Frostbite Protection in Mice Suggests an Antifreeze Glycoprotein
Heisig M. et al. PLOS ONE, February 2015.

Some animals such as ticks and fish have anti-freeze proteins that protect them from extreme cold conditions. Anti-freeze proteins typically prevent cold damage by limiting the formation of ice crystals that would otherwise lead to tissue damage. However, warm-blooded mammals, including humans, do not have such proteins and can suffer injuries from severe cold, such as frostbite. In a recent study, scientists tested whether the anti-freeze proteins of other species can protect mammals from such cold injuries. They genetically introduced an anti-freeze protein from the black-legged tick into a live mouse. When mice tails were exposed to cold for seven days, 60% of the transgenic mice showed no visible signs of frostbite, compared to only 11% of the controls. In addition, inflammation response from the immune systems of the transgenic mice was dramatically lower.  This study is the first to demonstrate a protein’s ability to boost frostbite resistance in an adult mammal. Although any potential human applications of anti-freeze proteins are far away, this study spotlights two future directions. First, anti-freeze proteins could potentially be utilized to extend the lifetime of organs prior to transplantation. Second, anti-freeze proteins may provide cellular protection for people with certain autoimmune diseases, such as scleroderma, that are characterized by cold sensitivity.

Smartphones as earthquake warning devices

Crowd-sourced earthquake early warning
Minson ES et al. Science Advances, April 2015.

The cellphones in our pockets function as cameras, calculators, flashlights – and now earthquake sensors. During an earthquake, even a few seconds can make a difference between life and death. Japan has the most advanced early warning system, which saved many lives during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0. However, these systems are expensive and not practical at a personal level. A new study proposes that smartphones can be utilized to detect earthquakes via their GPS (Global Positioning System). Although GPS in smartphones use a relatively coarse method of positioning compared with many sensitive instruments, they can detect as little as six inches of displacement, which can be sufficient for earthquake detection. Scientists first tested the accuracy of smartphone GPS systems by shaking a phone and comparing the recorded displacements with a sensitive scientific instrument. After many analyses in different contexts, they concluded that smartphones could reliably detect earthquakes of a magnitude 7.0 and above. However, an obvious problem with this approach is that smartphones are always in motion as we walk, drive, or simply play with our phones; how can a smartphone differentiate a real earthquake from a routine motion? Scientists then came up with a solution called a “trigger” in which an earthquake alarm would only be activated if a smartphone and its four closest neighbors recorded the same amount of displacement. Experts are still skeptical about how well this system would work in a real-world situation. But, the benefit of crowd-sourcing earthquake detection is well recognized; all you need is a smartphone app.

Ocean acidification linked to the greatest extinction

Ocean acidification and the Permo-Triassic mass extinction.
Clarkson MO et al. Science, April 2015

A recent study suggests that ocean acidification caused by extreme volcanic activity triggered the greatest extinction of all time. This extinction event took place approximately 252 million years ago, and over the course of 60,000 years, it erased more than 90% of marine species and 60% of land animals. The researchers analyzed ancient rocks from the deserts of the United Arab Emirates, which were formed on the ocean floor about 250 million years ago. They specifically examined the ratios of boron and carbon isotopes. These chemical measurements revealed that oceans went from alkaline to highly acidic over the course of a few thousand years, which is very quick in geological terms. Scientists suggest that a huge pulse of volcanic eruptions discharged immense amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and acidified the oceans. This resulted in possibly fatal conditions for marine life; when combined with the destruction of food chains, most marine life went extinct. The amount of carbon added to the atmosphere during the mass extinction was predicted to be greater than today’s fossil fuel reserves. However, alarmingly, the rate of carbon released at the time was very similar to modern emissions. Oceans today are rapidly acidifying due to increased CO₂ emissions by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels; the average pH has dropped by 0.1 units since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Oceanographers cautioned that a dramatic rise in the acidity levels of oceans affects all marine life, particularly shellfish fisheries around the world. We can only hope that the future does not resemble the past.

There are already 1.5 billion smartphone users and a total of 5 billion mobile phones in the world. Smartphone companies are announcing new phone models with improved capabilities every year. These are smarter and better phones with new sensors, powerful chips, and new capabilities. Newspapers and technology blogs often start discussing rumors about an upcoming smartphone several months before its launch.

Over the past few years, we have seen many futuristic prototypes and designs. Consumers request better and smarter phones that can handle more and more tasks with every new model. Although the phone companies are surprising us with new smartphones every year, we are far from seeing some of the technologies presented in prototypes. What do you expect to see in smartphones in the next 5 to 10 years? Let’s talk about some of the technologies that will end up in a smartphone in the near future.

One of the critical components in a smartphone is the battery. While most smartphones only support being charged from a wall plug, some of them are supporting inductive wireless charging out of the box. Although it is not a standard feature for most smartphones, wireless charging can be enabled using third-party cases and charging pads. Current wireless charging systems still require the smartphone to be placed on a pad for charging. A bigger step in powering smartphones will be touchless wireless charging. A new startup company, Ossia [1], recently unveiled the world’s first commercially viable touchless remote wireless power system. Imagine you are walking into your house or office, and the smartphone in your pocket is starting to charge via receiving electric waves through the air.

With wired or wireless charging, the battery technology of smartphones remained largely unchanged for years. A large percentage of smartphone bodies are occupied by lithium-ion batteries. With the developments of new power efficient displays and computing chips, smartphones are now using less and less power. This allows manufacturers to use smaller batteries with the same usage time. Battery technologies are not efficient enough to power smartphones more than a couple of days with average daily usage. People often carry extra batteries and chargers when travelling or spending time outside. Solar charging can help with some of these challenges by enabling smartphones to recharge under sunlight. Researchers are also exploring other materials to replace lithium-ion (e.g. graphene) in batteries to provide extra power for the ever-growing size of smartphone displays.

Smartphone displays are getting bigger and better with ultra-high screen resolutions that are sometimes even stronger than the human eye. Some manufacturers are already working on 4K ultra HD displays (3840 pixels wide by 2160 pixels tall). With the screen sizes getting larger, the distinction between a smartphone and tablet is becoming less clear. Some smartphones are even called phablet, a new category between smartphones and tablets, by newspapers and tech blogs.

A bigger jump in display technology will be through the use of flexible screens. There are already prototypes of 5-inch flexible displays or 50 inch curved televisions from several companies. One benefit of flexible displays would be fitting a tablet size screen on a small smartphone body. Users will be able to slide or unfold the display of a typical size (e.g. 4-inch) smartphone, and convert it to an 8-inch tablet. Companies are still looking for a good use case for flexible displays in daily life. Some applications of the smartphones with flexible displays make them closer to wearable devices. Some of them have appeared as watches or bracelets.

Another development in display technology is transparency. There are already prototypes of transparent displays in various sizes and forms. Transparency is important for heads-up displays and some models where seeing the background is necessary. This technology will allow displays on glasses, contact lenses, windows, and windshields. An obvious application of the transparent displays in cars is a GPS navigation system on the windshield [2]. This will open a full immersive experience by showing directions directly positioned on the road, virtual signs on the sidewalks, and even augmented information about companies and addresses directly on the walls of the buildings. Imagine seeing a large virtual menu or information panel with available seats, business hours, and prices on the wall of a restaurant. While the transparent displays are already available in various prototypes, the main challenge is achieving transparency in electronics and other components in a smartphone.

Even with flexible displays, you may not be able to carry and fold a 50-inch display into typical smartphone size. A major shift from increasing the display size will come via the use of pico-projectors. A smartphone, with a decent display size (e.g. 5 inch) for everyday use, can be turned into a full size (e.g. 50-inch) media consumption system with an integrated pico-projector. Although there are prototypes of pico-projectors embedded into smartphones, there are still many technical limitations in projection size, brightness, battery life, and cost of components.

While larger displays provide a better experience for users, the consumable content is mostly 2-dimensional. Even though there are games and movies designed and recorded in 3-dimensional environments, they still cannot provide a true 3D experience. All of this 3D content is projected onto a 2D screen in smartphones. There are prototypes giving the 3D effect by providing 2 separate images to both eyes by using a stereoscopy or parallax barrier. These technologies have limitations in field of view, viewing angle, interactivity, and distance of viewer. Researchers can create a pseudo 3D experience via head tracking, using camera or sensors to provide a glass-free experience. This allows users to see a different perspective of the scene on the phone by looking from different angles. The technology is still in its early steps with limited applications and hardware support for the full immersive experience and interaction.

The keyboard is main point of interaction in smartphones. One of the major changes in smartphones was eliminating the physical keyboard on the phone. Now most of the front face of the phone is covered with the display. Multi touch displays provide on-screen keyboard for text input. While they are similar in size, on-screen keyboards allow customization for different languages, use cases, and applications. On-screen keyboards try to imitate the haptic feedback through vibrations, but still cover almost half of the screen during typing. There are prototypes with air-inflatable buttons in real 3D forms using a transparent layer on the screen to provide realistic haptic feedback. The size of the keyboard is the main limitation for smartphones. A new prototype eliminates even the on-screen keyboard using laser projection. A small device projects a full size virtual keyboard on a flat surface like table using lasers, and tracks finger movements for recognizing key inputs. This allows both customization and experience of a full size keyboard, while making the screen fully available for other functions on the phone.

While the main input point for the phone is through virtual or on screen keyboards, a smartphone actually gets many inputs from outside through sensors. The full potential of these phones can only be achieved through new technological sensors in the phone. GPS and compass sensors allow navigation and direction capabilities, and replace the need for a GPS device for most users. Many smartphones are now listed as the most used camera devices on photography websites, and are getting closer to the quality of a DSLR camera with new image sensors. Proximity sensors understand the distance between device and user, and allow the device to turn off the display during phone calls to reduce battery usage. Accelerometer and gyro sensors provide new inputs for gaming and user interaction. Barometer, temperature, humidity, gesture, fingerprint, and heart rate sensors are becoming part of many smartphones. Researchers are already experimenting with ultrasound [3] and x-ray scanners [4] for smartphones, and we are getting one step closer to the Star Trek tricorder, a general-purpose science fiction health diagnosis device.

The future of smartphones is almost unlimited. We have already seen novel technologies introduced for smartphones as prototypes and concept designs. We can easily extend the list with intelligent assistants, nano-coating for waterproofing and self-cleaning, seamless integration of voice controls and augmented reality, environmental and medical sensors, and 3D and holographic displays. I can’t wait to see some of these technologies integrated into smartphones in the near future.

While smartphones revolutionized the way we communicate and how we carry out many of our daily tasks, at the same time they are challenging our privacy, safety, behavioral codes, social life, and the use of public space. The problems and discussions will not end here, and they are growing with the introduction of new sensors and capabilities. Increasing awareness through education about the security and privacy risks that smartphones present is the first step for protecting users from future problems. Parents and educators have a critical role for raising responsible generations, and they can start with becoming a good role model [5] on how they use their smartphones…

Acknowledgment: This article is produced at Mergeous [6], an online article and project development service for authors and publishers dedicated to the advancement of technologies in the merging realms of science and spiritual thought.

References

1. Darrell Etherington. 2013. “Cota By Ossia Aims To Drive A Wireless Power Revolution And Change How We Think About Charging,” September.
2. Jared Newman. 2013. “GPS on Your Windshield: Garmin Brings Navigation HUDs to Regular Old Cars,” Time Magazine, July.
3. “Ultrasound scan and health check using your smartphone,” BBC News, December 2013.
4. James Plafke. 2013. “Tiny terahertz chips can give smartphones X-ray vision, tricorder-like functionality,” ExtremeTech, July.
5. Larry Magid. 2012. “Smartphone Guide for Parents of Tweens and Teens,” SafeKids.com, August 2012.
6. Mergeous, Online article and project development service, mergeous.com.