Q & A: Is There Life After Death?

ERproductions Ltd / Blend Images / Corbis

From Time Magazine:

Is there life after death? Theologians can debate all they want, but radiation oncologist Dr. Jeffrey Long argues that if you look at the scientific evidence, the answer is unequivocally yes. Drawing on a decade's worth of research on near-death experiences — work that includes cataloguing the stories of some 1,600 people who have gone through them — he makes the case for that controversial conclusion in a new book, Evidence of the Afterlife. Medicine, Long says, cannot account for the consistencies in the accounts reported by people all over the world. He talked to TIME about the nature of near-death experience, the intersection between religion and science and the Oprah effect.

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Did Gorillas Teach Humans The Basics Of Fair Play On The Sporting Field?

Good sports: Apes advance the concept of fair play by helping to keep games going and giving younger competitors the advantage

From The Daily Mail:

Gorillas play competitive games just like humans, although they are more likely to also be good sports, say scientists.

Apes advance the concept of fair play by helping to keep games going and giving younger competitors the advantage, psychologists at the University of St Andrews claim.

Their study has helped trace the evolutionary origins of how humans understand each other.

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UN Climate Change Expert: There Could Be More Errors In Report

Photo: Rajenda Pachauri, (Bob Strong/Reuters)

From Times Online:

The Indian head of the UN climate change panel defended his position today even as further errors were identified in the panel's assessment of Himalayan glaciers.

Dr Rajendra Pachauri dismissed calls for him to resign over the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change’s retraction of a prediction that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035.

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Even Small Dietary Reductions In Salt Could Mean Fewer Heart Attacks, Strokes And Deaths

New research suggests reducing salt in the American diet by as little as one-half teaspoon (or three grams) per day could prevent nearly 100,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths each year. (Credit: iStockphoto/Donald Gruener)

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (Jan. 21, 2010) — Reducing salt in the American diet by as little as one-half teaspoon (or three grams) per day could prevent nearly 100,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths each year, according to a new study. Such benefits are on par with the benefits from reductions in smoking and could save the United States about $24 billion in healthcare costs, the researchers add.

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New App Translates Baby's Cries

From Live Science:

Next time your baby cries, you might want to hold the little one up to your iPhone. A new app could translate those yells into adult-speak, telling you whether it's a cry for food or perhaps a nap.

After 10 seconds of crying, the Cry Translator (patented by Biloop Technologic, S.L.) will light up one of five icons to indicate, the company claims, whether your baby is hungry, tired, bored, sleepy, stressed, or in some kind of discomfort.

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Gallery: E-Readers Push Boundaries of Books

From Gadget Lab:

Electronic-book readers are red-hot. After a blockbuster 2009, during which an estimated 5 million devices were sold, a new batch of e-readers are waiting to burst into the spotlight.

The latest generation of devices are easy on the eye, lightweight and packed with some nifty features such as the ability to take notes, make lists and — for some — even watch video. They also offer far better battery life than any netbook or notebook, often come with an unlimited wireless connection for downloading new books, and give you access to libraries of e-books that can top a million titles. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year, there were so many e-readers that they had their own special section carved out on the show floor.

But will the category remain as hot as it is now?

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Creating Mobile Apps With A Point And A Click

Break From Code An app made using the PhoneGap development tool Brian Klutch

From Popular Science:

Creating mobile applications for Android and the iPhone isn’t just for code-writing geeks anymore.

Even with the huge number of mobile apps already available, cellphone screens are always awaiting new ideas from innovative developers. If you have your own idea for the perfect app, whether for a wide audience or just your own use, you’re in luck—you no longer need to be a deft programmer to produce it. There are now a number of app-generating tools on the Web that will enable you to bring your concept to life by clicking instead of coding. You may have even downloaded some of the resulting mobile apps already, like Inside Trader, a strategy game built with a tool called PhoneGap, or the Spinal Tap iPhone app, made at MobileRoadie.com. The best app-building option will depend on your price range, the platform you prefer (iPhone, BlackBerry or Android) and the functions you want. Some will even navigate the processing of submitting the app for you. Here’s a guide to help you choose the right tool.

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Midlife Crisis 'Replaced With Graceful Midlife Transition'

From The Telegraph:

The midlife crisis is being replaced with a graceful "midlife transition" as increased life expectancy and good job prospects take the sting out of ageing, scientists say.

The sudden awareness of mortality that has led many men to exchange their wives and cars for newer models no longer has such a potent effect, it is claimed.

Instead, an increasingly confident and resilient generation are embarking on productive "second lives" as they reach 50, aware that they still have 30 good years ahead of them.

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Earth Calling: A Short History Of Radio Messages To ET

Advertising our existence (Image: Jess Alford/Getty)

From New Scientist:

The human race first deliberately advertised its existence on the outer panels of space probes, some of which were engraved with codes and images containing information about itself. These immediately prompted arguments about how much we should give away about ourselves.

However, if we really want to break the ice with our cosmic neighbours, it will probably be by sending messages that travel at the speed of light, not at the speed of a Pioneer probe.

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EADS Astrium Develops Space Power Concept

From BBC:

Europe's biggest space company is seeking partners to fly a demonstration solar power mission in orbit.

EADS Astrium says the satellite system would collect the Sun's energy and transmit it to Earth via an infrared laser, to provide electricity.

Space solar power has been talked about for more than 30 years. However, there have always been question marks over its cost, efficiency and safety.

But Astrium believes the technology is close to proving its maturity.

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Remarks On Internet Freedom By Hillary Clinton

Remarks on Internet Freedom -- Hillary Clinton, Real Clear World

The Newseum
Washington, DC
January 21, 2010

Thank you very much, Alberto, for not only that kind introduction but your and your colleagues' leadership of this important institution. It's a pleasure to be here at the Newseum. The Newseum is a monument to some of our most precious freedoms, and I'm grateful for this opportunity to discuss how those freedoms apply to the challenges of the 21st century.

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500-Year-Old Nostradamus Prophecies Become First French Book To Be Archived On Google

Preserved: A 16th-century edition of predictions by Nostradamus has become the first French book to be digitally archived by Google

From The Daily Mail:

A sixteenth century edition of predictions by Nostradamus has become the first book from France's vast archive of literature to be digitally preserved by Google.

The collection of prophecies is from a vault containing 500,000 classic French books stored at the Municipal Library of Lyon.

Nostradamus is best known for The Prophecies, the first edition of which appeared in 1555 and has rarely been out of print since his death.

France has a 750million euro (£650million) scheme in place to digitise its libraries and museums.

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Llama Proteins Could Play A Vital Role In The War On Terror

Two llama ignoring the view of Machu Picchu. (Credit: iStockphoto/Marshall Bruce)

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (Jan. 21, 2010) — Scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) have for the first time developed a highly sensitive means of detecting the seven types of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) simultaneously.

The BoNT-detecting substances are antibodies -- proteins made by the body to fight diseases -- found in llamas. BoNT are about 100 billion times more toxic than cyanide, and collectively, they are the only toxins in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 'category A' list of potential bioterror threats alongside anthrax, Ebola virus and other infectious agents.

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U.S. Babies Are Getting Smaller

From Live Science:

Babies born in the United States are getting smaller, according to a new study. The findings suggest that birth weights in this country have declined during the past 15 years, most dramatically among the least likely group of mothers.

The researchers estimate that birth weights for full-term babies have decreased by an average of 1.83 ounces (52 grams) between 1990 and 2005.

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Six Industries Apple's Tablet Could Shake Up

From Popular Mechanics:

Apple's tablet announcement is next week. And like the iPhone before it, the product may well have a power that ripples far beyond its on-sale date. Here are six industries that the Apple tablet could shake up.

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This Spring's Hottest New Accessory: A Bionic Limb?

Aimee Mullins Howard Schatz via aimeemullins.com

From Popular Science:

As if people weren't worrying enough about advanced prostheses making amputees stronger than normal humans, now we have to worry if they are going to make them sexier, too. The prosthetics industry is growing rapidly, and, according to Hugh Herr, the director of MIT Media Lab's Biomechatronics Group, advanced prostheses will soon become envied in the same way the newest electronic gadget or the hottest car is today.

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Daily Pint Of Blueberry Juice 'Could Help Stop Memory Loss', Study Suggests

Those who drank blueberry juice showed a "significant improvement
on learning and memory tests", scientists said.

From The Telegraph:

A daily pint of blueberry juice could help reduce memory loss, according to scientists.

According to the study of pensioners with signs of dementia, the fruit was found to sharpen recall, even when memory had started to fail.

In the first such test on humans, the group of pensioners drank the juice over 12 weeks, which helped improve their memory and recall in a series of tests.

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Why Amazon Won't Launch Its Own Tablet, But Will Use Apple's

From ARS Technica:

The Kindle game is up, and Amazon knows it. In 2010, the world plus dog will be hawking an E-Ink-based e-reader, and major distribution and publishing houses like Barnes & Noble, Google, and Hearst will be offering their digital content on everything with a screen. That's why Amazon gave up some royalty money to e-book publishers on Wednesday, and announced a SDK and app store for the Kindle on Thursday.

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Mammals 'Floated To Madagascar'

From the BBC:

The ancestors of the current mammals found on the island of Madagascar could have been transported on floating vegetation from Africa, a study says.

Researchers modelled ancient ocean currents and found that favourable conditions existed in the same period as when mammals arrived on the island.

The idea of "rafting" first emerged in 1940, but some argued that a "land bridge" allowed animals to walk there.

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China, Google And The Cloud Wars -- A Commentary

Google has threatened to quit China over censorship and cyberattacks. Photo AFP

From Holman Jenkins, Wall Street Journal:

What does Google know about you? What does the Chinese government know about you?

Now you know a less-spoken reason why Google has gone to the mattresses over Chinese hacking. Always in the cards, since the birth of the Web, was the possibility that some great Internet business—a Yahoo or Google or Amazon or Facebook—would be destroyed overnight by a cataclysmic loss of trust in its protection of consumer data.

We haven't seen this phenomenon yet, but it has seemed almost inevitable that sooner or later we will.

Google's response to the discovery that Chinese hackers—likely government hackers—had tried to ransack its servers has been both energetic and obfuscating. "We love China and the Chinese people," said CEO Eric Schmidt. "This is not about them. It's about our unwillingness to participate in censorship."

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