Get Ready For ... Nanosoccer!

Posted by timothy on Tuesday September 23, @07:18AM

from the can't-use-your-hands dept.

DeviceGuru writes"For the past few years, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology has been sponsoring nanosoccer — a new team sport for universities with programs in micro-electro-mechanical systems. The soccer nanobots, operated by human players via remote-controlled magnetic fields and electrical signals, slide tiny discs around on a 30mm x 30mm playing field. Two demonstration competitions have already been held, and a third one is slated to take place next summer in Austria at RoboCup 2009."

 [+] education, games, robot, technology (tagging beta)

Solution To Global Fisheries Collapse? 'Catch Shares' Could Rescue Failing Fisheries, Protect The Ocean

ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2008) — A study published in the September 19 issue of Science shows that an innovative yet contentious fisheries management strategy called "catch shares" can reverse fisheries collapse. Where traditional "open access" fisheries have converted to catch shares, both fishermen and the oceans have benefited.

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Abrupt Climate Change Focus Of U.S. National Laboratories

ScienceDaily (Sep. 23, 2008) — Abrupt climate change is a potential menace that hasn’t received much attention. That’s about to change. Through its Climate Change Prediction Program, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) recently launched IMPACTS – Investigation of the Magnitudes and Probabilities of Abrupt Climate Transitions – a program led by William Collins of Berkeley Lab’s Earth Sciences Division (ESD) that brings together six national laboratories to attack the problem of abrupt climate change, or ACC.

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Sexism Pays: Men Who Hold Traditional Views Of Women Earn More Than Men Who Don't, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2008) — When it comes to sex roles in society, what you think may affect what you earn. A new study has found that men who believe in traditional roles for women earn more money than men who don't, and women with more egalitarian views don't make much more than women with a more traditional outlook.

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Bad Signs For Blu-ray

Posted by timothy on Monday September 22, @09:38PM

from the anguish-languish dept.

Ian Lamont writes"More than six months after HD-DVD gave up the ghost, there are several signs that Sony's rival Blu-ray format is struggling to gain consumer acceptance. According to recent sales data from Nielsen, market share for Blu-ray discs in the U.S. is declining, and Sony and its Blu-ray partners are trying several tactics to boost the format — including free trial discs bundled into magazines and cheap Blu-ray players that cost less than $200."

Corny propaganda

by KELLY LEAHY
Sep 18th 2008 @ 2:30PM

Filed under: Food, Health, Home, Kids and Parenting, Movies, TV and Books

Patricia wrote earlier today about the Corn Refiners Association's 18-month propaganda campaign. The above is one of the commercials that you might see while you are watching television. Even though I own a DVR, this one still slipped through and it's been driving me nuts. See some reasons for not eating corn syrup after the jump.

1. Notice how this is paid for by the Corn Refiners Association, not some corn growers association.
2. High fructose corn syrup involves the use of chemicals to turn cornstarch into fructose. Often the corn is genetically modified. What's natural about that?
3. Corn syrup is a cheap alternative to sugar used in soft drinks and just about every product on grocery shelves today.
4. High fructose corn syrup is blamed for obesity. Because corn syrup is hidden in just about everything, America is binging on sugar without even knowing it.
5. Corn sells for about $2 a bushel. It costs $3 to grow. Our tax dollars go to subsidize the difference. Whether you eat it or not, you are paying junk food companies with your taxes.
6. Corn syrup is linked to diabetes. Children are now at risk for Type II diabetes, once called, "adult onset diabetes."

For more information about corn and America, read Michael Pollan's,The Omnivore's Dilemma.

[via: current]

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High Fructose Corn Syrup is not poison. Or is it?

by PATRICIA MAYVILLE-COX
Sep 18th 2008 @ 1:01PM

Filed under: Food

The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has launched an 18-month campaign to give high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) a makeover. According to Time, the TV commercials show people enjoying red punch and popsicles, all made with some good old HFCS. 

The message in the CRA's Sweet Surprisecampaign is that high-fructose corn syrup is simply a sweetener made from corn, has no artificial ingredients, has the same amount of calories as sugar, and is ok to eat in moderation.

Marion Nestle, nutritionist and food policy expert, somewhat agrees with the CRA. According to Nestle, HFCS is the same as table sugar, biochemically. The problem is that HFCS is in almost everything now, resulting in Americans eating a lot of it. If you've ever tried to grocery shop without buying anything with HFCS, good luck. Even finding a bread that doesn't contain HFCS feels impossible.

So there you have it. It's not that HFCS is worse than any other sweetener. It's just that we are eating too much of it.

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Replacing The Coach Doesn’t Solve Problems

ScienceDaily (Sep. 18, 2008) — Bringing in a new coach rarely solves problems, regardless of when it is done. This is the conclusion of a study from Mid Sweden University about hiring and firing coaches in the Swedish Elite Series ice-hockey league during the period 1975/76-2005/06. Despite this fact, coaches are nevertheless very publicly fired. The study shows that it is a mistake to replace the coach.

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Why Heart Attack Victims Do Better With Social Support

ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2008) — Researchers have identified specific damages to the brain that may occur when heart attack victims are socially isolated from others.

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Self-steering Vehicle Designed To Mimic Movements Of Ants

ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 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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Cancer-causing Gut Bacteria Exposed

ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2008) — Normal gut bacteria are thought to be involved in colon cancer but the exact mechanisms have remained unknown. Now, scientists from the USA have discovered that a molecule produced by a common gut bacterium activates signalling pathways that are associated with cancer cells.

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Conservation Program In Rwanda Helps Turn Gorilla Poachers Into Ecotourism Guides

ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2008) — Conservationists at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, are celebrating a double achievement – the success of a conservation programme in Rwanda that has helped turn gorilla poachers into ecotourism guides, and a major international award for the programme’s founder, alumnus Edwin Sabuhoro.

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"THOUGHT HELMETS" COULD ENABLE VOICELESS TROOP COMMUNICATION

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 22nd 2008 at 9:06AM

This won't mark the first time the US government has looked into other means for helping soldiers communicateon the battlefield, but it's one of the first instances where vocal cords aren't even necessary. The US Army has recently awarded a $4 million contract to a coalition of scientists, all of which will soon start developing a "thought helmet" to enable voiceless, secure communication between comrades. In theory, at least, the helmet will boast a litany of sensors that will hopefully "lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone." According to Dr. Elmar Schmoozer, the Army neuroscience overseeing the program, the system will be like "radio without a microphone." Oh, and don't think for a second that they aren't considering civilian applications as well -- passing along jokes on the boss via telekinesis? Yes, please.

[Via Slashdot]

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Obama Significantly Revises Technology Positions

Posted by timothy on Monday September 22, @06:48AM

from the platitude-adjustment dept.

method9455 writes"Barack Obama has edited his official website on many issues, including a huge revision on the technology page. Strangely it seems net neutrality is no longer as important as it was a few months ago, and the swaths of detail have been removed and replaced with fairly vague rhetoric. Many technologists were alarmed with the choice of Joe Biden before, and now it appears their fears might have been well founded."

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.

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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.""

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."

 [+] privacy, transportation, usa, bigbrother, goodluckwiththat (tagging beta)

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

by CHRISTINA CLARK
Sep 17th 2008 @ 7:54AM

Filed under: Cars and Transportation

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.

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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."

 [+] power, science (tagging beta)

Glamping? Really?

by LESLIE WOLCOTT
Sep 16th 2008 @ 7:30PM

Filed under: Travel and Vacation

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. 

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