BYD’s electric taxis hit Hong Kong roads with big ambitions

Warren Buffett-backed Chinese carmaker BYD Co Ltd rolled out Hong Kong’s first electric taxi fleet on Wednesday, marking a milestone for its all-electric battery car that highlights its promise and its limitations.

“We expect to increase the number of e6 taxis in Hong Kong to 5,000 in three years,” said Liu Xueliang, general manager of BYD Asia Pacific sales, after the company announced it is making a push in the former British colony to encourage the use of its all-electric e6 taxi.

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cnet:

Flying car alert!

Terrafugia plans to develop a vertical takeoff flying car

nativeamericannews:

Oneida Nation Donates $10,000 to Cooperstown School for Mascot Change

The students who started the petition didn’t think it would make it this far. But when they started the conversation about changing the Cooperstown Central School mascot to something other than the Redskins, the administration and the community listened.

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shortformblog:

You might remember Aimee Copeland as the twentysomething who went through a harrowing experience last year, losing most of her limbs after a zip-line accident exposed her to flesh-eating bacteria. Fortunately, though, technology is giving her a second chance. Copeland recently received bionic hands from a company called Touch Bionics—devices which are so effective that she can actually grab things and do tasks that most people take for granted. Amazing stuff.

mothernaturenetwork:

Google and NASA to share quantum computer

Google has already developed quantum machine algorithms that will makes searches on mobile devices more energy-efficient.

nbcnews:

5-year-old hero steers car to safety after mom suffers seizure in NC

(Photo: WXII-TV)

A 5-year-old North Carolina boy wants to be called “Caleb Batman” after he took control of the family car and steered it to safety when his mom suffered a seizure at the wheel.

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Cheers for philanthropy: pubs donate profits to charity

At a time when charitable donations have slowed, some bars and restaurants are putting their profits to good use. These “PhilanthroPubs” let patrons choose charities to benefit during their night out.

NBC’s Brenna Williams reports.  

Indonesia extends forest-clearing ban for 2 years

Indonesia has extended a landmark ban on clearing primary rainforests and peatlands for another two years, a move greeted by environmentalists with praise and skepticism.

Presidential environment adviser Pungki Agus Purnomo said Thursday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (soo-SEE’-loh BAHM’-bahng yoo-doh-YOH’-noh) signed the decree to continue the 2011 moratorium, which barred new logging and palm oil plantation permits under a $1 billion deal with Norway.

Purnomo said the ban will preserve 64 million hectares (158 million acres). It will not affect areas where concessions were granted before the moratorium.

Environmentalists argue the government is not doing enough to fight corruption and protect areas from illegal fires and logging.

Indonesia has become one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters as it supplies the world with palm oil, pulp and paper.

blu3rsx:

16-Year-Old Egyptian Scientist Finds Way to Turn Plastic Waste Into $78 Million of Biofuel

What Azza proposes is to break down the plastic polymers found in drinks bottles and general waste and turn them into biofuel feedstock. (This is the bulk raw material that generally used for producing biofuel.) It should be noted that this is not a particularly new idea, but what makes Azza stand out from the crowd is the catalyst that she is proposing. She says that she has found a high-yield catalyst called aluminosilicate, that will break down plastic waste and also produce gaseous products like methane, propane and ethane, which can then be converted into ethanol.

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neurosciencestuff:

Researchers develop novel Brain Training Device to reconnect the brain and paralyzed limb after stroke

The world’s first Brain Training Device has given a ray of new hope to the recovery of survivors after stroke. Developed by researchers of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)’s Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering (BME), this novel device which can detect brainwave, and thereby control the movement of paralyzed limbs, or go even further to control a robotic hand based on its sophisticated algorithm.

The research was led by Prof. Raymond Tong Kai-yu, Professor of PolyU’s Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering, who is also the Principal Investigator of the award-winning Exoskeleton Hand Robotic Training Device or the “Hand of Hope”. His team members include the BME research team (Newmen Ho, Xiaoling Hu, Ching-hang Fong, Xinxin Lou, Lawrence Chong and Nathan Lam) and the Industrial Centre team of PolyU (Robert Tam, Bun Yu, Shu-to Ng and Peter Pang).

The latest breakthrough “Brain Training Device” can be coupled with the use of the “Hand of Hope” to achieve higher degree of recovery for stroke patients. While effective motor recovery after stroke depends on early rehabilitation program and intensive voluntary practice of the paretic limbs, current rehabilitation products have not use brainwave to guide the stroke survivors to identify voluntary intention and to relearn how to reconnect to their paralyzed limb again.

Prof. Raymond Tong and his team therefore developed the Brain Training Device with a new coherence algorithm for hand function training. The new algorithm is based on frequency coherence on surface electroencephalography (EEG, brainwave) and electromyography (EMG, muscle activities) to identify voluntary intention and their connection.

“The Brain Training Device is able to guide the stroke patients to relearn the reconnection between the brain and the limb, with a new design on the EEG headset and the EMG forearm brace to transmit data for controlling a hand robotic system interfaced by a telecare software platform using iPad app.” Prof. Raymond Tong explained.

The patented Brain Training System, which looks like a helmet for cyclist and can read brainwaves, also has new features to find the specific EEG electrode locations for each individual stroke patient and reduce the number of EEG electrodes, which can reduce the system cost and the preparation time for brain training, added by Prof. Tong. 

To find a minimal set of electrodes to control the device with accuracy higher than 90%, five chronic stroke patients were recruited to be trained for 20 sessions in the study. The researchers found that, in general, 32 electrodes are needed to maintain accuracy higher than 90%.

The high accuracy and low number of channels needed means that the Brain Training Device is a viable tool for assistive aid and rehabilitation training. The futuristic system will be made portable and easy-to-use at hospital and home settings.

PolyU researchers have already filed patents for this Brain Training Device in both the United States and China. This project is funded by the HKSAR Government’s Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF). The findings of this brain control algorithm have been published as the cover story in top international journal IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering (2011.12).

nbcnews:

Cloning technique produces human stem cells for the first time

(Photo: Oregon Health & Science University)

Researchers say they have finally managed to use cloning technology to make human embryos and grow stem cells from them in the hopes of making perfectly matched grow-your-own tissue transplants.

Read the complete story.

nbcnews:

Oldest water on Earth found deep underground

(Photo: B. Sherwood Lollar et al.)

A pocket of water some 2.6 billion years old — the most ancient pocket of water known by far, older even than the dawn of multicellular life — has now been discovered in a mine 2 miles below the Earth’s surface.

Read the complete story.

neurosciencestuff:

Brain-Imaging Study Links Cannabinoid Receptors to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—Findings Bring First Pharmaceutical Treatment for PTSD Within Reach—

In a first-of-its-kind effort to illuminate the biochemical impact of trauma, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered a connection between the quantity of cannabinoid receptors in the human brain, known as CB1 receptors, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the chronic, disabling condition that can plague trauma victims with flashbacks, nightmares and emotional instability. Their findings, which appear online today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, will also be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry in San Francisco.

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(Image caption: Hypothetical cannabinoid receptor CB1 binding to anandamide)

nbcnews:

Kindergartner helps save dad’s life by knowing his ABCs

(Photo: NBC New York)

A New Jersey kindergartner was able to help save his father’s life on Monday thanks to some quick thinking and a firm grasp of his ABCs.

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DiCaprio’s wildlife charity auction brings in $38.8 million

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Christie’s auction house raised $38.8 million through a charity art auction and donations, Christie’s said on Tuesday, with proceeds to benefit environmental and conservation causes.

The 33 works in The 11th Hour Auction organized by the star of the new film “The Great Gatsby” sold for $31.74 million on Monday evening and set 13 records for artists including Carol Bove, Joe Bradley, Mark Grotjahn, Raymond Pettibon and Mark Ryden among others.

A $5 million matching donation for three of the lots and additional gifts from donors brought the overall total to $38.8 million for The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, according to Christie’s.

“All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you,” DiCaprio told the audience at the end of the auction.

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