Scientists Erase Specific Memories In Mice

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday October 23, @07:57AM

from the where's-the-cheese dept.

Ostracus writes"It sounds like science fiction, but scientists say it might one day be possible to erase undesirable memories from the brain, selectively and safely. After exposing mice to emotionally powerful stimuli, such as a mild shock to their paws, the scientists then observed how well or poorly the animals subsequently recalled the particular trauma as their brain's expression of CaMKII was manipulated up and down. When the brain was made to overproduce CaMKII at the exact moment the mouse was prodded to retrieve the traumatic memory, the memory wasn't just blocked, it appeared to be fully erased."

US's First Internet Votes To Be Cast This Friday

Posted by timothy on Wednesday October 22, @03:44PM

from the but-counting-commences-thursday dept.

longacre writes"If you thought online voting in America was a distant pipe dream (nightmare?), think again: the nation's first Internet-based voting system goes online this Friday, just days after the release of the Damning Report On Sequoia E-Voting Machine Security we discussed yesterday. In the first real world run of the Okaloosa Distance Ballot Piloting (ODBP) test program, election officials from Okaloosa County, Florida have set up kiosks in Germany, the UK and Japan where 600-700 absentee voters — mostly military personnel — are expected to cast ballots. Security experts still have many questions, of course, particularly on the potential for interception of voting data while it travels across oceans (via 'secure VPN'), the security of the kiosks ('hardened laptops' with no hard drives and other sensitive components disabled) and the security of the three data centers (one of which is itself housed overseas, in Barcelona, Spain), not to mention the fact that Florida doesn't exactly have a stellar recordwhen it comes to vote counting. Florida's Dept. of State also has a fairly detailed outline of ODBP's components and processes [PDF]."

Weird news: Man-eating fish evolves from water burials

by JOSH LOPOSER
Oct 10th 2008 @ 3:00PM

Filed under: Plants and Wildlife

It sounds like something straight out of a low-budget horror film, but scientists on the India-Nepal border fear that years of disposing of bodies in the Great Kali River has created a monster. The creature, a type of giant catfish called a "goonch," is thought to be targeting live prey after years of feeding on the remains of burnt bodies, tossed into the river after ritual funeral pyres. Biologist Jeremy Wade is investigating the sensational story for a documentary TV show in Britain.

Wade believes that these giant freshwater fish are behind local legends in which a monster has grown large on a diet of human remains and is now responsible for snatching unsuspecting bathers. Through his research, Jeremy has built a case for the idea that these giant fish, rather than crocodiles, are the likely culprits. Wade actually caught one of these fish that weighed in at 161lbs (73kg). Wow, that's one catfish that I'm not willing to eat with a side of tartar sauce. Here's a safer, more eco-friendly, burial at sea option.

Related Link

Tiger attacks on the rise, linked to climate change

by JOSH LOPOSER
Oct 22nd 2008 @ 10:00AM

Filed under: Plants and Wildlife

Last week, I found a story aboutman-eating catfish evolved from improper burials techniques -- pretty much a perfect premise for a horror movie. Well, apparently those giant bottom feeders aren't the only creatures sent to punish mankind for their trespasses against the environment. Now, scientists in India fear that tiger attacks may be on the rise due to habitat loss at the hands of climate change and a decline in prey animals like crocodiles. 

They say that tigers in India's wildlife preserves are turning on humans because coastal erosion and rising sea levels are shrinking the tigers' habitat. These tigers live on a series of small islands called the Sundarbans on the border between India and Bangladesh -- an area that scientists say has lost 28% of its habitat in the last 4 decades. While portion of that was tiger habitat, the greatest percentage was habitat for their prey. As the mangroves decline and become more salty, prey is becoming scarce -- making livestock and humans potential targets. Over the past 6 months, tiger attacks have claimed the lives of 7 fisherman in the surrounding area.

Related Link

Generation raised with black and white TV dreams in monochrome

by Nilay Patel, posted Oct 22nd 2008 at 8:13AM

This one's pretty wild -- recent research in the UK finds that people who grew up in the era of black and white media dream in monochrome about a quarter of the time, while those of us raised with color TV almost always dream in full-on Technicolor. The research suggests that exposure to media between the ages of three and 10 is when the switch is set, since that's when the ability to dream kicks in -- which means we're suddenly terrified our kids are going to wind up dreaming in heavily-compressed SD stretched to the wrong aspect ratio, buffering endlessly before failing out due to a missing plugin. Here's to the future.

Stem Cells From Fat Create Beating Heart Cells

Posted by kdawson on Wednesday October 22, @01:05AM

from the for-the-love-of-god-montressor dept.

Amenacier writes"Melbourne scientists recently discovered that stem cells isolated from human fat could be made to turn into beating heart muscle cells when cultured with rat heart cells. This discovery may lead to the use of fat stem cells in repairing cardiac damage, or fixing such cardiac problems as holes in the heart. It is proposed that culturing the stem cells with rat heart cells allows them to differentiate into heart muscle through signals from the rat cells. In the future it may be possible to inject/transplant the stem cells into the damaged area and have them naturally differentiate into the type of cell required, with only the natural stimuli provided by surrounding cells, without any danger of rejection by the body. Quoting: 'The next step is to implant the human heart cells onto the damaged heart of a laboratory rat to see whether they repair the heart. Then they would be trialled in higher species such as sheep and pigs before human applications could be considered. Clinical application could be five years away ...'"The Age has a multimedia treatment (Flash) of the discovery.

The electric Mini-E is finally on its way

by RIGEL CELESTE
Oct 21st 2008 @ 12:02PM

Filed under: Cars and Transportation

The new all-electric Mini E by BMW is finally on its way, and it sure is a cutie! I've always liked Minis but now that this one takes gas prices out of the equation I think I'm officially in love. Besides its exterior design and snazzy paint job (notice the "gas cap"), the car has a lithium ion battery snuggled under the hood that takes only 2 1/2 hours to charge and provides plenty of get-up-and-go (204hp) that lasts for up to 150 miles before you need to plug in and recharge. 

The only downside seems to be that there will be only 500 Mini Es available in California, New York, and New Jersey so if you want one you'll have to act fast and fill out one of the applications that will be available in about 3 weeks (mid-November).

[via acquire]

Gallery: The BMW Mini E

NOKIA SURVEY FINDS THAT MANY AMERICANS WORK ON THE CAN, THE DEFINITION OF COMMON KNOWLEDGE

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 21st 2008 at 3:33PM

We already know that a solid chunk of Britons use mobile internet while in the throes of passion, and now Captain Obvious (today known as Nokia) has awkwardly landed to tell the world that Americans do too. A recent survey, which we can only imagine was absolutely thrilling to conduct, found that some 53% of working Americans "have been interrupted by a work-related phone call or e-mail while in the bathroom." Furthermore, some 23% have allowed a call / e-mail to interrupt them while on a date, but that's probably because 59% of those polled never, ever turn off their mobile. Just think -- the next time your buddy answers with a hint of stress in his / her voice, there's a statistically significant chance that you're barging in on some seriously personal business. 

[Image courtesy of fletchy182]

• READ 

Wikipedia's New Definition of Truth

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday October 21, @01:43PM

from the beware-the-man-with-the-lantern dept.

Hugh Pickens writes"Simson Garfinkel has an interesting essay on MIT Technology Review in which he examines the way that Wikipedia has redefined the commonly accepted use of the word 'truth.' While many academic experts have argued that Wikipedia's articles can't be trusted because they are written and edited by volunteers who have never been vetted, studies have found that the articles are remarkably accurate. 'But wikitruth isn't based on principles such as consistency or observability. It's not even based on common sense or firsthand experience,' says Garfinkel. What makes a fact or statement fit for inclusion is verifiability — that it appeared in some other publication, but there is a problem with appealing to the authority of other people's written words: many publications don't do any fact checking at all, and many of those that do simply call up the subject of the article and ask if the writer got the facts wrong or right. Wikipedia's policy of 'No Original Research' also leads to situations like Jaron Lanier's frustrated attempts to correct his own Wikipedia entry based on firsthand knowledge of his own career. So what is Wikipedia's truth? 'Since Wikipedia is the most widely read online reference on the planet, it's the standard of truth that most people are implicitly using when they type a search term into Google or Yahoo. On Wikipedia, truth is received truth: the consensus view of a subject.'"

$3 gas back: Does anyone care?

by PATRICIA MAYVILLE-COX
Oct 21st 2008 @ 1:02PM

Filed under: Cars and Transportation

Three-dollar gas is back, but you wouldn't know it from the news, particularly when compared to all of the attention that $4 gas got a while back in the summer. Why? Well, the financial panic of course.

According to an article by Mark Williams, even with the large drop in the price of oil and drop in the price of gas along with, with stock prices collapsing, credit markets freezing and jobs losses increasing, the drop in gas prices isn't the focus right now. Gas prices are expected to drop even further according to experts cited, even going as low as $2.50 per gallon.

Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist, doesn't expect people to change their driving habits as a result, due to being wary the prices could go right back up. And of course, economic pain on other fronts makes lower gas prices a small consolation.

Have you noticed lower gas prices where you are? Do you think it will change your driving habits?

Related Link

Solar power could be the cheaper power by 2016

by EUGENE SANDHU
Oct 20th 2008 @ 5:00PM

Good news for solar power enthusiasts - in only eight years,solar power could become cheaperthan the dirtier power-producing sources we use today.

And eight years should work well. American government tax breaks for the solar industry are set to expire in 2016, which is eight years from now.

While the idea of solar power has been getting me all nerd-ed out since my first solar-powered calculator, the reality is that it produces a measly 1% of energy for the United States. In order for it to stay competitive with more polluting coal or natural gas, the industry has relied on government subsidies.

If solar power gets cheaper than regular power, those subsidies would not be necessary. Turns out we can partly thank India and China for this. Power demands from Asia will continue to grow, even if the global economy continues its slump. This will keep coal and gas prices high (coal prices, alone, rose by 163% in 2008) and make solar power more attractive.

Related Link

Microsoft, Google Battle Over Energy Efficiency

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday October 21, @05:45AM

from the anything-you-can-light-i-can-light-cheaper dept.

1sockchuck writes"Microsoft and Google have opened a new front in their battle for global domination: data center energy efficiency. Just weeks after Google published data on the extreme efficiency of its previously secret data centers, Microsoft says it has achieved similar results with shipping containers (despite Google's patent) packed with up to 2,500 servers. The geeky benchmark for the battle is Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), a green data-center metric advanced by The Green Grid. Microsoft says its containers tested at a PUE of 1.22, while Google reported an average PUE of 1.21 for its data centers, which apparently are also now using containers."

Do Cell Phones Increase Brain Cancer Risk?

ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2008) — Major research initiatives are needed immediately to assess the possibility that using cellular phones may lead to an increased risk of brain tumors, according to an editorial in the November issue of the journal Surgical Neurology.

Read More

The GOP Rap

A "natural" prescription for ADHD

by PATRICIA MAYVILLE-COX
Oct 21st 2008 @ 9:06AM

Filed under: Health

Nature-deficit disorder, as coined in Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods, is when children lose their connection to the natural world due to lack of free, outdoor time. According to the famous biologist, E.O. Wilson, it's the soccer moms that are killing off bio-education, by taking their kids to all sorts of organized activities, whether indoor or out, and not giving them enough time to be out in nature.

A new study shows that not only can being outdoors prevent "nature-deficit disorder," but it also may help in the treatment of another disorder, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The study evaluated 17 children with ADHD after taking part in three walks; one in a park, one in a residential neighborhood and one in a downtown area. The children were then given a test which measures attention and concentration. The study found that the children were able to focus better after the walk in the park as opposed to walks in the other settings. 

According to author Frances E. Kuo, of the University of Illinois, as quoted in a NY Times Well blog post, "What this study tells us is that physical environment matters." In fact, the researchers found that a "dose of nature" worked just as well or better as a dose of medication.

With the weather getting colder in many parts, remember to keep trying to go outside, no matter what your age!

Related Link

What if commercials were like this

Publish Post

See What I See: Machines With Mental Muscle

ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2008) — The way we use and interact with machines is undergoing a profound change as computers are programmed to learn from experience and see more how we see. European research into machine learning is pushing back the boundaries of computer capabilities.

Read More

New Natural Products Act Against Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria

ScienceDaily (Oct. 17, 2008) — A group of antibiotic natural products discovered at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig points to a new mode of action against pathogenic bacteria. Isolated from myxobacteria, the substances prevent an enzyme of the pathogens from being able to translate their genetic material. In this way, the propagation of bacteria – such as tuberculosis pathogens – is inhibited.

Read More

Real Pilots And 'Virtual Flyers' Go Head-to-head

ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2008) — Stunt pilots have raced against computer-generated opponents for the first time — in a contest that combines the real and the ‘virtual’ at 250 miles per hour.

Read More

Sea Urchins' Genetics Add To Knowledge Of Cancer, Alzheimer's And Infertility

March 1, 2007 — Researchers are using the sea urchins to study and understand diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and muscular dystrophy. Although they are invertebrates, the creatures share a common ancestor with humans and have more than 7,000 of the same genes. With a complete map of their DNA, scientists can lear

Read More

First Tunable, 'Noiseless' Amplifier May Boost Quantum Computing, Communications

ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2008) — Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder, have made the first tunable “noiseless” amplifier. By significantly reducing the uncertainty in delicate measurements of microwave signals, the new amplifier could boost the speed and precision of quantum computing and communications systems.

Read More

Alternative Energy: New Sugarcanes To Deliver One-Two Energy Punch

ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2008) — New varieties of sugarcane and other crops adapted to the U.S. Gulf Coast region are being developed for use in making ethanol as a cleaner-burning alternative to gasoline.

Read More

DARPA Contract Hints At Real-Time Video Spying

Posted by kdawson on Monday October 20, @08:03AM

from the i-know-what-you-did-last-minute dept.

The Washington Post has a story picking apart a DARPA contract document to assert that advanced video spying from the sky is on the way. The contract in question was awarded last month and involves indexing video feeds and matching feeds against stored footage. The example given is for an analyst to ask for an alert whenever any real-time Predator feed from Iraq shows a vehicle making a U-turn."Last month, Kitware, a small software company with offices in New York and North Carolina, teamed up with 19 other companies and universities and won the $6.7 million first phase of the DARPA contract, which is not expected to be completed before 2011. During the Cold War, satellites and aircraft took still pictures that intelligence analysts reviewed one frame at a time to identify the locations of missile silos, airplane hangars, submarine pens and factories, said... an expert in space and intelligence matters. 'Now with new full-motion video intelligence techniques, we are looking at people and their behavior in public,' he said. The resolution capability of the video systems ranges from four inches to a foot, depending on the collector and environmental conditions at the time, according to the DARPA paper."

KOREAN TECH MAKES HYDROGEN UP TO 30 TIMES CHEAPER TO PRODUCE -- CLEAN ENERGY SOLVED?

by Thomas Ricker, posted Oct 20th 2008 at 5:55AM

With oil prices in free-fall and the world's economies in the toilet, short-sighted governments and C02-denying GM execs will undoubtedly defer priority given to clean energies in the next round of fiscal budgets. Too bad, because Korea's S&P Energy Research Institute has just issued a press release about a new discovery it claims puts the era of clean energy within reach. Dr. Sen Kim claims to have achieved the separation of Hydrogen using just 0.1kwh of energy compared to the traditional 4 - 4.5kwh required using the ol' electrolytic method. Dr. Kim postulates that "manufacturing the H2 by our method will lower the cost of H2 as much as 20 - 30 times" compared to electrolytic H2. That makes SPERI's method suitable for H2 fuel production from say, an in-home hydrogen fueling station. So is this the solution to all of our clean energy concerns? Perhaps, but we've heard these economical hydrogen-generation claims before. Let's wait for the claim to be more thoroughly vetted by bigger brains than our own before getting too hopeful.

• READ 

Number of ET Civilizations In Our Galaxy Is 37,964

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday October 20, @08:48AM

from the give-or-take-infinity dept.

KentuckyFC writes"The famous Drake equation calculates the number of advanced civilizations in our galaxy right now. But the result is hugely sensitive to the assumptions you make about factors such as the number of habitable planets that orbit a host star, how many of these actually develop life and what fraction of these go onto become intelligent etc. Disagreements about these figures leads to estimates for the number of advanced civilizations ranging from 10^-5 to 10^6. Now an astronomer in Scotland has worked out how to make the calculations more precise so that different theories about the origin of planets, life and civilizationscan be compared. His calculations say that the rare-life hypothesis predicts only 361 advanced civilizations in the Milky Way now. However, the so-called tortoise and hare hypothesis predicts 31,573 and the theory of panspermia says that there ought to be 37,964 extraterrestrial civilizations more advanced than our own in the Milky Way."