Technology Tuesday: February 6th
Welcome to Technology Tuesday! Every week The Job Shop Blog will bring you our 5 top science and technology news stories from around the web.
This week: The Falcon Heavy rocket launched successfully today, deep brain stimulation could combat dementia, a new frequency range which could expand wireless communication, a promising cancer vaccine is ready for human trials, and Star Wars style holograms.
SPACEX’S FALCON HEAVY LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY TODAY, CARRYING A TESLA TOWARDS MARS
Today, February 6, SpaceX successfully launched Falcon Heavy.
At 3:45 p.m. ET, Falcon Heavy took off from Launch Complex 39A at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. It had successful stage and booster separation, and the two side cores executed a beautifully in sync landing at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2.
Unfortunately, it seems the center core did not settle on the company’s “Of Course I Still Love You” drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean as planned. While SpaceX has yet to confirm the loss of the core, in the audio of a SpaceX clip from the launch, a voice can be heard saying, “We lost the center core.”
DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION COULD WARD OFF DEMENTIA SYMPTOMS
Doctors at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center are experimenting with an implanted “pacemaking” device in Alzheimer’s patients to them retain independence. The device allows the patient to undergo Deep Brain Stimulation therapy.
This therapy involves implanting electric wires deep into a patient’s brain and connecting them to a battery pack implanted in the chest. The pack sends electric currents through the wires to stimulate the part of the brain that controls the abilities to plan, problem-solve, and use judgment.
A NEW FREQUENCY RANGE COULD OPEN UP MORE WIRELESS TECH
Everything in our lives, from our refrigerators to our televisions, heating systems, and lights are becoming connected to our smartphones. “Internet of things” technologies allow us to streamline data and expand our capabilities in a number of ways; but as these technologies develop, we will need a greater wireless bandwidth to keep up. Researchers from Brown University recently explored the use of a new frequency range that could one day be used for such devices. Their study is published in the journal APL Photonics.
CANCER “VACCINE” THAT WIPES OUT TUMORS READY FOR HUMAN TRIALS
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a compound that when injected into a tumor destroys it along with all the other cancerous masses present in the body.
The combination of two agents that stimulate the immune system sparked a body-wide reaction in mice, destroying cancer cells both near and very far from the initial injection point. The success of the treatment, which worked for different types of cancer, means that human trials will be starting soon
PHYSICISTS HAVE MADE STAR WARS STLYLE 3D PROJECTION A REALITY
For many sci-fi fans, a truly working hologram is Princess Leia asking Obi Wan Kenobi for help. While that’s clearly science fiction, a projected image that one can observe from all angles may have just become the only hope for authentic 3D projections.
This is the subject of a new study published in the journal Nature, detailing how a team of physicists led by Daniel Smalley from the Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, have managed to project moving 3D images viewable at any angle.