By David Lague and Charlie ZhuPosted 2012/09/16 at 5:14 pm EDT HONG KONG, Sep. 16, 2012 (Reuters) — When China turned to Russia for supplies of advanced weapons through the 1990s, it kick-started Beijing’s military build-up with an immediate boost… Read More ›
Technology
Scores at risk as new breed of mosquito foils malaria prevention methods: There is NO KNOWN DNA match
Published: 16 September, 2012, 21:14 Annual deaths could jump by the hundreds of thousands because of a new species of mosquito, which bites people in the early evening rather than at night, making bed nets useless in the battle against… Read More ›
Japanese invention could end tooth decay
By Agence France-Presse Sunday, September 16, 2012 18:29 EDT Topics: Shigeki Hontsu ♦ tooth decay ♦ tooth enamel Scientists in Japan have created a microscopically thin film that can coat individual teeth to prevent decay or to make them appear… Read More ›
A fertility treatment which eliminates hereditary disease by engineering babies to carry healthy DNA from a third biological parent could be legalised next year.
‘Three-parent baby’ fertility technique could be made legal DNA sequence transparency Photo: ALAMY By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent 12:01AM BST 17 Sep 2012 Members of the public are being asked whether families with a genetic risk of incurable conditions… Read More ›
13 things that do not make sense
Re-Posted from 2005 19 March 2005 by Michael Brooks 1 The placebo effect Don’t try this at home. Several times a day, for several days, you induce pain in someone. You control the pain with morphine until the final… Read More ›
Police could create image of suspect’s face from DNA
11:40 14 September 2012 by Andy Coghlan For similar stories, visit the Genetics Topic Guide Police may one day be able to reconstruct the shape of a suspect’s face from their DNA. The possibility is drawing closer thanks to identification… Read More ›
How artificial intelligence is changing our lives
By The Christian Science Monitor Sunday, September 16, 2012 13:38 EDT In Silicon Valley, Nikolas Janin rises for his 40-minute commute to work just like everyone else. The shop manager and fleet technician at Google gets dressed and heads out… Read More ›
Moving plane exchanges quantum keys with Earth
16 September 2012 by Jacob Aron For similar stories, visit the Quantum World Topic Guide AN AEROPLANE has beamed quantum encryption keys to a station on the ground, paving the way for an ultra-secure global communications network. Quantum key… Read More ›
A Merger of German and French Defense Industries for a United Europe?
BAE-EADS merger would advance Europe’s military goals : By Adrian CroftPosted 2012/09/16 at 11:22 am EDT BRUSSELS, Sep. 16, 2012 (Reuters) — Merging Britain’s BAE Systems with EADS to create a global aerospace and defense giant would be a significant… Read More ›
Predicting If Scientists Will Be Stars: New Formula Reveals If Young Scientists Will Have Brilliant Future
ScienceDaily (Sep. 12, 2012) — A medical school committee is weighing whether to hire a promising young neuroscientist. Will she have a brilliant future as a researcher, publish in top journals and nab abundant research funds? If only there were… Read More ›
Slices of brain tissue can store patterns of activity for short periods of time: scientists
By Mo Costandi, The Guardian Sunday, September 16, 2012 5:44 EDT Topics: activity patterns ♦ Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland ♦ Ohio It sounds like the plot of a science fiction film, or like something from a transhumanist fantasy:… Read More ›
Armada of British naval power massing in the Gulf as Israel prepares an Iran strike
An armada of US and British naval power is massing in the Persian Gulf in the belief that Israel is considering a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s covert nuclear weapons programme. The Strait of Hormuz is only 21 miles wide at… Read More ›
Malware being installed on computers in factories, warns Microsoft : ” found forged versions of Windows on all the machines “
Researchers find malware pre-installed on brand new computers bought in China Associated Press guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 September 2012 07.41 EDT Microsoft investigator David Anselmi shows how malware can wind up on consumer computers. Photograph: Elaine Thompson/AP Criminals are installing malware on… Read More ›
China’s nuclear weapons strategy highlights the risk of escalation to nuclear war from a conflict beginning with conventional weapons, due to the unusual structure of the nation’s military
Contact: Katie Baker katie.baker@sagepub.co.uk 020-732-48719 SAGE Publications China’s nuclear dilemma Los Angeles, CA (September 14, 2012) – An expert assessment of China’s nuclear weapons strategy highlights the risk of escalation to nuclear war from a conflict beginning with conventional weapons,… Read More ›
Twitter surrenders Occupy protester’s tweets
By Joseph Ax NEW YORK | Fri Sep 14, 2012 10:41am EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) – Twitter handed over tweets from an Occupy Wall Street protester to a New York criminal judge on Friday after months of fighting a subpoena… Read More ›
False positives: fraud and misconduct are threatening scientific research
High-profile cases and modern technology are putting scientific deceit under the microscope Alok Jha, science correspondent guardian.co.uk, Thursday 13 September 2012 13.12 EDT The Dutch psychologist Diederik Stapel was found to have published fabricated data in 30 peer-reviewed papers. Photograph: Boxem/boxem/Hollandse… Read More ›
‘Anonymous’ retaliates after member arrested by FBI
By Agence France-Presse Thursday, September 13, 2012 23:44 EDT WASHINGTON — The hacker group known as Anonymous on Thursday posted credit card numbers in retaliation for what it claimed was an FBI raid arresting one of its members. The group… Read More ›
Scientists use sound waves to levitate liquids, improve pharmaceuticals
Contact: Jared Sagoff jsagoff@anl.gov 630-252-5549 DOE/Argonne National Laboratory It’s not a magic trick and it’s not sleight of hand – scientists really are using levitation to improve the drug development process, eventually yielding more effective pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects…. Read More ›
New Research on “Junk” DNA Raises Questions on Eve of Crucial Court Hearing
On September 19, the Ninth Circuit is set to hear new arguments in Haskell v. Harris, a case challenging California’s warrantless DNA collection program. Today EFF asked the court to consider ground-breaking new research that confirms for the first time… Read More ›
HF/E Researchers Examine Older Adults’ Willingness to Accept Help From Robots
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 Most older adults prefer to maintain their independence and remain in their own homes as they age, and robotic technology can help make this a reality. Robots can assist with a variety of everyday… Read More ›
Woolly mammoth remains may contain living cells
Hair, soft tissues and bone marrow found on Siberian expedition, raising hopes that extinct creature could be cloned Associated Press guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 11 September 2012 13.15 EDT Frozen fragments of a woolly mammoth have been found by an international expedition… Read More ›
The moment Jupiter was HIT by a giant asteroid yesterday – and humanity’s only record was taken by a faithful webcam in the dead of night : A Major Failure of All Earth Based surveillance
Jupiter was hit during the day yesterday – but it apparently went unobserved from Earth …except for one astronomer, Dan Petersen, who saw the flash with his own eyes When Petersen reported the sighting on a web forum, amateur astronomer… Read More ›
Russia’s Deputy PM says country must shoot for Moon base
By Alissa de CarbonnelPosted 2012/09/11 at 7:45 am EDT MOSCOW, Sep. 11, 2012 (Reuters) — Russia should set itself the “super goal” of building a large base on the Moon it could use to achieve “leaps” in science and to… Read More ›
NHS hospitals sending your confidential notes to India to be typed up
A series of hospitals have admitted using cheap secretarial agencies in India By Sophie Borland PUBLISHED:10:53 EST, 10 September 2012| UPDATED:19:25 EST, 10 September 2012 Hospitals are sending hundreds of thousands of confidential letters about patients to India to be… Read More ›
FBI was NOT source of leaked data on 12 million Apple users, claims publishing firm boss who says they were hacked
Hackers said they had exposed Big Brother snooping operation run by FBI But Paul DeHart, CEO of the Blue Toad agency, claims details on computer users was stolen from his servers By Tom Gardner PUBLISHED:16:37 EST, 10 September 2012|… Read More ›
FASEB opposes the Government Spending Accountability Act
Contact: Lawrence Green lgreen@faseb.org 301-634-7335 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Bethesda, MD – The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) wrote to all members of the House of Representatives expressing its opposition to the Government Spending… Read More ›
California telecom companies push bill to quash oversight on Internet regulation
By American Independent Monday, September 10, 2012 15:00 EDT Topics: CPUC ♦ Verizon By Siddhartha Mahanta California could be the latest state to enact a law that dramatically curbs regulatory oversight of telecommunications services in the state, handing a significant… Read More ›
Military’s robotic pack-mule gets smarter
By Stephen C. Webster Monday, September 10, 2012 16:33 EDT Picture the scene. You’re walking through a warzone when suddenly shots ring out. You crouch down and listen closely for enemy movements, and that’s when you hear it, just beyond… Read More ›
CNN and the business of state-sponsored TV news
The network is seriously compromising its journalism in the Gulf states by blurring the line between advertising and editorial • Report: why didn’t CNNi air its own ‘iRevolution’ documentary? Glenn Greenwald guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 4 September 2012 15.02 EDT CNN’s… Read More ›
Frankenstein’s dream brought to life as scientists say electricity could be used to regrow limbs
Aberdeen University researchers observed flatworms using electricity to regrow a head Electric field tells growth cells where to migrate By Sam Shead PUBLISHED:12:51 EST, 9 September 2012| UPDATED:13:35 EST, 9 September 2012 Experiments with echoes of Frankenstein suggest electricity could… Read More ›
Criminals to be caught by their tattoos: Recognition software will scan Facebook for incriminating markings
By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED:13:30 EST, 9 September 2012| UPDATED:14:25 EST, 9 September 2012 Police may soon be able to catch criminals by the ink they are sporting. Computer scientists are developing a new program that will be able to… Read More ›
Stanford Is Building a Body-Cooling Glove That Might Work ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athletes
One of the reasons professional athletes illegally use steroids is to help speed up their recovery time after a particularly grueling game or injury, thus making them fresh as spring chickens the next time they compete. But one of the… Read More ›
A genetic blueprint of your unborn baby
08 September 2012 by Harriet A. Washington Sequencing the whole genome of a fetus could provide a medical early warning on a previously unknown scale – but it also brings dilemmas, says Harriet A. Washington BOY or girl? This you… Read More ›
EU funding ‘Orwellian’ artificial intelligence plan to monitor public for “abnormal behaviour”: Project Indect
Repost for Filing 2009 The European Union is spending millions of pounds developing “Orwellian” technologies designed to scour the internet and CCTV images for “abnormal behaviour”. By Ian Johnston 9:08PM BST 19 Sep 2009 A five-year research programme, called Project… Read More ›
Towards Computing With Water Droplets: Superhydrophobic Droplet Logic
Water droplets moving on a superhydrophobic surface collide with each other and rebound like billiard balls. (Credit: Image courtesy of Aalto University ScienceDaily (Sep. 7, 2012) — Researchers in Aalto University have developed a new concept for computing, using water… Read More ›
Smart drugs to ‘moral enhancement’: a chemical approach to transhumanism
By Olivia Solon 06 September 12 Steroids. Ritalin. Modafinil. Prozac. EPO. These are just a selection of drugs that could be described as boosting the cognitive or physical performance of human beings. As part of Wired.co.uk’s Transhuman Week, we take a… Read More ›
Congressional Report: US Is Negotiating TPP as if Fast Track Authority Still Exists and its IP Provisions Go Beyond International Standards
September 7, 2012 | By Carolina Rossini On September 5th, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a non-partisan governmental body that provides policy and legal analysis for all members and committees of US Congress, published a 55-page analysis of the Trans-Pacific… Read More ›
Copyright’s Robot Wars Heat Up as Algorithms Block Live-Streams First and Ask Questions Later
September 7, 2012 | By Kurt Opsahl and Parker Higgins Copyright’s robot wars have burst onto the scene of streaming video sites, silencing live feeds with bogus infringement accusations and no human oversight. Two examples from just the past week… Read More ›
Don’t Wait for the UK Snoopers’ Charter to Pass: Encrypt Wikipedia Now
September 6, 2012 | By Eva Galperin A joint committee of the UK’s House of Lords and the House of Commons is preparing to debate a draft bill known as the Snoopers’ Charter, a disastrous data retention bill which, as… Read More ›
Scientists create germ cell-supporting embryonic Sertoli-like cells from skin cells
Contact: Nicole Rura rura@wi.mit.edu 617-258-6851 Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (September 6, 2012) – Using a stepwise trans-differentiation process, Whitehead Institute researchers have turned skin cells into embryonic Sertoli-like cells. The main role of mature Sertoli cells is… Read More ›
World’s richest woman suggests $2 a day wages for Australian miners
By David Edwards Wednesday, September 5, 2012 9:35 EDT Topics: Australian miners ♦ Gina Rinehart ♦ mining in Australia The world’s most wealthy woman is warning that firms are in danger of having to abandon iron-ore mining in Australia if… Read More ›
Binding sites for LIN28 protein found in thousands of human genes
Contact: Debra Kain ddkain@ucsd.edu 619-543-6163 University of California – San Diego Protein expression also causes changes in gene splicing IMAGE:This is Gene Yeo, Ph.D. Click here for more information. A study led by researchers at the UC San Diego Stem… Read More ›
Private Manned Mars Mission Gets First Sponsors
A Dutch company that aims to land humans on Mars in 2023 as the vanguard of a permanent Red Planet colony has received its first funding from sponsors, officials announced this week. Mars One plans to fund most of its… Read More ›
State-sponsored cyber espionage projects now prevalent, say experts
Former military officer says every Middle Eastern country now has Stuxnet-like malware Pete Warren guardian.co.uk, Thursday 30 August 2012 06.54 EDT One expert compares the cyber-espionage programs to the Transformers franchise: they develop other functions when they get to where they… Read More ›
Stroke patients get helping hand from ‘telepathic’ robot arm which can respond to your thoughts
By Eddie Wrenn PUBLISHED:06:24 EST, 3 September 2012| UPDATED:06:24 EST, 3 September 2012 Stroke patients who have lose the use of their arms could find a helping hand in the form of a robotic arm that can ‘telepathically’ respond… Read More ›
DEAD-box proteins function as recycling nanopistons when unwinding RNA: May be incorporated into artificial nanomachines
Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer daniel.oppenheimer@utexas.edu 512-745-3353 University of Texas at Austin Ancient enzymes function like nanopistons to unwind RNA AUSTIN, Texas—Molecular biologists at The University of Texas at Austin have solved one of the mysteries of how double-stranded RNA is remodeled… Read More ›
Thought-controlled quadcopter takes to the skies: Clenched teeth and blinking both produce a brain signal that the electroencephalography (EEG) headset can read
Up, down, bank, take a photo! Researchers at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, have developed a quadcopter that can be controlled by thought alone. The idea is to give people with impaired motor abilities a new avenue for interaction. Their… Read More ›
Members of Congress Demand Answers for Homeland Security’s Unjust Domain Name Seizures
August 31, 2012 | By Trevor Timm This morning, a bipartisan group of Representatives, led by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), sent a pointed letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napalitano protesting the recent… Read More ›
Turning Chemistry Inside-Out: Self-Assembling Smart Microscopic Reagents to Pioneer Pourable Electronics
ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2012) — First place in an EU competitive call on “Unconventional Computing” was awarded to a collaborative proposal coordinated by Prof. John McCaskill from the RUB Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The project MICREAgents plans to build… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 