Monday, May 20, 2013

ASUS Transformer Book review: meet ASUS' first detachable Ultrabook

ASUS Transformer Book review: meet ASUS' first detachable Ultrabook

For a while, it looked like ASUS' Transformer Book would turn out to be vaporware: after debuting to much fanfare a year ago, it encountered numerous delays, and even missed the crucial holiday shopping season. Now it's finally here, priced at $1,499 with a Core i7 processor, a 13.3-inch (1080p) screen and a detachable keyboard dock housing both a spare battery and a 500GB hard drive. The problem is the timing: Intel is about to launch its new Haswell chips, and here's the Transformer Book, arriving on the scene with a lofty price and a year-old CPU.

It'd be easy enough to tell you just wait for a refresh, which is how we've been ending all of our PC reviews in the weeks leading up to this year's Computex. But it's still worth investigating whether the Transformer Book (aka the TX300) is a compelling idea. Though we've seen many tablet hybrids (the Surface Pro, etc.), they've mostly had smaller 11-inch screens. So what happens when you take that form factor and stretch it to accommodate a bigger screen -- and a more spacious keyboard? And how does it compare to all those convertible options out there, like the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 or the Dell XPS 12? Let's have a look.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/pRCbIdzmG1U/

x factor x factor john kerry eastbay Samantha Steele Dec 21 2012 doomsday

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Ketamine shows significant therapeutic benefit in people with treatment-resistant depression

May 18, 2013 ? Patients with treatment-resistant major depression saw dramatic improvement in their illness after treatment with ketamine, an anesthetic, according to the largest ketamine clinical trial to-date led by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The antidepressant benefits of ketamine were seen within 24 hours, whereas traditional antidepressants can take days or weeks to demonstrate a reduction in depression.

The research will be discussed at the American Psychiatric Association meeting on May 20, 2013 at the Moscone Center in San Franscico.

Led by Dan Iosifescu, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai; Sanjay Mathew, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine; and James Murrough, MD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai, the research team evaluated 72 people with treatment-resistant depression -- meaning their depression has failed to respond to two or more medications -- who were administered a single intravenous infusion of ketamine for 40 minutes or an active placebo of midazolam, another type of anesthetic without antidepressant properties. Patients were interviewed after 24 hours and again after seven days. After 24 hours, the response rate was 63.8 percent in the ketamine group compared to 28 percent in the placebo group. The response to ketamine was durable after seven days, with a 45.7 percent response in the ketamine group versus 18.2 percent in the placebo group. Both drugs were well tolerated.

"Using midazolam as an active placebo allowed us to independently assess the antidepressant benefit of ketamine, excluding any anesthetic effects," said Dr. Murrough, who is first author on the new report. "Ketamine continues to show significant promise as a new treatment option for patients with severe and refractory forms of depression."

Major depression is caused by a breakdown in communication between nerve cells in the brain, a process that is controlled by chemicals called neurotransmitters. Traditional antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) influence the activity of the neurotransmitters serotonin and noreprenephrine to reduce depression. In these medicines, response is often significantly delayed and up to 60 percent of people do not respond to treatment, according to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Ketamine works differently than traditional antidepressants in that it influences the activity of the glutamine neurotransmitter to help restore the dysfunctional communication between nerve cells in the depressed brain, and much more quickly than traditional antidepressants.

Future studies are needed to investigate the longer term safety and efficacy of a course of ketamine in refractory depression. Dr. Murrough recently published a preliminary report in the journal Biological Psychiatry on the safety and efficacy of ketamine given three times weekly for two weeks in patients with treatment-resistant depression.

"We found that ketamine was safe and well tolerated and that patients who demonstrated a rapid antidepressant effect after starting ketamine were able to maintain the response throughout the course of the study," Dr. Murrough said. "Larger placebo-controlled studies will be required to more fully determine the safety and efficacy profile of ketamine in depression."

The potential of ketamine was discovered by Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of The Mount Sinai Medical Center, in collaboration with John H. Krystal, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University.

"Major depression is one of the most prevalent and costly illnesses in the world, and yet currently available treatments fall far short of alleviating this burden," said Dr. Charney. "There is an urgent need for new, fast-acting therapies, and ketamine shows important potential in filling that void."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/mental_health/~3/2rOkTOAS-aE/130518153250.htm

Helen Gurley Brown Kathi Goertzen Johnny Pesky spice girls justin theroux Bumbo recall USA Basketball

Sierra Club signs onto lawsuit to stop Timberline ... - Bike Portland

"We really do not have a problem with mountain biking at all. In fact, we would affirmatively support mountain bike access on Mt. Hood and we'd love to build allegiances with those folks, but we just don't believe this is the proper place for this development."
? Rhett Lawrence, Conservation Director, Sierra Club (Oregon Chapter)

Plans to build a mountain bike park on Mt. Hood have taken another turn. Yesterday, four non-profit organizations filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to stop the project. The plaintiffs on the suit are Bark, Friends of Mt. Hood, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, and the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club.

In the 56-page lawsuit (PDF), that coalition says the area of Mt. Hood where RLK & Company wants to build the Timberline MTB Park is, "ecologically significant" and consists of ,"fragile alpine ecosystems" that feed directly into Still Creek and the west fork of the Salmon River. The plaintiffs also claim that the Forest Service did not adhere to adequate public processes as defined by federal environmental review laws.

The project would build 17 miles of new, lift-assisted mountain bike trails on a 12 20-acre parcel of land. In November of 2012, the Forest Service approved RLK's permit to build the park. In doing so, a USFS rep said he believes that mountain biking at Timberline, "represents yet another new opportunity for play in every season of the year." An appeal of that decision made by an even larger coalition of environmental groups was denied back in March (it's interesting to note that some groups on the original appeal have chosen not to join this new lawsuit).

In a statement (read full text below), Bark's Lori Ann Burd said, "The fragile alpine soils at Timberline are the wrong place for a downhill lift-assisted mountain bike park." Dennis Chaney with Friends of Mt. Hood referred to the project as an "adventure park" and said it would jeopardize Mt. Hood, "... by allowing high-speed downhill biking, races, and more development."

The Sierra Club's participation in the lawsuit, with their 580,000 members nationwide and 20,000 members in Oregon, is significant. They're walking a very fine line given their history in working with mountain bike advocacy groups on national wilderness policy. In their "Park City Agreement" with the International Mountain Bicycling Association, Sierra Club says they see mountain biking as, "a legitimate form of recreation and transportation on trails, including single track, when and where it is practiced in an environmentally sound and socially responsible manner."

Image from Timberline Mountain Bike Park brochure.

In a statement about the lawsuit, Sierra Club Oregon Conservation Director Rhett Lawrence was careful to not say anything against mountain biking specifically. Their opposition has more to do with the USFS process and a general lack of trust that RLK/Timberline have been ? and will be ? good land stewards. In an email to BikePortland about the lawsuit, Lawrence explained that, "Though they may not believe it, we really do not have a problem with mountain biking at all. In fact, we would affirmatively support mountain bike access on Mt. Hood and we'd love to build allegiances with those folks, but we just don't believe this is the proper place for this development."

Portland resident Billie Cleek plans to end his Bark membership due to their continued opposition to this project. He contacted us after we shared news of this lawsuit via Twitter yesterday. Cleek is a frequent visitor to Mt. Hood for hiking, snowboarding, and mountain biking. He calls himself a "preservationist" and he wants to see more areas designated as wilderness (which prohibits mountain biking). But "Mt. Hood is not wilderness," he says, "It's a national forest." As such, he thinks it should be used for recreation. "Seventeen miles of single track below one of the lifts at Timberline lodge is not much. Modern trail building techniques result in significantly less run-off than many people realize. The trail system at Sandy Ridge [a few miles down the mountain from Mt. Hood] is a great testament to our ability to build solid trail without significant run-off."

"I have yet to see an explanation from Bark, Friends of Mount Hood, or Sierra Club that makes a strong case against the park; most arguments they are making seem to be based on faulty assumptions and/or fear. I'm more concerned about clear cuts, high grading, and ATV use throughout Mt. Hood National Forest than I am about a small mountain bike park in an already developed section of the mountain," added Cleek.

For more coverage of this issue ? including a guest article from Bark explaining their opposition in more detail ? browse our Timberline MTB Park story archives.

UPDATE: 2:19 pm: The Executive Director of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association Kenji Sugahara has contacted Sierra Club leadership to express his "disappointment" with their decision. Read his email to Brian Pasko below:

Dear. Mr. Pasko,

On behalf of the 5,000+ members of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, I would like to let you know we are very disappointed
with the decision of Sierra Club to join in the lawsuit to stop Timberline Park.

As a progressive who has been a supporter of efforts by the Sierra Club to help the environment (coal trains etc), the lawsuit makes me question whether I should be supporting the Sierra Club. Most importantly the Sierra Club, by joining the lawsuit is damaging relationships that the Sierra Club should be looking to strengthen.

While I appreciate some of the concerns that were brought up by opponents, the work with IMBA ensures that trail building is done in
an environmentally conscious manner.

We request that you immediately withdraw from the lawsuit.

Sincerely,

--
Kenji Sugahara
Executive Director
Oregon Bicycle Racing Association
Phone: 503-278-5550

http://www.obra.org

UPDATE, 2:07 pm: In order to provide additional context to the positions of the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, I have pasted the full text of their press release about it below:

Coalition Files Suit to Protect Fragile Alpine Meadows on Mt. Hood
Destructive Mountain Biking Expansion at Timberline Lodge Threatens Summer Recreation Opportunities, Fish and Wildlife in Sandy River?s Headwaters

May 16, 2013 -- Today Crag Law Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of Friends of Mt. Hood, the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, and Bark challenging the U.S. Forest Service?s (USFS) decision to allow high-impact lift- assisted mountain biking that would harm fragile alpine habitat near Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. Over one million people visit Mt. Hood annually to climb, hike, ski, fish, bike, and play. Providing recreational opportunities and safeguarding our public land are at the core of the Forest Service?s mission, and the agency has an obligation to reject environmentally destructive development proposals.

?Mountain biking is growing in popularity and we support Forest Service efforts to provide environmentally-responsible, quality recreational opportunities for mountain bikers and other recreationists. However, the fragile alpine soils at Timberline are the wrong place for a downhill lift-assisted mountain bike park,? said Lori Ann Burd with Bark. ?The Forest Service has failed to meet its responsibility to the public. Bark has worked with mountain bikers to encourage the Forest Service to convert unused logging roads into trails, but the Forest Service has failed to take action to seize these opportunities. Instead it has approved the construction of 17 miles of new trails in the sensitive headwaters of Still Creek and the West Fork of the Salmon River, leaving us no choice but to go to court to stop this development.?

The area around Timberline Lodge is cherished for summertime recreation such as wildflower viewing in the shadow of Mt. Hood. ?Timberline Lodge in the summertime has always been a place to seek peace and quiet, and generations of families have treasured memories of hiking, picnicking, and sightseeing around Timberline,? said Dennis Chaney of Friends of Mt. Hood. ?This project would jeopardize this beloved place by allowing high-speed downhill biking, races, and more development that will further degrade this fragile alpine environment. A National Historic Landmark and the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail are not compatible with an adventure park."

Marla Nelson of the Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC) noted: ?NEDC opposes this project because it would harm trout, salmon, and the aquatic environment that supports them.? She stated that the project will also:

- Increase sediment in Still Creek and the West Fork of the Salmon River, undercutting the significant investment of time and money in restoring downstream trout and salmon habitat
- Convert vegetation into bare mineral soils and encourage the further spread of noxious weeds
- Disturb wildlife, including elk, which rely on these high alpine meadows during calving season

?Timberline?s master plan to build a new day lodge, a new parking lot, and this mountain bike park was accepted by the Forest Service without adequate consideration of the cumulative effects on this fragile alpine environment,? said Rhett Lawrence, Conservation Director with the Sierra Club. ?Timberline has not been able to successfully restore the areas it has already damaged and any new construction would simply add to the area's degradation. The Forest Service needs to engage the public in a meaningful discussion of how to provide for ecologically responsible recreation on our public land, instead of taking more risks with Mt. Hood.?

Email This Post?Email This Post Possibly related posts

Source: http://bikeportland.org/2013/05/17/sierra-club-signs-onto-lawsuit-to-stop-timberline-mtb-park-86966

judi dench bobby brown leaves funeral donnie mcclurkin whitney houston funeral live stream kevin costner whitney houston whitney houston funeral live pat buchanan

Artificial forest for solar water-splitting

Friday, May 17, 2013

In the wake of the sobering news that atmospheric carbon dioxide is now at its highest level in at least three million years, an important advance in the race to develop carbon-neutral renewable energy sources has been achieved. Scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have reported the first fully integrated nanosystem for artificial photosynthesis. While "artificial leaf" is the popular term for such a system, the key to this success was an "artificial forest."

"Similar to the chloroplasts in green plants that carry out photosynthesis, our artificial photosynthetic system is composed of two semiconductor light absorbers, an interfacial layer for charge transport, and spatially separated co-catalysts," says Peidong Yang, a chemist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division, who led this research. "To facilitate solar water- splitting in our system, we synthesized tree-like nanowire heterostructures, consisting of silicon trunks and titanium oxide branches. Visually, arrays of these nanostructures very much resemble an artificial forest."

Yang, who also holds appointments with the University of California Berkeley's Chemistry Department and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is the corresponding author of a paper describing this research in the journal NANO Letters. The paper is titled "A Fully Integrated Nanosystem of Semiconductor Nanowires for Direct Solar Water Splitting." Co-authors are Chong Liu, Jinyao Tang, Hao Ming Chen and Bin Liu.

Solar technologies are the ideal solutions for carbon-neutral renewable energy ? there's enough energy in one hour's worth of global sunlight to meet all human needs for a year. Artificial photosynthesis, in which solar energy is directly converted into chemical fuels, is regarded as one of the most promising of solar technologies. A major challenge for artificial photosynthesis is to produce hydrogen cheaply enough to compete with fossil fuels. Meeting this challenge requires an integrated system that can efficiently absorb sunlight and produce charge-carriers to drive separate water reduction and oxidation half-reactions.

"In natural photosynthesis the energy of absorbed sunlight produces energized charge-carriers that execute chemical reactions in separate regions of the chloroplast," Yang says. "We've integrated our nanowire nanoscale heterostructure into a functional system that mimics the integration in chloroplasts and provides a conceptual blueprint for better solar-to-fuel conversion efficiencies in the future."

When sunlight is absorbed by pigment molecules in a chloroplast, an energized electron is generated that moves from molecule to molecule through a transport chain until ultimately it drives the conversion of carbon dioxide into carbohydrate sugars. This electron transport chain is called a "Z-scheme" because the pattern of movement resembles the letter Z on its side. Yang and his colleagues also use a Z-scheme in their system only they deploy two Earth abundant and stable semiconductors ? silicon and titanium oxide - loaded with co-catalysts and with an ohmic contact inserted between them. Silicon was used for the hydrogen-generating photocathode and titanium oxide for the oxygen-generating photoanode. The tree-like architecture was used to maximize the system's performance. Like trees in a real forest, the dense arrays of artificial nanowire trees suppress sunlight reflection and provide more surface area for fuel producing reactions.

"Upon illumination photo-excited electron?hole pairs are generated in silicon and titanium oxide, which absorb different regions of the solar spectrum," Yang says. "The photo-generated electrons in the silicon nanowires migrate to the surface and reduce protons to generate hydrogen while the photo-generated holes in the titanium oxide nanowires oxidize water to evolve oxygen molecules. The majority charge carriers from both semiconductors recombine at the ohmic contact, completing the relay of the Z-scheme, similar to that of natural photosynthesis."

Under simulated sunlight, this integrated nanowire-based artificial photosynthesis system achieved a 0.12-percent solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency. Although comparable to some natural photosynthetic conversion efficiencies, this rate will have to be substantially improved for commercial use. However, the modular design of this system allows for newly discovered individual components to be readily incorporated to improve its performance. For example, Yang notes that the photocurrent output from the system's silicon cathodes and titanium oxide anodes do not match, and that the lower photocurrent output from the anodes is limiting the system's overall performance.

"We have some good ideas to develop stable photoanodes with better performance than titanium oxide," Yang says. "We're confident that we will be able to replace titanium oxide anodes in the near future and push the energy conversion efficiency up into single digit percentages."

###

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: http://www.lbl.gov

Thanks to DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 52 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128299/Artificial_forest_for_solar_water_splitting

Alexis DeJoria Marshall Henderson Tubby Smith Marriage Equality opm passover Florida Gulf Coast University

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Amtrak boosts WiFi on select trains, more upgrades coming this summer

There are plenty of wonderful things about train travel: the leg room, the scenery, the lack of security pat-downs. The WiFi, on the other hand, has long been the slowest thing about Amtrak. The company announced today that it's finally doing something about its frustratingly sluggish service, upgrading wireless on select trains, including the Acela express between Boston and Washington DC and a few California lines like the Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner and San Joaquin. Travelers to other destinations will have to wait a bit longer for quicker load times -- Amtrak has promised that the rest of its WiFi-equipped trains will be upgraded by "late summer."

Comments

Via: Slashdot

Source: The New York Times

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/18/amtrak-wifi/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

bachelor finale courtney robertson ben flajnik hunger games premiere red meat bachelor ben jon hamm kim kardashian

Amid damage control efforts, White House listens to outside advice

By Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior White House officials responsible for navigating the administration through a trio of scandals met on Thursday with outside Democratic strategists for advice on how to get past the controversies and back on track advancing the president's agenda.

The White House is trying to regain the upper hand after being knocked on the defensive over its response to deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, the seizure of journalists' phone records in a Justice Department leak investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny.

Now, President Barack Obama's closest advisers want to find a way to return attention to his top priorities, such as creating more jobs and reforming immigration laws, while continuing to show they are trying to get to the bottom of the controversies.

"I think what they've done in the last two days is a great demonstration that they're prepared to own this stuff and deal with it," said Tad Devine, a longtime Democratic strategist invited to the Thursday meeting.

"There's always going to be bumps in the road. That's just the nature of it. I think they're going to be fine, as long as they stick to the big issues," Devine told Reuters.

About a dozen outside strategists huddled with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, senior advisers Valerie Jarrett and Dan Pfeiffer, communications director Jen Palmieri and press secretary Jay Carney.

Pfeiffer confirmed the meeting but declined to provide details.

The session was one of a handful of regularly scheduled meetings between Obama aides and outside advisers. It was scheduled after the trio of crises were in full swing - but participants said it would be incorrect to call it a crisis summit.

Obama is ending the week by traveling to Baltimore on Friday to talk about his proposals to boost early-childhood education, create manufacturing jobs and fix crumbling infrastructure.

"I can't think of any better time" for such a trip, said Devine, who said polls and focus groups consistently show that voters want elected leaders to focus on the economy rather than "peripheral issues."

DAMAGE-CONTROL MODE

At the beginning of the week the White House struggled to counter criticism about the scandals. By midweek, that had changed, with damage control in full swing.

On Wednesday Obama announced that the acting head of the IRS had been asked to resign and on Thursday announced a successor, delivering the swift action that critics had called for after news of the extra scrutiny first came out.

While defending his Attorney General Eric Holder and Justice Department investigations into leaks about national security issues, Obama also pushed for Congress to revive proposals that would help reporters protect their sources.

The White House released 100 pages of emails to demonstrate transparency on its deliberations over how to explain the September 11, 2012, attacks that killed four Americans in Benghazi, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Mike McCurry, a longtime press secretary to former President Bill Clinton who attended Thursday's meeting, said criticism that the White House had been slow to respond to the controversies was unfair.

"They had to be patient, and they had to get it right," he said.

McCurry said White House officials made clear at the meeting that they were determined to respond effectively to the issues dominating the news this week without losing sight of the president's other priorities, including strengthening the economy.

"Most of the discussion was, how can you effectively do that," he said.

Outside strategists said it might be worthwhile for the White House to reorganize its staff to have a point person or two for the scandals, particularly as Congress delves deeper into its IRS investigations. But they said they had no indication that might happen.

Reorganizing White House staff could leave spokesman Jay Carney freer to talk about Obama's agenda in daily briefings rather than being bogged down in daily interrogations about the details of congressional probes, they said.

(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Philip Barbara)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amid-damage-control-efforts-white-house-listens-outside-004436182.html

pro bowl victoria azarenka Royal Rumble 2013 senior bowl norovirus Eclampsia Kendrick Lamar

Friday, May 17, 2013

3D Print Your Own Invisibility Cloak at Home

Invisibility cloaks made of plastic can now be created at home using 3D printers, researchers show.

The first clues that cloaking devices might one day become more than science fiction, a la "Star Trek" began emerging seven or so years ago. Since then researchers have made such cloaks a reality by smoothly guiding rays of electromagnetic radiation such as microwave beams completely around objects so they proceed along their original trajectory as if nothing were there.

The first working invisibility cloaks were demonstrated using complex lab experiments. They can now, in principle, get made at home using 3D printers.

"I would argue that essentially anyone who can spend a couple thousand dollars on a non-industry- grade 3D printer can literally make a plastic cloak overnight," said researcher Yaroslav Urzhumov, an electrical engineer at Duke University.

A 3D printer lays down thin layers of material much like ordinary printers, except it deposits layers on top of layers to create 3D objects. Increasingly, they are being used to make items out of plastic, metal, glass, ceramic, and even sugar and mashed potatoes.

Urzhumov said creating an invisibility cloak using a 3D printer was easy and relatively inexpensive. For instance, printers can make ones about 1 inch thick (3 centimeters) and 8 inches wide (20 cm) resembling Frisbees made of Swiss cheese.

Previous invisibility cloaks all included a fair amount of metal, "but with these new cloaks, no metal is involved," Urzhumov told TechNewsDaily. "This makes them easier to fabricate and lighter. Also, when a light wave hits a structure containing a lot of metal, it is attenuated, and the only way to have a cloak without attenuation is to get rid of these metals. Now we know it is possible to make microwave cloaks entirely out of nonmetallic materials, which is very exciting."

The cloaks have open spots in their centers in which to place items up to 5.5 inches wide (14 cm). When microwaves are beamed at those objects from the side, the cloaks make it look as if the items are not there.

"A metal cylinder that would normally reflect a lot of microwave radiation can, once placed in the cloak, become transparent to microwaves," Urzhumov said.

Cloaks that make objects invisible to microwaves could have military and civilian applications.

"If you want to eliminate obstacles such as pillars or small buildings to microwave antennas, you could use these cloaks, which could be helpful for communications and for radar," Urzhumov said.

The fact that invisibility cloaks now can be made with pushes of a few buttons also makes it much easier to experiment with them. "We can try many different variations and optimize them, look for the most efficient versions," Urzhumov said.

So far, these cloaks hide objects only when viewed from the side. "We would like to make cloaks that render objects invisible to beams coming from any direction, fully 3D cloaks," Urzhumov said. "This would involve gluing together several cloaks to form a larger structure that completely encloses an object."

Much larger cloaks are possible in theory.

"Computer simulations make me believe that it is possible to create a similar polymer-based cloaking layer as thin as one inch wrapped around a massive object several meters in diameter," Urzhumov said. "You can imagine cloaking something as large as a pillar of stone or metallic masts on a ship."

Cloaks made of transparent plastics or glass are also possible, Urzhumov added.

"We believe this approach is a way towards optical cloaking, including visible and infrared," Urzhumov said.

The scientists detailed their findings yesterday (May 15) in the journal Optics Letters.

This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow us @TechNewsDaily, on Facebook or on?Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/3d-print-own-invisibility-cloak-home-193342664.html

tomb of the unknown soldier tomb of the unknown soldier HMS Bounty dominion power Heather Clem Con Edison LaGuardia Airport