DNA robots spin gold in molecular factory

If you thought nanobots might give us cause for concern when the singularity occurs, how about nanobots made from DNA? U.S. scientists have developed microscopic robots composed of DNA that can follow instructions and work together like an assembly line to make products such as particles of gold.

Is this what our future robot workers will be made of?

(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Reporting in the journal Nature, New York University chemistry professor Nadrian Seeman and colleagues describe a tiny DNA factory consisting of a DNA track for assembly, three molecular forklifts that can deliver parts, and a DNA "walker" that moves around like a car on an assembly line.

The team had produced the first such DNA walker in 2004, knitting together strands of DNA to form a mobile molecule. With the walker working in the nano-factory, the plant can be programmed to produce up to eight different combinations of gold nanoparticle chemical species, according to the researchers.

"We have the three robot stations lined up in a row, and the walker walks by them. Depending on how we program the system, the walker will or will not accept cargos from the three stations," Seemen told Nature Podcast. "This is very analogous, in my mind, to the way the chassis of a car rolls by the various robots in an automobile assembly line."

The research takes advantage of DNA's unique ability to store information, which the team manipulated to adjust the structure of the molecular robots and how they connect to other molecules. Adding DNA strands to the walker and the forklifts allows them to move.

Another study appearing in Nature featured a programmable DNA walker that could start, stop, and turn. Led by Columbia University biochemist Milan Stojanovic, the scientists got the walker to move down a path 100 nanometers long, an unprecedented feat. The robot could follow a complex curve or a straight line.

Though random walkers had been developed before, the team made their robot move around by manipulating how it interacts with the landscape. In effect, chemical commands to "stop," "start," or "turn" were programmed into the DNA environment, so that once the robot sensed an order, it would carry it out.

The researchers speculate that with further development, the robot could be replicated to do computation tasks or deliver agents into specific cells.

At the least, this would make a good plot device for a film if it hasn't already been done.

Read ON

Apple rejects Wi-Fi sync app

To paraphrase the Soup Nazi: No Wi-Fi sync for you!

A couple of weeks ago we brought you the tantalizing news of an app called, simply enough, Wi-Fi Sync. Its promise: to wirelessly sync your iPhone, iPod, or iPad.

Late Thursday I received word from developer Greg Hughes on the app's sad (but not entirely unexpected) fate:

Wi-Fi Sync was rejected by Apple, and will therefore not appear on the official App Store. I'm obviously disappointed by their decision, but being a student I have neither the time nor the resources to pursue the matter further. It's clear that Apple have [sic] the final say on which apps are deemed acceptable for their customers.

A representative of Apple has explained their decision to me over the phone, which I am grateful for. While he agreed that the app doesn't technically break the rules, he said it does encroach upon the boundaries of what they can and cannot allow on their store. He also cited security concerns.

That's the bad news. The good news is that you can get the app if you want it--you just need to jailbreak your device first. Wi-Fi Sync is available from the Cydia Store (unofficial home of jailbreak apps) for $9.99.

That's twice what Hughes originally told me he'd charge, but still pretty reasonable considering how awesome Wi-Fi syncing is.

For the moment, only Mac users can get in on the action. Hughes says a Windows version of the required desktop sync client is coming soon.

Personally, I'm disappointed as hell. As I noted in my original post, Microsoft's Zune player has offered Wi-Fi syncing since 2007. (Yo, Apple! You're trailing Microsoft by three years in this area. What up?!) There's no reason a device as futuristic--and inherently wireless--as the iPhone should have to be physically tethered to a PC.

I've held off on jailbreaking my iPhone, but this might be the straw that jailbreaks the camel's back. Wi-Fi syncing is a feature I really, really want, and Apple's obviously not willing to let me have it. Thankfully, Greg Hughes is.

What do you think? Is this yet another unfair app rejection by Apple? Will you jailbreak your device just to get Wi-Fi Sync? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Read ON

German company unveils gold ATM

The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.

Wednesday, 20th May 2009 (7501 views)

A German firm has responded to growing demand for gold by creating an automatic teller machine (ATM) that dispenses the precious metal.

Unveiling its new product at the main railway station in Frankfurt, the asset management company recommended that people hold up to 15 per cent of their wealth in physical gold, Reuters reports.

TG-Gold-Super-Markt is planning to roll out 500 of the new Gold-To-Go ATMs across Germany, Switzerland and Austria over the next year.

Thomas Geissler, the firm's chief executive, told the news source that the move is "more than a marketing gimmick" and is "an appetiser for a strategic investment in precious metals".

Consumers can purchase one gram, five grams or ten grams of gold from Belgian metals specialist Umicore via the machines.

Each piece of gold comes in a box with a certificate of authenticity and one gram currently costs €31 (£27.27).

Meanwhile, two one-kilogram gold bars from Switzerland and Russia are expected to generate bids of $28,000 to $30,000 (£18,370 to £19,690) during Pook & Pook's Variety Auction later this month.

Read ON

New Modern Warfare 2 DLC hits Xbox Live June 3

With more than 2.5 million Stimulus Packages sold, Activision is already readying a second Modern Warfare 2 DLC.

(Credit: GameSpot)

One week after it shipped the first map pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the PC and PlayStation 3, Activision has announced a second batch of downloadable content (DLC).

Like the original Stimulus Package, the Resurgence Pack will first arrive on the Xbox 360 before coming to Windows systems or Sony's console. The five-map add-on will debut on Xbox Live on June 3, with the other platforms receiving it at a later date.

Read more of "2nd Modern Warfare 2 DLC hits XBL June 3" on GameSpot.

Read ON

Giant speech bubble helmet beats pub noise

Design student Elaine McLuskey came up with the idea for the helmet after studying hearing impairments and assistive technologies.

(Credit: Edinburgh Napier University)

If you've tried having a proper conversation with someone at a noisy pub, you'd understand the significance of the giant speech bubble helmet. The dorky headgear, designed by Scottish product design student Elaine McLuskey from Edinburgh Napier University, is in essence a glorified astronaut helmet with three large circular cut-outs for your face and ears.

By limiting the area of the background din and chatter outside the goldfish bowl over your head, the sphere is supposed to help you hear your conversation partner more clearly. McLuskey has even come up with a "stationary" version that joins pairs or groups of revelers with a headsize hole on either side.

"My research found that in some cases a person's environment can be more disabling than a hearing impairment and so, in some respects, we are all hearing impaired on a daily basis," McLuskey said. "I hope the very noticeable and eccentric appearance [of the helmet] starts people talking about hearing impairments. The aim is to challenge and even change attitudes toward hearing aids and of course, to help people enjoy a good old natter whilst still enjoying the atmosphere of a teaming pub!"

Her designs are among those being showcased at the Edinburgh Napier University's School of Arts and Creative Industries' Degree Show from now till May 23.

A mod-looking stationary version of the speech bubble helmet joins pairs or groups of revelers with a headsize hole on either side.

(Credit: Edinburgh Napier University)

Read ON

Which game console should I buy?

UPDATE: On 5/14/10 we updated this feature with new info on the Wii bundles and Netflix support, PlayStation Move, 3D gaming, and the USB capabilities of the Xbox 360.

A lot has changed since the Xbox 360 debuted in November of 2005. After what has seemed like dozens of upgrades, improvements, omissions, price drops, and bundles, the dust has settled (for now) and we're left with three competitively priced consoles.

Such an evenly matched trio of hardware makes for the perfect time to reignite the ultimate question for prospective video game console buyers: which home console should you buy?

This question doesn't necessarily have a definitive answer. Quite frankly, the answer could be any of the three. In other words, there is no default "best console." It's about finding the one that's right for you--and what will be the deciding factor in your case will ultimately depend on what you plan to use the console for. That said, in lieu of detailing every last bit of functionality that each console offers, let's discuss the type of person we think would benefit most from each console.... Read More

Read ON

Boost your audio with these portable laptop speakers

JBL On Tour XTB

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Portability and price and are just two of the many incentives for mobile professionals to ditch a clunky laptop in favor of a sexy, slim Netbook, but one issue still remains. No matter what their size, laptop speakers generally don't produce the volume levels or the sound quality to appease even the most the casual music lover.

We've compiled a list of our favorite portable laptop speakers for your aural pleasure; whether you use them for private listening at home or on the road is up to you, but these are sure to add an extra audio boost to your setup.

See the products compared side by side, or click through the slideshow below to see the details.

Read ON

Nissan Leaf electric car gets iPhone control

(Credit: Nissan)

The Nissan Leaf electric hatchback is on its way, and it's bringing iPhone integration with it. You'll be able to use a special app to communicate with and control some of the vehicle's features, Nissan has promised.

All Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) will come with a cellular data radio built in. While the vehicle is at a charging station, it'll be able to send updates to your phone, telling you when it's finished suckling go-juice.

Before heading back to the car, drivers can remotely adjust the Leaf's climate control to specify what temperature they want the cockpit to be when they climb in.

Read more of "Nissan Leaf electric car gets iPhone control" at Crave UK.

Read ON

Students now get priority access to Google Voice

Google on Friday began giving students priority access to its Google Voice service, which has remained in a closed beta since its transition from GrandCentral in March of last year.

Typically, invites for the service can take anywhere from a few hours to several months to arrive after a user signs up. But the company is now promising those who have an e-mail address that ends with .edu access to the service within 24 hours. Google had done something similar for active members of the U.S. military back in August.

Users with an .edu e-mail address can now get a Google Voice invite within 24 hours of signing up.

(Credit: Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn)

In a blog post on the new initiative, Google said that the company had received a large amount of feedback from college students who had wanted to use the service for its free SMS and voice mail transcription services.

Google Voice works by giving users a new number to receive calls on, as well as free call forwarding from a number of other phones. Google also offers a variant of the service that lets users replace their current voice mail system with the one from Google Voice, so as to get messages transcribed free of charge.

Google remains exclusively available in the U.S.

Read ON

Google to offer encrypted search next week

Google plans to offer encrypted search next week, it announced Friday in disclosing an embarrassing Street View privacy gaffe.

Google's Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, hinted that such a feature was coming Thursday during a question and answer session at Google's annual stockholder meeting. But the company must have decided it could no longer wait following the disclosure that it had improperly collected Internet usage data from Wi-Fi hot spots as part of its Google Street View program.

"Earlier this year, we encrypted Gmail for all our users, and next week we will start offering an encrypted version of Google Search," Google said in its blog post Friday on the Street View issue. Google encrypted all Gmail accounts in response to the hacking incidents that prompted its decision to move its Chinese-language search operation from Beijing to Hong Kong.

On Thursday, Mayer and Google CEO Eric Schmidt essentially told attendees to "watch this space" when it came to encrypted search. Friday's revelations forced their hand. Expect to hear much more about this next week at Google I/O.

Google declined to comment on how the encrypted search feature would work.

Google began encrypting Gmail traffic using HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) by default in Januaryafter offering it as an option since mid-2008. It's likely Google will now do the same thing with traffic to Google.com.

"That's nice. We definitely need to see more encrypted Web traffic in general," said Marc Maiffret, chief security architect at security firm FireEye, when told of Google's plans to offer an encrypted version of its search site. "Now, if you are on an airport Wi-Fi or other public network everything you search for is in the clear."

Read ON

Adobe announces angst-laden iPad software effort

Adobe has begun a new effort to bring imaging software such as Lightroom to the iPad and other tablet computers--but the leader of the work also is fretting over the control Apple has over it.

"I love making great Mac software, and after eight years product-managing Photoshop, I've been asked to help lead the development of new Adobe applications, written from scratch for tablet computers. In many ways, the iPad is the computer I've been waiting for my whole life," Adobe's John Nack said in a blog post Thursday. "I want to build the most amazing iPad imaging apps the world has ever seen."

Nack also took advantage of the opportunity to further Adobe's agenda in its corporate power struggles with Apple.

At the same time he proclaimed his longstanding fervor for Mac computers, though, he also pointed to Adobe's ad campaign criticizing Apple for restricting choice, saying the disagreement extends beyond Adobe's Flash software foundation to other realms as well. Specifically, he discussed the competition between Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom and Apple's Aperture, both programs for editing and cataloging photographs, in relation to Apple's control over software distribution.

"Apple refuses to carry Lightroom in Apple retail stores. That's okay; Lightroom is doing just fine against Aperture, thank you. But what if the Apple store were the only store? How would Apple customers get the benefits of competition?" Nack asked, noting that many people requested a mobile version of Lightroom when Nack asked what Adobe applications people would like to see for the iPad. "I think that such an app could be brilliant, and many photographers tell me that its existence would motivate them to buy iPads."

And of course, for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, Apple does control distribution of software through its App Store. "Would Apple let Lightroom for iPad ship? It's almost impossible to know. Sometimes they approve apps, then spontaneously remove them for 'duplicat[ing] features that come with the iPhone.' Other times they allow competitors (apps for Netflix, Kindle, etc.), or enable some apps (e.g. Playboy) while removing similar ones. Maybe they'd let Lightroom ship for a while, but if it started pulling too far ahead of Aperture--well, lights out."

In a response, Apple didn't directly address the App Store issues, but reiterated earlier criticisms that for all Adobe's embrace of openness, its Flash technology is proprietary.

Although Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs criticized Adobe Flash for being behind the curve in supporting multitouch interfaces, Nack wondered what would happen if the shoe was on the other foot. "We have some really interesting ideas for multitouch user interfaces--things you've almost certainly never seen previously. Of course, 'groundbreaking' almost inherently means 'inconsistent with what's come before,' and Apple can reject an app if, say, it uses two-finger inputs in a new way," Nack said. "They do this to preserve consistency--until, of course, it's time for them to deviate innovate. (Think Different, as long as you're Apple.)"

Nack also speculated that raising his concerns could hurt Adobe's iPad effort. "Can you imagine a world where, say, constructively criticizing Microsoft could destroy your ability to ship a Windows application? It's almost unthinkable, and yet that's the position in which Apple's App Store puts us," Nack said.

Read ON