Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed

Grape seed extract creates these conditions that are unfavorable to growth. Specifically, the paper shows that grape seed extract both damages cancer cells’ DNA (via increased reactive oxygen species) and stops the pathways that allow repair (as seen by decreased levels of the DNA repair molecules Brca1 and Rad51 and DNA repair foci).

“Yet we saw absolutely no toxicity to the mice, themselves,” Agarwal says.

Again, the grape seed extract killed the cancer cells but not the healthy cells.

“I think the whole point is that cancer cells have a lot of defective pathways and they are very vulnerable if you target those pathways. The same is not true of healthy cells,” Agarwal says.

Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed

New Virtual Helper Challenges Siri

True Knowledge is hoping the semantic database it has built up over the past few years could provide this edge.

Evi’s availability and promise as an artificial intelligence app, coupled with its low price (99 cents on the iPhone and free on Android phones), caused its popularity to skyrocket following its Monday release, and made it difficult for those downloading it to try it out. Evi isn’t the only Siri competitor—and in fact its capabilities are somewhat different from Siri’s offerings—but plenty of smart-phone users, it seems, are eager for Evi’s help in particular.
…
Essentially, the app takes your spoken or typed question and uses its vast store of knowledge along with outside data from websites like Yelp to give pertinent answers. This is similar to how Siri works, but Apple’s assistant focuses more on accomplishing tasks, such as making calls, setting alerts, or dictating text messages, by working with the iPhone’s other apps. Evi does not do these things, but Tunstall-Pedoe says it will eventually be able to take on more tasks.

New Virtual Helper Challenges Siri – Technology Review

This virus evolves and mutates

This virus infects bacteria, specifically, the common E. coli bacterium. Although Lambda isn’t dangerous to humans, the new research highlights how viruses are capable of evolving complex and potentially deadly new traits.

“We were surprised at first to see Lambda evolve this new function, this ability to attack and enter the cell through a new receptor – and it happened so fast,” explained MSU graduate student Justin Meyer.

“But when we re-ran the evolution experiment, we saw the same thing happen over and over.”

This virus evolves and mutates | TG Daily

Eating chocolate can stave off bowel cancer

Eating chocolate could stave off bowel cancer, say scientists.

A study found having daily doses of cocoa reduced the risk of developing the disease.

It is the latest piece of research to highlight the health benefits of the cocoa bean, most of which is harvested in West Africa.

Eating chocolate can stave off bowel cancer, say scientists. | Mail Online

Robot aspirare fara sac Samsung Navibot VCR 8845 – 1399 Lei

Aspiratul este un chin. Atunci de ce sa nu lasati pe altcineva sau altceva sa faca sarcina neplacuta? De exemplu, pe revolutionarul NaviBot oferit de Samsung. A fost proiectat sa va curete casa mai bine ca oricand, in orice zi doriti. Cu sistemul sau Visionary Mapping, NaviBot este dotat cu o camera video care creeaza o harta a spatiului dvs. de locuit, stabilind cel mai bun traseu pentru a face curatenie. Un traseu care va protejeaza toate obiectele de valoare, multumita senzorilor sai de siguranta inteligenti si datorita Virtual Guard, un gard invizibil pe care-l puteti activa cand aveti nevoie. Indiferent ce feng shui personal aveti, NaviBot este modalitatea inteligenta de a face curatenie. Asa ca opriti-va, relaxati-va si incredintati-va in Samsung.

Robot aspirare fara sac Samsung Navibot VCR 8845, 0.6 L, senzor, telecomanda, delay start VCR8845T3A/BOL – eMAG.ro

‘Native Americans’ actually came from a tiny mountain region in Russia, DNA research reveals

Altai in southern Siberia sits right at the centre of Russia. But the tiny, mountainous republic has a claim to fame unknown until now – Native Americans can trace their origins to the remote region.

DNA research revealed that genetic markers linking people living in the Russian republic of Altai, southern Siberia, with indigenous populations in North America.

A study of the mutations indicated a lineage shift between 13,000 and 14,000 years ago – when people are thought to have walked across the ice from Russia to America.

‘Native Americans’ actually came from a tiny mountain region in Russia, DNA research reveals | Mail Online

Smallest-Ever Nanotube Transistors Outperform Silicon

“The smallest carbon-nanotube transistor ever made, a nine-nanometer device, performs better than any other transistor has at this size.

For over a decade, researchers have promised that carbon nanotubes, with their superior electrical properties, would make for better transistors at ever-tinier sizes, but that claim hadn’t been tested in the lab at these extremes. Researchers at IBM who made the nanotube transistors say this is the first experimental evidence that any material is a viable potential replacement for silicon at a size smaller than 10 nanometers.”

Smallest-Ever Nanotube Transistors Outperform Silicon – Technology Review

Elpida Shows Off Resistance RAM Prototype

“Elpida Memory has announced the development of its first-ever high-speed non-volatile resistance memory (ReRAM) prototype. As the ReRAM prototype was made using a 50nm process technology it has a memory cell array operation of 64Mb, one of the highest densities possible for ReRAM.

ReRAM is next-generation semiconductor memory technology that uses material which changes resistance in response to changes in the electric voltage. This new type of non-volatile memory can store data even when the power supply is turned off. Its most attractive feature is that it can read/write data at high speeds using little voltage. While dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is superior to existing non-volatile memory with respect to read/write speeds and endurance, DRAM quickly loses data when the power supply is removed. NAND flash memory, a leading example of nonvolatile memory, retains data even when the power is removed but has performance measures that are inferior to DRAM.

ReRAM, on the other hand, is a type of semiconductor memory that contains the advantages of both DRAM and NAND flash memory. It has a write speed of 10ns, about the same as DRAM, and write endurance of more than a million times, or more than 10 times greater than NAND flash.”

Elpida Shows Off Resistance RAM Prototype – X-bit labs

Envelope for an artificial cell

“They created the synthetic membranes from a watery emulsion of an oil and a detergent. Alone it’s stable. Add copper ions and sturdy vesicles and tubules begin to bud off the oil droplets. After 24 hours, the oil droplets are gone, “consumed” by the self-assembling membranes.

Although other scientists recently announced the creation of a “synthetic cell,” only its genome was artificial. The rest was a hijacked bacterial cell. Fully artificial life will require the union of both an information-carrying genome and a three-dimensional structure to house it.

The real value of this discovery might reside in its simplicity. From commercially available precursors, the scientists needed just one preparatory step to create each starting lipid chain.

“It’s trivial and can be done in a day,” Devaraj said. “New people who join the lab can make membranes from day one.””

Envelope for an artificial cell

Blindness eased by historic stem cell treatment

“For the first time since they were discovered 13 years ago, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have shown medical promise.

Two people with eye degeneration both say their vision improved in the four months after they received implants of retinal pigment epithelial cells made from hESCs. The treatments were also safe, with no sign that the cells triggered aggressive tumours called teratomas, no sign of immune rejection of the cells, and no inflammation”

Blindness eased by historic stem cell treatment – health – 25 January 2012 – New Scientist

Cu job full-time, dar mereu in vacanta. Povestea economistului roman care calatoreste in jurul lumii, platit de altii

“Debordeaza de optimism cand vorbeste despre patria lui, desi a fost plecat in peste 40 de state. Pentru el „Romania este tara tuturor posibilitatilor mai mult decat Statele Unite” si n-ar schimba-o pentru nimic. Ba chiar sfatuieste tinerii sa ramana aici. „Afara lucrurile sunt asezate. Acolo trebuie sa inventezi ceva, sa fii creativ. In Romania este suficient sa le copiezi pe cele create si implementate in strainatate”, spune Razvan Pascu, economist de profesie si calator in timpul liber, platit de altii sa le povesteasca despre ceea ce vede peste hotare, despre idei de afaceri si despre cum reusesc strainii sa-si promoveze meleagurile.”

Cu job full-time, dar mereu in vacanta. Povestea economistului roman care calatoreste in jurul lumii, platit de altii GALERIE FOTO – www.InCont.ro

Scientists discover new clue to the chemical origins of life

“All biological molecules have an ability to exist as left-handed forms or right-handed forms. All sugars in biology are made up of the right-handed form of molecules and yet all the amino acids that make up the peptides and proteins are made up of the left-handed form.

The researchers found using simple left-handed amino acids to catalyse the formation of sugars resulted in the production of predominately right-handed form of sugars. It could explain how carbohydrates originated and why the right-handed form dominates in nature.

Dr Clarke said: “There are a lot of fundamental questions about the origins of life and many people think they are questions about biology. But for life to have evolved, you have to have a moment when non-living things become living — everything up to that point is chemistry.”

Scientists discover new clue to the chemical origins of life

Next iPhone to feature light field camera?

Apparently Steve Jobs expressed a great interest in Lytro (the creator of the Lytro Light Field Camera) and even met with the CEO of the company to discuss plans before. In case you aren’t familiar with the concept of the Light Field Camera, it is a simple camera that lets people capture “the perfect shot” instead of having to deal with the hassles of setting up the right focus, shutter speed etc on the spot. Images captured with the camera can then be manipulated on a computer after the shooting is done.

Next iPhone to feature light field camera? | Ubergizmo

Pirate Bay takes piracy to the next dimension

“Infamous online site The Pirate Bay wants to start letting users pirate 3D objects.

This opportunity seeks to cash in on two big trends that have been popping up in the media lately – online content protection and 3D printing.”

Pirate Bay takes piracy to the next dimension – literally | TG Daily

Big step towards Tricorder medical scanner

“Star Trek-style Tricorder medical scanners are a step closer ot reality, say scientists, following the discovery of a new way of creating electromagnetic Terahertz waves – as currently used in full-body security scanners.

Researchers from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore and the UK’s Imperial College London say they’ve made made these T-rays into a much stronger directional beam than was previously thought possible, and at room-temperature conditions.

It means future T-ray systems can be smaller, easier to operate and much cheaper than current devices, they say.”

Big step towards Tricorder medical scanner | TG Daily

Eeek! Human response to fear is more like animals than thought

“The findings suggest that, despite our sophisticated mental capabilities, our responses are in fact driven by these more primitive processes when in danger.

Lead author, Professor Ian McLaren of the University of Exeter, said: ‘This research clearly shows that, in these circumstances, our reaction to a fear-provoking stimulus depends on a primitive response caused by associative learning. This is something we share with other animals.

‘This could have important practical implications. Now that we know that associative processes are implicated in our response to fear-inducing stimuli, we need to consider the implications for the ways in which we treat anxiety and phobias.’”

Eeek! Human response to fear is more like animals than thought | Mail Online

Neural network gets an idea of number without counting

“AN ARTIFICIAL brain has taught itself to estimate the number of objects in an image without actually counting them, emulating abilities displayed by some animals including lions and fish, as well as humans.

Because the model was not preprogrammed with numerical capabilities, the feat suggests that this skill emerges due to general learning processes rather than number-specific mechanisms. “It answers the question of how numerosity emerges without teaching anything about numbers in the first place,” says Marco Zorzi at the University of Padua in Italy, who led the work.

The finding may also help us to understand dyscalculia – where people find it nearly impossible to acquire basic number and arithmetic skills – and enhance robotics and computer vision.

The skill in question is known as approximate number sense. A simple test of ANS involves looking at two groups of dots on a page and intuitively knowing which has more dots, even though you have not counted them. Fish use ANS to pick the larger, and therefore safer, shoal to swim in.

To investigate ANS, Zorzi and colleague Ivilin Stoianov used a computerised neural network that responds to images and generates new “fantasy” ones based on rules that it deduces from the original images. The software models a retina-like layer of neurons that fire in response to the raw pixels, plus two deeper layers that do more sophisticated processing based on signals from layers above.

The pair fed the network 51,800 images, each containing up to 32 rectangles of varying sizes. In response to each image, the program strengthened or weakened connections between neurons so that its image generation model was refined by the pattern it had just “seen”. Zorzi likens it to “learning how to visualise what it has just experienced”.

Infants demonstrate ANS without being taught, so the network was not preprogrammed with the concept of “amount”. But when Zorzi and Stoianov looked at the network’s behaviour, they discovered a subset of neurons in the deepest layer that fired more often as the number of objects in the image decreased. This suggested that the network had learned to estimate the number of objects in each image as part of its rules for generating images. This behaviour was independent of the total surface area of the objects, emphasising that the neurons were detecting number.

What’s more, these firing patterns followed the trend shown by neurons inside the parietal cortex of monkeys. This region is involved in knowledge of numbers, suggesting that the model might reflect how real brains work.”

Neural network gets an idea of number without counting – tech – 20 January 2012 – New Scientist

Why the feds smashed Megaupload

“The US government dropped a nuclear bomb on “cyberlocker” site Megaupload today, seizing its domain names, grabbing $50 million in assets, and getting New Zealand police to arrest four of the site’s key employees, including enigmatic founder Kim Dotcom. In a 72-page indictment unsealed in a Virginia federal court, prosecutors charged that the site earned more than $175 million since its founding in 2005, most of it based on copyright infringement.

As for the site’s employees, they were paid lavishly and they spent lavishly. Even the graphic designer, 35-year-old Slovakian resident Julius Bencko, made more than $1 million in 2010 alone.

The indictment goes after six individuals, who between them owned 14 Mercedes-Benz automobiles with license plates such as “POLICE,” “MAFIA,” “V,” “STONED,” “CEO,” “HACKER,” GOOD,” “EVIL,” and—perhaps presciently—”GUILTY.” The group also had a 2010 Maserati, a 2008 Rolls-Royce, and a 1989 Lamborghini. They had not one but three Samsung 83″ TVs, and two Sharp 108″ TVs. Someone owned a “Predator statue.” Motor bikes, jet skis, artwork, and even 60 Dell servers could all be forfeit to the government if it can prove its case against the members of the “Mega Conspiracy.”

The case is a major one, involving international cooperation between the US, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Canada, and the Philippines. In addition to the arrests, 20 search warrants were executed today in multiple countries. “

Why the feds smashed Megaupload

UN sets stage for blazing fast new mobile devices

“The technology will be used immediately for planning changes to equipment but it could take two years to show up on consumers smartphone, tablets and other devices because of the time it takes to get to production, International Telecommunication Union spokesman Sanjay Acharya said Thursday.

The differences between present technology and the new standards for IMT-Advanced are like comparing dial-up Internet to fiber-optic cables, say officials at the U.N. agency responsible for information and communication technology.

“This means absolutely no time to get a page open,” said Francois Rancy, head of the agency’s radiocommunication bureau.

The technology hasn’t been available until now because the U.N. must first approve of the international standards for its use.”

UN sets stage for blazing fast new mobile devices

Why Do So Many Have Trouble Believing In Evolution?

The evidence is clear, as in a February 2009 Gallup Poll, taken on the eve of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday, that reported only 39 percent of Americans say they “believe in the theory of evolution,” while a quarter say they do not believe in the theory, and another 36 percent don’t have an opinion either way.

The same poll correlated belief in evolution with educational level: 21 percent of people with a high school education or less believed in evolution. That number rose to 41 percent for people with some college attendance, 53 percent for college graduates, and 74 percent for people with a postgraduate education.

Clearly, the level of education has an impact on how people feel about evolution.

Another variable investigated by the same poll was how belief in evolution correlates with church attendance. Of those who believe in evolution, 24 percent go to church weekly, 30 percent go nearly weekly/monthly, and 55 percent seldom or never go.

Not surprisingly, and rather unfortunately, religious belief interferes with people’s understanding of what the theory of evolution says.

The evidence for evolution is overwhelming…

Why Do So Many Have Trouble Believing In Evolution? | Digg Science