get excited and start to glow violet. That violet light strikes the nearby chlorophyll molecules, excites them, and the chlorophyll then produces the red light. The scientists hope that that trees treated with the gold nanoparticles would produce enough light that they could replace electric or gas street lights. ( Source: Mumbaimirror)

Richard Brandson Launching Digital Magazine for IPAD
 Plans for the digital magazine –which is said to focus on business, culture, design, entertainment and travel –will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 30. Virgin, the group of companies that Branson heads, is describing its magazine as a “revolutionary multimedia” publication. According to the Telegraph, the project is going to be headed up by Branson’s daughter, Holly, and Anthony Noguera, the former editor of magazines Zoo, FHM and Arena. Word about Branson’s iPad magazine comes shortly after an announcement by Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation, that he plans to launch an iPad daily newspaper called The Daily. It is expected to be unveiled on Dec. 9 and will likely be sold for 99 cents a week. The Huffington Post is reporting that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will host the event. Murdoch’s iPad newspaper will cost about $30 million to create and is expected to launch early next year, according to British media reports. No cost projections are available for Branson’s project. According to mashable.com, Branson will be announcing his project in New York. However, not everyone is in agreement on just whom the magazine will be directed toward. Some suggest it will be a business, technology, and design digital magazine exclusively. Others believe it may simply be an in-flight digital magazine for Virgin passengers. Technology websites are reporting that Branson’s venture may be part of Apple’s “freshly rumoured subscription API’s, which are supposed to be in the works for a Dec. 13 release as part of iOS4.3.”

According to slashgear.com, these APIs would allow content producers to sign up subscribers to periodicals such as “the Project” and The Daily with weekly or monthly fees. Mashable.com said that the iPad and other tablets present an opportunity for publishing houses to create paid-for content without the costs of printing and distribution.
( Source :-www.thestar.com/business/article/896779)

  ACER unveils a range of Android tablets


Acer, the world's number two PC manufacturer, has unveiled a range of tablet computers to help it compete with Apple's iPad, wading into the fast-growing market. The tablet computer market is becoming crowded as more companies produce the new devices, which fall between traditional PCs and smartphones. Chief executive Gianfranco Lanci announced at a news conference in New York on Tuesday that the tablets would have 5-, 7-, and 10-inch screens, running on Google's Android software. A second 10-inch tablet will run on Microsoft's Windows.
The company said the Wi-Fi-only models of the tablets would come out in April 2011, while the third-generation (3G)-capable models would arrive about a month later. The 5-inch tablet doubles as a smartphone. Separately Tuesday, Acer's rival Dell announced a new tablet that runs on Microsoft's Windows software. Acer, based in Taiwan, said it was in talks with US phone carriers for 3G connectivity for its tablets. No prices had been set for the devices, the company added. "It's a gold rush right now," said NPD analyst Ross Rubin. "Everyone wants to get a tablet product out there."
Apple's iPad, a touchscreen tablet that began selling in April, still has an overwhelming lead in the fledgling market. It controlled 95 per cent of the tablet market in the July-to-September quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. "PC vendors and hardware vendors are looking at this market and saying 'how will I compete with Apple?'" Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said. Tablet sales are expected to grow to 54 million units in 2011 and to more than 100 million units in 2012, according to a forecast by research firm Gartner. Acer also unveiled a screen laptop with two 14-inch LCD touch screens called the Iconia, along with a media store and software called Clear.fi that lets customers stream content on different Acer devices. Dell's new 10-inch touchscreen Inspiron Duo looks and runs like a portable tablet but can also be popped into a laptop shell and used like a traditional notebook, similar to one of the new Acer tablets. The Duo starts at $US550. Dell has already released the 5-inch Streak tablet. (Reuters)
(Source :-brisbanetimes.com.au)

ACER-Aspire one AOD 255  The Aspire one is an upgrade on the existing line of notebooks from Acer. It features an Intel Atom processor, 10.1-inch LED backlitscreen, 160GB hard drive, Bluetooth, WiFi, LAN port and Windows XP. The notebook comes equipped with around 8hours of battery power.
Disposable e-Readers
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati may soon come up with low-cost and even disposable e-readers. The study by professor Andrew Steckl involves advances in display technology that achieves electrowetting on paper as opposed to glass. Electrowetting invloves applying an electric field to colored droplets within a display in order to reveal content such as text, photographs and video. Paper could be used as a flexible host material for an electrowetting device.
New spinal implant to help people excercise paralysed Limbs
People with paraplegia would now be able to excercise their paralysed leg muscles with the help of a new type of microchip muscle stimulator plant.  This device is small enough to be implanted into the spinal canal and incorporates the electrodes and muscle stimulator in one unit. The implant is the size of a child's fingernail. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council(EPSRC) project is being led by Andreas Demosthenous from University College London. It includes engineers from Freiburg University and the Tyndall Institute.
(Source:-Sci-Tech, Mumbaimirror)

Robots to milk cows in farms

Soon, robots will milk cows in farms, say scientists. A team in Australia has developed a robotic rotary which it claims will automate most milking tasks, enabling the job to be performed as a backdrop activity, without the presence of a human operator. The robot has been developed by DeLaval in collaboration with the University of Sydney and Australia's FutureDairy project. (Source: TOI)

Wireless Solar keyboard

The logitech wireless solar key-board K750 measures just 0.33 inches thick, and is designed to re-charge when it is exposed to sun light. Once the keyboard is charged, it can operate for up to three months in total darkness, and it is designed to charge even in areas where there is little light. It is available for Rs3,600 from logitech.com(source:-Sci-tech-mumbaimirror.com)