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Tag: technology

People get “brain drain” when smartphones merely exist in room

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[A person typing on the laptop with one hand while tapping the smartphone with the other hand.]

Have you – at least for a moment – ever imagined throwing your smartphone out the window, especially when you are trying to focus on your work? Now you might have a justification for your impulse. Behavioral scientists recently found that if your smartphone is merely present in your room, and even if you are not consciously thinking of it, you may still be distracted…

Can you turn a baseball into a donut? An introduction to topological materials

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[A chrome trefoil knot is shown coming out of a tunnel, with futuristic circuitry reflected on its surface.]

In 2016, three physicists, David Thouless, Duncan Haldane, and Mike Kosterlitz, won the Nobel prize in physics for their groundbreaking discoveries of topology in matter/materials. Although many people have heard of topology before, likely associating it with the more familiar term “topography,” the fundamental nature of topology remains relatively opaque to those outside of the fields of math and certain applied sciences.

Connected? The new world of 5G

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[A city skyline is over-imposed with a digital grid]

5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology for digital cellular networks. This improved technology is said to fuel the future of innovation in our world. 5G technology is in its beginning stages and currently raises more questions than answers. While the service will heighten our access to information and connectability, it will raise a variety of other issues that impact our society. Data privacy, health, the economy, and infrastructure are all variables that play a role in the future of 5G….

Digging up your roots: How DNA is used to trace your ancestors

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Image showing blurred image of random people in the background and sequence of DNA with SNPs highlighted

Have you ever heard of genetic testing? Ever had a family member who sent a sample to companies like ancestry.com? With the rise in popularity of sites like ancestry.com, it’s becoming increasingly tempting to trace your roots through genetic testing. But, how do these genetic tests work? In this post, I will explain the science… Read more »

Teaching an old dog new tricks: Neuroscience research at IU combines centuries-old methods with modern technology

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A photograph of a neuron (left panel) is shown next to an illustration of the same neuron (right panel). Left panel: The image background is brown. A single neuron is shown. The cell body is black and ovular, and dendritic branches look like sinuous lines extending from the cell body. A single dendrite extends from the top of the cell body, and multiple dendrites extend from the base. Right panel: A multicolor illustration of the neuron pictured in the left panel. The image background is black. The cell body and each dendritic tree is shown in a different color (dark blue, light blue, pink, green, and yellow). Parts of the dendritic tree that were out of focus in the left panel are clearly reconstructed in the right panel; the size and shape of each dendrite is otherwise identical between the two panels.

This post is the second installment in a two part series. Check out last week’s post here. Thanks to modern technology, the field of cellular neuroscience has become illuminated with brightly colored images – tissue samples, cells, and individual molecules have been stained, photographed, colorized, and even reconstructed in three dimensions. A Google Image search… Read more »

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