Science & Technology Today

The US military is paying scientists to study ways to read people's thoughts. The research could someday lead to a gadget capable of translating the thoughts of soldiers who suffered brain injuries in combat or even stroke patients in hospitals. Armed with a $ 4-million grant from the army, scientists are studying brain signals to try to decipher what a person is thinking and to whom the person wants to direct the message. The project is a collaboration among the researchers at the University of California, Irvine; Carnegie Mellon University; and the University of Maryland. The scientists use brain wave-reading technology known as electroencephalography, which measures the brain's electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp. It works like this: volunteers wear an electrode cap and are asked to think of a word chosen by the researchers, who then analyse the brain activity. In the future, scientists hope to develop thought-recognition software that would allow a co...

HTC mobile phones with Google's Android software is expected to go on sale in the United States as early as October and T-Mobile will be the first carrier to offer this handset.The device is expected to match many of the capabilities of Apple's iPhone and other smartphones that perform computer-like functions. Phones using Google's software will do the same thing. Google is making the Android operating system software available free to cellphone carriers and manufacturers who have agreed to provide devices which, like personal computers, allow users to decide which applications run on them. Google is eager to get the Android platform on phones quickly, because it thinks that the mobile Web is vital to the growth of its digital advertising business

Yves Rossy, known as the 'Fusion Man,' flies with a jet-powered single wing over the Alps in Bex, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. Some people go fishing on their day off. Yves Rossy likes to jump out of a small plane with a pair of jet-powered wings and perform figure eights above the Swiss Alps. The revolutionary human flying machine comes after five years of training and many more years of dreaming.

When we think of memory, most of us think of only living things but believe it or not some inanimate things like water can remember a thing or two. Twenty years ago, in the summer of 1988, the science world was rocked by one of the most controversial research papers ever published in the highly-respected journal Nature. According to a charismatic French scientist named Jacques Benveniste , pure water could somehow remember what it had previously contained. Benveniste had started with a substance that caused an allergic reaction, he diluted it over and over again until there was nothing left except water, and then he observed that the pure water still managed to trigger an allergic reaction when it was added to living cells. If the experiment was correct then it would mean rewriting the laws of physics and chemistry. Moreover, the research would have a major impact on the credibility of homeopathy, because it is a form of alternative medicine that relies on remedies made by diluting th...

World's smallest one-man helicopter, GEN H-4, is seen here flying in the city of Matsumoto, Nagano prefecture, central Japan. It will soon take flight in the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, who is credited with having first thought of a vertical-flight machine, according to its developer

Besides the distinction of being the world's largest flower, Rafflesia arnoldii is one big stinker. Its odor has been described as similar to rotting flesh. Luckily, the parasitic plant, which can grow about 3 feet across, is only found in the Sumatra and Borneo regions of Indonesia

Garmin is getting ready for the next quarter release of their nuviphone , a handset that looks a bit like Apple's popular iPhone, but with a mix of features that might appeal to business users as well. The nüvifone is Garmin’s first device to include Google local search capability, which harnesses the vast point of interest information available from the world wide web. Nüvifone users can search for locations like “coffee shops” and Google will sort the results based on the user’s current location and relevance. “Where am I?” feature lets users touch the screen at any time to display the exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. It has a built-in camera that allows individuals to take a picture and will automatically be tagged with the exact latitude and longitude reference of where the image was taken. Cool device.Isn't it?