What is Artificial Intelligence?

tiny ant-like beads form short chains to carry objects inside a microchip

A collaboration of MIT, Boston University and German researchers has developed a new system that mimics the human body's cilia, to transport tiny objects inside a microchip.

The unnamed system uses superparamagnetic beads, tiny polymer beads which contain traces of magnetic material that as soon as a rotating magnetic field is applied, the beads attract big particles as they form short chains naturally.

The short chains soon start spinning, creating currents that can effectively carry big particles along with them to a particular direction the software guides them to.

As complex as the design would take, Alfredo Alexander-Katz, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT and part of the research team is positive that "applications to creating a new kind of microfluidics chips could be achieved within a year or so" as they were able to create the base form of the system.

The new system uses the "virtual microfluidics" approach which will prove beneficial particularly to the biomedical field, where it could be used from biomedical screening to pollution monitoring applications.

Click here to read more about Superparamagnetic Beads, Virtual Microfluids and Microfluidic Chip.

an artistic illustration of molecular computing

A new and promising form of chemical computing made possible by lipid-forming characteristic of the human cells has recently begun.

This is a 1.8m-euro (£1.6m) project which will run for three years and funded by an EU emerging technologies program placing importance on biologically-inspired computing.

The project "Wet computer" also known as Chemical or Molecular computing is a form of computational model that mimics the characteristics of the human cells, particularly the brain cells called neurons.

As described by Dr. Klaus-Peter Zauner, project collaborator of the University of Southampton, "wet computer" takes advantage of the lipid-forming characteristic of stable "cells" that forms a coating spontaneously and uses chemistry to establish interactions among these cells similar to that of human neurons.

The project hinges on two critical ideas, says Dr. Zauner.

First, individual "cells" are encapsulated by the so-called lipids that spontaneously traps the liquid within the cell. And in a recent findings, interaction among these cells occur during collision of the lipids allowing chemical signaling molecules to pass.

Second, the cells' interiors will play host to what is known as a Belousov-Zhabotinsky or B-Z chemical reaction which can be initiated by changing the concentration of an element, say bromine by a certain threshold amount.

In essence, chemical computing will open up applications for controlling molecular robots, fine-grained control of chemical assembly, and intelligent drugs that process the chemical signals of the human body and act according to the local biochemical state of the cell.

Click here to learn more about "Wet Computer", Chemical or Molecular Computing.

Predicted fMRI images for celery and airplane show significant similarities with the observed images for each word. Red indicates areas of high activity, blue indicates low activity. Credit: Courtesy of Science

For many years, scientists have been trying to find ways to decipher human thoughts. It took several algorithms and neuro-scans to get to the bottom of how the brain really works.

In their most recent study, a computer scientist, Tom Mitchell, and a cognitive neuroscientist, Marcel Just, both from Carnegie Mellon University, used fMRI data to develop a sophisticated computational models.

These models were designed to predict the brain's response in relation to concrete nouns, or things that we experience through our senses.

The researchers created models for 60 concrete nouns which have been taken fMRI activation patterns. These models were also used to analyze text corpus, a set of text containing a trillion words noting any relationship of each noun to a set of 25 verbs associated with sensory or motor functions.

Combining fMRI data and analysis of the text corpus, the computer was able to predict the brain activity pattern of thousands of other concrete nouns.

Using this method, the researchers have determined that using their computational model is significantly better than chance. An important implication to understanding brain-related diseases and memory losses.

Click here to read more about Brain Imaging and Computational Modeling, Mind Reading using fMRI

Prof. Pine with a child using the Play Attention system

ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a behavior problem affecting a considerable number of children, young adults and adults. People with ADHD find it "hard to control their impulses and inhibit inappropriate behaviour," said Professor Karen Pine of the University of Hertfordshire's School of Psychology.

When left unattended, ADHD can lead to educational and behavioral difficulties. That's why ADHD has been a focus of study amongst psychologists and many scientists for many years, to find an effective treatment and to finally deal with ADHD-associated behavior properly.

A new system called Play Attention has been introduced lately by a group of psychologists headed by Prof. Karen Pine, and assistant Farjana Nasrin. The team used a system provided by not-for-profit company, Games for Life, three times a week for 12 weeks.

Prof. Pine and her team studied the effects of EEG (Electroencephalography) biofeedback to a learning strategy such as Play Attention, that detects brain waves of ten children with an attention deficit from Hertfordshire schools.

Play Attention allows children to play a fun educational computer game while wearing a bicycle-like helmet. The helmet detects their brain activity in the form of EEG waves related to attention. As long as the child concentrates the game continues, but as soon as their attention waivers the game stops.

And researchers have found a positive reduction of the children's impulsive behavior after the study compared to a control group who have not used the system.

Games for Life plans to present Play Attention across the UK this month.

Click here to read more about Play Attention, Effects of EEG on ADHD.

a 3D model of organ printing

Bioprinters are becoming more popular these days, especially for those researchers and surgeons who need 3D patterns of human tissue on demand.

Invetech had just delivered to Organovo, developers of the proprietary NovoGen bioprinting technology the world's first production model of 3D bioprinter. And in turn, Organovo will supply these 3D bioprinters to research institutions working on tissue construction and organ replacement.

"Scientists and engineers can use the 3D bio printers to enable placing cells of almost any type into a desired pattern in 3D,” Keith Murphy, CEO of Organovo said.

Organovo 3D bioprinters comes with a software interface that allows researchers and engineers alike to easily fabricate human tissue in 3D tissue construct before it is sent to the automated, laser-calibrated print heads for physical reproduction.

Ultimately, the purpose of this innovation is to provide surgeons specific human tissue on demand, and that can only be done with bioprinters in which researchers can make three dimensional tissues everytime there is a need.

Here is a video showing how printing human organs are done.

Click here to read more about 3D Bioprinters, World's First 3D Bioprinter, Organ Printing