Tag: #81

Self-driving electric haulers could soon be hitting railway tracks. Meanwhile, an American startup has developed a system which removes CO2 from the atmosphere during rail traffic. Air flows in through an aperture on top of a container car stationed in between track vehicles. The CO2 is extracted and stored within a chamber, with clean air flowing out through the...

Hidden ruins or lost hikers can be easily tracked down from the skies. Now, a 17-year-old girl from New York has developed an image processing software to help protect elephants by exposing potential poachers. Using her analysis of existing infrared videos of conservation areas in Africa, the teen created an algorithm for her cell phone. In contrast to previous...

Music-lovers can create tracks with increasing ease. Now, a study at Northeastern University has shown that music can stimulate the brain’s nerve pathways, having a positive impact on cognitive illnesses and dementia. This is particularly true for music we choose ourselves, and which we listened to as teenagers. In a recent test, cognitively healthy older adults were asked to...

Lip movements can be translated into text by smartphone. And as a research team from Taiwan recently discovered, smartphone video recordings can help analyse messages contained in our blood flow. Carotid arteries clogged up by fatty deposits restrict blood flow to the brain, potentially leading to strokes. Such reduced moving patterns, although just below the skin, cannot be detected...

In hospitals a good night’s sleep is key to recovery. In order to keep bees healthy meanwhile, a US startup has developed a smart home for up to 24 colonies. The solar-powered apiary is equipped with a camera, sensor technology and a robot arm. It controls the climate inside, monitors and removes pests without chemicals and provides food. Predictive...

Willow- and banana plant fibres are already making their way in the fashion industry. Now, a Dutch startup is using some of the 72 million kilograms of human hair waste produced in the EU each year to make textiles. First, hair collected from salons is sorted and washed. Next it’s spun into yarn on traditional spinning wheels from which...