NVIDIA Launches 3D Vision 2 Glasses with Larger Lenses and Brighter Field of View
I know there are some people out there using an NVIDIA 3D Vision kit to experience 3D games and movies on their computers. One problem you may encounter, aside from cost, is the 3D glasses offer a fairly dim field of view whenever you wear them. To alleviate this problem, NVIDIA is releasing the 3D Vision 2 glasses, which include a larger lens to give you a brighter field of view. The lenses are 20% larger and the frames themselves are even lighter and more flexible, meaning wearing headphones and 3D glasses together should be a lot more comfortable. The new glasses make use of 3D LightBoost technology to provide for two times brighter 3D images, improved color quality, and increases environmental lighting so you have an easier time using your mouse and keyboard. There will be new 3D LightBoost displays coming out from ASUS, Acer, and BenQ, along with laptops from Toshiba taking advantage of it.
The NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 glasses will be available later this month as a standalone frame for $99, or a kit that includes the IR emitter for $149.
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Star Wars: The Old Republic Launches Same Day in Europe and North America
When EA and BioWare announced a release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic, gamers in Europe may have been a little discouraged that their North American brethern would get a two day headstart. Well, that is no longer the case, as BioWare now states that The Old Republic will release December 20th worldwide, meaning North American and European gamers get to experience the next big MMO on the same day. This doesn't affect North American gamers in any way, as the release date is still the same, but Europeans should now rest a little easier knowing SWTOR has the same release date in both territories. BioWare has also released a new trailer for the MMO called "Signs of War," and it shows some large scale warfare between the Republic and Empire. The trailer is narrated by none other than Jennifer Hale, the voice of Bastila Shan from Knights of the Old Republic and the female Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect trilogy.
Star Wars: The Old Republic releases on December 20th in both North America and Europe.
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Launch Trailer for Batman: Arkham City Revealed
Console gamers will get to experience Batman: Arkham City ahead of the PC crowd, but that shouldn't deter you from checking out this new launch trailer of the game. Batman: Arkham City launches on October 18th for the PS3 and 360, while the PC version will be later in November. Rocksteady has released the launch trailer for the game, and boy, does it look good. In it, you will see Batman face off against a multitude of villains, including an absolutely massive Solomon Grundy, plus a little glimpse of teaming up with Bane. Poison Ivy makes a brief appearance, as does Talia al Ghul, Robin, and we even get to see what The Riddler has in store for us. Catwoman is also shown, and it appears that she will be facing off against Poison Ivy, though remember you will only get to play as Catwoman if you purchase the game new or used from GameStop. The trailer is pretty impressive, and Batman: Arkham City should provide for hours of fun upon release.
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Trapping Matter Waves in 3D
One of the more curious conclusions of quantum mechanics is all matter exists as a particle and a wave. Scientists know a wave can be trapped, such as a sound wave being reflected to cancel out with itself, but trapping a matter wave, in three dimensions, has been very difficult, until now. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have used a technique called Anderson localization to create a 3D matter wave trap. Anderson localization works by creating areas of interference around the wave which will act as a barrier. The researchers used lasers to create the interference for trapping an atom. This research may lead to improvements in electronics and superconductors as these areas of interference can also be created by impurities, something every electronics manufacturer has to be wary of.
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Starting from Basic Math, Robot Discovers Biological Equations
Technology is enabling humanity to collect more and more data all the time, but already the amount of information from a single experiment can be more than a human can handle. Scientists are turning to computers to help them with this, and researchers at Vanderbilt University have taken it to a new level. ABE, the Automated Biology Explorer, based on the Eureqa software, has successfully created equations describing a biological system from only experimental data and the mathematical operations addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. To make sure ABE did not have an unfair advantage, as the data it used was generated by a mathematical model, the researchers did introduce a 10% random error, but this did not prevent the resulting equations to be nearly identical to the correct ones. Future work on ABE will be to add a laboratory-on-a-chip, so it can create and run its own experiments.
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The QUEST to Confirm Universal Constants
All of the interactions possible in the universe are impacted by specific values and an example of one is the speed of light. Another fundamental constant is the fine structure constant, which characterizes electromagnetic interactions, but science is not sure if this is universal or not. To measure its value in other parts of the universe, astronomers measure the spectrum of light from distant quasars, after it has passed through cosmic dust. This data then has to be compared to measurements made in laboratories, and researchers from QUEST (Center for Quantum Engineering and Space-Time Research) have designed a new and, hopefully, highly accurate way to get these measurements, using quantum logic. The team couples two ions together, a magnesium ‘logic ion’ and another ‘spectroscopy ion’ consisting of titanium or calcium. The logic ion is cooled with lasers so much, it is no longer moving, and the spectroscopy ion is hit with enough energy for an electron to jump. The absorption and emission of the light by the spectroscopy ion gets it moving, and moves the logic ion as well. With the logic ion being held with no motion, any movement must come from the coupling between the ions, which will be dependent on the fine structure constant. The experimental setup is still being design but should provide a level of accuracy to this measurement never before seen.
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Research Finds Potential Therapy for Lung Diseases
Published October 14 in Cell, a Cell Press publication, is research on a possible therapy for emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). By studying the damage to mice lungs while the animals were exposed to tobacco smoke for months, a model has been created which identifies a particular enzyme, nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), as causing some of the damage. Nitric oxide is an important molecule in the human body as it triggers the dilation of blood vessels and it appears tobacco smoke will cause it to be produce in levels much higher than it should be. This results in the molecule reacting to form another substance, peroxynitrite, which damages lung tissue. Mice without the iNOS enzyme did no develop emphysema or pulmonary hypertension, an associated high blood pressure found in the lungs. Treatments already exist to inhibit iNOS activity, and when performed on the mice, they were protected from COPD-like damage and the disease was even reversed. More research is needed though, as active restructuring of the lung would be needed to undo emphysema, but the iNOS inhibitor has been used in clinical trials before with no major side effects.
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Catwoman in Batman: Arkham City Requires an Online Pass
Batman: Arkham City is a few days away from releasing on the consoles (PC gamers have to wait a bit longer), and I am sure many of you are eagerly awaiting the chance to play as the Caped Crusdaer once again. Many of you may also be looking forward to the chance to play as Catwoman, be it in the campaign or Challenge Mode, but this bit of news may add a wrinkle for gamers wanting to pick up the game used. Catwoman requires an online pass in order to play as her in Batman: Arkham City, something that is included in new copies of the game but requires a $10 purchase if the game is used. Catwoman has four playable sections in the campaign as well as some Challenge Mode area dedicated to her, but if you don't have that online pass, you can't play as her. This move is becoming the de facto standard in many games, but it is still disappointing to learn that Batman: Arkham City won't be free of it.
As an aside, it appears the gamers who pick the game up used at GameStop will not have to worry about purchasing the code separately. The game giant has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. to include the code on the customer's receipt if Arkham City is purchased used. Pretty nice gesture on both parts, as it saves you a little cash by buying used as well as not having to spend an extra $10 just to get another element added in.
Batman: Arkham City releases on October 18th in the US and October 21st in Europe for the PS3 and 360. The PC version will launch later on in November.
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