The Tribune

• Scientists have developed a mind-controlled robotic hand that allows people with certain types of spinal injuries to perform everyday tasks such as using a fork or drinking from a cup.

The low-cost device was tested in Spain on six people with quadriplegia affecting their ability to grasp or manipulate objects.

By wearing a cap that measures electric brain activity and eye movement the users were able to send signals to a tablet computer that controlled the glove-like device attached to their hand.

Participants in the small-scale study were able to perform daily activities better with the robotic hand than without, according to results published this week in the journal Science Robotics.

• Parents spend more than nine hours a day with TVs, computers and other screen devices while also giving themselves high marks as role models for their children’s media use, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Among all those surveyed — nearly 1,800 parents in the US — daily screen time averaged nine hours and 22 minutes, with the bulk of that, seven hours and 43 minutes, categorised as personal screen time and the other roughly 90 minutes spent on work.

The study also found they were enthusiastic about technology’s role in their kids’ lives but wary of the risks it may hold, including loss of sleep and online oversharing. Researchers from the nonprofit Common Sense Media group and Northwestern University’s Center on Media and Human Development conducted the project.

• The largest US solar panel installer is moving into Florida’s residential market after the state’s voters last month rejected a utility-backed ballot measure that critics said would make going solar more expensive.

SolarCity, a San Mateo, Calif.-based subsidiary of electric car maker Tesla Motors, on Thursday said it is opening an operations centre in the Orlando area and plans to expand into other areas of Florida.

The company’s decision to enter the Florida market was helped by voters’ rejection of Amendment 1 on Nov. 8.

If successful, the utility-funded Amendment 1 would have opened the door to new laws that could have hindered the growth of residential solar power.