+
 1. Coming onto the land 
 - How do you get from fish to fowl to human?
 - The first creature to make its way out of the
   devonian period lagoon 360mil years ago didn't crawl on
   fins it walked on 4 well formed legs.  Where did
   the legs come from , why?



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 3. Kernel of Fear 
  -Neurobiologists have been tracking recurring bouts of
   terror that haunt many veterans and disaster survivors.
   Now researchers have cornered their prey in the 
   amygdala, brain structure w/ alarming power.


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 4. Mars Model 
  -Mars might have been a warm, wet garden
   today red desert.  Comets and asteroid impacts.


+
 5. Kim's Coils 
  -Peter Kim watches proteins twist and curl to get in shape.
   Some proteins have mastered the martial arts.
  -When a cell engulfs an attacking virus in an acid-filled endosome,
   the acid makes bristles on the virus called hemagglutinin spikes,
   spring like traps.  3 Protein balls float away from the spike, 
   allowing 3 sharp hooks to burst and jab into the membrane.
   The virus then releases its genes into the cell.


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 6. Magnetic Field Goal 
  -MR scans have a remarkable window on the body,
   part of that window has always been cloudy,
   new model of brain's magnetic fields will provide a clear view.


+
 7. Cosmology Watch 
  -Mining the universe.
  -If we could find a way to tether stars together we could mine energy forever 
     from the expanding universe.
  -Charles Leffert U of Mass.
  -2 celestial bodies, 1 larger than the other,
   On the larger put a winch.  Pay out some line from the
   winch attach to smaller body light-years away.  As space expands between
   the 2 bodies, they recede from each other the rope will pull from the winch,
   winch unwinds work is done.
  -BC - What of on planetary scale?  Use rotation of orbital body.
   BC - Use string of EMF.


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 8. Chameleon Eyes 
  -Humans focus by changing curvator of convex lenses (accommodation)
  -Cham. eyes contain lenses which cause light to diverge vs focus.
  -so w/ 1 eye can judge distance very well.
  -Humans judge depth perception by different perspectives of 2 eyes.
  -Cham lens diverge light just enough to case a magnified image
    on the retina.  Produces 15% larges pix on retina than a chicken eye of 
    same size.

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 2. 1995 Discover Awards 
ANNUAL DISCOVER AWARDS FOR TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

AUTOMOTIVE & TRANSPORTATION

A. Flywheel of fortune.
   -Flywheel for accerlating faster in racecars.

B. New Tricks for the old Gas Engine
  -
C. Water Cars
  -A55 Physicist Rudolf Gunnerman
  -Invented engine that ran on 55% water / fuel mixture.
  -Water = 55%, Rest is a heavy-grade maphtha (less refined
   gasoline.) and some "simple chemicals"
  -After 6years, $6mil found right fuel-to-water ratio, optimum concoction of additives.
  -fuel is non-flammable
  -Naphtha because cheap.
  -Gives same oomph as gasoline, but costs 1/2 as much per gallon.
  -Runs cooler produces less smog agents (nitrous oxide)
  -Needs only $500 upgrade on any engine.  Pure Ni plating on each piston.
D. Motorized Wheels
E. A seat belt for the Seat

AVIATION & AEROSPACE
A. Space on a Shoestring - Clemintine spacecraft
B. Crack Hearing - Ultrasonic probe
C. Wind Warning - Wind-shear radar
D. Eye in the sky - Airport surface detection
E. Capturing shock waves on film - schlieren camera

COMPUTER HARDWARE & ELECTRONICS
A. Dream Invention - Multilevel optical Disk
B. Dance of the Machine Tool - Giddings & Lewis's Variax
C. See me, Feel me - MIT's Phantom Haptic Interface
D. Crystalful of Data - Hologrphic Data Storage System
E. Agents in Cyberspace - Sony's Magic Link

COMPUTER S/W
A. Visualizing Speech - Animated Talking Face
B. Robot Servant for the Internet - Softbot.
C. Digging up Electronic Cadavers - Medicine's Visible Human
D. 3D Models in an Instant-  Surface Modeling Technology.


Environment

A. Sunlight in a Bulb - Fusion lighting's sulfur light
B. Boiling Bugs - Aqua Heat technology's soil sterilizing system.
C. Gassy Plastics - Supercritical CO2
D. Strip Ease - Bicarbonate of Soda Stripping System
E. Something in the Air - Pullutant CT scanner

SIGHT
A. Benign visible x-rays - Temporal Holograms
B. Virtual Caves VR cave of lascaux
C. One Small Leap - Infinium Cosmoleap
D. It's all done w/ mirrors - Digital Micromirror Device
E. Seeing in the Dark - Nightsight thermal vision system.

SOUND
A. Virtual Concert Hall - 
B. Sound Fixer - Digital Room Correcting system.
C. Dumbstruck - Silent series pians.
D. Hearing Directions- Sound retrieval systems lab vivid 3D sound retrieval system
E. Talking S/W - Outspoken for windows.

   


Capsulate Summaries By Ben Cheung

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