Saturday 16 June 2012

Music can change your brain.

Studies by the University Hospital San Raffaele (Milan, Italy), demonstrated that test persons with no musical background were not only visibly more skilled after completing two weeks of regular exercise on a piano keyboard, their brains also changed measurably.
The study also provides evidence that even a short period of ambidextrous training leads to better coordination and more balanced action between the left and right brain hemisphere. The training also leads to enhanced responses to the nerve impulses in the fingers musculature.
Furthermore, the musical stimuli also prompted a structural reconstruction of gray matter in those brain regions that are involved in coordinated movement. The study revealed that the more complex the task was, the better.
Scientists have only recently researched the brains 'neuroplasticity' a process in which the brain automatically reconstructs itself in response to a given task so that its internal structure and organization are best suited to a demand. Neuroplasticity functions by automatically establishing better interconnection of frequently used areas of the brain, whilst resources are drawn down from those less used.
Practicing music drastically and effectively accelerates self-optimization of certain brain activities

Thursday 24 May 2012

Audi e-bike: A bicycle that runs at 80 kmph

Audi unveiled an extremely emotion-inspiring sports machine, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee at Wörthersee in Carinthia, Austria. The prototype cycle combines an electric drive and muscle power.

    The uncompromising dynamism of the bike prototype is fully visible at first sight.
    The airy frame boasts a low center of gravity and a compact overall volume. In this way, the e- bike is superbly agile at the sporty handling limits. The lithium-ion battery is incorporated into the frame and needs 2.5 hours to freuteully charge. On long trial tours, only a few simple steps are required to remove the battery and replace it with a charged one.
  
    The frame and the swinging arm that holds the back wheel are made of carbon fiber- reinforced polymer (CFRP). The same material is used for the 26” wheels, which feature an innovative “Audi ultra blade” design with broad flat spokes for an optimized transmission of pedal power.

    The airy frame boasts a low center of gravity and a compact overall volume. In this way, the e- bike is superbly agile at the sporty handling limits. The lithium-ion battery is incorporated into the frame and needs 2.5 hours to freuteully charge. On long trial tours, only a few simple steps are required to remove the battery and replace it with a charged one.
    The frame and the swinging arm that holds the back wheel are made of carbon fiber- reinforced polymer (CFRP). The same material is used for the 26” wheels, which feature an innovative “Audi ultra blade” design with broad flat spokes for an optimized transmission of pedal power. “We were able to demonstrate with the choice of materials just how closely design goes hand in hand with expertise in ultra lightweight construction,” Hendrik Schaefers ... more
    Homogeneous LED light strips round out the frame and create the immediately recognizable Audi light signature. For extreme tricks and stunts the seat can be lowered to run flush with the frame itself. At the press of a button, the seat then rises up and the biker can adopt a comfortable position.