Important Innovations

New Portable, Air Quality Monitor from Singapore Source:  NTU Singapore Real-Time Detection of Toxic Gases & Chemicals in the Air Researchers at Nanyang Technological University - NTU Singapore - have invented a sensor that can identify a wide range of airborne gases and chemicals instantly.  This includes gas leaks and pollution toxins both indoors and outside.  The prototype device is portable and made for rapid deployment by agencies to identify airborne hazards immediately. Seconds Fast Results Current technology can require up to a few days to identify specific toxins in the air.  This new sensor is made for emergency situations that require quick and ongoing analysis.  The device is composed of a chip made from a porous nanomaterial that traps gas particles.  A laser beamed on the chip interacts with the gas molecules to produce a lower energy light.  That light is analyzed by a camera to see if its spectroscopic signature matches ...

Combat Surveillance Source:  Russia Add caption Bird of Pre y Russia has designed a new combat surveillance drone that has the appearance of a snowy owl.  The drone was just unveiled at the Defense Ministry's annual military expo in Moscow. UAV that's Laser Equipped The drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle.  It's equipped with a laser in its tail that can guide artillery,  laser-guided bombs and aircraft to swoop in for an attack.  Russia's Defense Ministry says it will be able to spot targets without being detected. Portable This new device weighs only 5 kilograms and can be handled, carried and launched by one person.  It can fly up to 40 minutes and has a range of 12 miles.  It's one of Russia's new military assets now on display at the expo.

Revolutionary Cut-Free Surgery Source:  University of British Columbia New Laser Microscope This is breaking medical news from the University of British Columbia.  An innovative laser microscope has been invented that performs surgery and diagnosis without cutting the skin.  It's a specialized multiphoton excitation microscope able to perform cut-less surgery.  The big application is for skin cancer. Scan and Treats The new technology digitally scans living tissue and treats the tissue by increasing heat from the laser, all in real-time seconds.  That allows surgeons to diagnose and pinpoint the problem, perform cut-less surgery and treat it without cutting the skin.  Researchers say they can alter the path of blood vessels, scan, diagnose and treat diseases like skin cancer.  They are now working to make the microscope more versatile and increase it precision.  This breakthrough was just reported in the journal Science Advances.

Global Science Race to Create the World's 1st Portable Atomic Clock Source:  University of Sussex New Breakthrough from Physicists at the UK's University of Sussex One of the biggest competitions in the global scientific community is to be the first to create a portable atomic clock.  Physicists in the UK at the University of Sussex have just achieved a  breakthrough by using a highly advanced laser technology that has increased the clock's counting accuracy by 80%.  Experts say portable atomic clocks will eventually replace satellite mapping and GPS.  They add the technology will change for the better our everyday lives.  For a great news blog, go to Important Innovations Collection: Race for Portable Atomic Clocks : Global Race to Create the First - New Breakthrough Source:  Drawing from University of Sussex of a Laser Pulse in a Chip UK Physicist...

3-D Laser Mapping Unveils 61,000 Structures from 3000 Years Ago Mayan Kingdom 3-D Map Ancient Mayan Civilization Comes to Light Archeologists have uncovered 61,000 ancient Mayan structures hidden by rainforest overgrowth in the tropical lowlands of Guatemala.  They used highly advanced 3-D mapping to do it.  The tech is called lidar, which is similar to sonar & radar.  But lidar uses bursts of laser light to map an area.  It's a case of breakthrough technology unmasking the ancient past.  The discovery was led by University of Houston researchers. Rewriting History There are farms and canals in the swampland.  Huge fortresses and hidden pyramids in the jungle.  There are roads through the rainforest.  These are among the 61,000 structures discovered essentially by laser beams being shot from a plane.  The Mayan civilization lasted 2500 years from 1000 BC to 1500 AD.  The finding were just published in Science.  An...