universal

Researchers from the Institute of Computer Graphics at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, have developed a way to capture images on a flexible sheet of plastic. Unlike traditional image sensors that use circuits and other internal structures to develop an image, this new solution is fully transparent.

This is no ordinary sheet of plastic though. The sensor is a polymer film (luminescent concentrator) containing a multitude of fluorescent particles that absorb a specific wavelength of light. It then transmits this light at a longer wavelength to optical sensors at the side of the sheet, which captures it all, reconstructing … Read more

It's not news that cell phones harbor bacteria, but there's a difference between knowing that about your device and seeing the germs up close in all their furry, florid glory.

Molecular biology undergraduates at the U.K.'s University of Surrey recently got a stark view of just how much bacteria crawls on their phones when instructor Simon Park had them imprint their devices onto petri dishes filled with a bacteriological growth medium and wait a few days to see what bloomed. … Read more

Being a long-suffering admirer of research, I am always delighted when a new piece of academic thought comes along to subvert my idiosyncratic suspicions.

This is not one of those times.

For my excitement is slightly muted on hearing that people in Hawaii are happier than those anywhere else in the U.S.

This quite astounding conclusion comes from an analysis of 10 million geotagged tweets from 2011, pored over by squinting eyes and expanded brains at the University of Vermont.

As CNN reports it, Hawaii is a ha-ha-happy place, while the greatest volume of the most miserable people in America is to be found in Louisiana. … Read more

It's very rare that taking your clothes off does any harm.

Often, it gets the distracted to pay attention and the numb to get excited.

This might well have been the genesis of the thought process belonging to Columbia University Professor Emlyn Hughes when he considered how to introduce his students to quantum mechanics.

As his audience became increasingly rapt, the professor stripped to his underwear, put on a black t-shirt, hoodie and pants, and curled up in the fetal position.

So all fairly normal thus far.

But then someone came out and put two toy puppies on stools … Read more

This is an update of a deal I posted last summer.

Juggling is meant for circus folk, not home-theater owners. Yet that's exactly what you're doing if you have more than one device and, ergo, more than one remote.

Regular Cheapskate readers know I'm a fan of Logitech's Harmony series of universal remotes. One of the better models, the 700, has a list price of $119.99 (or used to -- it's been discontinued). Ouch.

For a limited time, and while supplies last, TigerDirect via eBay has the refurbished Harmony 700 universal remote for $59.99 shipped.… Read more

If you like someone just a teeny-weeny bit, this Cupid is your ticket to love on Valentine's Day.

Physics students at Brigham Young University crafted this nifty god from carbon nanotubes that are 10,000 times smaller than a human hair.

They began by laying down microscopic iron "seeds" to form a Cupid pattern. When they applied a heated gas to the iron, the seeds sprouted into the desired shape. … Read more

One of my favorite things about watching old movies is hearing how people might have spoken in eras past -- the expressions they used, their old-school smack talk. But what did the languages from thousands of years back sound like? Hollywood, as far as I know, has yet to make a movie in which characters talk in authentic proto-Austronesian.

The language nerd in me, was, therefore, excited to discover that scientists from UC Berkeley and the University of British Columbia have created a computer program to rapidly reconstruct vocabularies of ancient languages using only their modern language descendants. … Read more

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This week on Crave, Japanese scientists teach moths to drive mini trucks, and a new app called Dognition claims to improve our relationship with man's best friend. Also, we decide if a $30 million Death Star Kickstarter campaign is worth it, and Montana is apparently full of badasses! Those stories and more, plus a round of "Into It, Not Into It." … Read more

I love my Harmony 650 universal remote, but it has one major flaw. As the first line of The Bad from our review says, it can only control up to five different devices.

I hit that limit last year when I wanted to add a Roku to my system to access HBO Go. I already had five devices -- a TV, an AV receiver, a Fios DVR, a PS3 (via an IR-to-BT controller), and a Moxi Mate -- so I figured I'd have to "go manual" and use the Roku's remote in conjunction with my beloved … Read more