ScienceDaily (Apr. 2, 2008) — Researchers at the University of Rochester have digitally reproduced music in a file nearly 1,000 times smaller than a regular MP3 file. The music, a 20-second clarinet solo, is encoded in less than a single kilobyte, and is made possible by two innovations: recreating in a computer both the real-world physics of a clarinet and the physics of a clarinet player.

The achievement, announced April 1 at the International Conference on Acoustics Speech and Signal Processing held in Las Vegas, is not yet a flawless reproduction of an original performance, but the researchers say it’s getting close. more>>>

Toidi-Naru launches a products to hange the way consumers think about music

Listening to music couldn’t be more intuitive, thanks to developments from Taiwanese electronics specialist Toidi-Naru. Launching today, their new Foops brand includes the iMind – an iPod accessory which lets you control your mp3 player using the power of your mind.

iMind, a state-of-the-art, super light headset, utilises tech from existing ‘mind gaming’ headsets and features more than twenty tiny sensors to read thoughts and analyse even the most subtle facial movements.

By thinking about a particular artist, album or genre, and with some practice, users can pinpoint music genres and create the ultimate on-the-go playlist to match their mood, without once having to touch their mp3 player.

A truly incredible time saving device, the iMind means you never again need be distracted from your journey by looking at your iPod. The slick and adjustable headset fits neatly around the head, and has been designed to fit all cranial sizes (as well as minimising the dreaded ‘hat-hair’ effect). more>>>

For the first time in Britain, researchers at Newcastle University said Tuesday they had created human-animal hybrid embryos, amid a political row over a disputed embryo research bill in parliament.

According to the northern English university, the research, which was first presented at a lecture in Tel Aviv on March 25, has yet to be published or verified, with a spokesman for the university telling AFP that the institution “wouldn’t claim it to be final at all.”

The revelation comes with British MPs engaged in a fierce battle over the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which allows the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for medical research.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s governing Labour Party conceded in March that its party lawmakers with moral or ethical objections would be allowed to vote against parts of the proposed legislation when it comes before parliament this year. more>>>

Anyone facing chemotherapy would welcome an advance promising to dramatically reduce their dose of these often harsh drugs. Using nanotechnology, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have taken a step closer to that goal.

The researchers focused a powerful drug directly on tumors in rabbits using drug-coated nanoparticles. They found that a drug dose 1,000 times lower than used previously for this purpose markedly slowed tumor growth.

“Many chemotherapeutic drugs have unwanted side effects, and we’ve shown that our nanoparticle technology has the potential to increase drug effectiveness and decrease drug dose to alleviate harmful side effects,” says lead author Patrick M. Winter, Ph.D., research assistant professor of medicine and biomedical engineering. more>>>