New Neutron Scatter Camera to Detect Smuggled Nukes

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday November 26, @02:15PM
from the size-matters dept.

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in California are developing a new neutron scatter camera that they claim will be able to detect radiation through much more shielding and at much greater distances than traditional tech. "The neutron scatter camera consists of elements containing proton-rich liquid scintillators in two planes. As neutrons travel through the scintillator, they bounce off protons like billiard balls. This is where "scatter" comes into play -- with interactions in each plane of detector elements, the instrument can determine the direction of the radioactive source from which the neutron came. [...] Computers record data from the neutron scatter camera, and using kinematics, determine the energy of the incoming neutron and its direction. Pulse shape discrimination is employed to distinguish between neutrons and gamma rays."

[+] science, technology, neutroncamera, sendinjackbauer (tagging beta)

Siemens developing call center voice-recognition software that determines age and gender

Posted Nov 26th 2007 3:03PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We're not certain why call center employees need even more reasons to treat customers condescendingly, but Siemens has announced that it's developing tech that will "intelligently" assign reps to callers based on determinations of age and gender. No word on how the system makes the determinations, but we're not going to be happy if we have to start doing Marilyn Monroe impressions just to get someone on the phone.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Tags: call center, CallCenter, siemens, voice recognition, VoiceRecognition

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Whiskey to keep school kids warm

by Rigel Gregg
Nov 25th 2007 @ 12:37PM

Filed under: Kids and Parenting, Alternative Energy

As much fun as they might have with it no, the kids aren't going to be drinking the stuff. The Tynecastle High school in Edinburgh, Scotland will be getting a new building by 2010, and part of the new plan is to cut energy costs by using waste heat from the neighboring North British Distillery to heat the classrooms. Water will pass from the school through to a heat exchanger where it will be warmed by the distillery's wasted energy. The project initially added an extra £200,000 to the cost of the new building but it is expected to pay for itself in savings after only 4 years.

Interesting thought: if you live in that area now buying a bottle of whiskey is suddenly something you can do "for the children."

Related Link

Toyota demos massive driving simulator, aims to nix traffic deaths

Posted Nov 26th 2007 9:03AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Transportation

Simulators similar to the one recently unveiled to the world by Toyota aren't all that uncommon, but this 4.5-meter high pod is "the first to move laterally and has the longest range of 35-meters front to back and 20-meters from right to left." Reportedly, the automaker plans to use its newest toy to "analyze driving characteristics under various conditions such as drunkenness and drowsiness" and subsequently decide what new safety features should be added to its fleet of motorcars. More specifically, the device enables researchers to "conduct driving tests that would be too dangerous to perform in the real world or that require specific driving conditions," and we're pretty sure the 360-degree concave video screen is quite the draw, too. Unfortunately, we have little faith that you'll ever see a tamed version of this here simulator at your local arcade, but one can hope, we suppose.

[Via Yahoo / Reuters, image courtesy of Tech.co.uk]

Tags: driving, driving simulator, DrivingSimulator, safety, simulator, toyota, vehicle

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Portable Nuclear Battery in the Development Stages

Posted by Zonk on Monday November 26, @02:29AM
from the will-be-nice-if-it-happens dept.

Xight writes "The Santa Fe Reporter has up an article about a portable nuclear reactor, about the size of a hot tub. Despite it's 'small' size the company that is planning to develop the product (Hyperion Power Generation), claims it could power up to 25,000 homes. 'Though it would produce 27 megawatts worth of thermal energy, Hyperion doesn't like to think of its product as a reactor. It's self-contained, involves no moving parts and, therefore, doesn't require a human operator. "In fact, we prefer to call it a 'drive' or a 'battery' or a 'module' in that it's so safe," Hyperion spokeswoman Deborah Blackwell says. "Like you don't open a double-A battery, you just plug [the reactor] in and it does its chemical thing inside of it. You don't ever open it or mess with it."' If all goes according to plan, Hyperion could have a factory in New Mexico by late 2012, and begin producing 4,000 of these reactors."

US domestic oil reserves may already be past their peak

Posted Nov 25th 2007 7:58PM by Sam Abuelsamid
Filed under: Etc., North America

While new discoveries of natural gas in the United States exceeded consumption in 2006, the same was not true for crude oil. Overall, proven reserves of crude oil in the U.S. dropped by four percent last year with the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska dropping ten and seven percent respectively. Previous estimates of reserves in those two regions were revised downward while little new oil was discovered. Utah had the biggest increase at thirty percent with Colorado and New Mexico also discovering a little bit new crude. Those new discoveries weren't enough to overcome declines in the bigger oil fields. Domestic production also declined as some Alaskan facilities were shut down to inspect and repair corrosion problems.

[Source: Energy Information Administration]

Tags: declining-us-oil-reserves, peak-oil

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Automated paintball gun keeps the residence secure

Posted Nov 26th 2007 4:39AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Nah, it's not like tagging an intruder with shades of neon green, yellow and orange will do much to disable him / her, but it would probably make 'em think twice before going any further. 'Course, we're sure one could think of other uses for an automated paintball gun, and for those creative enough to agree, Team Cynergy has put together a videotaped how-to guide for building a laser-based motion detector and connecting it to your gun. We'll save the technicalities for those who dare to check out the near-10 minute clip posted after the break, but the long and short of it involves a Parralax BASIC Stamp 2 microcontroller, a red laser pointer, a servo and a good bit of tinkering (among other things). Besides, this is a lot less dangerous than that motion-activated BB rifle and laser-guided turret you built earlier this year, so why not flex some DIY muscle and give this endeavor a go?

[Via HackedGadgets]

Tags: autonomous, diy, gun, guns, hack, laser, mod, paintball, security, teamcynergy, video, weapon, weaponry

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Stem-Cell-Like Cells Produced From Skin

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 20, @05:03PM
from the end-of-the-moral-debate dept.

MikShapi writes "Skin cells can now be turned into something resembling stem cells. A genetic modification to four genes using a viral vector reverses differentiating, making the cells revert to a stem-cell state, capable for becoming any other cell in the body. The researchers are calling them 'iPS cells' or 'induced pluripotent stem cells.' In their experiments, iPS cells in the lab turned into nerve cells, heart muscle, and other tissues. The research was published in Cell and Nature by teams from the universities of Kyoto and Wisconsin. The article notes that if the new method proves successful, 'we can disconnect the whole stem cell debate from the culture war, from battles over embryo politics and abortion rights.' And, should this technique be adopted, stem cells will henceforth be abundant, easier and cheaper to come by for research and therapeutic purposes."

[+] biotech, science, viralvector (tagging beta)

Maryland To Tax Custom Programming and Computer Services

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 20, @05:48PM
from the strangling-the-golden-goose dept.

mcwop writes "Early this morning Maryland passed legislation to apply a new 6% sales tax to 'custom computer programming' and other computer- and hardware-related services. Computer industry groups lobbied hard against the measure to no avail. Purchasers of IT services may find that in-house IT and buying out-of-state become attractive options, as well as cutting money out of other projects."

[+] money, programming, government, whinylibertarians, taxes (tagging beta)

Sustainable water: falls from the sky

by Josh Loposer
Nov 21st 2007 @ 3:32AM

Filed under: Home

Have you ever dreamed of building a rainwater collection system for you home, one that will make your entire home totally water independent? Sustainable rainwater catch systems are becoming more reliable, and perhaps more affordable, than you might expect.

According to rainwater.org, you're looking at around $15,000 to construct a 1st-rate, whole-house system. That includes everything from the tank to the ultra-violet lights. Not to mention, some local governments are offering incentives for rainwater collection and green building projects. If that's too rich for your blood, you can do a more affordable supplemental system such as rain barrels.

As a reference guide, rainwater.org offers a pretty complete set of information, including a book and video of how to build your system from the ground up. Chapter 1 of the book -- which you can view online -- discusses practical things like how much water you'll need and how much can be harvested per inch of rainfall, so you can take your local rainfall situation into consideration before building.

Related Link

Magic mushrooms can insulate your attic

by Kelly Leahy
Nov 21st 2007 @ 11:34AM

Filed under: Home

I've written before about alternatives to fiberglass when insulating your home. Greensulate is yet another emerging material that is effective and environmentally friendly only this time fungus is the main ingredient.

Made from mushroom cells, hydrogen peroxide, starch, and water, Greensulate is poised to replace foam insulation. It's naturally fire retardant, inexpensive and requires no petroleum products to produce. Inventors Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre have patented their product and are looking into manufacturing it large scale.

Related Link

Meet the carbon-neutral Eurostar

by Laura Malesich
Nov 20th 2007 @ 4:06PM

Filed under: Cars and Transportation, News, Travel and Vacation

Would you rather fly from Paris to London or take an eco-friendly speed train? Personally, I would skip the security lines, turbulence bumps and pollution and take the train -- now you can too! Eurostar is now offering service across the Channel from Paris to London in just over 2 hours. Open to the public as of November 14th it is the newest development in eco-travel. Earlier this year the Eurostar company unveiled its environmental campaign and its plans to reduce carbon emission by 25% per journey by 2012 which makes this train a great step in the right direction. I love to see innovative technology meeting travel needs the green-way and I hope this is just the beginning.

[via ShinyShiny]

Related Link

6 best green gadgets for Christmas

by Jonathon Morgan
Nov 21st 2007 @ 10:41AM

Filed under: Gadgets and Tech, Shopping Guide

Looking for the perfect gift for the geek in your house? With all the recent interest in living green, the technologically inclined have been hard at work making your eco-friendly lifestyle easier to achieve -- with gadgets! There is literally an endless supply of tech out there that will help you reduce your impact on the environment, so weeding through it all can be a challenge (especially if you're not all that tech savvy yourself). Here's a quick list of six of the most useful, eco-friendly or downright awesome little innovations that have recently grabbed our attention.

1. Hymini: a device that collects solar and wind power, so you can charge your portable electronics any time, anywhere.

2. SolarRoll: a green gadget that allows you to finally have a truly "mobile" laptop.

3. Water powered alarm clock: Need more juice? Simply add more water right from the tap. Features include a gravity sensor that lets you switch from function to function just by changing the clock's position.

4. Wattson: If you're not using much electricity, the Wattson will glow a calming blue color. If you're using the microwave oven, vacuum cleaner, blasting the stereo, and typing away on the computer at the same time, it will glow an angry red color.

5. Wind-up phone charger: This incredibly clever gadget does just what you'd think -- charges your phone with nothing more than elbow grease.

6. Solar Bluetooth headset: The Iqua BHS-603 SUN offers complete freedom from chargers, wires and delays allowing for 9 straight hours of talk time and up to 200 hours of standby.

Google Crowdsources Map Editing

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 20, @10:01PM
from the don't-do-your-home-address-first dept.

An anonymous reader notes that Google now makes it possible to edit the map location designated by (almost) any address. Registered Google users in the US, Australia, and New Zealand can move incorrect markers for their homes or businesses to the correct locations. Access to some listings is restricted — hospitals, government buildings, and businesses whose listings have been claimed through Google's Local Business Center. In addition, moving a place marker more than 200 yards (or 200 meters) from its original location requires a moderator's approval before the change shows up on the map. Once a marker has been moved, a "Show Original" link will direct users to the original location.

[+] google, internet, crowdsourcing, buzzwordoverkill (tagging beta)

Schools To Lobby for 2nd HQ Building (Connection Newspaper)

Fairfax County Public Schools is moving forward with plans to request funding for a second central administrative building despite predictions of a downturn in county government revenue next year.
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=90860&paper=0&cat=109

Target trialing online sales of pre-owned electronics

Posted Nov 21st 2007 8:59AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Although you may be accustomed to picking up your used wares from locales such as GameStop, Target is hoping that the scavengers of all things pre-owned will stop by its online electronics site, too. The retailer is currently testing online sales of used gizmos, including iPods, camcorders and HDTVs. Reportedly, the company made the call to start selling these goods after noticing that many returned items came back in "perfect working order," but it has yet to decide whether it will continue the business. We also heard that refurbished consoles would be up for grabs, but after running a quick search, we came up empty handed. Still, we'd be awfully careful before we ordered, say, a pre-owned iPod, from Target -- you really never know what you're gonna get.

Tags: business, industry, pre-owned, refurb, refurbished, retail, target, used

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Put down that domestically grown produce!

by Kelly Leahy
Nov 21st 2007 @ 9:26AM

Filed under: Food, News

Just when you think that you have it all figured out at the dinner table, someone brings up the starving children in Africa. Apparently people are eating too locally. That sweet potato that you bought at the local farmers' market just put six organic farmers in a developing nation out of work.

Ok, not really but the issue over how far organic food travels in order to get to the grocery store has been a big enough concern that people are choosing to buy local. Third world farmers are feeling the pinch and may go back to conventional growing methods if organics cease to pay off. For the shopper this is a clearly "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. It's enough to make your head spin.

Police Rumbler grabs your attention, rattles your teeth

Posted Nov 21st 2007 12:50AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Transportation

Although the Rumbler, conceived and sold by Federal Signal, has been helping cops grab the attention of citizens for a few months, its shock waves are just now getting the publicity they demand. The setup is being installed on patrol cars in locales such as Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and New York, and it serves the purpose of moving crowds / vehicles out of the way when an officer is headed to an emergency. More specifically, Rumbler-equipped rides take advantage of the powerful woofers and amplifier to shake the ground beneath them and get people a-lookin' some 200-feet away. Reportedly, the gizmo is meant to be used "judiciously, in situations where motorists should pull over to make way for the police," and it can also be helpful in grabbing the eyes of deaf drivers who cannot hear the traditional siren. 'Course, you could just load up your ride with a few subs and pop in a low-frequency CD to achieve the same goal, but don't be shocked if your copycatting ways net you an unwanted disturbing the peace citation.

Tags: cop, cops, police, rumbler, siren

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The Obesity Epidemic — Is Medicine Scientific?

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 20, @02:05PM
from the paradigm-takeover dept.

An anonymous reader writes "An award-winning science author, Gary Taubes, has written a book that pans the medical community's treatment of the obesity epidemic. What is interesting is that it looks like the medical community is behaving in a very unscientific manner. Taubes points out that the current medical orthodoxy — that consuming fat makes you fat and exercise makes you thin — has no basis in research. In fact, all the available research points in quite another, and more traditional, direction. Here's the (excellent) podcast of an interview with Taubes on CBC's 'Quirks and Quarks.' So, has medicine become a non-science? Is it mostly a non-science? Somewhat?"

[+] fat, science, biotech, sensationalism, mcdonalds (tagging beta)

Verizon ups its FiOS speeds to 50Mbps, sets the internet on fire

Posted Nov 21st 2007 4:14AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Networking

Not content with blazing up your local connection at 20Mbps downstream and up, Verizon has once again bumped its already-painfully-fast FiOS broadband service into the realm of ridiculous. According to reports, the company is now offering a 30Mbps / 15 Mbps service at $89.95 a month, and the nerve-shattering 50 Mbps / 20 Mbps speed at $139.95. The telecom has also introduced symmetrical connections in all 16 states where it currently offers FiOS service, with a 20Mbps / 20Mbps on the up and down, starting at $64.99. Of course, it's all bleeps and buzzes in our particularly lonely corner of Brooklyn, where we'll have to suffer the indignation of a lowly 10Mbps connection until the big V blesses us with some real speed... you hearing us, dudes?

[Via GigaOM]

Tags: 20mbps, 50mbps, broadband, fiber optic, FiberOptic, fios, speeds, symmetrical connections, SymmetricalConnections, verizon

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Cannabis Compound Said To "Halt Cancer"

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 20, @07:58AM
from the afraid-of-what-we-represent dept.

h.ross.perot informs us of research out of the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute suggesting that a compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer from metastasizing. Cannabidiol, or CBD, could develop into a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy some years down the road, if animal and human trials bear out its effectiveness. The article notes that smoking cannabis will not deliver significant quantities of CBD.

[+] science, biotech, ilikethepopethepopesmokesdope, cancer, pot (tagging beta)

Water-activated portable power generator on the horizon

Posted Nov 20th 2007 10:39AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We've seen our fair share of diminutive power generators, but rather than worrying with vibrations or hyperventilating, Millennium Cell and Horizon Fuel Cell have teamed up to deliver an iteration that's water-activated. The pair has been working together on this technology for some time now, and apparently, it's readying a beta that will be demonstrated at next year's CES. The portable power generator incorporates a "unique water-activated cartridge system," which is designed to quietly provide clean energy to consumer products in emergencies and when far, far away from an electrical outlet. Reportedly, the device will provide an AC socket alongside two USB connectors, an operating time of over 16-hours, infinite shelf-storage life and 400-watts of instant juice by just adding H2O. Regrettably, we still have no idea what this thing actually looks like, but considering that CES is less than two months away, we'll soon be seeing what this $400 gizmo can do up close and in person.

Tags: battery, electricity, energy, fuel cell, FuelCell, generator, Horizon Fuel Cell, HorizonFuelCell, Millennium Cell, MillenniumCell, portable power, PortablePower, water, water power, water powered, WaterPower, WaterPowered

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SAIC wants to build 10,000 hybrids annually by the end of the decade

Posted Nov 20th 2007 9:56AM by Sam Abuelsamid
Filed under: Hybrid, China

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) wants to get into the hybrid business starting next year. They have built two dozen electric and hybrid cars for use by officials during next years Beijing Olympic games and they hope to ramp production up to 10,000 hybrids a year by 2010. SAIC has long had joint ventures both Volkswagen and General Motors. It's unknown if the new hybrid system will be in-house designs or licensed from one of their partners. The GM belt-alternator-starter mild hybrid system seems like a possible candidate for a first application.

School Officials Say U.S. Panel's Call for Closure Hurt Image (Washington Post)

I'll admit that I do not understand all of the situation but I have followed this story a little it appears awfully unfair that the government can say, without any evidence, that a school is training terrorists in the public and make them prove they are not. This seems to be a pretty clear case of guilty until proven innocent. Ben Franklin said:

"He who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither"
Officials of a Northern Virginia Islamic school yesterday criticized a federal commission, saying that the panel unfairly damaged the school's reputation by recommending it be shuttered until it could prove that it is not promoting intolerance and violence through its textbooks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/15/AR2007111502324.html

Deficit Decisions (Connection Newspaper)

The Fairfax County School Board will face some tough decisions next spring if they do not receive an increase in funding, said many of its members during a work session Nov. 12.
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=90685&paper=0&cat=106