Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Dementia in Extreme Elderly Population Expected to Become Epidemic
ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2010) — University of California researchers found that the incidence rate for all causes of dementia in people age 90 and older is 18.2% annually and significantly increases with age in both men and women. This research, called "The 90+ Study," is one of only a few to examine dementia in this age group, and the first to have sufficient participation of centenarians.
US Air Force chief: Boeing laser "not operationally viable" as far as you know
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Feb 24th 2010 2:31AM
Darpa funds invisible, shoot-through shield
By Joshua Topolsky posted Jun 21st 2007 10:14PM
posted Jun 21st 2007 10:14PM
DARPA longs for magnetic body healers, crazy respawn camps
By Darren Murph posted Feb 24th 2010 4:22AM
Even DARPA understands that its futuristic bubble shield can be penetrated given the right circumstances, and when it does, the soldier behind it is going to need some serious healing. In a hurry. In the entity's newest budget, there's $6.5 million tucked away "for the creation of a scaffold-free tissue engineering platform, which would allow the construction of large, complex tissues in vitro and in vivo." As you well know, this type of mad science has been around for quite some time, and now it looks as if DARPA is ready for the next best thing: "non-contact forces." Put simply, this alludes to replacing scaffolds with magnetic fields or dielectrophoresis, which could purportedly "control cell placement in a desired pattern for a sufficient period of time to allow the cells to synthesize their own scaffold." It's still too early to say how close we are to being able to instantaneously heal soldiers on the battlefield, but frankly, the public is apt to never know for sure.Google executives found guilty of violating privacy of student bullied on video
By Thomas Ricker posted Feb 24th 2010 6:33AM
As you can imagine, Google has responded with vigor. In a post on Google's official blog, Google calls the decision "astonishing" citing the assistance it provided to local police in helping bring those who uploaded the video (and bullied the autistic child) to justice. More importantly, Google says that the decision "attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built." On the surface, we have to agree. Here's how Google describes the dystopian knock-on effect should this ruling take precedent:
"European Union law was drafted specifically to give hosting providers a safe harbor from liability so long as they remove illegal content once they are notified of its existence. The belief, rightly in our opinion, was that a notice and take down regime of this kind would help creativity flourish and support free speech while protecting personal privacy. If that principle is swept aside and sites like Blogger, YouTube and indeed every social network and any community bulletin board, are held responsible for vetting every single piece of content that is uploaded to them - every piece of text, every photo, every file, every video - then the Web as we know it will cease to exist, and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear."
Quantum Leap for Phonon Lasers
ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2010) — Physicists have taken major step forward in the development of practical phonon lasers, which emit sound in much the same way that optical lasers emit light. The development should lead to new, high-resolution imaging devices and medical applications. Just as optical lasers have been incorporated into countless, ubiquitous devices, a phonon laser is likely to be critical to a host of as yet unimaginable applications.
Better Snowfall Forecasting
ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — University of Utah scientists developed an easier way for meteorologists to predict snowfall amounts and density -- fluffy powder or wet cement. The method has been adopted by the National Weather Service for use throughout Utah -- and could be adjusted for use anywhere.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
OU professor submerses laptop in liquid nitrogen, smashes it to prove a point (video)
By Darren Murph posted Feb 21st 2010 2:54PM
Find out exactly what "this" was by hitting that 'Read More' button there on the lower left."This is just liquid nitrogen, so it alone won't hurt the computer. But this will."
[Thanks, studentatOU]
Dry Winters Linked to Seasonal Outbreaks of Influenza
ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — The seasonal increase of influenza has long baffled scientists, but a new study published in PLoS Biology has found that seasonal changes of absolute humidity are the apparent underlying cause of these wintertime peaks. The study also found that the onset of outbreaks might be encouraged by anomalously dry weather conditions, at least in temperate regions.
Biogas Climate Benefit Greater Than Previously Thought?
ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — Biogas from refuse produces 95 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline, according to a new research report. With a few simple improvements to the biogas plants, the figure can rise to 120 per cent -- i.e. biogas becomes more than climate neutral. This can be compared with the standard figures used today, which indicate that biogas produces 80 per cent lower emissions than gasoline.
Midday nap markedly boosts the brain's learning capacity
If you see a student dozing in the library or a co-worker catching 40 winks in her cubicle, don't roll your eyes. New research shows that an hour's nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter.
http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/jo56vsuN_80/100221110338.htm
Immediate risk of suicide and cardiovascular death after a prostate cancer diagnosis
Being diagnosed with prostate cancer may increase a man's risk of suicide or cardiovascular death, especially right after diagnosis, according to a new study.
http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/kff9k-yMDWI/100202171809.htm
Students Build 2752 MPG Hypermiling Vehicle
MikeChino sends along this awe-inspiring excerpt: "Think claims of electric vehicles that get over 200 MPG are impressive? Try this on for size: a group of mechanical engineering students at Cal Poly have developed a vehicle that can get up to 2752.3 MPG -- and it doesn't even use batteries. The Cal Poly Supermileage Team's wondercar, dubbed the Black Widow, has been under construction since 2005. The 96 pound car has three wheels, a drag coefficient of 0.12, a top speed of 30 MPH, and a modified 3 horsepower Honda 50cc four-stroke engine. It originally clocked in at 861 MPH and has been continuously tweaked to achieve the mileage we see today." It's not quite as street-worthy, though, as Volkswagen's 235 MPG One-Liter concept.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Baker's Yeast: A Promising, Natural Therapy for Cancer?
ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2010) — A researcher at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science is investigating the potential use of non-pathogenic baker's yeast as a promising, natural therapy for cancer.
Bill Gates Knows What You Did Last Summer
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday February 04, @12:30PM
from the tell-us-everything dept.
from the tell-us-everything dept.
theodp writes"Give Bill Gates your 'pictures, videos, documents, e-mail, instant messages, addresses, calendar dates/scheduling information (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, appointments), voice mail, phone logs, RSS feeds, subscriptions, bookmarks, mail lists, project management features, computing device data, tasks and location data,' and he'll improve your 'quality of life.' That's the promise behind a patent issued Thursday to Bill Gates and his 20 co-inventors for 'Personal Data Mining', which Microsoft notes 'can include a monetization component' that 'could initiate an auction to sell information to the highest bidder.'"
House Overwhelmingly Passes Cybersecurity Bill
eldavojohn writes"The Caucus, a NY Times Blog, is reporting on the overwhelming majority vote (422 yeas) the House gave a new cybersecurity bill. The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, H.R. 4061has a number of interesting provisions. Representative Michael Arcuri, a Democrat of New York who sponsored the bill called cybersecurity the 'Manhattan Project of our generation' and estimated the US needs 500 to 1,000 more 'cyber warriors' every year in order to keep up with potential enemies. The new bill 'authorizes one single entity, the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to represent the government in negotiations over international standards and orders the White House office of technology to convene a cybersecurity university-industry task force to guide the direction of future research.'"
Pay It Forward: Elevation Leads to Altruistic Behavior
ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2010) — Seeing someone perform a virtuous deed (especially if they are helping another person), makes us feel good, often eliciting a warm, fuzzy feeling in our chest. This positive, uplifting emotion, known as "elevation," might make us feel great, but is it enough to get us to go out and perform good acts ourselves? According to new findings reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, the answer may be yes.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Mixed-Handed Children More Likely to Have Mental Health, Language and Scholastic Problems, Study Finds
ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2010) — Children who are mixed-handed, or ambidextrous, are more likely to have mental health, language and scholastic problems in childhood than right- or left-handed children, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.
Scientology Attacker Will Be Sentenced To Jail
Posted by kdawson on Wednesday January 27, @05:15AM
from the taking-one-for-the-team dept.
from the taking-one-for-the-team dept.
OBG writes"A Nebraska native charged with taking part in a massive cyber-attack against the Scientology website will be spending the next year behind bars. 20-year-old Brian Thomas Mettenbrink will plead guilty to the charge of unauthorized access of a protected computer for his involvement in the denial of service attack, which was orchestrated by the online group 'Anonymous.' Mettenbrink's is the second successful prosecution connected to the 'Anonymous' attacks. Last year, Dmitriy Guzner of Verona, New Jersey, was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for attacks on Scientology sites."
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
China Will Lead World Scientific Research By 2020
Posted by kdawson on Tuesday January 26, @08:12AM
from the we-got-the-numbers-we-got-the-will dept.
from the we-got-the-numbers-we-got-the-will dept.
Hugh Pickens writes"An analysis of papers published in 10,500 academic journals across the world shows that, in terms of academic papers published, China is nowsecond only to the US, and will take first place by 2020. Chinese scientists are increasing their output at a far faster rate than counterparts in rival 'emerging' nations such as India, Russia, and Brazil. The number of peer-reviewed papers published by Chinese researchers rose 64-fold over the past 30 years. 'China is out on its own, far ahead of the pack,' says James Wilsdon, of the Royal Society in London. 'If anything, China's recent research performance has exceeded even the high expectations of four or five years ago.' According to Wilsdon, three main factors are driving Chinese research. First is the government's enormous investment, with funding increases far above the rate of inflation, at all levels of the system from schools to postgraduate research. Second is the organized flow of knowledge from basic science to commercial applications. And third is the efficient and flexible way in which China is tapping the expertise of its extensive scientific diaspora in North America and Europe, tempting back mid-career scientists with deals that allow them to spend part of the year working in the West and part in China."Here's the Financial Times's original article.
Universe Closer To Heat Death Than Once Thought
TapeCutter writes"In a paper soon to be published (PDF) in the Astrophysical Journal, Australian researchers have estimated the entropy of the universe is about 30 times higher than previous estimates. According to their research, super-massive black holes 'are the largest contributor to the entropy of the observable universe, contributing at least an order of magnitude more entropy than previously estimated.' For those of us who like their science in the form of a car analogy, Dr. Lineweaver compared their results to a car's gas tank. He states, 'It's a bit like looking at your gas gauge and saying "I thought I had half a gas tank, but I only have a quarter of a tank."'"Fortunately, that quarter of a tank will still get us as far as we need to go and then some.
Uranus and Neptune May Have "Oceans of Diamonds"
Posted by kdawson on Monday January 25, @09:33PM
from the went-to-sea-in-a-sieve dept.
from the went-to-sea-in-a-sieve dept.
Third Position writes"Oceans of liquid diamond topped with solid 'icebergs' of the precious gems could be on Uranus and Neptune. The first-ever detailed research into the melting point of diamond found it behaves like water during melting and freezing — with its solid form floating on the liquid. A large diamond ocean on one or both of the planets could provide an explanation for an oddity they both share: unlike Earth, they do not have magnetic poles that match up with their geographical poles."The article doesn't mention what the pressures might be like in these outer-planets environments, but the researchers found that liquefying diamond requires 40 million times Earth's atmospheric pressure at sea level.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii Tops 10 Million Sales
According to a report from Japanese publication Nikkei Net, Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. Wii has now sold 10 million copies worldwide. The game needed only 45 days to pass the already impressive sales numbers of Super Mario Galaxy. Quoting Gamasutra:"NSMB Wii has sold 3 million units in Japan, where it launched on December 3; 3 million copies in Europe, where it launched November 20, and 4.5 million units in North America, where it launched November 15. Super Mario Galaxy has sold 4.1 million units in North America since 2007. The game's design hearkens back to the two-dimensional, side-scrolling style of earlier Mario titles ... The numbers would seem to suggest that these traits successfully generated more mass appeal for NSMB Wii than for the three-dimensional and far less familiar Super Mario Galaxy, which sent the plumber navigating more innovative spherical space environments."
Monday, January 25, 2010
Prison Bans D&D For Mimicking Gang Structure
They have obviously never played or they would know that the DM builds the world that the players interact with. If the DM "gives directions" to the players beyond the rules, it is not fun any longer.
Posted by kdawson on Tuesday January 26, @05:21AM
from the step-away-from-the-polyhedral-dice dept.
from the step-away-from-the-polyhedral-dice dept.
Trepidity writes"In a case that has been winding its way through the courts for a while now, a Wisconsin prison banned inmates from playing Dungeons & Dragons, using the justification that 'one player is denoted the Dungeon Master... [who] is tasked with giving directions to other players... [which] mimics the organization of a gang.' The prison also cited some sparse evidence that a handful of non-inmate D&D players once committed some crimes that allegedly were related to their D&D playing. On Monday the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the regulation (PDF) against challenges from inmates. The court appeared skeptical of the ban, sarcastically referring to it as the 'war on D&D,' but upheld it nonetheless as having a 'rational basis.' Law professor Ilya Somin suggests that the court may have had no choice, given how deferential rational-basis review usually is."
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