(University of Stuttgart/Timo Gissibl)

Researchers at the University of Stuttgart in Germany have designed a micro-camera so small it can fit inside a syringe. The scientists believe that the new device can be used to explore areas of the body that cameras previously couldn't access, as well as surveillance devices and machines with "autonomous vision."

"Slightly smaller than a grain of salt"

The researchers, who published their findings in Nature Photonics, managed to 3D-print a three-lens camera that, with its casing, is just 0.12 millimeters wide — slightly smaller than a grain of salt. The team believes that 3D printing could represent the future of manufacturing, since current techniques can't produce lenses small enough to be used in important medical contexts like non-invasive endoscopic imaging. Since the camera can fit inside a syringe and can focus from a distance of 3mm, it could potentially be used to capture images from inside human organs or even the brain.

The camera can also be used for surveillance, as it can be integrated into tiny security monitors, drones, illumination systems, or even robots. More research needs to be done, but the device presents some exciting possibilities.

By Kwame Opam

Source: theverge

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Rangers practicing the re-enactment of historical military drills at Fort Charlotte. (BIS photos/Derek Smith)

The Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC) and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Rangers have formed a partnership that will have the Rangers re-enacting historical military drills in full uniform at Fort Charlotte that includes the firing of the cannon.

The RBDF Rangers have been in training at the Fort since May 8, 2016 and will continue until the end of June.

Deon Simms, the Tour and Special Programmes Coordinator for the AMMC said, “The Corporation is committed to providing a reason for Bahamians to come back and re-discover the Forts in Nassau as well as the other properties we manage and also we are looking to provide a quality experience for any visitors that may be coming to our shores.

“I feel that with what we are doing here now with the RBDF Rangers we have a winner.”

The new initiative will be launched in early July and should prove to be both entertaining and educational.

Mr. Simms explained that the partnership between the RBDF and the AMMC is a perfect fit. “We (the AMMC) were looking to build a programme, and to build such a programme as this, you need people with certain things going on already and with certain traits.

“They need discipline, a willingness to learn and here it is you have this group of young men and women that have been in a programme which requires the utmost discipline and requires they learn a lot.”

He added, “So this is an opportunity for us to provide them with the next step. Some of them are going to go into the RBDF and some of them are not, but if we can benefit from that and they can benefit from it why not? Plus we wanted to get some strong young candidates and we figured that the Defence Force had what we needed.”

He said when the joint project is actually launched it will be in two parts. There will be Rangers in actual period uniforms posted around the site, and there will be drill displays.

Secondly, there will be Rangers wearing what “is referred to as number twos, which are the green pants with the yellow stripes and white shirt, green berets”. They are going to be tour guides taking visitors around the site.

During the training the RBDF Rangers are also learning the history not only of Fort Charlotte but of the whole Bahamas. According to Able Seaman Rangers Cyril Miller of the RBDF Ranger Programme, the Rangers have drills on Friday and Saturday.

“We have morning colours, we have firing of the cannon, we do a little ceremonial drill and that leads right into the firing of the cannon. Then we have evening colours and the March Pass.”

Wednesdays and Thursdays, historians from the AMMC give lectures given concerning not only the history of Fort Charlotte and all of The Bahamas. During the training, the Rangers get to visit historical sites including Fort Fincastle, Fort Montague, and saw the first Fort in Nassau, Fort Nassau now the British Colonial Hilton.

RBDF Ranger William Murphy said, “There was a lot of places that I would pass driving through New Providence, and when I found out what they really were, I was amazed because I was like I pass this everyday and thinking that they were just a bunch of broken down buildings, but come to find out slaves used to live there. It is really mindboggling really.”

He added, “They put me through a lot.  When I came here, I was like ‘oh, it is going to be a lot of work’.

However, the Ranger who wants to be a RBDF Officer knows that he will have an advantage over others looking to get onto the Force.

Murphy’s fellow and hopeful future RBDF Officers also acknowledged that they passed historical sites without knowing how important they were to the country.

However, they recognise the importance of what they are doing and that they are the first RBDF Rangers to be participating in such an initiative and cannot wait to give their all.

By: Llonella Gilbert Source: Bahamas Information Services

Peter Nygard, whose accusations of court bias have been described as scandalous.

A JUDGE did not mince her words yesterday in declaring that Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard’s “scandalous” accusations of the court’s bias in matters stemming from an ongoing judicial review were without merit and undermined “the administration of justice”.

Justice Rhonda Bain was asked to recuse herself of committal proceedings involving Mr. Nygard through a notice of motion filed in the Supreme Court by his lawyer, Elliot Lockhart, QC, on the ground of bias. The motion also showed that Mr. Nygard was seeking an order to stay all further proceedings against him pending the hearing of the motion.

However, in a judgment handed down yesterday, the judge rejected Mr. Nygard’s recusal application.

Her ruling said: “The court finds that the fifth respondent (Mr. Nygard) has not proved there was evidence of bias or apparent bias towards the fifth respondent and therefore refuses the application for recusal.”

“The application by the fifth respondent is unmeritorious,” the judge stressed.

“The court finds the allegation of bias by (Mr. Nygard) scandalous and undermines the administration of justice. It is scandalous to allege that the court collaborated with the applicant (Save The Bays) to have the fifth respondent appear in court to enable them to effect service on the fifth respondent. The record in the proceedings on June 19, 2015, which is attached to the affidavit of Keod Smith, would show that the fifth respondent was released after discussion with counsel and the court with respect to convenient dates for the hearing of the notice of motion.”

“Counsel for (Mr. Nygard) was invited to consult his client with respect to his schedule. After this was done, counsel for the applicant and counsel for the fifth respondent agreed dates for the hearing of the notice of motion and for a visit to the site in question.”

On June 18, 2015, Justice Bain had ordered that Mr. Nygard be present in court the next day for the committal hearing against him regarding the alleged October 2014 dredging at his Lyford Cay property and to determine whether or not he was in breach of an injunction against him.

Mr. Nygard was served with the second motion outside the courtroom.

In a previous affidavit in support of Justice Bain recusing herself from Mr. Nygard’s committal hearings on the grounds of bias, Mr. Nygard’s former attorney Keod Smith stated that both he and his client took the position that Mr. Nygard was ordered to remain in court that day “for the sole purpose of affording and/or facilitating” Fred Smith, QC, in serving the fashion designer with the legal notice, notwithstanding Save The Bay’s (STB) alleged numerous failed attempts to previously serve Mr. Nygard with the documents.

In that affidavit, dated September 17, 2015, Keod Smith also claimed that neither Justice Bain, Fred Smith, nor “any of its servants, agents or operatives” indicated to Mr. Nygard or his lawyer that STB “had or was about to commence another contempt application.”

STB, formerly known as the Coalition to Save Clifton Bay, refuted Mr. Nygard’s recusal application, arguing that the application was “transparently calculated to delay the progress of the first committal application” against Mr. Nygard.

STB’s battle with Mr. Nygard over the construction/development activities at his Lyford Cay home stem from allegations that the activities have led to substantial growth of the property.

The group claims that the Lyford Cay resident has almost doubled his property’s size, from 3.25 acres to 6.1 acres, since he acquired it in 1984, by allegedly reclaiming Crown Land from the sea. The advocacy group has alleged that Mr. Nygard achieved this without the necessary permits and approvals, claims that have been denied by the fashion designer.

That comes against the backdrop of Justice Bain’s ruling in 2013 that until the conclusion of judicial review proceedings challenging the legality of the construction of a groyne and the dredging of the seabed off Nygard Cay, neither activity could continue. However, since then, STB has submitted photographic evidence in court purporting that the exact opposite has happened.

Justice Bain said the delay in the substantive hearing of the judicial review could not be blamed on her, as “the substantive application for judicial review has not yet been heard because of the preliminary applications made by the respondents.”

“It cannot be said that the court has not properly managed this case. The nature of the preliminary applications, especially for recusal, have to be disposed of before hearing the substantive application,” the judge added.

By Lamech Johnson, Tribune Staff Reporter

Attendees of the Confucius Institute Awards Ceremony and Reception for the awardees of Language Scholarships and Chinese Cultural Programme.

The Confucius Institute at The College of The Bahamas recently held an award ceremony and reception at the Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre to honour 20 Bahamian students who will soon travel to China to participate in the Mandarin Language Scholarships Chinese Cultural Programme.

Institute directors, representatives from Academic Affairs and Student Leadership, the Programme 2016 participants, their family and friends attended the ceremony. Also in attendance was recently appointed Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to The Commonwealth of The Bahamas His Excellency Huang Qinguo.

“I hope that the Confucius Institute will continue to grow at The College of The Bahamas. It is a good platform for stronger relationship between The Bahamas and China. It is an awesome opportunity for those who want to learn Mandarin and learn about Chinese culture,” The Ambassador told the audience.

The College of The Bahamas students will leave for China in early July to take part in the three-week long Chinese Cultural Programme 2016. This is the third year that Bahamian students will take part in the program. While in China, participants attend classes in Chinese language and culture at NUIST, partner-university of the Confucius Institute at The College of The Bahamas. The students will also visit important historical and cultural sites such as the Three Kingdoms Castle, the famous Confucius Temple in Nanjing and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai. They will also take part in activities designed to share key aspects of Bahamian culture with their Chinese hosts and other international visitors.

The Confucius Institute in The Bahamas is directed by Mr. Youhua Zhou, who gave a presentation covering many aspects of Chinese culture and landscape in a brief overview, and Mr. Haldane Chase.

Said Mr. Chase, “There are a lot of political, economic and cultural shifts currently happening around the world. This programme is on step towards preparing yourself to participate meaningfully in these shifts.”

L-R: Dr. Pandora Johnson, Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs at The College of The Bahamas brought remarks at the event; as did H.E. Huang Qinguo, Ambassador, People’s Republic of China.

Included in the participants who will take part in the summer programme, four students, Ian Brown, Kimnil Knowles, Cortney McDonald, and Alexandra McKenzie, received Mandarin Language Scholarships and will be attending Nanjing University for varying lengths of time.

Chase also went on to explain to the students the advantage this generation has to be exposed to diverse cultures and experiences. “You have an opportunity that many persons in my day could not afford or imagine.”

Similarly, in her remarks, Dr. Pandora Johnson, Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs at The College, spoke to the students’ good fortune. “You have this opportunity which is not to be taken lightly.”

The College of The Bahamas introduced Chinese language classes in 2007. In 2009, The Confucius Institute headquarters approved the application by The College to establish a Confucius classroom, with the agreement signed in November that year. In October 2012, The College, in collaboration with the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) and the Nanjing University of Information, Science and Technology, launched the Confucius Institute.

The Confucius Institute at the College of The Bahamas, Confucius Institute Headquarters and Nanjing University of Information, Science and Technology, Nanjing, China are jointly sponsoring the program.

Confucius Institute is a non-profit public educational organization affiliated with theMinistry of Education of the People's Republic of China, whose aim is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teachinginternationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges such as the Mandarin Language Scholarships Chinese Cultural Programme.

The Confucius Institute program began in 2004 and is overseen by Hanban. The institutes cooperate with local colleges and universities around the world, and financing is shared between Hanban and the host institutions. The Institute hosted at COB is among 109 Confucius Institutes and 347 classrooms globally.

By College of The Bahamas Office of Communication