U.S. Navy To Test It's Newest Laser Weapon In The Persian Gulf This Summer

U.S. Navy To Test Laser Weapon Aboard Ship In Persian Gulf -- L.A. Times

The Navy plans to install a laser weapon prototype on a ship this summer for at-sea testing in the Persian Gulf.

The technology, called the Laser Weapon System, will be the first of its kind to be deployed, the Navy said.

The idea is that the laser could zap dangerous swarming small boats and flying drones while on the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf. Its power also can be scaled down, presenting the Navy a non-lethal alternative to ward off threats such as pirates, terrorists and smugglers.

Read more ....

More News On U.S. Navy Preparing To Test It's Newest Laser Weapon In The Persian Gulf This Summer

Navy laser weapon with 'video game-like controller' set to deploy -- CNet
NNS: Navy's Laser Weapon Ready for Summer Deployment -- Pacific News Center
U.S. Navy to Test New Laser Weapon at Sea This Summer -- PC Magazine
Navy Engineers To Deploy Laser Weapon Later This Summer -- Ubergizmo

U.S. Navy To Test It's Electromagnetic Gun Aboard A High-Speed Vessel In 2016

U.S. Navy to Test Futuristic, Super-Fast Gun at Sea in 2016 -- Newsweek/Reuters

(Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is planning sea trials for a weapon that can fire a low-cost, 23-pound (10-kg) projectile at seven times the speed of sound using electromagnetic energy, a "Star Wars" technology that will make enemies think twice, the Navy's research chief said.

Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, the chief of Naval Research, told a round table group recently the futuristic electromagnetic rail gun had already undergone extensive testing on land and would be mounted on the USNS Millinocket, a high-speed vessel, for sea trials beginning in 2016.

"It's now reality and it's not science fiction. It's actually real. You can look at it. It's firing," said Klunder, who planned to discuss progress on the system later on Monday with military and industry leaders at a major maritime event - the Sea-Air-Space Exposition - near Washington.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Navy To Testing It's Electromagnetic Gun Aboard A High-Speed Vessel In 2016

Navy to test electromagnetic gun without gunpowder -- USA Today
U.S. Navy unleashes newest weapon: an electromagnetic rail gun that shoots missiles at seven times the speed of sound -- New York Daily News
'Not Science Fiction': Navy to Test Futuristic Gun at Sea in 2016 -- NBC
Navy to unveil railgun in San Diego -- UT San Diego
Navy to test electromagnetic gun aboard high-speed vessel in 2016 (VIDEO) -- RT
US Navy to Trial 'Star Wars' Weapon that Fires at Seven Times the Speed of Sound -- IBTimes
NNS: Navy to Deploy Electromagnetic Railgun Aboard JHSV -- Pacific News Center
Navy prepares to take railgun to sea -- Ars Technica
U.S. Navy's New Weapon Fires at 7 Times the Speed of Sound -- Mashable
The U.S. Navy’s 32-megajoule rail gun is one step closer to blue water -- Guns
How BAE's electromagnetic rail gun will save the Navy millions -- Washington Business Journal

Robots Getting Ready For Dull, Dirty And Dangerous Jobs (Video)

From VOA: Robotic house helpers may still be a long way off but robots that can replace humans in hazardous environments are closer and closer to becoming a reality. Roboticists at Carnegie Mellon University are designing advanced robots for dull, dirty and dangerous jobs. VOA’s George Putic reports.

U.S. Navy Testing Drone Helicopters

U.S. Navy Testing More Sophisticated Pilotless Helicopters -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The helicopter kicked up a cloud of freshly fallen snow that partly obscured the ground below, but despite the poor visibility, it gently touched down in a landing that was unremarkable except for the fact no one was at the controls.

The helicopter, filmed during testing by the Naval Research Laboratory, was piloted by a 100-pound (45-kg) sensor and software package that officials said can turn any rotary-winged aircraft into a virtually autonomous drone able to fly with minimal input from the Marine Corps troops it was designed to serve.

Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, chief of Naval Research, said the sensor and software pack is "truly leap-ahead technology" that will let a Marine with no flight experience issue landing instructions to a cargo helicopter via tablet computer after just a few minutes of training.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Navy Testing Drone Helicopters

Navy to fly full sized drone helicopters by tablet APP to deliver food, water and weapons to troops -- Daily Mail
Navy unveils new program to create drone-like autonomous aircraft -- FOX News
Navy Drones With a Mind of Their Own -- WSJ
Navy’s Future on Video: Fly Choppers With Tablets, Blast Enemies With Rail Guns -- ABC news
Navy unveils ‘leap-ahead technology’ that turns choppers into drones -- Washington Times
U.S. Navy Funds Development of Next-Level Helicopter Drones -- Aviation Today

My Comment: The above video is a must see on how far they have advanced in this technology.

Has The U.S. Navy Found A Way To Make Fuel Out Of Sea Water?

Could You Soon Be Filling Up With SEAWATER? US Navy Reveals 'Game Changing' Fuel Created From Water -- Daily Mail

* Has flown radio controlled plane using 'sea fuel' in first test of new fuel
* New technique can capture 92% of CO2 in water to create jet fuel
* Could be used to create fuel for any vehicle without having to modify engines

The US Navy has developed a radical new fuel made from seawater.

They say it could change the way we produce fuel - and allow warships to stay at sea for years at a time.

Navy scientists have spent several years developing the process to take seawater and use it as fuel, and have now used the 'game changing' fuel to power a radio controlled plane in the first test.

Read more ....

My Comment: I am always super-duper skeptical when I am reading reports like this one .... but these researcher believe that they have a winner.

The Future Of Surgical Robotics Is Microscopic

The NeuroArm, a non-ferrous microsurgical robot—shown here with an electrified cutting tool and suction instrument—was used to remove a patient's brain tumor in 2008, while she was being scanned with an MRI. University of Calgary

The Microscopic Future of Surgical Robotics -- Erik Sofge, Popular Science

Chances are, you aren’t, and never will be, an astronaut. So the recent revelation that NASA is funding the development of a somewhat gruesome-sounding surgical bot—a fist-size contraption that would enter a patient’s gas-engorged abdomen to staunch bleeding or remove a ruptured appendix—isn’t exactly news you can use. The more relevant announcement might be from Intuitive Surgical, which announced that its newest robo-surgeon has been approved by the FDA. With thinner and more maneuverable arms, the da Vinci Xi will turn more open surgeries into minimally-invasive, robot-assisted procedures. Instead of requiring large incisions to get at various portions of a patient’s anatomy, the Xi will let surgeons reach essentially anywhere in the abdomen through smaller less traumatic punctures. With this clearance, the likelihood that you’ll one day be under the robotic knife just jumped significantly.

Read more ....

My Comment: A good review on robotic advances in microsurgery.

Global Warming Will Affect Your Beer

Growing Barle. Photo by Lucash on Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

How Global Warming Will Affect Your Beer -- Popular Science

A pilot study examines how drought affects the quality of starch in barley.

There are many things that will change as Earth's climate warms. Doctoral student Peter Gous is worried about the price and quality of beer.

The aspiring plant bioengineer worked with a team of scientists to test how not getting enough water altered the quality of barley grains. In a small pilot study, the scientists found that the starches inside barley grains grown with too little water are different from starches found inside nicely-watered barley grains. The dryness-stressed barley had longer-chain starch grains and more protein than normally grown barley. From there, Gous made an interesting conjecture about the future—one we've never thought of.

Read more ....

My Comment: The beer will be fine.

The Future Of Public Transport?

A web developer from West Yorkshire created his vision for a global Underground network when visiting Australia and wanting to 'nip home' but one engineer said that tunnelling such distances is presently impossible. The style of the ‘Eurocentric’ world Tube map is inspired by the work of Harry Beck, who was the technical draftsman who created the present London Underground map in 1931. The 'Tri-Continental' line on the map is red, like London's Central Line, while the grey line is the 'U.S.' and the black line the'Australasia Pan-Pacific'.

The Future Of Public Transport? Map Reveals How The Entire WORLD Could Be Connected Using A Global Underground Network -- Daily Mail

* Chris Gray from West Yorkshire created his vision for a global Underground network when visiting Australia and wanting to 'nip home'
* His dream is thought to be currently 'impossible' because tunnels would have to be so deep beneath the waves and cross tectonic plates
* One expert thinks pneumatic tube systems like the proposed 'hyperloop' and floating tunnels could connect the world in the future
* The maps are inspired by Harry Beck's map of the London Underground

Some train journeys feel like they take forever - especially when there are numerous transfers and waits in between flights and trains. But what if you could board a train in Madras, India and travel to Boston with no changes?

One man has imagined the world as a giant London Underground map where people can travel freely between countries and traverse vast bodies of water from the comfort of their seat while vehicles speed through vast tunnels.

While his dream is currently ‘impossible’, engineers are constantly trying to develop new ways to connect countries.

Read more ....

My Comment: Not going to happen (a global network) .... but it is a good dream.

Will Robots Rule the World?

Photo Used under Creative Commons license from Flickr user Antonis Lamnatos http://www.flickr.com/photos/lamnatos

Will Robots Rule the World? Find Out At Robo Madness Next Thursday -- Wade Roush, XConomy

An influential 1998 paper by Robin Hanson, an economics professor at George Mason University, asked what might happen to jobs and wages in a future with “mature machine intelligence”—computers and robots clever enough to take over most human jobs. The outlook is a little scary.

Hanson calculated that a world where machines could truly substitute for most human labor, would, at first, see unprecedented economic growth, including rising wages. But eventually, as machines became more numerous and more productive, they would push human wages down dramatically, leaving most people without the means to buy the stuff the machines were making. Hanson even threw around words like “Malthusian,” a term once reserved to describe catastrophic population growth and food shortages.

Read more ....

My Comment: What's my take .... robots may rule the world one day .... but not today.

‘Bionic Olympics’ Coming In 2016

‘Bionic Olympics’ Coming in 2016 -- Defense Tech

Couple the Defense Research Projects Agency’s major and well-funded interest in prosthetics with the grit shown by amputee veterans to excel in sports and you’ve got a heck of start for building a U.S. team for the first-ever bionic Olympics.

The Cybathlon, an international competition for athletes using advanced prosthetics, is to be held in October 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland.

“The competitions are comprised by different disciplines that apply the most modern powered knee prostheses, wearable arm prostheses, powered exoskeletons, powered wheelchairs, electrically stimulated muscles and novel brain-computer interfaces,” according to the games’ official website.

The games are being organized on behalf of the Swiss National Competence Center of Research in Robotics.

Read more ....

My Comment: I predict that this will be well watched.

The Optical Illusion App That Makes You Hallucinate

The Optical Illusion App That Makes You HALLUCINATE: Mind-Bending Moving Illusion Makes Everything Around You MELT -- Daily Mail

* DO NOT watch if you suffer from epilepsy or are sensitive to flashing lights
* Watch videos in full screen mode for 30 seconds while focusing on centre
* Look away and watch the world deform. Effect can last for up to 20 secs
* Illusion created when brain cells detecting motion become tired
* After the eyes look away, the cells that detect motion in the other direction are more active and a stationary object appears to be moving

For a drug-free mind-bending hallucination, take a look at some of these incredible optical illusions.

Open the illusion up in a full-screen window as they will work best if they fill your entire field of vision.

Focus your eyes on the centre of the illusion for around 30 seconds before gently looking away into the distance.

Read more ....

My Comment: OMG!!! It works.

Vehicles Will Soon Be Able To Talk To Each Other

Vehicles May Soon Be Talking To Each Other -- Voice of America

WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators are close to approving new standards for enabling vehicles to communicate with each other, hoping the new technology will reduce traffic accidents. Within as little as three years, automakers may be required to equip all new cars with the so-called ‘vehicle-to-vehicle’ communication devices.

Vehicle-to-vehicle, or V2V, is a short-range communication technology that enables vehicles to exchange vital information 10 times per second, about location, speed, acceleration and braking. Cars will be able to calculate the hazard risk within about 300 meters and alert their drivers or even take automatic collision-avoidance action.

The drivers will be able to see, hear and even feel the hazard signals through vibration of the seat.

Read more ....

My Comment: Another reason to increase car prices .... but what am I interested in is .... can such a system be rigged to warn drivers of speed traps?

World's Hottest Tourist Attractions

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Hot spot: Sightsmap allows users to search the map to find the top places in a given area, including the most photographed 1,000 locations in a country

World's Hottest Tourist Attractions: Interactive 'Heat Map' Reveals Top 10 Most Photographed Travel Destinations Across The Globe -- Daily Mail

Anyone who has visited New York will have whipped out their camera to take an obligatory shot of the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty.

And a visit to Paris or Rome isn’t complete without a smartphone selfie in front of the Eiffel Tower or Spanish Steps respectively. But which tourist sights are the world’s most iconic?

An interactive 'heat map' has revealed the top 10 photographed cities in the world - along with which tourist attraction is the most snapped in each location.

Read more ....

My Comment: Europe is the "hottest spot".

Blood Moon Eclipse On April 15

Blood Moon Eclipse On April 15 Is A Special Event -- USA Today

Sky watchers are getting ready for an evening of special viewing when a total lunar eclipse arrives just after midnight on April 15.

What's more, this begins a rare sequence of four total lunar eclipses expected over the next two years.

Some Christians see this series of so-called blood moons as linked to a biblical prophecy of the End Times.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon line up so the Earth's shadow falls on the moon, darkening it.

The one on April 15 will begin at 1:20 a.m. on the East Coast, according to Sky and Telescope magazine.

Read more ....

My Comment: I saw one about 40 years ago .... it is a memory that is still with me.

Why Robots Cannot Be Regulated?

Photo: 20TH CENTURY FOX

Why It Is Not Possible To Regulate Robots -- The Guardian

We regulate machines, from drills to defibrillators. What distinguishes a power-drill from a robot-drill? A computer driving it

There's an old joke about the sciences: biology is just applied chemistry, chemistry is just applied physics, and physics is just applied maths. It's really a neat little quip about essentialism and reductionism. While it's true that biology can be accurately described as "applied chemistry," treating living things as alive – and not as a set of chemical reactions no different in principle from making a cup of cocoa or extracting a pigment to use in housepaint – has undeniable utility.

Read more ....

My Comment: A long commentary .... but it is not an easy subject to analyze and discuss. A prediction .... this discussion will only increase with time as computers and robots develop into even more sophisticated models and networks than what they are today.

Scientists Pin Down Moon's Birth Date

This artist's illustration depicts a giant impact between the early Earth and a Mars-size object, a cataclysmic collision thought to have created the moon about 4.5 billion years ago.NASA/JPL-Caltech

Moon's Age Revealed, And A Lunar Mystery May Be Solved -- FOX News

Scientists have pinned down the birth date of the moon to within 100 million years of the birth of the solar system — the best timeline yet for the evolution of our planet's natural satellite.

This new discovery about the origin of the moon may help solve a mystery about why the moon and the Earth appear virtually identical in makeup, investigators added.

Scientists have suggested the moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago by a gigantic collision between a Mars-size object named Theia and Earth, a crash that would have largely melted the Earth. This model suggested that more than 40 percent of the moon was made up of debris from this impacting body. (Current theory suggests that Earth experienced several giant impacts during its formation, with the moon-forming impact being the last.)

Read more ....

CSN Editor: 4.5 billion years .... give or take.

Skydiver Captures The First Ever Footage Of A Falling Meteorite After It Has Stopped Burning

Meteorite Narrowly Misses Norwegian Skydiver -- The Telegraph

A skydiver in Norway captures the first ever footage of a falling meteorite after it has stopped burning

A Norwegian man narrowly avoided being hit by a meteorite while skydiving and has captured the first ever video footage of a meteorite travelling through the air after its flame has gone out.

Anders Helstrup, who belongs to the Oslo Parachute Club said "I got the feeling that there was something, but I didn't register what was happening,"

"When we stopped the film, we could clearly see something that looked like a stone. At first it crossed my mind that it had been packed into a parachute, but it's simply too big for that."

Read more ....

My Comment: It is there for an instance .... and then it is gone. Wow.

Nasa Is Developing Robots That Could Perform Surgery In Space

The Robots That Could Perform Surgery In SPACE: Tiny Doctor Droids Could Perform Complex Medical Procedures On Astronauts -- Daily Mail

* Prototype has been created by Nebraska-based Virtual Incision and Nasa
* 0.9lb (0.4kg) device has tools that can grab, cauterise and suture tissue
* Its head is fitted with a camera which sends a feed back to control station
* Nasa said astronauts could be trained to use the robot to perform select surgeries on each other

Imagine a miniature robo-surgeon sliding into your body through an incision in your stomach.

Once inside, the robot can expertly manoeuvre its way around the abdominal cavity, which has been filled with gas to make more room for work.

It can then perform procedures such as an emergency appendectomy or perforate a gastric ulcer.

This is the scenario being explored by Nasa in the hope that risky surgical operations in space will someday become a routine matter.

Working in collaboration with Virtual Incision in Lincoln, Nebraska, the space agency has developed a prototype of a remotely-operated fist-sized robot doctor.

Read more ....

My Comment: They still have a long way to go .... but the advancements are impressive.

Quantum Computing And New Approaches To Artificial Intelligence

Quantum Computing And New Approaches To Artificial Intelligence Could Get The Resources To Achieve Real Breakthroughs In Computing -- Next Big Future

Ramez gives examples and problems to achieving an intelligence explosion

* the complexity of important problems like computational chemistry have exponentially increasing complexity
- if designing intelligence is an N^2 problem, an AI that is 2x as intelligent as the entire team that built it (not just a single human) would be able to design a new AI that is only 70% as intelligent as itself

* There are already entities with vastly greater than human intelligence working on the problem of augmenting their own intelligence. A great many, in fact. We call them corporations. And while we may have a variety of thoughts about them, not one has achieved transcendence.

Let's focus on as a very particular example: The Intel Corporation. Intel uses the collective brainpower of tens of thousands of humans and probably millions of CPU cores to.. design better CPUs! (And also to create better software for designing CPUs.) Those better CPUs will run the better software to make the better next generation of CPUs. Yet that feedback loop has not led to a hard takeoff scenario.

Read more ....

My Comment: The money for this research is now coming in .... but will the results follow? I guess we will find out in the next fwe years.

Saturn's Moon Enceladus Has A Sea Of Water The Size Of Lake Superior

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

A view of Saturn's fourth-largest moon, Enceladus, as seen from the Cassini spacecraft. Credit NASA

A Moon of Saturn Has A Sea, Scientists Say -- New York Times

Inside a moon of Saturn, beneath its icy veneer and above its rocky core, is a sea of water the size of Lake Superior, scientists announced on Thursday.

The findings, published in the journal Science, confirm what planetary scientists have suspected about the moon, Enceladus, ever since they were astonished in 2005 by photographs showing geysers of ice crystals shooting out of its south pole.

“What we’ve done is put forth a strong case for an ocean,” said David J. Stevenson, a professor of planetary science at the California Institute of Technology and an author of the Science paper.

Read more ....

More News On Reports That Saturn's Moon Enceladus Has A Sea Of Water The Size Of Lake Superior

Saturn Moon Harbors Ocean, Raising Possibility of Life -- National Geographic
Liquid Ocean Sloshes under Saturn Moon’s Icy Crust, Cassini Evidence Shows -- Scientific America
Underground Ocean Makes Enceladus A Top Candidate For Extraterrestrial Life -- Science/Wired
Ocean as Large as Lake Superior Found on Enceladus, a Tiny Moon Orbiting Saturn -- Newsweek
NASA Cassini spacecraft finds sign of subsurface sea on Saturn’s moon Enceladus -- Washington Post

Trion SuperCars Wants To Develop The Nemesis, An American Supercar With 2,000hp

Trion SuperCars plans to introduce a prototype for the Nemesis, an American supercar with 2,000hp. Yahoo News

2,000-hp Trion Nemesis Angling To Be America's Next Great Supercar -- Autoblog

You can add one more name to the list of boutique builders hoping to break into the automotive industry. This time it's a California-based outfit called Trion Supercars that is launching the 2,000-horsepower Nemesis. It's supposed to be a driver-oriented sportscar and is aimed at the wealthiest people in the world. At the moment it still only exists in renderings, though.

"We want to be the Nemesis of the Europeans," said company leader Richard Patterson to Autoblog about in the inspiration for the name. The company claims the it's going to be one of the world's fastest cars when it's ready, theoretically packing a twin-turbo V8 with more than 2,000 hp and an eight-speed sequential gearbox. The company believes that its creation could hit 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds and reach a top speed of over 270 mph. If that is the case, then it would put the newcomer against the heavyweights like the Hennessey Venom GT and Koenigsegg Agera One:1.

Read more ....

More News On Trion SuperCars Wanting To Develop The Nemesis, An American Supercar With 2,000hp

US firm developing 2,000hp supercar -- Yahoo News
Trion Supercars Nemesis promises the US a 2000hp street bullet -- Slash Gear
With ‘Predator Mode’ and 2,000 horsepower, Trion’s Nemesis is as mythical as it sounds -- Digital Trends
Trion Nemesis 2,000-hp Super Car Imagined by American Firm -- Motorward
Trion Nemesis Supercar Sports 2,000hp For Top Speed Of Over 270mph -- Geeky Gadgets
The Trion Nemesis Is A Ridiculous 2,000-HP Supercar For Tall People -- Jalopnik

Tesla Motors Wants To Replace Sideview Mirrors With Cameras

Tesla Motors Leads Campaign To Replace Sideview Mirrors With Cameras -- Digital Trends

The car has been around for so long that it’s easy to take things for granted. Things like side mirrors.

Tesla Motors is leading a campaign to replace those reflective pieces of glass with cameras, Automotive News (sub. required) reports.

The Silicon Valley carmaker has teamed up with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers – a trade group that represents 12 major car companies – to ask the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for its OK.

Read more ....

More News On Tesla Motors Wanting To Replace Sideview Mirrors With Cameras

Automakers lobbying to replace rearview mirrors with cameras -- FOX News
Tesla, Auto Alliance Submit Proposal to Eliminate Side Mirrors -- Motor Trend
Tesla Wants To Put Side Mirrors In The Rearview Mirror -- Huffington Post
Camera happy auto industry? Tesla, auto makers looking to replace side-view mirrors with cameras -- Tech Times
Tesla Wants to Replace Side-View Mirrors With Cameras -- PC Mag
Tesla behind lobbying push to ditch side mirrors -- Autoblog
Why It’ll Be a While Before We Can Replace Car Mirrors With Cameras -- Damon Lavrinc, Autopia/Wired

Why Do Zebras Have Stripes?

Wikipedia

Why Do Zebras Have Stripes? Scientists Have The Answer -- The Guardian

There have been many explanations for the zebra’s impressive stripes. New research strongly suggests that they have evolved to deter parasitic flies.

The zebra’s striped coat is simultaneously extraordinary and stunning. So wondrous, in fact, that many people have imagined it to be evidence of God’s infinitely artistic hand. Over the years, there have been many more rational explanations, but that all-important scientific consensus has remained elusive.

Charles Darwin certainly found the zebra’s stripes to be a conundrum. In The Descent of Man, he dismissed the idea they could act as camouflage, citing William Burchell’s observations of a herd:

Read more ....

My Comments: It apparently all comes down to biting flies not liking stripes.

NASA Breaks Contact With Russia's Space Agency Because Of Crimea

Backdropped by Earth, the International Space Station is seen in this image photographed by an STS-130 crew member on space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation, in this undated NASA handout photo. Reuters

NASA Suspends Contact With Russia Over Ukraine Crisis -- The Verge

Work on International Space Station will continue.

Citing Russia’s ongoing violations of Ukraine’s sovereign and territorial integrity, NASA told its officials today that the agency is suspending all contact with Russian government representatives. In an internal NASA memorandum obtained by The Verge, the agency said that the suspension includes travel to Russia, teleconferences, and visits by Russian government officials to NASA facilities. NASA is even suspending the exchange of emails with Russian officials.

Ongoing International Space Station activities are exempt from this suspension, however, as are meetings with other countries held outside of Russia that include the participation of Russian officials. The directives come directly from Michael O'Brien, the agency associate administrator for International and Interagency Relations.

Read more ....

More News On NASA Breaking Contact With Russia's Space Agency Because Of Ukraine

NASA Internal Memo: Suspension of NASA contact with Russian entities -- Space Ref
NASA cuts ties with Russia except on space station -- AP
NASA halts contact with Russia, except for International Space Station -- CBS News
NASA orders its staff to stop talking to Russia, because Crimea -- Washington Post
NASA Limits Cooperation With Russia -- Voice of America
NASA to suspend almost all ties with Russia, according to leaked internal memo -- Christian Science Monitor
NASA suspends ties with Russian gov't officials over ongoing crisis in Crimea -- FOX News
NASA Suspends Some Ties With Russia Over Ukraine Crisis -- NPR
NASA Breaks Most Contact With Russia -- New York Times
NASA Cuts All Non-ISS Ties with Russia Over Ukraine (Updated) -- Gizmodo
NASA suspends relations with Russia space agency -- UPI
NASA Limits Contact With Russia, Except for Space Station -- NBC
NASA suspends cooperation with Russia over Ukraine crisis -- RT
NASA Suspends Space Contracts With Russia Due To Ukraine Crisis -- Red Orbit
Leaked NASA Memo Says Agency Is Giving Russia the Cold Shoulder -- Time
The U.S.-Russia Fight Has Entered Space -- National Journal
NASA suspends relations with Russia, but Putin holds all the cards -- Peter Spotts, Christian Science Monitor
NASA must immediately cease contact with Russia [Updated at 19:30 CDT] -- Ars Technica
Russia regrets NASA halting cooperation, experts warn of impact on intl space work -- RT

Whale Sets Record For Deepest Ever Dive After It Plunges 9,816ft (2,992 Metres) Below The Waves

A study has revealed that the shy Cuvier's beaked whale performs the deepest dives made by any mammal on the planet at 9,816ft (2,992metres) below the waves - the equivalent of just under seven Empire State Buildings - and stays below for 138 minutes

10,000 FEET Under The Sea: Whale Sets Record For Deepest Ever Dive After It Plunges Seven Empire State Buildings Deep -- Daily Mail

* One Cuvier's beaked whale dived 9,816ft (2,992 metres) below the waves and stayed below for 38 minutes
* The equivalent of 6.75 Empire State Buildings placed on top of one another
* Biologists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California tagged eight of the whales off San Nicholas Island in southern California
* They are interested in whether the whales display unusual behaviour when they hear sonar emitted from ships

Whales are capable of swimming vast distances across oceans, but they are also expert divers.

And now a study has revealed that the shy Cuvier’s beaked whale performs the deepest dives made by any mammal on the planet.

Scientists were surprised to record one of the mammal's dives, which was 9,816ft (2,992 metres) below the waves.

Read more ....

My Comment: Wow .... I never knew that they can dive that deep and stay underwater for that long.

Why Do The Japanese Wear Surgical Masks?

Why Do Japanese People Wear Surgical Masks? It’s Not Always For Health Reasons -- Rocket News 24

Like kimono and T-shirts with English writing (sometimes vulgar, sometimes comical, always unintelligible), the number of people you’ll see in Japan wearing surgical masks is pretty surprising. Sure, Japan is a hard working society, and the spread of productivity-sapping sickness is always a concern at schools and workplaces, but that doesn’t seem like reason enough for the proliferation of facial coverings that sometimes has Tokyo offices looking more like an operating room.

Health concerns are only part of the equation, though, as recent studies have revealed multiple reasons people in Japan wear masks that have nothing to do with hygiene.

Read more ....

My Comment: So typically Japanese .... they are being polite and considerate of others.

Pentagon Announces A ‘Super-Soldier’ Serum That Will Grant ‘Significant Boost To Troop Performance’

U.S. Military Perfects ‘Super-Soldier’ Serum That Grants ‘Significant Boost To Troop Performance’ -- Guns.com

U.S. Military scientists in conjunction with the office of the Vice President and Warner Music Group have developed a working “super-soldier” serum that “significantly boosts troop performance.”

While President Obama recently confirmed the military is already “building Iron Man,” (see video below) the revelation that a “super-soldier” serum exists comes as nothing short of a surprise. According to military researchers, Project Perspective began over 70 years ago at the height of WWII, but it was only after combining two never-before-tried elements that the experiment truly began to shine.

Read more ....

My Comment: OK .... I am two days late with my April Fools joke. :)

Ebola Outbreak Is Spreading In West Africa

Ebola Outbreak Causing Panic In West Africa -- Jennifer Lazuta, Special for USA TODAY

DAKAR, Senegal – The rising death toll and the wide spread of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has sparked fear across the region with at least 80 already having died from the nearly always fatal virus.

"Every day we're reading about it in the newspaper, hearing about it on the radio, and wondering when it's going to come here," said 32-year-old Mossa Bau, who lives in Dakar, Senegal. "Everyone is very scared because, really, it's a dangerous disease and no one has the means to stop it."

The World Health Organization says that as many as 125 people across three countries are now believed to have contracted the highly contagious disease. Senegal shut off its border with Guinea, where the outbreak is believed to have originated, in the hopes of keeping the disease from spreading its way.

Read more ....

My Comment: This is a nasty disease.

America's Beer Map

Researchers analysed a million tweets to see what people preferred to drink, and found huge differences between the coasts

The East Coast Prefers Bud, While The West Goes For Coors: Beer Maps Of America Reveals Top Tipples (And Finds If You Live Near The Coast, You're Probably Drinking Wine) -- Daily Mail

* Researchers analysed a million tweets to find what beers people were drinking
* Found those living near the coast tend to prefer beer over wine
* Washington, Colorado and California prefer wine, while Midwest, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas prefer beer

The East Coast prefers Bud Light, and those near the coast are more likely to prefer wine over beer, a new study of America's drinking habits has revealed.

Researchers analysed a million tweets to find out which each region prefers.

They found tweet preferences for Bud Light were found mainly in the Eastern half of the US, while preferences for Coors Light originate in the Western half, particularly near Colorado and surrounding states.

Read more ....

My Comment: I prefer Guinness and Stella Artois.

The Inside Story Of Gmail

Gmail's home page as it looked on March 31, 2004, shortly before the service launched. Skizzers.org

How Gmail Happened: The Inside Story Of Its Launch 10 Years Ago Today -- Time

Google's email breakthrough was almost three years in the making. But it wasn't a given that it would reach the public at all

If you wanted to pick a single date to mark the beginning of the modern era of the web, you could do a lot worse than choosing Thursday, April 1, 2004, the day Gmail launched.

Scuttlebutt that Google was about to offer a free email service had leaked out the day before: Here’s John Markoff of the New York Times reporting on it at the time. But the idea of the search kingpin doing email was still startling, and the alleged storage capacity of 1GB—500 times what Microsoft’s Hotmail offered—seemed downright implausible. So when Google issued a press release date-stamped April 1, an awful lot of people briefly took it to be a really good hoax. (Including me.)

Read more ....

My Comment: I am still a Hotmail user .... but I also use a GMail account. But if given the choice .... I will take GMail.

Massive 8.2 Magnitude Earthquake Off The Coast Of Chile

A map of the Pacific coast of Chile, where an earthquake was reported on April 1, 2014. Google

8.0 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Off Chile; Tsunami Strikes Coast -- ABC News

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.0 has struck off the coast of Chile, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

A tsunami warning was issued following the quake, which was centered 49 miles west-northwest of Iquique, Chile, and was 6.21 miles deep, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a 6-foot tsunami that hit Pisagua, Chile, at 8:04 p.m. ET. No damage assessment has been made at this time.

Read more ....

More News Of A Massive 8.2 Magnitude Earthquake Off The Coast Of Chile. Tsunami Strikes Coast

Powerful earthquake strikes off Chile: Live Updates -- CNN
Tsunami alert after 8.2 quake strikes off Chile -- BBC
Deadly 8.2 Earthquake Strikes Off Chile Coast, Tsunami Warning Issued -- NBC
Chile earthquake: Massive earthquake causes landslides, tsunami,10 aftershocks -- Christian Science Monitor
8.2 Earthquake Hits Northern Chile, Setting Off Small Tsunami -- Voice of America
2 dead as magnitude-8.2 quake hits northern Chile -- AP
Officials evaluating whether tsunami warning will be issued for Hawaii -- Reuters
As South America Flees, Hawaii Told to Prepare for Tsunami -- NBC
Magnitude-8.2 quake strikes northern Chile -- AP
Massive 8.0 quake off Chile coast sparks tsunami -- Reuters
Magnitude 8.2 Earthquake Strikes Off Coast of Chile -- Time
Powerful quake strikes off Chile; tsunami warning posted -- Time
Tsunami warning after 8.0 quake strikes off Chile -- BBC
Large earthquake strikes off coast of Chile, tsunami warning issued -- New York Daily News
Tsunami Alert Issued After Magnitude 8.0 Quake Off Chile Coast -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Chile earthquake: No tsunami warning for California or West Coast -- L.A. Times
Experts Say Chile Fault Was Due for 'Big One,' But How Big? -- Alan Boyle, NBC

A Yellowstone Volcano Eruption In 2014?

This map from the U.S. Geological Service shows the range of the volcanic ash that was deposited after the biggest of the Yellowstone National Park eruptions around 2.1 million years ago. "These eruptions left behind huge volcanic depressions called “calderas” and spread volcanic ash over large parts of North America," it said. "If another large caldera-forming eruption were to occur at Yellowstone, its effects would be worldwide. Thick ash deposits would bury vast areas of the United States, and injection of huge volumes of volcanic gases into the atmosphere could drastically affect global climate. Fortunately, the Yellowstone volcanic system shows no signs that it is headed toward such an eruption in the near future. In fact, the probability of any such event occurring at Yellowstone within the next few thousand years is exceedingly low."

Yellowstone Volcano Eruption in 2014? Are Animals Fleeing Park As ‘An Alert’? -- Zachary Stieber, Epoch Times

A number of bloggers are posting videos that show bison and other animals allegedly leaving Yellowstone National Park, prompting theories that as earthquakes ramp up the seismic activity will set off the Yellowstone supervolcano.

Two of the main bloggers behind the discussion stress that there’s no way to know when the supervolcano will go off but note that the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit on March 30 seemed to set off a reaction from the animals, who are moving for a reason.

Read more ....

My Comment: Here is an easy prediction .... if such an eruption should occur .... it will be the number one news story for all of us for a very very very long time.

U.S. Air Force's X-37B Breaks It's Own Record After Circling The Earth For 470 Days

Mystery Of The Pentagon’s Space Plane: X-37B Breaks Record After Circling Earth For 470 Days - But Won't Reveal What Mission Was For -- Daily Mail

* Spacecraft taken into orbit on a rocket but lands by gliding down to Earth
* Is the third and longest flight for mission which is shrouded in secrecy
* Some analysts suggest it will help support American soldiers in warzones
* Other rumours are circulating that the craft has been kept in space to spy on the new Chinese space station, Tiangong

A U.S. space plane, shrouded in secrecy, has broken its own longevity record by staying in orbit for more than 469 days.

The flight is the third for the X-37B mystery mission and was launched on December 11, 2012, atop an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral.

Little is known about the spacecraft, which is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.

Read more ....

More News On The X-37B

Air Force’s X-37B breaks orbit record -- FOX News
Air Force’s X-37B Breaks Orbit Record -- Defense Tech
Pentagon's secret X-37B plane breaks space longevity record -- Space Daily/Voice of Russia
Top secret Pentagon spacecraft stays in orbit over 469 days, breaks longevity record -- Space Daily/Voice of Russia
Report: Air Force’s Unmanned Space Plane Close to 500-Day Orbit Mark -- Executive Gov

A Pill That Helps Adults Learn New Skills As Quickly As Children?

In 2011 thriller Limitless, Bradley Cooper, pictured centre, takes a pill that opens up closed regions of his brain. This boost his intelligence, motor skills and ability to learn new languages

The Real-Life Limitless Pill? Drug Helps Adults Learn As Fast As Children By Making The Brain More 'Elastic' -- Daily Mail

* Donepezil is used to improve memory function in Alzheimer’s patients
* Children learn skills quickly as their brains go through 'critical periods’
* Researchers found donepezil can revert adult brains to these periods
* It increases the 'elasticity' of the brain making it capable of learning rapidly
* Researchers rewired a visually impaired patient’s brain to process images
* The drug works by boosting chemicals in the brain that reduce with age

It may sound like something from 2011 thriller Limitless, but researchers have discovered a pill that helps adults learn new skills as quickly as children.

A professor at Harvard rewired the brain of a visually impaired women to process images by giving her Alzheimer’s drug donepezil.

The pill boosts chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin and acetylcholine, which are both found in high concentrations in the brains of young children.

Read more ....

My Comment: Faster please. On a side note .... the 2011 thriller Limitless with Bradley Cooper is a great film.

Seven People Hold The Master Keys To Worldwide Internet Security

Meet The Seven People Who Hold The Keys To Worldwide Internet Security -- The Guardian

It sounds like the stuff of science fiction: seven keys, held by individuals from all over the world, that together control security at the core of the web. The reality is rather closer to The Office than The Matrix

In a nondescript industrial estate in El Segundo, a boxy suburb in south-west Los Angeles just a mile or two from LAX international airport, 20 people wait in a windowless canteen for a ceremony to begin. Outside, the sun is shining on an unseasonably warm February day; inside, the only light comes from the glare of halogen bulbs.

There is a strange mix of accents – predominantly American, but smatterings of Swedish, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese can be heard around the room, as men and women (but mostly men) chat over pepperoni pizza and 75-cent vending machine soda. In the corner, an Asteroids arcade machine blares out tinny music and flashing lights.

Read more ....

My Comment: A fascinating look at the internet that is rarely seen. Hmmmm .... makes you wonder what influence the NSA has in this group.

Knowledge Transfer Between Computers

Researchers had agents -- virtual robots -- act like true student and teacher pairs: student agents struggled to learn Pac-Man and a version of the StarCraft video game. The researchers were able to show that the student agent learned the games and, in fact, surpassed the teacher. Credit: Image courtesy of Washington State University

Knowledge Transfer Between Computers: Computers Teach Each Other Pac-Man -- Science Daily

Researchers in Washington State University's School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science have developed a method to allow a computer to give advice and teach skills to another computer in a way that mimics how a real teacher and student might interact.

The paper by Matthew E. Taylor, WSU's Allred Distinguished Professor in Artificial Intelligence, was published online in the journal Connection Science.

Read more ....

My Comment: Pac-Man today .... who knows what tomorrow.

A 200+ Mile Backpacking Experience Through Yosemite National Park (Video)

My Comment: Beautiful.

Android Has 97 Percent Of Global Mobile Malware

Such mobile market. Very malware. Wow! [Image Source: F-Secure via Forbes]

Android Has 97 Percent Of Mobile Malware, But Nearly None In The U.S. -- Daily Tech

But almost all of that comes from third party apps stores in Asia and the Middle East

Google Inc. (GOOG) has fought the mobile war against Nokia Oyj. (HEX:NOK1V), Apple, Inc. (AAPL), and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) (among others) and it has won -- at least in terms of OS market share.

I. Almost No Android Malware in the U.S.; a Whole Lot in China

Roughly four out of every five devices sold around the globe today run a version of Android. And Android is now the world's largest tablet platform as well, in terms of unit share.

But Android also has a massive malware headache. A new report from Finnish security firm F-Secure claims 97 percent of the fast-growing field of mobile malware is Android exclusive. But here comes the twist -- virtually all of that malware comes from smaller Asian and Middle Eastern third-party app stores. - See more at: http://www.dailytech.com

Read more ....

My Comment: China and Chinese malware is the problem.

A Letter From A Roman Soldier 1,800 Years Ago

The newly translated letter is from an Egyptian soldier named Aurelius Polion while he served as a volunteer Roman legion in Europe.

Arguing With Mum And Missing Home: The 1800 Year Old Letter That Reveals What Life As A Roman Soldier Was Really Like -- Daily Mail

* From an Egyptian soldier named Aurelius Polion while he served as a volunteer Roman legion in Europe
* Reveals a row with his mother, and plans to return to his family

A letter home from a Roman soldier 1,800 years ago has revealed that even for a volunteer on the front, family rows are still an issue.

The newly deciphered letter is from an Egyptian soldier named Aurelius Polion while he served as a volunteer in a Roman legion in Europe.

It reveals a row with his mother, and plans to return to his family.

Read more ....

My Comment: It seems that aside from advancements in science and technology .... nothing much else has changed over the years.

Médecins sans Frontières: Guinea Faces An Ebola Epidemic On An Unprecedented Scale

Image: The outbreak of Ebola had centred around Guinea's remote south-eastern region of Nzerekore but it took the authorities six weeks to identify the disease. BBC

Guinea Faces Ebola Epidemic On Unprecedented Scale, Doctors Warn -- The Guardian

Médecins sans Frontières says lethal virus has broken out in areas hundreds of miles apart, while death toll passes 80

Guinea faces an Ebola epidemic on an unprecedented scale as it battles to contain confirmed cases now scattered across several locations that are far apart, the medical charity Médecins sans Frontières said.

The warning from an organisation used to tackling Ebola in central Africa came after Guinea's president appealed for calm as the number of deaths linked to an outbreak on the border with Liberia and Sierra Leone passed 80.

The outbreak of one of the world's most lethal infectious diseases has alarmed a number of governments with weak health systems, prompting Senegal to close its border with Guinea and other neighbours to restrict travel and cross-border exchanges.

Read more ....

More News On The Spread of The Ebola Virus In West Africa

Ebola Spreads from Guinea to Liberia -- Time
Scale of Guinea's Ebola epidemic unprecedented: aid agency -- Reuters
Scale of Guinea's Ebola epidemic unprecedented, aid agency says -- FOX News
Deadly Ebola Virus Sparks Fears in West Africa -- Voice of America
Ebola Virus Hits Second Country in West Africa -- The Wire
Ebola Outbreak in Guinea Spreads to Liberia, Sierra Leone -- ABC News
Ebola outbreak in Guinea 'unprecedented' - MSF -- BBC
Liberia confirms Ebola's arrival from Guinea -- Al Jazeera
Outbreak of deadly flesh-eating Ebola virus has now spread to three countries and already killed 78 -- Daily Mail
Ebola death toll hits 82 as doctors warn West Africa outbreak is 'unprecedented' -- The Telegraph
Guinea reports Ebola death toll rises to 78 -- AP
Guinea: Ebola death toll reaches 70 -- CNN
Ebola outbreak spreads to Liberia after killing 70 in Guinea -- The Verge

The U.N. Issues Another Gobal Warming Report

Threat From Global Warming Heightened In Latest U.N. Report -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Global warming poses a growing threat to the health, economic prospects, and food and water sources of billions of people, top scientists said in a report that urges swift action to counter the effects of carbon emissions.

The latest report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says the effects of warming are being felt everywhere, fuelling potential food shortages, natural disasters and raising the risk of wars.

"The world, in many cases, is ill-prepared for risks from a changing climate," the IPCC said on Monday, after the final text of the report was agreed.

Read more ....

More News On The U.N. Issuing Another Gobal Warming - Weather Report

Climate impacts 'overwhelming' - UN -- BBC
Climate impacts report: Key findings -- BBC
Costs of climate change steep but tough to tally -- Washington Post/AP
Climate change could cost more than $100 billion a year -- CNN
UN warns of climate change risks -- Al Jazeera
Massive U.N. Report Says Climate Risks Go Beyond Red Alert -- NBC
UN climate report warns permanent change has already begun -- Sydney Morning Herald
The U.N.'s Latest Disaster Forecast -- Wall Street Journal
UN Report Warns Of Severe, Irreversible Impact Of Global Warming -- RTT
IPCC report: 'No one will be untouched by climate change' -- The Telegraph
Wake up to the reality of climate change -- Bill Richardson, CNN
Little time left to turn down the world's heat, U.N. says -- Matt Smith and Brandon Miller, CNN
Viewpoints: Reactions to UN climate impacts report -- BBC

My Comment: I live in Canada but this was my reality this winter .... It was March misery in frigid northern, eastern USA -- USA Today

China Considering Plans To Cover The Globe With Surveillance Satellites

China mulls global satellite surveillance after flight 370 riddle

China Mulls Global Satellite Surveillance After Flight 370 Riddle -- South China Morning Post

Beijing mulls launching network of dozens of satellites, giving it the ability to monitor the whole world, in wake of lost flight 370

China is considering massively increasing its network of surveillance and observation satellites so it can monitor the entire planet, scientists working on the project said.

The government is mulling building more than 50 orbiting probes, which Chinese researchers said would make the nation's satellite surveillance network on par with, or even larger than, that of the United States.

Frustration with the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft over the past three weeks had led the project to win strong backing from decision makers in Beijing, the researchers said.

"If we had a global monitoring network today, we wouldn't be searching in the dark. We would have a much greater chance to find the plane and trace it to its final position," said Professor Chi Tianhe, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth.

"The plan is being drafted to expand our regional monitoring capability to global coverage."

Read more ....

More News On Reports That China Is Developing Plans To Cover The Globe With Surveillance Satellites

‘Frustrated’ China mulls building 50 satellites following failure to find MH370, says daily -- Malaysian Insider
In wake of MH370 saga, China plans 50 satellites for global surveillance -- Malaysia Chronicle
China’s plan for global network of surveillance satellites spurred by fruitless search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 -- Daily Telegraph
China considers launching 50 satellites to set up global monitoring network -- Today Online
China mulls global satellite surveillance after flight 370 -- Indian Defense

A New XPrize In The Field Of Artificial Intelligence Announced

TED XPrize

Can A Robot Give A TED Talk? TED Hopes So -- Popular Science

A new XPrize for artificial intelligence takes center stage

Today, Peter Diamandis and Chris Anderson, the heads of the XPrize Foundation and the TED series of conferences respectively, announced a new XPrize, in the field of artificial intelligence. The winner will be the first to develop an AI system capable of independently delivering "a compelling TED talk with no human involvement."

Previously announced XPrizes have involved challenges such as cleaning up oil spills or landing a lunar rover.

Read more ....

My Comment: This could be a fascinating talk.