Robots may not be Human, but They can Feel

A team at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created an electronic skin that allows a robotic arm, built by Meka Robotics, to feel its way through clutter and interpret its immediate environment by use of an algorithm developed by Charlie Kemp and colleagues.

The invention will be presented at the International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics in Seattle, Washington this month. The robot arm is seen to have great applications; so far it has been controlled by a quadriplegic man (paralysis in both arms and legs) using head movements, who used the technology to place a blanket over himself and wipe his face.

The "flexible, electronic skin" is 'peppered' with a whopping 384 sensors, allowing the robot to detect extremely light touches; then a decision on the arm's next series of movements is made from calculations by an algorithm also developed by Kemp and the team.

Robots are usually designed to avoid obstacles in their path or navigate away from anything it comes into contact with; in this case, the extreme sensitivity of the arm allows it to gently move objects out of the way or plan the shortest route to its destination without meeting anything that will resist it too much.

The New Scientist suggests that the "sensitivity level can be changed to match the task, from picking delicate fruit to searching for a person buried in rubble." Alternatively, "underwater robots could feel their way along as a means of navigating small, dark spaces."

References: The New Scientist, digitaltrends.com

Physics vs Biology in the Cure for Cancer

NCI Campus, Rockville, Maryland

From 2005-2012, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US averaged an amount of $4.9 billion each year being put into cancer-related research.

Cancer Research UK spent £332 million on research activity in the 2011-2012 financial year.

Cancer research and treatment development consumes massive amounts of funding every year, but the cure for this universally-feared disease remains just out of reach.

Cancer cells, to a biologist, are pockets of chemical reactions and processes, capable of causing significant damage to healthy, living cells and genetic mutations in their cell recruits. Despite substantial funding which has fed into this all-important research, the US, for example, has seen a 5% decrease in cancer-related deaths since 1950. Although this is still an incredible number of lives saved, what more can be done to save future lives?

Perhaps the key to unlocking the mysterious fix lies with not a cancer biologist, but with a new type of mind - a physicist's mind.

In 2008, the NCI built 12 centres for physical science and oncology, designed for physicists, engineers and mathematicians to shed new light on cancerous cell behaviour.

Cells may be living things, but a physicist will consider other things than it's matter and behaviour: how about a cell's shape? Features in its structure such as pumps and levers? Properties of the membrane, the texture and design of the cell surface? "Many of these properties are known to change systematically as cancer progresses in malignancy."

Metastasis of the cancerous cells from the primary tumour.

Metastasis is the spread of cancer from its original position to another organ of the body. It is this which makes cancer so deadly.

Even if the primary tumour is removed, there is always the possibility that a new tumour could form and cause problems years later, due to a cancerous cell's ability to spread by entering the blood's circulation.

Four years after NCI proposed that physicists take a look at cancer, discoveries have been made concerning how the shape of a cancer cell changes during metastasis. Some are able to release "little molecular grappling hooks" or 'cadherins' to grip onto a blood vessel wall and 'nest' in the nearest organ.

Areolar extracellular matrix.

The new organ tissue may seem foreign but new research shows that cancer cells are able to alter the structure of the foreign organ's extracellular matrix - this section of tissue provides structural and defensive support to important tissues and organs.

So perhaps with the combined powers of biological and physical scientists, research for the treatment and ultimately cure for cancer will make some interesting leaps and bounds in the right direction. I think we should bring the three streams of science together more often (let's not forget Chemistry!), allowing different perspectives to be directed at the same problem. Surely things would be solved faster that way? No?

References: New Scientist, Wikipedia, National Cancer Institute, Cancer Research UK

Lurking in the Depths... Shoot, My Biscuit Broke...

What is living in your PG Tips?

As I sit and write this, I have a steaming mug of milky tea beside my laptop. Over the past few months, I have grown more and more attached to the delightfully heart-warming beverage, thanks to Britain's cold snap in January-February, and Spring's belated arrival.

I have often heard that tea has many benefits, and heard even more often of its dangers. So I decided to investigate - what am I (and I'm sure, plenty of you) actually drinking?

The Good Stuff

White and green teas have the highest concentrations of antioxidants, but don't despair, black tea also has a substantial amount of them too. The specific antioxidant is called a catechin, pronounced "katt-eh-kin", I believe. Now, antioxidants, we hear about these all the time... but, if I'm honest, I'm as clueless about antioxidants as I am about quantum physics. Which is rather clueless to be frank, although I promise to master QP in a future post.

Antioxidants - molecules which inhibit oxidation of other molecules.

And oxidation is bad, so I'm warming to antioxidants. You see, oxidation is the loss of electrons from a substance, and these reactions produce free radicals.

Free radicals - atoms, molecules, ions with unpaired electrons, making them highly chemically reactive.

So these radicals start chain reactions in cells, catching the innocent cell unaware and fatally wounding it. Antioxidants stop these chain reactions by removing free radicals... by offering themselves up as juicy sacrifices to be oxidised by the radicals.

I sort of feel indebted to these antioxidants now...

Tea's antioxidant, the catechin, is also found in strawberries and some cocoa solids. Catechins are flavonoids - plant pigments which add the colour to their flowers. It can reduce the risk of 4 major health problems: stroke, diabetes, cancer and heart failure, apparently, but obviously, drinking 16 barrels of Earl Grey a day isn't going to make you invincible. You have to add routine exercise, balanced diet, banana face masks and a flowy red cape to the mix before you can really be invincible.

The Bad Stuff

Tea plants naturally absorb elements like fluoride and aluminium. Excessive amounts of fluoride leads to bone pains and fractures, whilst aluminium leads to an untimely death. But a mug of tea contains such small traces that you can wipe that anxious frown off your face.

And then, or course, there is caffeine. Some people live off the stuff, whilst others avoid it at all costs. Headaches and nausea are common symptoms of moderate caffeine intake, whilst long-term effects include the risk of developing cardiovascular and hepatic diseases. Oh, and diuresis, which, if you're not sure, means you pretty much have to carry your toilet around in your pocket all day (excessive urination).

Like most things, tea is a mix of good and bad, and I won't bore with the 'moderation' lecture. So, I'm off to microwave my mug now, as this post has taken long enough to freeze my tea into a brown ice lolly. Cheerio!