Exciplexes (excited complex) are a special kind of molecules, that can only exist if one of the atoms in the molecule is in an excited state. The first ones observed were alkali-helium (molecules with helium and alkali metals, such as Lithium, Sodium, etc.) exciplexes in 1995. Since then, physicists have discovered exciplexes in liquid helium, cold helium gas, and on helium nanodroplets. Now physicists have found a new one, which contains one caesium atom, and seven helium atoms, and a simpler one with two helium atoms (D Nettels et al).

Dumbbell Caesium, surrounded by helium (Courtesy: PhysicsWeb)Researchers (Peter Moroshkin and colleagues at the University of Fribourg) say that this molecule may only exist at very low temperature and high pressure. These molecules are good candidates for studying fundamental quantum physics and quantum chemistry. Similar exciplexes might exist for Rubidium-Helium as well.

It is estimated that there are at least 10¹¹ galaxies in the universe today. The current rate of expansion of the universe is increasing, which pushes galaxies away from each other. However, on an intermediate scale (millions of light years), galaxies tend to form clusters. For example, our Milky Way galaxy is part of the local group known as the Virgo Super-Cluster, and will collide with the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in about 3 billion years.

Galaxy Cluster SXDF/FCC-A (Courtesy: NAOJ)There is considerable uncertainty about the first appearance of the galaxies after the big bang. This birthday (of sorts) is continuously being pushed back. Recently, researchers from the University of Tokyo, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), and those using the Subaru Telescope have found that clusters of galaxies were already forming about 1 billion years after big bang. This pushes back the age of the earliest known clusters by a third, and shows that the largest structures in the universe had already started to form during the earliest epoch the astronomers have yet been able to observe.
The above image shows the characteristically red color of the (six) galaxies in the cluster. This corresponds to a red-shift of 5.7, and a distance of 12.7 billion years. The area in the image is approximately 1° square area of the sky, in the direction of the constellation Cetus.
The galaxies are concentrated in a volume only 6 million light years in diameter (the Virgo SuperCluster, in comparison, is over 200 million light years in diameter). The cluster is about 100 times less massive, and the member galaxies are producing stars at 100 times the rate of modern galaxies.
These results were published in the February 10, 2005, edition of the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ 620, L1-L4) and will be presented at the meeting The Future of cosmology with clusters of Galaxies beginning on February 26, 2005, in Waikoloa, Hawaii.

Traditionally, walking robots require a large degree of sophistication in design and software control. Despite all that, such robots (e.g. Honda's Asimo) can navigate only the easiest of environments, compared to what a three year old child could do. Now, researchers from three universities (Cornell, University of Michigan, and Delft University) have developed robots (designed on passive-dynamic principles) with comparatively simple design, that can walk naturally. The robots were displayed at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington DC, USA.

Walking Robots (Courtesy: NewScientist)These robots use simple dynamics and motors/sensors/electronics to propel themselves. Their motion is self-correcting, not unlike how a human navigates the terrain. The robots perhaps walk a little like a drunkard, but manage to stay on their two feet, and the walking looks more natural. In that sense, their walking is more like how kids walk. Please click here for the research page, and here and here for two movies from that page.
In addition to more efficient, walking robots, this research can also lead to better prosthetics. The researchers were inspired by mechanical toys that automatically stroll down a slope under gravity. While Asimo uses ten times as energy as a human, these robots use about the same energy as an average person.
Personally, I think the first two robots look a lot like C-3PO and R2-D2 from the StarWars movies!

Two NASA researchers (Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke of Ames Research Center) are claiming that there is evidence of (microbial) life on Mars. Their research, which is under peer-review for publication in journal Nature in May, suggests that small pockets of life, sustained by underground water, might be found in Martian caves. Mars has a deep network of caves/ravines, which are nearly completely isolated from sunlight and duststorms that ravage the surface. High concentrations of methane gas have recently been detected by the martian rovers, and ESA's Mars Express orbiter. Methane on earth is produced through biological processes, and it is being suggested that the martian methane might also have a similar origin.

Martian Landscape (Courtesy: NASA)Stoker, along with a joint U.S./Spanish team went to southwestern Spain in 2003 to look for subsurface life around the Rio Tinto river, where iron has dissolved in the higly acidic water, giving it a reddish tint. Since Martian soil has a lot of iron, it is reasonable to assume that any water on Mars must have a lot of iron dissolved in it, and any lifeform that lives in that water must have developed some unique strategies. By comparing the microbes near the Rio Tinto river to the chemical signatures obtained from Mars (such as methane concentration, and a mineral called jarosite), the scientists say they have a very strong case that the Martian underground has (at least) microbial form of life.
Move over Little Green Men! Here come the Littler Red Microbes :-):-).

Can chase its tail...
Daimler-Chrysler recently unveiled its top-of-the-line Jeep prototype at Detroit Car Show. Named Jeep Hurricane, it is truly a concept car, with twin HEMI V8 engines, each with 335hp (horse power), and 370lb-ft of torque. The engines can operate independently of each other, and the jeep switches off cylinders when they are not required (cruising on a highway, for example). The jeep has a 14 inches (36 cm) of ground clearance and 20 inches (51 cm) of suspension travel, thus giving the rider a great off-road experience.

Jeep Hurricane (Courtesy: HowStuffWorks)The twin engines ensure that the jeep can ride up slopes of 64º, and descend down slopes at 86.7º! The engines provide powers to the wheels through four independent driveshafts (unlike one driveshaft in most vehicles), each of which can operate independently of each other, and at different orientations. This allows the jeep to have a turning radius of zero, that is, the jeep can rotate at the same place. Four independent shafts also leads to better traction and stability. The Hurricane can also crab-steer, that is, move to the side without changing the direction it faces.

Split-axle design (Courtesy: HowStuffWorks)There is only room for two passengers in the jeep. The body/chassis is made of carbon-fiber, and the engines/suspension are fused into the body. No doors/roof, and not much shock absorption; this leads to some rough riding!

The Dutch military has developed a new night vision system, that makes night-time images as clear and colorful as those shot in daylight. Normally, night-vision images lack color, since the infra-red emitted by the objects being photographed do not contain enough information to estimate the color. Since humans can at any one time distinguish only between 100s of gray levels (shades, also known as grayscales), but can easily separate thousands of colors, 'coloring' a night-vision image can lead to better visibility and depth-perception.

a) Night-Image b) Source-Image c) Colored-Image d) Daytime-PhotoAlexander Toet of the TNO Human Factors uses a day-time image (source) of similar surroundings to color the grayscale, night-vision image (target). The work is published in the January issue of the journal Displays (Pages 15-21). For example, if the night-vision image is of a tree and surroundings, the system requires that a secondary image of a tree be provided as the source image. The system analyzes the statistical distribution of grayscales and chromacity (amount of color) in the target (night-vision) and the source image respectively, and then correlates the two. This allows the system to color each pixel in the target using colors in the source image.
The fact that a secondary image is required, is not a big hindrance. Given the capacities of today's hard-drives, a light, mobile system can contain tens of thousands of images from all settings/scenarios. An intelligent pattern matching and image segmentation (with or without human help) algorithm can easily match a corresponding source image for each target image. The coloring can then proceed in real-time.
One issue is not really addressed in the paper, and that is of coloring a video stream. There has to be enough correlation between the coloring of the contiguous frames in the video stream, without which the user is most likely to see a kaleidoscope of colors. One way of doing this could be to use a source image for the first frame, and then use the first frame as the source for the second frame, and so on.
This is not really my line of research, but I would have loved to do this!

Since the dawn of the industrial age, man has dumped millions of tons of toxic (as well as non-toxic) metals into the environment. Cleaning up this mess has been a herculean task, often creating more problems than solved. Now, scientists have been able to realize an old dream of using nature against nature, so to speak. Professor Norman Terry, a plant and microbial biologist with U. C. Berkeley has spearheaded a research to do just that, which was recently published in Environmental Science & Technology.

Indian Mustard Plant (Courtesy: Illinois Wild Flowers)The group used genetically modified plants to soak up toxic contaminants (selenium) from the ground, by upwards of 430% than normal. This process, known as Phytoremediation has been used off and on for the last two decades. Mostly, those approaches used normal breeding processes to boost the plant's cleaning abilities. Now, with genetic engineering, researchers are ready to usher in a slew of super-plants.
For the above trial, the plant Indian Mustard was used, which already has some natural ability to clean up toxic soils. Genetic engineering boosted this ability, and also ensured that the plant does not die due to the extra toxicity that it soaked up. Plans are afoot to augment cottonwood trees (by Applied PhytoGenetics) with a bacterial gene, that would allow them to absorb mercury from the soil.
In future, these technologies would not only clean up the environment, but also perhaps provide a new paradigm in mining operations. Of course, we might have unleashed more than we can chew, and only time will tell if these super-plants cause more problems than they solve.