TOUCH in Biological News

MIT: Using touch to help deaf people

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Lip reading is a critical means of communication for many deaf people, but it has a drawback: Certain consonants (for example, p and b) can be nearly impossible to distinguish by sight alone. Tactile devices, which translate sound waves into vibrations that can be felt by the ...

A gentle touch for better control, a quantum mechanical con, and milestone PRL papers

The Particle Whisperers G. Volpe, S. Perrone, J. M. Rubi, and D. Petrov Physical Review E (forthcoming) As many parents know, it's often easier to keep your kids under control by exerting less authority rather than more. A child who fidgets uncontrollably in a confining booster seat, for ...

Moderate prenatal exposure to alcohol and stress in monkeys can cause touch sensitivity

A new study on monkeys has found that moderate exposure to alcohol and stress during pregnancy can lead to sensitivity to touch in the monkeys babies. In human children, sensitivity to touch is one of a number of characteristics of the approximately 5 percent of children who over-respond to senso...

Shell Provides Consumers Gasoline Industry's First Pay By Touch Technology at the Pump

Drivers Get New Level of Convenience and Security With Gasoline Industry's First Pay At The Pump Biometric Payment Service CHICAGO, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time, drivers can pay for their gasoline with just the touch of a finger thanks to a new payment method Shell Oil P...

When cells reach out and touch

MicroRNAs are single-stranded snippets that, not long ago, were given short shrift as genetic junk. Now that studies have shown they regulate genes involved in normal functioning as well as diseases such as cancer, everyone wants to know: What regulates microRNAs? Scientists at Johns Hopkins we...

Bats use touch receptors on wings to fly, catch prey, study finds

Bats have an "ear" for flying in the dark because of a remarkable auditory talent that allows them to determine their physical environment by listening to echoes. But an Ohio University neurobiology professor says bats have a "feel" for it, too. John Zook's studies of bat flight suggest that touc...

M2SYS Technology to Offer Desktop Biometric Technology to Kronos Customers

...one employee punching in for another, which can translate into substantial savings for employers. "The M2SYS offering complements the Kronos 4500 touch ID terminal, our existing biometric data collection terminal. The desktop biometric system is ideal for Kronos customers who have a small number of em...

M2SYS Technology to Offer Desktop Biometric Technology to Kronos Customers

...one employee punching in for another, which can translate into substantial savings for employers. "The M2SYS offering complements the Kronos 4500 touch ID terminal, our existing biometric data collection terminal. The desktop biometric system is ideal for Kronos customers who have a small number of em...

TRAPping proteins that work together inside living cells

...chine in cells. The polymerase is made up of many proteins that cooperate to translate DNA. One of the polymerase proteins has a tail that is known to touch the DNA and some helper proteins just before the polymerase starts translating. No one knew if this tail -- also known as the C-terminus of the alpha ...

Urban myth disproved: Fingerprints do not improve grip friction

...wo. Ennos designed a system that could produce forces ranging from a gentle touch to a tight grip, and then Warman strapped his index finger into the machine...r researchers have suggested that the ridges could increase our fingerpads' touch sensitivity. Whatever our fingerprints are for, it seems that the idea that...

More than just the tailpipe

... 155 per cent for rail, 63 per cent for cars and buses, and 32 per cent for air systems over vehicle exhaust pipe operation. The researchers also touch on the effect of low passenger occupancy and show that we are nave to automatically assume one form of transport is more environmentally friendly than...

Investigating the development of mechanosensitivity

... same time they were able to show that neurons develop their sensitivity to touch and pain during different developmental phases but always coincidentally wi...doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.73).* The sensory neurons, which are sensitive to touch and pain, are located in the dorsal root ganglia between the intervertebral...

Limping rat provides sciatica insights

...nd post-doctoral research fellow Kyle Allen observed that the animals' gait became asymmetric, and that they over-responded to temperature changes and touch in their limbs after the surgery. They also found, for the first time, that the physical symptoms experienced by the affected animals seemed to be ...

Signals from stroking have direct route to brain

...Hkan Olausson, who is leading the research group behind the discovery, together with Johan Wessberg. Each individual nerve fibre is responsible for touch signals from roughly a square centimetre of skin. The research team used a specially-designed robot, which brushed over the exact area of skin for whi...

UniPixel Announces Availability of Opcuity(TM) Finger Print Resistant Film Test Samples

... Opcuity FPR Prevents Finger Prints on touch Displays, Without Sacrificing Display Viewing Qual...t protective cover film that can be applied to any touch screen display surface - preventing finger prints ...h protection, anti-glare and offers a silky smooth touch interface for device users' fingers. UniPixel...

ID Analytics Appoints Chief Information Officer

...ed identity-scoring technology. ID Analytics combines three unique capabilities to assess risk and improve the customer experience across all consumer touch points: the ID Network(R) - the nation's only real-time, cross-industry compilation of identity information; Personal Topology(TM) - an individual's p...

Pilot study shows effectiveness of new, low-cost method for monitoring hand hygiene compliance

... Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). "We know that a range of pathogens are spread from healthcare workers to patients by direct touch and that the current rates of hand hygiene compliance are suboptimal," said Philip Polgreen, MD, University of Iowa Health Care. "Our new low-cost me...

ID Analytics Appoints Chief Information Officer

...ed identity-scoring technology. ID Analytics combines three unique capabilities to assess risk and improve the customer experience across all consumer touch points: the ID Network(R) - the nation's only real-time, cross-industry compilation of identity information; Personal Topology(TM) - an individual's p...

Science internships attract students to research careers

...juniors and seniors. Researchers observed that, during the first 2 weeks of the internship, most of the students were hesitant to participate or to touch instrumentation in the laboratory. After completing the training the students developed the confidence to carry out a semi-independent project involvi...

Tree lizard’s quick release escape system makes jumpers turn somersaults

...zards probably pay a significant ecological cost for their life saving quick release system. So how do the animals use their tails to ensure a safe touch down? Gillis isn't sure whether the lizards push down with their tails at take off to prevent themselves from spinning, or whether the trailing tail p...

Finalists announced in the Elsevier Grand Challenge

...erested in tackling these issues, and some of us have met through this event in the next iterations of the challenge, we hope to build on and stay in touch with this community". Elsevier Grand Challenge Finalists are invited to present their vision papers to the judges and the public in April 2009 at t...

Mothers pass on disease clues to offspring

...d parasite causing few symptoms, but some anaemia. The partitioned cages allowed the females to see, hear and smell their infected neighbours, but not touch them, ensuring that the disease did not spread. Researchers then measured the effect of these 'ambient cues' on maternal physiology and behaviour, alo...

Water in the early universe

...ough the line emission of water popped up." The detection of water from MG J0414+0534 with the Effelsberg radio telescope also occurred thanks to a touch of fortune. The object is within just the right redshift interval to stretch the line emission of the H2O molecule from its original frequency of 22 G...

Progression of retinal disease linked to cell starvation

...h types of cells get clustered together, like Oreos on a plate. The entire plate gets covered in "plastic," with the flexible plastic reaching down to touch each stack. In the eye, this plastic consists of a giant retinal pigment (RPE) cell, which supplies nutrients to the rods and cones on its plate. W...

InvoTech Selects M2SYS Technology for Leading-Edge Fingerprint Software Solution

...M2SYS' M2-EasyScan(TM) optical fingerprint reader. Previously, InvoTech provided its customers with the ability to utilize barcodes, RFID, and touch tag technology to track important employee activities within its SAMS(TM) (Security Automated Management System) application, an inventory management ...

DigitalPersona Places Identity Protection at People's Fingertips

...ipherals such as the company's new U.are.U(R) 4500 line of high-performance touch readers. "Identity theft is continuing to rise worldwide, and in th...ilt into notebooks, or with the company's new U.are.U 4500 high-performance touch reader. The U.are.U 4500 offers unmatched accuracy and reliability for powe...

New national survey says public reveres bison

... Americans are woefully out of touch with the fact that the American bison, or buffalo, is in trouble as a wild, iconic species, but they do love them as an important symbol of their coun...

'Femtomolar optical tweezers' may enable sensitive blood tests

...nteract with electric charges on the objects. To detect disease-causing agents, researchers can coat a microsphere with antibody particles and then touch it to a surface containing infectious particles (antigens). The antigens then stick to the antibodies on the sphere, reminiscent of Velcro, in which l...

First results from hospital trials testing

... NEW YORK, NY (October 28, 2008) The first stage of the U.S. Department of Defense-funded clinical trials exploring the role of hospital touch surfaces in the transmission of infectious pathogens has been completed and the researchers reported their findings in a poster session at the Intersc...

Are you phonagnosic?

...vocal analogue of prosopagnosia, and contacted the magazine, who put her in touch with UCL's Dr Brad Duchaine. Dr Brad Duchaine, co-author of the paper, s...e are other people out there with similar problems, and we'd like to get in touch with them. If you think you might be phonagnosic, please contact us." "V...

Brain-nourishing molecule may predict schizophrenia relapse

...s about 1 percent of the population or some 2.4 million American adults. Hallucinations are a disease hallmark; patients hear voices and can even see, touch and taste things that are not real. Patients, when they relapse, can become aggressive, reclusive and suicidal. Dr. Buckley notes that even when patie...

Sig-Tec(R) and BIO-key(R) Deliver Advanced Biometric Security Solution to Ohio County Law Enforcement Agency

... capture and verification, authorized staff can now access the Mahoning County Sheriff's office network and applications quickly and securely with the touch of their finger. Administrators faced with the challenge of reducing IT costs are utilizing the partnership's biometric solution to reduce help desk...

Entertainment Software Association Foundation awards grant to FAS for immune attack

...ents and simulations are critical for grasping the complex interactions of the biological systems. The game allows students to use sights, sounds, and touch to get better acquainted with the immune system. "We are pleased to help these organizations address such critical social issues," said Michael Ga...

BIO-key(R) International To Exhibit at Oracle OpenWorld

...mplementing ID Director for Fusion Middleware, any new or existing application running on Oracle's Identity Management platform requires only a finger touch to establish a person's identity. This valuable addition to Oracle's Identity Management Suite replaces less secure and cumbersome passwords and token...

'Home Improvement' Star Debbe Dunning is New smartTOUCH Spokesperson

...) products to the Home Improvement world. These products use special finger touch technology that actually makes the products so smart, they can recognize yo...ll, and simple to use. My whole family loves using these products. A simple touch of a finger, and they can open a door," noted Ms. Dunning. "I installed and...

bioMETRX New Product to be Sold at Major National Warehouse Club

...want to install traditional heavy safes. Powered by the company's "smartTOUCH(R)" technology, this safe can actually recognize its owner from a simple touch of a finger. This new product will initially debut through one of the major national warehouse clubs and will be available for purchase at certain clu...

September Geology and GSA Today media highlights

... Boulder, CO, USA - GEOLOGY topics reach deep into Earth and far into spacefrom magma and plate tectonics to cosmic dust and asteroidsand touch on the intricate details of our planet, including a 1200-year record of corals and coral reef health and the wealth of climate change information foun...

Forward planning release from the BA

...ttractiveness it's not all about physical attributes Txt crimes, sex crimes and murder: the science of forensic linguistics The importance of touch from artificial fingers to pleasurable stroking The cultural evolution of human groups: from the development of ethnic identities to why human so...

Newly discovered molecular switch helps decide cell type in early embryo development

...ructures during early development. Sens regulates downstream genes that support the development of sensory organs, such as those important to hearing, touch or sight. Dr. Gebelein said the competition between Hox and Sens appears to be complementary, creating a balance of instructional influence that re...

Sony Cyber-shot Cameras Get Smarter

... is Sony's thinnest model at less than 5/8 of an inch with a 3-inch, 16 x 9 touch panel LCD screen. It features updated intelligent scene recognition technol...nearly 1,000 full-resolution or 40,000 VGA-quality photos; a 3.5-inch, wide touch panel Xtra Fine LCD(TM) screen for photo-like viewing (210 pixel-per-inch r...