Seed - The Universe 2009

An amazing array and interactive feature from Seed magazine discussing….it seems like everything.

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Una increíble biblioteca interactiva de artículos de la revista Seed. Parece que tocan todos los temas relevantes al mundo contemporáneo.

SEED  – THE UNIVERSE 09

This 13 nanometer x 13 nanometer image shows the results of layering diindenoperylene and copper-phthalocyanines on a single gold crystal by molecular beam
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Esta imágen de 13 x 13 nanómetros muestra el resultado de sobreponer capas de diindenoperilene y cobre en un cristal de oro a través de un rayo molecular

This 2 micron x 2 micron AFM image shows one man-made attempt to mimic the dust-busting properties of the lotus:
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Imagen de 2 x 3 micrones muestra un experimento para imitar las propiedades anti polvo de la planta lotus.

This image shows quantum dots 15 x 70 nanometers
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Imagen mostrando puntos cuánticos de 50 x 70 nanómetros

Scanning probe microscopes are “nonoptical microscopes researchers use to create striking images through raster scans of individual atoms.” The images above are from SPMage07, a competition of images created with this technology.

Via Wired, Link SPMage07

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Los microscopios de escaneo con punta de prueba son “microscopios no ópticos usados por investigadores para crear imágenes impactantes a través del rastreo de átomos.” Las imágenes arriba son de SPMage07, una competencia de imágenes creadas con esta tecnología.

vía Wired, Link SPMage07

Pete Miller’s article “Swarm Theory” in National Geographic’s July 2007 issue brings us a great description of swarm intelligent systems and their applications in human processes. I am not sure however, that all his examples could be considered Emergent intelligence, because if I remember correctly, in Emergence by Steven Johnson, emergence is described as systems in which their is no hierarchy. If this is true I don’t think bees would be considered emergent because, even though they may act with swarm intelligence they still have some hierarchal levels. It would be interesting to define the difference between swarm intelligence and emergence. The article also features some excellent images.

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El artículo de Pete Miller, publicado en National Geographic en Julio de 2007 nos trae una descripción de diferentes sistemas de inteligencia colectiva en la naturaleza y sus aplicaciones en procesos humanos. No estoy seguro si todos los ejemplos que usa pueden ser calificados como emergencia, pues Steven Johnson en su libro Emergence describe a los sistemas emergentes como los que no tienen ningún tipo de jerarquía, si no mal recuerdo, una colonia de abejas actúa con inteligencia colectiva pero tiene una jerarquía de comandos. Sería interesante definir la diferencia entre inteligencia de enjambre o colectiva y la teoría de emergencia. El articulo también incluye excelentes imágenes.

FULL ARTICLE:::::ARTICULO COMPLETO (english:::::ingles)

ARTICULO (spanish:::::en español el articulo esta incompleto)

University of Arizona scientists develop three dimensional hologram technology…via Technology Review

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Investigadores de la Universidad de Arizona desarrollan tecnología para un holograma tridimensional…vía Technology Review

“A holographic display based on a new material can be repeatedly written to and erased. Rewritable holograms have been possible at small sizes, such as for holographic memory devices. But it’s been difficult to make these materials at a scale large enough for displays. The new material, developed by researchers at the University of Arizona and at Nitto Denko Technical Corporation, in Oceanside, CA, could eventually allow for life-sized displays of people and objects the size of cars that could be refreshed every few minutes.“

FULL ARTICLE :::::ARTICULO COMPLETO

Este artículo de Olivia Judson discute investigaciones y experimentos que descubren la repetición evolutiva a niveles genéticos…de New York Times
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Article by Olivia Judson which discusses research and experimentation that uncover evolutionary repetition at genetic levels…via New York Times

“Looking around the Earth, it’s striking how often similar traits evolve in similar environments. So: birds living on remote islands typically lose the power of flight. Males in species (be they chimpanzees or yellow dung flies) where females are promiscuous tend to evolve high sperm counts and large testes. Animals that live in caves lose their eyes and their color: whether they live in Rwanda or Romania, they’re a pallid, blind lot, the troglodytes. Mammals that specialize on eating leaves — be they cows or langurs (that’s a monkey) — have evolved foreguts where bacteria break down the leaves, as well as special enzymes to help with digestion. Amazingly, the same phenomena are also seen in the hoatzin, a leaf-eating bird from South America. In short, evolution has a remarkable tendency to repeat itself.

That this happens has been known for decades. But now we’re unpicking the genetic basis for the repetitions. And the startling thing is, evolution often repeats itself at the genetic level, too.

Full Article:::::Articulo Completo

Taryn Simon photographs some of the most secret and restricted areas in the world…via Wired
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Taryn Simon fotografea algunos de los lugares mas secretos y restringidos del mundo…de Wired

Link:::::Liga

Cosmologists suggest the existence of alternate copies of our brains…via New York Times
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Cosmólgos sugieren la existencia de copias alternas de nuestros cerebros…de New York Times

“The basic problem is that across the eons of time, the standard theories suggest, the universe can recur over and over again in an endless cycle of big bangs, but it’s hard for nature to make a whole universe. It’s much easier to make fragments of one, like planets, yourself maybe in a spacesuit or even — in the most absurd and troubling example — a naked brain floating in space. Nature tends to do what is easiest, from the standpoint of energy and probability. And so these fragments — in particular the brains — would appear far more frequently than real full-fledged universes, or than us. Or they might be us.

Full Article:::::Articulo Completo

The relatively unexplored deep sea brings a new rush of research and exploration…via Seed
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La falta de exploración de las profundidades del océano mobiliza investigaciones y descubrimientos…de Seed

“Never before has the world’s attention been so fixed on the deep ocean. Inflated oil, mineral, and gas prices, coupled with collapsing global fisheries, are pushing industries into remote seas once too expensive to tap. Pressing concerns about global warming are bringing scientists to explore uncharted depths—both to understand how they influence climate and to take the pulse of abyssal life before human impact irrevocably transforms it. At a time when still so little is known about the ocean’s very nature, it has suddenly become a place of extraordinary geopolitical, economic, and scientific value.

Full Article:::::Articulo Completo

The MoMA plans a show for this summer featuring construction and exhibition by five architects of real prefabricated houses in a adjacent vacant parking lot…via New York Times
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El MoMA planea una exhibición para este verano en el que cinco arquitectos construirán y exhibirán casas prefabricadas en un estacionamiento vacío adyacente al museo…de New York Times

“Seizing the moment the Museum of Modern Art has commissioned five architects to erect their own prefab dwellings in a vacant lot on West 53rd Street, adjacent to the museum. Whittled down from a pool of about 400, the five architects are participating in “Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling,” an exhibition opening in July.

The five, to be announced today by the museum, are KieranTimberlake Associates of Philadelphia; Lawrence Sass of Cambridge, Mass.; Douglas Gauthier and Jeremy Edmiston of Manhattan; Oskar Leo Kaufmann and Albert Rüf of Austria; and Richard Horden of Horden Cherry Lee in London.

Each firm has a track record with prefabricated housing, but they all approach the form differently. The proposals were evaluated by a jury of MoMA curators and staff members and architectural professionals. The Manhattan architecture firm of Cooper Robertson & Partners will act as the consulting architect in assembling the houses, some created expressly for this exhibition and others designed earlier.

Full Article:::::Artículo Completo

A bicycle frame by Delta 7 Sports…via Popular Science
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Un cuadro de bicicleta diseñado por Delta 7 Sports…de Popular Science

“The Arantix draws its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio from rods composed of several hundred layers of carbon fiber, wrapped tightly with Kevlar cord and woven to form a long series of little pyramids.

Popular Science