Microfossils first discovered in Australia in 1982 -- then thought to be minerals -- have
been re-examined with new techniques showing carbon-based life existing 3.5 billion years
ago. The fossils, which are just ⅛ the width of a human hair, could suggest the common
presence of life throughout the universe.
And a baby in Tennessee was just born after her embryo was cryogenically frozen for 24
years. Which is not only a record but it means the baby was conceived only a year and a half
after her mother was born.
Vsauce! Kevin here. This is Mind Blow.
Researchers at Georgia Tech are using ultrasound and machine learning to develop a new way
of controlling prosthetic limbs. This approach created highly-detailed maps of muscle movements
which enable the fine control that most prosthetics lack -- and it’s so effective it’s already
being referred to as “Luke Skywalker’s bionic hand.” You may remember from Mind
Blow #102 that Georgia Tech was also the source for a robotic ‘Smart Arm’ capable of responding
and adapting to a drummer’s actions.
A rare form of blindness caused by gene mutation could soon be treated using gene therapy.
A trial in which a virus was loaded with a normal copy of the RPE65 gene and then injected
into the eye resulted in blind patients navigating a specially-designed obstacle course more
effectively. Researchers are optimistic, but they pointed out that the treatment does not
represent a cure -- they’re unsure how long the virus will continue to express the normal
RPE65 gene, and although a price hasn’t been set, one estimate puts it at $1 million.
But regardless of the challenges, the first gene therapy treatment approved by the FDA
is a major milestone.
Nanometer-scale CT imagery has allowed us to see the leg of a tiny newborn velvet worm
-- FINALLY. Physicists at the Technical University of Munich have designed a machine using a
new type of X-ray tube capable of presenting 3D scans of the smallest biological samples.
That worm’s leg is 400 millionths of a millimeter. This is so beautiful I just wanted to share
it with you. So there. Okay that’s enough.
Electrical stimulation of the amygdala can boost your memory -- for a day. At Emory University
Hospital, Deep Brain Stimulation administered along with specific images resulted in 79%
of subjects recalling those images the next day with gains up to several hundred percent.
Meaning, they remembered it better. So, maybe the next generation of cramming for a test
could involved can brain-shocking your way to an A.
Autonomous Systems Labs’ Maplab is an advanced visual inertia mapping framework capable of
generating highly-accurate renderings of new and old spaces. Basically, it’s a really
advanced, quick way to map and 3D render locations. ASL’s robot constructs a model of its environment,
while a separate process handles localization -- and multiple data sets can be looped together
to improve accuracy. It seems to me, potential future applications of this could include
creating rich, accurate virtual reality experiences or to map tourist destinations. Like the Louvre.
The iCub humanoid robot is constructed to be like a 4-year old child -- and now that
it’s been around for more than 10 years, it’s getting more sophisticated. The iCub
can now use stereo vision to estimate the pose and strategy required to grasp unknown
objects with care, which also enables safe, gentle interactions with humans. Still no
estimates for a C3P0-level sophisticated droid will be available. But they're workin' on
it.
AImotive’s full-stack software suite is poised to enable self-driving cars in any
weather or driving condition. The AIdrive suite combines data from four separate engines
-- recognition, location, motion and control -- to analyze and adjust self-driving action
in any situation. So instead of using LIDAR to scan the surroundings, they’re using
camera sensors to feed data to software which they say allows for higher resolution information
and analysis like differentiating a child from an elderly person. And really the next
steps are making the system cheaper and more energy efficient.
Google’s artificial intelligence has discovered a planet. It used data from NASA's Kepler
Space Telescope to find Kepler-90i. Which circles the Sun-like Kepler-90 star every
14.4 days, and it was discovered by using machine learning to analyze changes in light
readings that happen when distant exoplanets pass in front of a star. Kepler-90i’s surface
temperature is about 800F, so… it’s hot.
The UK’s National Physical Laboratory has created the world’s smallest Christmas card.
At just 15 x 20 micrometers, it's 200 million times smaller than a postage stamp. When magnified
5,000x, you can see a snowman and “Season’s Greetings from NPL,” who used an ion beam
to slice a silicon nitride membrane coated with platinum to carve the card with incredible
precision.
To absorb mind-blowing knowledge through your ears with amazing precision check out Packing
For Mars by Mary Roach on Audible. I read this book for my video The Planet Behind Your
Eyes and we also included it in Curiosity Box II. Get a free audiobook with a 30-day
trial today by signing up. I’ve made it super easy for you just text Vsauce2 to 500-500
or go to Audible.com/Vsauce2. That’s text Vsauce2 to 500-500 or Audible.com/Vsauce2.
There's a link at the top of this video's description. For you to click.
Now I’m gonna leave you with FX-2, a giant human riding robot -- and as always, thanks
for watching.
Map-making in the olden days, was like painting a masterpiece. A slow, laborious and highly-specialized
task. Requiring the utmost skill and patience. Map-making today has the speed of our modern
stream-lined methods. But it is still a highly-specialized occupation. The biggest catch in making roadmaps
is keeping them up-to-date. Modern mapmakers have solved this by developing a trick method
of printing. Revised maps can be put out every two weeks. As a rule, these map detectives
work in pairs. One man driving the car as the other plots road changes on a special
chart book. Notations are carefully checked against special instruments to ensure complete
accuracy. When all this last minute road information has been transposed to the overlay sheet,
the sheet is removed and placed in a special vacuum frame. A huge camera then photographs
the overlay onto a glass negative. This negative is photographically transferred onto a sensitized
zinc plate. Which after having its face washed in an acid solution, is ready to be inked
and locked on the press. This press swiftly overprints the detour symbols onto the latest
standard roadmaps. These, in turn, are automatically cut and folded to the proper size, ready to
give folks a good steer. Yes, mapmaking has changed. Has kept pace with a changing America.
Modern maps guide us over the modern roads of the land. Over great super highways such
as the famous new Pennsylvania Turnpike. Modern maps taking today's motorists where they want
to go, when they want to go. Quickly, comfortably and safely.