Study: $16B - Estimated Costs of “Dirty Bomb” Attack In LA

Downtown Los Angeles from the sky. A recent study out of USC has found that if a "dirty bomb" was dropped on downtown the economical damage of long-term psychological effects would exceed the cost of short-term clean-up by $15 billion. feculent_figure/Flickr

Costs of 'Dirty Bomb' Attack In Los Angeles -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2012) — A dirty bomb attack centered on downtown Los Angeles' financial district could severely impact the region's economy to the tune of nearly $16 billion, fueled primarily by psychological effects that could persist for a decade.

The study, published by a team of internationally recognized economists and decision scientists in the current issue of Risk Analysis, monetized the effects of fear and risk perception and incorporated them into a state-of-the-art macroeconomic model.

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My Comment: My gut tells me that the costs will be greater than $16 billion.

Should Facebook And Twitter Be Monitored For Terrorists?

Monitoring Twitter And Facebook Could Foil Terrorists -- The Telegraph

The security services need to make greater use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter to track criminals and terrorists, the former head of GCHQ has said.

Sir David Omand said there was increasing use of social media to communicate and that the police and MI5 need to make use of the technology to keep suspects under surveillance.

If they failed to do so, there was a danger that such websites could become a “secret space” where criminals, paedophiles and terrorists could communicate unhindered, he said.

However, Sir David said the Government had to make it clear in what circumstances they would hack into an individual’s account.

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More News On The Former Head Of GCHQ Calling For Monitoring Facebook And Twitter

'We must be allowed to spy on Facebook and Twitter', says former Whitehall intelligence chief -- Daily Mail
Former spy chief calls for laws on online snooping -- The Guardian
Former GCHQ head calls for greater surveillance of Facebook and Twitter -- The Independent

My Comment: On the day that the former head of Britain's GCHQ calls for monitoring of social media sites, reports are leaked out that Al Qaeda is seeking cyber-attack skills. Is this a coincidence .... who knows.

Mind-Controlled Robot Unveiled

The robot that can be controlled by the brainwaves of a paraplegic person wearing an electrode-fitted cap Photo: Alain Herzog / EPFL

Mind-Controlled Robot For Paraplegics Unveiled -- The Telegraph

A robot that can be controlled by the brainwaves of a paraplegic person wearing an electrode-fitted cap has been unveiled.

A paralysed man at a hospital in the Swiss town of Sion demonstrated the device, sending a mental command to a computer in his room, which transmitted it to another computer that moved a small robot 37 miles away in Lausanne.

The system was developed by Jose Millan, a professor at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne who specialises in non-invasive interfaces between machines and the brain.

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Finding A 'Sugar-Daddy': A New High-Tech Social Trend In Paying ONe's University Fees?

SeekingArrangement.com has seen a major influx of students joining - and even offers such new members special benefits

Students Join Controversial Sugar Daddy Dating Site In Their Droves - As Founder Says Soaring British University Fees Are To Blame -- Daily Mail

Female students are flocking to 'sugar daddy' dating sites to meet rich older boyfriends as they struggle with debts which will average £53,000 for those starting degrees this year.

Faced with £9,000 annual tuition fees, increasing numbers of girls are using the sites to form relationships with rich older men who they hope will fund their studies.

Dating site SeekingArrangement.com has released figures showing the 20 British universities with the highest number of students joining the controversial site - and the numbers of girls who have signed up in the last year.

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My Comment: Older men and younger women being together is nothing new .... it's just that it has now gone high-tech.

A User's Guide For The Brain

The Brain: A User's Guide -- The Telegraph

How can a blind climber ‘see’? Will a machine ever outsmart the human mind? Is the internet making us more intelligent, or more stupid? David Eagleman, ‘rock star’ of neuroscience, has dedicated his life to finding the answers

It ought to be quite intimidating, talking to David Eagleman. He is one of the world’s leading neuroscientists, after all, known for his work on time perception, synaesthesia and the use of neurology in criminal justice. But as anyone who has read his best-selling books or listened to his TED talks online will know, he has a gift for communicating complicated ideas in an accessible and friendly way — Brian Cox with an American accent.

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How Bee Navigation May Assist Transportation And Travel

When landing, bees adjust their flight speed and altitude by measuring the optic flow generated by the ground. Credit: Xia Di

Bee Navigation Aids Robot Aircraft -- Cosmos

A scientist’s passion for bees and their remarkable flying skills is opening up undreamed-of possibilities in human transportation and travel.

Air travel is likely to become a great deal safer, more precise and efficient in future - thanks to the humble honeybee. From take-off to landing, both piloted and pilotless aircraft as well as ground vehicles are now starting to employ the vision and navigation strategies of these remarkable flying insects.

A wide range of aerial tasks that are repetitive or dangerous for humans, such as checking reservoirs, inspecting power transmission lines, bushfire and weather monitoring, mapping and exploring, and crop dusting as well as defence roles may soon be carried out based on what we have learned from bees. One day their abilities may even help us to explore Mars.

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My Comment: A detailed look on how they fly.

Six Traits Of Human Behavior

Human Nature: Six Things We All Do -- New Scientist

WHAT sort of creature is the human? The obvious answer is a smart, talkative, upright ape with a penchant for material possessions.

But what about the more subtle concept of human nature? That is more controversial. Some deny it exists, preferring to believe that we can be anything we want to be. They cannot be right.

Although we exhibit lots of individual and cultural variations, humans are animals, and like all animals we have idiosyncrasies, quirks and characteristics that distinguish us as a species. An invading alien would have no trouble categorising us but, being so close to our subject matter, we struggle to pin down the essence of humanness.

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My Comment: I am guilty of doing all six traits.

Where Is The Dark Matter?

An illustration of the Milky Way shows the expected distribution of dark matter as a blue halo. Illustration courtesy L. Calçada, ESO

Dark Matter Is Missing In Sun's Neighborhood? -- National Geographic

Substance isn't "where we needed it" to match theories, researcher says.

Dark matter is mysteriously missing from the sun's neighborhood, according to a new study that could provide ammunition for skeptics who argue that the invisible substance is just an illusion.

"There will be people claiming dark matter doesn't exist because of this result," predicted study leader Christian Moni-Bidin, an astronomer at Chile's University of Concepción.

"These observations alone do not prove that dark matter does not exist. Still, it is not where we expected it and where we needed it."

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Robots That Can Be Blown Up But Keep On Working

Bombs Away Click here to get a bigger view of this amazing image. Reuters/Saad Shalash

The Robots That Can Be Blown Up and Keep On Detecting IEDs -- Popular Science

The homemade bombs known as IEDs accounted for 60 percent of all U.S. military injuries in Iraq and have killed more than 21,000 Iraqi civilians. Last November, a month before the last U.S. troops departed, Iraq’s federal bomb squad paraded with bomb-disposal robots in Baghdad. QinetiQ North America has sold 16 of the $100,000 remote-controlled Talons to the Iraqi police.

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My Comment: Better robots than our dedicated soldiers.

is There A Drone Site In Your Neighborhood?

Exposed: Location of sites where licences have been granted for the use of drones within the U.S. There are 63 active sites based in 20 states. Red flags show active sites and blue show those locations where licences have expired since 2006

Is There A Drone In Your Neighbourhood? Rise Of Spy Planes Exposed After FAA Is Forced To Reveal 63 Launch Sites Across U.S. -- Daily Mail

* Unmanned spy planes are being launched from locations in 20 states and owners include the military and universities

There are at least 63 active drone sites around the U.S, federal authorities have been forced to reveal following a landmark Freedom of Information lawsuit.

The unmanned planes – some of which may have been designed to kill terror suspects – are being launched from locations in 20 states.

Most of the active drones are deployed from military installations, enforcement agencies and border patrol teams, according to the Federal Aviation Authority.

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More News On Drone Sites In The U.S.

FAA Reveals 63 Drone Launch Sites On US Territory -- Business Insider
Drones for “urban warfare” -- Salon
Report: 63 Active Drone Sites in the U.S. -- Newsroom America
Here Are the 61 Organizations With Permission To Fly Drones -- Gizmodo

Earth Night Seen From Space: Big Vid

Should We Blame Robots For Mistakes On The Battlefield?

Credit: Human Interaction with Nature and Technological Systems Lab / University of Washington

Should Robots Be Blamed For Battlefield Mistakes? -- Discovery News

If a robot in combat accidentally kills a civilian, who is to blame?

This isn't as straightforward of a question as it sounds. A team of scientists presented a study at the International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction and found that although robots don't have free will, people sometimes treat them as if they do.

The researchers had 40 undergraduate students play a scavenger hunt game with a human-like robot named Robovie. The robot was controlled remotely, but it appeared autonomous to the students.

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My Comment: I would blame both .... and if the programmers did their jobs properly .... the majority of the blame should then be on the human operators.

Aging Genes Highlighted As Potential Targets For Anti-Aging Therapies

Researchers have identified key genes that switch off with aging, highlighting them as potential targets for anti-aging therapies. (Credit: © Sandor Kacso / Fotolia)

Key Genes That Switch Off With Aging Highlighted As Potential Targets For Anti-Aging Therapies -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2012) — Researchers have identified key genes that switch off with aging, highlighting them as potential targets for anti-aging therapies.

Researchers at King's College London, in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, have identified a group of 'aging' genes that are switched on and off by natural mechanisms called epigenetic factors, influencing the rate of healthy aging and potential longevity.

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Brain Injuries On The Rise For US Troops (Infographic)

Source:LiveScience

Deleting Yourself From The Internet

How To Delete Yourself From The Internet -- CNet

You may not feel like the flotsam and jetsam that make up the facts of your life are important, but increasingly companies are using that dry data to make your every online step as indelible as if written in blood. Here's how to take back your digital dignity.

The Internet companies that power your online life know that data equals money, and they're becoming bolder about using that data to track you. If they get their way, your every online step would be not only irrevocable, but traceable back to you. Fortunately, there are some positive steps you can take to reclaim your online history for yourself.

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My Comment: Some good points here .... if you want your online presence gone .... start reading this article.

Men Prefer Women In Red

Men Prefer Women In Red Because They Think They Will Sleep With Them On First Date -- The Telegraph

It has long been a colour which is guaranteed to turn heads.

But now researchers believe they have found the real reason why men prefer ladies who wear red. Put simply, they think a scarlet-clad woman is more likely to sleep with them on a first date.

Psychologists who studied 120 male students aged 18 to 21 discovered that most thought choosing to wear red meant a woman had “greater sexual intent” and was more likely to jump into bed with a man than someone who opted for more neutral colours.

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My Comment: We are not that easy .... hmmmm .... maybe.

Google's 'Eye On The World' Releases Gallery Of Best Shots

Space Shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, awaiting launch to the International Space Station - its last flight

Google's 'Eye On The World' Releases Hand-Picked Gallery Of Best Shots Of Our Changing Planet - As Seen From 425 Miles Up -- Daily Mail

The GeoEye-1 satellite is capable of capturing details as small as a dustbin as it hurtles past our planet at 17,000mph - and its creators have hand-picked views that show off the majesty of our planet.

GeoEye provides exclusive imagery to the Google Earth and Google Maps applications.

It captures around 270,000 square miles of Earth's surface ever day - an amount of geographical data equivalent to the size of the State of Texas.

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My Comment: The images are stunning.

Is Marijuana-Infused Wine The New High?

Marijuana-Infused Wine: The New High? -- This Week

Looking for a new way to get buzzed? You're in luck: California winemakers are livening up bottles of syrah and cabernet sauvignon by adding weed.

Travelers making their way through California's Central Coast may smell a pungent new aroma coming from their wineglasses — thanks to a little marijuana. What began as a novelty in the 1980s is becoming more commonplace as California winemakers look to ferment grapes with the sticky, THC-laden leaves. Here, a brief guide to the munchy-inducing trend:

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My Comment: Not for me.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Marks It's First U.S. Passenger Flight

Japan Airlines' Boeing 787 arriving at the gate at Boston's Logan International Airport. Photo: GE Aviation

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Begins First U.S. Passenger Flights -- Autopia

Sunday marked the first U.S. passenger flight for Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner, with Japan Airlines flying non-stop between Tokyo and Boston. The airline is the second to receive the efficient new composite airliner after fellow Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways. But JAL is the first to fly the Dreamliner to a U.S. city. The flight also marks Boston’s first non-stop service to Asia and the 787′s first transpacific flight.

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My Comment: A few years late .... but better late than never.

Google To Launch Storage Service Next Week

Google To Launch Storage Service Next Week -- Spiegel Online

Internet search engine Google is expected to enter the cloud computing fray next week with the launch of GDrive, the company's answer to similar offerings by Apple, Microsoft and Dropbox.

Speculation has been rife in recent days over the timing of the planned launch of US search engine giant Google's new cloud-based online storage service, but SPIEGEL has learned the company plans to announce the availability of GDrive next week.

Users who sign up for the service will be provided with 5 gigabytes of storage and, like other Google services, it will be available free of charge.

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Jay Leno's Classic Hybrid

The control mechanism on Jay's 1916 Owen Magnetic hybrid was so complicated that a placard warned operators to take the vehicle to the factory for repairs. John Lamm

The 1916 Owen Magnetic: Jay Leno's Classic Hybrid -- Popular Mechanics

At the dawn of the automotive industry, carmakers were already tinkering with hybrid designs. Perhaps the most interesting in Jay Leno's Garage is the Owen Magnetic, a hybrid car far ahead of its time—which proved its undoing.

People think hybrids are something new, but they've been around since the beginning of the automobile. Ferdinand Porsche built the Lohner-Porsche series hybrid car back in 1901. It used a gas engine to spin a generator that fed electricity to in-wheel motors. In 1917, the Woods Motor Vehicle Company of Chicago offered the Woods Dual Power, a series hybrid that could motor along—at speeds of less than 15 mph—solely on battery power. But I think the 1916 Owen Magnetic might be the most interesting early hybrid of them all.

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My Comment: Jay Leno's collection of cars makes me jealous .... but I also admire the work and effort that he has put himself in making this collection.

Lamborghini's Future SUV Unveiled

Stunning Urus SUV Concept Could Cement Lamborghini's Future -- Popular Mechanics

Sporty SUVs from revered nameplates have long been dismissed by the enthusiast fringe. But in the current automotive zeitgeist where well-heeled buyers are snatching up Porsche Cayennes, BMW X6 Ms, and Mercedes-Benz AMG sport utes at a surprising clip, Lamborghini's much-rumored Urus concept could be the key that solidifies the future of the exotic Italian brand.

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Editor: There is more on this car here.

This Person's Job Is To Build Robots

Roboticist: This Is My Job -- Popular Mechanics

As a 12-year-old, Matt Bunting built robots that chased his cat around the house. Now, here's professional roboticist making machines inspired by biology.

When Matt Bunting was 12, he began building robots—simple rovers driven by remote control. His parents were supportive of his hobby, but one member of the household wasn't so thrilled. "I'd make the rovers chase after my cat," Bunting says. "It would hide, so I had to make a robot to invade its privacy!" His robots became more sophisticated, and when he got to the University of Arizona, he built a hexapod with artificial intelligence. Bunting's professor offered him a job in the Robotics and Neural Systems Lab, where the 25-year-old now creates robots inspired by biology. "I knew that this was what I wanted to do, and now I'm doing it," he says. "It's incredible."

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My Comment: Lucky guy .... but I suspect that there is a lot of pressure on him.

Why Drones Will Not Be Taking Over Our Wars (For Now)

Live Fighters Aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, pilots play a key role in shows of force and complex missions. Even as drones become integrated into the fleet, pilots will lead. U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tommy Lamkin

The Human Element -- Popular Science

Why drones won't be taking over our wars anytime soon.

Early in 2008 on the Black Sea coast, a Georgian drone flying over the separatist enclave of Abkhazia transmitted an instantaneous artifact from the age of human flight—the video record of its own destruction by an attacking fighter jet. What happened that day was born of incendiary post-Soviet politics. The Kremlin backed Abkhazia and was furious that Georgia had bought surveillance drones to watch over the disputed ground. Georgia’s young government flaunted its new fleet, bullhorning to diplomats and to journalists like me what the drones were documenting of Russia’s buildup to war. I remember the Georgian bravado. We have drones. Ha! We have arrived. Tensions led to action. Action came to this: A Russian MiG-29 intercepted one of Georgia’s unmanned aircraft, an Israeli-made Hermes 450, which streamed live video of the fighter swinging into position. The jet pilot fired a heat-seeking missile. Viewed on the drone operator’s screen down below, the missile grew larger and its exhaust plume grew longer as it rushed near. Then the screen went fuzzy. Georgia’s drone was dead.

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My Comment: Drones may not be taking over our wars now .... but the trend is shifting to that goal.

White Killer Whale Spotted InTthe Wild

"Iceberg" is believed to be the first mature white orca observed

White Killer Whale Adult Spotted For First Time In Wild -- BBC

Scientists have made what they believe to be the first sighting of an adult white orca, or killer whale.

The adult male, which they have nicknamed Iceberg, was spotted off the coast of Kamchatka in eastern Russia.

It appears to be healthy and leading a normal life in its pod.

White whales of various species are occasionally seen; but the only known white orcas have been young, including one with a rare genetic condition that died in a Canadian aquarium in 1972.

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My Comment: This is a surprising find.

Touch Photography

Haptography seeks to have viewers feel what they see — from afar. CREDIT: NSF

Touch Photography: Giving Computer Users A Feel For Things -- Live Science

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.

A new type of camera that captures how a surface feels is exactly the kind of technology mechanical engineer Katherine Kuchenbecker believes will change the way humans and computers interact. And she’s helping make that happen.

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Google’s Secret Switch To The Next Wave Of Networking

Going With the Flow: Google’s Secret Switch To The Next Wave Of Networking -- Wired Networking

In early 1999, an associate computer science professor at UC Santa Barbara climbed the steps to the second floor headquarters of a small startup in Palo Alto, and wound up surprising himself by accepting a job offer. Even so, Urs Hölzle hedged his bet by not resigning from his university post, but taking a year-long leave.

He would never return. Hölzle became a fixture in the company — called Google. As its czar of infrastructure, Hölzle oversaw the growth of its network operations from a few cages in a San Jose co-location center to a massive internet power; a 2010 study by Arbor Networks concluded that if Google was an ISP it would be the second largest in the world (the largest is Level 3, which services over 2,700 major corporations in 450 markets over 100,000 fiber miles.)

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Daylight Fireball Streaks Over Nevada and California

Daylight Fireball Streaks Over Nevada and California -- Discovery News

When reports about a meteor make headline news in Los Angeles, it's time to pay attention. In fact, anything that isn't associated with a high-speed car chase or the latest celebrity DUI is usually worth paying attention to (take it from me, it doesn't happen very often). But tonight, local news stations are reporting excited eyewitness accounts of a daytime meteor that ripped through the skies above Nevada and California on Sunday morning.

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New Benefits Of Aspirin?

New evidence is helping explain additional health benefits of aspirin. (Credit: © Veniamin Kraskov / Fotolia)

Aspirin: New Evidence Is Helping Explain Additional Health Benefits And Open Potential For New Uses -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2012) — New evidence is helping explain additional health benefits of aspirin. Researchers in Canada, Scotland and Australia have discovered that salicylate, the active ingredient in aspirin, directly increases the activity of the protein AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase), a key player in regulating cell growth and metabolism. AMPK which is considered a cellular fuel-gauge is switched on by exercise and the commonly used anti-diabetic medication metformin.

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Adult Males Will Soon Have The Same Life Expectancy As Females

Men Will Soon Live Longer Than Women For The First Time As They Ditch Their Unhealthy Lifestyles -- Daily Mail

* Boys born in 2000 will live to 87 - the same as girls
* Younger boys forecast to then outlive their female counterparts
* All due to a decline in heavy industry, fewer smokers and improved healthcare

Men could be about to win the lifelong battle of the sexes – or at least draw even.

Experts say that adult males will soon have the same life expectancy as females for the first time since records began.

By the time today’s 12-year-old boys reach 30, they can expect to live to a month or so over 87 – matching the lifespan of the girls they are in school with today.

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My Comment: It's about time. But I suspect that women will still have the advantage for a very long time.

New Smart Weapons Will Not Use GPS

DARPA Seeks To Wean Smart Weapons Off GPS With Hybrid Inertial Navigation System-On-A-Chip -- Military & Aerospace

ARLINGTON, Va., 18 April 2012. Navigation and guidance experts at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., are trying to reduce the military's reliance on Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite guidance for advanced munitions, mid- and long-range missiles, and other weapons by creating a navigation-system-on-a-chip that combines traditional and atomic inertial guidance technology.

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More News On DARPA Research To Fins An Alternative To GPS For Smart Weapons

DARPA wants navigation chip to guide smart weapons -- Defense Systems
C-SCAN For GPS-Denied Areas -- Shadow Spear
DARPA exploring miniature, atomic sensor systems as alternative to GPS -- Network World
New sensor sought to enable military missions in GPS-denied areas -- Physorg
Wanted: Atomic inertial navigation system -- UPI

My Comment: I guess advances in jamming GPS signals are raising concerns in some quarters.

Why Did Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle Test Failed?

An artist's rendering of the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2. (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency / April 20, 2012)

Pentagon Releases Results Of 13,000-Mph Test Flight Over Pacific -- L.A. Times

The results are in from last summer’s attempt to test new technology that would provide the Pentagon with a lightning-fast vehicle, capable of delivering a military strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.

In August the Pentagon's research arm, known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, carried out a test flight of an experimental aircraft capable of traveling at 20 times the speed of sound.

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Update: DARPA releases cause of hypersonic glider anomaly -- AP

My Comment: Now we know why the test failed .... but with no money in the budget for additional tests, it looks like this research is going to be put on hold for now.

iPhone 5 Rumors

Apple iPhone 5 'To Be Cased In Liquidmetal' -- The Telegraph

Apple’s next iPhone will be cased in ‘Liquidmetal’, according to reports.

The iPhone 5, likely to be released later this year, is expected to be cased in a ‘metallic glass’, otherwise known as Liquidmetal, says a Korean news outlet citing ‘industry sources’.

The case is expected to be 20 times stronger than the current encasement. According to The Register, ‘metallic glass is a metal alloy, but one with the disordered structure of glass’. The material has been around since the 1990s, but since a new breakthrough in ‘superspeed pulse mould technology’, this type of glass, which is as tough as metal, can now be used for phone casings.

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Mining The Asteroids

Sean Connery in 1981's 'Outland,' a British thriller that takes place at a mining colony on a Jupiter moon. Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

A Quixotic Quest to Mine Asteroids -- Wall Street Journal

A new company backed by two Google Inc. GOOG -0.54% billionaires, film director James Cameron and other space exploration proponents is aiming high in the hunt for natural resources—with mining asteroids the possible target.

The venture, called Planetary Resources Inc., revealed little in a press release this week except to say that it would "overlay two critical sectors—space exploration and natural resources—to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP" and "help ensure humanity's prosperity." The company is formally unveiling its plans at an event Tuesday in Seattle.

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My Comment: There is only one problem with this plan on mining the asteroids .... it's how will we get there.

Sweden's Stonehedge

Could this megalithic structure, known as Ales Stenar, be much older than we thought? Getty images

Swedish Stonehenge? Stone Structure Spurs Debate -- Discovery News

A series of 59 boulders placed at a seaside cliff in Sweden might represent Stonehenge's "sister" site.

* An ancient stone structure in Sweden may be 1,500 years older than previously thought.
* New analysis suggests the stones represent an ancient astronomical calendar.
* Some researchers argue the stones were placed with the same underlying geometry of Stonehenge.

Ancient Scandinavians dragged 59 boulders to a seaside cliff near what is now the Swedish fishing village of Kåseberga. They carefully arranged the massive stones -- each weighing up to 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms) -- in the outline of a 220-foot-long (67-meter) ship overlooking the Baltic Sea.

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Some Facts On The U.S. Secret Service

Secret Service agents surround President Barack Obama during a visit to the Port of Tampa on April 13. Getty

Decoding The Secret Service -- Discovery News

Why football players make for good recruits and other facts about these secret protectors, now facing a prostitution scandal.

* Some Secret Service agents are involved in a prostitution scandal in Colombia.
* It’s a long road from Secret Service recruit to Presidential protection, and most agents never get close to the President.
* Agents work long hours with lots of travel, and divorce rates are high.

A recent scandal involving Colombian prostitutes and the Secret Service has drawn new attention to an agency that has long been shrouded in mystery and dominated by romantic images of sculpted men wearing sunglasses and earpieces.

While investigations into the late-night carousing continue, the scandal offers an opportunity to look inside the very secret organization.

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'Huge' Water Resource Exists Under Africa

'Huge' Water Resource Exists Under Africa -- BBC

Scientists say the notoriously dry continent of Africa is sitting on a vast reservoir of groundwater.

They argue that the total volume of water in aquifers underground is 100 times the amount found on the surface.

The team have produced the most detailed map yet of the scale and potential of this hidden resource.

Writing in the journal Environmental Research Letters, they stress that large scale drilling might not be the best way of increasing water supplies.

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Pentagon And State Support Lifting Some Controls On U.S. Satellite Exports

The Star Fighters -- Washington Free Beacon

Administration report warns that loosening exports on space technology could boost China’s space warfare capabilities.

China is building space weapons designed to defeat U.S. and allied long-range missiles, and U.S. plans to loosen controls on satellite exports likely will boost Beijing’s space warfare programs, according to a Obama administration report made public on Wednesday.

The report warned that if the U.S. government relaxes controls on satellite exports and related items, “China would purchase and acquire more of these items, and in turn, further reduce the technological edge of the United States’ and its allies’ space assets,” the report said.

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Update: DoD, State Want Easier Satellite Exports; PRC Still Banned From Launching US Birds -- Aol Defense

My Comment: My prediction .... the White House will proceed with lifting the many controls that are in place to limit critical technology transfers .... and then a a few years from now .... we will be writing and reading stories on how did China get access to US space tech and info.

Amozon's Cloud Uses 1% Of The Internet

An Amazon data center in Sterling, Virginia. Photo: Eric Hunsaker/Flickr

Amazon’s Secretive Cloud Carries 1 Percent Of The Internet -- Wired Enterprise

Amazon’s cloud computing infrastructure is growing so fast that it’s silently becoming a core piece of the internet.

That’s according to an analysis done by DeepField Networks, a start-up that number-crunched several weeks’ worth of anonymous network traffic provided by internet service providers, mainly in North America.

They found that one-third of the several million users in the study visited a website that uses Amazon’s infrastructure each day.

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Better Hair Transplants On The Horizon?

Bioengineered follicles can grow hair (as seen on the mouse’s head) when transplanted into normally hairless mice, a new study shows. Takashi Tsuji/Tokyo University of Science

Engineering Better Hair Transplants -- Science News

Cell-based approach to new follicles takes hold in skin.

A hair-raising trick may lead to better hair transplants. Engineered hair follicles patched into skin can be coaxed to connect to surrounding tissue and to grow hair in an organized way, a study in mice finds.

Unlike current hair transplant methods, which simply move existing hair follicles from one area of the scalp to another to cover a bald region, the approach would spur the creation of new hair follicles from existing cells.

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My Comment: Being one who has been losing his hair for a while .... faster please.

Where Do Brain Waves Come From?

Pablo Picasso Photo: REX FEATURES

Where Do Brain Waves Come From?: Extract From Jonah Lehrer's Imagine -- The Telegraph

From surfing backwards to improvising a complex song, Jonah Lehrer explains why creativity lies within us all - and the fascinating science that can help us access it.

The search for emotion shapes the way the virtuoso classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma approaches every concert. He doesn’t begin by analysing his part or by glancing at what the violins are supposed to play. Instead, he reviews the complete score, searching for the larger story. “I always look at a piece of music like a detective novel,” Ma says. “Maybe the novel is about a murder. Well, who committed the murder? Why did he do it? My job is to retrace the story so that the audience feels the suspense. So that when the climax comes, they’re right there with me. It’s all about making people care about what happens next.”

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Who Laid These Eggs?

Eggs-traordinary: A man looks at one of the dinosaur eggs, which number around 40 so far

Eggs-Traordinary: 40 Gigantic dinosaur Eggs Dating Back 60Million Years Found In Chechnya - but What Laid Them Is A Mystery -- Daily Mail

* The eggs are between 25cm and a metre in height

Geologists in Russia's volatile Chechnya region have discovered what they believe to be fossilised dinosaur eggs laid by one of the huge extinct reptiles that roamed the Earth more than 60million years ago.

'We've found about 40 eggs so far, the exact number has not been established,’ said Said-Emin Dzhabrailov, a geologist at the Chechen State University.

‘There could be many more lying under the ground.’

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My Comment: Wow .... these dinosaurs must have been huge .... correction .... super huge.

Robot Prostitutes?

Photo: SEX TOURISM: Are sex robots the future, like in Steven Spielberg's AI Artificial Intelligence?

Robot Prostitutes 'The Future Of Sex Tourism' -- Sydney Morning Herald

The future of sex tourism lies in robot prostitutes, two New Zealand researchers have theorised.

Management professor Ian Yeoman, a futurist with an interest in tourism, and sexologist Michelle Mars from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, have looked to how red light districts might operate in the year 2050.

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My Comment: Probably a discount will be involved (for the robots).

Nissan Unleashes 'BatMobile' DeltaWing Concept Car

This is the dramatic moment Nissan unleashed its flame-throwing 'Batmobile' in Europe for the first time

Like A Bat Out Of Hell: Nissan Unleashes 'BatMobile' DeltaWing Concept Car For Fire-Breathing Test Drive -- Daily Mail

Flames belched from the exhausts of Nissan's DeltaWing as it blasted round Norfolk's Snetterton race track on its first test drive.

The Deltawing is a revolutionary vehicle many have likened to the BatMobile.

The ultra-aerodynamic prototype will race at Le Mans this year and could change motorsport forever, its creators believe.

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My Comment: Definitely something that Batman would drive.

One Day Cellphones Will Be Able To See Through Walls

Dr. Kenneth O, director of the Texas Analog Center of Excellence and a professor of electrical engineering, left, worked with a team including Dae Yeon Kim, who was among the authors of the research report. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Texas at Dallas)

New Research Could Mean Cellphones That Can See Through Walls -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2012) — Comic book hero superpowers may be one step closer to reality after the latest technological feats made by researchers at UT Dallas. They have designed an imager chip that could turn mobile phones into devices that can see through walls, wood, plastics, paper and other objects.

The team's research linked two scientific advances. One involves tapping into an unused range in the electromagnetic spectrum. The other is a new microchip technology.

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Publishing World Struggles To Adapt To New Lines

London Book Fair: Publishing World Struggles To Adapt To New Lines -- The Guardian

The partying goes on at Earl's Court, but new formats and self-publishing are changing the industry

The trays of free wine and boastful talk of six-figure deals struck at dinner parties might seem to some like the last days of decadence for a publishing world in denial about the digital storm clouds gathering overhead.

But in the main hall of Earl's Court, hundreds of publishers gathered for the 41st London Book Fair have been showing stands of lovely new books as editors meet agents and foreign publishers keen to buy unpublished books, sell foreign rights, and relentlessly talk up their new titles.

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My Comment: A sobering analysis that the hardcover book is the way of the dinosaur.

Deformities in Gulf Seafood Found After BP Oil Spill

Gulf Seafood Deformities Alarm Scientists -- Al Jazeera

Eyeless shrimp and fish with lesions are becoming common, with BP oil pollution believed to be the likely cause.

New Orleans, LA - "The fishermen have never seen anything like this," Dr Jim Cowan told Al Jazeera. "And in my 20 years working on red snapper, looking at somewhere between 20 and 30,000 fish, I've never seen anything like this either."

Dr Cowan, with Louisiana State University's Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences started hearing about fish with sores and lesions from fishermen in November 2010.

Cowan's findings replicate those of others living along vast areas of the Gulf Coast that have been impacted by BP's oil and dispersants.

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My Comment: To say that this is disturbing is an understatement.

Avian Flu Paper On Mutant-Flu Research To Be Published

Dutch authorities say work on an avian flu virus that is transmissible between mammals cannot be published without an export permit. MEDICAL RF.COM/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Mutant-Flu Researcher Plans To Publish Even Without Permission -- Nature

Virologist plans to defy Dutch government over export permit requirement for avian flu paper.

Ron Fouchier, a researcher at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, whose work on H5N1 avian flu virus has been at the centre of controversy, says that he is prepared to defy government demands and submit the work to Science without seeking the export permit that the Dutch government says is required.

A government official says that such an action could incur penalties including up to six years' imprisonment.

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My Comment: Pandora's Box is now open.

5 Horrifying Facts You Didn't Know About the Space Shuttle

The space shuttle Discovery attached to its 747 transport aircraft passes over Washington, D.C., April 17, 2012. The shuttle will become an exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The Discovery, along with the rest of the shuttle fleet, has been retired from active service after 32 years of operations. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jason M. Graham

5 Horrifying Facts You Didn't Know About the Space Shuttle -- Forbes

Criticizing the Space Shuttle is like punching America in the face. After all, it’s been a symbol of national pride for thirty years. But many of my friends and I are celebrating yesterday’s piggy-backed final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum…because a museum is where the shuttle belongs.

Yes, the Shuttle deserves a tip of the hat—after all, it took us to the final frontier. But as the former editor of the Space Future Journal, a website dedicated to space tourism, I’ve met people who are as enthusiastic about average citizens, not trained astronauts, visiting space as I am. And we know the Shuttle wasn’t the vehicle to take us there.

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My Comment: Details details details ....

Steve Jobs Was Designing His Own Superyacht

Steve Jobs’s Unfinished Luxury Feadship Superyacht -- CEO.com

Updated: What is French designer Philippe Starck working on for Apple? Prior to his death, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was working with Starck on a yacht. And this is very likely the “fairly, if not very, revolutionary” project he was talking about. To be built by luxury superyacht builder Feadship, the yacht is believed to have a very minimalist and sleek design with a main feature being 40 foot long glass walls. And Starck has been involved in its design.

Mentioned in the New York Times from Walter Isaacson’s new biography of Steve Jobs, which was released last Monday, the late Apple leader was working on creating his very own Feadship superyacht. Jobs didn’t like the normal yacht designs so he decide to design it himself, not a surprise, creating a super luxurious yacht to rival his good friend and fellow yachtsman Larry Ellison.

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Update: Steve Jobs Was Designing His Own Luxury Superyacht -- Complex Rides

My Comment: It would definitely be one of a kind.

Porn Will "Shut Down" Your Brain

Watching explicit films has some surprising effects on brain activity.
CREDIT: Petr Malyshev, Shutterstock

Porn May 'Shut Down' Part of Your Brain -- Live Science

Watching pornography would seem to be a vision-intensive task. But new research finds that looking at erotic movies can actually quiet the part of the brain that processes visual stimuli.

Most of the time, watching movies or conducting any other visual task sends extra blood flow to this brain region. Not so when the movies are explicit, the researchers found. Instead, the brain seems to shunt blood — and therefore energy — elsewhere, perhaps to regions of the brain responsible for sexual arousal.

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My Comment: No comment.

Six Out Of Ten Children Download Adult Material

MPs Call For Automatic Block On All Online Porn To Stop The Surge In Children Watching Adult Material -- Daily Mail

* Six out of ten children download adult material

Internet users should automatically be blocked from accessing pornography at home to stop the surge in children seeing adult material, MPs will demand today.

Anyone wanting to view hardcore images online should have to ‘opt out’ of a special filter, according to the panel of MPs and peers looking into child protection.

Their report said that six out of ten children download adult material because their parents have not installed filters. The use of protective filters in homes has fallen from 49 per cent to 39 per cent in the last three years.

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My Comment: Six out of ten children download adult material .... my gut is telling me that it is higher.

A Digital Pearl Harbor Is A Real Possibility

Ex-FBI Cyberexpert: Potential For Digital Pearl Harbor Is Real -- CNET

Shawn Henry talks to CNET about why he left public service and joined a private-sector firm, and he predicts that we will see an attack on critical infrastructure that has physical consequences.

After 24 years with the FBI, Shawn Henry retired late last month from his post as executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Service Branch of the agency. Today, he announced that he will be working for security startup CrowdStrike.

In a phone interview with CNET today, Henry discusses what he thinks are the biggest cybersecurity threats facing the country and why the bad guys always seem to be one step ahead.

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Update: Several nations trying to penetrate U.S. cyber-networks, says ex-FBI official -- Washington Post

My Comment: Shawn Henry is in the business .... and he is right .... a digital Pearl Harbor is a real possibility, and one that will probably hit us in some distant future.

Hot To Beat A Heart Attack

The Guide To Beating A Heart Attack -- Wall Street Journal

First Line of Defense Is Lowering Risk, Even When Genetics Isn't on Your Side.

Here's the good news: Heart disease and its consequences are largely preventable. The bad news is that nearly one million Americans will suffer a heart attack this year.

Deaths from coronary heart disease in the U.S. have been cut by 75% during the past 40 years. Hospital admissions for heart attack among the elderly fell by nearly 25% in a five-year period during the last decade, a remarkable feat when many experts had expected the aging population to cause an increase in the problem.

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My Comment: Exercise. Diet. Sleep. No Stress.

How Green Is Your Cloud?

Greenpeace Gives Apple, Amazon Low Marks for 'Dirty' Clouds -- PC Magazine

A Tuesday Greenpeace report that studied the environmental impact of the cloud criticized firms like Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, and Amazon for lagging behind their Web counterparts.

The firms, however, took issue with that characterization.

Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft "are all rapidly expanding without adequate regard to source of electricity, and rely heavily on dirty energy to power their clouds," Greenpeace said in its report, dubbed "How Clean Is Your Cloud?"

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Update: Apple defends green credentials of cloud computing services -- The Guardian

My Comment: Alternative energies have a long way to go before they are sustainable energy suppliers .... for the moment "dirty energy" is the only reliable source of electricity, an indispensable fact if you are running a 'cloud environment'.