New Atlas

Wearables Audio available

Google’s new Street View backpack drops some weight and ups the resolution

Rich Haridy December 18, 2018

It has been years since Google’s influential Street View left the roads and began to map everything from shopping centers to hiking trails. The device that made this happen was called the Street View Trekker, and Google just revealed an updated model.

Medical Audio available

MRI technique predicts dementia up to three years before symptoms appear

Rich Haridy November 21, 2018

A new study suggests an MRI scan can predict whether a person will develop dementia up to three years before any cognitive symptoms are detectable. It's hoped the tool will be able to better identify at-risk patients so preventative measures can be deployed to slow the onset of neurodegeneration.

An MRI technique could predict the onset of dementia three years before symptoms appeared with an ...

Science

Camera system uses windows as lenses

Ben Coxworth August 22, 2018

We already see the outside world through the windows of our home or the windshield of our car, so … why not use those things as camera lenses, instead of utilizing separate security or obstacle-avoidance cameras? Thanks to a new system created at the University of Utah, that could be a possibility.

Rajesh Menon works on his imaging system

Digital Cameras

Nvidia's new AI takes a one-stop approach to fixing grainy photos

Nick Lavars July 11, 2018

If you've taken a photo in low light you've probably encountered the grainy effect that can dilute the finished product. A new AI tool could prove an incredibly easy way to remove grainy from photos, with the ability to automatically produce a clean image after analyzing only the corrupted version.

The Noise2Noise AI image-enhancing technology was developed by researchers from NVIDIA, MIT and Finland’s Aalto University

Medical

CERN chip enables first 3D color X-ray images of the human body

Michael Irving July 10, 2018

Medical X-ray scans have long been stuck in the black-and-white era. Now Mars Bioimaging has developed a bioimaging scanner that can produce full color, three dimensional images of bones, lipids, and soft tissue, thanks to a sensor chip developed at CERN for use in the Large Hadron Collider.

Using CERN technology, Mars Bioimaging has created the first 3D, color X-ray images of the human ...

Medical

Handheld "wand" to speed up spinal surgery

James Holloway April 26, 2018

Researchers at Dartmouth College have developed a handheld "wand" optical tracking system which it says makes back surgery faster, safer and cheaper. Described as "a Google Maps for the body," the system provides real-time 3-dimensional tracking to help guide the surgeon as they operate.

The stereovision system can be used to show where the surgeon needs to apply tools and ...

Science

Designers of ultrasound patch know the world isn't flat

Ben Coxworth March 23, 2018

Regular ultrasound probes have flat bases, which means they only work best when scanning objects that have similarly-flat surfaces. So, what happens if you want to inspect something that's curved or otherwise "irregular" in shape? Well, that's where a new ultrasound patch comes in.

Science

GIRI reveals delicate fossils – by grinding them away

Ben Coxworth February 28, 2018

Cloudina was a tiny sea creature that existed about 545 million years ago, and many scientists believe that it played a major role in building the first reefs. Princeton geoscientists Adam Maloof and Akshay Mehra, however, think otherwise – and they do so because of a unique rock-grinding machine.

GIRI makes its way through a fossil-containing rock sample

Science

MIT imaging technique sheds light on the brain's electrical activity

Dario Borghino February 28, 2018

Researchers at MIT have developed an imaging technique that will help study exactly how electrical signals propagate through the brain, in an advance that could help us better understand Alzheimer's, epilepsy, and other brain disorders, as well as how thoughts and feelings are formed.

A new light-sensitive protein can be embedded into neuron membranes, where it emits a fluorescent light ...

Medical

ProjectDR allows doctors to "see into" patients' bodies

Ben Coxworth January 25, 2018

Imagine if doctors could see through a patient's skin, and their perspective of the underlying bones and organs changed accordingly as the person moved around. Well, that's what scientists at the University of Alberta have developed – kind of.

ProjectDR is demonstrated on a mannequin