The Last Transit of Venus in Our Lifetime Will Help Us Find Other Planets Feature

2004 Venus Transit Composite This filtered composite image was captured from Donja Stubica, Croatia, during the 2004 transit of Venus. This time, the planet will cross the sun's northern hemisphere. Andjelko Gilvar/ESO

How The Last Transit of Venus in Our Lifetime Will Help Us Find Other Planets Feature -- Popular Science

Tomorrow's historical astronomical event is not just a beautiful novelty.

Tomorrow, skywatchers the world over will look up to behold a strange sight witnessed just seven times in the past five centuries. The last transit of Venus until 2117 is an occasion for astronomical celebration and historic import — we’ll be watching something the greatest astronomers of any age have traveled the world to see.

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My Comment: Mercury has provided the same data .... but Venus .... because of it's size .... will probably provide more accurate info.

Studying Mosquitoes To Make Better Soldiers

How Military Might Benefit From Study Of Hard-To-Kill Mosquitoes -- Christian Science Monitor

Mosquitoes, it turns out, are surprisingly adept at surviving collisions with heavy raindrops, an ability, say researchers, that could help engineer a new generation of tiny flying drones.

Did you ever wonder what happens to mosquitoes caught in a rainstorm? If a big, fat raindrop smashes into a delicate flying mosquito, the bug is toast, right?

Not if recent experiments by a team of engineers and biologists are any indication. The researchers found that mosquitoes are adept at surviving such collisions, and their work sheds light on why.

That’s good news for mosquitoes, and, say the researchers, it could be useful for humans.

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My Comment: You got to be kidding.

Skydiver Aims To Smash World Record

Skydiver Aims To Smash Record, Sound Barrier In 23-Mile Jump -- Playbook/Wired

Later this summer, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner will ascend to 120,000 feet in a pressurized capsule and, wearing only a spacesuit, jump.

As he plummets 23 miles in the highest skydive ever, Baumgartner will become the first person to break the sound barrier in free fall. That’s the plan, anyway. To even attempt this will expose him to many challenges, including the risk that water in his body could vaporize. But one challenge in particular is foremost in everyone’s mind: What happens when Baumgartner encounters the shock waves that invariably occur when something exceeds the speed of sound?

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My Comment: I wish him luck.

3D Mapping Will Allow Us To Look Inside The Human Brain

The 3D maps will allow us to see 'inside' the workings of the brain for the first time, claim the scientists

Land Of Dreams: Harvard Scientists Map Most Complicated Terrain In The Universe - The Inside Of The Human Brain -- Daily Mail

* Magnetic resonance scanner builds first 3D interior maps of brain
* Could allow treatment of brain disorders
* Scans up until now 'have not shown the real brain,' say researchers

Harvard scientists have developed hi-tech new methods to explore inside the human brain using magnetic resonance scanning.

Professor Jan Wedeen claims that the rainbow-coloured scans offer the first real insight into the pathways of the human brain's 100 billion cells - and how it works.

‘The brain we’ve been looking at with conventional scans all these years is not the real brain,' says Wedeeen. 'We’re just seeing a shadow of its surfaces.’

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My Comment: This is cool stuff.

Venus To Cross The Face Of The Sun Tomorrow

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Venus To Put On Sun Spectacular -- BBC

Planet Venus is set to move across the face of the Sun as viewed from Earth.

The more than six-and-a-half-hour transit, which starts just after 22:00 GMT (23:00 BST) on Tuesday is a very rare astronomical phenomenon that will not be witnessed again until 2117.

Observers will position themselves in northwest America, the Pacific, and East Asia to catch the whole event.

But some part of the spectacle will be visible across a much broader swathe of Earth's surface, weather permitting.

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Update: You'll have to get up early on Wednesday to catch Venus transit across the face of the sun - for the last time in 105 years -- Daily Mail

My Comment: So I will have to wait until 2117 for the next event. Hmmmm .... I have doubts that I will still be around .... better pray for good weather tomorrow.

Meet ROBOT-Rx

Meet ROBOT-Rx, The Robot Pharmacist Doling Out 350 Million Doses Per Year -- Singularity Hub

Come to think of it, why do we still have pharmacists? I mean, how hard is it to count by “twos”? I’m just kidding of course. You probably want that extra pair of human eyes to check on your prescription. But after the pharmacist has double-checked the prescription and answered your questions, why not let robots count the pills out for them?

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My Comment: It's only a matter of time before 'robot pharmacists' become standard issue.

The Future Of Drone Warfare

A Drone-Eat-Drone World -- Nick Turse, Asia Times

United States military documents tell the story vividly. In the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of West Africa, an unmanned mini-submarine deployed from the USS Freedom detects an "anomaly": another small remotely-operated sub with welding capabilities tampering with a major undersea oil pipeline.

The American submarine's "smart software" classifies the action as a possible threat and transmits the information to an unmanned drone flying overhead. The robot plane begins collecting intelligence data and is soon circling over a nearby

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My Comment: Expect budget cuts to put a damper on this future military/drone environment.

Are Apps The Future of Book Publishing?

(Photo credit: John Blyberg)

Are Apps The Future of Book Publishing? -- Forbes

We’re at the dawn of the tablet era now. Earlier this month, Apple sold 3 million of its new iPad during the opening weekend, with some analysts expecting over 60 million of the tablets to be sold worldwide. What’s more, e-book readers are selling even more briskly than tablets. People are using those e-readers, too. On Amazon.com, books for its Kindle outsell its paper books.

What’s more, the explosion of e-books is putting pressure on publishers between demands for price cuts on one hand, and competition from independent authors like Amanda Hocking, who earned over $2 million selling e-books on her own before signing with a major publisher.

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My Comment: Are apps the future of book publishing .... well .... readers are using them so I would have to assume that the answer is yes.

Touchscreen Troops

The Daily Exclusive: Touchscreen Troops -- The Daily

Soldiers to increasingly tap military apps on Pentagon-issued iPads, smartphones.

Modern warfare? There’s an app for that.

Well, not from Apple, but there are a handful from the Pentagon — and more to come. They’re being downloaded on tablets and smartphones to help combat troops complete their missions.

Right now, in transports and fighters, pilots and navigators are on Air Force-issued iPads, checking their orders and reviewing their flight plans.

And this summer, the Army is putting Droids in the hands of grunts headed to Afghanistan so they can receive streaming surveillance video from drones, scan their surroundings for threats, call for fire support and request medical evacuations. Sailors and Marines are connected, too.

Though not a nuclear warhead or an M-16 rifle, the smartphone and the tablet are indeed weapons — helping the warfighter defeat the enemy.

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My Comment: My only concern with these new developments is on the possibility of information overload. But for the moment .... the U.S. military is gong-ho to push this program.

How Brick-And-Mortar Bookstore Thrives Because Of Amazon

The Man Who Took On Amazon And Saved A Bookstore -- Forbes

Certain business ideas seem doomed to fail. You can walk into a restaurant or retail chain and know instantly that its days are numbered.

That’s the gut sense I had when I learned that someone new had bought the Harvard Book Store – a comforting oasis for bibliophiles and casual browsers – just a few blocks from my office in Cambridge. In a town where independent bookstores have been folding faster than Starbucks can open coffee shops in China, this naïve optimist embarked on his new venture in the dark days of the recession, under the shadow of Amazon, and as e-books began their zenith rise.

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My Comment: An exception in the trend of closing bookstores.

Facebook vs. Google

US Navy Will Try To Solve The Riddle Of Amelia Earhart's Disappearance

The accepted wisdom was that Earhart's aircraft had simply run out of fuel and crashed into the ocean on July 2, 1937, as she searched for Howland Island

US Navy Prepares Mission To Solve Riddle Of Amelia Earhart's Death -- The Telegraph

Seventy-five years after Amelia Earhart sealed her place in flying history as the first woman to attempt to circumnavigate the world, the US Navy is preparing a mission to solve the riddle of her death in the Pacific.

One of the most enduring mysteries of the annals of aviation, is what happened after Miss Earhart last radioed from her Lockheed Model 10E "Electra" that she was unable to locate an airstrip for landing.

The accepted wisdom was that Earhart's aircraft had simply run out of fuel and crashed into the ocean on July 2, 1937, as she searched for Howland Island.

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My Comment: I wish them the best.

Has Google Gone To 'War' Against The Chinese Government?

Sly Google Wields The Knife In Chinese Internet Censorship Tussle -- Christian Science Monitor

Google has introduced a new feature for Chinese users that will pull back the curtain on Chinese Internet government censorship.

This week the search engine giant Google kept a polite smile on its face as it stuck its shiv in up to the hilt, introducing a feature to its Chinese site that tells users exactly when the censors have blocked a search word for being too “sensitive.”

The Chinese government keeps its list of banned search terms secret; Google is now revealing them. But not once did Google Vice President Alan Eustace mention the word “censorship” in his blog introducing the new feature.

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My Comment: This is effective .... by revealing what Chinese authorities are censoring, Google is .... essentially .... embarrassing the authorities. My prediction .... the Chinese government is going to react quickly .... they are losing face, and for them this is unacceptable.

Bringing Computing Into Our Cells

Chemical Circuit A chemical chip can deliver a neurotransmitter like acetylcholine, which enables chemical control of muscles. Linköping University, Sweden

An Integrated Circuit Made of Ions Could Bring Computing Into Your Cells -- Popular Science

The human body isn't a metal machine, but it's still plenty complicated, and regulating it like a machine is tough to pull off. That's why a new discovery by Klas Tybrandt, a doctoral student in Organic Electronics at Linköping University, Sweden, is exciting: he's developed the first integrated chemical chip, similar to silicon-based electronics, but for biologic material.

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The Day When The Milky Way And Andromeda Crash Together

The Milky Way and Andromeda Crash Together -- Popular Science

First, the bad news: In four billion years it's going to get a lot more crowded around here. The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are on a collision course. The good news is that a new video from NASA shows how it'll go down.

It's been suggested for some time that the two galaxies might have it in for each other, but today NASA says they can "predict with certainty" that Andromeda, which is still 2.5 million light years away but heading toward us at 250,000 miles per hour, will collide with the Milky Way because of the mutual pull of their gravity.

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My Comment: Cool.

Will Divers Finally Get To The Bottom Of The Baltic Sea 'UFO' Mystery?

Unidentified treasure: Shipwreck divers are perplexed by the oddly-shaped object that they found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea

Will Divers Finally Get To The Bottom Of The Baltic Sea 'UFO' Mystery? Team Heads Into The Abyss To Discover The Origins Of Strange, 400-Metre 'Millennium Falcon' Object -- Daily Mail

Since June last year, the strange shape at the bottom of the Baltic Sea has caused so much speculation.

Sonar pictures showed a massive, metallic cylinder with a 60 metre diameter and a 400 metre-long tail resting about 300 feet below the Baltic Sea - and no-one knows what it is.

It must be man-made, or a sonar anomaly - the alternative, perhaps, is that it comes from a universe far, far, away, as its startling likeness to the Millennium Falcon ship from the Star Wars saga implies.

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My Comment: Just imagine ..... what if it is a space ship? Is so .... imagine the world scramble for ownership and retrieval.

President Obama Ordered Cyber Attacks Against Iran

The report comes from David E. Sanger, the Chief Washington correspondent at The New York Times and author of the upcoming book "Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power". Naked Security

Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — From his first months in office, President Obama secretly ordered increasingly sophisticated attacks on the computer systems that run Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities, significantly expanding America’s first sustained use of cyberweapons, according to participants in the program.

Mr. Obama decided to accelerate the attacks — begun in the Bush administration and code-named Olympic Games — even after an element of the program accidentally became public in the summer of 2010 because of a programming error that allowed it to escape Iran’s Natanz plant and sent it around the world on the Internet. Computer security experts who began studying the worm, which had been developed by the United States and Israel, gave it a name: Stuxnet.

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More News On President Obama Ordering Cyber Attacks Against Iran

Barack Obama 'ordered Stuxnet cyber attack on Iran' -- The Telegraph
Obama stepped up cyberattacks on Iran: report -- AFP
Report: Obama ordered wave of cyberattacks on Iran -- Yahoo News/ABC News
Obama continued, accelerated use of Bush-era Stuxnet computer attacks on Iran -- FOX News
Obama Ordered Stuxnet Cyber Attack Against Iran, Initiative Code-Named 'Olympic Games': Report -- International Business Times
Report: Obama Ordered Cyber Attacks on Iran -- Atlantic Wire
Obama ordered increased cyber attacks on Iran -- The Australian
US unleashed Stuxnet cyber war on Iran to appease Israel – report -- RT
Report: Obama secretly ordered cyber attacks on Iran's nuclear program -- Haaretz
Obama Ordered Devastating Cyberattacks Against Iran -- Gizmodo
Report: Obama Ordered Stuxnet Attacks on Iran -- PC World
Obama 'gave full backing to Stuxnet attack on Iran' -- New Scientist
US And Israel ‘Spawned Stuxnet’ -- Tech Week
Administration officials say Stuxnet was America’s first cyber weapon -- The Tech Herald
Stuxnet: How USA and Israel created anti-Iran virus, and then lost control of it -- Naked Security

Why The U.N. Should Not Takeover The Internet

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell warns a House committee that Google, iTunes, Facebook, and Netflix could face new international taxes. (Credit: U.S. House of Representatives)

U.N. Takeover Of The Internet Must Be Stopped, U.S. Warns -- CNet

A U.N. summit later this year in Dubai could lead to a new international regime of censorship, taxes, and surveillance, warn Democrats, Republicans, the Internet Society, and father of the Internet Vint Cerf.

Democratic and Republican government officials warned this morning that a United Nations summit in December will lead to a virtual takeover of the Internet if proposals from China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia are adopted.

It was a rare point of bipartisan agreement during an election year: a proposal that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described last year as handing the U.N. "international control of the Internet" must be stopped.

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My Comment: Every government that has tried to regulate and/or limit the use of the internet within their own country has had to face a backlash from their own citizens. As far as these governments are concerned .... having an international body like the United Nations doing their dirty work is far more preferable than doing it themselves.

Plan X — The Future of Cyberwarfare ‎

Plan X: Pentagon's Blueprint For Full-Fledged Cyberwar -- RT

The wheels of the war machine are ever turning inside the Pentagon, but the Defense Department’s latest endeavor won’t involve fighter jets and armored tanks. The DoD is putting aside billions to enhance its cyberwar capabilities.

The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, is turning towards the private sector and America’s next generation of computer wiz-kids to recruit forces for its next war. A report released Thursday by the Washington Post reveals that DARPA is looking to invest $1.54 billion during the next five years to up its online abilities, with $110 million going directly to a program dubbed Plan X, but unlike before it won’t be budgeted necessarily for thwarting acts of cyberterrorism. Instead the Pentagon is itching to ensure that America can carry out an offensive cyberwar on other nations rather than just readying the US to defend itself against a similar assault from abroad.

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More News On Plan -X

With Plan X, Pentagon seeks to spread U.S. military might to cyberspace -- Washington Post
Pentagon’s Blueprint For Full-Fledged Cyberwar -- Eurasia Review
Plan X — The Future of Cyberwarfare -- Lawfare
DARPA Cranks Up Cyber Effort with “Plan X” -- Heritage

After 15 Months In Orbit The Supersecret X-37B Is To Return To Earth

After 15 Months In Orbit, Secret Space Plane Finally Returning To Earth -- Danger Room

The U.S. military’s secret space plane is preparing to return from its second mission after an incredible 453 days in orbit (as of today). The robotic X-37B, which resembles a miniature space shuttle, is due to land at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California sometime in early to mid-June, depending on weather and other technical factors.

“The men and women of Team Vandenberg are ready to execute safe landing operations anytime and at a moment’s notice,” Col. Nina Armagno, commander of the Air Force’s 30th Space Wing, said in a statement.

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More News On The Upcoming Return Of The X-37B

Secret Air Force Spaceplane Coming Back To Earth In June -- Red Orbit
Vandenberg AFB prepares for return of US military space plane after more than a year in orbit -- Washington Post/AP
Vandenberg AFB readies for X-37B landing -- Flight Global
US's secret space plane to return to Earth in a month -- Herald Sun
Air Force's mini space shuttle prepares for landing -- Space Flight Now
Air Force's Secretive X-37B Space Plane Will Land Soon -- Space.com
X-37B Spaceplane Finishes Its Secret Mission, Prepares to Return to Earth -- Geek System
U.S. Air Force Space Plane Landing Targeted for June -- Space News
U.S. military space plane coming home next month -- Examiner

Does A Fever Combat Cancer Cells?

Feed A Fever, Starve A Cancer? -- Future Pundit

Have modern sterile environments and antibiotics boosted the rate of cancer? Do we need to work ourselves into a fevered pitch once or twice a year?

There is an inverse relationship between febrile infection and the risk of malignancies. Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) plays an important role in fever induction and its expression increases with incubation at fever-range temperatures. Therefore, the genetic polymorphism of IFN-γ may modify the association of febrile infection with breast cancer risk.

Why? An immune system turned up to kill off invading bacteria might also react more vigorously to attack aberrant cells in your body that have mutated only part of the way toward becoming cancerous. Cells that have mutated all the way into becoming cancerous often have mutations that cause them to excrete substances that suppress the immune system. So vaccines against well developed cancers have fared poorly. But if the immune system could be stimulated into attacking pre-cancerous cells at much earlier stages then in some cases cancer could be prevented.

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My Comment: Does fever hold anti-cancer effects .... mainly influencing our immune system to eliminate per-cancerous cells. More research is clearly needed.

Windows 8 Release Preview

Windows 8 Release Preview: Not Ready for Prime Time, but Closer -- Time

For all the ways in which Windows 8 is a bold departure from its predecessors, it’s following a road map to release that’s very much like the one Microsoft has used for years. Last September, the company showed the new version off in public for the first time and let developers get their hands on a very early version. In February, it followed up with a further-along Consumer Preview which any interested party could download for free, install and use.

Starting today, Microsoft is offering a Windows 8 Release Preview — an update to the Consumer Preview — that’s even closer to completion. It’s the latest sign that Windows 8 is on schedule, and while Microsoft isn’t saying when it plans to ship the operating system, the smart money says it’ll show up on new PCs and as an upgrade by the fall of this year.

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My Comment: They appear to be on track .... and yes .... I can easily see myself using Windows 8 by the end of this year.

SpaceX Dragon Supply Ship Returns Home

SpaceX Dragon Cargo Ship Splashes Down In Pacific Ocean -- Christian Science Monitor

The SpaceX Dragon capsule, a privately owned spacecraft, returned to Earth Thursday from the International Space Station

The SpaceX Dragon supply ship returned to Earth on Thursday, ending its revolutionary nine-day voyage to the International Space Station with an old-fashioned splashdown in the Pacific.

The unmanned capsule parachuted into the ocean about 500 miles off Mexico's Baja California, bringing back more than a half-ton of old station equipment. It was the first time since the space shuttles stopped flying last summer that NASA got back a big load from the orbiting lab.

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More News On The Return Of The SpaceX Dragon Supply Ship

SpaceX capsule returns to Earth, ends historic trip to space station with Pacific splashdown -- Washington Post/AP
SpaceX showered with praise for success of Dragon mission -- MSNBC/Space
SpaceX Dragon Landing Caps "Grand Slam" Mission to Space Station -- National Geographic
SpaceX Dragon returns to Earth, ends historic trip -- AP
SpaceX Dragon Successfully Splashes Down in Pacific -- Autopia
In a new space race, the Dragon, and Musk, have landed -- L.A. Times
SpaceX Dragon Capsule Returns to Earth -- ABC News

Google Offers Virtual Tours Of 132 Famous Sites

Google's 'World Wonders' Project Offers Virtual Tours Of 132 Famous Sites -- CBS News/AP

(CBS/AP) - Ever wanted to visit another country from the comfort of your own home? Google's has you covered and all you need is an Internet connection!

With Google's new World Wonders project, you can now take a virtual stroll among the ruins of Pompeii or into the temples of Kyoto.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company is offering virtual tours of 132 famous sites in 18 countries as part of an expansion of its Google Art initiative.

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My Comment: I would prefer to go there in person than looking at the sites virtually.

Robert Teachers?

The robot Wakamaru may become a fixture in the homes of elderly Japanese who have no one else to look after them. Wired

Mind-Reading Robot Teachers Head To Class -- Discovery

Everyone had that one teacher in high school who you swore was a robot. Dull lectures delivered in a monotone voice all but invited you to snooze away the class, drooling on your desk.

On the other hand, we've all had those teachers we loved; ones who were engaging, creative and inspired us us to explore our creativity. They may not have stood on desks or demand we rip excremental introductions from our text books, but bottom line, they held our attention.

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My Comment: I cannot see such a teacher in a schoolroom filled with troubled teens .... but in higher education classes .... it will probably work.

Behold the World’s Finest Superyachts

Dutch yachtbuilder Feadship took home the Motor Yacht of the Year award for Tango. The 252.8-foot yacht was launched in April of last year and features accommodations for 12 guests, an owner's deck, beauty salon, massage parlor and an outdoor movie theater. Despite all that weight, four engines propel the Tango to a top speed of 22 knots. Image: Feadship

Beauties of the Sea: Behold the World’s Finest Superyachts -- Autopia

Even among the most luxurious of pleasure boats, some yachts are finer than others. And the finest of them all win the coveted Neptune Trophy, given out at the World Superyacht Awards.

The ceremony recognizes the ultimate achievements in superyacht design. To qualify in any of the various award categories, yachts must be over 30 meters in length and must have been delivered to their owners in the past 12 months.

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My Comment: My favorite superyacht is this one.

A Million Camera Clicks As New Yorkers Enjoy 'Manhattanhenge'

Stunning: Usually 'Manhattanhenge,' as seen here in 2009 (pictured), allows tall buildings to create a vertical channel to frame the sun

Night Of A Million Camera Clicks As New Yorkers Enjoy 'Manhattanhenge' When Sun Sets Between The Streets -- Daily Mail

Photographers last night struggled to capture stunning images of the 'Manhattanhenge' phenomenon in New York - when the sunset aligns with the city streets - as rain clouds obscured the view on many blocks.

However a slew of images made it onto social networks as professional photographers struggled. The 'Manhattanhenge' glow that occurs twice annually when the sun aligns precisely with the street grid in Manhattan was not as impressive as in previous years.

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My Comment: To all those who were disappointed ... wait till next year.

The Bubbles In Guinness Really DO Sink

Generations of beer drinkers have argued over whether the bubbles in Guinness sink while the beer is settling - now scientists have proved it

The Bubbles In Guinness Really DO Sink - And The Discovery Could Lead To Pints Of Stout That Pour Far Faster -- Daily Mail

* Bubbles circulate down at outside of glass
* Happens as pint settles
* Discovery could lead to new shapes of pint that allow stouts to settle faster

Generations of beer drinkers have argued over whether the bubbles in Guinness sink while the beer is settling - now scientists have proved it.

It might seem counterintuitive that bubbles might sink, but it's due to the way stouts 'settle' in the glass.

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My Comment: Hmmmm .... why do I want to drink a beer right now?

World's Top 100 Universities Under 50

World's Top 100 Universities Under 50: Ranked By Times Higher Education -- The Guardian

South Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology has been ranked the best university under the age of 50. Find out which universities have made the list.

South Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology has topped a list of the best universities under the age of 50.

The inaugural rankings by Times Higher Education (THE) aim to show "which nations are challenging the US and UK as the next higher education powerhouses". Swiss university, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne follows in second place.

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Editor: The Times Higher Education report is here.

Leaked Image Offers First Glimpse Of iPhone 5

It's coming! 9to5Mac has released this image, purported to be the iPhone 5. Features that can be spotted include a much larger screen, and a smaller dock connector

Leaked Image Offers First Glimpse Of iPhone 5 Sporting Much Bigger Screen As Rumours Point To A June 11 Announcement -- Daily Mail

A leaked image gives us a first glimpse of the iPhone5 - and anyone who was waiting for a bigger screen may finally have their prayers answered.

Established Apple site 9to5Mac revealed a leaked image of what is claimed to be the iPhone5, and the site - which has a good record for reporting accurate leaks from Apple - has a plethora of details about the new model.

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My Comment: I know that Steve Jobs did not approve of large iPhone screens .... but I like it. This is a good move on the part of Apple.

Could Sarcastic Computers Be in Our Future?

Noah Goodman, right, and Michael Frank, both assistant professors of psychology, discuss their research at the white board that covers the wall in Goodman's office. (Credit: L.A. Cicero)

Could Sarcastic Computers Be in Our Future? New Math Model Can Help Computers Understand Inference -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (May 30, 2012) — In a new paper, the researchers describe a mathematical model they created that helps predict pragmatic reasoning and may eventually lead to the manufacture of machines that can better understand inference, context and social rules.

Language is so much more than a string of words. To understand what someone means, you need context.

Consider the phrase, "Man on first." It doesn't make much sense unless you're at a baseball game. Or imagine a sign outside a children's boutique that reads, "Baby sale -- One week only!" You easily infer from the situation that the store isn't selling babies but advertising bargains on gear for them.

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My Comment: I guess it all comes down to the math and programming.

Man's Oldest Musical Instrument Is 42,000 Years Old (Give Or Take)

Looks like our earliest ancestors enjoyed music, too

42,000-Year-Old Mammoth Ivory And Bird Bone Flutes Are Oldest Instruments Ever Found -- Y! Tech/Yahoo News

It looks like our earliest human ancestors enjoyed recreational activities other than painting on cave walls. A study by Oxford University researchers revealed that the oldest musical instruments ever discovered date as far back as 42,000 to 43,000 years ago. These instruments are flutes made out of mammoth ivory and bird bones (above).

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My Comment: One can only wonder on what were the melodies played by early man.

Jesus Christ Was Crucified On Friday, April 3, 33 AD

U.S., German Researchers Reveal Date of Christ's Death. © RIA Novosti. Elena Visens

U.S., German Researchers Reveal Date of Christ's Death -- RIA Novosti

The U.S. and German geologists claim they had discovered the exact date when Christ was crucified, the International Geology Review reported.

According to the report, published in the academic journal this week, the scientists discovered that Christ had been crucified on Friday, April 3, 33 AD.

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My Comment: They seem very confident on the date.

Virgin Galactic Cleared For Rocket-Powered Test Flights

Virgin Galactic is to make its first rocket-powered test flights for its commercials passenger

Virgin Galactic Cleared For Rocket-Powered Test Flights -- The Telegraph

Virgin Galactic is to make its first rocket-powered test flights for its commercials passenger spaceship later this year after being granted clearance.

Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic's spaceship design partner, was granted an experimental permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – a move that will allow it to proceed with powered flights.

No timetable has been set for the first launches carrying paying customers, expected to take place after the test programme is complete.

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My Comment: This is exciting news.

Fears Of A Supervolcano Erupting Sooner Rather Than Later Are Being Raised

Eruption: Supervolcanoes with the power to destroy human civilisations may build up a deadly head of steam far faster than scientists believed

Supervolcanoes With Power To 'Destroy Civilisation' Explode Far More Rapidly Than Scientists Had Believed - And One Could Be Bubbling Under U.S. Right Now -- Daily Mail

* Most deadly event that can hit Earth short of asteroid
* Scientists believed they took 100,000 years to build up
* Instead, figure could be just hundreds
* Supervolcano believed to be simmering under Yellowstone in U.S.

A 'supervolcano' eruption is the most catastrophic natural disaster that can hit our planet, short of an asteroid impact - and now scientists believe they may build up a deadly head of steam far faster than we thought.

Instead of the process taking hundreds of thousands of years, it could take just hundreds.

The news could be bad for the US, where a supervolcano is said to be simmering beneath Yellowstone National Park. If it erupted, two thirds of the country could be rendered uninhabitable.

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My Comment: Such an event will .... to put it mildly .... change everything.

Ford's Fastest Mustang Ever

Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 Courtesy Ford Motor Co.

Ford's Fastest Mustang Ever: A 200mph Muscle Car -- Popular Science

Detroit automakers have recently been locked in a competition straight out of the 1960s: a race to create the fastest and most powerful muscle car. This summer, Ford takes the lead with the 650-horsepower Mustang Shelby GT 500. To break the 200mph mark, engineers departed from the muscle-car tradition of throwing a truck engine under the hood and calling it a day. Instead they redesigned the engine with lightweight materials, refined the car’s aerodynamics, and installed driver-assistance systems that allow anyone to drive the Shelby as it’s designed to be driven—aggressively.

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My Comment: My friend has a 2011 Ford Mustang .... and he is always telling me that Ford can never improve on this car. Hmmm .... it looks like they have.

Iran Is Claiming That It Has Defeated The Newest Computer Virus Directed At Them

Graphic showing the number and location of Flame infections, a malicious software virus infiltrating the Middle East

Iran Claims To Have Beaten 'Flame' Computer Virus -- The Telegraph

Iran claims it has defeated a powerful computer virus that has boasted unprecedented data-snatching capabilities and could eavesdrop on computer users, a senior official said.

Ali Hakim Javadi, Iran's deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology, told the official IRNA news agency that Iranian experts have already produced an antivirus capable of identifying and removing "Flame" from computers.

Iran's government-run Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center has said the Flame virus was focused on espionage.

Javadi did not say whether any Iranian government bodies or industries were affected by the virus.

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More News On The 'Flame' Computer Virus

Iran Says It's Produced Antivirus to Newly Detected Flame -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iran claims it has fix for Flame malware -- TG Daily
Iran: 'Flame' virus fight began with oil attack -- AP
Iran: Powerful "Flame" computer virus briefly hit oil industry but was defeated with data recovered -- CBS/AP
Iran defeats powerful ‘Flame’ virus, military official claims -- Toronto Star/AP
Iran acknowledges that Flame virus has infected computers nationwide -- Washington Post
Iran confirms Flame virus attacked computers of high-ranking officials -- The Telegraph

A Look At How Libya Under GaddafiTried To Monitor The Internet And Social Media

Jamming Tripoli: Inside Moammar Gadhafi’s Secret Surveillance Network -- Threat Level

He once was known as al-Jamil—the Handsome One—for his chiseled features and dark curls. But four decades as dictator had considerably dimmed the looks of Moammar Gadhafi. At 68, he now wore a face lined with deep folds, and his lips hung slack, crested with a sparse mustache. When he stepped from the shadows of his presidential palace to greet Ghaida al-Tawati, whom he had summoned that evening by sending one of his hulking female bodyguards to fetch her, it was the first time she had seen him without his trademark sunglasses; his eyes were hooded and rheumy. The dictator was dressed in a white Puma tracksuit and slippers. How tired and thin he looked in person, Tawati thought.

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My Comment: This article is a fascinating read. In the age of the internet and social media .... intelligence and security agencies are now prioritizing efforts to not only limit it's uses .... but also on how to effectively conduct surveillance operations on it. A look at how Libya under Gaddafi tried to have a handle on this is fascinating to read .... not because of what was done in Libya .... but on what present repressive governments are trying to do when faced with dissatisfied youth and and calls for reform.

Inside The Navy’s Newest Spy Sub

Wikipedia

Exclusive Pictures: Inside The Navy’s Newest Spy Sub -- Danger Room

UNDERWAY ON THE U.S.S. MISSISSIPPI — The Navy’s newest fast-attack submarine is speeding down the Florida coast, on its way to its commissioning ceremony in its namesake state, at 15 knots. And it’s getting outraced by dolphins.

Hours before the U.S.S. Mississippi dives several hundred feet beneath the Atlantic, its sail juts proudly into the warm, whipping southern air. Submariners allow me to see the highest point on the sub for myself — provided I can keep my balance up three steep levels’ worth of ladder and hoist myself out onto a platform the size of a fancy refrigerator. A harness hooked to an iron bolt on the sail keeps me from falling to my death. There’s no land in sight, just blue water turned white around the sub’s wake, a tall BPS-16 military radar spinning in front of us, and a family of dolphins jumping out of the surf in front of the 377-foot boat.

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My Comment: Four days on a sub .... must have been an eye opening trip.

The Continuing Exponential Growth Of YouTube

Now Serving The Latest In Exponential Growth: YouTube! -- Singularity Hub

It goes without saying that YouTube has become the quintessential online video source for amateurs and professionals alike, but on the service’s seven-year anniversary, Google made quite a startling announcement: 72 hours of video are uploaded every single minute. That’s three entire days worth of cat videos, webcam rants, conference proceedings, news interviews, and company marketing fodder that is quietly swelling hard drives that already serve up four billion videos a day.

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My Comment: This 'exponential' growth probably has a few more years to go before it starts to level off.

The ‘New AIDS Of The Americas'

Photo: Experts say Charles Darwin suffered from Chagas disease, being called the “new AIDS of the Americas.” Reuters

Chagas Disease, An Incurable Infection, Called The ‘New AIDS Of The Americas': Report -- New York Post

Is This The Disease That Killed Charles Darwin?

Experts have dubbed it the “new AIDS of the Americas.”

A parasitic infection called Chagas Disease has similarities to the early spread of HIV, according to research published recently in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Like AIDS, Chagas is hard to detect and has a long incubation period before symptoms emerge, the study said, according to the New York Times.

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My Comment: This disease looks nasty.

New Advances In Stroke Treatments

Brain attack: Strokes occur when blood stops flowing to a part of the brain, often because a blood clot gets lodged in an artery supplying blood to the organ. istockphoto/Eraxion

Pill Could Reverse Effects Of A Stroke Long After It Hits -- Technology Review

One pharmaceutical company aims to lengthen a stroke's drug-treatable period from hours to months.

For the 800,000 people in the United States who suffer a stroke each year, the window for drug therapy closes in the first few hours after the attack. That leaves some seven million stroke survivors in this country alone with no medical alternative beyond physical therapy. A small pharmaceutical company in New York hopes to change that with a drug that may help patients regain some of their lost mobility six months or more after a stroke.

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My Comment: Our family had to take care of my father for 7 years after his stroke. I know that any advances in treatment will help millions.

NASA Is Worried About Future Moon Explorers

NASA has released a series of guidelines in an effort to protect future lunar missions from ruining the historic Apollo moon landing sites on the moon’s surface. Daily News Photo Illustration

NASA To Future Moon Explorers: Don’t Ruin Our Apollo Landing Sites -- New York Daily News

Space agency issues guidelines to help other lunar missions to protect historic remains

The next person to set foot on the moon needs to watch their step.

NASA has reached an agreement with the Google X Lunar Prize competition to prevent the next wave of moon visitors from ruining historic lunar sites.

The guidelines would also protect existing scientific experiments from getting trampled underfoot by the guests vying for $30 million in prize money.

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My Comment: I guess they are worried that some future moon explorer would go to the first Apollo site .... steal the flag .... and mark in the dust that "Killjoy was here".

The 'Flame' Virus Ups The Ante For Cyberwar

A cyber warfare expert holds a notebook computer while posing for a portrait in Charlotte in this December 2011 file photo. A United Nations agency charged with helping member nations secure their national infrastructures plans to issue a sharp warning about the risk of the Flame virus that was recently discovered in Iran and other parts of the Middle East. John Adkisson/Reuters/Files

Beyond Stuxnet: Massively Complex Flame Malware Ups Ante For Cyberwar -- Christian Science Monitor

Flame is something new in cyberwar, experts say. It can take screenshots and record audio on infected computers. The malware was almost certainly made by a nation-state.

Stuxnet move over. Cybersecurity researchers on Monday announced the discovery of Flame, a piece of malicious software that one firm has called "arguably ... the most complex malware ever found."

At this early stage of analysis, only a few of Flame's functions are understood, reports Kaspersky Lab, the Boston-based cybersecurity company that uncovered it. Because of Flame's size and complexity, it could take years to unpack completely what the program can – and has – done, experts add.

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My Comment: There are only 4 countries capable of doing this .... the US, Russia, China, and Israel. Who is the guilty party .... my money is on all 4 of them.

Is Israel Behind The Super-Virus Targeting Iran?

Israel Hints It May Be Behind Super-Virus Targeting Iran -- The Independent

'Flame' cyber attacks that can steal vast amounts of sensitive data come as Tehran nuclear talks falter.

A top Israeli minister yesterday fed speculation that the Jewish state could be responsible for a powerful new virus said to have been used in a fresh attack on computers in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The discovery of the unprecedented complex data-stealing "Flame" virus was disclosed by a Russian-based digital security firm Kaspersky Lab. Its experts reported on Monday that it had been applied most actively in Iran, but also in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

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My Comment: If Israel was behind the development of this virus .... they would be saying nothing.

Why A Gin And Tonic Is Best Served Cold

The tongue tastes the bitterness in gin and tonic more intensely when it's cold, researchers have found (Source: jonathansloane/iStockphoto)

Evidence Supports A Cold Gin And Tonic -- ABC News (Australia)

Science can finally explain why gin and tonic tastes best when it's served cold.

Sensory scientist Dr Martha Bajec and colleagues from Brock University in Ontario, Canada, report their findings online this month in the journal Chemosensory Perception.

"You want to make sure that your gin and tonic is cold to make sure that it's bitter," says Bajec.

While previous research has suggested temperature can affect people's perception of sweetness, Bajec was surprised to find no one had ever looked at the effect of temperature on bitter tastes.

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My Comment: I guess the same can be said of most drinks .... from beer to putting ice-cubes in any 'hard drink'.

Even In The Stone Age There Were 'Haves' And 'Have Nots'

Analysis of grave sites across central Europe found that 7,000 years ago, in the early Neolithic era, some farmers had better land and better tools, which they were buried with.

Even In The Stone Age There Were 'Haves' And 'Have Nots' - And Our Unequal Society Began 7,000 Years Ago -- Daily Mail

* People buried with stone 'adzes' had better farming land
* Inherited wealth began just as farming spread across Europe
* Social inequality began far earlier than many imagined
* Early Neolithic farmers divided into 'haves' and 'have nots'

The gap between rich and poor began far earlier than most of us might imagine.

In 5,000BC, long before the Egyptians built the pyramids, Europeans were already divided into ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.

Analysis of grave sites across central Europe found that 7,000 years ago, in the early Neolithic era, some farmers had better land – and better tools, which they were buried with.

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My Comment: I guess we have not changed much over the past few centuries.

What’s Killing Supercentenarians?

Small bowel duodenum with amyloid deposition (credit: Michael Feldman/Wikimedia Commons)

What’s Killing Supercentenarians? Amyloidosis, Suggest Two Gerontologists -- Kurzweil Artificial Intelligence

In a newly published review, Dr. Stephen Coles and Robert Young of the UCLA Gerontology Research Group have identified what may be killing supercentenarians: amyloidosis — and drugs to treat it could extend lifespan beyond current limits, Extreme Longevity reports.

Supercentenarians are persons who have lived beyond the age of 110. Currently there are only about 80 such known individuals in the world whose age is verified. The world record holder is Jeanne Calment, who survived until age 122.

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My Comment: I's getting older .... so faster please.

Some Star Wars Fun

Luke Skywalker in Star Wars IV - A New Hope (1977) Photo: Allstar/LUCASFILM

Star Wars Superfun Update -- Dark Roasted Blend

Star Wars as You've Never Seen Them Before - in Geek Art and Fan Creativity!

Just finished watching the original trilogy in Blu-ray edition (highly recommended, by the way) - and was pleasantly reminded that we need to update our long-running popular "Star Wars Fun" series (Part 3, Part 2, Part 1)

Since our last update, Star Wars Universe has seen some near-Big-Bang explosion of fantastic art and creativity in made items... inspired by the classic, near immortal, interstellar story of Grand Conflict Between Good and Evil, full of Betrayal, Peril and Redemption at the most importunate times... but I digress; true Star Wars fans stay away from big words and prefer visual proof. Here it is -

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My Comment: A little Star Wars fun.