[From The Montreal Gazette, where the story includes additional images] Scientists take steps to making “bionic” leg By Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters April 20, 2011 CHICAGO — As 20-year-old Hailey Daniswicz flexes muscles in her thigh, electrodes attached to her leg instruct a computer avatar to flex its knee and ankle — parts of Hailey’s leg that have been missing since 2005. Daniswicz, a sophomore at Northwestern University who lost her lower leg to bone cancer, is training the computer to recognize slight movements in her thigh so she can eventually be fitted with a “bionic” leg — a robotic prosthesis…

[From MSNBC’s Cosmos Log blog, which features more links and a 0:26 minute video] Control the cosmos with your fingers By Alan Boyle What do you get when you cross a WorldWide Telescope with a Kinect motion-sensing game controller? You get the “universe at your fingertips,” according to Microsoft Research’s Curtis Wong, who demonstrated the gesture-controlled cosmos today at the MIX11 conference in Las Vegas. Actually, having the universe at your fingertips is how Wong has thought of the freely available WorldWide Telescope project since it was first unveiled in 2008. The software, which is freely available through a Web-based interface…

[From UCLA’s Daily Bruin] Taking architecture to new dimensions Virtually mapped French Gothic buildings allow complete immersion through computer models By James Barragan Published April 12, 2011 A smile spreads across Stephen Murray’s face as he answers a question about the building Royce Hall was modeled after. “The Basilica of Saint Ambrogio,” he says confidently. He knows. Of course he knows – he is an expert in Romanesque and Gothic art. The Columbia University professor presented only the second public showing of his new project “Mapping Gothic France” Monday night as a part of the 12th annual Hammer Foundation Lecture…

[From Ubergizmo; more information and pictures at Engadget and the Telepresence Tech web site] Samsung telepresence booths to change the future of shopping? By George Wong 03/24/2011 At the Samsung Mobilization event today, Samsung unveiled their new 3D communication kiosk that makes use of TelePresence Technology. It renders 2D images that float and rotate in space, allowing users to see every angle of a product they are interested in. If you’ve always felt cheated by products you purchased online because of how they end up on your doorstep not looking like the photographs, these kiosks should be right up your…

[From The Atlantic Magazine, where the long article includes sidebar features] [Image credit: Bryan Christie] Mind vs. Machine In the race to build computers that can think like humans, the proving ground is the Turing Test—an annual battle between the world’s most advanced artificial-intelligence programs and ordinary people. The objective? To find out whether a computer can act “more human” than a person. In his own quest to beat the machines, the author discovers that the march of technology isn’t just changing how we live, it’s raising new questions about what it means to be human. By Brian Christian March…

[From The Oxford Mail; more information including pictures is available here] It’s Google earth for RAF jumpers Friday 8th April 2011 By Dan Hearn RAF recruits are using a state-of-the-art simulator to learn how to parachute safely. Students at RAF Brize Norton’s parachute training school use harnesses and virtual reality goggles to ‘jump’ in a range of different environments. Instructors can simulate rain, fog and snow, and choose any time of day or night. Wind speed and direction can also be adjusted to make the descent more challenging. Last night instructors praised the new £500,000 system at the Carterton RAF…