giant neurons with loads of kids

We ported a circuit of neurons mapped by gamers playing EyeWire onto an 83" touch screen in partnership with the National Academy of Engineering and Microsoft Research. These cells play a role in detecting motion and will be featured in an upcoming publication. For science! 

Full Pink Moon

This full Moon heralded the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox (one of the first spring flowers). It is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon. Historically, Native Americans living in what is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving a distinctive name to each full Moon. This name was used to refer to the entire month in which the Moon occurred. With some variations, the same Moon names were used throughout the Algonquian tribes from New England to Lake Superior.

Analysis: According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, "Full Pink Moon" is indeed one of the traditional Native American names for a full moon that occurs in April. Lest there be any confusion, however, the nickname does not refer to a full moon that is literally pink in color. It was inspired, the almanac says, by the springtime bloom of the moss pink flower (Phlox subulata), commonly found in the central and eastern United States.
Coincidentally, a total lunar eclipse will also occur during the full moon of April 15, 2014, which means that for some observers it will actually take on a dull red or rusty hue as the earth's shadow passes across the moon's face (which is why a total lunar eclipse is sometimes referred to as a "Blood Moon"). So, while we wouldn't normally expect a "Pink Moon" to look different from any other full moon, color-wise, this year's occurrence promises to deliver a special treat for the eye — not exactly a bright pink glow, mind you, but almost!
The April 15 full moon is also the "Paschal Full Moon" of 2014, defined in Christian tradition as the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Easter is always celebrated on the Sunday immediately following the Paschal Full Moon.

 

The word lunatic comes from the Latin luna, because it was believed that people were more likely to exhibit aberrant behavior during a full moon. Although studies have been done showing that emergency room visits and accidents are increased during the full moon period, there has yet to be conclusive evidence for causation.
(but, the moon seems to have an effect on animals as well as people.)

Xiaomi Redmi Note China will take over the smartphone market

48 hrs with the new Xiaomi Redmi Note - My first impressions or why China will take over the smartphone market (read this if you are on the market for a new phablet) 

Costing less that $130 (or 93 Euros) you are getting a MediaTek Octa-Core SoC @1.4Ghz with a Mali 450 GPU which not only gives you enough performance to manage your everyday tasks, you can even play very demanding games like Real Racing 3.

Yeah, I hear you... this is only a 720p display (5.5-inch btw.) but did I really miss a FullHD resolution? Not at all! 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage sounds a little bit limited and it might even make me wanna upgrade to the version with 2GB RAM and 16GB int. storage (which also sports the 1.7Ghz version of this mighty Octa-Core SoC) but for now I am perfectly fine with the overall performance (check the benchmark results that I've attached).

The 13MP camera on the back is slightly better than the one of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2

and the 5MP frontfacing cam is perfect for high resolution selfies. Yes, this is of course a dual-SIM phone which makes it a perfect travel companion for me and with this 3100mAh battery, it easily got me through the day (and trust me, I am the worst enemy of any smartphone battery out there)

Don't let me go into too many details, my detailed review will be up by the end of this week but I need to share one important impression with you: Xiaomi devices are not about building dead cheap handsets... these devices are part of an ecosystem and it is damn thoughtful and good looking one.

The iconic MIUI design tells me, that their developers and designers are well aware of the beauty of simplicity and usability. It all makes sense... their shop, their theme store... the cloud backend. This is generations ahead of the sometimes overloaded Android versions from Samsung, HTC or LG. It looks good, it feels good... hell, it is just very impressive and you start to appreciate the amazing development of this company, that got in just 3 years from zero to hero in mainland China.

Yes, I've installed all the Google apps to figure out if how they work on a MIUI platform (and it was actually shocking to realize how many Mountain View default apps I was using), especially because many of the pre-installed apps are in Chinese.

The combination of the Mediatek MT6592 Octa-Core with a 720p display, a 3100mAh battery and MIUI is such a compelling argument, that I would be even willing to pay $299 for the Redmi Note.

If Xiaomi continues to release such premium devices at these price points, they have the chance to take over the western markets by storm. This is absolutely amazing and they are only the spearhead of this new breed of young and adventurous Chinese mobile manufacturers like Oppo, Gionee, PlusOne, UMi or Zopo. They all care about design, materials and satisfied customers...

The Redmi Note is just one example of this disruptive Chinese industry that will shake up the global markets.

Android Lovers Codes, this one is especially for you!!

Don't forget to re-share this important info with your circles.

Below is an image showing the most useful and very less-known important Android codes that can be used to get various kind of important information regarding your smartphone.