Chinese researchers have developed a user-interactive electronic skin that can change colour—an ability associated with animals such as chameleons, octopuses and squid. The changes are perceptible to the human eye without much strain. Continue reading Colour-changing e-skin developed; can have robotics uses
Category Archives: Science
New augmented reality based facial recognition feature unveiled
In a bid to change the way people interact with each other, Blippar — a visual discovery application — has announced a new in-app feature that changes face profiles into a digital format using augmented reality (AR). Continue reading New augmented reality based facial recognition feature unveiled
Device that can harvest electricity from human motion
Clothes that double up as cell-phone charger could be a reality soon as researchers have found a way to generate electricity from human motion. Continue reading Device that can harvest electricity from human motion
Night phone use makes teenagers depressed
Late night mobile phone use has devastating effects on teenagers’ mental health, a study by Australian researchers at Murdoch and Griffith Universities said.
Funded by the Australian Research Council, the world’s first long-term assessment of adolescent mental health regarding late night mobile phone usage examined students’ quality of sleep, along with mood, aggression, coping skills, self esteem and whether they experienced any symptoms of depression, Xinhua news agency reported.
The process was conducted as an annual survey over four years and included 1,100 students from 29 schools.
When the subjects began the process, they were in Class 8 of High School. When the programme concluded, they had hit Class 11.
The questionnaires focused on what time of the night students continued to receive or send text messages and phone calls.
“We found that late night phone use directly contributed to poor sleep habits, which over time led to declines in overall wellbeing and mental health,” lead researcher Lynette Vernon said.
“We have demonstrated how poor sleep is the key link connecting an increase in night-time mobile use with subsequent increases in psychosocial issues.”
Around two thirds or 65 per cent of students in Class 8 who owned a mobile phone were reported to use it regularly after “lights out”.
When the study concluded four years later, the figure was 78 per cent, finding that “as their levels of mobile phone use grew over time, so did their poor sleep behaviour”, co-author Kathryn Modecki said.
According to Mark Levi, a Sydney-based sleep doctor, the scientific reason why mobile phones can have such a negative influence on sleeping patterns is due to the unnatural light they produce.
“Blue light in your bedroom retards your sleeping, it affects your hormones, it affects your melatonin secretions, your insulin secretions, it affects a lot of balance in the body,” Levi told Xinhua on Tuesday.
“So the more you sit in bed and watch TV, play with your tablet, phone and have your phone beeping at 3 in the morning, all these things affect the slow waves of your sleep pattern and will give the person poor quality sleep.
“Blue light is a real, real problem in the bedroom. It’s a big, huge problem.”
For Levi, the findings of the study are no surprise, “there is no question, no question at all that it’s a growing issue with teenagers, adolescents and the young”, the sleep expert said.
“When a phone is beeping all night or they are watching a screen all night, it’s affecting their sleep a lot and we’re seeing child with sleep patterns that are disturbed and it’s going to affect their attitude, their cognitive skills, concentrations skills, their moodiness during the day.”
Despite the damning findings, Vernon said the answer to solving the problem was not to simply ban teenagers from using their devices but to find ways of promoting better sleep habits to adolescents.
New NASA tech could help drones make safe emergency landing
NASA scientists are building technology to help drones land safely in case these unmanned aircraft systems suddenly develop mechanical problems. Continue reading New NASA tech could help drones make safe emergency landing
Beef ban can mitigate climate change
Banning cow slaughter has become a major political and social issue in India but a study published by US researchers suggests this may indeed help mitigate global warming. Continue reading Beef ban can mitigate climate change
Astronomers find galaxies creating stars at furious pace
A team of astronomers has discovered a new kind of galaxies which, although extremely old—formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang—create stars more than a hundred times faster than our own Milky Way. Continue reading Astronomers find galaxies creating stars at furious pace
A wristband that can recognise human emotions
An MIT engineer has developed a wristband with significant potential to recognise changes in human emotions, the brain as well as behaviour, especially during seizures caused by epilepsy. Continue reading A wristband that can recognise human emotions
3.3-million-year-old fossil unravels origins of human spine
An analysis of a 3.3 million years old fossil skeleton has revealed portions of the human spinal structure that enable efficient walking motions were established much earlier than previously thought. Continue reading 3.3-million-year-old fossil unravels origins of human spine
‘Puffy planet’ could help scientist search for alien life
Astronomers have discovered a “puffy planet” orbiting a star 320 light years from Earth which may hold opportunities for testing atmospheres that would be useful when assessing future planets for signs of life. Continue reading ‘Puffy planet’ could help scientist search for alien life