Novel technology brings vision to the blind

Argus II, a bionic eye implant has been shown to restore sight to completely blind patients. However, the implant only works when blindness was caused by a faulty retina, which millions of people suffer from. The vision-restoring sensor is placed inside the eye, on top of the retina and gives a 576-pixel grayscale vision. The operation costs $60,000 and only takes 30 minutes and can be performed under local anesthetic. The first users of the Argus II bionic eye see rough shapes, are able to track the movement of objects and slowly read large writing. To read more about the technology behind Argus II, click the eye in this week´s news highlights LinkCloud.

Future computers might be a million times more power-efficient

Researchers have made a breakthrough that could result in a computer one million times more power-efficient than those on the market today. Computers we use are based on logic circuits using semiconductor transistors. To increase computing power, smaller transistors are needed, but they have reached a critically small size already. Scientists have now found a way to limit heat dissipation: so-called “spintronic” logic devices offer more computing power. By taking advantage of the magnetic properties associated with electron spin, computers one million times more power-efficient might be realized within the next decade. To read more about this breakthrough, click the computer in this week´s news highlights LinkCloud.

The world´s youngest mayor is a teenager

A 15-year-old girl is currently mayor of a West Bank town in Palestina. This is not a joke, but part of an initiative to empower youth and involve them to decision making processes. Bashaer Othman will occupy the mayor position for eight weeks. To read more about this project in Palestina, click Bashaer´s photo in this week´s news highlights LinkCloud.

A 3-minute call might help diagnose Parkinson´s

More than 6 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson´s. The disease can´t be cured and biomarkers are currently lacking. However, researchers have recently introduced Parkinson´s Voice Initiative. The system allows to quantify the symptoms of the disease with nothing but a 3-minute phone call. Thus, the voice recording system could enable several advances, e.g. by reducing the need to visit a clinic for checkups. To read more about the Parkinson´s Voice Initiative, click the PVI logo in this week´s news highlights LinkCloud.

Make Sure You Know These News Highlights Of The Week

Here is my corresponding LinkCloud, which guides you to the articles described in this post. Just click the picture associated with the news you are interested in and the link will open in a new tab. I generated this cloud using the free, live-synched and device-independent service myLinkCloud.