Computers to give users a sense of touch
Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a touch-based computer interface that may soon
provide people with a way to sense the texture of three-dimensional objects, and feel how they fit together.
Ralph Hollis, a research professor in Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute who has developed the new interface, says that his device uses magnetic levitation and a single moving part to give users a highly realistic experience.
He says that such features make his device quite different from most other haptic interfaces, scientific term for touch-based interface, which rely on motors and mechanical linkages to provide some sense of touch or force feedback.

The researcher says that a user can perceive textures, feel hard contacts, and notice even slight changes in position while using an interface that responds rapidly to movements.

Rob Conway, project manager in Carnegie Mellon’s Centre for Technology Transfer, said: “The research opens new possibilities by joining the world of haptic feedback with a comfortable magnetic levitation interface. The magnetic levitation decouples the interface device from the mechanical world, eliminating friction, backlash, jump, sticking and other interfering effects, so that the user feels only the artificial environment in complete accuracy down to the micro scale”.

Combination HRT beneficial
Latest findings by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) have confirmed that the health risks of long-term use of
combination hormone therapy (HRT)— wherein both estrogen and progestin are involved — in healthy, postmenopausal women persist even a few years after stopping the medication, and clearly
outweigh the benefits.

The results of the WHI three-year follow-up study of the estrogen-plus-progestin clinical trial suggest that three years after the combination hormone therapy was stopped, many of the health effects of hormones such as increased risk of heart disease were diminished. However, overall risks, including the likelihood of stroke, blood clots, and cancer, remained high.

“The good news is that after women stop taking combination hormone therapy, their risk of heart disease appears to decrease. However, these findings also indicate that women who take estrogen plus progestin continue to be at increased risk of breast cancer, even years after stopping therapy. Today’s report confirms the study’s primary conclusion that combination hormone therapy should not be used to prevent disease in healthy, postmenopausal women,” noted Dr Elizabeth G Nabel, Director, the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Robots as social companions

An international consortium of scientists are setting the stage for a path-breaking research that aims to
develop robots as social companions.

“Like a child learning by imitation of its parents and interacting with the environment around it, the robot will master basic principles of structured grammar, like negation, by using these abilities in context,” said Chrystopher Nehaniv, lead researcher in the project. iCub, a one metre-high baby robot which will be used to study how a robot could quickly pick up language skills, will be available next year.

“iCub will take us a stage forward in developing robots as social companions. We have studied issues such as how robots should look and how close people will want them to approach and now, within a year, we will have the first humanoid robot capable to developing language skills,” said Kerstin Dautenhahn about the research he is conducting with Nehaniv.

Happiness lies in our genes

Happiness in life is as much attributable to having the right genetic mix as it is to external factors such as
relationships, health and careers, says a new study.

In the study, the researchers found that happiness is partly determined by personality traits and that both personality and happiness are largely hereditary.

With the help of a framework which psychologists use to rate personalities, called the Five-Factor Model, the researchers found that people who do not excessively worry, and who are sociable and conscientious tend to be happier.

In the research, the researchers used personality and happiness data on more than 900 twin pairs and identified evidence for common genes which result in certain personality traits and predispose people to happiness.
The findings suggest that all those people who have the right inherited personality mix have an “affective
reserve” of happiness which can come handy in stressful times.

The researchers say that although happiness has its roots in our genes, around 50 per cent of the differences
between people in their life happiness is still down to external factors such as relationships, health and careers.