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New Scientist TV:

June 2012 archive

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

We've shown you computer screens made of water and even a touchscreen built out of ice. But now Yoichi Ochiai from the University of Tokyo and colleagues have created the world's thinnest screen from a soap bubble that can display vivid images that are either flat, textured or 3D.

Compared to conventional screens that are opaque, a soap film varies in transparency and reflectance. The team was able to control these properties by using ultrasonic sound waves emitted from speakers to alter the surface. By using a single projector, the texture of an image can then be changed on the fly, for example to make a ball look smooth or rough.

Several screens can also be combined to create a 3D effect. By tweaking the transparency of the membranes, and displaying alternate images on each one, a holographic projection is created. Since the film is made from a mixture of colloids that make it hard to pop, objects can pass through it without breaking the surface. It's therefore possible to poke the screen and interact with it.

According to Alexis Oyama, a member of the team, the display should be useful to artists and exhibitors to give an image a more realistic feel. For example, since the screen is transparent, a projection of the Earth looks like it's suspended in the air. "Museums could display floating planets by using this technology," he says. By applying the film to a polygon-shaped frame, a lifelike object can be also be generated from a projector.

The system will be presented in August at Siggraph 2012, a conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, in Los Angeles.

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

You probably wouldn't want to get sucked into a giant magnetic tornado on the sun. But now you can get up close without feeling the effect thanks to a new animation by Sven Wedemeyer-Böhm from the University of Oslo in Norway and colleagues that simulates the evolution of the swirling activity.

The red lines in the video depict the magnetic field, while the green strands represent the velocity in the tornado's vortex. The spiralling activity begins when convection near the sun's surface pulls downwards, twisting magnetic fields and plasma (shown in yellow) above it. This transports energy from the sun's surface to its uppermost layer, heating up the outer atmosphere.

Compared to tornadoes on Earth, solar twisters are much bigger, some covering areas as big as Europe or America, and with winds that blow at tens of thousands of kilometres per hour.

To find out more about what recent research has revealed about the phenomenon, read our full article, Astrophile: Solar cyclones hold fusion reactor clues

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

Most of the universe is thought to be made up of mysterious dark matter that nobody has ever seen. Now you can get a glimpse of what its structure might look like thanks to the first simulation that spans the whole observable universe. 

Created by Jean-Michel Alimi from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and colleagues from the DEUS consortium, the model covers 90 billion light years, which is the size of the universe that we are able to see, and follows 550 billion particles the mass of our Milky Way. This video starts with a large scale view of the distribution of dark matter in the cosmos today, which looks quite homogeneous. But as it zooms in, its structure becomes visible, showing clumps and filaments separated by expanses of void.

The simulation traces the evolution of dark matter as predicted by the standard model of cosmology, from the time the universe was in its infancy to the present. It mimics gravitational forces between all the clumps and the fact that they are moving in an expanding universe.

The team plans to complete further simulations using two other cosmological models. If dark matter is ever observed, a comparison with these theoretical results could help determine which model is valid.

The system should also be sophisticated enough to generate a more detailed picture of the universe. "These simulations concern only gravity and dark matter," says Pier-Stefano Corasaniti, a member of the team. "But I think the performance of the algorithms are becoming efficient enough to run simulations that include baryonic gas or dark energy fluid itself."

If you enjoyed this post, see what the shape of dark matter around the Milky Way might look like or watch our One-Minute Physics episode about dark matter.

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

It's unlikely to be a comfortable place to deliver a baby, but now a video documents the first birth in an MRI machine. Christian Bamberg and a team from Charité University Hospital in Berlin, Germany, announced the world first in December 2010, but the movie has only recently been released.

The video captures the active second stage of labour as the mother expels the fetus. The technique, called cinematic MRI, takes repeated images of the same slice of the body before joining them up to create an ultra-detailed video. It was recently turned on unborn twins for the first time to study a common complication where one fetus receives more of the blood supply and becomes much larger than the other.

By using MRI, the team was able to examine the relationship between the movement of the fetus and its position as it travels through the birth canal, which should help doctors better manage labour and delivery. In the future, the team also hopes to visualise the first stage of labour using the same technique, possibly using the videos to create virtual-reality computer training.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like to see a kung-fu fetus or watch a couple having sex in an MRI scanner.

Journal reference: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2012.01.011

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

There's a lot of drama in store for the Milky Way: in 2.3 billion year's time it will graze its neighbouring galaxy Andromeda only to collide and merge with it in 5 billion years' time. Now you can preview the action in unprecedented detail thanks to a new simulation created by NVIDIA, in collaboration with Simon Portugies Zwart from Leiden University in the Netherlands and his team, that can be paused to further explore the process.

The visualisation uses a new system to simulate gravitational forces between stars in the galaxy, allowing it to approximate the interaction of 286,000 bodies. During the Milky Way's first run in with Andromeda, a green display in the video illustrates how the algorithm works. It divides the data into 3D boxes based on the density of stars in a given area, continuously subdividing a region until there are no more than 16 stars in a box. By focusing on denser regions, the computing power required to create a realistic model is dramatically reduced compared to simulating interactions between all stars.

The team eventually hopes to use the system to simulate the evolution of stars and their clusters and planets in the Milky Way. But it should also be useful to model other processes in physics, chemistry and even finance.

If you enjoyed this post, see how the Milky Way got its spiral arms or watch a time-lapse of the Milky Way's formation.

Jacob Aron, technology reporter

Last year, engineering students at the University of Maryland in College Park tried to set a record for flying a human-powered helicopter. Today they are at it again, with a lighter, more advanced cycle-copter. So far, they've managed to break the world record for human-powered choppers in their first flight by staying airborne for 35 seconds (see video above).

The team's Gamera II craft weighs around 32 kilograms, roughly two-thirds the weight of its predecessor, and has an improved rotor and cockpit design. Gamera I achieved just 4 seconds of flight last year, failing to beat the previous record of 20 seconds set in 1994 by a copter called Yuri I. As they continue their tests today, the team hopes to break the 60-second barrier, an important step to claiming the American Helicopter Society's Sikorsky prize for human-powered flight.

If you enjoyed this post, check out a minicopter that can detect obstacles or a tiny helicopter that flies like a maple seed.

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

If you've ever made a soap boat, you'll know that a few drops of detergent won't propel it for long. But by using an aerogel, Robin Ras from Aalto University in Finland and colleagues have managed to make a mini boat that zips around for much longer.

In this sped-up video, the tiny vessel cruises around for 54 minutes on water powered by just 25 microliters of ethanol. When a few drops of fuel are placed at the back of the boat, vapour diffuses through the aerogel as it evaporates. This lowers the surface tension at the rear, creating a difference in surface tension between the front and back of the boat to propel it forward. The vessel can also travel in oil, as shown in the second clip, since the aerogel is impermeable to oil as well as water.

According to Ras, the system could be useful for transporting small devices across the surface of a liquid. The team found that the speed of the vessel could be altered by using different fuels.

A similar propulsion system is used by water striders when they accidentally fall in water. By excreting a liquid surfactant, they are able to zip to the shore.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like to see how a nanorocket could help deliver drugs or how a mini- machine can move through water by rotating

Journal reference: Chemical Science, DOI: 10.1039/C2SC20355C

Jacob Aron, technology reporter

You've probably heard of Pi day held on 14 March, and might even know its rival Tau day on 28 June. But these circular numbers aren't the only mathematical constants worth celebrating. Just in time for today's date, known as Phi day, musician Michael Blake has composed a soundtrack in recognition of the golden ratio, represented by the Greek letter phi (see video above).

Like pi and tau, the golden ratio is an irrational number and so its decimal representation goes on forever - the first few digits are 1.618. To create a musical interpretation, Blake mapped the digits in the constant to musical notes. He's previously done the same for pi and tau and even had to fight off a lawsuit that bizarrely attempted to copyright pi.

So what's phi's claim to fame? Many artists and architects believe that lines and shapes divided according to the golden ratio are the most aesthetically pleasing. The number is also related to the Fibonacci sequence: the difference between two consecutive Fibonacci numbers grows closer to the golden ratio as the sequence continues to infinity. These numbers often crop up in nature, such as in the spirals of a sunflower head.

Are there any other numbers you'd like to hear? Let us know in the comments section below.

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

Be careful if you're walking in the jungle: what may seem like moving spots could actually be a cheetah. Now new animations by Stuart Anstis and his team from the University of California in San Diego illustrate the effect by showing how our brain can interpret a moving scene in different ways.

The video starts with couples gazing into each others' eyes. As they rotate, you are likely to keep seeing four distinct couples as we are primed to recognise male-female pairs. However, in the next clip, where faces are replaced with dots in a similar arrangement, what initially appear to be groups of rotating dots will probably soon turn into two floating squares. A third animation demonstrates that by adding more pairs of dots, the motion of the whole takes over as most people will see two pulsing octagons. A final clip shows that linking the pairs of dots makes the smaller groupings stick out from the overall formation.

These animations demonstrate that our brain can favour either the overall shape or its components depending on the arrangement. In many cases, we can perceive a scene in different ways and alternate between the configurations. However, Anstis and his team showed that over time, our brain usually favours one arrangement over the other by remembering how it has previously processed information in the scene.

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV


Engineer Chris Suprock and his team from Suprock Technologies in Exeter, New Hampshire, are using ferrofluid to develop an artificial heart with no mechanical parts or motors. The device takes a novel approach by simulating the way a real heart contracts to move fluid. An early prototype is made from an elastic membrane containing ferrofluid fixed to a frame. When an electromagnet underneath is activated, it attracts magnetic particles suspended in the fluid, causing the "skin" to stretch out. Combining a few of these devices could mimic the pumping action of a heart.

"Membrane concepts have been explored using pneumatics or hydraulics; however, we are finding that ferrofluid provides more precise control and is more compact," says Suprock. "Moreover, the ferrofluid action is electric and can be powered from outside the body without physical contact."

The team is considering two different designs: one that uses two chambers with valves, and another less traditional version that uses ferrofluid in a roller pump (see video). According to Suprock, the second design is more promising because it doesn't require valves or mechanical obstacles that interrupt flow.

Existing left-ventricular assist devices (LVADs), which are implanted to augment the pumping of the left ventricle, use turbo pumps that can damage blood because they create shear. A ferrofluid system that makes a gentler pumping motion would reduce this stress. The system is also likely be cheaper because it doesn't require bearings or moving parts.

If you enjoyed this post, see a ferrofluid installation that monitors earthquake activity or watch how a turbine device could keep you alive without a heartbeat.

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV


In this video, you can see how both a single treated worm, as well as a whole group, can quickly be triggered to change direction. A third clip shows that in the same scenario, an untreated worm doesn't alter its behaviour.

These nematodes are just one example of how living cells can be controlled remotely. By using other hosts, and implanting nanoparticles in ion channels, DNA strands or antibodies, medical treatments could be activated instantly from afar, leading to a new generation of drugs that can be set off with a smartphone app.

To find out more about recent developments in wireless medicine, read our full-length feature, Wireless medicine: Turn on, tune in, control life.

If you enjoyed this post, see how a roundworm can be stunned by UV light or watch how (contrary to what you might think) obstacles can help worms speed through an obstacle course.

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

You may not expect much from a garden snail. Some clever hacking can turn it into a living battery, though. Evgeny Katz and his team from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, have successfully implanted a biofuel cell in a snail for the first time, allowing it to generate electricity for the remaining months of its life.

In this exclusive video, you can watch how the animal was turned into a power source. Through slits cut in its shell, electrodes coated with enzymes are implanted in its body. Glucose and oxygen in the snail's blood become fuel to generate electricity when the electrodes are hooked up to an external circuit.

The researchers demonstrated that an "electrified" snail could be a living battery producing up to 7 milliwatts. Although the power output decreased rapidly, feeding the snail could partially refuel it straight away. Alternatively, allowing the snail to rest for about half an hour would allow it to recharge.

Although electrifying snails and other small animals could one day be useful for powering small devices such as environmental sensors, Katz and his team are focused on developing biomedical applications. A similar system could be used in the human body to power implants such as pacemakers instead of having to rely on batteries with a limited lifespan. "The next step will include experiments mimicking the human blood stream with implanted bioelectrodes," says Katz. "This will be done with a model fluidic system."

If you enjoyed this post, watch a remote-controlled moth turn during flight or see how crossing a moth and a machine can help track odours.

Journal reference: Journal of the American Chemical Society, DOI: 10.1021/ja211714w

MacGregor Campbell, contributor

It's hard to do anything these days without a computer being involved in some way. From credit card readers to traffic signals to the phone in your pocket, computers can perform all kinds of tasks thanks to different software programs.

So how did the programmable computer come about? In this animation, we show you how Alan Turing came up with the idea while trying to solve a fundamental mathematical problem. By building his machine, he demonstrated that mathematics wasn't as perfect as many at the time believed, while also showing how powerful a computer could be.

To find out more about Turing's legacy, check out our Instant Expert guide that explains how many of his ideas influenced modern technology.

If you enjoyed this video, watch our other animated explainers to find out, for example, how the internet can read your mind, or the hidden equations that rule the world.

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

You can now watch a fruit fly embryo turn into a larva without missing any of the action. Thanks to a new microscope created by Lars Hufnagel and his team at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, individual cells throughout a developing animal can now be filmed to create a high quality 3D movie of the process.

This 2D version of the film shows how the new microscope captures the fruit fly from all angles. If you've got your red and blue 3D glasses handy, you can also watch the anaglyphic version of the movie.

The time-lapse follows the embryo from about two hours old until it walks away 20 hours later, highlighting key stages of its development. Cells dive into the embryo's belly before separating into three layers prior to organ formation. Later, cells move around the rear of the embryo to its back and an opening on the dorsal side is filled in by surrounding cells.

This dynamic view of developing cells beats current microscope techniques, in which only one side of a living sample can be illuminated at once. To construct a 3D view from these shots, each side must be captured alternately, missing out on crucial details during the rapid changes in the cells.

The new microscope will be useful for investigating how organs and tissues form in different animals and what goes wrong as a result of mutations.

If you enjoyed this post, check out the first film of a fruit fly embryo or watch a 3D digital animation of a zebrafish embryo that tracks the first 24 hours after fertilisation.

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

Watching a moving car can sometimes be mind-bending. At certain speeds, the wheels of a forward-moving vehicle can appear to turn backwards due to a common brain trick called the wagon wheel effect. But to confuse your brain even more, a new variation by Arthur Shapiro and his team from the American University in Washington DC shows how adding colour to a wheel can further alter the motion perceived.

In the first example in the video, some of the dots in the wheel are coloured, allowing us to perceive the actual clockwise motion as well as the reverse at the same time. The effect is maintained when all of the dots are coloured using hues of the same brightness. However, by changing the brightness of the background, only one type of motion is perceived once again.

When the animation is made up of both bright and dark colours, two types of motion are perceived simultaneously once again. But by applying a bright background, the animation appears to flash as both types of motion seem to cancel each other out.  

The classic monochrome wagon wheel effect occurs since our brain doesn't perceive motion continuously, but instead breaks it down into a series of snapshots, just like a video camera. When a wheel rotates clockwise, anti-clockwise information is sometimes generated after each step, causing our brain to misinterpret the direction of motion.

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