I SEE ICE: The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole is now complete. The main IceCube detector contains 5,160 optical sensors on 86 strings embedded 2 Km below the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. This frozen observatory is looking for elusive dark matter. Through the ice, darkly. More at IceCube and video on YouTube.
BODY SEARCH: The latest Google Labs search shows you inside the human body, in 3D. Use Google Chrome or Firefox to view muscles, bones, organs, blood vessels and nerves, all with labels. Zoom in and out and even mark locations. Bone up before your next doctor's visit. More at BodyBrowser.
FAST TRACK TO STUDY: At the Technische Universitat in Munich there's a very quick way down to the ground floors: not a lift, not stairs, but a slide. Why not add some practical fun to studying? More at Gizmodo.
30 PIXEL CAMERA: How do you X-ray lightning? Quickly, and at low res. US scientists created a 680 Kg 30 pixel camera containing an x-ray detector that captures 10 million images per second. It caught images of lightning travelling at 1/6th the speed of light. The X-rays were all in the tip of the lightning bolt. Yes, that's 30 pixels, not megapixels. Details at NationalGeographic.
SICK BREATH: We all know about breathalysers used to test drivers for alcohol, but now researchers have created a medical breath test. Polymer particles coated with metal oxide are deposited on microhotplates. Heating burns off the polymer, leaving a very porous and very sensitive metal-oxide film as the sensor. Biomarkers in breath change the electrical properties of the sensor. "That'll be a $100 fine and we recommend a visit to your doctor." More at ScienceDaily.
- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz
Tech Universe: Monday 10 January
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole is now complete. Photo / Supplied
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