Items of Interest

Infectious Music

#282
Mathematicians at the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind in Canada studied the download patterns of music from MixRadio and found that their spread matches the patterns seen in the spread of infectious diseases. Interestingly, they found that metal and dance music is not infectious and electronica is the most infectious.
Data Vis
Music

Flying Microchip

#282
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a flying microchip sensor device. The microfliers are modelled on how maple trees spread their seed and fly in a slow stable rotation when moving through the air. The tiny devices include sensors, a power source, data storage and antennae for wireless communication. The goal is to be able to use the microfliers to sense the environment for contamination monitoring, population surveillance, or disease tracking.
Innovation
Tech

Glow In The Dark Plants

#282
Scientists at MIT have successfully injected nanoparticles into plants to give them glow in the dark properties, for the second time. The strontium aluminate nanoparticles are coated in silica so as not to damage the plant. Just 10 seconds of exposure to LED or sunlight cause the plants to glow green for up to an hour, at a brightness ten times more than the previous experiment. The plan is to be able to use these glowing plants as passive lighting in outdoor areas, thus reducing the need for street lighting.
Environment
Innovation
Science

Universal Decoder Chip

#281
Researchers at MIT and Maynooth University have created a telecoms chip that can universally error correct noise found during transmission of data on a network without needing to know the structure of the noise beforehand. Hat tip to the Maynooth part of the team who I presume had dibs on naming the chip GRAND (Guessing Random Additive Noise Decoding)!
Tech

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