Reposted for filing An Eastman Kodak facility had a small nuclear reactor and 3½ pounds of weapons-grade uranium for more than 30 years. (Associated Press / May 14, 2012) By Matt PearceMay 14, 2012, 3:01 p.m. Kodak has the bomb…. Read More ›
Technology
Twitter blocks German neo-Nazi account in world first
By Agence France-Presse Thursday, October 18, 2012 7:10 EDT Micro-blogging site Twitter said Thursday it had blocked a neo-Nazi group’s account at the request of German police in what it called a global first for the company. In a move… Read More ›
France anti-racism groups target Twitter for anti-Semitic content
12:13 PM 10/17/2012 Twitter may be under legal fire for a series of recent tweets which are deemed anti-Semitic by Jewish organizations in France. A top trending French-language hashtag recently has been #unbonjuif, which in English means “a good Jew.”… Read More ›
The Military Is Building Integrated Hybrid Living-Nonliving Robotic Organisms
Geoffrey Ingersoll|Oct. 16, 2012, 12:41 PM|1,624|7 In a request released Sept. 14 of this year, the Office Of Naval Research sought to find proposals for “Synthetic Biology Tools for Sensing and Bioprocessing” — essentially hybrid, organic inorganic “sensing” robots. But… Read More ›
China scrambles to censor novelist Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize
A leaked directive from the Chinese government shows censorship tactics towards dissidents. Benjamin CarlsonOctober 16, 2012 09:08 Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize win draws attention to the Chinese government’s censorship tactics. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) What do you think? HONG KONG —… Read More ›
Meet the Flame virus’s mean little sibling
Posted By John Reed Monday, October 15, 2012 – 10:33 AM So it looks like the Flame and Gauss viruses that infected thousands of computers in the Middle East with advanced spyware over the last few years were merely meant… Read More ›
A touchscreen that knows how you feel
19:35 12 October 2012 Hal Hodson, technology reporter The touchscreens on tablets and smartphones make the devices easy for one person to interact with, but what happens when there is more than one user? Touchscreens can’t tell… Read More ›
U.S. Navy builds robot modelled on Star Wars character C-3PO to fight fires on board warships
By Emma Clark PUBLISHED:10:46 EST, 14 October 2012| UPDATED:11:49 EST, 14 October 2012 A robot with the ability to fight fires on board warships has been developed by military scientists based on the popular Star Wars character C-3PO. It might… Read More ›
Did the Pentagon just take over America’s cybersecurity?
Ready Player One It was bound to happen. The Senate fumbles and the House proffers only magical solutions for cybersecurity. The task of improving cybersecurity reverts to the executive branch, but the Department of Homeland Security does not inspire confidence…. Read More ›
SOPA the computer virus terrorizes file-sharers
Published: 12 October, 2012, 20:37 SOPA is back – now as a computer virus Security experts are cautioning computer users that they could be targeted by a malicious SOPA “ransomware” virus that rekindles the witch-hunt targeting information sharing introduced… Read More ›
Anti-Islam film prompts Saudi call for net censorship body
Saudi Arabia has called for a new international body to censor the internet, in the wake of the anti-Islam YouTube clip that recently sparked violence in the Middle East. The US consulate in Benghazi in flames after the attack that… Read More ›
Mother Nature, Version 2.0
Welcome to the world of synthetic biology, where micro-organisms can be programmed to invade and destroy cancer cells By SCOTT GOTTLIEB It once seemed that the most profound feats stemming from DNA-based science would spring from our ability to read… Read More ›
Futurist Ray Kurzweil Wants to Move Your Brain Into the Cloud
Oct 11, 2012 10:34 AM EST By Michael J. Miller Above: Futurist Ray Kurzweil Ray Kurzweil, author of The Age of Spiritual Machines and a pioneer of artificial intelligence software, has always been one of the most provocative thinkers on… Read More ›
A complex logic circuit made from bacterial genes
The circuit is designed to act as the controller in synthetic bacteria that monitor and modify their environment . October 12, 2012 By Diana Lutz . . Just as electronic circuits are made from resistors, capacitors and transistors, biological circuits… Read More ›
Anonymous vows revenge after WikiLeaks launches ‘filthy’ paywall
By Stephen C. Webster Friday, October 12, 2012 10:13 EDT Topics: Anonymous ♦ julian assange ♦ Wikileaks Nameless hackers with the online protest movement “Anonymous” have turned on longtime ally WikiLeaks for deploying a paywall on its website that blocks… Read More ›
U.S. energy companies victims of potentially destructive cyber intrusions: The secretary said that a coordinated attack on enough critical infrastructure could be a “cyber Pearl Harbor”
Posted By John ReedThursday, October 11, 2012 – 8:56 PM Foreign actors are probing the networks of key American companies in an attempt to gain control of industrial facilities and transportation systems, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta revealed tonight. “We know… Read More ›
Do we live in the Matrix? Researchers say they have found a way to find out
Any simulation of the universe must have limits, and finding these would prove we live in an artificial reality, physicists claim By Damien Gayle PUBLISHED:08:15 EST, 11 October 2012| UPDATED:08:28 EST, 11 October 2012 If the Matrix left you with… Read More ›
Should we decide which breed of humans to create?
by: JULIAN SAVULESCU From: News Limited Network October 09, 201212:58PM Does chance need a helping hand when it comes to our children? Source: Supplied Today it is possible to create designer babies either by testing embryos, using pre-implantation… Read More ›
‘Hacking’ alleged ahead of Bumi showdown
Indonesian backers behind the FTSE 250’s troubled coal group Bumi have stoked tensions prior to Thursday’s board meeting by alleging phones and emails have been hacked. Bumi is investigating ‘potential financial irregularities’ at Bumi Resources By Emma Rowley 5:46PM BST… Read More ›
Extending Einstein’s Theory Beyond Light Speed
Researchers have extended Einstein’s theory of special relativity to work beyond the speed of light. (Credit: © vlights / Fotolia) ScienceDaily (Oct. 10, 2012) — University of Adelaide applied mathematicians have extended Einstein’s theory of special relativity to work beyond… Read More ›
The map that Apple HAS to make blurred: Taiwanese government complains new maps app is revealing military secrets
US bases also appear on the service in high resolution Google has ‘muzzed’ or distorted military installations By Mark Prigg PUBLISHED:14:51 EST, 9 October 2012| UPDATED:15:03 EST, 9 October 2012 After facing huge criticism for blurred maps, Apple has received… Read More ›
Mysterious Algorithm Generates 4% of Stock Trading Activity
Tuesday, 09 October 2012 A single mysterious computer program that placed orders — and then subsequently canceled them — made up 4 percent of all quote traffic in the U.S. stock market last week, according to the top tracker of… Read More ›
Could CAPTCHAs get any more annoying? New PC test asks web users to take the ‘correct’ moral stance on civil rights issues
Examples drawn from breaches of United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Users must choose the one answer out of three that shows compassion and empathy By Damien Gayle PUBLISHED:09:06 EST, 9 October 2012| UPDATED:09:06 EST, 9 October 2012 A… Read More ›
We do not need an internet overlord: ITU is holding a meeting in December to decide whether it – and by implication, the United Nations – should take over the internet.
9 October 2012 Chris Berg The internet should be kept free, not turned into a geopolitical plaything controlled by the United Nations, says Chris Berg. At first glance, the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union (ITU) seems benign. The agency helps… Read More ›
Team builds most complex synthetic biology circuit yet
Mon, 10/08/2012 – 7:39am Using genes as interchangeable parts, synthetic biologists design cellular circuits that can perform new functions, such as sensing environmental conditions. However, the complexity that can be achieved in such circuits has been limited by a critical… Read More ›
Technology for the body on the road to cyborgs?
October 8, 2012 Sarah Bakewell Speakers at a symposium on body-enhancement technology raised the idea that we may converge with our technology to the point that a superhuman entity emerges. The Terminator … an infamous cyborg. On September 2, 2010,… Read More ›
Russian beacon to track menacing asteroid Apophis
Monday, 08 October 2012 Russia’s space agency wants to send a mission to Apophis, the notorious asteroid which may change its course and eventually collide with Earth. It will plant a radio beacon, which will help track… Read More ›
Huawei, ZTE Give China Opportunity to Spy, Report Says: provides “special network services” to an entity the former employee believes is an“elite cyber-warfare unit” within the Chinese army
By Eric Engleman on October 07, 2012 Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. (000063), China’s two largest phone-equipment makers, provide opportunities for Chinese intelligence services to tamper with U.S. telecommunications networks for spying, according to a congressional report to be… Read More ›
Reprogramming of Pericyte-Derived Cells of the Adult Human Brain into Induced Neuronal Cells
Reprogramming of somatic cells into neurons provides a new approach toward cell-based therapy of neurodegenerative diseases (Vierbuchen and Wernig, 2011). Previous studies have shown that postnatal astroglia from the mouse cerebral cortex can be directly converted into functional neuronal cells… Read More ›
More dodgy stats misleading the child protection debate
Last month we detailedhow one of the key statistics being relied upon by campaigners calling for ‘default blocking’ of some internet content was based upon one very dubious survey in a single school. This kind of deliberately misleading scaremongering undermines… Read More ›
Philippines appeals to hackers to cease attacks
By Agence France-Presse Saturday, October 6, 2012 19:00 EDT Topics: Abigail Valte ♦ Benigno Aquino ♦ philippines Hackers incensed by the Philippines’ controversial cybercrime law have attacked government sites that deliver emergency information during natural disasters, an official said Saturday…. Read More ›
Secret spy telescopes’ new role: helping Nasa hunt for life beyond solar system: Each as large as the Hubble observatory
Giant instruments designed to keep watch on Soviets have been given over to space research Robin McKie, science edito The Observer, Saturday 6 October 2012 The Carina nebula: the new telescopes given to Nasa by spy chiefs could help… Read More ›
Training Computers to Understand the Human Brain
The activation maps of the two contrasts (hot color: mammal > tool ; cool color: tool > mammal) computed from the 10 datasets of our participants. (Credit: Image courtesy of Tokyo Institute of Technology) ScienceDaily (Oct. 5, 2012) — Tokyo… Read More ›
Sick of intrusive airport security already? Just wait for the next generation of scanners which can read EVERY molecule in your body
By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED:13:41 EST, 6 October 2012| UPDATED:13:41 EST, 6 October 2012 Security staff at airports can already force us to go through metal detectors and use X-rays to see under our clothes. But a new technology being… Read More ›
Genes remember sugar hit: Australian research: ” capable of permanently altering DNA “
2009 study posted for filing Genes remember sugar hit: Australian research SYDNEY (AFP) – Human genes remember a sugar hit for two weeks, with prolonged poor eating habits capable of permanently altering DNA, Australian research has found. A team… Read More ›
U.S. Needs Offensive Weapons in Cyberwar: General
Oct. 4, 2012 – 08:06PM | By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE WASHINGTON — The United States needs to develop offensive weapons in cyberspace as part of its effort to protect the nation from cyber attacks, a senior military official said Oct…. Read More ›
Researcher: wave of cyber attacks to target U.S. banks
By Agence France-Presse Friday, October 5, 2012 17:30 EDT Topics: cyber attacks ♦ RSA ♦ Trojan attacks As many as 30 US banking firms are expected to be targeted in a wave of cyber attacks as part of “a large-scale… Read More ›
Swedish Internet sites unreachable after warning from Anonymous
By Agence France-Presse Friday, October 5, 2012 20:00 EDT Topics: swedish authorities ♦ Swedish Central Bank ♦ Swedish government Several Swedish government websites could not be accessed Friday after they had received a warning the evening before from a group… Read More ›
What number is halfway between 1 and 9? Is it 5 — or 3?
For Immediate Release:October 5, 2012 contact: Caroline McCall, MIT News Office email: cmccall5@mit.edu phone: 617-253-1682 A new information-theoretical model of human sensory perception and memory sheds light on some peculiarities of the nervous system. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Ask adults… Read More ›
Hacker catches Facebook registering private links as ‘likes’
If you’ve sent Facebook friends a link to something out on the wilds of the World Wide Web, the social network knows and they’re telling others about it. A video published online this week by a poster on Hacker News… Read More ›
Google admits Middle Eastern governments could be spying on its users as it warns of ‘state-sponsored’ hacking attacks
By Hugo Gye PUBLISHED:16:41 EST, 3 October 2012| UPDATED:16:41 EST, 3 October 2012 Google has launched a new effort to warn its users that they could be the victims of cyberattacks from hostile governments. Account-holders working in international relations, development… Read More ›
How synthetic biology will change us
By Alan Boyle October 4, 2012, 7:05 pm NBCNews.com Lisa Poole / AP file Harvard geneticist George Church shows off the DNA sequence of a colleague. In the future, genetically modified organisms could be making our medicines, our fuel, our… Read More ›
Philosophy will be the key that unlocks artificial intelligence
AI is achievable, but it will take more than computer science and neuroscience to develop machines that think like people David Deutsch guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 3 October 2012 02.00 EDT The defining attribute of an intelligent being, whether human… Read More ›
Photon reaches from beyond the grave in quantum trick: “The future photon, which is not born, is strongly influenced by a photon that is already dead.”
Photon reaches from beyond the grave in quantum trick 04 October 2012 by Anil Ananthaswamy Magazine issue 2885. For similar stories, visit the Quantum World Topic Guide EINSTEIN mockingly called it “spooky action at a distance”: the finding that quantum… Read More ›
Major Japanese university server sites hacked
Servers at the University of Tokyo and four other major universities in Japan have apparently been attacked by hackers, resulting in leaks of IDs and passwords to databases at those schools, it has been learned. A group of hackers identifying… Read More ›
Mind-controlled Tail Wags Based on Your Mood
Sep 30, 2012 by Michelle Do friends never know how you’re feeling based on facial cues? Ever find yourself enviously eyeing your dog and its expressive posterior appendage? Oh tailless one, you are in luck! From the makers of Necomimi… Read More ›
A Dark Day for the Philippines as Government Passes Cybercrime Act : Criminalizes anonymous online criticism
October 3, 2012 | By Jillian C. York A Dark Day for the Philippines as Government Passes Cybercrime Act The government of the Philippines today has passed the troubling Cybercrime Prevention Act. The Act covers a range of offenses, but—as… Read More ›
Lost in migration: Earth’s magnetic field overdue a flip
By Chris WickhamPosted 2012/10/03 at 11:41 am EDT LONDON, Oct. 3, 2012 (Reuters) — The discovery by NASA rover Curiosity of evidence that water once flowed on Mars – the most Earth-like planet in the solar system – should intensify… Read More ›
Japan shows bomb-detecting plane ticket reader
Oct 04 — AFP Plane passengers could soon be scanned for bombs as they swipe their boarding pass, a Japanese company said Wednesday, unveiling the world’s first explosive-detecting departure gate. Engineers from hi-tech firm Hitachi showcased a machine that blows… Read More ›
Intelligence Is in the Genes, but Where? Most Genes Thought to Be Linked to Intelligence Probably Have No Bearing On IQ
A new study reveals the surprising fact that most of the specific genes long thought to be linked to intelligence probably have no bearing on one’s IQ. (Credit: iStockphoto) ScienceDaily (Oct. 2, 2012) — You can thank your parents for… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 