Virtual Reality through bionic contact lenses

Imagine being able to check e-mail without a screen? Thisscience fiction may soon be a reality, thanks to a bionic contact lens that will receive computerized information directly into the eyes. These modern lenses have been developed by researchers at the Universities of Washington and Aalto(Finland), and although still in prototype stage, and have been tested in rabbits without showing adverse effects.

The lenses, which have many applications in the development of devices for computers and virtual reality will also be very useful in the field of health. As he explained to SINC Praviz Baba, one of the researchers on the project, the device "could also have medical applications such as biosensors connection to provide information on levels of glucose and lactose."

For transmit images directly in the eye, the energy emitted by the source is contained in a circuit that transmits a transparent sapphire chip. So far, the lens contains only one pixel and the team also works to shorten the focal length so that the projectionsare not a blur perceived by the eye. It also notes Praviz, "the next goal is the incorporation of a default text in the contact lens."

Yawns are more contagious among family

A study by the University of Pisa (Italy) suggests that people are more likely to yawn in response to the yawn of a close relative to that of a friend or a stranger, according to the journal PLoS One

The act of yawning has always been considered "infectious"because when someone yawns in a group around other people do the same thing by accident. Moreover, this reaction, often in about half the population is not unique to humans, but also exists in animals such as chimpanzees.

For the new study, Italian researchers looked at 109 men and women in a variety of nationalities in their daily activities andrecord the times in which they were yawning contagious. The study found that it was more likely to occur between members ofthe same family, a little less with friends, and even less between simple "known" and strangers.

Furthermore, the time between yawning and imitation responsewas higher among acquaintances and strangers that amongfamilies, which "demonstrates that the contagion of yawns is primarily generated by the emotional closeness between individuals and not by other variables, such as gender andnationality, "the researchers conclude.

How do you make perfume?

Today, many of the essential oils that are the basis of a perfumeare produced artificially in the laboratory by means of odormolecules, but the most exclusive brands still use flowers and plants. Their odor qualities depend on factors such as time of collection.

  Jasmine, for example, should be caught at dawn, before the sunexhausts its smell. Then the flowers are put to soak in a solvent,ethanol or methanol to waxes and plant essences are diluted, when the solvent evaporates, a paste is called concrete. After thisis dissolved in alcohol and distilled to get the absolute, a thick liquid that is the pure essence of the plant. To get a kilo ofjasmine absolute or rose are required no less than 2 to 4 tons of flowers!

At the end is the nose or perfumer, who, like a painter mixingcolors, you have to make the perfume nose playing with a palette of hundreds or even thousands of scents with which to work. Its ability to combine and harmonize the aromatic tones choose will depend on the final result that is in the bottle.

How do you make perfume?

Today, many of the essential oils that are the basis of a perfumeare produced artificially in the laboratory by means of odormolecules, but the most exclusive brands still use flowers and plants. Their odor qualities depend on factors such as time of collection.

  Jasmine, for example, should be caught at dawn, before the sunexhausts its smell. Then the flowers are put to soak in a solvent,ethanol or methanol to waxes and plant essences are diluted, when the solvent evaporates, a paste is called concrete. After thisis dissolved in alcohol and distilled to get the absolute, a thick liquid that is the pure essence of the plant. To get a kilo ofjasmine absolute or rose are required no less than 2 to 4 tons of flowers!

At the end is the nose or perfumer, who, like a painter mixingcolors, you have to make the perfume nose playing with a palette of hundreds or even thousands of scents with which to work. Its ability to combine and harmonize the aromatic tones choose will depend on the final result that is in the bottle.

The brains of psychopaths are different

By comparing the brains of prisoners with a diagnosis of psychopathy and other defendants who committed similar offenses but were not diagnosed with the disease, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and New Mexico, USA,found important differences:

Psychopaths show a reduction of the connections between theventromedial prefrontal cortex (wmPFC), part of the brain responsible for sentiments such as empathy and guilt, and the amygdala involved in fear and anxiety.


To perform the analysis took two images of the brain. Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor showed a reduction of the structural integrity of white matter fibers that connect the two areas (thevmPFC and amygdala), the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) showed, on the other hand, lower coordinated activity between the vmPFC and the amygdala.

That is, the combination of structural and functional alterationsprovide compelling evidence that the dysfunction observed in this important socio-emotional circuit, is a feature of psychopathiccriminals, "said psychology professor Joseph Newman, of the Universidad de Wisconsin, participant in the study.

The results of the study, carried out in a medium security prison inWisconsin, may help explain the cruel and impulsive anti-socialbehavior exhibited by some psychopaths.