Photonic Chip Technology

Posted on August 10, 2011 by pourcirm

An interesting article out of Caltech where engineers there have made some headway on the future of computer chips. A photonic chip is one that will change the future in much the same way as fiber optic cables did. These new chips will use light to transmit data instead of electricity used in traditional chips manufactured today. The possibilities it opens up would make computers faster and also the transmission of data more efficient.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110804141714.htm

Posted in Engineering, Technology | Leave a comment

Residents of the Brain

Posted on August 6, 2011 by pourcirm

This article caught my eye because of that facts behind it. In the long history humans have spent studying and analyzing our own brain we still have no idea just how many different types of neurons there are. We’ve come a long way from thinking that neurons were all just standardized axons that functioned in similar ways. There are now teams running computer algorithms to find and classify the numerous types of neurons that exist. The complexity of the human brain is something to really marvel at and think about in the terms of how nature created something capable of so much. The funny question becomes is our brain powerful enough to truly understand its own functioning to the level that we desire and are searching for?

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/332400/title/Residents_of_the_brain_

Posted in Biomedical Engineering, Medical | Leave a comment

How Exercise Benefits Nerve Cells

Posted on August 4, 2011 by pourcirm

This is just a short article about how learning new things and exercise can help neurons. The story centers around oligodendrocytes which wrap axons in mylin insulation to protect them and speed electrical signal conduction. Like many things in the body this system is a type of feedback loop because being more active and maxing the axons fire stimulates the oligodendrocytes to wrap more mylin around the axon.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/333026/description/How_exercise
_benefits_nerve_cells

Posted in Biomedical Engineering, Medical | Leave a comment

An Invisibility Cloak in the Visible Spectrum

Posted on August 4, 2011 by pourcirm

I can’t help myself when I see an article about invisibility cloaks. I realize we are far from a true cloaking device seen in movies and books, but the possibility that some day something of the sort may exist intrigues me very much. As this article notes a large step towards that is going to be the ability of a material to effectively manipulate light in the visible spectrum. This specific example can do that only on a microscopic scale in 2 directions, but you have to start somewhere.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/333004/title/Now%2C_an_
invisibility_cloak_you_can_see

Posted in Engineering, Technology | Leave a comment

Library Inspiration

Posted on August 3, 2011 by pourcirm

This article may seem a bit off topic, but I’m a huge fan of the idea of having a library in my house. I’ve saved my books from college and have a large collection of books I read for the shear enjoyment and plan to someday dedicate a large portion of my house or a whole room to displaying them. While my biggest inspiration comes from a huge room I saw in 2008 when I went to London and visited the British Museum the images on this page also provide some modern library examples that I like. Take a look and maybe you’ll find some inspiration for your own library and start reading more books like everyone should.

http://www.home-designing.com/2011/07/library-inspiration

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