Tiny Satellites Serving As Soldiers' Eyes

Swarm Of Tiny Satellites Would Serve As Soldiers' Eyes -- Space.com

Enemy fighters use commercial satellite images to plot attacks on U.S. troops, but most U.S. soldiers can't get the same images because of technical or classification restrictions. The Pentagon says that problem can be gotten around through swarms of small satellites capable of providing on-demand battlefield images for any U.S. soldier with a tablet.

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Update #1: DARPA seeks to develop small reconnaissance satellites that are cheaper to build than UAVs -- Military & Aerospace
Update #2: A new network of satellites -- CNet

My Comment: Makes you wonder ....

.... Enemy fighters use commercial satellite images to plot attacks on U.S. troops, but most U.S. soldiers can't get the same images because of technical or classification restrictions.

NASA Fixes The 'Big House'

NASA Vehicle Assembly Building. Wikipedia

NASA Renovates Its Biggest, Baddest House -- Time

The best time to do a little renovating is when everyone is out of the house — something homeowners know and something NASA appears to appreciate too. The space agency is experiencing empty-nest syndrome in a big way, with the shuttles heading for museum retirement and the next manned American space vehicle not scheduled to fly until 2016 — unless it's 2018 or 2025 or who knows when?

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My Comment: I rather have them building space-craft than renovating "The Building" .... but .... with nothing else to do .... I guess this is the next best thing.

The Amazing Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche 918 Spyder. Courtesy Porsche

The Amazing Porsche 918 Spyder Is The Hybrid You've Been Waiting For -- Business Insider

Much like the Chevy Volt, Porsche's latest supercar is a plug-in hybrid.

However, the 918 Spyder is a wee bit more exciting.

Instead of a little four cylinder engine and a battery pack, the 918 has a 570 horsepower V8 combined with electric motors that generate 200 horsepower. For those of you that don't like math, total output is 770 horsepower.

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More News On The Amazing Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche 918 Spyder takes shape -- Stuff.co.nz
Porsche 918 Supercar: Fine-Tuning a 770-Horsepower Hybrid -- Wall Street Journal
Porsche's 78 mpg supercar takes shape -- FOX News
Porsche's 918 Spyder hybrid on track for 2013 release, now with 770 bhp and 94 mpg -- Gizmag
Porsche 918 Spyder prototype returns to the road with polished black and white shell -- Endgadget
Porsche 918 Spyder enters next phase, prototypes begin testing -- Ubergizmo
Caught: Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Testing in Europe -- Automobile
Spyshots: 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder -- Autoevolution
918 Spyder: Porche's supercar hybrid prototype -- CBS News
918 Alert! Porsche's stinging spyder grows closer to becoming reality -- Autoweek

Can Anyone Take Down Facebook

Can Anything Take Down The Facebook Juggernaut? -- Epicenter

Sometime in early 2004, as Mark Zuckerberg was furiously coding the first iterations of The Facebook in his Harvard dorm room, the Internet passed what then seemed to be an impressive milestone: 750 million people worldwide had become connected. The exact birthdate of the Internet is difficult to pin down, but it’s fair to say that it took at least three decades for the net to reach a population of that size.

Today, after just eight years in existence, Facebook now has more than 750 million users all by itself. At that astonishing rate of growth, the company is on track to accomplish much more than just a multibillion-dollar IPO. Facebook is on the cusp of becoming a medium unto itself—more akin to television as a whole than a single network, and more like the entire web than just one online destination.

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My Comment: I am one of those who are skeptical that Facebook will continue in the manner that it has. Like Google .... it's just a web page that many find interesting and useful today. Tomorrow .... who knows what may arise from someone's garage or dorm-room.
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A Super Early Interview With A Barefoot, Beer Drinking Mark Zuckerberg

WATCH: A Super Early Interview With A Barefoot, Beer Drinking Mark Zuckerberg -- Business Insider

In 2005, shortly after Facebook was founded, Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed in his startup's first Palo Alto office.

The interview was 40 minutes long. It was shot by Ray Hafner and Derek Franzese for a documentary, "Now Entering."

Facebook had just hit 3 million users and bought a keg to celebrate.

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Google Revamps Search ‘Knowledge Graph’

Google Revamps Search ‘Knowledge Graph’ To Provide Instant Answers -- The Telegraph

Google is to add more context to search results, in a bid to understand ‘what you mean’ and provide instant answers.

The changes, which roll out in America first and then around the world, will see different options for search queries grouped into likely sets of possibilities.

Writing on the Google Search Blog, Google’s Amit Singhal said that, for instance, the site would now know that a question on the Taj Mahal could be about the Indian mausoleum, the musician or a local restaurant.

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My Comment: This is an improvement (I hope).

Advances In Drone Tech

Forget The Helicopter: New Drone Cuts Cost Of Aerial Video -- Autopia

The average episode of Top Gear runs around $1 million to produce. But those high-style, high-flying – and incredibly expensive – aerial shots just got slightly more affordable with the introduction of a new quadrocopter specifically developed for shooting automotive action.

Christopher Kippenberger and his Berlin, Germany-based production company, Kippenberger Racing, have been hard at work over the last few months putting the finishing touches on a customized drone capable of shooting high-resolution video. And unlike a helicopter rental, which can easily run tens of thousands of dollars after insurance, fuel, pilot costs and airspace approval, Kippenberger’s quadrocopter will only set you back around $5,000 after the two-man operation builds you a made-to-order drone.

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My Comment: Will this become an essential tool at FOBs in some future date .... we shall see.

With Threats Of War And Sanctions .... This is What Concerns Iran

Iran threatens to sue Google for not labeling Persian Gulf on its maps Photo by Google Maps

Iran Threatens To Sue Google For Leaving Persian Gulf Nameless -- Haaretz

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says internet giant could face 'serious damages'; Tehran takes offence to some Arab states' insistence on calling the body of water the Arabian Gulf.

A senior Iranian official said Thursday that Tehran could sue Google over dropping the name of the Persian Gulf on Google Maps.

The threat comes after the famous search engine left the body of water between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula nameless on its online map service.

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My Comment:I guess Iran does not care about comments like this one.

Dogs May Have Helped Man Out-Compete Neaderthals

Dogs 'Helped Man Out-Compete With Neanderthals' -- The Telegraph

Dogs could have been the deciding factor which enabled modern humans to out-compete with Neanderthals and colonise Europe, researchers claim.

Man's relationship with his best friend has lasted 32,000 years, with cave-dwelling hunter-gatherers using dogs to carry supplies so that they could save their energy for hunting.

The bond between man and dog arose at around the time Neanderthals began to surrender their dominance over Europe, which had lasted for the previous 250,000 years.

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My Comment: It appears that man's best friend has been a friend for a very long time.

Paralysed Woman Uses Brain Power Alone To Take Control Of A Robotic Arm

Paralysed Woman Uses Mind To Control Robotic Arm -- The Telegraph

A paralysed woman has used brain power alone to take control of a robotic arm and lift a bottle of coffee to her lips after a pioneering operation.

For the first time in 15 years the woman was able to raise the bottle, take a sip and place it back on a table simply by imagining herself doing so.

The feat was possible thanks to a brain implant which translates the patient's thoughts into commands to be carried out by a free-standing robotic arm.

Doctors said the experiment proved that so-called "brain-computer interfaces" could dramatically improve the lives of paralysed people by enabling them to carry out simple tasks like eating and drinking independently.

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My Comment: Impressive.

An Over-The-Counter HIV Test That Diagnoses In Just 20 Minutes

OraQuick HIV Test Already available for use inside doctor's offices, Pennsylvania-based Orasure's quick HIV test could soon be available to consumers for rapid testing in the home.

FDA Panel Endorses An Over-The-Counter HIV Test That Diagnoses In Just 20 Minutes -- Popular Science

It’s no cure, but it could mark a significant victory in the fight against HIV. A 17-member advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration has endorsed an over-the-counter HIV test that would allow consumers to test themselves for the AIDS-causing virus in the privacy of their own homes in just 20 minutes. While the test is not perfect, the advisory panel has deemed that the benefits of regular in-home testing outweigh potential risks, and have recommended the FDA approve the test for over-the-counter sales.

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My Comment: This will be in high demand product.

Does Sugar Make You Stupid?

Does Sugar Make You Stupid? Study Suggests It Sabotages Learning And Memory -- Daily Mail

* Fructose is commonly added to processed foods such as soft drinks
* It was found to hamper memory and slow brain activity

Too much sugar could be making you stupid, according to researchers.

The suggestion follows tests in the laboratory comparing high-fructose corn syrup, which is six times sweeter than cane sugar and a common ingredient in processed foods, with omega-3 fatty acids, known to aid memory and learning.

In an experiment on rats, one group had a sugary diet for six weeks and another was fed healthily.

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My Comment: I will stick with the caffeine drinks to boost my learning and memory.

Fiction May One Day Become Reality

Pentagon: That Fictional Drone From That Unreleased Video Game Sure Looks Cool -- Popular Science

Art imitates life they say, and every now and then life imitates art. Which is only slightly terrifying when the art being imitated is a Call of Duty title and the real-world entity doing the imitating is the Pentagon. A fictional drone from a video game that hasn’t even been released yet has inspired a DoD office to consider pursuing the same drone in real life, Brookings Institute 21st Century Defense Initiative director and all-around drones guru Peter Singer tells Innovation News Daily.

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My Comment: After watching this video, I had only one question. When are the soldiers in the field going to get this tech.

Global Food Shortages And Higher Prices Around The Corner

Expert Warns Of Global Food Shortages And Higher Prices -- Sydney Morning Herald

AS MUCH food is wasted in developed countries as is produced in sub-Saharan Africa.

This ''eye-popping'' statistic highlights one of the big changes urgently required to meet the challenge of feeding 9 billion people by 2050, a visiting expert in agriculture and economics has said.

Chris Barrett, of Cornell University, warns there is ''dangerous complacency'' about global food security. Professor Barrett, who will give a public lecture on Wednesday night at the University of Sydney, said that demand for food is about to rise significantly, particularly as a result of population growth in developing countries, rises in income and the migration of people to towns and cities.

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My Comment: The focus has always been on oil and resource conflicts .... and the geopolitics that it spawns. The coming food and water shortages in the developing world is something that we in the West are not accustomed to .... but I suspect will have to get use to as refugee numbers start to swell from these areas.

A Review Of The Porsche Cayman R

Porsche Cayman R. Photo by Basem Wasef/Wired

No, Officer, I Don't Know How Fast I Was Going: A Review Of The Porsche Cayman R -- Wired

n this unprecedented age of obscene horsepower and affordable performance, the Porsche Cayman R is the Jenyne Butterfly of the sports car world.

Who is Jenyne Butterfly? Look her up, preferably not at work.

Ms. Butterfly’s sinewy muscles are cut on gracile bone, and articulate her long limbs with purposeful flexibility. She’s graced with the sort of physique you’d associate with an Olympic swimmer or an extreme yogi. She also possesses a preternatural ability to fling herself across a pole with fluid undulations that appear to disobey the laws of physics.

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My Comment: A car clearly built for speed.

China Pushes To Have Supercomputers

China's Tianhe-1A is the second most powerful supercomputer in the world. Photo: Nvidia

Intel Feeds China’s Supercomputers With New Xeon Chip -- Wired Enterprise

China took the world by surprise last year when it unveiled a previously unknown supercomputer called the Sunway BlueLight MPP. It’s one of the world’s top supercomputers and here’s the kicker: It uses ShenWei SW-3 microprocessors that are made in China.

Now, Intel has introduced a new Xeon chip that could provide Chinese companies with an incentive to stick with Intel, already the top provider of microprocessors to supercomputers worldwide. The chip, called the E5-4600, essentially fuses four Xeon chips and as many as 32 processor cores into one package that is more efficient at shipping around data between various parts of the computer.

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My Comment: China`s push into supercomputers should surprise no one.

Advances In "intelligence Clothing" Could Save U.S. Military Lives

Photo By U.S. Army Spc. Sara Wakai

Intelligent Clothing Could Save US Military Lives -- Yahoo News/Live Science

When soldiers fall wounded on future battlefields, their smart uniforms may instantly report the location of gunshot wounds or even detect traces of nuclear, biological or chemical attacks in blood and sweat. That intelligent clothing could make a lifesaving difference in medical care and give U.S. commanders a sense of battles unfolding as casualties mount.

The smart uniforms would include medical sensors built into the fabric to monitor the health of U.S. troops, according to a notice issued by the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) on May 7. Such clothes would not only detect where wounds occurred and how deep they go, but also report a fallen soldier's location with GPS coordinates and pass along other critical information for battlefield medics.

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My Comment: This research looks very promising.

Why Canines Yawn After Their 'Dog Tired' Owners

Open wide: Yawning is infectious - for dogs such as this Basset hound mid-yawn. Daily Mail

Revealed: Why Canines Yawn After Their 'Dog Tired' Owners -- The Telegraph

Dogs are compelled to yawn if they hear their owners do the same, a study has suggested.

Researchers claimed that dogs responded only to an audio cue such as a yawn even if they didn’t see the action taking place.

The study found this was particularly noticeable when the dogs were listening to the yawns of people they knew.

Scientists suggested the findings, presented at the National Ethology Congress in Lisbon, showed canines had empathy to human behaviours.

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My Comment: It should be noted that sometimes the owners yawn after their dogs do (at least in my case).

Nasa Probe Sees The 'Edge' Of Our Solar System For First Time

Detecting clues: The discovery, by Nasa's Interstella Boundary Explorer (IBEX) ship, gives the most complete glimpse yet of what lies beyond our solar system

The Outer Limits: Nasa Probe Sees The 'Edge' Of Our Solar System For First Time - And It's Completely Different From What We Thought -- Daily Mail

* Solar system 'travelling more slowly than thought'
* 'Bow shock' - like a sonic boom in space - does not exist
* 25 years of research turned on its head
* Detected by the orbitiing IBEX probe, with information from Nasa's two Voyager craft

Nasa's probes have seen the 'edge' of our solar system for the first time - and it's completely different from what scientists thought.

Our solar system is flying through space more slowly than we thought - and Nasa's IBEX - Interstellar Boundary Explorer - has found it doesn't have a 'bow shock', an area of gas or plasma that shields our solar system as it hurtles though space

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My Comment: This is what I love above space science .... learning things that we never thought of before.

Rise And Fall Of An Underwater Volcano

Rise And Fall Of Underwater Volcano Revealed -- BBC

The violent rise and collapse of an underwater volcano in the Pacific Ocean is captured in startling clarity for the first time.

Researchers studying the Monowai volcano, near Tonga, recorded huge changes in height in just two weeks.

The images, gathered by sonar from a research ship, shed new light on the turbulent fate of submarine mountains.

Published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the findings were made during a seabed survey last year.

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My Comment: I wish they had an underwater camera to capture all of this.

Interview With A Safecracker

Interview With A Safecracker -- Marginal Revolution

Interesting throughout, here is one bit:

Q: How realistic are movies that show people breaking into vaults? A: Not very! In the movies it takes five minutes of razzle-dazzle; in real life it’s usually at least a couple of hours of precision work for an easy, lost combination lockout.

Most vault lockouts are caused by malfunctions. A bank employee over-winds the time lock, a technician makes a mistake servicing the vault, or there was no maintenance because the bank has initiated yet another round of cost cutting.

Another 10-20% of my income comes from law enforcement searches and seizures or estate, aka “dead relative” openings. They hire me and I drill it open, but these are not situations where I like to hang around too long.

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My Comment: A fascinating read.

Eerie Second World War RAF Fighter Plane Discovered In The Sahara

Shifting sands: The final resting place of the Kittyhawk P-40 has been discovered in the Sahara 70 years after it crashed there

Frozen In The Sands Of Time: Eerie Second World War RAF Fighter Plane Discovered In The Sahara... 70 Years After It Crashed In The Desert -- Daily Mail

* Pilot of the Kittyhawk P-40 was thought to have survived crash, but died trying to walk out of the desert
* Aircraft was found almost perfectly preserved, unseen and untouched, after it came down in 1942
* Historian describes find as 'an incredible time capsule' and 'the aviation equivalent of Tutankhamun's Tomb'

He was hundreds of miles from civilisation, lost in the burning heat of the desert.

Second World War Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping took what little he could from the RAF Kittyhawk he had just crash-landed, then wandered into the emptiness.

From that day in June 1942 the mystery of what happened to the dentist’s son from Southend was lost, in every sense, in the sands of time.

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My Comment: 200 miles away from the nearest town .... the pilot must have known that he was not going to make it. But he tried anyway.

Google - NSA Ties Can Still Remain Secret

Court Affirms Protection Of Google/NSA Communications -- CNN

Washington (CNN) -- U.S. authorities are not required to release any internal National Security Agency communications it had with Internet giant Google Inc. after a 2010 cyber attack in China, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

At issue was a Freedom of Information Act request from a private group over the suspected collaborative relationship between the public and private entities. The NSA said disclosure of any communications -- even with outside companies -- would threaten government information systems.

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More News On The U.S. Courts Affirming The Secrecy Of Google/NSA Communications

US spy agency can keep mum on Google ties: court -- AFP
Appeals court won’t order public release of Google-NSA communications following cyberattack -- Washington Post/AP
Court Upholds Google-NSA Relationship Secrecy -- Threat Level
Court allows NSA and Google to keep their ties secret -- RT
Court Rules NSA Doesn't Have To Reveal Its Semi-Secret Relationship With Google -- Forbes
Google Could Be Helping The Government Spy -- Business Insider
We'll Never Know What Google's Doing With the NSA -- Atlantic Wire

The Ultimate Electric Car Inspired By Jaguar's Iconic E-Type

Stunning: The Jaguar XKX concept car features amazing energy capturing bodywork that recharges the battery as air flows over it

Look What The Bright Sparks At Jaguar Have Come Up With: The Ultimate Electric Car Inspired By The Iconic E-Type -- Daily Mail

* Car features layers of microscopic ripples that recharge batteries when stimulated by the friction of airflow

If this stunning electronic concept car drives half as well as it looks Jaguar should be able to convert even the most ardent petrol heads to battery power.

The XKX will not be unveiled to the world any time soon as it the dream child of an independent design studio which has no links to the car marque.

But it does provide a glimpse of the astonishing cutting-edge science which could be driving cars of the future.

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My Comment: The word 'sleek' comes to me when I look at this car.

A Doomsday Scenario For The Japanese?

Lack Of Babies Could Mean The Extinction Of The Japanese People -- FOX News

Japan has a problem, a lack of children, and it seems likely there will be even fewer in the future.

Japanese researchers have now warned of a doomsday scenario if it carries on this way with the last child to be born there in 3011 and the Japanese people potentially disappearing a few generations later.

Academics from the city of Sendai, which was hit hard by last year's tsunami, calculate there are now 16.6 million children under the age of 14 now in Japan.

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My Comment: The population is going to decline .... that is the world trend .... but I doubt that it will go to zero.

Seven Volcanoes That Should Be Watched

Popocatépetl, Mexico

7 Volcanoes We Should Be Watching -- Popular Mechanics

Two years ago, Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull brought most European air travel to a halt. This year, volcanoes such as Mexico's Popocatépetl and Indonesia's Lokon-Empung are rumbling. Volcanoes are impossible to predict with certainty, but these are seven active ones that we know we must watch.

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My Comment: I would add a few others to this list .... but these 7 are OK for now.

Surfer Sets Guinness Record Riding 78-Foot Wave

Surfer Catches 'Biggest Wave Ever' Off Portugal -- Christian Science Monitor

The Guinness World Records recognizes Hawaii pro surfer for the biggest wave ever ridden. Garrett McNamara surfed a 78-foot wave off the coast of Portugal.

The Guinness World Records has recognized a 44-year-old Hawaii pro surfer for catching a 78-foot wave off the coast of Portugal, saying the November feat beats a 2008 record for the biggest ridden by more than 1 foot.

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My Comment: That's one impressive wave.

Using Magnetic Bacteria To Construct Biocomputers

Magnetospirilllum magneticum University of Leeds

Using Magnetic Bacteria To Construct The Biocomputer Of The Future -- Popular Science

As computer components grow smaller and smaller it becomes more and more difficult to manufacture them by conventional means, meaning the nano-hard-drives of the future are going to come at a cost. So researchers from the University of Leeds in the UK and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology are enlisting the help of magnetic bacteria, which they say can be harnessed to build tiny computing components similar to those found in conventional PCs, or even to construct the biological computers of the future.

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My Comment: Talk about small .... correction .... very small.

The First Solar-Powered Ship To Circumnavigate The Globe

Tûranor PlanetSolar Wikimedia Commons

The First Solar-Powered Ship To Circumnavigate The Globe Completes Its Trip -- Popular Science

The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar pulled into Monaco's Hercule Harbor on Friday, completing its journey around the world--the very first solely solar-powered watercraft to do so. Of course, it's not an ordinary ship. It cost over $16 million USD, has over 500 square meters of solar panels, and can house 200 people.

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My Comment: A top speed of 14 knots .... and 585 days to go around the world. Impressive (for a solar power boat) if you ask me.

New Hope For An Alzheimer Treatment

Injection Offers Alzheimer's Hope -- The Telegraph

Hopes have been raised for new Alzheimer's treatments after scientists found an injection could stop the body from killing brain cells by "cutting off" their protein supply.

Researchers found that by injecting a protein into the brain, they could protect nerve cells in the brains of mice with prion disease, a condition which normally causes the brain to slowly die.

Because the process by which prion disease affects the brains of mice is similar to some degenerative brain conditions in humans, it is hoped that the findings could lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.

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Mystery Continues On Marine Monster Caught In Video

Mysterious Marine Monster Caught In Video -- Discovery News

A strange creature allegedly filmed by underwater drillers in the deep ocean on April 25 has sparked intrigue and controversy on the Internet. Theories about the mysterious animal range from a jellyfish to an unknown marine version of the Loch Ness monster to a whale placenta.

Neither the source of the video nor the location where it was filmed have been revealed, leading some people to suspect a hoax.

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My Comment: Learning something new every day.

Vesta Is A Baby Planet, Not An Asteroid

Artist's concept shows NASA's Dawn spacecraft orbiting the giant asteroid Vesta (Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Vesta A Baby Planet, Not An Asteroid -- ABC News (Australia)

Vesta, the second largest object in the main asteroid belt, has an iron core, a varied surface, layers of rock and possibly a magnetic field - all signs of a planet in the making, not an asteroid.

So concludes an international team of scientists treated to a virtual front row seat at Vesta for the past 10 months, courtesy of NASA's Dawn robotic probe.

They have a bit more ground to cover before Dawn leaves Vesta's cratered, lava-like surface in late August to rendezvous with the king of the asteroid belt, Ceres, another type of proto-planet believed to be flush with water ice.

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My Comment: Looks like a planet to me.

Microsoft's Bing Search Engines To Use Social media Platforms

The new social results will appear in a grey column on the right-hand side of Bing's results page

Microsoft's Bing Search Engines To Use Facebook Tips -- BBC

Microsoft is revamping its Bing search engine to include advice from Facebook and other social media platforms.

The move involves the introduction of a new sidebar which seeks to connect users with friends and other enthusiasts who can provide help.

The firm says it is based on the fact "90% of people consult with a friend or expert before making a decision".

Surveys suggest Bing has about a 15% share of the US search market, lagging behind Google's 66% portion.

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My Comment: It's about time that search engines start using social media outlets like Facebook for results.

Facebook Starts Charging

If Apple and Google can do it, so can social network Facebook - the site is to launch an 'app store' to showcase the games and apps that earn the site much of its revenue

Facebook Starts Charging: Site Launches Its Own App Store To Take On Apple And Google - And You'll Have To PAY For Some Up Front -- Daily Mail

* App store offers first time for developers to charge consumers directly
* 'In-app' purchases already a major source of social site's revenue
* Will also offer apps for Android and iPhone

If Apple and Google can do it, so can social network Facebook - the site is to launch an 'app store' to showcase the games and apps that earn the site much of its revenue.

The app store will also allow developers to sell apps direct to consumers for the first time via the network.

It's the latest in a series of moves to 'spruce up' the number one social network in advance of a flotation on the stock market expected to take place later this month - and to convince investors it CAN earn more money.

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My Comment: It was only a matter of time .... but if done right .... this business model should also succeed.

Why Some Rats Live For A very Long Time

Naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber). (Credit: © belizar / Fotolia)

Long-Lived Rodents Have High Levels of Brain-Protecting Factor -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (May 10, 2012) — The typical naked mole rat lives 25 to 30 years, during which it shows little decline in activity, bone health, reproductive capacity and cognitive ability. What is the secret to this East African rodent's long, healthy life?

Scientists from the United States and Israel found a clue. From infancy to old age, naked mole rats are blessed with large amounts of a protein essential for normal brain function.

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My Comment: A rat living for 25-30 years .... that is news to me.

FBI Pushes For Surveillance Backdoors On Internet Companies

FBI: We Need Wiretap-Ready Web Sites - Now -- CNET

CNET learns the FBI is quietly pushing its plan to force surveillance backdoors on social networks, VoIP, and Web e-mail providers, and that the bureau is asking Internet companies not to oppose a law making those backdoors mandatory.

The FBI is asking Internet companies not to oppose a controversial proposal that would require firms, including Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google, to build in backdoors for government surveillance.

In meetings with industry representatives, the White House, and U.S. senators, senior FBI officials argue the dramatic shift in communication from the telephone system to the Internet has made it far more difficult for agents to wiretap Americans suspected of illegal activities, CNET has learned.

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My Comment: The march to eliminate our privacy continues.

How Much Water Is On Planet Earth?

If You Collected All Of Earth’s Water Into A Sphere, How Big Would It Be? -- io9

Imagine the Earth in your mind's eye. Now round up all the water on the planet into a sphere (we're talking oceans, icecaps, atmosphere, everything — even the water bound up in you and me). How big do you think that sphere would be compared to the Earth?

Got your answer? Our water sphere would have a diameter of 1,385 kilometers (about 860 miles), and span the distance from Salt Lake City, Utah to Topeka, Kansas. A sphere this far across would have a volume equal to about 1,386 million cubic kilometers (roughly 332,500,000 cubic miles). Those might sound like big numbers (and they certainly are big numbers) but wait until you see this sphere beside the Earth.

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My Comment: What a surprise .... that is not a lot of water.

A Competitor To Tesla Motors

Fisker Karma Plug-in Hybrid Courtesy Fisker Automotive

Testing the Long-Awaited Fisker Karma Plug-In Hybrid -- Popular Science

At the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, the start-up Fisker Automotive unveiled its Karma concept , a high-end plug-in hybrid the company would use to challenge Tesla Motors. Cofounder Henrik Fisker said the Karma would go on sale in late 2009. Then the recession, a switch in battery suppliers and other delays kept Fisker from shipping the first trickle of cars until late last year. This spring, we got one of the first test drives.

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My Comment: I wish them luck.

U.S. Army Wants To Give War Robots More Power To 'Make Their Own Decisions'

Giving war robots 'autonomy' sparks fears of independent killing machines similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Terminator

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? U.S. Army Wants To Give War Robots More Power To 'Make Their Own Decisions' -- Daily Mail

* Trucks that 'drive themselves' already under test
* Military is testing 'autonomous' robots that follow soldiers
* Robots will use laser-imaging to build their own 3D image of the world
* Will be 'supervised' by soldiers

Armies of robots including dog-like creatures walking on four legs and huge lumbering trucks are the stuff of science fiction - specifically, bleak films such as The Terminator series.

But the U.S. military not only wants more robots - it wants more 'autonomous' robots, robots free to make their own decisions on the battlefield.

A new robot is described as 'like a dog' that follows troops on the battlefield - and future models will use technologies such as laser imaging to build their own picture of the world.

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Update #1: U.S. military embraces robots with greater autonomy -- Reuters
Update #2: Factbox: U.S. military robot systems in development -- Reuters

My Comment: Science fiction becoming reality .... albeit slowly.

Black Holes Are Pretty Much the Sharks of Space

Black Hole Devouring Star NASA, S. Gezari (JHU), and J. Guillochon (UC Santa Cruz)

Omnivorous Black Holes Like This One Are Pretty Much the Sharks of Space - -Popular Science

Scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Johns Hopkins University report seeing a phenomenon we've all imagined: a black hole devouring a star.

A black hole at the center of a galaxy about 2.7 billion light-years away, one about the same size as the black hole at the center of our own Milky Way, was observed sucking the life out of a star. Interestingly, the scientists who observed the black hole's meal compared it to a shark: neither, says Ryan Chornock of Harvard-Smithsonian, are unstoppable eating machines.

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Two Hundred Years of Surgery

Two Hundred Years of Surgery -- New England Journal Of Medicine

Surgery is a profession defined by its authority to cure by means of bodily invasion. The brutality and risks of opening a living person's body have long been apparent, the benefits only slowly and haltingly worked out. Nonetheless, over the past two centuries, surgery has become radically more effective, and its violence substantially reduced — changes that have proved central to the development of mankind's abilities to heal the sick.

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CSN Editor: The PDF version is here.

College Dropout Became Mathematical Genius After Mugging

Real ‘Beautiful Mind’: College Dropout Became Mathematical Genius After Mugging -- ABC News

Working behind the counter at a futon store in Tacoma, Wash., is not the place you would expect to find a man some call a mathematical genius of unprecedented proportions.

Jason Padgett, 41, sees complex mathematical formulas everywhere he looks and turns them into stunning, intricate diagrams he can draw by hand. He’s the only person in the world known to have this incredible skill, which he obtained by sheer accident just a decade ago.

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My Comment: The mysteries of the human mind always amazes me.

Spychips For Soldiers

U.S. Military Developing Spychips For Soldiers -- WND

Government wants 'health' benefits from nanosensors.

The U.S. military wants to plant nanosensors in soldiers to monitor health on future battlefields and immediately respond to needs, but a privacy expert warns the step is just one more down the road to computer chips for all.

“It’s never going to happen that the government at gunpoint says, ‘You’re going to have a tracking chip,’” said Katherine Albrecht, who with Liz McIntyre authored “Spychips,” a book that warns of the threat to privacy posed by Radio Frequency Identification.

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My Comment: It is easy to foresee that one day these chips will be in all of us.

Is Space Weather A National Security Threat?

A massive explosion on the sun's surface has triggered the largest solar radiation storm since 2005, hurling charged particles at Earth. (NASA / May 4, 2012)

Space Weather Expert Has Ominous Forecast -- L.A. Times

Mike Hapgood, who studies solar events, says the world isn't prepared for a truly damaging storm. And one could happen soon.

A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt.

This isn't the premise of the latest doomsday thriller. Massive solar storms have happened before — and another one is likely to occur soon, according to Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, England.

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My Comment: A giant space storm that knocks-off the world's electrical and communications grid system will be a disaster .... but not a catastrophic one. We will survive .... but trust me .... it is not going to be easy. I should know .... I lived through the Ice Storm of 1998 in Montreal .... an ice storm that knocked-off the electrical grid for a week in my part of Montreal, and longer in the south of Montreal (some regions had no power for a month) .... and before I forget .... this all happened in the middle winter when temperatures outside can easily reach (and did) -20C. We (of course) all survived .... but it was a difficult time, and what bothered me most was the lack of news and information.

How Red Wine Prolongs Life

How Red Wine Prolongs Life: Scientists Uncover How 'Miracle Ingredient' Boosts Body’s Cell Energy -- Daily Mail

Scientists claim to have discovered the secret of how an ingredient in red wine could be the key to a longer life.

The ‘miracle ingredient’ resveratrol credited with anti-ageing powers, and the ability to work against cancer, heart disease and obesity, really does boost the body’s supply of cell energy, claim researchers.

But it is only ‘switched on’ in the presence of a gene called SIRT1 that is the key to longevity and energy.

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My Comment: I can drink to that.

Richard Feynman On Magnets (Video)

CSN Editor: Classic Feynman.

Science Group Casts Doubt European Missile Defense

Obama Missile Defense Plan Scrutinized -- Blog Critics

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine.” The Washington based group is expressing concern as to the Obama administration's Europe-based missile defense shield future plans, and has detailed a plan of its own which scraps key parts of the Obama plan.

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Update: Science advisory group doubts European missile shield can protect United States from attack -- Washington Post/AP

My Comment: The Russians are not going to listen to these scientific concerns, and the White House will not alter their policy in an election year.

Has Physicits Crack The Fusion Mystery

Plasma chamber: This experimental fusion reactor at MIT could test the new theory.
Mike Garrett, MIT

Physicists Crack Fusion Mystery -- Technology Review

A new theory might help researchers double the power of fusion reactors.

One reason it's taking decades to develop fusion reactors that can generate electricity is that physicists don't completely understand what's going on in the high-temperature plasma inside a reactor. Under certain conditions, the plasma—which is where fusion reactions take place—disappears in under a millisecond.

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My Comment: Faster please.

How Black Holes Work

Johns Hopkins Astronomer Discovers How Black Holes Work -- CBS

BALTIMORE (WJZ)– Johns Hopkins is again at the center of groundbreaking research. One of their astronomers had a simple idea, and as Mike Schuh reports, it led to a once in a lifetime discovery about black holes.

Black holes are out there sucking up stars like cosmic vacuum cleaners. But they’re invisible. We’ve never seen them work in real time… until now. A Hopkins-led team found a star caught by a black hole’s gravity.

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Time-Lapse Video Shows Construction Of New York's Tallest Tower

Time-Lapse Video Shows Construction Of New York's Tallest Tower -- The Telegraph

A time-lapse video recorded over a seven-year period was released on Monday as One World Trade Center was officially recognised as the tallest skyscraper in New York City.

The two-minute recording details the construction of the tower from its bare concrete foundations in 2004 to the monumental glass tower as it stands today.

The milestone was recognised as workers erected a 12-ton steel column onto the top deck of the building, giving it a height of a little over 1,250ft – marginally taller than the Empire State Building.

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The Super Moon of May 2012

A Brand New Copy Of The Titanic To Be Built

Australian Billionaire Clive Palmer To Build Titanic II -- BBC

Clive Palmer, one of Australia's richest men, has commissioned a Chinese state-owned company to build a 21st Century version of the Titanic.

The mining billionaire told Australian media that construction would start at the end of next year.

It would be ready to set sail in 2016.

The plan, he added, was for the vessel to be as similar as possible to the original Titanic in design and specifications, but with modern technology.

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More News On Titanic II

Same Titanic but brand-new, built from scratch, billionaire says -- L.A. Times
Titanic II: Australian billionaire announces plan to rebuild liner -- The Guardian
Australian billionaire to build Titanic II -- The Titanic
Australian billionaire commissions 21st-century Titanic replica -- Daily Mail
Australia billionaire to launch "unsinkable" Titanic -- Reuters
Titanic replica to be built in China -- The Telegraph

Iran Preparing To Cut Internet Access To Rest Of World

Iran Planning To Cut Internet Access To Rest Of World -- The Telegraph

Iran is drawing up plans to cut off its internet users from the rest of the world with a so-called Halal or "clean" internet.

Iranians are already used to censors blocking Facebook, Gmail and foreign news sites, and being spied on with surveillance software purchased from Western companies.

But the ambitious plans would go much further, blocking access to foreign-based social media sites and email. Instead, there will be an Iranian version of Facebook and a new email service, to be called Iran Mail. Users will have to register their home address and social security number with police.

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My Comment: It's hard to contemplate living in what is essentially a modern religious dictatorship .... but that's the life for all Iranians.

China's Space Program Is Becoming More Capable

Soldiers stand in front of the Long March II-F rocket loaded with China's unmanned space module Tiangong-1 before its planned launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu province September 29, 2011. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic

China's Space Know-How Said Threat To U.S., Taiwan -- Reuters

China's growing capabilities in space could undercut any U.S. military response if Beijing resorted to force to bring self-ruled Taiwan into its fold, a study released Friday by a congressionally mandated U.S. commission said.

China's military is rapidly boosting its space programs to advance Communist Party interests "and defend against perceived challenges to sovereignty and territorial integrity," said the 84-page report by the Project 2049 Institute, a research group on Asia-Pacific security issues.

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My Comment: On the same day that this report on China's growing space program was released, America's space program decline was there for all to see.

Women And Swimsuits

Image Credit olly / Shutterstock

Why Do Women Cringe At The Thought Of Trying On Swimsuits? -- Red Orbit

Swimsuit season may not entirely be starting yet, but women all over the world are feeling the effects of it. It is intimidating for any girl to wear a bathing suit in public, but even more so in private dressing rooms. Dressing rooms can be cramped with bad lighting, making females unknowingly put more pressure on themselves through self-scrutiny. This idea of self-reflection through a variety of forms of clothing, from swimsuits to jeans and a sweater, was recently highlighted in an experiment by psychologists at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia.

The study, which will be published in the May issue of the journal Sex Roles, focuses on the idea of “self-objectification.”

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My Comment: Yup .... there are some things that some of us guys can never out.

The U.S. Army Wants A Magic Bullet

Looking to the future: The U.S Army wants small businesses to develop a floating non-lethal bullet

U.S Army Floats The Idea Of A 'Magic Bullet' That Hangs Around In The Air Waiting To Strike -- Daily Mail

It sounds like something from a science fiction film, but soon, a ‘magic bullet’ that floats around in the air waiting for its target could become science fact.

This far-fetched sounding piece of ammunition isn’t designed to kill, though.

Called ‘Nonlethal Warhead for Miniature Organic Precision Munitions’, there isn’t even a prototype yet - but it’s on the U.S Army’s wish list.

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More News On The U.S. Army's Search For A "Magic Bullet"

Army’s ‘Magic Bullet’ Will Hang Out in Midair, But Won’t Kill You -- Danger Room
The Army Is Pushing The Limit With This Insane 'Magic Bullet' -- Business Insider
Army Wants NonLethal 'Magic Bullet' Drone for Soldiers -- Live Science
Soon, ‘magic bullet’ that floats around in mid-air but won’t kill you -- Zee News

The Amazing U-2

High Spy: The Amazing U-2 -- Air & Space Smithsonian

Who would have thought that the Lockheed U-2, Kelly Johnson’s late, uninvited, and losing entry into a 1950s Air Force competition for a reconnaissance aircraft, would still be flying intelligence-gathering missions almost 60 years after its first flight? Challenged for its role as the sultan of surveillance by reconnaissance satellites, by Lockheed’s Mach 3 glamour puss, the SR-71 Blackbird (retired in 1999), and most recently, by the big Northrop Grumman surveillance UAV, Global Hawk, the U-2 flies on—above 70,000 feet, for as long as 12 hours at a time.

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My Comment: A collection of fascinating stories on the U-2.