Latest videos on 2100science.com

Age of Biotechnology

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Biotechnology is improving the human condition – healing, fueling, and feeding the world. Any new technology, when first introduced, causes some concerns – either health, environment or religious, and all of them have some basis in fact. Will the technology be safe? Advocates of biotechnology (genetically modified crops) are pointing out that as more products get available in the market, more people will accept without concern or complain, that the products were produced by genetic modification of plants or animals. Take the cause of feeding the world, for example. Biotechnology is working on producing crops that can be grown in such locations as sub-Saharan Africa, which has little water and is currently a desert. Biotechnology can and will improve the quality of life globally.

Rapid Microbial Detection

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Environmental pathogens are micro-organisms that normally spend a substantial part of their life outside of hosts. But when they are introduced to humans, they frequently cause disease. Pathogens are carried in the water, soil, air, food and other parts of the environment, and can affect almost everyone. Microbes make the world go round. They are part of our bodies and part of the environment. They are an essential part of making things work. For example, in our guts, bacteria digest the material and enable us to survive. But from time to time these bacteria can become pathogenic and cause diseases. Current pathogen detection technologies are relatively slow and expensive. Samples must be gathered, then returned to a laboratory for testing. It can take from 24 to 48 hours for results. There is a need for quickly and efficiently measuring bacterial and microbial contaminants in the environment. Rapid detection of pathogens will lead to great improvement in world health.

Cars of the Future

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

More than 95% of the transportation systems around the world are fueled by petroleum. A quarter of all the petroleum ever consumed in the history of the world, was consumed in the last ten years, and that trend is accelerating.
Most cars on the road today (800 million cars) are fueled by petroleum. By 2050, projections are that there will be 2 billion vehicles on the roads. There will be an energy shortage and soaring gas prices in the future. Car companies are working on new technologies for the “cars of the future,” with alternate fuel such as ethanol and biofuel, and solar powered cars. Hydrogen powered cars are also under study.
Cars of the future must be reliable, practical and safe. In order to be reliable, it must be easy for them to be refueled. At the moment, gasoline stations are ubiquitous. Locations to fill up with hydrogen are very rare. The system will have to change in the future.

Mind Science

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The brain has a never-ending ability to change. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s extraordinary ability to change, grow and even rewire itself.
Buddhist monks are willing participants in a study to discover the connection between the mind and the brain. Looking inward has become a way of life for Buddhist monks, and meditation is one tool in their quest for enlightenment. Buddhist monks have spent the last five years volunteering for a study, in which their brains were studied – in which scientists are studying how the monk’s mental training changes the brain.
The study tests how physical training and experience can alter brain circuits. They are investigating whether meditation can change the brain’s way of dealing with emotion.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFhZYB8YDrg
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsWsaE9aRhQ
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9-HGDktuIM
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyt2J39fIes
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmRkbIf-LJM

Science of Cricket

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

At the heart of the game of cricket is the duel between a batsman and a bowler. A fast bowler can send the ball at fantastic speeds – too fast for the human brain to react to. The ball seems to defy the laws of physics.
This documentary answers a variety of topics. How does the ball swing? How can science help fast bowlers bowl faster. How to make a bat for a world class batsman and what it takes to be a world class player.
Googlie, yorker, cutter, golden duck, these are just a few of the terms used in cricket. Games can last for days. It demands the stamina of an athlete, the flexibility of a gymnast, and the mind of a chess grandmaster. But at its heart, it is a battle between a batsman and a bowler.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnwwd08FEoI
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4tGaoSz14g
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMNBlrX9Zfo
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYDwNT-l4VU
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSmQLBor_ks

How Visual Effects Work?

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Visual effects in a movie are a composite of many different pieces of software, and typically each piece is provided by a different specialist.
It all starts on a green screen. Place markers are set on spots where the special effects will be added. First an actor is filmed walking through a scene, or acting in a scene, which is filmed in RealViz MatchMover Pro. Then, a 3D model replaces the actor, and rough composites of the special effects are made, in such software as Cinema 4D. Then the compositing is done in Apple’s Shake.

Get Smart

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The human mind is perhaps the final frontier in our understanding of ourselves. How does our mind learn about the world around us? Every waking second, our mind is at work learning about the world around us. But our capacity to learn is even greater than we think. By discovering how our mind works, we can improve our learning power and unlock our true potential.
Learning something new means rearranging the way our brain works. Our brain has a hundred billion neurons, or brain cells, all connected together. Learning is about creating and strengthening pathways through these neurons for impulses of electricity. But between each and every connection in our brains there is a tiny gap, called a synapse. For any of us to learn something new, the electrical signal has to jump across this gap to continue its journey.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBZZO868W_Q

Carbon Capture

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

American Electrical Power, the largest US electric company, and a French energy company, Alstrom are conducting a pilot project in a West Virginia coal-fired power plant called carbon capture.
Currently, coal-fired power plants emit carbon dioxide as a pollutant into the atmosphere. The goal is to capture this gaseous carbon dioxide, convert it into a liquid state, and then inject it deep within the earth via shafts bored for the purpose. There, it is permanently stored in rock formations thousands of feet below water tables and drinking water supplies. It is prevented from rising up again by the same thick solid rock layers above that have kept oil and gas deposits trapped for millions of years. The pilot project is expected to be complete in five years.

X Bionic Clothing

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The makers of X-Bionic clothes believe there’s a better way to design athletic apparel. They have formulated a way to turn human sweat into energy.
While the temperature that people feel on the outside of their body is important, it is their core body temperature, around the heart and organs that is critical. If the body core temperature goes above 40 degrees Celsius, the individual will no longer be able to control their muscles, and they may even suffer a heart attack or heat stroke.
Regular sports clothing allows people to sweat as they normally would. The clothing wicks away the sweat from the body, and it evaporates from the shirt, rather than from the body – so it doesn’t cool the body. X-Bionic clothing, on the other hand, keeps the sweat lying on the body, and prevents individuals from becoming dehydrated. Wicking moisture away from the skin is actually a bad thing.

What is Cancer?

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There are over 100 common types of cancer. All cells in our bodies divide and grow, to replace cells that die on a regular basis. However, when someone develops a cancer, certain groups of cells grow at an uncontrolled rate. These not only grow in an uncontrolled fashion, but also eventually invade and destroy other tissues. Those that remain in one local area are benign. Others that spread to different locations in the body via lymph or blood, and continue their destruction everywhere are called malignant cancers.
Cancers are divided into five main types. Sarcomas are cancers that originate in muscle and fibrous tissue (soft tissue sarcomas), or in bone and cartilage. Leukemias are cancers of the blood cells, which arise in the blood forming organs, bone marrow and spleen. Lymphoma affect the lymphatic system, a network of vessels and nodes that act as the body’s filters. Carcinomas (80% of all cancers) arise in the body’s organs. Examples of carcinomas are breast cancer and prostate cancer. There are a few cancers that don’t fit into these five main categories.

What Does Diabetes Do?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Diabetes is a disorder in the way the body metabolizes food. In people with diabetes, the body either does not produce enough insulin, or does not respond as it should to the insulin it does receive. Insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas, enables cells to absorb glucose in order to turn it into energy. If glucose accumulates in the blood it is called hyperglycemia, and leads to various potential complications.
During, and immediately after a meal, our body begins to break down food molecules, including carbohydrates, into sugar molecules. One of these sugar molecules is glucose. Glucose is a simple sugar, which supplies the fuel that every cell in our body needs to survive. After we eat, glucose is absorbed directly into the blood stream, and our blood sugar levels rise sharply. This sends a signal to the beta cells of the pancreas, instructing them to secrete just the right amount of insulin to manage the sugar. The task of insulin is to make it easier for the glucose to enter the body’s cells, in particular the cells of the muscles and liver. There, glucose is used to power the cell’s activities, or stored for future use.

The Secret Life of Chaos

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Almost 99% of the human body is a mixture of air, water, coal and chalk, with traces of iron, zinc, phosphorous and sulfur. Somehow trillions of these ordinary atoms become organized into thinking, breathing, living human beings.
How the wonders of creation are assembled from such simple building blocks is surely the most intriguing question we can ask. Woven into the simplest and basic laws of nature is the power to be unpredictable. Inanimate matter, with no purpose or design, can spontaneously create exquisite beauty. The same laws that make the universe chaotic and unpredictable can turn simple dust into human beings. There is a strange and an unexpected relationship between order and chaos.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-TuX2uywZU
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnSalCqZz6s
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPbD2sKfMvI
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVDoMF2m9VI
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1ZZ6n2DMOU

Biologically Inspired Vision Systems

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Scientists at The Rowland Institute at Harvard are working on enabling computers to see its surroundings, just as humans can do, using biologically-inspired algorithms that enable computers to understand what they see.
Recognizing objects in the natural environment is something humans do naturally, without even realizing they’re doing it. However, what computers see is very different from what we see. To a computer, each image is just a collection of numbers.
How does biological vision work? When we look at a particular scene, the light from the scene enters our eye and is measured by the retina – the layer of light-detecting cells at the back of the eye. From there, information is transmitted along the optic nerve, through the mid-brain, to the cerebral cortex.

Future of Transportation

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This documentary discusses the future of automotive travel, air travel, anti-gravity, virtual reality and teleportation.
It begins with the automobile. Science fiction has always painted amazing pictures of future travel. John Clute, the author of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, points out that science fiction “has always loved the idea of travel”. “Flying cars,” he points out.
“Vaccum tubes down which rocket-shaped projectiles would be dashing. We’d find tunnels under the sea. We would find gigantic airplanes with thousands of propellers.”
But while the imaginers of science fiction were creating a fantastic future, most real engineers were pinning our hopes on the automobile.
Science fiction has always known the answer. “Take to the skies”. In other words, put wings on a car and let it take to the skies.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfZ7qzfw5EA
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjwIesSZqbQ
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v637XamX_eU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF3AWWerNpA
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMzmVx6Hv0Q

Sixth Sense

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Pranav Mistry is the inventor of SixthSense, a device one wears “that enables new interactions between the real world and the world of data.”
In this video, Mistry shares the impetuses that drove him to invent a variety of devices that allow, or will allow, people to interact directly with their computers without the need of keyboard and mouse.
He started out with a “gesture interface device”, simply by cannibalizing two mice and using the rollers within! Rather than using a keyboard and mouse to interact with a computer, Mistry wanted to use his computer in the same way that he interacts in the physical world. This device acted as a motion sensing device, so that whatever movement he did in the physical world is replicated in the digital world.
From this starting point, Mistry went on to improve sticky notes. He wished to connect the normal face of sticky notes to the digital world.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDFKYrSJefc