ScienceDaily (June 24, 2008) — An anti-inflammatory drug may help restore brain function in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to an animal study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Vatican asks tourists to green their vacay
Summer travel season is here, and Pope Benedict wants you to remember one thing: harming the environment is a sin. So, watch out all you globetrotters! The increasingly eco-friendly Vatican released a set of travel tips to the devout this week, including suggestions on how to make your vacation more environmentally responsible. Apparently, the word on the street in Vatican City is: "One can choose to be a tourist at odds with the Earth or in favor of it."The message comes as the latest in a series of environmentally-conscious initiatives by the Vatican -- like going carbon-neutral and defining pollution as a "new sin." The Pope's travel tips aren't really all that enlightening. They range from simply bringing less luggage on planes and other gas guzzlers, to offsetting your travel footprint by planting trees. Still, it's pretty significant that Catholicism is going green. It kinda seems to raise the question: is any form of tourism truly eco-friendly? Shouldn't we just abolish vacation and work all the time? I'm kidding.
Police Training at Centreville, Langley and Lee High Schools
Beginning June 23 and running thru August the Police department tactical team will be overseeing practical training exercises (active shooter training) that will take place in Centreville, Langley and Lee High Schools from 12 noon to 11 PM.
This has been coordinated with each school and they will only be using a small portion of the facility and training will take place at only one facility at a time. The training area will be well marked with police staff members at all access points. The PD will be using a portable fire alarm bell system that will sound in the training area only but may be audible in other portions of the building depending on proximity.
Security Supervisors the tactical team member in charge will notify the console 30 minutes prior to the conclusion of the training each night. You will need to have an officer respond to secure the building for them. Ensure your staffs are aware and comply.
From June 23 through July 17 the training will alternate between Langley and Centreville, after that Training will take place at Lee High School. All training will be conducted Monday thru Thursdays
This has been coordinated with each school and they will only be using a small portion of the facility and training will take place at only one facility at a time. The training area will be well marked with police staff members at all access points. The PD will be using a portable fire alarm bell system that will sound in the training area only but may be audible in other portions of the building depending on proximity.
Security Supervisors the tactical team member in charge will notify the console 30 minutes prior to the conclusion of the training each night. You will need to have an officer respond to secure the building for them. Ensure your staffs are aware and comply.
From June 23 through July 17 the training will alternate between Langley and Centreville, after that Training will take place at Lee High School. All training will be conducted Monday thru Thursdays
A tactile solution to alternative energy sources
Instead of thinking big - as in huge solar panels or enormous wind turbines - one designer started small, and worked his way up.Product designer Agustin Otegui came up with a unique solution to supplying large structures with alternative energy. His invention is called Nano Vent Skin, and it is just that: miniature wind turbines that form a "skin" that can wrap around buildings, tunnels, or anywhere else that needs energy.
Thousands of mini turbines would form the mesh skin (see photo at right for a magnified example of the turbines, which would measure about 25 millimeters long by 10 millimeters wide) and the energy they collected would be stored in storage units located around the structure. And as an added benefit, the wind turbines would also collect CO2.
Otegui says these types of nano-manufacturing are still years away, but he continues to think of other ways that his nano skin could be used.
Japan Imposes 'Fine On Fat'
Posted by timothy on Tuesday June 24, @10:35AM
from the fat-man-vs.-the-state dept.
from the fat-man-vs.-the-state dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A recently-introduced law in Japan requires all businesses to have mandatory obesity checks (video link) for all their employees and employees' family members over the age of 40, CNN reports. If the employee or family member is deemed obese, and does not lose the extra fat soon, their employer faces large fines. The legislated upper limit for the waistline is 33.5" for men, and 35.5" for women. Should America adopt universal health insurance, could we live to see the same kind of individual health regulations imposed on us by the government? By comparison, the average waistline in America in 2005 was 39 inches for men, 37 inches for women."
Scientists figure out how to momentarily store images in vapor
Monday, June 23, 2008
Varoom! A fuel surcharge for speeding
It's only a matter of time before everyone is doing it, sort of like skinny jeans spreading from New York to North Dakota. A town in Georgia will start issuing a fuel surcharge to drivers on July 1st. Drivers in Holly Springs, Ga. who are stopped for any moving violation will also be charged for fuel.While this could have been, in another socialist universe, a reminder to speeders that speeding does a better job of sucking up fuel than it does of providing better arrival times, this has nothing to do with the environment.
The city of Holly Springs is struggling to pay for the gas it needs to patrol. The city's solution was to slap on a $12 surcharge to every moving violation ticket it issues. (Officer to driver: "I see you failed to use your right turn signal back there.")
Other municipalities and counties considering the measure include Atlanta, Key West, Fla. and Los Angeles County.
The price of gas in Atlanta varies from $3.85 to $4.31 a gallon.
[via Yahoo! News]
Tristar Massage Chair isn't built for the average living room
[Via Ubergizmo]
Friday, June 20, 2008
Minimally-invasive Weight Loss Surgery Improves Health And Morbidly Obese Teens
ScienceDaily (June 20, 2008) — Teenagers' obesity-related medical complications improve just six months after laparoscopic gastric banding surgery, according to outcomes data presented this week. The preliminary results by physician-scientists from Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia University Medical Center were presented on June 17 at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
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Liter Of Fuel Would Last UK 1 Year If Cars Had Kept Pace With Computers
ScienceDaily (June 20, 2008) — One litre of fuel would serve the UK for a year and oil reserves would last the expected lifetime of the solar system - if efficiency in the car industry had improved at the same rate as in the computer world - a leading computer scientist will tell an audience in Manchester, UK on Friday 20 June 2008.
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Thursday, June 19, 2008
MIT solar dish holds promise for low-cost energy production
[Thanks, Spencer]
Al-Qaeda targets net-connected coffee machine
Aussie issues chilling buffer overflow menace alert
Published Wednesday 18th June 2008 09:11 GMT
An Aussie risk advisory services manager has issued a chilling security alert concerning the Jura F90 net-connected coffee machine, warning caffeine-heads that the hi-tech brewing device could open their Windows PC to exploitation by internet paedophiles and al-Qaeda*, CNET reports.
Mercifully, we don't need to run screaming to our panic rooms just yet, because Wright concluded: "I don't know if many people would target this particular vulnerability because there probably are not a lot of coffee makers at the moment that are internet-connected, and in my case it's behind a firewall." ®
Guide to DIY Wiretapping
Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday June 19, @11:16AM
from the do-you-hear-what-i-hear dept.
from the do-you-hear-what-i-hear dept.
Geeks are Sexy writes "ITSecurity.com has a nice piece this week on how wiretapping works and how you can protect yourself from people who wants to snoop into your life. From the article "Even if you aren't involved in a criminal case or illegal operation, it's incredibly easy to set up a wiretap or surveillance system on any type of phone. Don't be surprised to learn that virtually anyone could be spying on you for any reason."" Maybe I'm on the wrong track here, but I guess I assumed that wiretapping now happened in secret rooms at the telco, and not by affixing something physically to a wire in your home, but I'll definitely be aware next time I hear a stranger breathing next time I'm stuck on hold.
Confessions of a Wi-Fi Thief
Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday June 19, @10:30AM
from the is-that-a-bandwidth-in-your-pocket dept.
from the is-that-a-bandwidth-in-your-pocket dept.
Michelle Shildkret from Time wrote in to tell us about a story about "the ethics of stealing wi-fi. Many of us been guilty of the same crime at one point or another — according to the article, 53% of us at least. But how guilty do we really feel? As it is officially a crime to steal wi-fi (Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47 of the United States Code, which covers anybody who "intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access")."
Iberdrola inks biggest wind deal ever
Move over T. Boone Pickens, the world's most expensive supply contract for wind energy was signed this week by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola Renewables. The €6.3B -- that's $9.7B US -- contract was awarded to Madrid's Gamesa and it includes the overall cost associated with the turbines, transportation, installation, and grid connection.The landmark deal will translate into the installation of 4,500MW worth of wind turbines across the US, Europe, and Mexico over the next few years. The groundbreaking price tag also covers turbine maintenance, which is pretty hefty -- consider that exploding turbine in Denmark. So, that makes it seem a little more reasonable. Compare this 4,500MW deal with Boone Pickens' 4,000MW wind farm in the Texas Panhandle and you kind of get an even better appreciation of how big his wind farm is going to be.
Nanosolar solar film rolls off the presses at 100 feet-per-minute
It looks like those curious to see just how Nanosolar turns out their solar panels for less than a dollar per watt need wonder no more, as the company has just posted a video that shows the thin film solar cells rolling off the presses at speedy 100 feet-per-minute. That's apparently possible thanks to what the company claims is the industry's first 1GW production tool, and its use of its own long-in-development nanoparticle ink, which eliminates the need for expensive high-vacuum chambers (though the printer still costs a hefty $1,65 million). What's more, the company says their technique would even work "in principle" at speeds up to 2,000 feet-per-minute, although they aren't making any promises about attempting an upgrade anytime soon. Head on past the break to check it out in action.
Slimmer Milky Way Galaxy Revealed By New Measurements
ScienceDaily (Jun. 19, 2008) — The Milky Way Galaxy has lost weight. A lot of weight. About a trillion Suns' worth, according to an international team of scientists from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-II), whose discovery has broad implications for our understanding of the Milky Way.
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Exercise Reduces Hunger In Lean Women But Not Obese Women
ScienceDaily (Jun. 19, 2008) — Exercise does not suppress appetite in obese women, as it does in lean women, according to a new study.
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Casio cranks out Pro-Series Super Slim Projectors
[Via FarEastGizmos]
McCain Backs Nuclear Power
Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday June 19, @08:45AM
from the all-it-takes-is-peak-oil dept.
from the all-it-takes-is-peak-oil dept.
bagsc writes "Senator John McCain set out another branch of his energy policy agenda today, with a key point: 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030." So it finally appears that this discussion is back on the table. I'm curious how Nevada feels about this, as well as the Obama campaign. All it took was $4/gallon gas I guess. When it hits $5 I figure one of the campaigns will back perpetual motion instead.
Helping Some Students May Harm High Achievers
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday June 19, @05:20AM
from the stop-dragging-us-down dept.
from the stop-dragging-us-down dept.
palegray.net writes "According to a new study performed by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Washington, increased emphasis on helping students with a history of lower academic achievement results in lower performance for high achievers. This trend appears to be related to the No Child Left Behind Act. Essentially, programs designed to devote a large number of resources to assisting students who are deemed to be "significantly behind" leave little room for encouraging continued academic growth for higher-performing students."
Monday, June 16, 2008
Video Game Technology May Help Surgeons Operate On Beating Hearts
ScienceDaily (Jun. 16, 2008) — Surgery has been done inside some adults' hearts while the heart is still beating, avoiding the need to open the chest, stop the heart and put patients on cardiopulmonary bypass. But to perform intricate beating-heart operations in babies with congenital heart disease or do beating-heart complex repairs in adults, surgeons need fast, highly sophisticated real-time imaging that allows them to see depth. In an NIH-funded study featured on the cover of the June Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, cardiac surgeons from Children's Hospital Boston report good results with a simple technology borrowed from the gaming industry: stereo glasses.
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Allergies: Specific Immunotherapy Works For Many People, Research Suggests
ScienceDaily (Jun. 16, 2008) — The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care has assessed recent evidence on allergies. It found that the once controversial immune therapy against allergy symptoms can definitely help many people with allergies.
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Wisdom Comes With Age, At Least When It Comes To Emotions
ScienceDaily (Jun. 16, 2008) — A University of Alberta researcher in collaboration with researchers from Duke University has proven that wisdom really does come with age, at least when it comes to your emotions.
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Nuclear Warhead Blueprints On Smugglers' Computers
Posted by timothy on Monday June 16, @02:21AM
from the that's-worrisome dept.
from the that's-worrisome dept.
imrehg links to a story at the Guardian which begins "Blueprints for a sophisticated and compact nuclear warhead have been found in the computers of the world's most notorious nuclear-smuggling racket, according to a leading US researcher. The digital designs, found in heavily encrypted computer files in Switzerland, are believed to be in the possession of the US authorities and of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Vienna, but investigators fear they could have been extensively copied and sold to 'rogue' states via the nuclear black market." Reader this great guy links to the New York Times article on the discovery, and asks "Given that Khan's revelations were made in early 2004, does that mean it took the IAEA 1-2 years to brute-force the encryption?"
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