Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact! 2012

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What an exciting time to live!
There are 27 of them, all fascinating.
I posted some and a link for the rest.

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Science Fictions That Became Science Facts In 2012


1. Quadriplegic Uses Her Mind to Control Her Robotic Arm



At the University of Pittsburgh, the neurobiology department worked with 52-year-old Jan Scheuermann over the course of 13 weeks to create a robotic arm controlled only by the power of Scheuermann's mind.
The team implanted her with two 96-channel intracortical microelectrodes. Placed in the motor cortex, which controls all limb movement, the integration process was faster than anyone expected. On the second day, Jan could use her new arm with a 3-D workspace. By the end of the 13 weeks, she was capable of performing complex tasks with seven-dimensional movement, just like a biological arm.
To date, there have been no negative side effects.

2. DARPA Robot Can Traverse an Obstacle Course



Once the robot figures out how to do that without all the wires, humanity is doomed.

DARPA was also hard at work this year making robots to track humans and run as fast as a cheetah, which seems like a great combination with no possibility of horrible side effects.

3. Genetically Modified Silk Is Stronger Than Steel


At the University of Wyoming, scientists modified a group of silkworms to produce silk that is, weight for weight, stronger than steel. Different groups hope to benefit from the super-strength silk, including stronger sutures for the medical community, a biodegradable alternative to plastics, and even lightweight armor for military purposes.

4. DNA Was Photographed for the First Time



Using an electron microscope, Enzo di Fabrizio and his team at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa snapped the first photos of the famous double helix.

5. Invisibility Cloak Technology Took a Huge Leap Forward



British Columbia company HyperStealth Biotechnology showed a functioning prototype of its new fabric to the U.S. and Canadian military this year. The material, called Quantum Stealth, bends light waves around the wearer without the use of batteries, mirrors, or cameras. It blocks the subject from being seen by visual means but also keeps them hidden from thermal scans and infrared.

===snip===

13. Rogue Planet Floating Through Space



Until this year, scientists knew planets orbited a star. Then, in came CFBDSIR2149. With four to seven times the mass of Jupiter, it is the first free-floating object to be officially defined as an exoplanet and not a brown dwarf.

===snip===

15. Artificial Leaves Generate Electricity



Using relatively inexpensive materials, Daniel G. Nocera created the world's first practical artificial leaf. The self-contained units mimic the process of photosynthesis, but the end result is hydrogen instead of oxygen. The hydrogen can then be captured into fuel cells and used for electricity, even in the most remote locations on Earth.

All the rest..Including new solar and hacking the human brain:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/27-scienc...facts-in-2

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Wow! I'm the only person loving this stuff????
Go figure.
This is some good chit, man!

[csrowan]

I loved it too. Shared it around the household. But forgot to comment on it...

[Clone]

I loved it too. Shared it around the household. But forgot to comment on it...

I must have responded incorrectly to your Jeopardy post...I really liked it and wanted to see it flourish.

We need more fun around here!!!

Here's to producing good posts and responding to them! <clink>

[csrowan]

I'll try transplanting a few more game threads from my other forum and see if any thrive on RVF.

We actually have a Games, Fun, & Jokes section.

[Clone]

I'll try transplanting a few more game threads from my other forum and see if any thrive on RVF.

We actually have a Games, Fun, & Jokes section.

No!
People have FUN on a forum?
Get out of town!

[bbqboy]

http://qz.com/26244/how-a-20-tablet-from...e-know-it/
Disrupting the world’s largest tech companies

“The revolution will come from the developing world to the US,” says Vivek Wadhwa, an entrepreneur and academic. “These tablets will kill the markets for high-end players—for Microsoft in particular.”

Wadhwa knows Tuli and has become the Aakash 2?s champion stateside, writing about the device and getting it into the hands of executives. He believes that the $40 price of the tablet could drop to $25 within a year. “I showed a Google executive [this] tablet. He suddenly realized that his $99 tablet isn’t going to stand up to the $25 tablet from India.”

Many in Silicon Valley are suddenly fixated on cheap tablets. “I see a lot of the PC makers and hardware companies here [in the US] are going to build a tablet strategy,” says Jay Goldberg, a financial analyst who was surprised to discover on his last trip to China just how cheap functional 7? tablets have become. “But if there are already $45 tablets out there, even that second-tier strategy [of replacing lost PC sales with tablets] is going to fail.”

Everyone I interviewed for this piece thought that Apple, as a company that differentiates itself by being a high-end brand, would survive the coming of cheap tablets. But Goldberg and Wadhwa agreed that other manufacturers of Android-based tablets, even Samsung, would have a hard time staying in the hardware market.
continued...

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Using relatively inexpensive materials, Daniel G. Nocera created the world's first practical artificial leaf. The self-contained units mimic the process of photosynthesis, but the end result is hydrogen instead of oxygen. The hydrogen can then be captured into fuel cells and used for electricity, even in the most remote locations on Earth.

[csrowan]

Huey is an electronic glowing chameleon lamp that dynamically matches the color of whatever he sits on. Have a favorite green notebook? Plop Huey down on top and he matches the color with his glowing skin. Just painted your room Cerulean Blue? Hold Huey against the wall, then squeeze him gently and he'll hold the color, even if you put him down on your brown nightstand. Huey even has a color cycle mode if you're indecisive. Watch him pop from color to color and give him a little reassuring squeeze when he gets to the one you like. Huey the Color Copying Chameleon Lamp makes an adorable addition to your wee geeks room, but he's a great friend to anyone who loves color.

How does Huey do it? Well, he lights the surface underneath him with two hidden white LEDs then uses a sophisticated optical sensor to determine the correct color. He then matches this color by adjusting the shade of numerous multi-color LED's imbedded in his body. Huey is truly a toy of the future. Five years ago the color sensing technology he uses was too expensive for consumer products and was featured mainly in scientific measuring devices. Now you can leverage this cool tech for your own frivolous pleasure and ThinkGeek is proud to assist you in your noble quest.

Only $29.99. Just in case you want to get me a present.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/dde2/