Space Station Sunday: Extremeophile Edition

It may be that not all the life aboard the ISS is human. This week, after a spacewalk, it was reported by cosmnauts Olek Artemyev and Alexander Skvortsov that plankton is growing on the exterior of the spacecraft.

According to the telegraph.co.uk, it was reported that the two spacefarers were conducting a cleanup operation outside the station when the extreme-living organisms were discovered. Samples were taken for analysis from among the other residue that coats the ISS as a result of its 6,000-odd days in orbit.

This may not be as alien as it sounds. Other organisms may live deeply beneath ice shelves, far below the ocean, or even in the vacuum of space. Theories on the space plankton include ideas that it has been carried up aboard another flight (although the material is inconsistent with growths found around Roscosmos, the Kazakh cosmodrome responsible for most of the space launches to the ISS), or that tiny frozen molecules containing the organisms wafted up from the atmosphere.

NASA has not yet confirmed these findings. Their spokeman, Dan Huot, told space.com that, “As far as we're concerned, we haven't heard any official reports from our Roscosmos colleagues that they've found sea plankton." Russian ISS orbital mission chief Vladimir Solovyev pushed the claim, and was quoted in forbes.com stating, “Results of the experiment are absolutely unique. We have found traces of sea plankton and microscopic particles on the illuminator surface. This should be studied further.”

It could be something out of a horror movie...or it could just be a case of the ISS needing a good wash. More news as this story develops...watch this space (station.)

Plankton or planetary invasion?

Serendipitous Songs? New App Maps Where And When People Play Similar Songs

Do you ever wonder if you share a "soundtrack" with other people, perhaps during a certain time, or in a certain vicinity? If you do, now there's a way to find out what your fellow music fans are jamming to at the same time or place you are.

According to techtimes.com, Spotify's new Serendipity app tracks your tunes as you rock out, then shows users if someone else, anywhere in the world, is grooving to the same song. As Spotify describes this, "If you're listen[ing] to a popular song, there's a good chance someone else is listening to it in sync with you." You can watch the results on a map and allow yourself to be happy that someone, somewhere is also crying along to Air Supply's "All Out Of Love."

The fascinating part about this is that Spotify has deduced that every second, ten people begin listening to the same song within a tenth of a second. So yeah, it could be implied that every time you're blasting the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive", ten other people may be doing the Travolta dance along with you...somewhere.  

Ha, ha, ha, ha - oh sweet, some dude in Belgium is jamming it too!  Intercontinental dance party! 

Where're You At? New App Monitors Missed Connections

Have you ever passed a certain someone on the street and, for whatever reason, have not been able to get them out of your head? Now, a new app can help you find them without having to deal with all the weirdos in the "Missed Connections" forums.

Happn, a new app created by a hacker, an entrepreneur, and a computer engineer, seeks to play e-matchmaker with those who have perchance crossed your path. As their website exclaims, Happn is, "An app that loves coincidences and boosts luck again!"

Prospective users make profiles which are invisible to other users, except in the event that their paths cross...at parties, concerts or bars, on hikes on or the street. Maybe it's even just someone in the same hallway at work as you who you've never mustered up the courage or a reason to talk to. Now, thanks to Happn, you can happen upon their real identity.

The creators claim the app does not share information and has easy features to flag or block those who would use this app for stalking or other unsavory recon. So get out there and find that mystery man or woman!

One of these people could be the one for you, and now, you don't even have to talk to them to meet!

Gorgeous New Electric Coupe Charges Forth

Now that Tesla has officially proven it isn't going to pack up shop just because the oil lobbyists cry about it, it's time for the competition to heat up among the electric car creators. Enter the Renovo coupe, a hot new electric model set to debut in 2015.

According to acquiremag.com, the classically-styled Renovo coupe clocks in at 0-60 in 3.4 seconds and boasts 500 horsepower. Not bad for a car that you fuel in nearly the same manner that one would charge their cellphone. The car's Twin Sequential Axial Flux engine runs on three lithium ion batteries that require just 30 minutes, or which can attain a stronger "level 2" charge after five hours.

USA Today reports that the Renovo will be priced considerably higher than its Tesla competitors, with the coupe costing $529,000. The price coupled with the fact that its maximum range is 100 miles may hinder some interest in the vehicle. However, its light frame allows for superior handling. Jason Stinson, Chief Technical Officer, developed the car alongside other "performance junkies" like himself, and caters to a similar clientele. And while the Renovo isn't really a racecar (it tops off at 129 m.p.h.), it certainly looks like a champion. The drool-inducing chassis is based off of a design from Shelby American, a company created by racing legend Carroll Shelby.

Could a new golden age of American automobile enthusiasm soon start kicking the tires and lighting (well, charging) the fires?

Ride on.

Replace Your Face: 3-D Facial Implants Approved By FDA

Thanks to the success of Oxford Performance Material's 3-D printed skull (75% of which took up residence in a patient's headspace last year with great results), the FDA has announced approval of the company's OsteoFab Patient-Specific Facial Device, which can substitute your face-bones should such a dramatic need arise.

It's as simple as printing out the required new part and surgically installing it into your face-space. The rapid rise of 3-D technology has aided surgery for prosthetics, bones, and has even made strides on creating new organs, so this bit of reconstruction is not surprising, and also not significantly different from what you were born with.

According to cnet.com, Oxford Performance Materials' CEO Scott DeFelice said, "With the clearance of our 3D printed facial device, we now have the ability to treat these extremely complex cases in a highly effective and economical way, printing patient-specific maxillofacial implants from individualized MRI or CT digital image files from the surgeon."

So basically, you just need to steal one of your favorite movie star's MRIs and tell the surgeon to build you a fresh visage. OK, that might not work, but for those in need of serious cosmetic surgery, this offers a chance at restoring relative reality.

DO NOT ABUSE THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY.  We don't any more Cages or Travoltas running around.
A few extra Harrison Fords wouldn't be bad, though.

ChairWare: New Exoskeletal Device Creates Front-Row Seats Anywhere

Upright workers of the world, your savior has arrived. It is called the Chairless Chair, and it is designed for one purpose only: to give you a chance to take a load off, whenever you need it.

The Chairless Chair, according to cnn.com, was invented and developed by Keith Gunura, a 29-year-old who had had his fill of lengthy labor jobs causing him a pain in the neck (and back...and legs...and feet.) He created the company noonee to expand his idea of a portable, lightweight, wearable chair that would give you a break without breaking your workplace rules or concentration.

The device is simply strapped to the body at the waist and thighs using support straps, then is easily activated when the user desires to sit down. A 6-volt battery provides 24 hours of comfort, and also proper spinal configuration - something that your average day job probably doesn't care about.

Noonee CTO and co-founder Bryan Anastisiades explains, "In addition to resting your leg muscles, it also provides optimal posture..it keeps your back straight and can reduce the occurrence of bad postures for both healthy workers and those recovering from muscle related injuries."

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a serious issue, with the U.S. Department of Labor reporting that such disorders were responsible for 33% of work-related injuries and illness in 2011. In Europe, 23 countries (a combined 40 million workers) reported physical troubles due to MSDs.

The 2-kilogram chair does not impede other motion, such as climbing stairs or moving rapidly.  It has a delightful array of available uses, from factory workers needing a quick reprieve on the crowded floor, to bartenders whose late nights grow too tiresome, to outdoor laborers who have no available seating, to higher-end jobs (Gunura even references surgeons) whose physical toll of their jobs shouldn't detract from the concentration (perhaps at rest) required to complete them.

The noonee chairs are not designed for extended use, so don't expect to be strapping a recliner to your butt anytime soon. However, the comprehensive effect of a quick sit-down could raise quality of life for laborers everywhere.

Get down with the Chairless Chair.

If You Smell Something, Yell Something: Mass-Produceable "Electronic Nose" To Monitor For Gas Attacks

While relatively rare in the world of terror attacks, deadly gas remains a threat as an insidious, easily-deployed weapon of mass destruction. However, a new sensor can help curtail gas-based attacks and save lifes.

According to factor-tech.com, an "electronic nose" is in development at the Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain, to be used on public transport in an effort to identify deadly gases. Fifteen sensors in the device would alert an attached data acquisition system and computer (via sensitive metal oxide semiconductor sensors) to help discern the nature of a toxic airborne attack, such as sarin gas.

Cristian Olguín, a researcher on the project, explains, “The use of the electronic nose technology aims to create a device that detects these warfare gases in an efficient, quick, simple and cheap way.” The affordability and precision of the device would make it a popular option for monitoring the air in and around trains, planes, and many other hubs of public connection all over the world. The device is also small enough to be portable, which could have valuable applications for both military operators and civilians living in embattled areas.

Methodology of monitoring the volume of unpleasant-smelling commuters is unfortunately still limited to first-person analysis.

Our lives can go on like normal now!  Thanks, electronic nose!