by Paul Miller, posted Nov 14th 2008 at 10:21AM
Friday, November 14, 2008
MOSHI'S IVR ALARM CLOCK ACCEPTS VOICE COMMANDS, HARBORS OWN PRIMARY DIRECTIVES
by Paul Miller, posted Nov 14th 2008 at 10:21AM
Japanese emissions at record high in 2007/08
Japan is the world's 5th largest CO2 producer, after the U.S., China and the European Union who are tied for second place, Russia and India. I guess they're hoping to move up in the ranks, because instead of reducing their carbon emissions, in 2007-2008 they set a record high. Japan's bad year will almost certainly mean a failure to hit the targets set by the Kyoto Protocol, even with the purchase of carbon offsets. Since the U.S., China and India are not bound by the Kyoto Protocol targets for 2008-2012, Japan's failure has political as well as environmental ramifications.
The rise in emissions was actually expected, following the shut down of the largest power plant in the world, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO). The plant was shut following an earthquake in July of 2007, and won't reopen until March 2009 at the earliest. To replace the energy normally produced by this plant, utility companies turned to higher CO2 producing methods like burning coal, oil and gas.
Unlike Australia and the European Union, Japan's caps on emissions are voluntary rather than mandatory, and it's clear this approach is not working. In fact, they opened two new coal plants this year! Oh, and also? Japan has to buy so many carbon offsets that it will probably drive up the price of carbon credits.
It sounds like Japan needs to make some some big changes, and probably also the Kyoto Protocol could use some touching up. Not that I have a vote, but this sounds like a good topic for a session at theUnited Nations Poznań Climate Change Conference in December.
Study: Dirty air kills more Californians that car wrecks
When researchers are California Stat University set out to asses the financial benefits of cleaning up the air in sunny southern California, they had no idea that their findings would make such a strong case. According to their research, not only could cleaning up SoCal's air save $28Bannually in health care and sick leave costs, but the number of deaths resulting from air pollution exceeded the number of vehicular deathsrecorded by the California Highway Patrol -- by a wide margin.Pulling data from hospital records in the San Joaquin Valley and South Coast Air Basin, there were 3,812 deaths attributed to "respiratory illnesses caused by particulate pollution" in 2006. Compare that with the 2,512 traffic fatalities recorded in the same area by the CHiPs. The study is definitely good ammunition to throw at those who believe that California "can't afford to clean up."
Herein lies the hang-up: the study also says that to achieve the economic and health benefits, both regions must reduce their particulate emissions by 50%. Needless to say, that's going to be an uphill battle.
Obama's Impending NASA Decisions
Posted by kdawson on Friday November 14, @11:08AM
from the in-space-no-one-can-hear-you-run-out-of-money dept.
eldavojohn writes"From delaying Project Constellation to an additional $2 billion in funding, Space.com looks at some immediate decisions the President Elect will have to make once he takes office in January. The biggest one will be the shuttle plan: do we retire the shuttle fleet or keep it on for more missions? If it is retired, we would have to rely on another country to bring our astronauts into space between 2010 and 2015 as a new fleet is built. Will Obama hold true on his $2 billion pledge to NASA?"
Brain Implants May Help Stroke Patients Overcome Partial Paralysis
ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2008) — Scientists have shown for the first time that neuroprosthetic brain implants may be able to help stroke patients with partial paralysis.
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The Trap Set By the FBI For Half Life 2 Hacker
Posted by timothy on Thursday November 13, @06:37PM
from the well-deserved-shadenfreude dept.
eldavojohn writes"You might remember the tiny news that Half Life 2 source code was leaked in 2003 ... it is the 6th most visited Slashdot story with over one kilocomment. Well, did anything happen to the source of the leak, the German hacker Axel 'Ago' Gembe? Wired is reporting he was offered a job interview so that Valve could get him into the US and bag him for charges. It's not the first time the FBI tried this trick: 'The same Seattle FBI office had successfully used an identical gambit in 2001, when they created a fake startup company called Invita, and lured two known Russian hackers to the US for a job interview, where they were arrested.'"
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Brain Implants May Help Stroke Patients Overcome Partial Paralysis
ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2008) — Scientists have shown for the first time that neuroprosthetic brain implants may be able to help stroke patients with partial paralysis.
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KOREAN GENIUSES INVENT LITHIUM BATTERIES WITH EIGHT TIMES THE JUICE
by Samuel Axon, posted Nov 13th 2008 at 7:28AM
Oh, what wondrous things come from the land of Korea -- dancing emotional robot humanoids, oxygen-emitting robot plants, and multiple 24-hour StarCraft channels. It's all good, and we dig robotics and televised gaming, but this latest invention could be our favorite if it pans out. Professor Cho Jae-Phil and his team at Hanyang University have replaced the graphite in lithium batteries with a certain kind of silicon, which we're told can store eight times the power. No word on what the batteries have actually been used for yet, but it stands to reason they could eventually make it to consumer electronics. Now you see why we're willing to say this might be better than 24-hour StarCraft. Say it with us: 48-hour StarCraft.US Supreme Court Allows Sonar Use
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday November 12, @09:17PM
from the dolphin-earplugs dept.
gollum123 writes"The US Supreme Court has removed restrictions on the Navy's use of sonar in training exercises near California. The ruling is a defeat for environmental groups who say the sonar can kill whales and other mammals. In its 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court said the Navy needed to conduct realistic training exercises to respond to potential threats. The court did not deal with the merits of the claims put forward by the environmental groups. In reinstating the use of sonar, the top US court rejected a lower federal judge's injunction that had required the US Navy to take various precautions during submarine-hunting exercises. The Bush administration argued that there is little evidence of harm to marine life in more than 40 years of exercises off the California coast. It said that the judges should have deferred to the judgment of the Navy and Mr Bush. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said overall public interest was 'strongly in favor of the Navy.' 'The most serious possible injury would be harm to an unknown number of the marine mammals,' Chief Justice Roberts wrote. 'In contrast, forcing the Navy to deploy an inadequately trained anti-submarine force jeopardizes the safety of the fleet.'"
Plasma Plants Vaporize Trash While Creating Energy
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday November 13, @01:14AM
from the Mr.-Fusion dept.
Jason Sahler writes"Recently St. Lucie County in Florida announced that it has teamed up with Geoplasma to develop the United States' first plasma gasification plant. The plant will use super-hot 10,000 degree Fahrenheit plasma to effectively vaporize 1,500 tons of trash each day, which in turn spins turbines to generate 60MW of electricity — enough to power 50,000 homes!"
Vein Patterns Could Replace Fingerprints
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday November 13, @04:21AM
from the no-two-alike dept.
Death Metal writes"Companies in Europe have begun to roll out an advanced biometric system from Japan that identifies people from the unique patterns of veins inside their fingers. Finger vein authentication, introduced widely by Japanese banks in the last two years, is claimed to be the fastest and most secure biometric method. Developed by Hitachi, it verifies a person's identity based on the lattice work of minute blood vessels under the skin."
Scientists Discover Proteins Controlling Evolution
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday November 12, @10:10PM
from the let-the-flamewar-begin dept.
Khemisty writes"Evolutionary changes are supposed to take place gradually and randomly, under pressure from natural selection. But a team of Princeton scientists investigating a group of proteins that help cells burn energy stumbled across evidence that this is not how evolution works. In fact, their discovery could revolutionize the way we understand evolutionary processes. They have evidence that organisms actually have the ability to control their own evolution."
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Sounds of Failing Hard Drives
Posted by kdawson on Wednesday November 12, @03:28AM
from the never-want-to-hear-it-twice dept.
zzptichka sends along a link to recordings of typical sounds from 35 different failing and dying hard drives. The host of these sounds, Datacent, is in the business of data recovery, so presumably they have heard it all.
Stem Cells From Monkey Teeth Can Stimulate Growth And Generation Of Brain Cells
ScienceDaily (Nov. 12, 2008) — Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have discovered dental pulp stem cells can stimulate growth and generation of several types of neural cells. Findings from this study, available in the October issue of the journal Stem Cells, suggest dental pulp stem cells show promise for use in cell therapy and regenerative medicine, particularly therapies associated with the central nervous system.
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The healthiest grocery stores
It is a weekly choice at my house on which grocery store we will go to. Usually,we see who has the most on sale items we'd like to eat in the upcoming week. There are at least 10 grocery stores within 15 miles of my home so there are a lot of choices. I love to shop at Market Street, owned by HEB, which is full of beautiful produce, fresh seafood, sushi made right in front of me and brands I can't find at other stores. Unfortunately, it's a bit pricey so I can't go every week. What is the healthiest place to shop though?
CNN asked some doctors to rate a variety of grocery chains. It's no surprise that Whole Foods came out on top, but what were some of the other leaders?
- Whole Foods - for it's commitment to healthy eating across the board
- Safeway - called Tom Thumb where I live, for its O Organics in-house brand and an effort to have locally grown produce in stores.
- Harris Teeter in the Southeast, for its healthy shopping tools like Your Wellness for Life.
- Trader Joe's - for the in-store brands that are free of preservatives, trans fats and other unpleasantness.
- Hannaford in the Northeast, a certified organic supermarket with over 50 locally grown organic produce options.
- Albertsons - for the in store brand Wild Harvest which is about 15% less than other organic brands in the store.
- FoodLion for it's offshoot, Bloom which offers fresh produce and nutrition kiosks where you can print healthy recipes to take home.
- Publix - for a wide variety of family programs aimed at healthy eating.
- Pathmark in the Mid-Atlantic is a large buyer or locally grown produce.
- Super Target - for offering a wide variety of organic and healthy brands like Barbara's, Kashi and Sahala Snacks.
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