Study & Research
By Waqas Hassan Sharif
Published: [20th February 2015]
NASA plans mission to Europa
NASA is planning a mission to Europa which is known as Jupiter’s Icy Moon. The mission that will cost NASA $30 million is one of the most desired projects of the researchers and astronomers at NASA.
Europa has always interested researchers as it is said to contain large amounts of frozen water beneath its surface. Planetary scientists also speculate that there could be oceans of briny water under the shell of Europa.
Teams at NASA suggest that the mission will probably be unmanned and will involve a spacecraft that will orbit Jupiter, making regular visits to Europa. The spacecraft will not be landing or orbiting the planet’s moon itself. This is due to safety reasons as Europa is located in the region which is surrounded by harsh radiations. NASA will conduct a selection of instruments and equipment this year for the mission and is considering the launch date of the mission to be around mid-2020.
Hydrogels: the killer transporter Hydrogels are special materials that are used to absorb moisture. They are commonly used in diapers and contact lenses to control humidity. Chemical engineers have now come up with a better use of hydrogels by developing a new technology that is based on thermo-sensitive nano particles or nano hydrogels that will be used in the field of medicine. These newly developed devices will be used to deliver anti-cancer drugs.
Engineers at the University of Guadalajara have come up with this idea of using hydrogels in a way that when injected into the human body, the immune system doesn’t detect or attack them when they pass through the blood circulation system. In other words, these drug carriers are designed to be compatible with the human body. The concept behind this device is the hydrogels carry the anti-cancer drugs and deliver them straight to the infected area where they can be released without damaging other parts of the body. This is due the chemical and physical properties of hydrogels as they offer the possibility of dosing a myriad of active substances on the site desired and can be administered as dry or swollen hydrogels by different routes: oral, nasal, buccal, rectal, transdermal, vaginal, ocular and parental. Drug release may come by a volume increase, changes in pH, or temperature.
The nano-hydrogels have shown very good characteristics of biocompatibility with the human organism, due to their physical properties, which make them resemble living tissues. Their high water content, soft and elastic consistency, and low interfacial tension prevent them from absorbing proteins from body fluids. Hydrogels are being used primarily in the biomedical area as investigative and diagnostic tools in membranes, coatings, microcapsules, implants for applications and applications for drug release. Also, the nano-hydrogels are used to regenerate tissue or mend fractures, serving as substrates for cell growth. Other forms of drugs known as molecular target drugs are already used against cancer, but the advantage nano-hydrogels have is that they can attack only the cancer cells or tissues without damaging healthy body parts.
Geeky Glees:
Geeky Glees:
Canon`s new 750D DSLR:
The Pixel PowerCanon recently announced its new DSLR camera calling it the 750D, a successor to the previous 700D model. Canon has bumped up its pixel sensor to 24 MP from the previous 18 MP. The new 24 megapixel sensor which is made by Canon features the new version of its Hybrid CMOS auto focus system. The new system uses phase detection, focusing pixels spread across the sensor to aid faster autofocus in live view mode and when shooting movies. The latest sensor has more focusing pixels in a regular array.
The Pixel PowerCanon recently announced its new DSLR camera calling it the 750D, a successor to the previous 700D model. Canon has bumped up its pixel sensor to 24 MP from the previous 18 MP. The new 24 megapixel sensor which is made by Canon features the new version of its Hybrid CMOS auto focus system. The new system uses phase detection, focusing pixels spread across the sensor to aid faster autofocus in live view mode and when shooting movies. The latest sensor has more focusing pixels in a regular array.
Canon states that this new system is almost two generation ahead of its previous entry level DSLRs. This new system also gives Canon an upper hand over its rival Nikon. Nikon produces D3300 and D5500 in the same DSLR range. This increase in resolution has left no impact on the ISO range which goes from 100 to 12800. The processor installed is Canon`s DIGIC 6 processor. The camera has 5fps continuous shooting and 19-point autofocus system. The previous models came with 9-point focus system and the DIGIC 5 processor. The camera also features an articulating 3-inch touch screen display. The camera is capable of shooting HD movies at 30 fps, 25fps and 24 fps. Canon has also embedded the flicker detection technology for more reliable shooting under artificial light.
Samsung Portable T1 SSD External Hard drive The new T1 SSD (Solid State Drive) external hard drive from Samsung is here to fulfil all your needs for storing. It is small, light, and amazingly fast and also comes with 256 bit encryption. It’s a USB 3.0 device which is very thin. The dimensions of the Samsung T1 hard drive are 2.8 inches (71mm) long by 2.1 inches (53mm) wide, and the T1 weighs in at about 1.06 ounces (30 grams).
Samsung incorporates its V-NAND technology into the T1 series of devices. This technology helps in dealing with memory and corruption issues. When the size and memory and size of the device get smaller, the data tends to get corrupted and eventually lost. This is because the memory cells get closer and closer and the interface between these cells increases. This technology helps in eliminating the possibilities of data corruption, using less power and also increases the operating speed of the drive. This hard drive also comes with 256 bit encryption by which you can lock the hard drive and set up a simple password for access without installing any other third party applications. This SSD External Drive is available in 250 GB, 500 GB and 1 TB with write and read speed of 450 MBps.
Geeky Alerts! The World’s first microprocessor was created in 1971, called the 4004 by Intel. It contained 2300 transistors.
The Google homepage is so simple because when it was created, neither Larry Page nor Sergey Brin knew HTML
In 2007 a researcher from IBM was able to gain complete control of an American nuclear power plant by hacking it over the internet.
SciencSational Stuff!!
The oceans contain enough salt to cover all continents to a depth of nearly 500 feet.
The oceans contain enough salt to cover all continents to a depth of nearly 500 feet.
Jupiter`s moon Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system. It is larger than the planet
Mercury, and is the first moon known to have its own magnetic field.
Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.
Mercury, and is the first moon known to have its own magnetic field.
Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.
NASA’s New Horizon space craft is ready for its long awaited encounter with Pluto. The space craft was launched in 2006 and aimed to discover Pluto and get a closer look at the dwarf planet. At the time of launch, it was the fastest space craft. It woke up last month from hibernation after making a journey of more than 3 billion miles. It will pass Pluto and its five known moons on 25 January, where a long range photo-shoot of the planet is expected. 
The United States Patent and Trademark office (USPTO) has officially granted Apple with the patent which will be used to develop techniques to protect electronic devices from the damages caused by accidental drops. The most common are the crack screens we get to see on our smart phones and tablets.
Dell recently launched its new Venue 87000 series super slim Android tablet which incorporates the new Intel Real sense depth camera. The tablet has an 8.4 inch screen and is just 0.24 inches thick. The display is OLED with FHD (2560x1600) resolution with 10-pt capacitive touch.
Nikon launched its latest entry level DSLR calling it the D5500 looking very similar to the previous D5300. It’s lighter and incorporates a 24.2 mega pixel APS-C sensor. It has 39 autofocus points and is capable of shooting at 5fps. It comes with a 3.2 inch touch screen. GPS has been done away with in this model, so geotagging won’t be possible. But, it comes with Wi-Fi for easy connectivity to other devices.
Dell announced the new range of Dell XPS 13 series which, according to industry experts, is here to give MacBook Air a run for its money. The XPS 13 entry level comes with a 2.1 GHz Core i-3 processor which can be upgraded to the next level Intel’s i-7 processors 3.0 Ghz with turbo boost. 
IO Hawk is the personal mobility device. It’s 24.65 inches long and weighs a mere 22 pounds. It can do a top speed of 6mph. It’s not like your regular skateboard but can go upto 12 miles on a single charge. Its movement is based to pressure weight direction from your feet and body. It responds accordingly to your balance and leans forward or backward as you desire.
Monster unveiled its new floating water proof speakers called the Super Star Back Float. The speakers are capable of floating in pools or in a lake and can be connected to an audio source via Bluetooth and also a 3.5 aux connection. It is also capable of receiving calls if connected to a phone. It comes with two built-in speakers that provide high quality monster sound.
The Lenovo Z are super portable laptops that are jointly produced by Lenovo and NEC. They claim to be the lightest convertible hybrid laptops weighing around just 1.72 pounds and not thicker than an Apple Ipad 2. They use magnesium lithium as the body-build and come with fifth generation Intel Core i7 processors. They come with a 13 inch screen size, with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 and an on-board storage of 128 GB.
The Sony FDR-X1000V is Sony’s answer to Go Pro cams. It comes with top specs and superior video quality. It shoots at 3840 x 2160 4K video at 30fps, 1920 x 1080 full HD at 120fps and 1280 x 720 standard HD at 240fps. It can record at 100Mbps with a UHS-1 Class 3 card or 60Mbps and is also capable of saving clean, uncompressed video to an external recorder. The FDR-X1000V is splash-proof, comes with Sony’s SPK-X1 Waterproof Case and is waterproof to a depth of 10m. Like other POV (point of view) action cams, the FDR-1000V uses a fixed focal length super-wide-angle lens - in this case, a 170-degree Zeiss Tessar.
Researchers at Brown University have been able to infuse Medical and Engineering techniques together by producing three dimensional (3-D) tissues and micro tissues which can be further used to develop artificial organs for transplantation and research purposes. The process consist of producing an artificial living tissue and then to make sure that these tissues are fed with a constant stream of nutrients by using a fluid that also removes wastes produced by the living cells. The method is called the Bio-Pick, Place and Perfuse.
