Invasion Of The Super-Yachts For The London Olympics

Octopus, the £130m super-yacht of Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, enters South Dock in the Canary Wharf the weekend before the games begin.

Invasion Of The Super-Yachts: They've Got Swimming Pools, Helipads And Even A Mini-Submarine. How The World's Mega-Rich Are Turning London Into A Floating Olympic Playground -- Daily Mail

This could be Monaco, or an exclusive resort on the Med as the world’s most lavish superyachts jostle for space. Their perfectly scrubbed decks bristle with security guards, while hot tubs bubble and helipads wink at the sky.

This is the playground of billionaires, oligarchs and A-list celebs. There are rumours that Roman Abramovich’s sumptuous $1billion boat will arrive tomorrow.

At 557ft, the Russian tycoon’s Eclipse is the largest private yacht in the world. It has two swimming pools, two helipads, a dedicated disco hall, 30 cabins, a cinema, a mini-submarine, and even its own missile defence system. Abramovich’s master suite is armour-plated and protected by bullet-proof windows and a laser system designed to dazzle long-lens photographers.

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My Comment: I know that this is not a science story .... but I love beautiful yachts. Here is an easy prediction .... the best Olympic parties will be on these yachts.

The Ultimate Space Station Video?

The world below: Time-lapse photographer Knate Myers painstakingly stuck together thousands of still images from the Space Station to create perhaps the most beautiful video ever captured from the orbiting craft

Is This The Ultimate Space Station Video? Fan Compiles Thousands Of Time-Lapse Shots Into Haunting Tour Over Our World, 240 Miles Up -- Daily Mail

Time-lapse photographer Knate Myers painstakingly stuck together thousands of still images from the Space Station to create perhaps the most beautiful video ever captured from the orbiting craft.

The images capture the world hurtling past beneath and the stars forming kaleidoscopes as the Space Station tumbles past.

'All credit goes to the crews on board the ISS,' says Myers, a photographer from Albuquerque.

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My Comment: Beautiful.

First American Woman In Space, Sally Ride Dies At 61

Astronaut Sally Ride monitors control panels from the pilot's chair on the flight deck of the space shuttle Challenger during her historic space mission in 1983. Floating in front of her is a flight procedures notebook. Ride died on Monday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Nasa/Reuters

First American Woman In Space, Sally Ride, Dies At 61 -- MSNBC

Former astronaut loses 17-month battle against cancer; hailed as role model.

The first American woman to go into space, Sally Ride, died Monday after a 17-month battle against pancreatic cancer, her company said.

Ride made history in 1983 as a crew member on the space shuttle Challenger, breaking the gender barrier for U.S. spaceflight. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963, but it took another 20 years for NASA to follow suit.

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More News On The Death Of Sally Ride

Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, dies at 61 after battling cancer -- Daily Mail
Sally Ride, first American woman to fly in space, dies of cancer at age 61 -- Washington Post
Sally Ride, first American woman in space, dies -- CNet
Sally Ride, Trailblazing Astronaut, Dies at 61 -- New York Times
Astronaut Sally Ride 'broke barriers with grace and professionalism,' says NASA -- Christian Science Monitor
Sally Ride Dead; First American Woman in Space Was 61 -- ABC News
Sally Ride, the first US woman in space, dies aged 61 -- BBC

The Heroic Story Of Four Navy SEAL 'Musclemen' Who Brought Apollo 11 Astronauts Home

Tall order: Navy SEAL John Wolfram, center, was supposed to lasso a high-tech bucking bronco and attach an underwater parachute - called a sea anchor - to stop the drifting capsule

The Extraordinary Untold Story Of Four Navy SEAL 'Musclemen' Who Brought Apollo 11 Astronauts Home -- Daily Mail

When thinking back to the Apollo 11 mission, the things that immediately come to mind are Neil Armstrong’s inspiring first words broadcast from the moon and the lasting image of the crew planting a U.S. flag on the dusty lunar surface.

However, very few people nowadays remember a four-person team of courageous Navy SEALs who had made the astronauts’ safe return possible 43 years ago.

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My Comment: They must have been in fantastic shape to do what they did.

Who Really Invented The Internet?

Xerox PARC headquarters.

Who Really Invented The Internet? -- Gordon Crovitz, Wall Street Journal

Contrary to legend, it wasn't the federal government, and the Internet had nothing to do with maintaining communications during a war.

A telling moment in the presidential race came recently when Barack Obama said: "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." He justified elevating bureaucrats over entrepreneurs by referring to bridges and roads, adding: "The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all companies could make money off the Internet."

It's an urban legend that the government launched the Internet. The myth is that the Pentagon created the Internet to keep its communications lines up even in a nuclear strike. The truth is a more interesting story about how innovation happens—and about how hard it is to build successful technology companies even once the government gets out of the way.

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My Comment: I recall reading in the 1980s an autobiography on Steve Jobs where he was boasting that many of his ideas (the use of the mouse, the mac, ethernet, etc.) .... all came came from Xerox Parc. As for Darpa's contribution to the internet .... they did a lot and have been credited for it .... but it is Xerox Parc that did the heavy lifting.

Drug-Resistant HIV Increasing In Sub-Saharan Africa

Monitoring of patients helps in detecting drug resistance

Drug-Resistant HIV 'On Increase' In Sub-Saharan Africa -- BBC

Drug-resistant HIV has been increasing in parts of sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade, according to experts writing in the Lancet.

Studies on 26,000 untreated HIV-positive people in developing countries were reviewed by the team.

They said resistance could build up if people fail to stick to drug regimes, and because monitoring could be poor.

A UK HIV organisation said resistance was a serious problem in Africa where alternative treatments were lacking.

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My Comment: People failing to stick to drug regimes is probably the number one cause.

Watch The Entire Firefly 10 Year Reunion Panel

My Comment: 10 years already .... wow.

Clever Shark

Watch A Clever Shark Suck Heaps Of Fish Right Out Of A Fisherman’s Net -- io9

Why go to all the trouble of chasing down schools of tasty fish when fishermen have conveniently gathered them up inside one location? This bold shark decides to help itself to a a stolen snack, sucked right out of a fisherman's net.

Mark Erdmann of Conservation International discovered that whale sharks in Indonesia's Cendrawasih Bay have taken to swimming about the fishermen's lift nets and have figured out how to suck the silverside baitfish right out of the holes. The fishermen don't typically kill the sharks, deeming them to be good luck, but they are looking to design new nets that the sharks can't use as an all-you-can-eat buffet. [via Neatorama]

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A Future Military Plane?

Batman’s Got A Brand New Plane -- Popular Mechanics

Batman’s fleet of incredible vehicles gets a new addition in The Dark Knight Rises: A plane called the Bat. Production designer Nathan Crowley and special effects coordinator Chris Corbould talk about using real-life military vehicles as inspiration and how they made the Bat fly.

Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies begin in the director’s garage. "We always get into a film by designing the vehicle," production designer Nathan Crowley says. For The Dark Knight Rises, out July 20, Nolan wanted Batman to add an aircraft to his fleet. "I like jump jets and Chris likes the Osprey," Crowley says. "So we said, okay, let’s try and mix the two and make the craft look like the Batmobile."

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My Comment: A future military plane .... no .... just in our dreams.

Could Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Cause UV Damage To Your Skin?

CFL Bulb. Wikimedia Commons

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Could Cause Ultraviolet Damage to Skin -- Popular Science

We know CFL bulbs are world-changingly efficient, producing the same level of light as their incandescent parents while using a quarter of the energy. But they're still a relatively new device, and few long-term studies have been carried out on them. One of the most recent, a new report from a team at Stony Brook, suggests CFLs might cause damage to skin by releasing UV rays.

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My Comment: Personally .... I hate CFBs. My eyes do not like the light. As to what long-term studies may reveal .... do not be surprised if more abnormalities are discovered.

Amazing New Pictures Show Nasa's Enterprise Space Shuttle In Its New Home

Space Shuttle Enterprise is the centrepiece of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's new Space Shuttle Pavilion

The End Of A Very Long Journey: Amazing New Pictures Show Nasa's Enterprise Space Shuttle In Its New Home As It Finally Goes On Public Display In New York -- Daily Mail

It has flown over Manhattan on a jumbo jet, floated down the Hudson river on a barge and even had a close up view of the Statue of Liberty.

From today, the space shuttle Enterprise, a prototype created in 1976, is finally becoming a New York attraction itself.

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum has installed the space shuttle on the runway of the aircraft carrier "Intrepid," a museum facility docked at a pier on Manhattan's West Side.

From today, the public will finally be able to see Nasa's prototype shuttle up close for the first time inside a specially constructed inflatable dome.

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My Comment: I rather se these shuttles flying .... but such is the state of NASA today .... in short ... in a museum.

A Look At One Of The World's Top Cyber Sleuths

Eugene Kaspersky

Russia’s Top Cyber Sleuth Foils US Spies, Helps Kremlin Pals -- Danger Room

It’s early February in Cancun, Mexico. A group of 60 or so financial analysts, reporters, diplomats, and cybersecurity specialists shake off the previous night’s tequila and file into a ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. At the front of the room, a giant screen shows a globe targeted by crosshairs. Cancun is in the center of the bull’s-eye.

A ruddy-faced, unshaven man bounds onstage. Wearing a wrinkled white polo shirt with a pair of red sunglasses perched on his head, he looks more like a beach bum who’s lost his way than a business executive. In fact, he’s one of Russia’s richest men—the CEO of what is arguably the most important Internet security company in the world. His name is Eugene Kaspersky, and he paid for almost everyone in the audience to come here. “Buenos dias,” he says in a throaty Russian accent, as he apologizes for missing the previous night’s boozy activities. Over the past 72 hours, Kaspersky explains, he flew from Mexico to Germany and back to take part in another conference. “Kissinger, McCain, presidents, government ministers” were all there, he says. “I have panel. Left of me, minister of defense of Italy. Right of me, former head of CIA. I’m like, ‘Whoa, colleagues.’”

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My Comment: Eugene Kaspersky also has a great blog .... it is here.

Artificial Jellyfish Created In Lab

The silicon jellyfish can mimic swimming movements thanks to muscle cells from rat hearts implanted onto it. Photo: Harvard University and Caltech

Artificial Jellyfish Created In Lab From Rat Cells -- The Telegraph

An artificial jellyfish which is able to swim with the help of beating heart muscle cells has been created by scientists.

The tentacled artificial creature, made from silicon, has been dubbed "Medusoid" because of its resemblance to the snake-haired character from Greek mythology whose gaze turned people to stone.

It is able to mimic the swimming movement of a jellyfish thanks to muscle cells from rat hearts which were implanted onto its silicon frame and grown into a pattern similar to the muscles of a real jellyfish.

By applying an electric current to a container of conducting liquid, the scientists demonstrated they could "shock" the muscles into contracting so that it began to move through the water.

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'Minority Report' Software Coming Soon

An employee demonstrates the use of a data glove to navigate a map on a computer screen at Los Angeles-based software company Oblong Industries' offices in Washington in June 2012. The software behind the film "Minority Report" -- where Tom Cruise speeds through video on a large screen using only hand gestures -- is making its way into the real world.

'Minority Report' Software Hits The Real World -- France24/AFP

he software behind the film "Minority Report" -- where Tom Cruise speeds through video on a large screen using only hand gestures -- is making its way into the real world.

The interface developed by scientist John Underkoffler has been commercialized by the Los Angeles firm Oblong Industries as a way to sift through massive amounts of video and other data.

And yes, the software can be used by law enforcement and intelligence services. But no, it is not the "pre-crime" detection program illustrated in the 2002 Steven Spielberg sci-fi film.

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My Comment: Just thinking of the game applications that are now possible is enough to make me salivate.

Google Wants To Fight Against International Crime Groups

'I'm Feeling Lucky': Google Turns Its Search Powers To Hunting Down The World's Most Wanted -- Daily Mail

* 'Google Ideas' think tank working with international groups
* Google technology to be used to fight crime

Google's engine is the most powerful search tool ever created - and now the Californian giant aims to use its powers for good

Instead of just finding kitten videos, Google aims to use its technologies to crack through the cyber defences of international crime.

Google is working with international crime organisations to find 'back doors' into international gangs of terrorists, drug dealers and human traffickers.

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My Comment: Google is getting ambitious. Not surprising .... Google is also short on specifics on how they are going to do this.

A New Drug To Reduce The Risk Of HIV Infection

The HIV 1 virus shown under a microscope. The US FDA has approved a drug shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection. Photograph: Institut Pasteur/AFP/Getty Images

US FDA Approves First Drug Shown To Reduce Risk Of HIV Infection -- The Guardian

Pill potentially offers powerful weapon in battle against Aids, but support group labels move 'completely reckless'

A daily pill to protect people at risk of HIV from infection has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), potentially offering a new and powerful weapon in the battle against Aids.

The pill, Truvada, will be available in the US to people at extreme risk of HIV because their partners are infected. But at $14,000 (£9,000) a year, it will be expensive – even though far cheaper than a lifetime of treatment after infection – and those without health insurance are unlikely to get it.

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My Comment: This drug is not going to be cheap.

Making Food Better Through Science

Can Science Make Food Taste Better? -- The Telegraph

Is seafood best by the sea? Do pheromones make chocolate even sweeter? And why is the food industry so keen to know the answers?

A few years ago, a trainee chef from Boston, Massachusetts, called Molly Birnbaum went for an early-morning jog. She ran past an apartment block; she can remember the smell of laundry coming out of the air vents. Then she ran across a road. But she never got to the other side; a car smashed into her. When the car’s windscreen made contact with her head, Birnbaum’s brain smacked against the side of her skull, destroying her sense of smell. That laundry would be one of the last things she would smell for years.

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My Comment: I never realized that so much that goes into flavour is smell .... but it does.

A Look At The Decay Of Detroit Through A Modified Quadrocopter With An HD Camera

Magnificent Decay: Detroit by Drone -- Autopia

Urban ruin porn has gotten so ubiquitous it’s morphed into a dedicated genre, and no other city seems to garner the attention of amateur shooters cataloging a metropolis’ decline more than Detroit. But how do you take it to the next level? Cue the drones.

YouTube user Tretch5000 took to the skies to show the beauty and blight of one of the U.S.’ former industrial hubs, flying his modified quadrocopter with an HD camera over abandoned homes and factories, the majestic Michigan Central Station and the lush grounds of Belle Isle nestled within the Detroit river.

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Here Comes The New 'And Armed' Tiny Drones

Armed Quadrotors Are Coming -- Popular Mechanics

For now, tiny drones carrying guns are just the stuff of video games. But U.S. military researchers are building such sinister devices in their labs.

A camouflage quadrotor armed with a machine gun zips around a test range, destroying targets and setting dummies ablaze.

By now, most of the nearly 11 million people who've seen the YouTube video know it's a fake. There's no armed Russian quadrotor drone; the video is a bit of CGI trickery, a viral advertisement for the next Call of Duty game. But real-life weaponized quadrotors may be a lot closer than you think, thanks to a project undertaken by Marine Corps Maj. Derek Snyder at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.

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My Comment: I know that the above video is a fake .... used to market a video game .... but it gives a good idea on what can happen on future battle fields.

A Bio-Retina Implant That Could Give Laser-Powered Sight To The Blind

Instant Eye, Kevin Hand

Bio-Retina Implant Could Give Laser-Powered Sight To The Blind -- Popular Science

A new bionic eye implant could allow blind people to recognize faces, watch TV and even read. Nano Retina’s Bio-Retina is one of two recent attempts to help patients with age-related macular degeneration, which affects 1.5 million people in the U.S. Although a similar implant, Second Sight’s Argus II, has been on the market in Europe since last year, it requires a four-hour operation under full anesthesia because it includes an antenna to receive power and images from an external apparatus. The Bio-Retina implant is smaller because it doesn’t have an antenna. Instead, the implant captures images directly in the eye, and a laser powers the implant remotely. Because of Bio-Retina’s compact size, an ophthalmologist can insert it through a small incision in the eye in 30 minutes—potentially more appropriate for seniors. The Bio-Retina will generate a 576-pixel grayscale image. And clinical trials could begin as soon as next year.

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My Comment: It will be a few years before this becomes available .... and if things worked out as planned.