2 Million Computers to Study Effects of Human Activity on Watersheds. Running computer simulations to try to predict future problems and find solutions to environmental issues is not a new tactic, but due to the long computing times necessary in some calculations, they can take a very long time. In contrast, a new project, called Computing for Sustainable Water, will use the computers of some 600,000 individuals and organizations worldwide (two million computers in all) to calculate the effects of the 17 million people who live and work in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, compressing 20 years of processing time into a single year.
The University of Virginia built a mathematical model to simulate the actions of the 17.4 million people living near America's largest estuary, the 64,000 square-mile Chesapeake Bay watershed. The model will be used to predict both the monthly and the cumulative effects of human activity in the region - all agriculture, transportation, energy, and industry-related decisions - over the next 20 years. Town of Runners: Extended Trailer. Ricardo campello in maui. Color-Changing Squid Inspire Technology that Could Finally Get Us That Invisibility Cloak. Shiny Things/CC BY 2.0 Let's face it. We've all dreamed of rocking an invisibility cloak, but so far scientists just haven't delivered. Well, now, with the help of some biomimicry, we could see something similar in the not too distant future.
Scientists at the University of Bristol are taking inspiration from two of the best camouflage artists in nature, the squid and the zebrafish, to create color-changing technology that could lead to smart clothing and other fabrics that can instantly change to match the color of their background. Many cephalopods like squid and cuttlefish are able to quickly blend in with their surroundings by changing color. Zebrafish, on the other hand, also have chromatophores, but theirs contain liquid pigment that when activated comes to the surface and spreads out like spilled ink. The Bristol team was able to replicate both of these amazing processes by using dielectric elastomers, stretchy polymers that expand when hit with an electric current.