Researchers design the most precise quantum thermometer to date

 

Researchers from the UAB and the University of Nottingham, in an article published in Physical Review Letters, have fixed the limits of thermometry, i.e., they have established the smallest possible fluctuation in temperature which can be measured. The researchers have studied the sensitivity of thermometers created with a handful of atoms, small enough to be capable of showing typical quantum-style behaviours. The researchers characterized these types of probes in detail, devices which could provide an estimation of the temperature with a never before seen precision. To do so, they combined thermodynamic tools with quantum metrology, which deals with ultra-precise measures in quantum systems. The physicists searched to find the maximum precision which could be achieved in a real situation, in which measuring time could be very brief given unavoidable experimental limitations. In the research, they also observed that these thermometers could maintain a constant sensitivity in a wide range of temperatures by sacrificing some of their precision. For the authors of the research, "finding a nanothermometer sensitive enough at this scale is a great step forward in the field of nanotechnology, with applications in biology, chemistry, physics and even in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases." Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference: Luis A. Correa, Mohammad Mehboudi, Gerardo Adesso, et al. Individual quantum probes for optimal thermometry. Physical Review Letters, June 2015 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.220405

Next-generation illumination using silicon quantum dot-based white-blue LED

 

Professor Ken-ichi Saitow, Natural Science Center for Basic Research and Development, Hiroshima University and Graduate student Yunzi Xin, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, have fabricated an Si QD hybrid LED. Credit: Natural Science Center for Basic Research and Development, Hiroshima University A Si quantum dot (QD)-based hybrid inorganic/organic light-emitting diode (LED) that exhibits white-blue electroluminescence has been fabricated by Professor Ken-ichi SAITOW (Natural Science Center for Basic Research and Development, Hiroshima University), Graduate student Yunzi XIN (Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University), and their collaborators. A hybrid LED is expected to be a next-generation illumination device for producing flexible lighting and display, and this is achieved for the Si QD-based white-blue LED. For details, refer to "White-blue electroluminescence from a Si quantum dot hybrid light-emitting diode," in Applied Physics Letters. The Si QD hybrid LED was developed using a simple method; almost all processes were solution-based and conducted at ambient temperature and pressure. Conductive polymer solutions and a colloidal Si QD solution were deposited on the glass substrate. The current and optical power densities of the LED are, respectively, 280 and 350 times greater than those reported previously for such a device at the same voltage (6 V). In addition, the active area of the LED is 4 mm2, which is 40 times larger than that of a typical commercial LED; the thickness of the LED is 0.5 mm. Professor Saitow stated, "QD LED has attracted significant attention as a next-generation LED. Although several breakthroughs will be required for achieving implementation, a QD-based hybrid LED allows us to give so fruitful feature that we cannot imagine." Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by Hiroshima University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference: Yunzi Xin, Kazuyuki Nishio, Ken-ichi Saitow. White-blue electroluminescence from a Si quantum dot hybrid light-emitting diode. Applied Physics Letters, 2015; 106 (20): 201102 DOI: 10.1063/1.4921415

Moving sector walls on the nano scale

 

Most magnetic materials have a structure that is somewhat more complicated than a commercially available domestic magnet: they not only have a north and south pole, but a variety of sectors, often only a few nanometres in size, in each of which the magnetic axis points in a different direction. These sectors are referred to as domains. Over the past few years, Manfred Fiebig, Professor for Multifunctional Ferroics at ETH Zurich, has been studying the walls between adjoining domains in certain materials. "The inner workings of a material and its domains are one area of interest," says Fiebig. "However, fascinating things also take place at the boundaries of these domains." In this work, Fiebig has devoted himself to a very special class of materials: oxides -- specifically those with multiferroic properties. These are crystalline materials that are magnetically ordered (i.e. they have a magnetic north and south pole), but at the same time also exhibit an electrical order (that is, the electric charge in the material is distributed so that in addition to the magnetic poles, there are also positive and negative electrical poles). "That fact that magnetic and electrical ordering occur alongside one another in multiferroic materials means that cross couplings are also possible; for example, the magnetic state can be changed using an electrical voltage," explains Fiebig. These properties make the materials interesting for many applications and are the main reason why they are being researched so intensively by the scientific community. Tiny capacitors Together with his fellow researchers, Fiebig has closely studied the domain boundaries in certain multiferroics and recently published two articles on the topic. Here, the scientists showed that the electrical conductivity of the domain walls differs from that of the material as a whole. In one material, strontium manganite, they showed that the domain walls suppress the flow of electric current. "A material with non-conductive walls in a conductive environment could be very useful in the field of electronics," says Fiebig. For example, it may be possible to produce electronic components in which the nanoscale domains act as tiny capacitors that could be electrically charged separately. "This could be used to create a new charge-based storage medium," says Fiebig. It would take only a voltage pulse to alter the charge in a domain, he adds; a current flow would not be necessary. A storage medium of this type would be more energy-efficient than those available today. In addition, as the data storage would not produce any waste heat that would then need to be dissipated, much smaller storage media could be built. The paper was co-authored by scientists from Fiebig's research group together with scientists from the group under ETH professor Nicola Spaldin and from the University of Zaragoza. Spaldin and her colleagues contributed the theoretical explanation of why the domain walls are not conductive in strontium manganite. Fiebig explains that as crystalline materials never have a perfect structure, individual oxygen atoms will be missing at certain points in the oxides' crystal lattice. The scientists have now been able to show that these 'oxygen vacancies' accumulate preferentially at the domain boundaries, where they block the flow of current. Manual change of conductivity In studies of a second multiferroic material, terbium manganite, scientists from Fiebig's group worked with colleagues from Japan to show that the domain boundaries could also be shifted using electrical fields under certain conditions. "This is an advantage over conventional semiconductor materials, which have a mature, fixed structure," says Fiebig. Furthermore, the researchers found conditions under which it was possible to change the magnetisation of the domains and the conductivity of the domain boundaries without changing the position of the boundaries. The prerequisite for these studies is a technique that makes the domains and their boundaries visible. This is currently possible only with a specific optical method known as second harmonic generation, where the material is irradiated with a very intense, pulsed laser beam in a specific colour. In response, the material emits light of a different colour, from which the scientists can obtain information on the magnetic and electrical structure of the material. Over the last few years, Fiebig has been the driving force behind the development of this optical method to study the internal order of materials. New technical possibilities The fact that it is now possible not only to see the domain walls in a multiferroic, but also to selectively shift them or alter their conductance paves the way for new technical possibilities. Although Fiebig makes clear that specific applications are still a long way off, the findings may in future be used not only in data storage, but also in sensors or complex electronic components. "If you can alter the conductance in a material, you have got a switch -- in our case, a switch that you can control without moving anything mechanically and which is therefore not subject to material fatigue," says Fiebig, who is now already thinking about the next step in development. At the moment, the magnetic state can be altered with an electric field. In future, he says, it may be possible to dispense with the electric field and switch the state entirely optically by using the intense light pulses not only to make the internal structure visible but also to simultaneously change it. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by ETH Zurich. The original article was written by Fabio Bergamin. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal References: M. Matsubara, S. Manz, M. Mochizuki, T. Kubacka, A. Iyama, N. Aliouane, T. Kimura, S. L. Johnson, D. Meier, M. Fiebig. Magnetoelectric domain control in multiferroic TbMnO3. Science, 2015; 348 (6239): 1112 DOI: 10.1126/science.1260561 Carsten Becher, Laura Maurel, Ulrich Aschauer, Martin Lilienblum, César Magén, Dennis Meier, Eric Langenberg, Morgan Trassin, Javier Blasco, Ingo P. Krug, Pedro A. Algarabel, Nicola A. Spaldin, José A. Pardo, Manfred Fiebig. Strain-induced coupling of electrical polarization and structural defects in SrMnO3 films. Nature Nanotechnology, 2015; DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2015.108

Unlocking nanofibers’ potential

 

Fri, 06/05/2015 - 7:40am Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office A scanning electron micrograph of the new microfiber emitters, showing the arrays of rectangular columns etched into their sides. Courtesy of the researchersNanofibers have a huge range of potential applications, from solar cells to water filtration to fuel cells. But so far, their high cost of manufacture has relegated them to just a few niche industries. In Nanotechnology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers describe a new technique for producing nanofibers that increases the rate of production fourfold while reducing energy consumption by more than 90%, holding out the prospect of cheap, efficient nanofiber production. “We have demonstrated a systematic way to produce nanofibers through electrospinning that surpasses the state of the art,” says Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal research scientist in MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories, who led the new work. “But the way that it’s done opens a very interesting possibility. Our group and many other groups are working to push 3D printing further, to make it possible to print components that transduce, that actuate, that exchange energy between different domains, like solar to electrical or mechanical. We have something that naturally fits into that picture. We have an array of emitters that can be thought of as a dot-matrix printer, where you would be able to individually control each emitter to print deposits of nanofibers.” Tangled tale Nanofibers are useful for any application that benefits from a high ratio of surface area to volume—solar cells, for instance, which try to maximize exposure to sunlight, or fuel cell electrodes, which catalyze reactions at their surfaces. Nanofibers can also yield materials that are permeable only at very small scales, like water filters, or that are remarkably tough for their weight, like body armor. The standard technique for manufacturing nanofibers is called electrospinning, and it comes in two varieties. In the first, a polymer solution is pumped through a small nozzle, and then a strong electric field stretches it out.  The process is slow, however, and the number of nozzles per unit area is limited by the size of the pump hydraulics. The other approach is to apply a voltage between a rotating drum covered by metal cones and a collector electrode. The cones are dipped in a polymer solution, and the electric field causes the solution to travel to the top of the cones, where it’s emitted toward the electrode as a fiber. That approach is erratic, however, and produces fibers of uneven lengths; it also requires voltages as high as 100,000 V. Thinking small Velásquez-García and his co-authors—Philip Ponce de Leon, a former master’s student in mechanical engineering; Frances Hill, a former postdoc in Velásquez-García’s group who’s now at KLA-Tencor; and Eric Heubel, a current postdoc—adapt the second approach, but on a much smaller scale, using techniques common in the manufacture of microelectromechanical systems to produce dense arrays of tiny emitters. The emitters’ small size reduces the voltage necessary to drive them and allows more of them to be packed together, increasing production rate. At the same time, a nubbly texture etched into the emitters’ sides regulates the rate at which fluid flows toward their tips, yielding uniform fibers even at high manufacturing rates. “We did all kinds of experiments, and all of them show that the emission is uniform,” Velásquez-García says. To build their emitters, Velásquez-García and his colleagues use a technique called deep reactive-ion etching. On either face of a silicon wafer, they etch dense arrays of tiny rectangular columns—tens of micrometers across—which will regulate the flow of fluid up the sides of the emitters. Then they cut sawtooth patterns out of the wafer. The sawteeth are mounted vertically, and their bases are immersed in a solution of deionized water, ethanol, and a dissolved polymer. When an electrode is mounted opposite the sawteeth and a voltage applied between them, the water-ethanol mixture streams upward, dragging chains of polymer with it. The water and ethanol quickly dissolve, leaving a tangle of polymer filaments opposite each emitter, on the electrode. The researchers were able to pack 225 emitters, several millimeters long, on a square chip about 35 mm on a side. At the relatively low voltage of 8,000 V, that device yielded four times as much fiber per unit area as the best commercial electrospinning devices. Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

32 Legitimate Ways to Make Money at Home

 

Listen – we all know the internet is full of “make money at home” scams, so we’ve scoured through thousands of different ideas to find you 32 legitimate ones. These are all ideas that we’ve done before, so we know that they’re real and that you’ll get paid. Plus, I guarantee there are some in here that you’ve never heard of… 1. Change Search Engines If you spend a lot of time searching online, you might want to think about leaving Google/Yahoo and make Bing your default search engine. Why? Bing wants to pay you for your searches! You can earn credits through Bing Rewards every time you make a search — credits you can cash in for gift cards to a variety of stores like Amazon, Toys ‘r Us, and Starbucks. I usually only make an extra $5-$10/month, but it all adds up, right? 2. Watch YouTube-Like Videos The folks over at InboxDollars will actually pay you to watch videos! Now, most of them aren’t as entertaining as the Grumpy Cat series, but you’re getting paid – so who cares? This works because the videos are sponsored by brands who need to get it in front of as many eyeballs as possible. Every time you watch one of their ads, they’ll credit your account with a little bit of cash. Here’s a link to signup. Melinda Seckington under Creative Commons 3. Rate Your Local Pizza Place Awww…yeah! Who wouldn’t want $5 and a free large pizza? One of the companies that pays me to conduct liquor audits is currently looking for folks to conduct a quick review of their local pizza shop. As part of the assignment you’ve got to time their delivery service and quality of pizza. It’s pretty easy to do and you can do it several times a year. Just fill out an application with Trendsource here and an Independent Contractor Agreement to get started. 4. Sell Your Junk Mail I don’t know about you, but I get a lot of junk mail. My email inbox and my mailbox are both full of crap from different cable providers, credit card offers, car insurance, etc. If you’ve ever wondered what you could do with all of that junk mail besides recycling it or sending it to your email’s trash folder, SBK Center has the answer. This market research company will happily accept your junk mail and email and, in return, give you Visa prepaid cards, which work just like debit cards. (The SBK website states that they pay you in gift cards, but I contacted SBK directly and they confirmed that they have switched to Visa prepaid cards. It’s a great move because it means you can spend your hard-earned cash anywhere that accepts debit cards.) Here’s more information on them. 5. Take an Online Survey or Two Most of you know that I practically despise survey companies because of their low payouts. But, I make an exception to my “no survey” rule when I’m watching TV. My calculus on this is that I’m not really doing anything anyway, so I might as well make a few extra bucks. I usually pocket an extra $50-$100/month with this method. Here are my favorites… Ipsos Panel SendEarnings (this one gives you $5 just to sign up) MySurvey Springboard Panel *I usually recommend you join at least two survey sites, so that you have more options to choose from. That way you’ll also be on their list when the high-paying surveys ($10+) come around. 6. Download These Apps There are a number of companies, including Google, that will pay you to install their app on your cell phone. And they’ll pay you for every month you keep them installed. The apps collect data from your cell phone and help companies better understand web and mobile usage better — such as what times of day people browse, how long they stay on websites and use apps, and what types of sites and apps are popular (or not). Here are my favorites (install all of them and earn $400/year or more): – Smart Panel – This can be downloaded for free on any smartphone. Once you’ve qualified and downloaded the app, they will give you $5. If you keep it installed for at least two weeks, you’ll earn another $10. And then for every month that you keep the Smart App installed, you’ll get another $5. - Nielsen Mobile Panel for iPhones – If you have an iPhone, the Nielsen company will pay you $50/year to download and keep their app on your cell phone. – Google Screenwise Panel – Google will give you $8 seven days after you sign up and you’ll get an additional $2 every week after that. The “cash” rewards come in the form of a gift card (you can pick between Walmart, Papa Johns, Barnes & Noble, and a bunch of others…) – MobileExpressions – this one can only be downloaded on Androids. After you’ve installed it for 1 week, you get to play an instant rewards game for a prize (everyone wins something). I won a $25 gift card to Amazon, but some of the other prizes include iPads & Samsung TVs. 7. Rent/Sell Your Clothes Online For some reason my closet is still holding on to the suit I wore to prom nearly 10 years ago. It’s never going to fit again, but some combination of laziness and sentiment has thus far kept it from landing on a Goodwill rack. If you’re like me and have a closet full of stuff you don’t wear, what would you think about renting or selling your clothes out to strangers? There are a few sites that make this possible including Tradesy, SnapGoods.com, Loanables.com, and RentNotBuy.com. Rubbermaid Products under Creative Commons 8. Open a Bank Account The folks over at Nationwide will give you $200 just to open a checking account. You don’t have to get rid of your current account either; consider this one a useful place to save money for your emergency fund, vacation, new car, etc. And the Nationwide checking account is pretty awesome. Their interest rate is 3x higher than what most banks will give you, plus you can use any ATM in the world for free (6x a month). Here’s the promo link. You’ll need to deposit $50 to get started and use the offer code 03110470 (you can withdraw your fifty bucks later) To get the $200 bonus, you’ll need to set up an automatic monthly direct deposit of at least $200 into your E-Checking account. Your monthly direct deposit of $200 must be received within 60 days of opening the account. The account must remain open for at least 90 days to receive the $200 bonus. The $200 bonus will be deposited into your new account within 2 weeks following the 90 day minimum requirement! 9. Fix Google’s Search Results I’ll make about $700 this month for cleaning up Google’s search engine. And Yahoo’s search engine. And Bing’s. And the best part? Most of it is done while sitting at home in my pajamas. What am I doing? Let me explain… Search engines use complicated algorithms to determine the results you see. For example, if you type “Steve Gillman” into a Google search box a half-million possibly-relevant web pages will be narrowed down using various criteria until a second later you see my smiling face. You’ll also see links to my personal website, my blog on the Huffington Post, and LinkedIn profiles for a bunch of guys who share my name. But the search engines don’t always get it right… They are full of errors, so they need real humans to look at the results and judge them for quality, relevancy, and usefulness. If you’re interested in this type of work, head over to this article to get more info on how to apply. 10. Become a Test Knitter The knitting scene has changed since the late 90s. It’s no longer a hobby dominated by grandmothers churning out Christmas sweaters for the whole family; knitting is cool again and many young people are picking up the needles. Lee Meredith of Leethalknits says that she finds most of her test knitters in her group on Ravelry, a site for connecting with fellow knitters and crocheters. Knitters can sign up for her master list of testers and be contacted when she has a new project. She gives her knitters the exact project requirements: the pattern, the size of knitting needles, yarn weight and amount, and any embellishments. As the testers knit, they leave her feedback in a shared Google document. Knitters who complete the project by the deadline and provide feedback and corrections on the pattern instructions get a finished copy of the pattern plus around $20 credit to her virtual store. Large or complex projects, or those with unusually tight deadlines, earn the knitter additional credit. Mackenzie under Creative Commons 11. Turn Your Grocery Receipts in For Rebates You don’t have to cut back at the grocery store if you know the right tricks. Have you heard of rebate apps? My favorite is the Ibotta app which works by giving you a cash rebate on your grocery store purchases if you take a picture of your receipt with your smartphone. Many of the rebates are for things like steak, ground beef, bread and eggs. Plus, you can shop at your normal grocery store. There’s no need to run clear across town to save money. Another good one is Checkout51. Download them both and sometimes you can get two rebates on the same item. 12. Get Paid to Lose Weight Let’s face – every year we all make the same New Year’s resolution to get in better shape. Well, this year you’ll have a little extra motivation if you’re getting paid for it. We’re fans of both HealthyWage and DietBet, two sites that will allow you to place a wager and earn cash when you successfully lose weight. And if you’re already in great shape, another great idea is to start a boot camp at your local park a couple of nights week. Start with just a few friends – these camps tend to grow pretty organically once people see a group of people working out. Most boot camps trainers can earn $100/hour or more. 13. Sell Your Old Books We’ve all got way too much extra junk just sitting around. Get rid of some of it and use the extra money for your Christmas shopping. You could of course have a garage sale or sell some stuff on Craigslist, but one of my favorite ways to get rid of stuff is to use the Bookscouter app. You scan your book’s barcode with your smartphone and Bookscouter will let you compare the payout of 20+ different buyback companies. Cool, right? Once you’ve found the buyback company offering the most cash, you just fill out a little information about where you want your payment sent and prepare the books to be shipped. Most of the buyback companies offer prepaid shipping labels too, so there aren’t any costs associated with this. 14. Earn Up to $25/Hour as a Transcriptionist Looking for a flexible job that allows you to work from home, requires little to no prior experience, and doesn’t involve making sales calls? Yes, this kind of work exists: You could become a transcriptionist. This job gives you the freedom to set your own hours and, in many cases, work as much or as little as you want each week. Here are a few companies that will hire you. But, fair warning: the work is quite repetitive. You will have to listen to the same audio over and over again in order to be sure you have transcribed it perfectly. If repetition drives you insane, transcription might not be the line of work for you. 15. Test Websites Like most of us, you’ve probably commented on how some websites are confusing and others excellent. Rather than complaining to your spouse or friend, how would you like to make those comments to the owners of the sites and get paid for playing critic? I do just that, and you can, too. In fact, you can make $30 per hour as a website tester. The company is called User Testing. Here’s what the process looks like: you’ll download some software and then when tasks are available, look over a website while your mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes, and spoken comments are all recorded as a video. Afterward there might be a few questions to answer, but the whole process often takes 15 minutes or less. Cool, right? 16. Join an Online Focus Group Ever wonder how the products you see on grocery-store shelves wound up there? Or who thought those TV commercials were a good idea? Somewhere between the concept and the final edits, it’s likely that a focus group was involved. Focus groups vary in size and type, but most of them provide some sort of compensation — a check in the mail, a PayPal deposit or even a gift card. “The more formal the focus group, the more I expect to be paid,” says Sarah K., who’s participated in focus groups about bridal registries and sports nutrition products in the Los Angeles Area. For a longer session, she expects to make $100 to $200. “I’ll happily participate in a longer focus group if it pays well, is nearby and doesn’t conflict with any of my appointments,” she says. One of my favorites is ProOpinion which is a focus group for professionals. Click here to visit their site and fill out the short sign up form to get started. Here’s another great list of legitimate focus group companies. 17. Watch More Television Alright, just hear me out on this one. It’s definitely possible to get paid to watch TV… There’s a new company called “RewardTV” that pays you to answer trivia questions about last night’s TV shows. Do you know who they killed off on Game of Thrones last week? Tell them about it and they’ll pay you. Did you know which contestant got kicked off “The Voice” this week? They’ll pay you. You’re not going to get rich doing this, but it’s a fun way to make an extra $15-$20/month. Pretty cool, right? 18. Make an Extra $50/Week Working for Amazon Have you heard of Amazon Mechanical Turk? Unlike other online sites that look for contract help, the Amazon Mechanical Turk service offers easy to accomplish tasks that can be completed by almost anyone with a computer. From the articles and advice I’ve read from others completing tasks, the key seems to be just to jump in and quickly accept the next task you are qualified for. Don’t spend time hunting for the perfect task, just do them next, next, next, etc. While basic tasks may only pay $0.10 they are easy and quick to complete. It does not take long to complete a task in less than a minute so in an hour, with little experience, you can make $6 to $10 depending on how fast you are. Amazon Mechanical Turk is not a get rich quick scam or one of those make massive income in your spare time ripoffs. But, realistically you can make an extra $50 or so each month. 19. Tell This Company What’s in Your Fridge You’ve head of Nielsen, right? Yep, the same company that tracks TV ratings. They’ve got a new app that will pay you to scan the groceries in your fridge. Once you sign up to be on the Nielsen Consumer Panel, the company will send you a free scanner or you can use your smartphone. Every time you go shopping, you simply scan the barcodes on the back of each product and send your data off to NCP. If you want to give it a try, you can fill out the application here: Nielsen Consumer Panel Application As an active participant, you earn gift points which you can redeem for different types of merchandise. You can choose electronics, jewelry, household items, and even toys for the kids. The longer you stay on the panel, the more opportunity you have to earn points towards prizes. You also receive entries for the panel’s many sweepstakes. Prizes include money, vacations, and brand new vehicles. 20. Get Paid $50+ to Write an Article for These Sites If you like to write, we found a few blogs that will pay you to share your thoughts. And there’s no limit to the number of articles you can submit, so this really is a nice side gig… TheKrazyCouponLady.com – $50 This site accepts articles on a broad range of topics including style/fashion, couponing, family/parenting, and personal finance. The ladies guarantee that you’ll hear back from them within 7 days and will receive $50 via Paypal if they choose to publish your article. You can read all the details here Listverse.com – $100 Listverse publishes nothing but lists. Their posts are all long lists (usually beyond 1,500 words long) containing at least 10 items, with an explanation of why each item deserves its place on the list. Read more details here. ThePennyHoarder.com – $75 Got a crazy way to make/save extra money? We also pay our readers to submit articles and would love to have you contribute. Read all of our guidelines here. Photo by LaMenta3 21. Sell Your SmartPhone Photos If you have a smartphone and a photographic eye, making money may have just gotten a lot easier. Oh yeah – you’ll also need access to marketable scenery. There’s a new app called Foap that allows you to turn your smartphone photos into cash. Here’s how it works. You download the free app. You sign up for an account. You take a quality photo. You upload photo to Foap’s marketplace. Someone buys the license to your photo for $10. You make $5. If your photo sells twenty times, you make $5 each time and end up with $100 in your pocket, all for about 5 minutes of work. Pretty cool, right? 22. Fix Apple iPhones from Your Couch Dreaming of working from home during your terrible commute each day? Here’s a cool opportunity to work from home for a company you probably already love: Apple. That’s right: You could be the next Apple At Home Advisor — an official Apple employee who offers virtual support for the company’s popular products, including iPhones, iPads and MacBooks, through the customer service program AppleCare. If you’re looking for more flexibility and the ability to work from home, this could be your chance to make that dream a reality! You don’t need to live in a specific city to be considered for the job, though Apple is advertising through listings on job boards throughout the U.S. Instead, the company is looking for people with technical expertise who can work from home to get the job done to their standards. Interested in applying? Check out the job listing here. Photo by William Hook 23. Sign Up for Free Gift Card Promotions Believe it or not, there are sites that will give you free gift cards just for signing up with them. One of my favorites is Ebates, the cash-back shopping site. They’re giving away $10 gift cards if you sign-up as a new member and earn your first cashback rebate. You can choose either a $10 Target, Walmart, Macy’s, or Kohl’s gift card. You do have to wait 30 days. But, it’s free money so can you really complain? 24. Become a Teacher on Udemy & Google Hangouts When you think about getting paid to teach what you know, what comes to mind? Putting up a poster in a local coffee shop and hoping for the best? Posting an ad on Craigslist? Lucky for us, we’re no longer limited to our local area when it comes to getting paid to teach our skills. Thanks to online learning platforms like Google Helpouts and Udemy, anyone, anywhere, can teach anything. If you think you don’t have any skills to teach, think again. Most of us are experts at something, whether it’s putting on makeup, baking brownies, or even making balloon animals! Drawing a blank on what you could teach or help others with? Here are some ideas: Music lessons Photography lessons Web programming lessons or services Computer repair lessons or services Social media consulting Cooking or baking lessons Fitness instruction Nutrition consultations Academic tutoring Life coaching Style consultations Beauty consultations Gardening help You get to set the rate for your lessons (most go for between $25-$50). And some people have been really successful at this – we just found a guy that’s made $500,000 selling his courses on Udemy. Update 3/24/15: Unfortunately, Google just announced that “Helpouts” will be closing down on April 20, 2015. 25. Sell Your Crafts on Etsy Just because you don’t have a dedicated crafts room like Martha Stewart or Rosie O’Donnell doesn’t mean you can’t become a successful entrepreneur by selling your crafts online. In the past crafters have had to slug it out at craft fairs and farmer’s markets, often meaning long hours and little profit. All of that has changed in the last few years as a number of online marketplaces, like Etsy, have opened that allow amateur crafters a forum to sell their goods. In fact, we recently found a mom that’s earning $70,000/month on Etsy! Click here to read her story. 26. Sell Your Trash Americans throw away approximately 266 million tons of trash every year and it turns out we might as well be throwing away cash!  There’s a reason dumpster diving has become so popular in recent years and that’s because things that you think are worth nothing often have value. Anything from your empty wine bottles to old magazines can be sold online. Here’s a full list of the things in your trash that might be worth cash. 27. Sell Your Skills for $5 on Fiverr Earning five bucks at a time may not sound like much, but those little sales can add up to thousands of dollars. That’s the idea behind Fiverr.com, an online platform where users sell their products and services for $5 each. Fiverr says users create 4,000 new listings, or “gigs,” every day. Gigs range from the standard data entry and research tasks to the truly out-there. For example, as I write this, sellers in the “Fun and Bizarre” section are offering: A piece of rare metal that will melt in your hand A prank phone call to anyone you choose Three balloons released into the sky with your message in them Your name written on two grains of rice A photo of you on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine A video of a woman pretending to be “crazy in love with you” — which has 253 buyers and a 98% positive ratingso far You can seriously sell almost anything on Fiverr. Here are some more ideas. 28. Earn $100 By Helping a Company Name Themselves Professional branders aren’t going anywhere, but for small businesses that can’t afford the million dollar price tag, there is a new trend called crowdsourcing that allows businesses to outsource the creative process to people like you and I through “naming contests.” There are hundreds of naming contests on websites like NamingForce.com and SquadHelp.com. The way it works is that nameless businesses list a little information about their company and a prize amount for the person who can come up with the best name. The rewards are anywhere from $50-$500, with the average amount around $100. For example, one company on SquadHelp lists that they are a company that buys used video games and that they will pay $80 to the person who can come up with the best name. A few of the submissions so far are “Cash 2 Gamers” and “Game Epix.” Think you can do better? Give it a try here. 29. Let Someone Borrow Your House/Apartment for the Night I’ve used Airbnb to both rent out my apartment and stay in many others while traveling, and it’s a fantastic way to put your home to work for you. However, taking a few simple steps can make the difference between a great experience and a less-than-satisfactory one. Whether you’re renting out a single room or your entire home, make the most of your Airbnb rental by following these tips. If you do it well, you could add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to your savings account. Nicholas Wang/Flickr 30. Become an Online Tutor Education is one of the world’s leading industries and by the year 2017 the private tutoring market alone is expected to top $100 billion. Have you ever considered becoming an online tutor to make extra money?  Well, if you haven’t, you most certainly should.  You can make some serious coin by answering student’s questions, explaining your notes, and uploading tutorials.  That’s right, by sharing your knowledge, you can be rewarded handsomely. Try marketing your services on a site like AceYourCollegeClasses.com where some of the top tutors have earned more than $10,000. 31. Become a Dog Masseuse We’ve talked before about ways to get paid to spend time with cats and dogs, but this is a new one: pet massage. That’s right: some people earn money for massaging animals. It might sound a little strange, but apparently many cats and dogs enjoy a good massage as much as humans do. If you like petting your furry friends, why not explore this option? With a bit of training you can make $50 per hour as a pet massage therapist. Here’s how to get started. Jelly Dude under Creative Commons 32. Write Slogans for Major Companies Can you sum up a product in a sentence? Think of something funny — and not another joke about too many candles — to put on a birthday card? Make a point in few concise words? If so, you might be able to make money writing slogans. Companies sometimes need new corporate taglines, advertising slogans and jingles. Bumper sticker and greeting card makers want cute, endearing or funny thoughts to put on their products. When these businesses need help, they sometimes collect submissions from freelance writers or run contests that anyone can enter — including you! Try one or more of these platforms to get started: Slogan Slingers helps companies create slogan contests in which their registered writers compete. It’s free to sign up as a writer, and the company claims you can “make up to $999 per contest (minus our small admin fee).” Get a Slogan is a “crowd-sourcing platform that brings in custom, creative and catchy slogans from a variety of sloganeers.” Companies come to them for help, and writers submit their ideas. It’s free to sign up, but you initially have only “qualifying” status. Once you obtain “qualified” status, you’ll receive $50 for each of your winning slogans. Freelancer.com has a section devoted to slogan-writing projects, which are sometimes run as contests. For example, at the moment a personal injury law firm is offering $150 for the best “unique and memorable tagline/slogan.” Your Turn: Would you try any of these methods to make extra money at home?

Once upon a time…

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1974 visit to Sydney   Arnold Schwarzenegger, who visited Sydney in 1974 as the reigning Mr Universe, flexes his muscles. Photo: Trevor Dallen 'It's only a matter of time' before machines take over First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on April 24, 1974 The big American looked at the shining black Rolls-Royce in front of the international terminal at Sydney Airport, thought about lifting the front of it — and turned and said: "No. I'd better not, I might damage it." Instead, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr Universe, lifted airline hostess Roslyn Hull, 25 of Brighton-le-Sands, with his left hand. Arnold Schwarzenegger lifts Ansett hostess Roslyn Hull off the ground. Photo: Trevor Dallen He flew into Sydney yesterday - to flex his muscles at two three-minute performances, for $2000. He will appear at the 1974 Bullworker NSW contest tomorrow, and at the judging of Mr Victoria in Melbourne on Saturday. He stands 6ft 3in, has 23in biceps and a 60in chest. Arnold Schwarzenegger flexes his bicep for the camera. Photo: Trevor Dallen He trains five hours a day, and says he has four or five meals before competing in a contest. He started body-building 11 years ago, but was never a weakling. "I had a good body when I was 15, but wanted to have a much better one," he said. "The stronger I get, the more secure I feel." Mr Universe, whose best lift is 700lb, has won the title five times, the first when he was 19. On the other hand he spends every spare minute in a gym. "It is important to train as much as possible to be in perfect condition." First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on April 24, 1974

10 Benefits of Potassium for Your Brain & Heart

 

Potassium is a mineral that you don’t want to run low on for any stretch of time. It’s essential for basic functions of the body, and low levels can take a toll on both your brain and heart. Here are the top ten benefits of potassium so you can make sure you’re getting enough each day. 1. Better Brain Function Your brain does its best work when your potassium level is maintained. Go a long time without enough potassium and your brain could end up paying the price. It’s best to avoid the situation altogether by ensuring you’re getting adequate potassium. In order to get the best and most noticeable results, try to get the recommended amount of potassium each day, which is 3.5 grams. It may involve cutting out processed food and stressing fresh fruits and vegetables, but it’s worth the effort and will pay dividends in the form of better brain health. How Potassium Helps: Potassium helps send more oxygen to your brain, which lets it do its job better. When you don’t get enough you’re limiting the amount of oxygen that makes it to your brain and you’ll experience the side effects, which may be subtle at first but will worsen until the problem is corrected. 2. Better Muscle Function Your muscles do a lot to help you get through your day, and if they’re not firing on all cylinders it’s going to be hard to get through your daily activities without feeling fatigued. Whether you’re trying to build lean muscle mass or just trying to keep your muscles healthy for life, potassium plays a role. One symptom of low metabolism is muscle weakness and damage, so in order to keep your muscle as healthy as possible, look to foods that are high in potassium, and stock up on them each time you’re at the grocery store. These include bananas of course, as well as avocados, raisins, and dried apricots. How Potassium Helps: Potassium helps keeps your muscles healthy by working at the cellular level to repolarize the cells of your muscles, helping to repair them faster and more efficiently. 3. Lower Risk of Heart Problems Taking in a sufficient amount of potassium will put you at a lower risk of developing heart problems like stroke and heart disease. If you’ve already been diagnosed with a heart problem, you’ve likely been told to watch your level of potassium. What’s interesting is that many of the foods that are rich in potassium also contain antioxidants and other minerals that will help your heart and lead to greater overall healthiness. To complete your heart health profile be sure you’re getting adequate amount of exercise each day, such as a walk, strength training, or yoga. How Potassium Helps: Your cardiovascular system benefits from reduced blood pressure, which puts less strain on the arteries and heart. In their more relaxed state, your heart and arteries can function better, resulting in more energy in the present, and a longer life going forward. 4. Maintains Fluid Balance Getting enough potassium each day helps keep your internal fluids balanced correctly. Potassium is just one part of the equation, and you’ll want to make sure you’re getting all of your important minerals to maintain a balance of electrolytes in your bloodstream. You’ll want to watch how much sodium you’re taking in, since many of the foods found in restaurants, fast food joints, and pre-packaged foods contain a lot of low-grade salt. Making your own food gives you control over how much sodium it contains. Calcium is another mineral to watch in order to maintain a healthy fluid balance in the body. How Potassium Helps: Potassium, as well as calcium and sodium help make up the electrolyte balance in the body. Drinking enough water is essential for the right fluid balance, and you’ll want to determine the right amount of water for your body size and weight and be sure to drink it daily. 5. Stronger Bones Potassium is one key to the healthy bone puzzle that you don’t want to forget. Calcium generally gets the most attention when it comes to essential minerals for bone health, but you’ll need to keep an eye on more than just one, including potassium. The body is a system of complex subsystems all working together to keep you moving. Bones don’t rely on just one mineral, but an array of vitamins and minerals in order to thrive. You probably don’t pay much attention to your bones until they start having problems, so it’s best to be proactive and help them stay healthy long before any problems arise. How Potassium Helps: Along with calcium, phosphorous, manganese, and other key minerals, potassium works to keep your bones strong and healthy. Bones need the right minerals in order to continue to stay hard and prevent diseases like osteoporosis, making potassium a very beneficial item indeed. 6. Reduced Stress Levels We could all use a little less stress in this modern world of ours, and a proper potassium level is key to handling the triggers of everyday life. You may not even notice when you’re low on potassium and it’s causing excess stress because it may seem normal to you now, or you may have labeled yourself as a stressful person. Because potassium is used by every cell in your body to continue on with its function, it only stands to reason that when you’re not getting enough you won’t be able to cope as well with stress. How Potassium Helps: Potassium benefits you by keeping your stress down and helping to regulate your blood pressure. You’d be surprised at how much less stressed you’ll feel when your blood pressure is at a healthy level. It also helps to relax your muscles, which keeps you from tensing up and exacerbating the situation. 7. Improved Blood Pressure Numbers High blood pressure is definitely something to be concerned about, and there’s a reason why your doctor checks it each time you go in for a check-up. Getting the right amount of potassium each day will help lower your blood pressure, and should be used in conjunction with a blood pressure conscious diet and lifestyle. There are several serious conditions that high blood pressure is a precursor for, including heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. Don’t leave yourself susceptible to these potentially life-ending conditions. Focus on your potassium intake until it becomes a habit. How Potassium Helps: Potassium relaxes blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more freely and bringing down your blood pressure. Of course it is not the only factor in keeping your blood pressure where it needs to be, so consult with your healthcare professional to discuss diet and lifestyle changes you can make to keep it in a healthy range. 8. Increased Metabolism Potassium helps knock out a sluggish metabolism and gets it back on track to natural levels of effectiveness. If you’ve ever had trouble losing weight while dieting, it could have been due to a slow metabolism brought on by, or worsened by, low potassium levels. Getting enough potassium sets the stage for other minerals to do their job. Think of the vitamins and minerals you take in each day as a team designed to help you perform at your best. In order for the team to work properly, each team member must show up and do their job. Miss one component and it all works inefficiently and tends to break down. How Potassium Helps: Potassium helps the body break down and metabolize foods by helping the other minerals you take in do their job. It’s a team player that is a vital component to your body’s metabolism. 9. Improved Nervous System Your nervous system benefits greatly from regular consumption of foods rich in potassium. You may not be able to spot this benefit when you start getting more potassium, but running a shortage of potassium will produce symptoms that are identifiable. This is a complex system that is responsible for sending signals throughout your body, and helping you interact with the world around you. It’s not something we generally give much attention to, and if you treat it right with adequate potassium from the foods you eat, it will treat you better in return. How Potassium Helps: Potassium gets your nervous system to function the way it should by helping the tissues in your body on a cellular level. When your nervous system is happy, you’ll find that your health and wellbeing improve over time. 10. Prevents Muscle Cramps One sign that you might be low on potassium is that your muscles are cramping for no apparent reason. If you’ve overused a muscle and it cramps up on you, that is understable, and may not be the result of too little potassium. But if you experience muscle cramps in muscles that haven’t been pushed to their max, you may want to put some attention on your potassium intake. Muscle cramps may not be a huge problem, but preventing them with potassium is easy enough. Muscle cramps and twitches can also be used as an early sign that your potassium levels are low. Take action to correct this imbalance and you should see an improvement in symptoms. How Potassium Helps: Potassium keeps muscles from cramping by helping the tissues relax. When you get an unexplained muscle cramp be sure to up your potassium intake and see if that makes it go away.

Chinês compra carro de luxo com quatro toneladas de moedas

 

Jornalista: Da Redação Fotos: Fotos: CCTV News

 

Além de ser o maior mercado de automóveis do mundo, a China é bastante peculiar no que diz respeito aos hábitos de seus consumidores, que não se importam nem um pouco em levar todas as suas economias até a concessionária para pagar por um carro novo.

Em abril, uma mulher foi até uma loja com 100 mil notas de baixo valor para comprar um BMW e agora a imprensa local mostra a história de um homem que resolveu fazer o pagamento de um automóvel com moedas. O cliente, de sobrenome Gan, escolheu um modelo de luxo (não revelado) de 680 mil iuans (cerca de R$ 345 mil) e decidiu pagar 660 mil iuans (R$ 334.700) em moedas.

Para carregar todo esse dinheiro (que totalizou quatro toneladas) foi necessária a ajuda de dez pessoas, que levaram uma hora para transportar o montante para dentro da loja. De acordo com Gan, ele levou apenas três meses para juntar a quantia no posto de combustíveis onde trabalha, pois os motoristas de ônibus que lá param costumam pagar os abastecimentos com moedas.

Internet privacy manifesto calls for more consumer power

 

A revolutionary power shift from internet giants such as Google to ordinary consumers is critically overdue, according to new research from a University of East Anglia (UEA) online privacy expert. In a manifesto that ranges from "the right to be treated fairly on the internet" to finding a better, more nuanced approach to using the internet as an archive, Dr Paul Bernal of UEA's School of Law delves deeper into his research on the so-called 'right to be forgotten.' His paper, called 'A right to be remembered? Or the internet, warts and all,' will be presented at the annual Privacy Law Scholars' Conference at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr Bernal, a lecturer in information technology, intellectual property and media law, was invited to write the paper for the conference, where an international group of scholars and practitioners discuss current issues around privacy law. Dr Bernal said: "We ask a great deal of the internet, and much of what we ask for is contradictory. "Our perceptions of the internet are similarly confused and contradictory. We think everything on the net lasts forever and we're worried about everything being forgotten. "We think anonymity abounds but that the security services and Google know everything there is to know about us. "Google itself is a paradox: at times we treat it as a philanthropic indexer of the internet and champion of freedom of expression, at other times as an evil mega-corporation driven only by profit or trying to control the world and indeed us. "We expect it to provide imaginative, innovative and engaging products and services -- and we expect it to do so for nothing, and without invading our privacy or gathering our data." In his paper, Dr Bernal said recent examples, such as the Google Spain case, demonstrate an increasing willingness of regulators to challenge Google, Facebook and other 'internet giants' that have access to vast swathes of personal data. But because the internet is not a permanent archive and data isn't indexed by neutral, purely algorithmic services -- rather "created by humans with biases, assumptions and faults" -- Dr Bernal said those affected need more control over what they want, or don't want, displayed in searches that concern them. Dr Bernal said: "Sometimes what people would like to be remembered becomes lost, whilst at other times things that people would rather were forgotten is inconveniently but seemingly permanently remembered. "Who might be the appropriate people to decide what are the 'right' stories to promote and what are the 'wrong' stories that need to be demoted or delisted? And how and when can it be right to interfere with an algorithm that is a key trade secret for a business like Google? "The internet is messy, dynamic and not just imperfect but imperfectible, something that is particularly important to understand in the context of forgetting and remembering. "That does not mean nothing can be done or should be done, but that the limitations on what can and should be done should be understood -- and the need to constantly reassess the situation accepted. "Very few of us want to be forgotten, but most of us would like more influence on how we are remembered -- and more importantly, how we are seen in the present, and how decisions about us are made and upon what basis."

Programming DNA to reverse antibiotic resistance in bacteria

 

Growing bacteria in petri dishes. (stock image) At its annual assembly in Geneva last week, the World Health Organization approved a radical and far-reaching plan to slow the rapid, extensive spread of antibiotic resistance around the world. The plan hopes to curb the rise caused by an unchecked use of antibiotics and lack of new antibiotics on the market. New Tel Aviv University research published in PNAS introduces a promising new tool: a two-pronged system to combat this dangerous situation. It nukes antibiotic resistance in selected bacteria, and renders other bacteria more sensitive to antibiotics. The research, led by Prof. Udi Qimron of the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, is based on bacterial viruses called phages, which transfer "edited" DNA into resistant bacteria to kill off resistant strains and make others more sensitive to antibiotics. According to the researchers, the system, if ultimately applied to pathogens on hospital surfaces or medical personnel's hands, could turn the tide on untreatable, often lethal bacterial infections. "Since there are only a few pathogens in hospitals that cause most of the antibiotic-resistance infections, we wish to specifically design appropriate sensitization treatments for each one of them," Prof. Qimron says. "We will have to choose suitable combinations of DNA-delivering phages that would deliver the DNA into pathogens, and the suitable combination of 'killing' phages that could select the re-sensitized pathogens." Reprogramming the system "Antibiotic-resistant pathogens constitute an increasing threat because antibiotics are designed to select resistant pathogens over sensitive ones," Prof. Qimron says. "The injected DNA does two things: It eliminates the genes that cause resistance to antibiotics, and it confers protection against lethal phages. "We managed to devise a way to restore antibiotic sensitivity to drug-resistant bacteria, and also prevent the transfer of genes that create that resistance among bacteria," he continues. Earlier research by Prof. Qimron revealed that bacteria could be sensitized to certain antibiotics -- and that specific chemical agents could "choose" those bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics. His strategy harnesses the CRISPR-Cas system -- a bacterial DNA-reprogramming system Prof. Qimron pioneered -- as a tool to expand on established principles. According to the researchers, "selective pressure" exerted by antibiotics renders most bacteria resistant to them -- hence the epidemic of lethal resistant infections in hospitals. No counter-selection pressure for sensitization of antibiotics is currently available. Prof. Qimron's strategy actually combats this pressure -- selecting for the population of pathogens exhibiting antibiotic sensitivity. "We believe that this strategy, in addition to disinfection, could significantly render infections once again treatable by antibiotics," said Prof. Qimron. Prof. Qimron and his team are now poised to apply the CRISPR/phage system on pseudomonas aeruginosa -- one of the world's most prevalent antibiotic-resistant pathogens involved in hospital-acquired infections -- and to test whether bacterial sensitization works in a more complex microbial environment: the mouse cage. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by American Friends of Tel Aviv University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference: Ido Yosef, Miriam Manor, Ruth Kiro, Udi Qimron. Temperate and lytic bacteriophages programmed to sensitize and kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015; 201500107 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1500107112