ScienceDaily (May 15, 2008) — Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) neuroscientists at The University of Queensland have discovered a fundamental component of the process that regulates memory formation.
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
Console numbers released: Xbox 360 tops 10M US sales, 9.2M PS3s sold worldwide last year
[Via Joystiq]
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Houston being overrun by electronics-killing ants
Techies Keen to Keep Jobs In the Family
Posted by timothy on Wednesday May 14, @03:40PM
from the do-you-feel-the-same-way dept.
from the do-you-feel-the-same-way dept.
Stony Stevenson writes "IT staff are 'overwhelmingly' happy to recommend their profession to their children, a survey has found. Three-quarters of nearly 1,000 IT professionals surveyed said that they would 'definitely recommend' a career in the business to their offspring. Around 70 percent also felt that their jobs are secure, and that they are expecting a salary increase next year. The survey also found that 86 per cent of respondents expect to move jobs voluntarily in the next three years."
Youngest Galactic Supernova Found, But No Aliens
Posted by timothy on Wednesday May 14, @03:01PM
from the tax-paid-striptease-from-nasa dept.
from the tax-paid-striptease-from-nasa dept.
Simon Howes writes "After searching for decades, astronomers have found a supernova in our galaxy! So it wasn't little green men we were waiting for. It's located very near the center of the galaxy, about 28,000 light years away, and it's only at most about 140 years old. Quote from Bad Astronomy: 'If you're wondering what all the buzz has been about the past few days over a NASA discovery, then wait no longer. No, it's not aliens or an incoming asteroid. Instead, it's still very cool: astronomers have found the youngest supernova in the Milky Way.'" FiReaNGeL contributes a link to coverage on e! Science News; I think Wired's account of the super-hyped tele-press-conference is the funniest.
Female Sex Offenders Often Have Mental Problems
ScienceDaily (May 15, 2008) — Women who commit sexual offences are just as likely to have mental problems or drug addictions as other violent female criminals. This according to the largest study ever conducted of women convicted of sexual offences in Sweden.
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New Cars Are Gathering Information On You That Might Interest Insurance Companies, Advertisers, Government
ScienceDaily (May 15, 2008) — Years ago, Stanford communication and sociology researcher Clifford Nass wondered why some people treated their computers as humans, instead of machines, a question that led him down a path of interesting research. Now he wonders about drivers willing to have personal conversations with the artificial voice in their cars—and what will become of the secrets the humans share with their four-wheeled friends.
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Adding Ultrasound Screening To Mammography Brings Benefits, Risks
ScienceDaily (May 15, 2008) — Adding a screening ultrasound examination to routine mammography reveals more breast cancers than mammography alone, according to results of a major new clinical trial. The trial, however, also found that adding an ultrasound exam also increases the rate of false positive findings and unnecessary biopsies.
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When It Comes To Living Longer, It's Better To Go Hungry Than Go Running, Mouse Study Suggests
ScienceDaily (May 15, 2008) — A study investigating aging in mice has found that hormonal changes that occur when mice eat significantly less may help explain an already established phenomenon: a low calorie diet can extend the lifespan of rodents, a benefit that even regular exercise does not achieve.
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Nissan will sell an electric car in 2010, too
With GM, Toyota, RTEV all promising to have a mass-produced electric cars on the market, 2010 was already shaping up to be the year of the electric car. Now, Nissan is throwing its hat in the ring, not only promising an electric car in the US market in 2010, but 60 electric models worldwide by 2012. Those are pretty ambitious plans for a company that has very little street cred when it comes to alternative fuel vehicles.I guess high oil prices and rising demand for green rides have caused Nissan to change their tune when it comes to alternative fuel vehicles. Back in 2005, CEO Chris Ghosn was slamming the hybrid as a "niche product" that's only useful in places with strict mileage standards like California. Now, the same guy is saying that Nissan will produce electric light-duty commercial vehicles and crossovers in the not too distant future.
Is this what automakers have been waiting for all this time? Battery technology that's strong enough to power SUVs? It may sound crazy, but they've either all been on an eerily similar production time line, or they've been sitting around waiting for some kind of breakthrough that they're now seeing. All of the sudden, in 2010, there's going to be a flood of electric cars in a single year. How's that for groupthink?
Among the cars coming off the line in 2012 is the Scion-like Nissan Cube micro van that we like so much. We have to assume that the Project Better Place vehicles are included in this electric car debut as well. Who knows, maybe they'll roll out an all-electric pickup before too long. I for one think that would be cool, but I really like hauling stuff -- how not green of me.
Illinois man designs beer can coffin
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SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) — Bill Bramanti's favorite beer is Pabst Blue Ribbon. He loves it.
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Coffee table stores magazines, coasters, your dead body
There's no shortage of innovation when it comes to dying in an ecologically conscious way. Just looking back through our posts on eco-friendly burials, tombstones, caskets, and urns -- one might think we were totally obsessed with death. Well, maybe we are, and that makes us even more qualified to say that the Coffin Table -- designed by Pratt grad student Charles Constantine -- is probably the most morbidly kick-butt green burial contraption yet.
The non-toxic, untreated pine box is called "Momento," and what makes it so cool is that it's designed for use in life as well as death. Why not combine the furniture on both sides of your mortal existence into one? It's the 3 R's in action. Conventional caskets are generally made of old-growth hardwoods and covered in toxic sealants. What a waste. Charles's coffin/table has an open bottom for quicker decomposition -- now that's efficiency.
[via Inhabitat]
The non-toxic, untreated pine box is called "Momento," and what makes it so cool is that it's designed for use in life as well as death. Why not combine the furniture on both sides of your mortal existence into one? It's the 3 R's in action. Conventional caskets are generally made of old-growth hardwoods and covered in toxic sealants. What a waste. Charles's coffin/table has an open bottom for quicker decomposition -- now that's efficiency.
[via Inhabitat]
Wal-Mart will perform energy-audits on 20 state capitols
For ages, man has pondered over the question: who will watch the watchers? Well, in terms of their energy consumption, now we know. It's Wal-Mart, of course! Last week, the National Governors Association announced that they are teaming up with Wal-Mart to help transform their state capitols into lean, green, pork-barreling machines.For the next 2 years, Wal-Mart will send engineering experts to 20 state capitol complexes in order to assess how their energy consumption can be reduced. Honestly, it's a good thing that state governments are working for lower energy consumption -- and who better to help them out. Wal-Mart has certainly done a good job revamping their image from the ultimate evil corporation to one of the largest green retailers around.
In the words of Minnesota's Governor, Tim Pawlenty:
"The cleanest and cheapest energy is the energy we do not use... Studies show that 80 percent of the projected growth in electricity demand could be offset by energy efficiency improvements. States and governors are taking action and are leading the way to a safer, cleaner and more independent energy future for our nation."States participating include:
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico (wait, that's not a state)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Polar bears vs. poor people?
Mother Jones has a troubling piece about the plans that conservative groups are hatching to face down an endangered species designation for the polar bear - a designation which has been in the works for some years now.It works like this: Business groups argue that since polar bears are affected by climate change, a successful designation could leave any number of carbon polluters liable to enforcement under the act's provisions - an outcome which environmental groups see as highly desirable. Carefully chosen plaintiffs, supported by the business side, will claim that an endangered designation for the white bears would bring up energy prices, which are disproportionately borne by poor people ($4/gallon gas hurts a lot more when you're making minimum wage).
Never mind that the planned lawsuits would be financed by groups that are more interested in their own profits than in the poor people in question (since when did Exxon/Mobil give a darn about the underprivileged?) There's also the fact that the disruption caused by long-term climate change will, of course, disproportionately affect poor people (as these protesting polar bears from Oxfam remind us), but you don't see the American Petroleum Institute standing up for them on that front...
Enjoy seafood? Don't read this
Author Taras Grescoe has a new book out called Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood, which takes a long hard look at the industry that puts seafood on your table, and comes up with some pretty revolting revelations. Below, some "frightening facts" to think about on your next trip to Red Lobster, lifted directly from the publisher's marketing materials:
- "Farmed salmon is fed with a meal made from the hydrolyzed poultry feathers and the ground-up carcasses of chickens culled from avian flu outbreaks.
- In 2007, melamine, the toxic additive from China that killed pets throughout North America , was found in the pellets used to feed farmed salmon.
- Scallops are routinely soaked in STP, a neurotoxicant used in paint strippers and carpet cleaners, so they'll retain water and weigh more at supermarket check-outs.
- In almost two-thirds of stores in the United States , inspectors have found that salmon sold as high priced "wild-caught" is actually from a farm.
- Thanks to global warming, eating grouper, red snapper, and other reef fish is infecting increasing numbers of diners with ciguatera, a potentially fatal disease that causes vomiting, abdominal cramps, and bizarre neurological symptoms.
- Prawns are routinely rinsed in chlorine to kill pathogens, and processors in countries like India and Thailand use caustic soda and borax to artificially color the prawns they export to Europe and North America .
- Because juvenile salmon are now stocked in freshwater lakes in South America before being farmed, they're picking up parasites from lake fish. For the first time, eating salmon, in the form of gravlax, salmon sashimi, and ceviche, can give you tapeworms.
- Because of high levels of mercury, Health Canada recently advised that children under five should eat no more than one can of albacore tuna per week.
- Scottish farmed salmon is so laden with PCBs and dioxins that, according to Environmental Protection Agency standards, having a fillet more than once every four months significantly increases your risk of cancer.
- Tilapia and tuna are treated with carbon monoxide, also known as 'tasteless smoke,' to prevent them from turning brown. A piece of tuna sprayed with tasteless smoke will remain a marketable cherry red even if it's kept in a car's trunk for several months. "
Delicious!
If you haven't got the book, I'd highly recommend a look at Grescoe's website, which offers a handy summary of what seafood to eat while if you want to retain both your health and your environmental ethics.
Architecture For Fundamental Processes Of Life Discovered
ScienceDaily (May 14, 2008) — A team of Canadian researchers has completed a massive survey of the network of protein complexes that orchestrate the fundamental processes of life. In the online edition of the journal Science, researchers from the Université de Montréal describe protein complexes and networks of complexes never before observed -- including two implicated in the normal mechanisms by which cells divide and proliferate and another that controls recycling of the molecular building blocks of life called autophagy.
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Anti-inflammatory Drugs Do Not Improve Cognitive Function In Older Adults, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily (May 14, 2008) — The anti-inflammatory drugs naproxen and celecoxib do not appear to improve cognitive function in older adults with a family history of Alzheimer's disease, and naproxen may have a slightly detrimental effect, according to a new article.
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EXO-Wing is world's smallest jet -- worn like a backpack
P.S. The webbed creature below the EXO-Wing is sporting an Aerosuit for skydivers and Aquaman wannabes with a thing for Tom Jones.
Video: ASIMO burns as Yo-Yo Ma fiddles
Update: Video added after the break.
[Thanks, Funke]
Peel-and-stick solar is here
Over the last few months, solar companies have seen a declining interest due to the high costs associated with equipment and installation. By cutting down on the time and costs of solar installation, Lumeta's parent company, DRI, is hoping to switch on a larger section of public. The Power-Ply 380 panels can be installed in a matter of minutes and DRI estimates that their peel-and-stick system reduces hardware costs by 70%.
Another advantage to Lumeta's design is the fact that their panels are covered with teflon instead of glass, making them lightweight enough to be installed on carports and sheds. That's good, since the Power-Ply 380 is designed to go on flat rooftops only -- and not that many of us have flat roofs.
The peel and stick panels are also nice because they don't create some of the leaking problems associated with traditional panels. Since the panels don't require drilling, there's no more need to deal with those troublesome holes in your roof. Likewise, the thin panels allow water to flow over and around them easily, instead of "ponding."
[via Earth2Tech]
New Jersey debates bottle deposit law
I'll admit it. I live in a state with a bottle deposit law, but I don't take my bottles back to the store to get my deposit back. It's just not what I'm used to doing, and I don't buy a lot of bottled beverages. Of course, I put my used bottles out on the curb for recycling, so the environmental impact of my bottle consumption is the same whether I return my bottles to the store or not. But a lot of people don't recycle their bottles. And there's at least some evidence that bottle deposit laws can help convince them to do so.
Michigan, for example, claims a 97% bottle recycling rate. And Michigian has a statewide bottle deposit law, as do 10 other state. Now New Jersey lawmakers are considering becoming the 12th estate to enact a bottle deposit law. And the usual debate is coming up: would a bottle deposit law actually encourage recycling, or is it just another tax on New Jersey shoppers?
On the one hand, if you return your bottles to the store, you get back your money. So that's not exactly a tax, is it? But it takes time and effort to pack up all of your used bottles and take them with you. Or what happens to that beverage bottle you buy while you're out? Do you carry it all the way home so that you can stick it in the recycling bin?
What do you think? Are bottle deposit programs the best way to encourage recycling?Tuesday, May 13, 2008
FOX News Blames Al Gore for Food Shortage
And I thought jokes about Al Gore eating too much were so last year.Sean Hannity, on FOX News, recently blamed the former vice president for the food crisis. Seriously. This hugely complex issue we're all hearing about has been helpfully simplified by Hannity who says:
"The Growing Consensus is that the crop deficit is directly related to the increased demand for production of quote earth friendly biofuels, an effort pushed by none other than the vanquished vice president Al Gore and all in the name of quote saving the planet."
Hannity's theory is a little too simple and a wee bit misleading (so is Hannity's statement that "Scores of scientists all over the world say human activities are not heating up the earth at all.").
Gore's views on bio-fuel are a bit more nuanced. At a speech in Argentina last year, for instance, Gore said that, "the drive to produce alternative fuels must not create new forms of environmental damage." He also talked about food prices increasing if biofuels are not used carefully.
At this point, the causes of the world food price crisis are still being debated. It could be rising oil prices, Asians eating way more meat, unseasonable droughts brought on by climate change, and yes, possibly an increase in the use of biofuels. It could be a whole mix of these factors. Even the American subprime mortgage crisis, by causing instability, could be part of the problem. The point is, we don't totally know.
Blaming Gore for the problem seems pointless. Well, until he's caught as being behind global warming, rising oil prices and feeding meat to Asians (which he hasn't specifically denied).
DOE says wind power could meet 20% of US needs
Windmills aren't just for jazzing up the mini-putt anymore. A new report from the Department of Energy says that the wind could rock 300 gigawatts of electricity into the grid by 2030, providing 20% of America's electrical needs. The key word here is "could" , since it'll require an approximate 20 fold increase in the amount of wind power being produced, meaning the number of turbines being installed will have to increase from 2000 in 2006 to 7000 in 2017.
However, change is in the, uh, wind. Tycoon T. Boone Pickens is planning to drop $10 billion for a 4 GW wind farm in Texas, and 2008 is set to be a record-breaking year for the number of wind GW being generated in the US. Overall, wind power production reached almost 17 GW last year, of which 5 GW was installed in 2007 alone. And with oil prices hitting new highs weekly, investors are starting to like the look of wind farms on the horizon.
Apart from the obvious benefits of weaning America off of fossil fuels, which still generate about 70% of US electricity (mostly from coal and natural gas) the impact on climate change mitigation efforts would be considerable. It's estimated that if 20% of electrical power were supplied by wind turbines, it could reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuel power plants by 25%.
Read the full report here.
via [Wired]
Related Link
Related Link
Using Fruit To Aid The Sun's Work (Solar Power)
ScienceDaily (May 13, 2008) — Blackberries, blueberries, oranges and grapes—chemistry students at Rowan University (Glassboro, N.J.) are loading up on their fruits these days, but it has nothing to do with the food pyramid.
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Physical Activity More Likely To Prevent Breast Cancer In Certain Groups
ScienceDaily (May 13, 2008) — Physically active women are 25 per cent less likely to get breast cancer, but certain groups are more likely to see these benefits than others, finds a review of research published online ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
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When Following The Leader Can Lead Into The Jaws Of Death
ScienceDaily (May 13, 2008) — For animals that live in social groups, and that includes humans, blindly following a leader could place them in danger. To avoid this, animals have developed simple but effective behaviour to follow where at least a few of them dare to tread -- rather than follow a single group member.
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Seeking Signs of Ancient Martian Life
Posted by kdawson on Tuesday May 13, @03:35AM
from the speed-dating dept.
from the speed-dating dept.
StonyandCher writes in about a collaboration between NASA and a leading Australian exploration and mining scientist, Dr. Brent McInnes, to search for signs of ancient life on Mars. The plan is to develop and miniaturize the "Alphachron" — an exploration technology currently employed by the Australian minerals industry to determine the age of minerals. If the Alphachron can be miniaturized, it could fly with the next rover mission set for launch in 2010. "The highest priority is to understand when liquid water was present on Mars. 'The same minerals that can be found in [Western Australia]... can also be found on Mars,' McInnes said. Accordingly, by using the Alphachron to date minerals on Mars and thus tell when liquid water may have been present, it can be inferred when life may have been sustainable near the surface of the planet."
Monday, May 12, 2008
Women Who Breastfeed For More Than A Year Halve Their Risk Of Rheumatoid Arthritis
ScienceDaily (May 13, 2008) — Women who breast feed for longer have a smaller chance of getting rheumatoid arthritis, suggests a study published online ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
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Got Sugar? Skeletal Muscle Development Responds To Nutrient Availability
ScienceDaily (May 12, 2008) — A new study finds that restricted nutrient availability prevents muscle stem cells from growing into mature muscle cells. The research, published by Cell Press in the May issue of the journal Developmental Cell, provides exciting new information about how developing muscle cells sense and respond to nutrient levels. The study adds a new twist to ongoing research into the effects of caloric restriction on physiology and aging and may lead to new therapeutic avenues for muscle wasting.
USAF Considers Creation of Military Botnet
Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday May 12, @12:24PM
from the all-to-steal-wow-gold dept.
from the all-to-steal-wow-gold dept.
sowjetarschbajazzo writes "Air Force Col. Charles W. Williamson III believes that the United States military should maintain its own botnet, both as a deterrent towards those who would attempt to DDoS government networks, and an offensive weapon to be used against the networks of unfriendly nations, criminal groups, or terrorist organizations. "Some people would fear the possibility of botnet attacks on innocent parties. If the botnet is used in a strictly offensive manner, civilian computers may be attacked, but only if the enemy compels us. The U.S. will perform the same target preparation as for traditional targets and respect the law of armed conflict as Defense Department policy requires by analyzing necessity, proportionality and distinction among military, dual-use or civilian targets. But neither the law of armed conflict nor common sense would allow belligerents to hide behind the skirts of its civilians. If the enemy is using civilian computers in his country so as to cause us harm, then we may attack them." What does Slashdot think of this proposal?"
Brits throw out about 1/3 of all food purchased
I'll start out by saying that this post isn't meant to pick on our friends in the UK. I'm sure that most developed nations waste a similar amount of food per person each year. Still, it's important to note that $20 billion dollars worth is a helluva lot of food to chunk in the trash. At a time when food prices are skyrocketing and rice is being rationed at stores like Sam's and Costco, it seems pretty unbelievable that people are wasting this much food.Though it's often overlooked, the environmental impact of food waste is pretty staggering -- not to mention the vast sums of wasted money. When you consider the CO2 created by the cultivation, transport and preparation of the food wasted in Britain, it equals one fifth of the pollution released by motorists. Oh yeah, and don't forget the fact that this food is eventually carted off to the landfill. Do you think the UK's new carbon-labels will guilt people into wasting less?
[via Treehugger]
A new green funeral: gross but green
Fair warning: This is pretty creepy.
What if, instead of burying or cremating dead bodies, we dissolved them in lye and flushed the liquid down the drain?
Well, my friend, get used to the idea: it could be the wave of the future. The process is called alkaline hydrolysis, and it uses lye and 300-degree heat, along with 60 pounds of pressure per square inch, to destroy bodies in huge cylinders that resemble iron lungs.
To date, no mortuaries use the process, and only two medical centers practice it, but only on cadavers donated to science. Although some places, including the Mayo Clinic, use it on human medical waste and animals.
Critics say the process is too much like a horror movie, but others contend that, when you're dead, you won't care how your body is disposed of.
The resulting liquid from the process has a strong ammonia smell and is unsightly, but isn't harmful to the environment like crematorium emissions and won't leech into the ground and into our water system like some resin-painted coffins and embalming fluids.
Creepy, yes...but an undeniably greener choice.
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