Dinosaur die out might have been second of two closely timed extinctions

Dinosaur die out might have been second of two closely timed extinctions: New research indicates that shortly before an asteroid impact spelled doom for the dinosaurs, a separate extinction triggered by volcanic eruptions killed life on the ocean floor.

Bill Clinton Backs 100 Year Starship

Bill Clinton Backs 100 Year Starship:



astroengine writes "The light-years between the stars is vast — a seemingly insurmountable quarantine that cuts our solar system off from the rest of the galaxy. But to a growing number of interstellar enthusiasts who will meet in Houston, Texas, for the 100YSS Public Symposium next week, interstellar distances may not be as insurmountable as they seem. What's more, they even have the support of former U.S. President Bill Clinton."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Man Walks With Aid of Brain-Controlled Robotic Legs

Man Walks With Aid of Brain-Controlled Robotic Legs: A new brain-computer interface allows an able-bodied person to walk using a pair of mechanical leg braces controlled by brain signals (video), as reported on the electronic database arXiv. The device, while limited, lays a foundation for helping people with paralysis walk again.

Smart school bullies less likely to become criminals

Smart school bullies less likely to become criminals: Having a high IQ and coming from a small family could mean school bullies are less likely to become criminals, according to new research.

Quantum Teleportation Sends Information 143 Kilometers

Quantum Teleportation Sends Information 143 Kilometers:
SchrodingerZ writes "Scientists from around the world have collaborated to achieve quantum teleportation over 143 kilometers in free space . Quantum information was sent between the Canary Islands of La Palma and Tenerife. Quantum teleportation is not how it is made out in Star Trek though. Instead of sending an object (in this case a photon) from one location to another; the information of its quantum state is sent, making a photon on the other end look identical to the original .'Teleportation across 143 kilometres is a crucial milestone in this research, since that is roughly the minimum distance between the ground and orbiting satellites.' It is the hope of the research team that this experiment will lead to commercial use of quantum teleportation to interact with satellites and ground stations. This will increase the efficiency of satellite communication and help with the expansion of quantum internet usage. The full paper on the experiment can be found [note: abstract only, full article paywalled] in the journal Nature."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mathematicians offer unified theory of dark matter, dark energy, altering Einstein field equations

Mathematicians offer unified theory of dark matter, dark energy, altering Einstein field equations: A pair of mathematicians have proposed a unified theory of dark matter and dark energy that alters Einstein's equations describing the fundamentals of gravity. They suggest the law of energy and momentum conservation in spacetime is valid only when normal matter, dark matter and dark energy are all taken into account. For normal matter alone, energy and momentum are no longer conserved, they argue.

Obama Finally Talks Drone War, But It's Almost Impossible to Believe Him

Obama Finally Talks Drone War, But It's Almost Impossible to Believe Him: President Obama just made his most extensive comments yet on robot warfare. They were also total baloney, outside experts say.

More grandparents fill caregiver role

More grandparents fill caregiver role: Grandparents, an increasingly important source of child care in the United States, vary greatly in the kind of care they provide. A new study shows that 60 percent of grandparents provided some care for their grandchildren during a 10-year period, and 70 percent of those who did provided care for two years or more.

Preventing noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus in soldiers

Preventing noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus in soldiers: Antioxidants, dietary supplements and high-tech brain imaging are among some of the novel strategies that may help detect, treat and even prevent noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus among American troops, according to researchers.

North America's Rocky Mountains affect Norway’s climate

North America's Rocky Mountains affect Norway’s climate: Both the Gulf Stream and the Norwegian Sea have a major impact on Norway's climate. However, it turns out that weather conditions are also influenced by geographical elements from much farther away. North America's Rocky Mountains, for instance, play a major role in weather in Norway.

Quantum world only partially melts: Ultracold atoms reveal surprising new quantum effects

Quantum world only partially melts: Ultracold atoms reveal surprising new quantum effects: Scientists are investigating the transition of quantum systems as they approach thermal equilibrium. Scientists have now detected an astonishingly stable intermediate state between order and disorder.

Biologists tag 'zombees' to track their flight

Biologists tag 'zombees' to track their flight: After last year's accidental discovery of "zombie"-like bees infected with a fly parasite, researchers are conducting an elaborate experiment to learn more about the plight of the honey bees.

Even the very elderly and frail can benefit from exercise

Even the very elderly and frail can benefit from exercise: A new study has shown that all seniors, even those considered frail, can enjoy the benefits of exercise in terms of their physical and cognitive faculties and quality of life and that these benefits appear after only three months.

Things that boom in the night sky

No, these are not pictures of rare flowers or colorful sea creatures. With the trick of his camera, photographer David Johnson captured these shots at the International Fireworks Show in Ottawa, Canada.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/things-that-boom-in-the-night-sky-slideshow/fireworks-photo-1346344009.html

Supersonic Flying Wing Nabs $100,000 from NASA

An aircraft that resembles a four-point ninja star could go into supersonic mode by simply turning 90 degrees in midair. The unusual "flying wing" concept has won $100,000 in NASA funding to trying becoming a reality for future passenger jet travel.

http://news.yahoo.com/supersonic-flying-wing-nabs-100-000-nasa-155935257.html

Google Easter Egg: The 'I'm Feeling Lucky' Button Branches Out

Google Easter Egg: The 'I'm Feeling Lucky' Button Branches Out: Google Instant Search eliminates the opportunity to use the good old "I'm Feeling Lucky" Button, offering search results as soon as you type. Now Google has turned "I'm Feeling Lucky" into yet another random adventure, and this time you can feel "Stellar," "Wonderful," "Trendy" and more.

Fish are warmer, faster, stronger: Unexpected benefits of living in a changing climate, biologists find

Fish are warmer, faster, stronger: Unexpected benefits of living in a changing climate, biologists find: Biologists suggest that growing up at warmer temperatures helps some aquatic animals cope with climate change, raising questions about the limits of adaptation. They found that when embryos raised in warm water experienced temperature variation as adults, they could swim faster and their muscle was better suited for aerobic exercise.

How do they do it? Predictions are in for Arctic sea ice low point

How do they do it? Predictions are in for Arctic sea ice low point: Each year scientists predict the low point of Arctic Sea ice. The final predictions were released Aug. 13. But how do they do it? Researchers used some new techniques this year in hopes of improving the accuracy of their prediction.

Dark chocolate, cocoa compounds, may reduce blood pressure

Dark chocolate, cocoa compounds, may reduce blood pressure: Compounds in cocoa may help to reduce blood pressure, according to a new systematic review. The researchers reviewed evidence from short-term trials in which participants were given dark chocolate or cocoa powder daily and found that their blood pressure dropped slightly compared to a control group.

Arctic Coastlines Hitting Ecological Tipping Point

Arctic Coastlines Hitting Ecological Tipping Point: Along the rocky coastlines of the Arctic Ocean, a radical change is taking place, perhaps as profound as vanishing sea ice but less evident to the eye. Ecological foundations are shifting, with existing algae replaced by warmth- and light-loving species. It might not seem like much, but algae form the base of ocean food chains, and the change is happening fast.

Dark chocolate, cocoa compounds, may reduce blood pressure

Dark chocolate, cocoa compounds, may reduce blood pressure: Compounds in cocoa may help to reduce blood pressure, according to a new systematic review. The researchers reviewed evidence from short-term trials in which participants were given dark chocolate or cocoa powder daily and found that their blood pressure dropped slightly compared to a control group.

Bourne Legacy's Gene-Doped Superspies Aren't as Far-Fetched as They Sound

Bourne Legacy's Gene-Doped Superspies Aren't as Far-Fetched as They Sound: In The Bourne Legacy, Jeremy Renner plays Aaron Cross, a superspy who's been pharmaceutically tweaked to jump higher, think faster, punch harder, hear better and tolerate extreme cold. The surprising thing is, this type of gene-doped warrior is not a total figment of filmmaker Tony Gilroy's imagination.

Meet DARPA's New Militarized Earthworm

Meet DARPA's New Militarized Earthworm:
derekmead writes "Meshworm is a toughened, robotic earthworm that can crawl virtually silently at a speed of about 5 millimeters per second. DARPA wants to send it into battle. Believe it or not, the Pentagon's been working on building a robotic earthworm for a while. They tried putting one together with gears. They tried with air-powered and pneumatic pumps, but the results were bulky and untenable. Then, researchers at Harvard, MIT and Seoul National University in Korea put their heads together and designed an 'artificial muscle.' It's essentially a polymer mesh that's wrapped with nickel and titanium wire designed to stretch and contract with heat. When an electric current is applied, the mesh mimics the circular muscle system of an earthworm to scoot forward."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

How stress and depression can shrink the brain

How stress and depression can shrink the brain: Major depression or chronic stress can cause the loss of brain volume, a condition that contributes to both emotional and cognitive impairment. Now scientists have discovered one reason why this occurs -- a single genetic switch that triggers loss of brain connections in humans and depression in animal models.

Scientists create first quantum router, but don't throw your 802.11ac out yet

Scientists create first quantum router, but don't throw your 802.11ac out yet:

A common vision of the future has us with our feet up, while robots do all the work. Another one sees the end of silicon, with quantum computers doing all the heavy lifting. That second prophecy inches just a smidgen closer with the news of the world's first quantum router. Developed at Tsinghau University in China, the router makes a quantum photon from two separate photons in different polarized states. At this point, things start to get a little, well, mind-bending, as they are wont to do in the quantum world. The net result, however, is one qubit of data being "routed" at a time. While this won't be powering any serious networks anytime soon, the all important proof of concept is there, and we imagine, in a parallel universe simultaneously.
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Scientists create first quantum router, but don't throw your 802.11ac out yet originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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