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Worldwide wrap

Joanne Carew
By Joanne Carew, ITWeb Cape-based contributor.
Johannesburg, 11 Oct 2013

In this week's wrap, Peter Higgs and Francois Englert's Higgs boson research has been awarded the Nobel Prize for physics; and a blind man's sight was restored after his tooth was implanted into his eye. Get the details on these stories and more below.

Gaga cover reveal goes digital

The album cover of Lady Gaga's latest album was unveiled piece by piece on billboards and screens in major cities across the globe, thanks to a partnership with Clear Channel Outdoor. Gaga asked her Twitter followers and Facebook fans to tweet and post about the upcoming album, titled ARTPOP, using the hashtag #iHeartARTPOP. Gaga used Clear Channel Outdoor's media to perform a digital tease of the album cover with a new portion revealed every few minutes until the artwork was fully displayed.

Tweets with the #iHeartARTPOP hashtag were incorporated into the backdrop of the creative reveal, allowing Gaga fans to be part of the collaborative art process. The reveal marks the first time a musical and visual performing artist has used social media to collaborate with fans in the creation of art using out-of-home media.
Via: Financial Post

Higgs boson earns Nobel acclaim

Peter Higgs and Francois Englert have shared the Nobel Prize in physics for their work on the Higgs boson particle. The particle confers mass to all other particles and has been hailed as an influential moment in science history. The pair undertook an experiment at the European particle physics laboratory, at CERN in Switzerland, in July last year. The experiment marked the fist time Higgs and Englert ever met.

The award does not come without controversy, partly because several other scientists, as well as CERN itself, claim credit for work done on the particle. A Nobel Prize can only be shared by a maximum of three people and isn't granted posthumously.
Via: WSJ

Tooth restores sight

A blind man can now see following a revolutionary surgery that involved implanting one of his own teeth into his eye. Ian Tibbetts' eye was damaged in an industrial accident when scrap metal ripped his cornea in six places. The surgery, called osteo-odonto-keratoprothesis, was conducted by ophthalmic surgeon Christopher Liu at the Sussex Eye Hospital, in Brighton.

The process of restoring Tibbetts' sight happened over two phases. First, the tooth and part of the jaw were removed and a lens was implanted into the tooth using a drill. The tooth and lens were then implanted under the eye socket. Once the tooth has grown tissue and developed a blood supply, part of the cornea is sliced open and removed and the tooth is stitched into the eye socket. And because the tooth is part of the patient's own tissue, the body does not reject it.
Via: Weliveinthefuture

Explore Melbourne remotely

An Australia-based "remote control" campaign allows social media users to make suggestions to a travelling duo, essentially functioning as remote travel guides. Tourism Victoria, the Victorian government's lead tourism agency, is responsible for the concept, dubbed Remote Control Tourist. The service lets anyone with an Internet connection explore Melbourne, Australia.

The system works with a pair of real people documenting their travels through the city. Armed with helmet-mounted cameras, they stream live video and audio so that users can experience every street, park and local coffee shop in real time. But the team is not in charge of their itineraries, which are controlled entirely by social media users. They will see the sights at the user's request, eat at user-dictated restaurants, and complete all suggested touristy adventures. The live stream operates in daily 10-hour sessions.
Via: Sydney Morning Herald

Walking on sunshine

New research from George Washington University's Virginia Science and Technology Campus is taking the term "walking on sunshine" to a whole new level. The campus is now home to the world's first walkable solar-panelled sidewalk. Dubbed the Solar Walk, the 100-square-foot solar walkway features 27 walkable solar PV panels. The walkway forms part of the University's "sustainable Solar Walk" project and was installed as an extension of a public sidewalk on the campus.

A solar trellis was also set up, which sends its solar energy output to help power Innovation Hall on the campus. The panels have a peak capacity of 400 Watts. The walkway is designed to power 450 LED lights, which will provide light to those using the walkway after dark. The panels, which were designed by Onyx Solar, are slip-resistant and were designed to withstand regular foot traffic. Both the walkway and the trellis installations can be seen on the public sidewalk.
Via: Inhabitat

Is the US government still shut down?

A site has been launched to keep the public informed about the US government shutdown, which is now in its second week. Aptly-named "isthegovernmentshutdown.com", the site details whether the US government has come to a resolution about the nation's controversial debt situation.

The concept is simple - if the site says 'YES' in red letters, then yes, the government is still shut down. As the shutdown is ongoing, it is uncertain what the front page of the site will say if the government is not shut down. Isthegovernmentshutdown.com also details tweets from members of Congress.
Via: TIME

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