How many friends you have can be predicted by the size of your ...

The number of friends you have can be accurately predicted by measuring the size of small part of the human anatomy, according to a university study published this week. The strong correlation between the size of this organ and a full social life holds true regardless of age or gender – can you guess what it is?

The number of friends you have can be accurately predicted by the size of a small almond-shaped part of the brain called the amygdala, according to a university study published this week. The strong correlation between a larger amygdala and a full social life holds true regardless of age or gender.
Scientists have discovered that the amygdala, deep within the temporal lobe, is important to a rich and varied social life among humans.
"We know that primates who live in larger social groups have a larger amygdala, even when controlling for overall brain size and body size," says Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program and a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, who led the study. "We considered a single primate species, humans, and found that the amygdala volume positively correlated with the size and complexity of social networks in adult humans."

The study was supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health and the US National Institute on Aging.

Yamaha set to launch hybrid production motorcycle for 2011

Back in 2005, Yamaha showed the wacky 2005 Gen-Ryu hybrid concept bike at the Tokyo Motor Show amidst a raft of other very non-conventional two wheelers such as the aptly named FC-Me fuel cell bike, the ingenious Deinonychus elec tric reconfigurable motorcycle, the Chivicker, Passol and the Maxam two-wheeled limousine. Now it appears certain the bike will become a showroom model in 2011. A series of patent applications detail the new motorcycle which uses the YZF-R6 600cc engine to turn a generator which in turn powers the rear wheel. History shows that every Yamaha styling patent published over the last 20 years has resulted in a full production machine, so there's little doubt this one is also heading for a showroom near you in the very near future. You can expect to see it in the flesh for the first time at the Tokyo Motor Show later this year.

C3 X132 Hellcat: the toughest, lightest, fastest AND cheapest Confederate streetbike ever

Confederate's recent missive promoting its new C3 X132 Hellcat. How's this passage for an example: "This C3 Hellcat has the highest rear wheel torque to weight ratio, compared anywhere throughout the operating RPM range, in all of motordom, by far." Dig into 'em, those words are bold, aggressive and unmistakably American – much like the cyber-brute bikes that come out of the Confederate factory. So let's take a quick look at the Hellcat, which is at once the fastest, toughest, lightest and cheapest bike this bunch of Alabama madmen have ever produced.
The new C3 X132 Hellcat takes Founder and CEO Matt Chambers' concept of the perfect motorcycle another step forward.
Chambers believes a bike needs to be "tough" – in every sense of the word. There's no doubt that the C3 Hellcat has this wrapped up in the appearance stakes; it's all gleaming motor and wheels, with a squat, fat, painful-looking seat the only nod to comfort.

US$400,000 Covini six-wheeled supercar set for production

Now here’s a car we’ve been awaiting for almost too long. Italian sports car builder Covini Engineering has partnered with PMI SpA to finally unveil the production version of the six-wheeled Covini C6W Supercar at the Racing Professional Motor Show in Bologna.
The weight has been kept to just 1150 kg using a tubular steel frame and a lightweight carbon fiber body. If the Covini C6W is as good as we expect it to be, it might lead the way to more manufacturers going the way of six wheels, now that computers and sensors and material science have all advanced to the degree necessary to control all the complexities of what's happening with those front wheels.

BMW to show 75 mpg, 350 bhp, 150 mph hybrid at Frankfurt

BMW’s new Vision Efficient Dynamics concept is remarkable to look at and even more so when you consider the numbers. Powered by a three-cylinder turbodiesel and two electric motors (one in each axle), the all-wheel drive produces 262 kW (356 bhp) and 800 NM of torque, giving it M power performance (0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h) thanks in part to its slippery drag coefficient of just 0.22. It’ll run 50 km (31 miles) in electric mode alone and its consumption in the EU test cycle is 3.76 litres/100 km (75.1 mph imp) with CO2 emissions of 99 grams/km.

Vac 'n' Roll : The Dustball robot cleaneing concept

Hakkens' Dustball concept is said to have been inspired by a hamster ball, but is not intended to be powered by the frantic footwork of tiny mammals. Although not giving away any specifics, the designer says that the unit will move around by shifting its internal weight across two axes. A motor inside the core of the large football-sized device takes care of generating the flow of air through the honeycomb of vents in the tough outer shell, and will also blow out short bursts of used air to disturb otherwise inaccessible dirt from corners.

When the dust collector is full, the Dustball returns to its docking station – where it also receives charge for the batteries – and starts to glow. The two halves of the outer shell are held together by magnetic force, which is released when the unit needs emptying to allow the dust collector to be removed.

Mercedes-Benz BIOME Concept – could cars be grown in a lab?

Get ready to have your concept of how a car is manufactured flipped upside-down and turned inside-out. Picture a production process that has plenty in common with agar jelly (used to culture organic materials in laboratories) and little in common with what we would normally think of as production-line automotive manufacturing. You are starting to get close to what the people at Mercedes-Benz have spawned with the BIOME – one of the most outlandish and ambitious concepts in this year's Los Angeles Design Challenge.

In short, the BIOME would be grown in a lab rather than built on a production line.

Chip Yates prepares to race his 196-horsepower electric superbike against the gas-guzzlers

Chip Yates took a very American approach when he began building an electric superbike to race in the TTXGP and FIM ePower championships. He went for horsepower. One-hundred and ninety-six horsepower, to be precise, with a massive set of battery cells to keep the motor fed over a race distance. It was to be the most powerful bike on the grid. But both the TTXGP and the FIM released rule changes effectively disqualifying the SWIGZ bike from competition in 2011 - and rather than change the bike to fit the rules, Yates decided to pull out altogether - and take it racing against petrol-powered American superbikes in what is likely to be the first time electric and gasoline-powered motorcycles have gone head to head in an official race. But even with nearly 200 horsepower behind him, Yates has one heck of a tough job ahead of him.

the first electric motorcycle to race against petrol-powered superbikes

Patient reportedly cured of HIV infection after stem cell transplant

An HIV-infected man who received stem cell treatment for leukemia from a donor with natural resistance to HIV infection appears to have been cured of HIV, according to a report on the NAM aidsmap website. The treatment, which was carried out in 2007, opens the possibility of a cure for HIV infection through the use of genetically engineered stem cells.
The donor who provided the bone marrow for the transplant had a natural resistance to HIV infection due to the absence of the CCR5 co-receptor from his cells. HIV most commonly uses CCR5 as a “docking station” to enter its target CD4 cells and carriers of a genetic mutation of a portion of the CCR5 gene called CCR5-delta 32 homozygosity have a reduced risk of becoming infected with HIV.
For a period of 38 months after the stem cell transplant the patient continued to receive immunosuppressive treatment to prevent rejection of the stem cells. During this time the donor CD4 cells repopulated the mucosal immune system of the patient’s gut, accompanied by the complete disappearance of host CD4 cells. After two years the patient had the CD4 count of a healthy adult of the same age but no detectable HIV infection.

The case was first reported at the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston. Berlin doctors also published a detailed case history in the New England Journal of Medicine in February 2009 and have now published a follow-up report in the journal Blood saying, “It is reasonable to conclude that cure of HIV infection has been achieved in this patient.”
The success of the treatment could pave the way for the development of a cure for HIV infection through the use of genetically engineered stem cells. Due to the success of the treatment, scientists have been trying to coordinate efforts to identify CCR5-delta 32 homozygosity donors to expand the supply of stem cells carrying the genetic mutation, while several U.S. research groups have also received funding to investigate techniques for engineering and introducing these types of stem cells.
The road to a cure hasn’t been easy for the patient, Timothy Ray Brown, a U.S. citizen who lives in Berlin. While dealing with the lengthy and grueling treatment for leukemia he suffered two relapses and underwent two stem transplants. He them developed a serious neurological disorder that led to a bout of temporary blindness and memory problems. He is still undergoing physiotherapy and speech therapy but now appears to be on the road to recovery.
However, in an interview with German news magazine Stern this week when asked if it would have been better to live with HIV than to have beaten it in this way he said, “Perhaps. Perhaps it would have been better, but I don’t ask those sorts of questions anymore.”

New Audi R18 LMP1 sports car unveiled

Since its first attempt in 1999, Audi has won the Le Mans 24 hour race nine times with the R8, R10 TDI and R15 TDI, equaling Ferrari’s all-time win record. Last Friday it unveiled the new R18, a closed carbon fiber monocoque coupe specifically developed for Le Mans with a 3.7-liter V6 TDI engine and another first for endurance racing – all-LED headlights.
Recognizing that aerodynamic efficiency will be even more important at Le Mans than it was in the past, the new R18 marks the first time since 1999 that Audi will contest the world’s oldest endurance race with a closed coupe. Unlike that of the closed Le Mans prototypes, which consisted of two halves, the carbon fiber monocoque chassis of the R18 features a single-component design that reduces weight and increases stiffness.
The chassis and aerodynamics of the R18 take much of their inspiration from the R8, the R10 TDI and R15 TDI, however the fitting of identically sized front and rear wheels, which allows for a more balanced weight distribution, is a first for an Audi Le Mans sports car.

GearBox Ball Prototype June 29th, 2010

21st Century ball game:the smartphone-controllable Sphero

When it comes to toys there is none more basic than the humble ball. Depictions of ball games have been found on ancient Egyptian monuments, while ball games were also popular among the ancient Greeks and Romans. This enduring popularity has seen ball games remain popular the world over to the present day. We’ve seen a number of products that have brought modern technology to balls, such as the sOccket and Speedsensor. The latest to join the list is Sphero – a ball that can be controlled with a smartphone via Bluetooth.
Sphero, which was first unveiled as a prototype by Orbotix back in June, measures 74 mm (2.9 in) in diameter and is charged using an inductive charger. Once paired to an iOS or Android smartphone, it can be controlled by tilting your phone in the direction you want it to roll and opening up the ball to a whole new variety of interactive games.
Orbotrix has devised a number of games that can be played with Sphero, including navigating a maze laid out on the floor and a Sumo game, which is the first app developed for the ball. With it, two users can throw their balls on a table and try to knock each other off. The app also includes an onscreen component with online stats, profiles, damage and powerups. This provides the possibility for customized games where balls might sustain “damage” and roll slower, or a powerup could reverse the opponent’s controls for a few seconds.
Aside from the games Orbotrix plans to produce, it is also opening up the APIs for the ball to allow app developers with no hardware knowledge to build their own games or applications. Suggestions include a golf game where a swipe on the phone’s touchscreen acts as a hit to send the ball rolling around a course mapped out around the house or office, and a curling game where the player physically rolls the ball and then brushes the touchscreen to try and hit a target.
Orbotrix will be displaying the Sphero at CES 2011, so we’ll be sure take a closer look.

UPDATED: SAIC YeZ Concept Car inhales CO2 and emits oxygen

General Motor's Joint-Venture partner in China, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) rolled out a concept alongside GM's EN-V at Expo 2010 which in many ways is more ground-breaking than the EN-V. The idea behind the YeZ Concept is that it will photosynthesize, absorbing carbon dioxide from surrounding air and emitting oxygen back into the atmosphere. Among the many futuristic aspects of the YeZ (Chinese for “leaf” as Nissan already uses the name for a clever green concept that is heading for production) is a roof that incorporates solar panels and wheels that incorporate small wind turbines to harvest energy from the environment. And if you think this is not within reach by 2030, think again – artificial photosynthesis has proven elusive, but there's every indication it will be a commercial reality within two decades.

Jawbone Jambox - small size , big sound

Jawbone, a company better known for its Bluetooth headsets, has now released a Bluetooth speaker system that makes use of two powerful acoustic drivers and ultra-small speakers that work in concert with an innovative moving-wall passive bass radiator and airtight enclosure. The company says this is the first time this technology has been seen in a personal speaker system and delivers more punch than you'd expect from such a small unit.

World's smallest battery created

Formerly unobserved increase in length and twist of the anode in a nanobattery (Image: DOE Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies)

Because battery technology hasn’t developed as quickly as the electronic devices they power, a greater and greater percentage of the volume of these devices is taken up by the batteries needed to keep them running. Now a team of researchers working at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) is claiming to have created the world’s smallest battery, and although the tiny battery won’t be powering next year’s mobile phones, it has already provided insights into how batteries work and should enable the development of smaller and more efficient batteries in the future.