Thursday, September 18, 2008
Signals From Blood Of Mother Enhance Maturation Of Brain
ScienceDaily (Sep. 18, 2008) — The maturation of the brain of unborn infants is given a gentle “prod” by its mother. A protein messenger from the mother’s blood is transferred to the embryo and stimulates the growth and wiring of the neurons in the brain.
Microsoft To Announce Jerry Seinfeld Ads Cancelled
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday September 18, @05:02AM
from the put-it-to-bed dept.
An anonymous reader writes"Valleywag says the Jerry Seinfeld ads are over — In a phone call, Frank Shaw, confirms that Microsoft is not going on with Seinfeld, and echoes his underlings' spin that the move was planned. There is the "potential to do other things" with Seinfeld, which Shaw says is still "possible." He adds: "People would have been happier if everyone loved the ads, but this was not unexpected.""
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Criminals Who Eat Processed Foods More Likely To Be Discovered, Through Fingerprint Sweat Corroding Metal
ScienceDaily (Sep. 18, 2008) — The inventor of a revolutionary new forensic fingerprinting technique claims criminals who eat processed foods are more likely to be discovered by police through their fingerprint sweat corroding metal.
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Scientists Find Black Hole 'Missing Link'
ScienceDaily (Sep. 17, 2008) — Scientists at Durham University have found the "missing link" between small and super-massive black holes.
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National Car Tracking System Proposed For US
Posted by timothy on Wednesday September 17, @12:56PM
from the arrogance-of-power dept.
bl968 writes"The Newspaper is reporting that the leading private traffic enforcement camera vendors are seeking to establish a national vehicle tracking system in the United States using existing red-light and speed enforcement cameras. The system would utilize Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to track vehicles passing surveillance cameras operated by these companies. If there are cameras positioned correctly the company will enable images and video to be taken of the driver and passengers. The nice thing in their view is that absolutely no warrants are needed. To gain public acceptance, the surveillance program is being initially sold as an aid for police looking to solve Amber Alert cases and locate stolen cars."
Self-steering Vehicle Designed To Mimic Movements Of Ants
ScienceDaily (Sep. 17, 2008) — A team of engineers from the University of La Laguna (ULL) in the Canary Islands has designed the “Verdino”, a self-steering vehicle that can sense the road surface using a technique called Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO). This method is based on the behaviour used by ants to find the shortest way between their ant hill and sources of food.
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ScienceDaily (Sep. 17, 2008) — Spanish highways are increasingly incorporating walkways specially designed for wild animals, or mixed use structures designed for other purposes, which connect wildlife from one side of the road to the other. Researchers at the Autonomous University of Madrid have analysed 43 walkways used by vertebrates to quantify the importance of these structures, which facilitate animals’ natural movements and reduce mortality caused by vehicles and, consequently, traffic accidents.
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Paint your car with plastic to save energy
Many cars today have a thin plastic film on places like the fender edges or front bumper to protect the paint. Much better than those car bras popular back in the day. So, those thin films of plastic are obviously a bit stronger than the paint on the car if it is being placed there to protect the paint. If that's the case, why not cover the whole car in plastic?Soliant would like to do just that.
The company has created a product called paint film that is basically that thin plastic film, in any color you desire, even chrome, that can be applied to a car. Even better than the increased durability in a car's paint job is the major reduction in energy and waste that paint film accomplishes.
Paint film reduces the need for many of the chemicals and solvents used in automotive painting. It also eliminates the need for a traditional paint shop in an automobile plant, thus reducing the cost by as much as 40% when building the plant.
Applying a paint film instead of spraying paint on saves in daily energy usage too. So, why don't the big auto makers try it? They have already invested all that money in paint shops and have union workers painting cars. It's not as simple as just changing the process.
But smaller companies who are trying to build hybrids and all manner of more green cars could definitely save some cash. It really opens up some possibilities. And the Soliant folks say they can make patterns, graphics and anything else we want on our cars.
New Music Software Can Create Accompaniment To Any Melody, In Style Of Any Artist
ScienceDaily (Sep. 17, 2008) — It's an archetypal exchange in musical performance. A vocalist stands poised to perform. The guitarist alongside is ready to add depth and harmony to the melody.
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Breakthrough In Use of Graphene For Ultracapacitors
Posted by kdawson on Wednesday September 17, @02:59AM
from the high-credit-limit dept.
Hugh Pickens writes"Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have achieved a breakthrough in the use of a one-atom thick graphene for storing electrical charge in ultracapacitors. They believe their development shows promise that graphene could eventually double the capacity of existing ultracapacitors. 'Through such a device, electrical charge can be rapidly stored on the graphene sheets, and released from them as well for the delivery of electrical current and, thus, electrical power,' says one of the researchers. Two main methods exist to store electrical energy: in rechargeable batteries and in ultracapacitors, which are becoming increasingly commercialized but are not yet well known to the public. Some advantages of ultracapacitorsover traditional energy storage devices such as batteries include: higher power capability, longer life, a wider thermal operating range, lighter, more flexible packaging and lower maintenance. Graphene has a surface area of 2,630 square meters, almost the area of a football field, per gram of material."
Glamping? Really?
The New York Times today reports a new trend in outdoor recreation: Glamping. Think glamour + camping. One "glamping" hostess claims that she wants to provide "the traditional camping experience like in the 30's, 40's, and 50's"--an experience that includes a lake stocked with trout and costs nearly $500 for a weekend.
Though some of these fancy camping sites have hot water showers and toilets (one even has heated mattresses), they don't have cell phone coverage or wi-fi. Well, at least there's something that keeps this from being another day at home. MSNBC even has a top-ten list for the best luxury camping trips around.
I dunno, sure, a Yurt in the French Alps with organic restaurant food sounds like a great trip, I wouldn't call it camping. I would call it just the opposite.
Full disclosure: when I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, where you are required to hire porters, our guides would bring us hot "water for washing" in the freezing cold mornings, and it was the most wonderful camping innovation I've ever heard of. But that's another post.
Chevy finally releases official Volt specs
After months of carefully orchestratedhype-building by the Chevy Volt's PR team, we finally get the real deal, straight from the source. As part of GM's centennial birthday bash, the automaker has gone public with the official specs for the car that they hope will launch them into a successful second century of automotive glory. Pictures of the production Volt, along with a press release touting the vehicle's features are finally out.According to the press release, the Volt will be able to make a 40 mile trip without using any gasoline, saving drivers an estimated $1,500 a year. Nice. While I still kinda wish the Volt had kept its sports car facade, I might have been too harsh when I bad-mouthed the new body style last week. In the new photos, it looks a bit more aggressive. Also, the changes to the body style were made to improve the Volt's aerodynamics, thereby increasing its range -- pretty crucial.
Gallery: The Volt Unmasked
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
IPv6 and the Business-Case Skeptics
Posted by kdawson on Tuesday September 16, @03:16PM
from the there-is-none-get-over-it dept.
Julie188 writes"Experts keep screaming that the IPv4 sky is falling. Three such experts were recently asked point-blank to state an irrefutable business case for moving to IPv6 now, and their answer was more plausible than the old refrain (the lack of addresses and a yet-to-be-seen killer IPv6 app). They said that there isn't a business case. No company that is satisfied with all of its Internet services will need to move, even in the next few years. They also pointed out that Microsoft is a unique position in the industry both causing and hindering IPv6 adoption — causing through its IPv6 support in its OSes, and hindering by not extending IPv6 support into very many of its apps."
Drinking Chamomile Tea May Help Fight Complications Of Diabetes
ScienceDaily (Sep. 16, 2008) — Drinking chamomile tea daily with meals may help prevent the complications of diabetes, which include loss of vision, nerve damage, and kidney damage, researchers in Japan and the United Kingdom are reporting.
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Massage Therapy May Have Immediate Positive Effect On Pain And Mood For Advanced Cancer Patients
ScienceDaily (Sep. 16, 2008) — A new study from the National Institutes of Health finds that massage therapy may have immediate benefits on pain and mood among patients with advanced cancer. The study appears in the September 16, 2008 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Al Gore draws flack for his 100ft houseboat
How green is green enough? When it comes to Al Gore, some say he's done his part to fight the good fight against global warming, evidenced by winning a Nobel Peace Prize and an Academy Award -- so we should just leave him alone. Others wonder just exactly how he can reconcile his lavish lifestyle with his message of impending climate doom. First, it was his energy-hogging mansion, then the controversy over his jet setting, now it's his 100ft "green" houseboat.Is Al Gore yet another TV evangelist, living a contradictory double life? To be fair, he did name his 100' house boat on Center Hill Lake in Tennessee the "Bio Solar One" -- which I take to mean that it's mostly powered by biodiesel and solar energy -- a good start. It's apparently been called the "Toyota Prius of boats" by it's manufacturer. I myself would call it the "Hybrid Chevy Tahoe of titanic luxury houseboats." But hey, do we really want to split hairs here?
It's much more interesting to ponder exactly how accountable a supposedly green celebrity needs to be in order to keep their credibility in tact. Do they get a pass when they're guilty of greenwashing?
Montana cyclist gets in a bear wreck
And you thought that your work commute was a doozy! Last Wednesday, when school teacher Jim Litz was riding his bike through the hills of Missoula on the way to work, he had no idea he was about become a bicycling legend. As Jim topped a hill going around 25mph, he came upon a 300lb black bear and smacked head on into the unsuspecting beast.Whammy! Both rider and bear went for a tumble in what has to be one of the most spectacular wrecks in cycling history.In the process of tumbling down the road the bear managed to scratch Jim's shoulders and back and roll over his head, cracking Jim's helmet under its weight before fleeing the painful scene. According to Jim, "I didn't have time to respond. I never even hit my brakes." Luckily, Jim's wife came driving by in the nick of time and drove him to the hospital, where he was patched up.
According to the AP story, Litz planned to return to teaching science at Target Range Middle School by Friday. What a trooper.
[via Treehugger]
Dark Matter Disk In Our Galaxy, Supercomputer Simulation Shows
ScienceDaily (Sep. 16, 2008) — An international team of scientists predict that our Galaxy, the Milky Way, contains a disk of ‘dark matter’. Astronomers Dr Justin Read, Professor George Lake and Oscar Agertz of the University of Zurich, and Dr Victor Debattista of the University of Central Lancashire use the results of a supercomputer simulation to deduce the presence of this disk.
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Spy Agencies Turn To Online Sources For Info
Posted by kdawson on Monday September 15, @07:21PM
from the i-spy-with-my-little-internet dept.
palegray.net sends us to US News and World Report for an article about increased spy agency use of online sources. Turning to well-known destinations such as NPR and Wikipedia, folks in the intelligence world are increasingly filling their reports with information gleaned from the public domain."A few days ago, a senior officer at the Pentagon called his intelligence officer into his office. The boss had heard a news report about China while driving to his office and wanted some answers. It wasn't a tough assignment, given the news coverage, but there was a hitch. 'There was plenty of information in the public domain about the topic,' recalls the intelligence officer, a 10-year veteran. 'And yet, if there wasn't some classified information cited in my report, the boss would never believe it was accurate.'"
NASA Announces Next Mars Mission
Posted by kdawson on Monday September 15, @10:07PM
from the next-planet-from-the-sun dept.
Grant Henninger writes"Today, NASA announced their final selection for the Mars Scout 2013 mission: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN. MAVEN will provide the first direct measurements ever taken to address key scientific questions about Mars's evolution by measuring characteristics of its atmospheric gases, upper atmosphere, solar wind, and ionosphere. The mission, estimated to cost $485M, is scheduled for launch in late 2013."
Monday, September 15, 2008
NASA Announces Next Mars Mission
Posted by kdawson on Monday September 15, @10:07PM
from the next-planet-from-the-sun dept.
Grant Henninger writes"Today, NASA announced their final selection for the Mars Scout 2013 mission: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN. MAVEN will provide the first direct measurements ever taken to address key scientific questions about Mars's evolution by measuring characteristics of its atmospheric gases, upper atmosphere, solar wind, and ionosphere. The mission, estimated to cost $485M, is scheduled for launch in late 2013."
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