A Look At How McLaren Makes Their 'Supercars'

100 years since Henry Ford, production lines still prove their worth - but now computers and robots help the humans

Supercar That Was A Century In The making: McLaren Opens Doors To State-Of-The-Art Factory For New £170,000 MP4-12C 100 Years On From Henry T's Ford -- The Daily Mail

These stunning photographs give a rare insight into the £40million facility which McLaren hopes will make them the supercar world's market leader.

Supercars line the sides of the factory, as 750 experts work together to produce McLaren's first supercar, the £170,000 MP4-12C.

It is a far cry from the dawn of the car industry, when Henry Ford laboured to perfect his methods in Trafford Park, Manchester, exactly 100 years ago - simultaneously transforming the 20th century by the introducing the age of mass assembly by production lines.

Nowadays the cars may have changed, but look beyond the differences and the similarities emerge.

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My Comment: This is so cool. We all see these cars on the street .... but how they are made is just as impressive.

Can Our DNA Be Turned Into A 'Living Hard Drive' Able To Store And Erase Data?

Photo: The idea of storing information in living cells has been the plot of sci-fi fantasies such as Johnny Mnemonic, starring Keanu Reeves - and today it has become reality

Sci-Fi Becomes Reality As DNA Is Turned Into 'Living Hard Drive' Able To Store And Erase Data -- Daily Mail

* Sections of living DNA glow red or green to store computer data
* Could be used like computers inside the body
* DNA storage can be written, rewritten and erased at will
* 'Took us three years and 750 attempts,' says lead researcher

It sounds like the stuff of science fiction fantasies, but scientists have turned living cells into data storage devices - like 'living hard drives'.

The idea of storing computer information inside living cells - or human brains - has formed the plot of sci fi thrillers such as Johnny Mnemonic (pictured).

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My Comment: I am curious to know what will be the storage limit from such a tech if it's developed to it's full potential.

Early Man Had Music And Art 40,000 Years Ago

Jewelry. Geißenklösterle Cave is one of several caves in the Swabian Jura that have produced important examples of personal ornaments, figurative art, mythical imagery and musical instruments. (Credit: Image courtesy of Universitaet Tübingen)

Oldest Art Even Older: New Dates from Geißenklösterle Cave Show Early Arrival of Modern Humans, Art and Music -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) — New dates from Geißenklösterle Cave in Southwest Germany document the early arrival of modern humans and early appearance of art and music.

Researchers from Oxford and Tübingen have published new radiocarbon dates from the from Geißenklösterle Cave in Swabian Jura of Southwestern Germany in the Journal of Human Evolution. The new dates use improved methods to remove contamination and produced ages between began between 42,000 – 43,000 years ago for start of the Aurignacian, the first culture to produce a wide range of figurative art, music and other key innovations as postulated in the Kulturpumpe Hypothesis. The full spectrum of these innovations were established in the region no later than 40 000 years ago.

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My Comment: It looks like that "culturally" we have not changed much in the past 40,000 years.

Stuxnet Still Remains A Top U.S. Security Risk

Image: COMPUTER THREAT: Stuxnet, the computer worm that attacked a ubiquitous form of controller for infrastructure, could still pose challenges in the U.S. Image: flickr/cyberhades

Stuxnet-Like Viruses Remain a Top U.S. Security Risk -- Scientific American

Government officials and security researchers say critical systems should never be connected to the Internet, but they frequently are.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security revealed a rash of cyber attacks on natural gas pipeline companies. Just as with previous cyber attacks on infrastructure, there was no known physical damage. But security experts worry it may only be a matter of time.

Efforts to protect pipelines and other critical systems have been halting despite broad agreement that they're vulnerable to viruses like Stuxnet — the mysterious worm that caused havoc to Iran's nuclear program two years ago.

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My Comment: Stuxnet has been around for a while .... it is troubling to see that they have yet found a way to contain it.

Google Did Not Infringe On Oracle Patents

Android Doesn't Infringe Oracle's Patents, Says Jury -- CNet

SAN FRANCISCO--A jury today unanimously decided that Google did not infringe on two of Oracle's patents.

In the decision at the U.S. District Court of Northern California, the jury in the trial said Google did not infringe on six claims in U.S. Patent No. RE38,104 as well as two claims in U.S. Patent No. 6,061,520.

The verdict is a win for Google, and marks the end of the trial's second phase, which focused on the claims of patent infringement. Closing arguments in the case were made last week. After the decision, a third phase--centering on damages--was canceled.

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Update: Oracle v. Google: Did the jury really understand it? -- ZDNet

My Comment: They will be popping the champagne at Google tonight.

An Awesome Mars Picture

NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity catches its own late-afternoon shadow in this dramatically lit view eastward across Endeavour Crater on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.

Mars Rover Snaps Intriguing Crater Pic -- BBC

PASADENA, Calif., May 23 (UPI) -- NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has used a low sun angle in the Martian evening to help capture a memorable image of a large crater, the space agency says.

Mars Exploration Rover used its panoramic camera between about 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. local Mars time to record images taken through several different filters, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in a release Tuesday.

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My Comment: Awesome pic .... and I am surprised on how much sunlight is present. Makes you wish you were there.

Yahoo Unveils New Search Software For Apple

Yahoo Launches Axis Browser -- Washington Post

Yahoo has launched a new browser for Apple’s mobile devices called Axis. The browser, which is also available on desktops through plug-ins for the four major browsers, is designed to let you move between your devices and look at the same searches.

Search results show up as thumbnails on users’ home screens, to which you can pin favorites or pages to read later. The home screens also feature what searches you conducted on other devices through Axis, though it takes a couple of minutes to sync. Users will have to sign in to Yahoo accounts to use syncing.

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My Comment: It looks impressive.

An Environmental Apocalypse Soon?

Tojo, Indonesia: A villager walks through a burnt forest after a slash and burn practice to open the land for agriculture. Photograph: Yusuf Ahmad/Reuters

Apocalypse Soon: Has Civilization Passed The Environmental Point Of No Return? -- Scientific American

Although there is an urban legend that the world will end this year based on a misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar, some researchers think a 40-year-old computer program that predicts a collapse of socioeconomic order and massive drop in human population in this century may be on target.

Remember how Wile E. Coyote, in his obsessive pursuit of the Road Runner, would fall off a cliff? The hapless predator ran straight out off the edge, stopped in midair as only an animated character could, looked beneath him in an eye-popping moment of truth, and plummeted straight down into a puff of dust. Splat!

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My Comment: I have always been a skeptic of such predictions .... believing that man and nature will always find ways to overcome such obstacles and limitations. In fact .... we are already experiencing depopulation in many first world nations .... and it has nothing to do with changes in the environment but changes in social behavior and personal decisions.

NSA Is Now Partnering With Select Universities To Train Select Students

NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland

NSA Teams Up With Colleges to Train Students for Secret Cyber-Ops Jobs -- Threat Level

The National Security Agency is partnering with select universities to train students in cyber operations for intelligence, military and law enforcement jobs, work that will remain secret to all but a select group of students and faculty who pass clearance requirements, according to Reuters.

The cyber-operations curriculum is part of the Obama administration’s national initiative to improve cybersecurity through education, and is designed to prepare students for jobs with the U.S. Cyber Command, the NSA’s signals intelligence operations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies that investigate cyber crimes.

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Update: Exclusive: Spy agency seeks cyber-ops curriculum -- Reuters

My Comment: I guess the graduating class will be also be "top secret".

How The Drug Cheats Will Be Caught Durng London 2012

How London 2012 Will Beat The Drug Cheats -- The Telegraph

The very latest technology is being used to make this year’s Olympics the cleanest ever, reports Roger Highfield.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the use of performance-enhancing substances is as old as the Olympic Games themselves. From 776 BC, when they began in Olympia, until 394AD, when the pagan festival was suppressed in the name of Christianity, athletes boosted their performance with hallucinogenic mushrooms, plants and mixtures of wine and herbs.

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My Comment: The drug cheats are still going to try and cheat.

First Tesla Model S Cars To Be Delivered June 22

Tesla Motors said it will begin deliveries of its Model S electric car next month. (Tesla Motors / May 22, 2012)

Tesla To Start Deliveries Of Model S Electric Cars Next Month -- L.A. Times

Tesla Motors Inc. said it will begin delivering its first mass production electric car -– the high-end Model S to customers starting June 22, about a month ahead of the expected schedule.

The Palo Alto-based company says it has more than 10,000 orders for the battery-powered car but that not all will be delivered this year.

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More News On The Tesla Model S

Tesla Model S Coming June 22 -- Autopia
Tesla to Begin Shipping Model S June 22 -- Daily Tech
First Tesla Model S Cars To Be Delivered Next Month -- Forbes
Tesla to launch electric sedan in US on June 22 -- AFP
Tesla Model S Signature Series launches June 22 -- Slash Gear
First Tesla Model S electric sedans will be delivered June 22 -- Digital Trends
One Month To Go For First Tesla Model S Deliveries -- Hybrid Cars
Tesla CEO tweets that crash testing is complete, Model S production ready to roll -- Endgadget
Tesla Model S Deliveries Set For June, Australian Debut Due In 2013 -- The Motor Report
Crashed, Tested, Sold: Tesla Announces Model S Delivery Date -- Automobile

A Talk With Jonathan Ive, Apple's Design Chief

Jonathan Ive: Simplicity Isn't Simple -- The Telegraph

It is all about simplicity says Jonathan Ive, Apple's design chief.

"Design is a word that's come to mean so much that it's also a word that has come to mean nothing. We don't really talk about design, we talk about developing ideas and making products," says Jonathan Ive, the London-born head of design for Apple.

The iMac, which he designed in 1998, revolutionised Apple, which was close to bankruptcy at the time. The iPod, in 2001, went even further and transformed the record industry. The iPhone had a similar effect on the mobile phone business when it was launched in 2007. And the iPad, which debuted in 2010, is leading the way in a whole new category of computing.

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My Comment: Yup .... simplicity isn't simple.

Cross-Breeding Of Dogs Has Made It Difficult To Trace Their Genetic Roots

Modern Dog Breeds Genetically Disconnected From Ancient Ancestors -- E! Science News

Cross-breeding of dogs over thousands of years has made it extremely difficult to trace the ancient genetic roots of today's pets, according to a new study led by Durham University. An international team of scientists analyzed data of the genetic make-up of modern-day dogs, alongside an assessment of the global archaeological record of dog remains, and found that modern breeds genetically have little in common with their ancient ancestors.

Dogs were the first domesticated animals and the researchers say their findings will ultimately lead to greater understanding of dogs' origins and the development of early human civilization.

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My Comment: These results (I suspect) are going to be fascinating to read about when they are finally completed.

FBI Investigates IsAnyoneUp.com Founder

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Robots Building Robots (Or At Least Parts Of Robots)

Intelligent Design: Scientists Create Robot Which Can Build Its Own Tools -- Daily Mail

It sounds like a bad sci-fi film: A group of scientists build an robot intelligent robot, give it the ability to build its own tools, and arm it with a gun.

Thankfully, while the first part is true, the gun on this occasion is just a glue gun.

Still, the reality of a tool-building robot is a scary enough thought, with the team from the science and technology university ETH Zurich building a robot which can built its own tools to carry out its missions.

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My Comment: news like this always makes me wonder on where is all of this heading to in the next decade or two.

Rating Insect Stings

The 10 Most Painful Stings On The Planet, By The Self-sScrificing Man Who Tried 150 Different Varieties In The Name Of Science -- Daily Mail

Justin Schmidt's colourful descriptions include how the sting of a yellowjacket wasp is like 'W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue'

Most of us will have felt the pain of a bee sting. Luckily most of us will have avoided the dreaded pain of a tarantula hawk or a fire ant.

Justin Schmidt felt all three of these - and 147 other horrible, burning sensations - after a dedicated life-long career devoted to insects.

On numerous fieldwork trips, The University of Arizona entomologist would find himself digging up living colonies of creatures, who in turn were not happy with this destructive human scooping them into bags - and promptly sank their fangs, stingers or pincers into him.

Still, no pain, no gain, and Schmidt turned his experiences into the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, ranking 78 species in a list which, while subjective, was put together by the man who must surely know best, ranking their pain on a scale of 1 to 4.

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My Comment: Ouch

The U.S. Army And It's Smartphones

Nett Warrior Returns From The Dead -- DoD Buzz

WHITE STANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. — Most had left the Army’s Nett Warrior program and it’s futuristic eye scope in the expensive trash heap of Future Combat Systems. But it lives on here where soldiers test the glorified smartphones that Army leaders want its squad leaders carrying on the battlefield.

Soldiers like Staff Sgt. Jesus Vasquez and Sgt. First Class Frederick Chinlever wear Motorola Atrix smartphones inside a green case mounted to their chests connected to Rifleman Radios on their backs. They can’t make calls on it, but they can see fellow soldiers’ positions, mark IED and enemy positions, and even text each other.

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My Comment: The technology is already out there .... but as well use it.

Green Energy From Beneath The Waves

An underwater generator developed by a Maine firm was tested on riverbeds and the seafloor. Ocean Renewable Power Company

Tidal Turbines: New Sparks Of Hope For Green Energy From Beneath The Waves -- Christian Science Monitor

After decades of abandoned plans and crushed prototypes, tidal powers finds new footing off the shores of Eastport, Maine.

Eastport is used to being on the fringe of things – the easternmost city in the United States, a remote outpost of Maine's poorest county, and one of the westernmost communities of the Bay of Fundy, home to the world's most dramatic tidal swings.

But in recent years, this community of 1,600 has found itself at the center of an industrial enterprise that its people thought had abandoned them for good: harnessing the tides to generate electricity. Amid Eastport's abandoned sardine factories and often-empty storefronts, engineers have been testing a new generation of tidal turbines that could power the region's homes and businesses without having an adverse effect on the environment, fisheries, or the beautiful views of the forested islands of neighboring Canada.

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My Comment: Every little bit helps.

Morphing Robots and Shape-Shifting Sculptures

This graphic illustrates the creation of morphing robot-like mechanisms and shape-shifting sculptures from a single sheet of paper in a method reminiscent of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. The robotic and artistic designs are made up of building blocks called "basic structural units," or BSUs. Each BSU contains two segments joined by a creased hinge, and many BSUs are linked together to create larger structures. (Credit: Purdue University)

Morphing Robots and Shape-Shifting Sculptures: Origami-Inspired Design Merges Engineering, Art -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2012) — Researchers have shown how to create morphing robotic mechanisms and shape-shifting sculptures from a single sheet of paper in a method reminiscent of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding.

The new method, called Kaleidogami, uses computational algorithms and tools to create precisely folded structures.

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Is Amazon Changing The Rules For Books And Movies?

Amazon Studios is crowdsourcing movie-making, creating test movies that fans can review, with storyboard art in the place of video. This image is from a possible upcoming release called "Touching Blue." (Credit: Amazon)

How Amazon Is Changing The Rules For Books And Movies -- CNet

The online retail giant is tapping its huge customer base and vast technical underpinnings to reshape the way books, movies, and television programs are made.

If you want a glimpse into the way Amazon sees your digital future, look no further than Jeff Ragsdale's new book, "Jeff, One Lonely Guy."

Last October, after being dumped by a girlfriend and mired in depression, Ragsdale posted a flier around New York City on a whim that read, "If anyone wants to talk about anything, call me." It listed his mobile phone number. Calls streamed in, by the dozens, then the hundreds, and now well into the tens of thousands.

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My Comment: They have the loyal fan base.