Tag: science
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cern super collider begins testing this weekend
from wired: The Large Hadron Collider, soon-to-be the world’s most powerful atom smasher, begins testing this weekend. CERN will fire the first test beam through one of the particle accelerator’s sectors. “It’s, ‘Let’s see what happens,’ ” Judy Jackson, head of the Office Communications at Fermilab, told Popular Mechanics. “It’s a very complex machine. This…
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japanese invent car that runs on water
from nikkei business publications: Genepax Co Ltd explained the technologies used in its new fuel cell system “Water Energy System (WES),” which uses water as a fuel and does not emit CO2. The system can generate power just by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes, respectively, the company said at the…
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‘patent for a pig’
from wide eye cinema: As a powerful corporate giant attempts to patent living genetic material, this film asks what the consequences are for mankind.
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crazy rasberry ants, sunspot cycles & wi-fi allergies
‘crazy’ ants plague texas, fouling electronics from los angeles times: Texans are battling a plague of insects that sounds right out of the book of Exodus. So-called “crazy Rasberry ants,” named after Tom Rasberry, the exterminator who first identified them, and called “crazy” for their erratic marching pattern, have begun appearing in huge numbers in…
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watch nasa’s phoenix mars landing live
from alley insider: This could be must see TV: At 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, NASA begins live coverage of the Phoenix Mars Lander, as it attempts to make the first powered landing on the red planet since Viking 2 in 1976. Watch it online here or in Second Life. If you insist on watching…
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Critics Worry About Rise of ‘Designer Babies’
from kprc: News that scientists have for the first time genetically altered a human embryo is drawing fire from some watchdog groups that say it’s a step toward creating “designer babies.” … “None of us wants to make designer babies,” said Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at New…
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homeland security wants to manipulate hurricanes
from new scientist: Would-be hurricane fighters hoping to stop a future Katrina before it makes landfall should aim to wound, not kill. The goal should be to re-route hurricanes and ease their fury, rather than try to stop them forming in the first place. This is the latest advice from weather modification experts. The field…
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9/11: remains, appeals, contradictions & vidal
ny medics identify four 9/11 victimsfrom press tv: The New York medical examiners have identified the remains of three men and one woman slain in 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. “I don’t think any of us know how to react to it,” said Douglas Mann, whose cousin Ronald Milstein was working as a…
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arthur c. clarke, futurist & sci-fi genius, dead at 90
from ap: Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who co-wrote “2001: A Space Odyssey” and won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday, an aide said. He was 90… Co-author with Stanley Kubrick of Kubrick’s film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Clarke was regarded as far…
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bio tech promises disease vaccines via food
from tech.co.uk: A seemingly bizarre experiment in genetically engineering plants has come up with a strain of rice that could make vaccination injections a thing of the past. Researchers working at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Medical Science are working with experts in the fields of drugs, agrobiology and genetics to change the makeup…
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fema, phermones & the return of noble resolve
fema will regain powerfrom washington post: After years of aggressive lobbying by unhappy state governments, the administration chose to restore FEMA’s power to coordinate federal disaster operations. That power was undermined in the administration’s previous plan – used just once, after Katrina – when the secretary of homeland security appointed his own officer to oversee…
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superbugs, cancer drugs, organ grabs & baby tags
deadly new form of mrsa emergesfrom bbc: A deadly strain of the superbug MRSA which can lead to a flesh-eating form of pneumonia has emerged. Research suggests it may be more prevalent among the gay community – the gay San Francisco district of Castro appears to have been hardest hit. So far only two cases…
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video: monkey mind-controlled robot
Witness the birth of our synth-simian overlords yourself… monkey brain controls walking ‘botfrom danger room: When our robotic overlords finally do take over, there’s a decent chance they’ll do it with monkey brains. A few years back, Duke neuroscientists, funded by the Pentagon, figured out how to have monkeys control robotic arms with their little…
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cloned animals are ‘safe to eat’
from bbc: Meat and milk from cloned animals is generally safe to eat, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared. Following six years of study, it ruled that food from cloned pigs, cattle and goats and their offspring is as safe as food from conventionally-bred animals. Lack of data meant the agency could…
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navy must cut sonar use off california
from la times: A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday ordered the toughest set of restrictions ever imposed on the U.S. Navy’s use of mid-frequency sonar off the Southern California coast as part of a protracted court battle to protect whales and other marine mammals from underwater sonic blasts. The order was the first…