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Finally, Someone made a Millennium Falcon Drone

 - Eric Geller - 

Drones have many practical uses, from surveying crop fields to filming movies to documenting climate change. But the best technology is part practical, part recreational. That's where the Millennium Falcon comes in.

Han Solo's heavily modified YT-1300 light freighter from the originalStar Wars trilogy is one of the most iconic spaceships in pop culture. It's no wonder, then, that a drone enthusiast named Olivier sought to combine the affordable power and speed of today's drones with the irresistible shape and design of the Millennium Falcon.

In a Reddit thread on the site's DIY forum, Olivier explained that he built the Falcon around a powerful quadcopter model. The quadcopter "is an overpowered little beast," he wrote, adding that it was "easily capable of 90km/h [56 miles per hour] horizontal speed." With his special customizations, however, that dropped to "probably about 30km/h," or 19 mph.

"If I try to go faster with more angle it's making a cool backflip," Olivier added.

The entire project cost just over 1,000 Euros, or $1,142, with the vast majority of that going into the quadcopter unit and its radio controller.

You can watch the radio-controlled Falcon's first two flights below.

Link to Original Source

I found this particular article, along with its videos, to be very intriguing because drones are probably the most advanced equipment in the field of robotics and electronics. You always see the drones in the movies, but it is not everyday that you see one in person. The creation of this "Falcon Drone" made me excited because not only can you experience seeing one, but if you save enough of your allowance, you could potentially own one. I had the pleasure of controlling a different model over the summer. That particular model had a high resolution camera built into it and it was an absolute spectacle. The possibilities with drones are endless. They may very well be the FedEx of tomorrow.

Scale of the Universe Slowly Being Measured - Catherine Bennet

One of the most puzzling questions of all time is the question of whether the Universe could be measured or not. Basically, the universe is defined as the totality of everything that exists, has existed and ever will exist. The actual size of the Universe has been debated upon for years and years. Now, a team of researchers working with the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) has determined the distances of galaxies more than 6 billion light-years away to within 1% accuracy-an unprecedented measurment. David Shlegal, physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and a principal investigator of BOSS stated now that he knows the size of the universe better than he knows the size of his own house.

What the scientists did to achieve this amazing feat was that, they mapped the locations of 1.2 million galaxies and found that their new measurments support the ideas of a "cosmological constant", an idea first proposed by Albert Einstein. The cosmological constant measures the energy density in the vacuum of space. Dark energy, which is said to be the driving force of the Universe's constant expansion, has stayed the same ever since the universe began with the Big Bang. The ultra-presice new galaxy map that the researchers have formulated has said to unlock the new found potentials of dark energy. 

Part of the Galaxy map that the survey has formulated 

A new result at the 223rd meeting of the BOSS team revealed that the curvature of space was not what they had thought. In basic terms, the universe is quite "flat", now suggesting that the universe is infinite, and would continue forever in time. So what they could conclude, is that since the universe is flat, it would infact be infinite, because the results of the survey are consistent with the theory of a finite universe.

The BOSS uses a spectograph to add more stars, to slowly but precisely add on to whatever measure they have found. On a clear night, their 2.5 meter telescope situated in New Mexico can pick up 8000 new galaxies and quasers to add on to the ever expanding galaxy map. They double the size of the measured area, and add on to the new galaxies they have found, leading to more precise results. Making the measurments at two different distances helps the surveyers actually understand more about the size and the expansion of the universe. Dark energy and its opposite force, Dark matter are now being taken seriously, as they help people find out more about the Final frontier...Space.

Citation: http://www.livescience.com/42457-dark-energy-galaxy-map-aas223.html

Elon Musk plans to build Hyperloop test track

Billionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk is getting more hands-on with the Hyperloop.

 

Musk, who heads up both space transportation outfit SpaceX and electric-vehicle maker Tesla Motors, casually announced via Twitter on Thursday that he's decided to help accelerate development of his vision for near-supersonic tube transportation, first outlined in August 2013.

Musk said he will build a five-mile test track for the still-theoretical system for students and companies to use. A possible location would be Texas, he added, where presumably there is plenty of flat land to go around.

Musk originally floated the idea of the Hyperloop with help from fellow SpaceX and Tesla engineers, releasing their collective work in a 57-page concept paper that generated headlines worldwide. Until today, Musk has been notably hands-off about the project and has said it remains an open-source and collaborative process. SpaceX declined to comment further on Musk's plans or whether the test track will involve additional collaboration from members of his two companies.

Musk is known for dropping bombshell announcements on his personal Twitter account, like when a rocket from his space transportation outfit SpaceX exploded mid-flight because "rockets are tricky" or how he thinks artificial intelligence may be more dangerous than nukes.

Though Musk speaks of the Hyperloop with similar nonchalance, the idea could revolutionize land transportation. It's simpler than it sounds. A Hyperloop would work similarly to an air hockey table, but instead of floating on a cushion of air, solar-powered electromagnetic pulses would propel pressurized cabins inside elevated tubes.

Theoretically, the resulting system could reach speeds approaching 800 mph, faster than the speed of sound, through tubes held up by pylons placed between strategic cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. The system still needs years of testing, and as much as $10 billion to create even just one 400-mile stretch.

Yet Musk's willingness to get involved after almost a year and a half of silence on the subject shows he's serious about the idea and will, as he has with his other ventures, spend some of his own money to get it off the ground.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, a collection of crowdsourced engineers working on the system, is already under way working out routes around the country.

Musk is known for taking risks and transforming industries. He did it with Web-based payments and PayPal during the first dot-com era -- then again with electric vehicles and private spaceflight.

Critics, including members of the US High Speed Rail Association, say high-speed rail is a more-viable option. High-speed rail is widely used throughout Asia, and the state of California this month broke ground for its high-speed rail system costing $70 billion. Musk has criticized the project's high costs and sees the Hyperloop as leapfrogging the technology.

Musk isn't alone in trying to make the idea a reality. A group of entrepreneurs and scientists have banded together to create Hyperloop Transportation Technologies. Put together first on a crowdfunding platform called JumpStartFund, it's a collective of around 100 engineers, unaffiliated with Musk, who exchange free time for potential equity. Each works in small teams focused on specific interests, such as designing passenger pods and propulsion prototypes.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has also partnered with UCLA's SUPRASTUDIO design and architecture program to design capsules and stations, as well as work out prospective routes around the country that could potentially be linked into a nationwide Hyperloop network.

JumpStartFund refused to comment on Musk's plans, but CEO Dirk Ahlborn said the company will know soon where a finalized test site will be located.

http://www.cnet.com/news/elon-musk-plans-to-build-hyperloop-test-track/

I choose this article because I am interested in new technological advances. Last year, when Elon Musk announced that he has a plan to build a futuristic train to connect the cities of Los Angeles to San Fransico, everyone was shocked because he claimed that the train could travel the distance in thirty minutes. I was among the shocked. But now, Musk further reveals that he actually wants to carry out the plan by saying that he plans to build a prototype test loop. If Musk successfully builds the Hyperloop, connecting Los Angeles and San Fransico in thirty minutes, then the possibilities are endless. A train could be built connecting a city in New Jersey to New York City for those working in New York but live in New Jersey. Another train could connect Manchester and London, for those people living in Britain. Then when technology allows it, oversea travel could be an option. Imagine a train that could cross the Pacific from the US to China in under ten hours. As I said, the possibilities are endless.

Human Cloning - Shashank Nutalapati

Link To Article: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/human-cloning.htm

On July 5, 1996, the most famous sheep in modern history was born. Ian Wilmut and a group of Scottish scientists announced that they had successfully cloned a sheep named Dolly.

If you stood Dolly beside a "naturally" conceived sheep, you wouldn't notice any differences between the two. In fact, to pinpoint the only major distinguishing factor between the two, you'd have to go back to the time of conception because Dolly's embryo developed without the presence of sperm. Instead, Dolly began as a cell from another sheep that was fused via electricity with a donor egg. Just one sheep -- no hanky-panky involved.

While Dolly's birth marked an incredible scientific breakthrough, it also set off questions in the scientific and global community about what -- or who -- might be next to be "duplicated." Cloning sheep and other nonhuman animals seemed more ethically benign to some than potentially cloning people. In response to such concerns in the United States, President Clinton signed a five-year moratorium on federal funding for human cloning the same year of Dolly's arrival [source:Lamb].

Today, after more than a decade since Dolly, human cloning remains in its infancy. Although cloning technology has improved, the process still has a slim success rate of 1 to 4 percent [source: ­Burton]. That being said, science is headed in that direction -- pending governmental restraints.

Scientists have cloned a variety of animals, including mice, sheep, pigs, cows and dogs. In 2006, scientists cloned the first primate embryos of a rhesus monkey. Then, in early 2­008, the FDA officially deemed milk and meat products from cloned animals and their offspring safe to eat.

But what would human cloning involve, and how could you take sperm out of the reproductive ­equation?

                                         

Dolly The Sheep                                                       Cloning Process

Are Video Games Good or Bad for People?

      http://dana.org/Cerebrum/Default.aspx?id=39414
         You're parents always say that video games are bad for you. Some studies support that while others say that video games can help develop a child's brain. Both are correct according to this study. The "right" of video game will help develop a kid's brain. But, violent games, such as Battlefield or Call of Duty are known to make children more  violent. 
        In a study where 33 laparoscopic surgeons were brought together to train their surgical skills, they used a video game related simulation. The game had better predicting and testing abilities than regular training. On the other hand, in studies where kid's and even adults were exposed to violent games, they patients were prone to addiction and obesity. This brings another issue into question. How long should we spend playing this games? 
       The study does not suggest what we should do, but only gives suggestion on how we should judge the amount of games we play. The most important factors are Content, Structure, and Mechanics. The amount of time is also considered, but it is based upon the the former 4. Content refers to what the video games contain. Obviously educational games are good for the person, but in teenagers, how many of us really enjoy educational games over thrill-inducing ones? In non-educational games, there are many categories. A video game’s on-screen structure contributes to its effects. For example, some games require a player to scan the screen constantly for small changes, such as signals announcing the sudden appearance of a “dot,” and to respond quickly to these changes. (ex. Cytus) The mechanics of a video can affect the player motor skills (ex. Cytus). The mechanics is usually beneficial for the player as it improves hand-eye coordination, and in some cases, reaction times. The things need to be taken into consideration when judging how long one should play a video game. 
        However, it still leaves lots of doubt and controversy of whether video games are good for you or not. What do you guys think?

New Research Shows That Hugs Prevent Stress and Infection - Sanchit Kumar

Throughout the years of your life, you have probably heard that hugging each other relived stress and somehow helped reduce the symptoms of an infection. The question is if this statement is actually true, or if it is just some old wives tale told throughout the years. This question was tackled by a team from the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences who was lead by Sheldon Cohen who is a University Professor of Psychology in CMU's. With this question in mind researchers found that greater social support from people you know and trust can protect agains the increased susceptibility of infections that can harm you and resulted in less severe symptoms also causing less stress. In order to test this theory farther Cohen decided to do a social experiment. People dealing with ongoing conflict are less likely to fight disease and people receiving more social support are less likely to develop anxiety and depression. Based on this information Cohen brought forth 404 healthy adults in order to test his theory. Each one of them were assessed by a questionnaire and the frequencies of interpersonal conflicts and receiving hugs were derived from telephone interviews conducted on 14 consecutive nights. After this the test participants were each intentionally exposed to the common cold virus and monitored in a quarantined situation to assess the signs of the sickness that they were shown to. The results that were shown were astounding, the people with perceived support reduced the risk of infection. What is even more surprising is that hugs accounted for 1/3 of that perceived support. With all of this information brought forward Cohen came to the conclusion that being hugged by a trusted person can somewhat protect you from the harmful effects of an infection. This shows what has already been know, the less stress that you put on yourself, the more likely you are to stay away from infection. Strange that something as easy as a hug can help keep you healthy.

Works Cited:
Article - Carnegie Mellon University. "Hugs help protect against stress, infection, say researchers." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 December 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141217101316.htm>.

Picture-  Pelaez, Jose Luis. "Mother and Daughter Hugging." GettyImages. Getty Images, 
     n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/ 
     mother-and-daughter-hugging-high-res-stock-photography/103051648>.