Have Americans Forgotten About AIDS?

The Global Epidemic the U.S. Forgot -- Yahoo News/ABC

Like a brush fire, The HIV/AIDS epidemic has spread across the world over the last 30 years, picking up steam in certain areas and losing steam in others. Why?

While rates of infection in Western nations have gone down, there has been an explosion of cases in sub-Saharan Africa, India, China and parts of Russia.

In this two week Around the World special, Christiane Amanpour takes an in depth look at the illness that has defined an era, a disease that strikes fear in all of us.

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My Comment: Americans have not forgotten about AIDS .... it is just that other issues have taken precedent.

Here Come The Water Wars

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Water Wars Between Countries Could Be Just Around The Corner, Davey Warns -- The Guardian

Energy secretary tells conference that growing pressure on water resources could worsen existing war and lead to new ones

Water wars could be a real prospect in coming years as states struggle with the effects of climate change, growing demand for water and declining resources, the secretary of state for energy and climate change warned on Thursday.

Ed Davey told a conference of high-ranking politicians and diplomats from around the world that although water had not been a direct cause of wars in the past, growing pressure on the resource if climate change is allowed to take hold, together with the pressure on food and other resources, could lead to new sources of conflict and the worsening of existing conflicts.

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My Comment: Conflicts and wars over water is nothing new in human history. All empires and great powers have always had their main cities near sources of water .... whether by the sea and/or by a major river. Cutting off these sources of water will guarantee conflict and war, and with water becoming a precious resource in the 21rst century .... wars over fresh water will probably be the eventual outcome.

Special Note: The above image (click on the image to expand it) sums up the world's water situation perfectly.

Update: U.S. intelligence: Looming water woes will add to global instability -- McClatchy News

Polio Alert For Pakistan

Polio Virus In Pakistan: WHO Warns Of Travel Ban -- DAWN

ISLAMABAD, March 20: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned Pakistan that if the polio virus was not contained, it could face serious consequences such as travel and visa restrictions and sanctions imposed by countries across the world.

Dr Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General of Polio, Emergencies and Country Collaboration, WHO, told Dawn after a press conference organised by country office of WHO that lately the global community had been expressing its anxiety over the widespread prevalence of the virus in Pakistan.

Read more ....

Watch The Northern Lights Live On The Web

A still image of what the aurora show will look like through the Slooh Space Camera during the live webcast. CREDIT: Slooh Space Camera

Light Show: Watch Auroras Live On Web -- Space.com

The sun has been causing a commotion lately, sending out a barrage of solar storms that have fired up Earth's auroras, to the delight of those who live in far northern latitudes. Now, with the help of a webcam in Alaska, those who live outside of the usual range of the northern lights will get a chance to watch their eerie dance.

The Slooh Space Camera, located outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, will be streaming live starting at 11:00 p.m. PDT (2:00 a.m. EDT) today, March 22 (06:00 UTC March 23), with astronomer Bob Berma on-site to commentate throughout the show.

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CSN Editor: The Slooh Space Camera website is here.

Seven Brilliant Lectures By Richard Feynman (Video)

Watch A Series Of Seven Brilliant Lectures By Richard Feynman -- io9

Richard Feynman was obviously famous for his work as a physicist, but he's also widely regarded as one of the most lucid and effective lecturers to ever address an audience. So renowned, so readily accessible were his presentations, that his introductory physics lectures (which he delivered to undergraduates at Caltech) have since been immortalized in the form of a three-volume set called, quite simply, The Feynman Lectures.

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My Comment: I always loved his books and videos. It's good to see 7 of them together.

Why Women Moan During Sex

Why Women Moan During Sex -- CNN

Ian Kerner, a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author, blogs about sex weekly on The Chart. Read more from him on his website, GoodInBed.All you have to do is watch nearly any depiction of female orgasm on screen to get an idea of how a woman is “supposed” to react during sex.

From "When Harry Met Sally" to "Sex and the City" to your basic porn film, women in the throes of passion aren’t just shouting their ecstasy from the rooftops - they’re moaning with pleasure. Loudly.

But is this just cinematic license, or is there really something to noisy sex?

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My Comment: No comment ....

How Many X-37Bs Are There?

Just How Many X-37Bs Are There? -- Defense Tech

So Air Force Space Command boss Gen. William Shelton gave us a tiny bit more insight into the service’s super secret space spycraft, the X-37B, when he said that it’s doing its super secret — and year-long — mission excellently and that there’s no need for a bigger version of it or to increase the size of the X-37B fleet.

What was really interesting about his comments, was the fact that he wouldn’t say just how big the fleet is. Keep in mind that the service has said that it’s got two of the mini-shuttles for a while now, but Shelton’s response to a question about the size of the fleet raised more questions than it answered.

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Update: Air Force Will Continue to Launch Mysterious X-37B Space Plane (Updated) -- National Defense

My Comment: There are only two, but if the Air Force had the budget .... hmmmm .....

James Cameron Heading To The Bottom Of The Mariana Trench

James Cameron emerges from the hatch of Deepsea Challenger during testing of the submersible in Jervis Bay, south of Sydney, Australia in 2012. Photo: AFP

James Cameron Descends To The Bottom Of The Mariana Trench -- The Telegraph

James Cameron, the multi-millionaire Hollywood film director behind Titanic and Avatar, is heading to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in person armed with hi-tech 3D cameras and lights that will capture the moment for cinemagoers.

Fewer people have reached the deepest point in the world's oceans than have walked on the moon, but the obscure worms and tiny crustaceans that reside there are receiving an unlikely visitor.

Cameron set out from the tiny Pacific island of Guam for the Mariana Trench, and is descending more than seven miles straight down in a lime green reinforced submersible, the first ever solo mission to the lowest point on Earth.

Cameron’s 24ft long vertical capsule, The Deepsea Challenger, weighs 11 tons and was built amid great secrecy in Australia over the last eight years.

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My Comment: Good luck.

Red Meat Halves Risk Of Depression

The Australian government recommends eating 65 -100g of lean, red meat three to four times a week Photo: ALAMY

Red Meat Halves Risk Of Depression -- The Telegraph

Women who reduce lamb and beef in their diets are more likely to suffer depression, according to the new study.

Experts admitted surprise at the findings because so many other studies have linked red meat to physical health risks.

The team made the link after a study of 1000 Australian women.

Professor Felice Jacka, who led the research by Deakin University, Victoria, said: "We had originally thought that red meat might not be good for mental health but it turns out that it actually may be quite important.

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My Comment: As one who enjoys a good steak .... I agree.

Why Taking A Vacation Is Good For You

The Benefits Of Taking Time Off -- US News And World Report/Inside Science

Taking a vacation may not only make you happy, but increase your job performance.

(ISNS)—Rae and Bruce Hostetler not only work very hard, they also relax just as well. Numerous vacations help the suburban Indianapolis couple to maintain their health and emotional well-being—and it's no surprise to health care professionals.

"Rest, relaxation, and stress reduction are very important for people's well-being and health. This can be accomplished through daily activities, such as exercise and meditation, but vacation is an important part of this as well," said primary care physician Natasha Withers from One Medical Group in New York. Withers lists a decreased risk of heart disease and improved reaction times as some of the benefits from taking some time off.

"We also know that the mind is very powerful and can help with healing, so a rested, relaxed mind is able to help the body heal better," said Withers.

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My Comment: How can I disagree with that.

NSA Chief Denies To Congress That They Are Conducting Domestic Spying

NSA Chief Denies Domestic Spying But Whistleblowers Say Otherwise -- Threat Level

In a rare break from the NSA’s tradition of listening but not speaking, NSA chief General Keith Alexander was grilled Tuesday on the topic of eavesdropping on Americans in front of a House subcommittee.

The questioning from Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Georgia) was prompted by Wired’s cover story this month on the NSA’s growing reach and capabilities, but leaves Americans with as many questions about the reach of spy agency’s powers as they had before Alexander spoke.

Alexander denied, in carefully parsed words, that the NSA has the power to monitor Americans’ communications without getting a court warrant.

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My Comment: The NSA chief is very careful with his words .... it appears that he has his own definition of spying and eavesdropping.

The Titanic As You've Never Seen It Before

Mapping out the wreck: The ship was four days into its journey from Southampton to New York when it sunk in the middle of the night on April 14, 1912

The Titanic As You've Never Seen It Before: A Century After It Sank, Stunning New Hi-Tech Images Reveal Doomed Ship On Ocean Floor -- Daily Mail

The sinking of the Titanic is one of the 20th century's great dramas, a mystery that has confounded scientists and historians for decades.

There is still an aura of mysticism that remains around that fateful ship and new photos that will be published in the April 2012 edition of National Geographic Magazine provides for the first time a sense of what the wreck looks like today.

These new photographs, shot using state-of-the-art technology by independent research group Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, provide a greater understanding of what happened on that fateful April 15, 1912.

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My Comment: A hundred years anniversary coming up .... I can imagine the parties that will be breaking out around the world on that day.

U.S. Navy Opens A 'Hunger Games' Arena For Military Robots

The Tropical High Bay, part of the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research, is a 60' by 40' greenhouse that contains a re-creation of a southeast Asian rain forest. In the Tropical High Bay, temperatures average 80 degrees with 80 percent humidity year round. CREDIT: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

Navy Opens 'Hunger Games' Arena For Military Robots -- Live Science

A new U.S. Navy lab can track every movement of battlefield robots as they struggle to survive arenas built to resemble scorching deserts, wave-pounded shores and tropical rain forests.

The lab's biggest environment has high-speed video cameras that automatically swivel to follow up to 50 ground robots, flying drones and even human soldiers. Such intense surveillance of man-made survival settings may remind science fiction readers of "The Hunger Games" — a popular book series turned Hollywood film(s) where "game makers" construct huge, naturalistic arenas to feature reality television displays of battles to the death.

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Update: The Navy's New Autonomous Research Lab is a 'Hunger Games' Arena for Robots -- Popular Science

My Comment: Hmmmm .... so The "Hunger Games" may not be so sci-fi afterall.

How Quake-Prone Is The Mexico?

Mexico Earthquake: How Quake-Prone Is The Region? -- Christian Science Monitor

Mexico earthquake history shows that the same faults that caused Tuesday's Mexico earthquake can produce even bigger events, like one that struck in 1985.

Authorities in Mexico are surveying that damage following a magnitude 7.4 quake that struck the country just after noon on Tuesday local time.

The quake was centered some 31 miles north-northeast of the city of Ometepec, in a mountainous region dotted with villages. The rupture occurred at a depth of about 12 miles, according to estimates from the US Geological Survey's Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.

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Here Comes The U.S. Navy's Robot Jellyfish

Robotic Jellyfish Fuelled By Hydrogen Invented -- BBC

Engineers in the US say they have invented a hydrogen-powered robot that moves through water like a jellyfish.

Development of the robot, nicknamed Robojelly, is in the early stages but researchers hope it could eventually be used in underwater rescue operations.

Writing in Smart Materials and Structures, Yonas Tadesse said the jellyfish's simple swimming action made it an ideal model for a vehicle.

Being fuelled by hydrogen means, in theory, it will not run out of energy.

Mr Tadesse, the lead author of the study, said: "To our knowledge, this is the first successful powering of an underwater robot using external hydrogen as a fuel source."

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More News On The US Navy's Development Of The Robot Jellyfish

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water: American scientists unleash robotic jellyfish -- Daily Mail
Jellyfish-Inspired Robot Runs on Hydrogen -- Discovery News
Robotic jellyfish may never run out of energy -- MSNBC
Ocean-powered robotic jellyfish could theoretically run forever -- Gizmag
Jellyfish inspires latest ocean-powered robot -- e! Science News
Robot jellyfish fuelled by hydrogen -- Physics World
Robot jellyfish sucks up power from the water -- New Scientist
Robojelly is a robot jellyfish -- UberGizmo
When the Earth is uninhabited, this robotic jellyfish will still be roaming the seas -- io9

Illegal Logging Makes Billions

Brazil's deforestation rate has risen and fallen in recent years, as enforcement has changed

Illegal Logging Makes Billions For Gangs, Report Says -- BBC

Illegal logging generates $10-15bn (£7.5-11bn) around the world, according to new analysis from the World Bank.

Its report, Justice for Forests, says that most illegal logging operations are run by organised crime, and much of the profit goes to corrupt officials.

Countries affected include Indonesia, Madagascar and several in West Africa.

The bank says that pursuing loggers through the criminal justice system has made a major impact in some nations, and urges others to do the same.

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My Comment: Make a few makes .... and then spend more to repair the damage. That's the problem with uncontrollable logging.

China Bans The F-Word

Rumours circulated online that the driver of the Ferrari 458 Italia, which can cost as much as £169,545, was the son of a high-ranking government official

China Bans The F-word: Censors Block Ferrari From Social Networks To Suppress Rumours Party Official’s Son Was Involved In An Accident -- Daily Mail

Censors in China have banned internet users from searching the word Ferrari to suppress rumours the son of a senior party official was killed in high-speed car crash.

All references to the Italian supercar company were mysteriously removed from China's online search engines in the early hours this morning.

The ban came after speculation that a young man killed on Sunday when the Ferrari 458 he was driving split in two near Baofusi Bridge, in Beijing, was in fact the son of senior Communist party official.

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More News On China Censoring The 'Ferrari' Word

Why Chinese Censors Banned ‘Ferrari’ From Internet Search -- Jalopnik
‘Ferrari’ banned from internet search in China after 458 Italia crash -- In Auto News
Online restrictions after China Ferrari crash - media -- BBC
Secrecy of mysterious Ferrari crash fuels speculation in Beijing -- Globe And Mail
Ferrari Crash Cover Up and China’s Filthy Rich Kids -- ABC News
China hopes to drive traffic away from Ferrari users -- The Guardian

Females Achieve Sexual Pleasure And Orgasm By Working Out

Females Achieve Orgasm and Sexual Pleasure By Working Out -- Sci-Tech Daily

It looks like time at the gym may be more satisfying for women than a hot date. A new study from the University of Indiana confirms that women can achieve an orgasm, often called “coregasm,” simply by working out.

While not unheard of, reports of “coregasm” have circulated in the media for years, these are the first confirmed findings authored by Debby Herbenick, co-director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion in Indiana University’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and J. Dennis Fortenberry, M.D., professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine and Center for Sexual Health Promotion affiliate. The findings are published in a special issue of Sexual and Relationship Therapy.

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My Comment: I guess this is a new spin on the term "I's going for a work-out".

Neuroscience: Ethics And National Security

(credit: MGM)

Neuroscience, Ethics, And National Security: The State Of The Art -- Kurzweilai

U.S. military and intelligence communities fund and utilize an array of neuroscience applications, generating profound ethical issues, say researchers from Wake Forest University and theUniversity of Pennsylvania.

Neuroscience offers possibilities for cutting edge, deployable solutions for the needs of national security and defence, but are, or at least should be, tempered by questions of scientific validity, consequential ethical considerations, and concern for the relationship between science and security, according to the researchers.

Read more ....

Check Out How You Are Being Tracked On The Web

Cool Science Editor: Check out how you are being tracked .... try this!.

Military Funding Of Brain Research Raises Ethical Issues

The Future Soldier Initiative. CREDIT: U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research Design and Engineering Center in Massachusetts.

Military-Funded Brain Science Sparks Controversy -- Live Science

Brain research and associated advances such as brain-machine interfaces that are funded by the U.S. military and intelligence communities raise profound ethical concerns, caution researchers who cite the potentially lethal applications of such work and other consequences.

Rapid advances in neuroscience made over the last decade have many dual-use applications of both military and civilian interest. Researchers who receive military funding — with the U.S. Department of Defense spending more than $350 million on neuroscience in 2011 — may not fully realize how dangerous their work might be, say scientists in an essay published online today (March 20) in the open-access journal PLoS Biology.

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My Comment: You know that this research is important when the U.S. Department of Defense spends more than $350 million on neuroscience in 2011 alone.

60 Minutes Interview: Billionaire Entrepreneur Elon Musk And His Company SpaceX

Is Your TV Watching You?

The new Samsung HDTV has hard-wired camera and microphone, plus face recognition and other unprecedented features.

Is Your TV Watching You? Latest Models Raise Concerns -- MSNBC

Samsung’s 2012 top-of-the-line plasmas and LED HDTVs offer new features never before available within a television including a built-in, internally wired HD camera, twin microphones, face tracking and speech recognition. While these features give you unprecedented control over an HDTV, the devices themselves, more similar than ever to a personal computer, may allow hackers or even Samsung to see and hear you and your family, and collect extremely personal data.

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My Comment: I guess CIA Director Petraeus was onto something.

Is The iPad3 Overheating?

Selling like hot cakes: people wait on a street in front of an Apple store for the new iPad. Photograph: Michaela Rehle/Reuters

New iPad Runs Hotter Than Skin Temperature, Say Reports -- The Guardian

Tests by Dutch technology site suggest 'iPad 3' can get hotter than 32C, as new iPad sales top 3m in three days.

The "new iPad" – AKA iPad 3 – operates at a higher temperature than its predecessor, according to tests. And it's got people complaining in support forums that it feels "hot" – which appears to be because when it starts running warm, it goes above normal skin temperature.

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My Comment: Oh oh.

Virgin Galactic Gets It`s 500th Customer

Actor Ashton Kutcher is set to go into orbit on board Richard Branson's pioneering space ship, the Virgin Galactic Photo: Reuters/EPA

Ashton Kutcher To Be Propelled Into Orbit Aboard Virgin Galactic -- The Telegraph

Actor Ashton Kutcher is set to go into orbit after becoming the 500th customer to sign up for Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's pioneering space ship, the British tycoon said Monday.

The newly-single star, who split from actress Demi Moore in November, is "thrilled" to join the line for the Virgin Galactic service, which is in its "final stages" of flight tests, Branson wrote on his blog.

"I gave Ashton a quick call to congratulate and welcome him," wrote the multi-millionaire entrepreneur, known for his trademark publicity stunts.

"He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself."

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My Comment: If I had the money .... I would sign up.

How Satellites Are Locating Ancient Human Settlements

The MIT software looks for signs of ancient settlements including earth disturbed by collapsing mud huts, and lighter areas of earth created by disturbed soil

Satellites Identify Thousands Of Small Hills As Ancient Human Settlements -- Christian Science Monitor

Now, two scientists have figured out a more efficient way of locating these sites, via their footprints, from space.

Ancient humans have changed the landscape around their settlements in such ways that even today archaeologists can distinguish between "lived in" spots and those never occupied by humans.

Now, two scientists have figured out a more efficient way of locating these sites, via their footprints, from space.

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More News On How Satellites Are Locating Ancient Human Settlements

A missing chapter in history? New satellite technique finds 9,000 ancient settlements dotted across what is now Syria -- Daily Mail
Satellites expose 8,000 years of civilization -- Nature
Satellite Views Reveal Early Human Settlements -- Discovery News
Satellites spy 1000s of ancient human settlements -- CBS/Live Science
Ancient sites spotted from space, say archaeologists -- BBC
Researchers Discover Thousands Of Early Human Settlements In Syria -- IBTimes
Using Space Satellites to Spot Ancient Cities -- Smithsonian

Robots And Kids

Robots Could Be Future Playmates For Kids -- Live Science

As technology continues to improve, humanlike robots will likely play an ever-increasing role in our lives: They may become tutors for children, caretakers for the elderly, office receptionists or even housemaids. Children will come of age with these androids, which naturally raises the question: What kind of relationships will kids build with personified robots?

Children will view humanoid robots as intelligent social and moral beings, allowing them to develop substantial and meaningful relationships with the machines, new research suggests.

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My Comment: My best friend is my robot .... oh oh.

How "Seeing Around Corners" May Become The Next 'Superpower'

Why Seeing Around Corners May Become Next 'Superpower' -- Live Science

Superman had X-ray vision, but a pair of scientists has gone one better: seeing around corners.

Ordinarily, the only way to see something outside your line of sight is to stand in front of a mirror or similarly highly reflective surface. Anything behind you or to the side of you reflects light that then bounces off the mirror to your eyes.

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My Comment: There are multiple applications for this technology.

Porsche 918 Spyder On Display

Porsche 918 Spyder Concept

An Exclusive Ride In The World’s First Plug-In Hybrid Supercar -- Autopia

NARDO, Italy – There’s a digital clock mounted above the door of Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser’s office counting down the days until the launch of Porsche 918 Spyder. It’s a constant reminder of what Walliser and his team have been tasked with. They’re reinventing the supercar for the 21st century and we’ve traveled all the way to the high-security Nardo Test Track for an exclusive ride in the world’s first plug-in hybrid supercar.

This is most definitely not a Prius.

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More News On The Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche Unleashes 918 Spyder Hybrid Prototype on the Racetrack -- Daily Tech
Early Porsche 918 Spyder prototype hits the track -- Slash Gear
Porsche 918 Spyder: The first ride in the future game changer -- Autoweek
Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Looks Like a Skunkworks Supercar -- AutoGuide
Porsche 918 Spyder Development Progressing -- GTSpirit
Porsche 918 hybrid supercar rolls out of our dreams, onto the tarmac -- Endgadget
Development of Porsche 918 plug-in hybrid supercar progressing nicely -- AutoBlog Green
Report: Porsche Rolling Out Plug-In Hybrid Panamera Next Year -- Automobile
Porsche Panamera Plug-In Hybrid in 2013 -- Autoevolution

Robotic Subs May One Day Span The Oceans

A mine-hunting robot is lowered from the U.S.S. Avenger into the Strait of Malacca, May 2011. Photo: U.S. Navy

Navy Chief: Robotic Subs Might Span Oceans. (Someday.) -- Danger Room

It’s been the Navy’s dream for years: undersea drones that can swim entire oceans. But it’s been thwarted by science’s inability to build propulsion and fuel systems for a journey of that length. Still, the Navy’s top officer and its mad scientists think that some recent research could help turn the dream into an ocean-crossing reality.

“I’m very much desirous of that end-state, cross-ocean, as feasible,” Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, told reporters on Friday. “There are a few propulsion systems that can give you that range — 30-day, 45-day. The fuel needed, regrettably, is extensive, and that drives the size, so we’re not there yet.”

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My Comment: This is one of the Navy’s many dream .... undersea drones that can swim entire oceans.

Are Terror Groups Using Computer Games To Plot Attacks?

A scene from the popular video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3." (Activision)

The Real Call of Duty: Terror Gangs 'Using Computer Games To Plot Atrocities Securely Online' -- Daily Mail

* Claims come a month after government announced plans to monitor all online communications
* Players reportedly choose realistic war games to mask their plotting as harmless gamers' chatter
* Jihadis may even be using the ultra-realistic violent simulations as training for planned atrocities

Islamic extremists are using realistic war-based action games such as Call Of Duty to plot terrorist attacks in secret, it was claimed today.

With security services monitoring phone calls, emails and online messages, fanatics are reportedly using the online chat functions of video games to make plans in private.

Users can log into the games in groups to compete against each and, it is claimed, chat securely without arousing the attention of police and MI5.

Read more ....

More News On Terror Groups Using Video Games To Plot Attacks

Game fanatics -- The SUN
Terrorists use online games like 'Call of Duty' to plot attacks -- FOX News/The SUN
Terrorists Using Call of Duty To Plot Attacks -- Game Revolution
Extremists practice terrorism in console games -- The Inquirer
Apparently Terrorists Are Using Xbox Live To Plan Attacks -- ITProPortal
Sun reports terrorists using Call of Duty as training tool, global threat levels reduced -- PCGamer
Call of Duty 'used by terrorists to plan attacks' -- Digital Spy

Neil deGrasse Tyson - We Stopped Dreaming

Neil deGrasse Tyson Makes The Case For Doubling The NASA Budget -- The Next Big Future

The 2008 bank bailout of $750 billion was greater than all the money NASA had received in its half-century history; two years’ U.S. military spending exceeds it as well. Right now, NASA’s annual budget is half a penny on your tax dollar. For twice that–a penny on a dollar–we can transform the country from a sullen, dispirited nation, weary of economic struggle, to one where it has reclaimed its 20th century birthright to dream of tomorrow.

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The Science of Rail Guns

The Science Of Rail Guns -- io9 News

Ubiquitous in science fiction, rail guns are a hot area of military research in real life too. But will we ever really get to use them the way people in science fiction do? And could rail guns be used for a non-violent reason — inexpensively launching payload into space?

Halo Reach ends with your Spartan taking up a mounted rail gun to destroy an incoming Covenant ship. Rail guns are the basis for a funny aside in Mass Effect 2. They're used in Babylon 5 and Stargate Atlantis and The Last Starfighter. And they're a devastating hand-held weapon in the Metal Gear Solid and Quake series. Now, let's discover the real science behind rail guns.

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My Comment: An adequate review.

Meet The Man Who Broke The Bank At Three Casinos

Wilk

The Man Who Broke Atlantic City -- The Atlantic

Don Johnson won nearly $6 million playing blackjack in one night, single-handedly decimating the monthly revenue of Atlantic City’s Tropicana casino. Not long before that, he’d taken the Borgata for $5 million and Caesars for $4 million. Here’s how he did it.

Don Johnson finds it hard to remember the exact cards. Who could? At the height of his 12-hour blitz of the Tropicana casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, last April, he was playing a hand of blackjack nearly every minute.

Dozens of spectators pressed against the glass of the high-roller pit. Inside, playing at a green-felt table opposite a black-vested dealer, a burly middle-aged man in a red cap and black Oregon State hoodie was wagering $100,000 a hand. Word spreads when the betting is that big. Johnson was on an amazing streak. The towers of chips stacked in front of him formed a colorful miniature skyline. His winning run had been picked up by the casino’s watchful overhead cameras and drawn the close scrutiny of the pit bosses. In just one hand, he remembers, he won $800,000. In a three-hand sequence, he took $1.2 million.

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My Comment: My pockets are empty and my luck is not that great. Sighhh .... best stick to buying my weekly $5 loto ticket.

Nodding Disease

Mysterious Nodding Disease Debilitates Children -- CNN

Pader, Uganda (CNN) -- Pauline Oto still wears her faded yellow and green school dress, but she hasn't been to school for years and she can't comprehend what to do with the pen the community nurse has just given her.

"Write on my hand," says the nurse. Pauline just sits on the reed mat, her legs pulled to one side, and stares. She has just had an attack and can't speak. She struggles to comprehend her surroundings.

Pauline, 13, has been struck by the dreaded nodding disease. Her mother, Grace Lagat, says it will take her at least four hours to recover from the seizures, and after each attack she seems less like the daughter she remembers.

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My Comment: This has potential global implications.

The Quest: Energy, Security And The Re-Making Of The Modern World (Video)

Spring Arrives With Equinox Tuesday

This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012. Image: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring

Spring Arrives With Equinox Tuesday, Earliest In More Than A Century -- Scientific American

Spring is arriving early in a meteorological sense in the Eastern U.S., and in an astronomical sense, making its earliest arrival since 1896.

Across much of the United States, this has been an unusually mild winter, especially for those living east of the Mississippi. Not a few people have noted that spring seems to have come early this year. Of course, in a meteorological sense that could be true, but in 2012 it will also be true in an astronomical sense as well, because this year spring will make its earliest arrival since the late 19th century: 1896, to be exact.

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My Comment: I live in Montreal, and we broke the temperature record for today.

Hebrew University To Post Albert Einstein's Complete Archives Online

Albert Einstein's Complete Archives To Be Posted Online -- The Guardian

Hebrew University releases initial 2,000 documents including unseen letters, postcards and research notes.

Albert Einstein's complete archives – from personal correspondence with half a dozen lovers to notebooks scribbled with his groundbreaking research – are going online for the first time.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which owns the German Jewish physicist's papers, is pulling never-before seen items from its climate-controlled safe, photographing them in high resolution and posting them online – offering the public a nuanced and fuller portrait of the man behind the scientific genius.

Read more ....

More News On Hebrew University To Post Albert Einstein's Complete Archives Online

Archive puts original Einstein manuscripts online -- MSNBC
Never-before seen items from Albert Einstein’s archives to be revealed online -- Washington Post/AP
Original Einstein manuscripts posted online -- USA Today
And Here You Have It, Ladies and Gentlemen, E=MC2 and Other Einstein Archive Treasures -- The Atlantic
Everything Really is Relative: Einstein’s Personal Papers Now a Click Away -- Time
Albert Einstein Was Sort of an Average Guy for a Genius, Archives Reveal -- Atlantic Wire
Einstein the scientist, dreamer, lover: online -- Reuters
Albert Einstein papers show physicist as lover, dreamer -- Christian Science Monitor

New Apple iPad (Verizon) Comparison With iPad 2, Android Tablets

Global Sea Level Likely To Rise As Much As 70 Feet

Sea levels won't get as high as depicted in this fanciful image for a long time. But a substantial rise is inevitable, Rutgers scientists say. (Credit: © Alaska-Tom / Fotolia)

Global Sea Level Likely to Rise as Much as 70 Feet for Future Generations -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2012) — Even if humankind manages to limit global warming to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F), as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommends, future generations will have to deal with sea levels 12 to 22 meters (40 to 70 feet) higher than at present, according to research published in the journal Geology.

The researchers, led by Kenneth G. Miller, professor of earth and planetary sciences in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University, reached their conclusion by studying rock and soil cores in Virginia, Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific and New Zealand. They looked at the late Pliocene epoch, 2.7 million to 3.2 million years ago, the last time the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere was at its current level, and atmospheric temperatures were 2 degrees C higher than they are now.

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My Comment: Are we repeating history .... I guess time will tell.

Pentagon Accelerates It's Cyber Weapons Program

Pentagon creating new-generation cyberweapon. (Reuters / Rick Wilking)

U.S. Accelerating Cyberweapon Research -- Washington Post

The Pentagon is accelerating efforts to develop a new generation of cyberweapons capable of disrupting enemy military networks even when those networks are not connected to the Internet, according to current and former U.S. officials.

The possibility of a confrontation with Iran or Syria has highlighted for American military planners the value of cyberweapons that can be used against an enemy whose most important targets, such as air defense systems, do not rely on Internet-based networks. But adapting such cyberweapons can take months or even years of arduous technical work.

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More News On the Pentagon Accelerating It's Cyber Weapons Program

US to fast-track cyber weapons -- New Age
Pentagon creating new-generation cyberweapon -- RT
US to fast-track cyber weapons -- Sydney Morning Herald
Pentagon goes on offense with new cyber weapons -- The Hill
Pentagon ramping up cyberweapon development -- Nextgov

Is Warm Weather Key To Evolution?

An illustration of Neanderthals at the cave site of Trou Al'wesse in Belgium, clinging on as the climate deteriorated. Credit: Digital Painting by James Ives

Warm Sanctuaries Key To Human Evolution -- Cosmos

DUBLIN: Modern and ancient humans withdrew to milder sanctuaries during the Ice Ages in Europe and Asia, and these refuges became critical for human evolution, according to a new study.

New models published in a paper in Science today suggest that refugia - locations that harbour relict populations of a once-widespread species - were important in determining the pace and pattern of the massive human migration from Africa, which began approximately 100,000 years ago.

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My Comment: I live in Canada .... and trust me .... when it comes to winter I am always asking myself on why am I here. So did early man think the same way? Hmmmm .... that appears to be the case.

New Zealand Police Made 'Errors' During Raid On Megaupload Boss

Web domains belonging to Megaupload have been seized and shut down

Police Made 'Errors' During Raid On Megaupload Boss -- BBC

A police blunder could mean luxury cars, giant TVs and jewellery seized during a police raid will be returned to Megaupload owner Kim Dotcom.

The property was confiscated during a dawn raid on the New Zealand home of the file-sharing site's owner.

A New Zealand judge has now ruled that the court order used to justify the seizure should never have been granted.

The raid led to the closure of Megaupload and seizure of the web domains it used.

Judge Judith Potter said the court order should now be considered "null and void".

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My Comment: At least Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom can now pay his lawyers.

How Snails Are Generating Electrical Power Via Through A Tiny Biofuel Cell Implant

Cyborg Snails Generate Electrical Power From Their Blood-Like Fluid -- National Geographic

Just a few weeks ago we wrote about scientists who’d manage to draw power from the body fluids of cockroaches. Now, another team has reported achieving a similar feat with snails: a tiny biofuel cell implanted in the creatures draws glucose and oxygen from their hemolymph (the snail equivalent of blood) to generate power. And a yet-to-be-released study, Nature News reports, will feature beetles as the carriers of these minute power cells. All of this tiny cyborg excitement can be traced back to a 2003 paper, in which scientists generated power from a grape. Importantly, all of these biological generators—except, presumably, the grape—survived and thrived after their operations.

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My Comment: A prediction .... if the science is sound, it can eventually help power prosthetics and medical implants.

Another Version Of The Supersonic Jet Of The Future

Supersonic Biplane This biplane concept is based on a design by engineers at Tohoku University. MIT/Christine Daniloff

The Supersonic Jet Of The Future Will Be A Biplane -- Popular Science

When supersonic travel inevitably returns to the skies, the airplanes are going to look a lot different. At least one design harks back to the early days of aviation with a biplane design, rather than a sleek delta-winged jet like the Concorde. This shape can apparently produce much less drag and therefore much less noise at supersonic speeds, MIT engineers say.

The decreased drag would make a supersonic biplane more fuel-efficient and it would produce a quieter sonic boom, because the shock waves propagating toward the ground would be canceled out. The trick is getting it to fly.

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My Comment: Cool.

The End Of Windpower?

Broken promises: The rusting wind turbines of Hawaii

Broken Down And Rusting, Is This The Future Of Britain's 'Wind Rush'? -- Daily Mail

A breathtaking sight awaits those who travel to the southernmost tip of Hawaii’s stunningly beautiful Big Island, though it’s not in any guidebook. On a 100-acre site, where cattle wander past broken ‘Keep Out’ signs, stand the rusting skeletons of scores of wind turbines.

Just a short walk from where endangered monk seals and Hawksbill turtles can be found on an unspoilt sandy beach, a technology that is supposed to be about saving the environment is instead ruining it.

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My Comment: It does not look promising.

The Computer’s Next Conquest: Crosswords

Matthew Ginsberg with a puzzle from The New York Times that Dr. Fill, the computer program he created, is solving. Dr. Fill will compete this weekend at a Brooklyn crossword tournament. Chris Pietsch for The New York Times

The Computer’s Next Conquest: Crosswords -- New York Times

What’s a 10-letter word for smarty pants?

This weekend the world may find out when computer technology again tries to best human brains, this time at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Brooklyn.

Computers can make mincemeat of chess masters and vanquish the champions of “Jeopardy!” But can the trophy go to a crossword-solving program, Dr. Fill — a wordplay on filling in a crossword and the screen name of the talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw — when it tests its algorithms against the wits of 600 of the nation’s top crossword solvers?

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My Comment: Chess is hard .... but crosswords? Now that is going to be a challenge for the programmers.

Health Risks Associated With White Rice

(Credit: istockphoto)

Eating White Rice Daily Ups Diabetes Risk, Study Shows -- CBS

(CBS News) White rice is a dietary staple for more than half the world's population - not just for people living in China, India, and Japan, but for many Americans as well.

A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health shows people who eat lots of white rice may significantly raise their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Harvard researchers analyzed four earlier studies on white rice consumption that involved more than 352,000 people from China, Japan, U.S., and Australia, who did not have diabetes. The researchers found after follow-up periods that ranged from four to 22 years, that almost 13,400 people had type 2 diabetes. People who ate the most rice were more than 1.5 times likely to have diabetes than people who ate the least amount of rice. What's more, for every 5.5 ounce-serving of white rice - a large bowl - a person ate each day, the risk rose 10 percent.

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My Comment: I love my white rice. :(

Is The U.S. Navy's Biofuels Program A Boondoggle?

Last month, the U.S. Navy deployed the Paul F. Foster - a decommissioned destroyer now used for experimental purposes - on a 17-hour voyage powered by Solazyme Inc.'s algae-derived biofuel. Photo: U.S. Navy

McCain Sees Another Solyndra In Navy Biofuels Spending -- The Hill

The Navy’s push to develop biofuels to run its fleet of planes and warships could devolve into a “Solyndra situation” for the Pentagon, a top Republican senator said today.

During Tuesday’s hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.) compared the now-bankrupt solar energy company, into which the White House sank $535 million in loan guarantees, to Navy-led efforts in alternative energy.

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My Comment: What caught my eye was the following ....

.... But Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) pointed out that even at a competitive price, the Navy’s plan to use a “50/50 blend” of diesel fuel and a biofuel supplement would still cost $15 per gallon. Traditional JP-5 jet fuel used in the Navy’s fighter aircraft runs $4 to $5 per gallon on average, Inhofe said.

$15 per gallon !!!!! .... you've got to be kidding me. And what is even worse is that these are just projections .... projections from a government agency that has a lousy record in projecting anything.

Bottom line .... it is too expensive and if implemented will help in busting the defense department's budget. My suggestion .... go back to the drawing board and find an alternative plan that is more practical and economically feasible.

What Top Secret NSA Data Center?

NSA Keeping Details About Data Center Quiet -- KSL.com

BLUFFDALE — The $1.5 billion spy complex being built for the National Security Agency is becoming more conspicuous as construction advances at Camp Williams within sight of traffic on I-15.

But the agency building 1 million square feet of enclosed space, including 100,000 square feet of space just for computers that will gather and digest intelligence information, continues to do what it does best — keep secrets — when asked about the project.

The NSA sent a short statement to the Deseret News on Friday, but only after Wired Magazine compiled a voluminous story published the same day. The broadly researched story builds the skeleton of its story using information NSA released at its January 2011 groundbreaking and puts meat and skin on that skeleton with anecdotal data from the computer and information technology industries.

One thing the Utah Data Center is not likely to run short of: really big numbers.

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My Comment: The sentence that got my attention was the following ....

.... 100,000 square feet of space just for computers.

That's going to be one hell of an electricity bill.

Spotify Will Overtake iTunes In Two Years

Spotify now has 10 million signed-up users and 2.5 million paying subscribers. CEO Daniel Ek points out that subcribers pay £120 a year, whereas customers of iTunes store only pay £60 on average

Spotify Will Overtake iTunes In Two Years, Claims 'Social Network' Billionaire Sean Parker -- Daily Mail

* Streaming service is already number two after iTunes
* More than 10 million users after tie-up with Facebook
* Tech billionaire claims music companies will earn more throughSpotify

Music streaming service Spotify will overtake Apple's iTunes store within two years if it keeps growing at its current rate, claims Sean Parker, Facebook's first president.

The technology billionaire, famous from the film 'The Social Network', where he was played by Justin Timberlake, claims that music companies will earn more from Spotify than from Apple within two years.

He also poked fun at the slow speeds of Apple's download store, saying, 'The iTunes store, to this day, is so slow. I’m amazed.'

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My Comment: He is probably right.

Want To Live Longer .... Make Friends

You Want To Live To 1,000? Start Making Friends -- The Guardian

Loneliness is the worst enemy for the health of old people.

This week, to a large and gripped audience, Professor Sarah Harper from the Oxford Institute of Ageing had just explained what societies of the future would look like. Then someone in the audience stood up and quoted gerontologist Aubrey de Grey: "The person who lives to be 1,000 has already been born."

To think of our children living into their 100s is, it seems, at the vanilla end of the ageing debate now. Conceivably, you could retire in your sixties, become transformed by stem cell regeneration or similar, go back to work at 100, work for another 800 years, and still have a really long retirement.

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My Comment: Too many friends can age you also. :)

Smokers Likely to Quit Because of Social Disapproval

Smokers Likely to Quit Because of Social Disapproval, Not Fear -- Scit Tech Daily

A new study based in the UK shows that fear provoked by graphic images had no effect on smokers’ intentions to stop smoking and that smokers were more willing to consider quitting because of negative attitudes towards their habit.

In 2008 the United Kingdom became one of the first countries in Europe to make it mandatory for cigarette packets sold within the UK to display fear-provoking, graphic anti-smoking images, founded on the assumption that the use of fear is an effective method to encourage smokers to quit.

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My Comment: I agree .... my brother and I were able to convince our dad to quit smoking.