Seventeen year old Brittany Wenger has been announced as the winner of the Google Science Fair grand prize. The teenage scientist created a computer application that works as an artificial neural network detecting complicated patterns in the brain. Doctors can perform a non evasive biopsy and input the data found into Wenger’s app. The app then analyses the data and diagnosis if a patient has cancer. She has 700 test samples and hopes the application will be in hospitals soon.
Wenger has aspirations to be a pediatric oncologist when she grows up, no worries there Brittany.
Also in science news, Curiosity has landed safely and successfully on Mars. The rover touched down at 06.30 GMT on Monday after a 36 week flight, to begin it’s 2 year exploration of our neighbouring planet.
The four main pieces of hardware that arrived on Mars with NASA's Curiosity rover were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera captured this image about 24 hours after landing. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
According to NASA “The team’s findings will help NASA engineers design safer, more efficient entry systems for future missions to Mars and other destinations — missions carrying human crews as well as robotic explorers such as Curiosity. “
Behold Mount Sharp! This image taken by NASA's Curiosity shows what lies ahead for the rover — its main science target, Mount Sharp. The rover's shadow can be seen in the foreground, and the dark bands beyond are dunes. Rising up in the distance is the highest peak Mount Sharp at a height of about 3.4 miles, taller than Mt. Whitney in California. The Curiosity team hopes to drive the rover to the mountain to investigate its lower layers, which scientists think hold clues to past environmental change. This image was captured by the rover's front left Hazard-Avoidance camera at full resolution shortly after it landed. It has been linearized to remove the distorted appearance that results from its fisheye lens. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Watch the events as they unfold in NASA headquarters:
