Worldwide wrap

In the wrap this week, researchers aim to control the weather using lasers; and scientists link two brains over the Internet. Get the details on these and other stories below.

You can now own your very own Van Gogh... a replica, that is. The Van Gogh Museum, in Amsterdam, has produced 3D reproductions of classics including Sunflowers, The Harvest and Wheatfield Under the Clouds.

The museum signed a three-year deal with Fujilfilm to create the replicas, know as "Relievos". Using technology called "Reliefography", a 3D scan of the painting in question is combined with a high-resolution print. Only three can be made per day and will set buyers back a cool $34 000 per set.

In other 3D printing news, NASA has successfully tested a rocket engine that was built using a 3D printer injector component, which was used to pass liquid oxygen and hydrogen to the engine. NASA has other plans for 3D technology and hopes it will slash the cost of some rocket parts in half.
Via: Tech News World and ZDNet

Researchers at the University of Washington have successfully connected two human brains over the Internet.

In an experiment called "Direct Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans", scientists were able to send a brain signal through the Internet to control the way another researcher, seated in a separate area of the university campus, moved his hand. They did this by wearing hats that included a "magnetic stimulation coil", which can read and stimulate the brain. Rajesh Rao then sent a signal to Andrea Stocco's brain, forcing him to move his right index finger to hit the "fire" button in a computer game.
Via: New York Times Blog

An artificial intelligence project that will see robots learn from their environments could soon see the machines deployed in nursing homes as carers for the elderly. Scientists believe a £25 000 robot, dubbed Linda, could be the perfect solution to one of the biggest hazards facing elderly residents in care homes: falls.

Nurses generally don't have time to monitor all residents all the time, but a robot is ideally suited to sweeping buildings in search of distressed residents. Not only could robots like Linda patrol corridors for 24 hours a day, providing much more continuous surveillance than any human, but they could save nurses valuable time by performing additional tasks such as carrying messages or escorting patients to appointments.
Via: Telegraph

Scientists are attempting to control the weather by using lasers to create clouds, induce rain and even trigger lightning. Experts from around the world are to gather at the World Meteorological Organisation next month to discuss how powerful laser pulses can be used to generate changes in the atmosphere that influence the weather.

Their experiments have shown that intense pulses of light can cause ice to form and water to condense, leading to the formation of clouds. They hope the technology could allow lightning during thunderstorms to be guided away from sensitive buildings such as power plants or airports. It could also be used to manipulate the weather by creating clouds and triggering rainfall ahead of major public events.
Via: Telegraph

A University of Colorado Boulder faculty member will travel to Africa later this month to test a mobile smartphone technology developed by his team to rapidly detect and track natural carcinogens, some of which contaminate food supplies and cause illness in humans and animals.

Associate professor Don Cooper, co-founder and chief science officer of Mobile Assay, developed the technology in his laboratory at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics.

The new technology includes using mobile devices, rapid diagnostic test strips (similar to pregnancy test strips), geographical tagging and cloud computing to rapidly detect, quantify and track common crop pathogens in real time to reduce their harmful impacts in developing countries.
Via: Medical Xpress

Scientists from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the 'Ecole Polytechnique F'ed'erale de Lausanne in Switzerland have developed telescopic contact lenses, which could enable wearers to magnify their vision with the blink of an eye.

This specialised lens consists of two parts: a central circle that doesn't alter users' vision in any way; and surrounding that a ring of reflective, multifaceted metal that is folded in on itself to create the same effect as a standard, two-lens telescope. To switch between a normal and a zoomed-in view, users need to wear a pair of eyeglasses similar to those that come with some 3D TVs. Wearing both glasses and contact lenses may seem counterintuitive, but these eyeglasses are necessary to control whether exterior light hits either the centre, unaltered portion of the lens or the outer, telescopic part.

"The next question is, 'can we do this in a way that won't cause people to claw out their eyes screaming?'" said Joseph Ford, the lead developer and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UCSD.
Via: Tech News Daily