Where Science And The Search For Understanding Can Produce Mankind's Worst Nightmare

This transmission electron micrograph taken at a magnification of 150,000x, reveals the ultrastructural details of an avian influenza A (H5N1) virion, pictured by the United States government's Centre for Disease Control.

Studies Of Deadly H5N1 Bird Flu Mutations Test Scientific Ethics -- L.A. Times

Dutch scientists have created a version of the deadly H5N1 bird flu that's easily transmitted. In an unprecedented move, a U.S. board asks that some details of the research not be published.

In a top-security lab in the Netherlands, scientists guard specimens of a super-killer influenza that slays half of those it infects and spreads easily from victim to victim.

It is a beast long feared by influenza experts, but it didn't come from nature. The scientists made it themselves.

Their noxious creation could help prevent catastrophe in the battle against the deadly H5N1 bird flu that has ravaged duck and chicken flocks across Asia and elsewhere since the mid-1990s but has mostly left our species alone — for one crucial reason. Though H5N1 kills with brutality when it takes hold in a human, it infects extremely rarely and doesn't go on to easily spread between people.

Public health officials have long fretted that the virus may one day find a way to do so.

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Previous Post: A Bioterror Weapon That Can Easily Kill Billions

My Comment: From what I have been reading, this genetically engineered virus is incredibly lethal (60%). And while the desire is to now limit it`s findings, the sad fact is that we are now faced with a situation in which "Pandora`s Box" has been opened, and there are now too many people who are aware of its findings.

Should We Scour The Moon For Ancient Traces Of Aliens

A pit in Mare Ingenii, possibly the result of a collapsed lava tube. Natural tunnels like this would be ideal sites for an alien moon base. Photograph: Nasa

We Should Scour The Moon For Ancient Traces Of Aliens, Say Scientists -- The Guardian

Online volunteers could be set task of spotting alien technology, evidence of mining and rubbish heaps in moon images.

Hundreds of thousands of pictures of the moon will be examined for telltale signs that aliens once visited our cosmic neighbourhood if plans put forward by scientists go ahead.

Passing extraterrestrials might have left messages, scientific instruments, heaps of rubbish or evidence of mining on the dusty lunar surface that could be spotted by human telescopes and orbiting spacecraft.

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My Comment: The moon is one hell of a big place.

Every Bioterrorism Expert's Worse Nightmare: Recent Man-Made Super-Flu Could Kill Half Humanity

This transmission electron micrograph taken at a magnification of 150,000x, reveals the ultrastructural details of an avian influenza A (H5N1) virion, pictured by the United States government's Centre for Disease Control.

Armageddon Super Virus Recipe: Keep Secret Or Publish? -- Sydney Morning Herald

To publish or not to publish?

That is the question gripping scientists after virologists said they had developed a bird flu virus - with a 60 per cent human mortality rate - that could spread as easily as the common cold.

Some fear the virus, if it fell into the wrong hands, could be modified by bioterrorists into a weapon that kills billions of people.

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More News On The H5N1

'Anthrax isn't scary at all compared to this': Man-made flu virus with potential to wipe out many millions if it ever escaped is created in research lab -- Daily Mail
Man-made super-flu could kill half humanity -- RT
Super Virus Report Might Make or Break Biosecurity -- Top News
New manmade super virus? New bird flu has 60% human lethality -- Digital Journal
Canberra Vaccine Expert Urges Censorship on Bird Flu Strain Mutant Research -- IBTimes
“Bird Flu” Virus Experiment Sparks Controversy and a Biosecurity Review -- Decoded Science
US fears Dutch research could be biological weapon -- Radio Netherlands
Deadly man-made strain of H5N1 bird flu virus raises controversy -- Digital Journal
Should a New Recipe for Engineered Bird Flu, Potent Enough to Kill Millions, Be Published? -- Popular Science
Scientists Brace for Media Storm Around Controversial Flu Studies -- Science Insider
Deadly Man-Made Flu Won’t Kill Everyone Unless It Escapes From the Lab -- Gawker

The Beauty Of Pollination (Video)

Can You Crack It? Britain's Spy Agency Looking To Hire Top Cyber Hackers

Can You Solve This Code? Then This U.K. Spy Agency Might Want To Hire You -- National Post/AFP

LONDON — No longer content with simply approaching the brightest from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Britain’s intelligence agency GCHQ has launched a code-cracking competition to attract new talent.

The electronic surveillance organisation, the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters, is asking potential applicants to solve a code posted on a website.

It will direct potential candidates to the competition, hosted on an anonymous website, via sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

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More News On Britain's GCHQ Wanting To Hire Code Breakers

iSpy: Government intelligence agency launches online code-cracking puzzle to recruit future stars of cyber-savvy espionage -- Daily Mail
GCHQ: solve the online code, become a real-life spy -- The Telegraph
GCHQ challenges codebreakers via social networks -- BBC
GCHQ aims to recruit computer hackers with code-cracking website -- The Guardian
Crack GCHQ's code and become the next James Bond -- The Register
GCHQ challenges codebreakers in online competition -- Digital Spy
GCHQ sets codebreaking challenge for wannabe spies -- Computer World
Crack an online code, get a job as a spy -- The Inquirer
GCHQ Launches Code-Breaking Competition Through Social Networking Sites -- Jobs and Hire
Crack This Code, and Become a British Spy -- The Danger Room
Intelligence agency recruits spies with online code -- New Scientist

CSN Editor: The GCHQ spy recruitment code problem has been solved (in a few hours after being posted online).

Oldest Evidence Of Violence Between Humans Unearthed In China

Maba "man" took a wallop from something, but lived to fight another day. BBC

Ancient Skull Found In China May Be Oldest Evidence Of Violence Between Humans -- The Telegraph

An ancient skull discovered in China may be the oldest evidence of violence between humans, according to researchers.

A fracture on the right temple of the skull is likely to have been caused by a blow to the side of the head some 150,000 to 200,000 years ago.

“There are older cases of bumps and bruises and cases of trauma,” said Erik Trinkaus from Washington University in St Louis, US, to the BBC.”

But this is the first one I am aware of where the most likely interpretation is getting whooped by someone else – to put it bluntly.”

The skull was unearthed in a cave near Maba in 1958 but its significance only came to light recently.

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More Evidence Of Archaeologists Uncovering Evidence Of Early Human Violence

'Earliest' evidence of human violence -- BBC
Evidence uncovered of world's oldest violent argument -- CBS
The Roots of Violence -- The Scientist
Archaeologists Uncover Evidence Of Early Human Violence -- And Caring -- Forbes
Bashed Skull Is Earliest Evidence of Human Aggression? -- National Geographic

Amazing Video: 'Jet Man' Stunts Alongside Fighter Jets Over Alps

WNU Editor: OK .... I am impressed.

U.S. Ranks 28th In Life Expectancy

Life Expectancy 2011 Estimates CIA World Factbook

What's Killing America? U.S. Ranks 28th In Life Expectancy (Lower Than Chile And Greece) While It Pays The MOST For Health Care -- Daily Mail

A new survey on health care is revealing that you may not be getting what you pay for if you check into a U.S. hospital.

The U.S. healthcare system is more effective at delivering high costs than quality care than other developed nations, according to the study, conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD.

It found first-rate treatment for cancer but insufficient primary care for other ailments.

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The Construction of NASA's Next Mars Rover

This artist's concept depicts the rover Curiosity, of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, as it uses its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument to investigate the composition of a rock surface. ChemCam fires laser pulses at a target and views the resulting spark with a telescope and spectrometers to identify chemical elements. The laser is actually in an invisible infrared wavelength, but is shown here as visible red light for purposes of illustration. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Inside Look: The Construction of NASA's Next Mars Rover -- FOX News

In May 2011, SPACE.com reporter Mike Wall visited NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., as scientists and engineers were wrapping up work on Curiosity, NASA's next Mars rover. This is his account.

It could be a scene from a James Bond film — a glimpse into the archvillain's lair.

Anonymous white-clad workers, their faces obscured by surgical masks, cross a cavernous, high-ceilinged room. They pause to adjust or inspect large pieces of mysterious equipment, some of which is spangled with bright gold foil. It's obvious that they're building something complicated and important.

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Power Source Unveiled For Cyborg Search-And-Rescue Insects

Image: The research team proposed putting two spiral energy harvesters on either side of a beetle's thorax.

Cyborg Search-And-Rescue Insects' Power Source Unveiled -- BBC

Efforts to create an army of cyborg insects are being pursued by a team of US-based engineers.

The group is investigating ways to harvest energy from the creatures to power sensors and other equipment fastened to their bodies.

The team has created an energy scavenging device that is attached close to the insects' wings.

It suggested the creatures might one day be used to aid search-and-rescue operations and surveillance.

The University of Michigan team of engineers published their study in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering.

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Emails Question The Impact Of Climate Change

Uh Oh, Global Warming Loons: Here Comes Climategate II! -- The Telegraph

Breaking news: two years after the Climategate, a further batch of emails has been leaked onto the internet by a person – or persons – unknown. And as before, they show the "scientists" at the heart of the Man-Made Global Warming industry in a most unflattering light. Michael Mann, Phil Jones, Ben Santer, Tom Wigley, Kevin Trenberth, Keith Briffa – all your favourite Climategate characters are here, once again caught red-handed in a series of emails exaggerating the extent of Anthropogenic Global Warming, while privately admitting to one another that the evidence is nowhere near as a strong as they'd like it to be.

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Update: 'New release' of climate emails -- BBC

My Comment: The BBC reporter in his post is clearly not amused with this additional release of emails .... not a surprise considering the embarrassing nature of its content and the BBC's agenda of promoting the science behind climate change.

U.S. Singles Out China And Russia For Conducting Cyberespionage

A cybersecurity analyst works in a watch and warning center at a Department of Homeland Security cybersecurity defense lab at the Idaho National Laboratory, in September, in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Jim Urquhart/Reuters

US Names Names – China And Russia – In Detailing Cyberespionage -- Christian Science Monitor

China, in particular, was fingered for massive ongoing cyberespionage against US companies in an alleged effort to gather the technological insights needed to make its economy more competitive.

Using blunt language, a new report by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive singles out China and Russia for cyber economic espionage, saying they are fast-growing threats to US economic and national security. In the past, the US government had largely refrained from naming specific countries as sources of cyberespionage.

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More News On Who Is Conducting Cyberespionage

U.S. cyber espionage report names China and Russia as main culprits -- Washington Post
China, Russia Top List Of U.S. Economic Cyberspies -- NPR
U.S. blames China, Russia for cyber espionage -- Reuters
US: Russia, China stealing online from US companies -- BBC
US Report Cites Growing Economic Cyber Espionage -- Voice of America
U.S. Calls Out China and Russia for Cyber Espionage Costing Billions -- FOX News
US report accuses China, Russia of cyber-espionage to help build their own economies -- Chicago Tribune/AP
Report: China, Russia Top Culprits in Cyber Espionage -- National Journal
Report Says China, Russia ‘Aggressive’ Cybercrime Sponsors -- Epoch Times
China's cyberwar capabilities 'fairly limited,' says expert -- MSNBC
US points finger at China, Russia over cyber spying -- AFP
U.S. Intelligence Report Calls China World's Biggest Cyber Thief -- SFGate/Bloomberg
US Official Singles Out China, Russia on Cyber-Spying -- ABC News
China, Russia called out as cyberspy hotbeds -- The Register
Cyber-espionage attempts on US businesses are on rise -- Ars Technica
Russia and China accused of cyber espionage -- TG Daily
US Report Warns of Russia, China Cyber Spying -- PC World
Russia, China 'aggressive' cyberspies, U.S. report frets -- CNET

CSN Editor: The full report from the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive to Congress titled "Foreign Spies Stealing U.S. Economic Secrets in Cyberspace" can be read here.

A Chinese Cyber Attack Against Japan?

Japan's parliament building in Tokyo Photo: REUTERS

Japan Parliament Hit By China-Based Cyber Attack -- The Telegraph

Computers in Japan's lower house of parliament were hit by cyber-attacks from a server based in China that left information exposed for at least a month, according to reports.

Passwords and other information could have been compromised in the attacks, which began in July but were not reported to security authorities until the end of August, the Asahi Shimbun said, without citing sources.

Osamu Fujimara, Japan's government top spokesman, chief cabinet secretary and a lower house member, said he was not previously aware of the reported attack but that the government was investigating the issue.

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More News On China's Cyber Attack Against Japan

Japanese government ambushed by Chinese Trojan horse attack -- Upbergizmo
Japan Lower House Servers, Lawmakers' PCs Hit By Cyber Attack -Report -- Wall Street Journal
Japanese government hit by Chinese Trojan horse attack -- The Next Web
Hackers May Have Stolen Sensitive Defense Info from Japan's Largest Weapons Supplier -- Daily Tech
Japan contractor hacking likely got military data: Asahi -- Reuters
Japanese Defence Ministry raises concerns about cyber breach at Mitsubishi Heavy -- Computer Weekly
Japanese military contractor hacked -- Passport/Foreign Policy

The Trends And Impact Of Population Growth

(Click on Image to Enlarge)
Sources: World Bank; U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, U.N. Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2010. Graphic: Dan Keating and Bill Webster/The Washington Post. Published on October 23, 2011, 8:55 p.m.

Population Growth Taxing Planet’s Resources -- Washington Post

Humans have mined resources from the remote and rocky coast of Peru and Chile for more than a century and a half, gathering the guano deposits of seabirds for fertilizer and gunpowder. Those seabirds flourished on anchoveta in the coastal waters, while Peruvians in the highlands ate the same fish as dried snacks.

Now fishing vessels haul 7.5 million tons of the small silvery fish out of the water every year. Almost all the catch is reduced to fish oil and fish meal, which is fed to pigs, poultry and salmon being raised thousands of miles away to satisfy demand in the industrialized and rapidly-growing developing world.

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More News On Mankind Reaching The 7 Billion Population Mark

How Do You Get to 7 Billion People? -- Wall Street Journal
World population will more than double to 15billion by 2100, says UN -- Daily Mail
Crowded earth: Bursting at the seams -- News24
Halloween fright: 7 billion humans -- Mother Nature Network
The global population will reach 7 billion this month; here are 7 things you didn’t know -- Smart Planet
Spiralling population puts the planet at risk -- NZHerald
Why current population growth is costing us the Earth -- Roger Martin, The Guardian
Seven Billion -- Joel E. Cohen, New York Times

US Soldiers Will Soon Be Able To See Through Concrete Walls

MIT Tech Helps U.S. Soldiers See Through Concrete Walls -- FOX News

Invisible tanks, Iron-Man suits, and now x-ray vision?

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing an experimental radar system that will allow U.S. troops in combat to see through walls.

In recent tests held at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, the radar successfully showed humans moving behind solid concrete.

The researchers’ device is an unassuming array of antenna in two rows — eight receiving elements on top, 13 transmitting ones below — and some computing equipment, all mounted onto a movable cart. But project leader Gregory Charvat and his team believe the technology could have powerful implications for “urban combat situations.”

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More News On How MIT Tech Will help The Military To See Through Walls

MIT tests wall-piercing radar for US soldiers -- MSNBC
MIT researchers devise see-through-wall technology -- CNN
MIT Radar System Can "See" Through Walls -- Daily Tech
MIT radar gives real-time video through concrete walls -- TG Daily
MIT's New Radar Technology Lets You See Through Walls (VIDEO) -- Huffington Post
MIT's X-Ray Vision System Can See Straight Through Concrete Walls -- Popular Science
New radar sees through walls, takes video -- UPI

World Population To Reach 7 Billion This Week

Room For One More? World Population To Reach 7 BILLION In Next Few Days -- Daily Mail

* Children most likely to be born in Asia-Pacific region
* Fears over pressure on food supply and medical care

The world's population looks set to smash through the seven billion barrier in the next few days, according to the United Nations.

It comes just 12 years since the total reached six billion - with official estimates saying the figure will top eight billion in 2025 and 10 billion before the end of the century.

And it is most likely the baby will be born in the Asia-Pacific region - where the population growth rate is higher than anywhere else in the world.

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My Comment: Will more people mean more unrest and more wars .... hmmm ....we are going to find out in the next decade or two.

Jaguar To Be The World's Fastest Supercomputer Again

ORNL's Petascale Jaguar Supercomputer The petascale Jaguar is the world's fastest computer, but DARPA wants to take computing to the next level.

Jaguar Is Getting A GPU Upgrade, To Make It The World's Fastest Supercomputer Again -- Popular Science

The new souped-up supercomputer will be renamed Titan.

Back in June when the latest edition of TOP500 dropped (TOP500 lists the world’s top supercomputers), Japan’s K Computer leapt ahead of China’s Tianhe-1A supercomputer to become the biggest, baddest computing platform on the planet. But after more than a year of slipping down the ranks as its competitors across the Pacific surged ahead, Oak Ridge National Labs Jaguar supercomputer is poised to become the fastest computer in the world once more.

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Apple's iPad 3 Moving into Production Early?

Rumor: Apple's iPad 3 Moving into Production Early -- Techland

Move over iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 rumors, here comes the iPad 3! What, you thought the grapevine was closed with Apple's iPhone 4S hitting shelves today? Not when it sounds like Apple's newest slate is right around the corner...if we buy Susquehanna Financial analyst Jeff Fidacaro's claims, anyway.

Fidacaro believes, based on supply chain probing, that Apple's ramping up fourth quarter iPad production activity because it plans to produce—ahead of schedule— as many as one million iPads 3s yet this year.

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My Comment: I so wish it was on the market right now. Sighhh ... but I have to wait.

Finding Out Who Wrote the Bible

Write stuff: The computer program searches for how common words are used throughout the scriptures

Computer Program To Reveal Who Wrote The Bible -- Daily Mail

* Can determine when passage has been written by more than one person and when new author takes over
* Scientists and scholars have written algorithm that analyses writing styles

Precisely who wrote the Bible has been debated for centuries – but now scientists have devised a computer program that sheds much more light on the sources of the various religious texts within it.

Israeli computer scientists and Bible scholars have written an algorithm that analyses the writing styles found within various sections.

While it can’t pinpoint an individual author, the program has been able to determine when a passage has been written by more than one person and can detect the point at which a new author has taken over.

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Stealth Weapons From Around The World

Photo: Department of Defense/Flickr

Now You See ‘Em, Now You Don’t: Stealth Weapons From Around The World -- The Danger Room

Not long ago, the U.S. was the only country in the world with aircraft that could stroll the skies without fear of being caught. Not any more. Today, militaries from around the world — including Russia and China — are developing their own stealth arsenals. The American monopoly on near-invisible flight is being eroded.

Stealth technology makes vehicles sneakier by limiting the signatures that give them away to enemy radar, sensors and ears. To reduce a plane's radar cross section, designers have two basic options: shape an aircraft to cast incoming radar away from its originating source and coat it to absorb radar waves.

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