An anonymous reader writes "Scientists have created the first device to render an object invisible in three dimensions. The 'cloak,' described in the journal Science (abstract; full text requires login), hid an object from detection using light of wavelengths close to those that are visible to humans. Previous devices have been able to hide objects from light travelling in only one direction; viewed from any other angle, the object would remain visible. This is a very early but significant step towards a true invisibility cloak." The "object" hidden in this work was a bump one micrometer high. The light used was just longer than the wavelengths our eyes detect. To get a visible-light cloak, the features of the cloaking metamaterial would need to be reduced in size from 300 nm to 10 nm.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Could a Pill Increase Learning Ability Post-Puberty?
ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2010) — It is well known that the onset of puberty marks the end of the optimal period for learning language and certain spatial skills, such as computer/video game operation. Recent work published in the journal Science by Sheryl Smith, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology, and colleagues at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn shows that a novel brain receptor, alpha4-beta-delta, emerges at puberty in the hippocampus, part of the brain that controls learning and memory.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Filming For The Hobbit Begins In July
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday March 18, @11:55AM
from the chip-the-glasses-and-crack-the-plates dept.
from the chip-the-glasses-and-crack-the-plates dept.
krou writes"Sir Ian McKellen has revealed that filming for The Hobbit and its sequel is scheduled to begin in July, and will take approximately a year to complete. Casting is now 'taking place in LA, London and New York,' and [director Guillermo] Del Torro is already 'living in Wellington, close to the Jacksons' and the studio in Miramar.' Apparently the script is still being worked on, and 'the first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle-earth.' The planned sequel to The Hobbit is to be an original story not written by Tolkien, covering the 60 years between The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings."
Professor Ditches Grades For XP System
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday March 18, @07:57AM
from the exam-quest dept.
from the exam-quest dept.
schliz writes"Like in World of Warcraft, students of Indiana University's game design classes start as Level 1 avatars with 0 XP, and progress by completing quests solo, as guilds, or in 'pick up groups.' Course coordinator Lee Sheldon says students are responding with 'far greater enthusiasm,' and many specifics of game design could also be directly applied to the workforce. These included: clearly defining goals for workers; providing incremental rewards; and balancing effort and reward."
DARPA sets sights on cameras that understand
By Sean Hollister 
posted Mar 18th 2010 7:08AM
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Scientists Demonstrate Mammalian Tissue Regeneration
telomerewhythere writes"A quest that began over a decade ago with a chance observation has reached a milestone: the identification of a gene that may regulate regeneration in mammals. The absence of this single gene, called p21, confers a healing potential in mice long thought to have been lost through evolution and reserved for creatures like flatworms, sponges, and some species of salamander. 'Unlike typical mammals, which heal wounds by forming a scar, these mice begin by forming a blastema, a structure associated with rapid cell growth and de-differentiation as seen in amphibians. According to the Wistar researchers, the loss of p21 causes the cells of these mice to behave more like embryonic stem cells than adult mammalian cells, and their findings provide solid evidence to link tissue regeneration to the control of cell division. "Much like a newt that has lost a limb, these mice will replace missing or damaged tissue with healthy tissue that lacks any sign of scarring," said the project's lead scientist.' Here is the academic paper for those with PNAS access."
Facebook Attracting More Visitors Than Google.com
vikingpower writes"Internet research firm Hitwise just broke the news: last week, Facebook attracted 7.07 percent of the internet traffic in the USA, compared to 7.03 percent for Google. This is the first time google.com has been out of the top spot since it surpassed MySpace in 2007, and reflects a change in the way people use internet. They tend to privilege social interaction sites above 'passive' search engines."Facebook still has a ways to go if you include Google's non-search properties, which bring the total up to 11.03% of traffic.
China To Connect Its High-Speed Rail To Europe
MikeChino sends in this excerpt from Inhabitat:"China already has the most advanced and extensive high-speed rail lines in the world, and soon that network will be connected all the way to Europe and the UK. With initial negotiations and surveys already complete, China is now making plans to connect its HSR line through 17 other countries in Asia and Eastern Europe in order to connect to the existing infrastructure in the EU. Additional rail lines will also be built into South East Asia as well as Russia, in what will likely become the largest infrastructure project in history."They hope to get it done within 10 years, with China providing the financing in exchange for raw materials, in some cases.
Scottish Wave Energy Plans Move Forward
It's been a long time coming (2007, 2005, and 2002 respectively), but the project to harness wave energy off the Scots coast is finally coming together. Reader krou writes:"The BBC is reporting that ten sites on the seabed off Scotland in Pentland Firth and around Orkney have been leased to energy companies with the hopes of generating wave and tidal energy. 'Six sites have been allocated for wave energy developments potentially generating 600 megawatts of power and four for tidal projects, also generating 600 MW.' The leases were awarded to SSE Renewables Developments, Aquamarine Power, ScottishPower Renewables, E.ON, Pelamis Wave Power, OpenHydro Site Developments, and Marine Current Turbines. Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said that 'These waters have been described as the Saudi Arabia of marine power and the wave and tidal projects unveiled today — exceeding the initial 700MW target capacity — underline the rich natural resources of the waters off Scotland.'"
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Stanford develops safer lithium-sulfur batteries with four times the charge of lithium-ion cells
By Richard Lai posted Mar 14th 2010 at 7:29AM
Longer battery life is high atop our list of gadget prayers, and the brainiacs at Stanford are one step closer to making our dreams come true with a new lithium-sulfur technology. Half of this trick lies in the silicon nanowire anode that the same team developed back in 2007, whereas the new cathode consists of a similarly commodious lithium sulfide nanostructure. Compared to present lithium-ion batteries, Stanford's design is "significantly safer" and currently achieves 80 percent more capacity, but it's nowhere near commercial launch with just 40 to 50 charge cycles (Li-ion does "300 to 500") due to the compound's rapid degradation. That said, we're promised a theoretical quadruple boost in capacity as the technology matures, so until then we'll keep that hamster running in our backpack.
Longer battery life is high atop our list of gadget prayers, and the brainiacs at Stanford are one step closer to making our dreams come true with a new lithium-sulfur technology. Half of this trick lies in the silicon nanowire anode that the same team developed back in 2007, whereas the new cathode consists of a similarly commodious lithium sulfide nanostructure. Compared to present lithium-ion batteries, Stanford's design is "significantly safer" and currently achieves 80 percent more capacity, but it's nowhere near commercial launch with just 40 to 50 charge cycles (Li-ion does "300 to 500") due to the compound's rapid degradation. That said, we're promised a theoretical quadruple boost in capacity as the technology matures, so until then we'll keep that hamster running in our backpack.
Your Rights Online: NY To Replace IT Vendors With State Workers
on Friday March 12, @03:29PM
Posted by Soulskill on Friday March 12, @03:29PM from the this-can-only-end-well dept.
dcblogs writes "New York state plans to replace as many as 500 IT contract workers with a new type of temporary state worker. The state estimates it can save $25,000 annually for each contracting position that is in-sourced. This is the result of a new law creating 'term appointments,' which strip away some hiring and firing rules that apply to permanent state workers. These term appointment workers are employed 'at will.' Term appointments can be up to five years and workers get state benefits. Proponents of this change said a state IT worker might earn an average of $55 an hour, including benefits, while the state pays its contractors an average of $128 an hour for workers in similar jobs."
Posted by Soulskill on Friday March 12, @03:29PM from the this-can-only-end-well dept.
dcblogs writes "New York state plans to replace as many as 500 IT contract workers with a new type of temporary state worker. The state estimates it can save $25,000 annually for each contracting position that is in-sourced. This is the result of a new law creating 'term appointments,' which strip away some hiring and firing rules that apply to permanent state workers. These term appointment workers are employed 'at will.' Term appointments can be up to five years and workers get state benefits. Proponents of this change said a state IT worker might earn an average of $55 an hour, including benefits, while the state pays its contractors an average of $128 an hour for workers in similar jobs."
Friday, March 12, 2010
On Social Networks, You Are Who You Know
santosh maharshi writes"On social networks like Facebook, even if you have kept your profile very private, people can just look at your friends list and infer lots of vital information about you. Most of the social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn allow people to see your picture and your friends list as part of the open access for visitors (the article says that only 5% of Facebook users have bothered to hide their friends list). In a study titled You Are Who You Know: Inferring User Profiles in Online Social Networks (PDF), conducted by Alan Mislove of Northeastern University and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, an algorithm was tested that can accurately infer the personal attributes of Facebook users simply by looking at their friend lists. 'At Rice [University], the algorithm accurately predicted the correct dormitory, graduation year, and area of study for the many of the students. In fact, among these undergraduates, researchers found that “with as little as 20 percent of the users providing attributes we can often infer the attributes for the remaining users with over 80 percent accuracy."'"
High-Tech Armrest: Computer-Controlled Hand and Arm Support Devise Developed for Doctors, Artists
ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2010) — University of Utah engineers developed a computer-controlled, motorized hand and arm support that will let doctors, artists and others precisely control scalpels, brushes and tools over a wider area than otherwise possible, and with less fatigue.
China To Tap Combustible Ice As New Energy Source
on Friday March 12, @05:00AM
lilbridge writes "Huge reserves of "combustible ice" — frozen methane and water, have been discovered in the tundra of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. Estimates show that there is enough combustible ice to provide 90 years worth of energy for China. Burning the combustible ice may be a far better alternative than letting it just melt, releasing tons of methane into the air."
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Portable NES modded into a cartridge, hearts modded into love
My Next Project;)
By Nilay Patel posted Oct 11th 2009 6:03PM
posted Oct 11th 2009 6:03PM
[Via 8bitfix; thanks, Gusto]
Obesity Linked to Poor Colon Cancer Prognosis
ScienceDaily (Mar. 11, 2010) — Obese patients with colon cancer are at greater risk for death or recurrent disease compared to those who are within a normal weight range, according to a report inClinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Papaya Extract Thwarts Growth of Cancer Cells in Lab Tests
ScienceDaily (Mar. 10, 2010) — The humble papaya is gaining credibility in Western medicine for anticancer powers that folk cultures have recognized for generations.
Big Power from Tiny Wires: Carbon Nanotubes Can Produce Powerful Waves That Could Be Harnessed for New Energy Systems
ScienceDaily (Mar. 10, 2010) — A team of scientists at MIT have discovered a previously unknown phenomenon that can cause powerful waves of energy to shoot through minuscule wires known as carbon nanotubes. The discovery could lead to a new way of producing electricity, the researchers say.
Cotton Is the Fabric of Your Lights, Your MP3 Player, Your Cell Phone
ScienceDaily (Mar. 10, 2010) — Consider this T-shirt: It can monitor your heart rate and breathing, analyze your sweat and even cool you off on a hot summer's day. What about a pillow that monitors your brain waves, or a solar-powered dress that can charge your MP3 player? This is not science fiction -- this is cotton in 2010.
Over 50 ARM-based tablets launching this year
By Thomas Ricker posted Mar 10th 2010 5:38AM
Martin Jetpack priced at $86,000, mere mortals will soon be able to buy one too
By Vladislav Savov posted Mar 10th 2010 4:24AM
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
To Remember the Good Times, Reach for the Sky
ScienceDaily (Mar. 8, 2010) — Simple motor actions, like moving marbles upward or downward between two cardboard boxes, may not seem meaningful. But a study published April 2010 inCognition shows that motor actions can partly determine people's emotional memories.
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