geekosystem

While there's maybe no medical technology today with more potential, stem cell treatments are not without their own problems. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) -- those created in a laboratory after being devolved from other adult cells -- are getting easier to make every day, but are still expensive to manufacture and run the risk of causing health problems of their own, possibly even becoming cancerous. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs), meanwhile, have been shown to be effective and largely safe for patients, but their use in medicine remains controversial. A team of researchers working at the Salk Institute and the University of California San Diego has taken a step toward understanding what makes both sorts of cells tick, though. They've discovered a unique molecular signature that indicates when a stem cell has been created in a lab rather than harvested from an unimplanted embryo.

Completed in November of last year, this amazing sculpture called "Fallen Star" at the University of California in San Diego depicts a small house perched dangerously on the side of the Jacobs School of Engineering. It's a startling work, and one that shows off not only its artistic value but the incredible engineering that went into its creation. See more, after the break.

Researchers from the University of California in San Diego have developed a Bluetooth device that allows the wearer to dial a ten-digit number using their thoughts alone. Their experimental device was the subject of a recent study, published in the Journal of Neural Engineering. In their study, volunteers wore special electrode-laden headgear and were shown a screen with the numbers zero through nine, similar to a phone's touch-tone dialing pad. The difference was that each number flashed at a slightly different speed. By concentrating on the number they wished to dial, the device detected the speed of the flashing number by observing the user's brain activity. It's a bit tedious, but the researchers found users could control the system with 70-85% accuracy.