US Federal Government Launches Data.gov

Posted by timothy on Thursday May 21, @01:53PM

from the selective-reporting dept.

Elastic Vapor writes"I'm happy to announce that the US Federal Government earlier today launched the new Data.Gov website. The primary goal of Data.Gov is to improve access to Federal data and expand creative use of those data beyond the walls of government by encouraging innovative ideas (e.g., web applications). Data.gov strives to make government more transparent and is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. The openness derived from Data.gov will strengthen the Nation's democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government."I hope the data reported will be impartially selected, honestly gathered, clearly explained, and perfectly accurate. Perhaps they could start with inspiration from the Concord Coalition's National Debt Counter.

Tying Education To Future Goals May Boost Grades More Than Helping With Homework

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2009) — Helping middle school students with their homework may not be the best way to get them on the honor roll. But telling them how important academic performance is to their future job prospects and providing specific strategies to study and learn might clinch the grades, according to a research review.

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Robot Soldiers Are Already Being Deployed

Posted by timothy on Wednesday May 20, @03:20PM

from the from-my-cold-dead-solenoids dept.

destinyland writes"As a Rutgers philosopher discusses robot war scenarios, one science magazine counts the ways robots are already being used in warfare, including YouTube videos of six military robots in action. There are up to 12,000 'robotic units' on the ground in Iraq, some dismantling landmines and roadside bombs, but 'a new generation of bots are designed to be fighting machines.' One bot can operate an M-16 rifle, a machine gun, and a rocket launcher — and 250 people have already been killed by unmanned drones in Pakistan. He also tells the story of a berserk robot explosives gun that killed nine people in South Africa due to a 'software glitch.'"

Robot Soldiers Are Already Being Deployed

Posted by timothy on Wednesday May 20, @03:20PM

from the from-my-cold-dead-solenoids dept.

destinyland writes"As a Rutgers philosopher discusses robot war scenarios, one science magazine counts the ways robots are already being used in warfare, including YouTube videos of six military robots in action. There are up to 12,000 'robotic units' on the ground in Iraq, some dismantling landmines and roadside bombs, but 'a new generation of bots are designed to be fighting machines.' One bot can operate an M-16 rifle, a machine gun, and a rocket launcher — and 250 people have already been killed by unmanned drones in Pakistan. He also tells the story of a berserk robot explosives gun that killed nine people in South Africa due to a 'software glitch.'"

New 'Broadband' Cloaking Technology Simple To Manufacture

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2009) — Researchers have created a new type of invisibility cloak that is simpler than previous designs and works for all colors of the visible spectrum, making it possible to cloak larger objects than before and possibly leading to practical applications in "transformation optics."

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Area Of Brain That Makes A 'People Person' Discovered

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2009) — Cambridge University researchers have discovered that whether someone is a 'people-person' may depend on the structure of their brain: the greater the concentration of brain tissue in certain parts of the brain, the more likely they are to be a warm, sentimental person.

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Freshman Representative Opposes 'TSA Porn'

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday May 20, @11:42AM

from the things-we-really-really-don't-want-to-see dept.

An anonymous reader writes"Not content to simply follow the 'anything to protect American lives' mantra, freshman Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has introduced a bill to prohibit mandatory full body scans at airports. Chaffetz states, 'The images offer a disturbingly accurate view of a person's body underneath clothing ... Americans should not be required to expose their bodies in this manner in order to fly." He goes on to note that the ACLU has expressed support for the bill. Maybe we don't need tin-foil sports coats to go with our tin-foil hats. For reference, the Daily Herald has a story featuring images from the millimeter wavelength imager, and we've talked about the scanners before."

Climate Change Odds Much Worse Than Thought

ScienceDaily (May 20, 2009) — The most comprehensive modeling yet carried out on the likelihood of how much hotter the Earth's climate will get in this century shows that without rapid and massive action, the problem will be about twice as severe as previously estimated six years ago - and could be even worse than that.

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Of Body And Mind, And Deep Meditation

ScienceDaily (May 20, 2009) — Chinese researchers have unlocked the mechanism of an emerging mind-body technique that produces measurable changes in attention and stress reduction in just five days of practice.

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US To Require That New Cars Get 42 MPG By 2016

Posted by kdawson on Monday May 18, @11:28PM

from the jevons-paradox dept.

Hugh Pickens writes"New cars and trucks will have to get 30 percent better mileage starting in 2016 under an Obama administration move to curb emissions tied to smog and global warming. While the 30 percent increase would be an average for both cars and light trucks, the percentage increase in cars would be much greater, rising from the current 27.5 mpg standard to 42 mpg. Environmentalists praised the move. Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, called it 'one of the most significant efforts undertaken by any president, ever, to end our addiction to oil and seriously slash our global warming emissions.' Obama's plan also would effectively end litigation between states and automakers that had opposed state-specific rules, arguing that having to meet several state standards would be much more expensive for them than just one federal rule. The Detroit News reported that automakers were on board with the new rule and had worked with the administration on creating a timeline for the transition."There's a case to be made that raising the CAFE won't save oil or reduce greenhouse gases.

Ball And Chain To Force Children To Study

Posted by samzenpus on Monday May 18, @02:15PM

from the school-chain-gang dept.

You haven't tried everything to get your kids to study until you've tried the Study Ball. The Study Ball is a 21-pound prison-style device that locks onto your children's leg and only unlocks after a predetermined amount of study time has passed. The homework manacles can't be locked for more than four hours, and come with a safety key. The product website states, "Quite often, students who are having problems concentrating tend to get up every ten minutes to watch TV, talk on the phone, take something out of the fridge, and a long list of other distractions. Were they to dedicate all this wasted time to studying, they would optimise their performance and have more free time available. Study Ball helps you study more and more efficiently." Stop Teasing Your Brother Pepper Spray coming soon.

Air-fueled Battery Could Last Up To 10 Times Longer: Ground-breaking Technology For Electric Cars

ScienceDaily (May 18, 2009) — A new type of air-fuelled battery could give up to ten times the energy storage of designs currently available.

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Biochemists And Computer Scientists Collaborate To Create Protein-folding Computer Game

October 1, 2008 — Computer scientists designed a computer game based on the principles of biochemistry. It allows amateurs to compete against and collaborate with specialists to design protein structures. Introductory levels teach the general governing concepts that users must understand before moving on to design complicated, potentially useful molecules.

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Insane Russian casemod shamelessly puts good taste to bed once and for all

by Laura June, posted May 18th 2009 at 10:31AM

We see plenty of wild casemods around here -- staying on the pulse of what's new with the cool kids is part of our jobs. We've never really seen anything like this one, however. We don't know a terrible lot about the case -- just that it's made of what appears to be solid evil dipped in bronze, and lit by the blood of a terrifying hellbeast. Regardless: it's going to look great in your living room... once you convince Satan to sell it to you for a reasonable price, that is. One more terrifically horrendous photo after the break.

Cigarette Smoke Can Prevent Allergies, Study Suggests

Matt's comment:  Could it be that it is the exposure to small amounts of smoke, not necessarilty cigarette smoke that helps alergies?

ScienceDaily (May 18, 2009) — Everyone knows that smoking can kill you, but new research suggests that it may help with your allergies. A study of mouse mast cells shows that cigarette smoke can prevent allergies by decreasing the reaction of immune cells to allergens.

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Enriched Environment Improves Wound Healing In Rats

ScienceDaily (May 18, 2009) — Improving the environment in which rats are reared can significantly strengthen the physiological process of wound healing, according to a new report. Researchers from the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Shriners Burns Hospital found that giving rats living in isolation the opportunity to build nests led to faster and more complete healing of burn injuries than was seen in isolation-reared rats without nest-building materials.

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