Researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health, have identified new genes and pathways that influence an individual's typical pattern of brain electrical activity, a trait that may serve as a surrogate marker for more genetically complex traits and diseases. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news191570658.html)

Parts of the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices of the brain, which play key roles in vigilance and scepticism, were deactivated when devout volunteers listened to a supposed healer, Aarhus University researchers found. They speculate that brain regions may be deactivated in a similar way in response to doctors, parents, and politicians. (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627574.200-brain-shuts-off-in-response-to-healers-prayer.html)

A new scheme for a quantum communications link that will only allow a message to be read if a recipient is in exactly the right location has been devised by inventor Robert Malaney at the University of New South Wales. (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18825-top-secret-quantum-messages-for-your-room-only.html)

NASA is preparing to send its first humanoid robot into space. Robonaut R2 will be launched to the International Space Station on the space shuttle Discovery's last mission in September to do maintenance work. (NASA) (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627575.600-nasas-android-astronaut-assistant-prepares-for-launch.html)

Scientists have identified thousands of genes, including those in plants, that can give rise to diseases in humans when they mutate. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/science/27gene.html?ref=science)

The brain's power will turn out to derive from data processing within the neuron rather than activity between neurons, suggests University of Cambridge research biologist Brian J. Ford. "Each individual neuron is itself a computer, and the brain a vast community of microscopic computers... the human brain may be a trillion times more capable than we imagine," he adds. (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627571.100-the-secrets-of-intelligence-lie-within-a-single-cell.html)

For the first time, RNA interference (RNAi) has been proven effective against a human disease -- a common respiratory virus, University of Tennessee Health Science Center researchers have found. (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18819-gene-silencing-prevents-its-first-human-disease.html)

A Russian company is marketing a devastating new $10-20 million cruise missile system that can be hidden inside a shipping container, giving any merchant vessel the capability to wipe out an aircraft carrier. Potential customers for the formidable Club-K system include Kremlin allies Iran and Venezuela, say defense experts. They worry that countries could pass on the satellite-guided missiles, which are very hard to detect, to terrorist groups. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/04/26/world/international-us-russia-weapon.html?_r=1)

A camera system that attaches to a mobile device to let it track mid-air finger movements and translate those movements into commands has been developed by researchers at the University of Tokyo. Phones that recognize gestures could help users avoid fumbling around on touch screens, or alleviate the physical problems with typing. (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/25102/?a=f)

German researchers have developed a new technology, "eyeDriver," that lets drivers steer cars going 31 mph (50 kph) using only their eyes. (Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126215124)

Tufts University biomedical engineer Fiorenzo Omenetto is using silk as the basis for implantable optical and electronic devices that will act like a combination vital-sign monitor, blood test, imaging center, and pharmacy--and will safely break down when no longer needed. Light-emitting diodes could signal the concentration in the blood of biomarkers such as insulin (Bryan Christie Design) (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25086/)

An important cluster of genes in a segment of chromosome 12 is inactivated in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which do not have the full development potential of embryonic stem cells, suggesting the need for new reprogramming strategies. More info: Massachusetts General Hospital news (Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-04/mgh-gsm042210.php)

Changes in reactive astrocyte cells in the brain can profoundly reduce inhibitory control over brain signals, neuroscience researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Tufts University School of Medicine have found. The researchers were able to dampen neuronal excitability in the animals' brain slices by adding glutamine, an amino acid that is depleted as a result of reduced glutamine synthetase activity. "We already know that inhibition is a powerful force in the brain," said Douglas A. Coulter, Ph.D., the corresponding author of the research study, from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "In epilepsy, inhibition is not working properly, and uncontrolled signaling leads to epileptic seizures. Because both disrupted inhibition and reactive astrocytosis are known to occur in other neurologic conditions, including many psychiatric disorders, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, our findings may have wide implications." The research sheds light on epileptic seizures and potentially on other prominent diseases involving poorly regulated brain activity, and may contribute to developing better treatments for epilepsy. More info: Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia news (Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-04/chop-sab042110.php)

An organic molecular layer that can evolve continuously to solve complex problems, similar to neurons, has been created by an international research team from Japan and Michigan Technological University. The molecular layer processor is self-healing, is capable of massively parallel computing, and can produce solutions to problems for which algorithms are unknown, like predictions of natural calamities and outbreaks of disease. MRI mages of a human brain during different mental activiies (top). Similar evolving patterns have been generated on the molecular monolayer (bottom).(Anirban Bandyopadhyay) More info: Michigan Technological University news (Source: )

A new technique that uses magnetic nanobeads to levitate cells, allowing them to grow on an "invisible scaffold" into three-dimensional structures, results in cell cultures that tend to form tissues that more closely resemble those inside the body. The technique could save millions of dollars in drug-testing costs. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news191475422.html)

Memristor devices (resistive devices with a memory property) are capable of emulating biological synapses with properly designed CMOS neuron components, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated. Memristor concept and crossbar design (American Chemical Society) The team also demonstrated that an electrical circuit consisting of CMOS "neurons" and memristor synapses can achieve spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP), an important synaptic activity. These findings show that it is now possible to build a brain-like computer using electronic components -- transistors and memristors. See also: H.P. Sees a Revolution in Memory Chip (Source: http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=15951.php)

E Ink's next-generation technology will offer 12:1 contrast ratios (up from 7:1) and refresh rates fast enough to carry basic animations (up from 0.74 second), visible in sunlight. The screens will ship to partners by Q4, with products arriving next year. (Source: http://www.trustedreviews.com/peripherals/news/2010/04/26/E-Ink-Demos-Next-Generation-eBook-Reader-Displays/p1)

Alcatel-Lucent has developed a prototype technology that could dramatically increase the speed of data communications, using two copper phone lines: 100 megabits per second at one kilometer. (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/25158/?a=f)

The H+ Summit, a two- day event that explores how humanity will be radically changed by technology in the near future, is scheduled for June 12-13 at Harvard University. Speakers include Ray Kurzweil, Aubrey de Grey ("Hype and anti-hype in academic biogerontology research: a call to action"), Alex Lightman ("The Rise of Citizen-Scientists in the Eversmarter World"), David Orban ("Intelligence Augmentation, Decision Power, And The Emerging Data Sphere"), Heather Knight ("Why Robots Need to Spend More Time in the Limelight: People Tracking and Artificial Personality"), Michael Smolens ("Removing language as a barrier to cross cultural communication"), M. A. Greenstein ("Sparking our Neural Humanity with Neurotech!"), and Andrew Hessel ("Altered Carbon: The emerging biological diamond age"). (Source: )

Hawking believes that contact with intelligent aliens could be devastating for humanity. "I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach." He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is "a little too risky". He said: "If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans." Stephen Hawking's Universe begins on the Discovery Channel on April 25 at 9pm in the U.S. and May 9 at 9pm in the U.K. - Ed. (Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7107207.ece)