Video Games: The Skills From Zapping ’Em

From The Economist:

Playing fast-action video games helps decision-making.

THE relentless march of technology into everyday life has always given rise to debate about whether it is a good or a bad thing. Some believe that the internet and computer software are making humans more stupid or shallow. But others argue that computer programs in the form of video games can make people smarter or improve specific skills, such as spatial awareness. Indeed, an entire industry has emerged to help people “train” or improve their brains.

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Sugar's Power Over Humans Traced

More than half of the American population is overdosing on sugar. Click here for a list of the top five things you didn't know about sugar. Hemera

From Discovery News:

Sugar may be a rich source of empty calories, but there's more to the story.

Sugar is the enemy, according to a growing body of research, and not just because it rots our teeth and adds padding to our thighs.

The real danger is fructose -- a main ingredient in table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and fruit -- that actually gets into our cells and alters metabolism.

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Oh, That’s Gotta Hurt – Obama Denies Solar Panels

From Watts Up With That?

It has been said that Obama is the worst president since Jimmy Carter, perhaps now in the eyes of 350.org supporters, he’s “worse than we thought”. Carter was the first to put solar panels on the White House. Being nothing more than an icon, they didn’t last.

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Glasperlenspiel: Scientists Propose New Test for Gravity

A beam of laser light (red) should be able to cause a glass bead of approximately 300 nanometers in diameter to levitate, and the floating bead would be exquisitely sensitive to the effects of gravity. Moving a large heavy object (gold) to within a few nanometers of the bead could allow the team to test the effects of gravity at very short distances. (Credit: K. Talbott/NIST)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Sep. 13, 2010) — A new experiment proposed by physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may allow researchers to test the effects of gravity with unprecedented precision at very short distances -- a scale at which exotic new details of gravity's behavior may be detectable.

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Why Do Teens Hurt Themselves? The Science Of Self-Injury

From Live Science:

Over the last couple decades, more young people appear to be pulling out razor blades and lighters in order to injure themselves, according to anecdotal reports from counselors. Their intent is not to die, just to inflict harm, a behavior known as non-suicidal self-injury.

A recent study on the mental health of college students, presented in August at the American Psychological Association Meeting, found empirical evidence to document these observations. The results show that at one university, the rate of non-suicidal self-injury doubled from 1997 to 2007.

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YouTube Tests Live Streaming

From CBS News:

Long-Awaited Experiment Signals New Media Push by YouTube and Corporate Parent Google.

(AP) YouTube is making its long expected foray into live streaming by launching an experimental trial with four new media partners.

The new live streaming platform will be previewed in a two-day trial beginning Monday, but is expected to later grow considerably across the Google Inc.-owned website.

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Sensitive Touch For 'Robot Skin'

Photo: The "skins" match human skin's ability to sense tiny pressure changes quickly.

From The BBC:

"Artificial skin" that could bring a sensitive touch to robots and prosthetic limbs, has been shown off.

The materials, which can sense pressure as sensitively and quickly as human skin, have been outlined by two groups reporting in Nature Materials.

The skins are arrays of small pressure sensors that convert tiny changes in pressure into electrical signals.

The arrays are built into or under flexible rubber sheets that could be stretched into a variety of shapes.

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Alien Oceans Could Be Detected By Telescopes

Image: The reflection of light or "glint" could reveal the existence of Earth-like planets.

From The BBC:

The next generation of telescopes could reveal the presence of oceans on planets outside our Solar System.

Detecting water on Earth-like planets offers the tantalising prospect they could sustain life.

Scientists hope the reflection of light, or "glint", from mirror-like ocean surfaces could be picked up by a US space telescope set for launch in 2014.

The research by US astronomers has been published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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Remembering 9/11 -- Complete List Of Links, Tributes, Videos, Pictures And Resources

COMPLETE LIST OF 9/11 RESOURCES, TRIBUTES, VIDEOS AND LINKS

9/11 TIMELINE

Day of 9/11 Timeline – An excellent illustrated and detailed Timeline by Paul Thomas
The 9/11 Report -- A graphic adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón
NYT Accounts From Different Floors In WTC


MEMORIALS – REMEMBERING THE FALLEN

C N N Memorial – Victims of 911
CNN’s Memorial List of 9/11 Victims
Cantor Fitzgerald Families Memorial
Arlington Cemetary
Department of Defense Memorial Page
USA Today: Flight 93 Victims
USA Today: Names of Victims on the Airplanes


WEB SITES DEDICATED TO 9/11

911 Commission – Official Website
911 Digital Archive
911 Internet Archive
911 Investigations
911 Photos And Videos
911 By The Numbers – New York Magazine
America’s Day Of Terror – B B C News
CNN Special -- 911
Library Of Congress – 911
Musarium Photo: America Attacked
New York City Damage Report – From C N N
New York City Fire Department Dispatch Tapes 911
Open Directory – 9/11 Web Sites
September 11, 2001 – Wikipedia
September 11, 2001 Archive Of Screenshots of Online News Sites
September 11, 2001 Newspaper Archives
September 11 News.com
Times Magazine Coverage of 911
W C B S – T. V. New York – Special On 911


THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECHES

September 11 Address to the Nation
September 20 Address to Joint Session of Congress and the Nation
November 10 Speech To The U.N.
Timeline and links to Bush speeches and pictures


LINKS TO 9/11 IN PICTURES

Attack On America Images – A number of links and a Bookyards favorite
Black Day – Images From 9/11
Bill Biggart's Final Exposures -- His body and camera were found at Ground Zero
9/11 Images
9/11 Pictures
9/11 Research
9/11 Memorial
Photos From Musarium
September 11News.com
The Twin Towers, Before and After
Shattered
A startling deck of high-resolution photos of the WTC site, most of which I do not remember seeing before.
World Trade Center Explosion


VIDEO CLIPS AND MEMORIALS ON 9/11

Bookyards 911 Time Line (25 videos)
Bookyards 911 General Collection of Videos (19 videos)
Bookyards Video Tributes On 911 (6 videos)
9/11 Video Tribute – A Fast Zoom In From Space To Ground Zero
A Video Memorial. From Brain Terminal
America Attacked – Video Memorial
An excellent video memorial from YouTube
Chris Macke Photography -- Video From The Top Of The WTC (a video memorial
CNN Video Archive Of September 11, 2007
Twin Tower Videos
Free 9/11 Videos And Documentaries
The Building Of The Towers -- A Video Clip
File 13: Paper Evidence -- Blue Man Group presents some of the burnt, torn papers—typical of office work—that were found in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, after the 9/11 attacks.
YouTube – 9/11 Videos


LAST WORDS OF A TERRORIST
Mohamed Atta’s Four Page Letter

Google's Home Page On September 11, 2001 At 11:54 AM EST

Click Image To Enlarge

Report: Apple Developing iPad Rev With Camera/FaceTime

From The Mac Observer:

Apple is in the advance testing stage of a rev for the iPad that includes a front-facing camera and support for FaceTime, according to a report from AppleInsider. The company is planning on releasing the device as early as the 1st quarter of 2011, a more aggressive schedule than the yearly update schedule for other iOS devices, and there are some execs in Cupertino who want to release the new version in time for the Holiday shopping season this year.

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Astronomers To Detect Alien Volcanoes

This artist's conception shows an extremely volcanic moon orbiting a gas giant planet in another star system. Credit: Wade Henning

From Cosmos:

SYDNEY: Astronomers may soon be able to detect volcanic activity on planets outside our Solar System, providing further insight into ‘Earth-like’ alien worlds, according to a recent paper.

When large, explosive volcanic eruptions occur, they emit high quantities of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere. Without an eruption, however, sulphur dioxide only occurs in an Earth-like stratosphere in very small amounts.

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WSJ : GoDaddy Internet Registrar For Sale

From CBS News:

World's Largest Internet Domain Name Registrar Could Fetch More Than $1 Billion.

(CBS) Citing "people familiar with the matter," The Wall Street Journal is reporting that GoDaddy.com, the private company that registers Internet domain names, has put itself on the block and could fetch upward of $1 billion.

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What Do White People Really Like?

From ABC News:

Dating Site OkCupid Analyzes Profiles to Uncover Interests of Different Races.

What do Tom Clancy, Van Halen and golfing have in common?

According to the dating website OkCupid, they're all stuff white people really like.

The popular blog (and now book) Stuff White People Like may have been the first to plumb the world of white people online. But, this week, OkCupid took the next step and analyzed profiles of online daters to figure out the tastes and interests of members by race.

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Mars Lander May Have Detected, Then Destroyed Organics

This is the first photograph ever taken on the surface of the planet Mars. It was obtained by Viking 1 just minutes after the spacecraft landed successfully on July 20, 1976. Click to enlarge this image. NASA

From Discovery News:

The Viking mission on Mars may have destroyed compounds that make biology possible while trying to detect them.

Martian soil could contain the building blocks of carbon-based life after all, a new study suggests, despite the negative results of an analysis performed by the Viking missions 34 years ago.

When the Viking landers touched down on Mars in 1976 and scooped up soil samples, scientists were surprised that the two craft failed to unearth evidence that the Red Planet contained any organic compounds. The apparent lack of organic molecules -- a basic requirement for carbon-based organisms -- helped to cement the notion of Mars as an entity that would not easily support life.

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The Math Behind the Physics Behind the Universe

Discover Interview: The Math Behind the Physics Behind the Universe -- Discover Magazine

Shing-Tung Yau explains how he discovered the hidden dimensions of string theory.

Shing-Tung Yau is a force of nature. He is best known for conceiving the math behind string theory—which holds that, at the deepest level of reality, our universe is built out of 10-dimensional, subatomic vibrating strings. But Yau’s genius runs much deeper and wider: He has also spawned the modern synergy between geometry and physics, championed unprecedented teamwork in mathematics, and helped foster an intellectual rebirth in China.

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Civil War In Africa Has No Link To Climate Change

Temperature is not the issue (Image: Daniel Pepper/Getty)

From The New Scientist:

THE idea that global warming will increase the incidence of civil conflict in Africa is wrong, according to a new study. What's more, the researchers who previously made the claim now concede that civil conflict has been on the wane in Africa since 2002, as prosperity has increased. If the trend continues, a more peaceful future may be in store.

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E-Books Are Still Waiting for Their Avant-Garde

From Gadget Lab/Wired Science:

E-readers have tried to make reading as smooth, natural and comfortable as possible so that the device fades away and immerses you in the imaginative experience of reading. This is a worthy goal, but it also may be a profound mistake.

This is what worries Wired’s Jonah Lehrer about the future of reading. He notes that when “the act of reading seems effortless and easy … [w]e don’t have to think about the words on the page.” If every act of reading becomes divorced from thinking, then the worst fears of “bookservatives” have come true, and we could have an anti-intellectual dystopia ahead of us.

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'Mind-Reading Machine' Can Convert Thoughts Into Speech

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

From The Telegraph:

A mind reading machine is a step closer to reality after scientists discovered a way of translating people's thoughts into words.

Researchers have been able to translate brain signals into speech using sensors attached to the surface of the brain for the first time.

The breakthrough, which is up to 90 per cent accurate, offers a way to communicate for paralysed patients who cannot speak and could eventually lead to being able to read anyone thoughts.

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Researchers Give Robots the Capability for Deceptive Behavior

The black robot intentionally knocked down the red marker to deceive the red robot into thinking it was hiding down the left corridor. Instead, the black robot is hiding inside the box in the center pathway. (Credit: Georgia Tech Photo: Gary Meek)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Sep. 9, 2010) — A robot deceives an enemy soldier by creating a false trail and hiding so that it will not be caught. While this sounds like a scene from one of the Terminator movies, it's actually the scenario of an experiment conducted by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology as part of what is believed to be the first detailed examination of robot deception.

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