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Science and Technology

Science and Technology

Gates Predicts Big Technological Leaps

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said ...he expects the next decade to bring even greater technological leaps than the past 10 years.

A Ray Of Sunshine In The Fight Against Cancer: Vitamin D May Help

It sounds too good to be true … a little inexpensive pill that could block the development of some cancers, strengthen bones, prevent multiple sclerosis and alleviate winter depression. But it’s not science fiction. The “new aspirin” could be Vitamin D.

Scientists find hibernating fish in Antarctic - Yahoo! News

Scientists have found an Antarctic fish that hibernates to conserve energy during the long southern winters.

When the world's great scientific thinkers change their minds

One hundred and sixty-five eminent thinkers, researchers, and communicators, at the annual request of the edge.org website, answered the following question: "What Have You Changed Your Mind About? Why?"

The Best Way to Board a Plane

...Fermilab physicist Jason Steffen wondered if there might be a better way. So, in the midst of studying gravitation and axion-like particles, Steffen took a short break to investigate an optimal boarding method for airline passengers.

Swirl now offers 100,000 US ‘placemarks’

Checked out Swirl Connect at all? It’s a location-based mobile friend finder service. It enables users to stay connected with friends, experience what their friends experience as it happens, meet new folk on the go and find out about places of interest nearby.

Two-thirds of Americans think nanotechnology is morally...

...we're not exactly sure why a recent study conducted by the researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that two-thirds of American think nanotechnology is "morally unacceptable"

Human Culture Subject To Natural Selection, Study Shows

The process of natural selection can act on human culture as well as on genes, a new study finds.

Study Shows Bacteria Are Common in Snow

Those beautiful snowflakes drifting out of the sky may have a surprise inside - bacteria.

Harvard Professors Show Science is Sexy - Education News Story - WNEM Saginaw

Science is sexy. That was the message Thursday at Harvard University, where students and scientists tried smash some stereotypes.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'Frog from hell' fossil unearthed

A 70-million-year-old fossil of a giant frog has been unearthed in Madagascar by a team of UK and US scientists.

Apple introduces another game changer….. at My Own Reality

This changes everything! ...Apple TV Take 2 transforms podcasting into an on demand streaming content delivery service in one fell swoop - literally overnight.

Global warming deniers | Salon News

The big difference I have with the doubters is they believe the IPCC reports seriously overstate the impact of human emissions on the climate, whereas the actual observed climate data clearly show the reports dramatically understate the impact.

Machine Taste-tests Coffee | LiveScience

Now scientists have invented a new machine that could rapidly judge the taste and aromatic qualities of eight different types of espresso nearly as accurately as a panel of trained human espresso tasters.

25 Mind-Blowing Gadgets | Smashing Magazine

we present 25 mind-blowing gadgets and devices which are already available today. Among them you’ll find loudspeakers, turntables, TV sets, furniture, laptop sleeves and further accessories.

Planet-hunters set for big bounty

Rocky planets, possibly with conditions suitable for life, may be more common than previously thought in our galaxy, a study has found.

CK-12: Remix and Share Your Own Text Books as FlexBooks

CK-12 wants to bring open data to school textbooks under the name of FlexBooks. Through the tools on their site they'll let schools, teachers, parents and students can pull articles from different sources . The books will be available to others via the site.

New materials can selectively capture CO2, scientists say

Scientists have created metal-organic crystals capable of soaking up carbon dioxide gas like a sponge, which could be used to keep industrial emissions of the gas out of the atmosphere.

Science and Technology

Did Life Evolve in Ice?

Over a quarter-century, the frozen ammonia-cyanide blend had coalesced into the molecules of life ...The vial’s contents would support a new account of how life began on Earth and would arouse both surprise and skepticism around the world.

Scientists to launch paper planes from space

A spacecraft made of folded paper zooming through the skies may sound far-fetched, but Japanese scientists plan to launch paper planes from the International Space Station to see if they make it back to Earth.

More Mobiles Than Landlines in Iowa

A report from Iowa's Utilities Board has found that at the middle of last year, the number of cellphone users in the US state exceeded the number of landlines by a total of 400,000.

Study: Cat Parasite Affects Human Culture

A parasitic microbe commonly found in cats might have helped shape entire human cultures by manipulating the personalities of infected individuals, according to a new study.

Why scratching brings relief

OH, it brings such blessed relief and now scientists can tell you why - scratching an itch temporarily shuts off areas in the brain linked with unpleasant feelings and memories.

Genetic-mapping unveiled to test infectious diseases

A team of scientists unveiled a new playbook Wednesday in the fight against infectious disease outbreaks: Genetic-mapping by computers to find bugs that slip past all other modern medical tests.

New Thoughts On Language Acquisition: Toddlers As Data Miners

"This new discovery changes completely how we understand children's word learning," Smith said. "It's very exciting."

Molecular Nanobots are the world's smallest robots

While many in the nanotech establishment dismiss molecular nanobots as science fiction many of the recent breakthroughs in nanobiotech point to the emergence of hybrid biomechanical nanomachines

Kraft Macaroni n’ Anti-Intestinal Worm Cheese

Kraft Foods is teaming up with pesticide maker TyraTech to create a food that will also kill intestinal worms.

Unmanned aerial vehicles the size of a cigarette

Researchers at Oklahoma State University are working with DARPA to deliver a sophisticated, unmanned aircraft small enough to fit into a soldier's pocket

Ocean floor sensors will warn of failing Gulf Stream

An armada of robot submarines and marine sensors are to be deployed across the Atlantic, from Florida to the Canary Islands, to provide early warning that the Gulf Stream might be failing, an event that would trigger cataclysmic freezing in Britain for decades.

MIT material stops bleeding in seconds

MIT and Hong Kong University researchers have shown that some simple biodegradable liquids can stop bleeding in wounded rodents within seconds, a development that could significantly impact medicine.

Gas-pumping robot: what could go wrong?

Motorists nostalgic for the time they could sit tight while attendants braved windswept garage forecourts to fill their tanks may yet see those heady days return -- compliments of a Dutch robot.

Top 10 Mysteries of the Mind

The Top 10 Mysteries of the Mind revealed

Russian Scientists Creates Time Machine

Two Russian scientists claim a device created to investigate the origins of the universe could become the world’s first ever time machine.

A computer shop's sales pitch: 'We remove Vista'

After reading today's story about Windows Vista's first year, reader Bruce Finlayson of Seattle sent along this photo that he snapped in October outside a computer store in Milford, N.H. ...

Artificial Energy Islands Could Power The World

A decade old idea to generate renewable electricity for the globe with offshore, floating ‘Energy Islands’ could soon become a reality. The concept - creating artificial islands to collect wind, wave and solar power in the tropics - is based on the work of Jacques-Arsène d’Arsonval, a 19th-century French physicist, who envisioned the idea of using the sea as a giant solar-energy collector.

Reimagining Cities

Cities are now home to half of the world's 6.6 billion humans. By 2030, nearly 5 billion people will live in cities. This special issue explores the enormous implications of the mass embrace of city life.

Nasa investigates virtual space

The US space agency is exploring the possibility of developing a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game.

Can Your Cell Phone Ruin Your Complexion?

Just when you thought you heard it all, there is recent evidence coming out that cell phone usage is damaging to your complexion.

Scientists make cloned embryos from skin cells

Scientists in California say they have produced embryos that are clones of two men, a potential step toward developing scientifically valuable stem cells.

Tattoos may help deliver vaccine

Scientists in Germany say that tattoos could be the ideal way of delivering vaccines into the body.

McGee’s Musings : When does technology stop being technology?

I’ve frequently used Alan Kay’s definition of technology as “anything that was invented after you were born”. The following perspectives from the late Douglas Adams and from Bran Ferren are richer and perhaps more useful.

All blue-eyed humans have common ancestor

A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today.

Gadgets: An Apartment's Worth of Furniture In a Box

this design idea is fantastic and actually won the "Abraham & David Roentgen Award" last year for being so great. You actually get a desk, bed, shelves, dresser, and some other random boxes in the package.

'Recordable' proteins as next-generation memory storage materials

Move over, compact discs, DVDs, and hard drives. Researchers in Japan report progress toward developing a new protein-based memory device that could provide an alternative to conventional magnetic and optical storage systems, which are quickly approaching their memory storage capacities.

Pope says some science shatters human dignity

Pope Benedict said on Thursday that embryonic stem cell research, artificial insemination and the prospect of human cloning had "shattered" human dignity.

Windspire: Propeller-Free Household Turbine Gets Approval

Windspire has a propeller-free vertical-axis design, and is expected to produce about 1800 kilowatt hours per year in 11 mph average wind conditions.

Entire Synthetic Genome Created

Scientists yesterday announced that they have successfully created an entire synthetic genome in the lab by stitching together the DNA of the smallest known free-living bacterium, Mycoplasma genitalium.

One Pill Makes You Autistic -- And One Pill Changes You Back

Over the past year, researchers have demonstrated several times that they can turn mice autistic by messing with brain chemistry -- and then "cure" them using the same techniques.

Garmin Drops a Phone into the GPS

Garmin whipped out the nuvifone, a full-fledged GSM HSDPA smartphone built on its own operating system with GPS navigation at its core—but e-mail and web browsing close to its heart, and a camera built in too.

Scientists Glue Wii Remote Parts to Flying Lemurs

A backpack using technology borrowed from the iPod and Nintendo Wii has helped scientists learn how an exotic animal flies.

The Col-Pop, an All-in-One Chicken Nugget and Soda Cup

Proving yet again that South Korea is light years ahead of everyone else in fast-food technology is The Col-Pop. The nation ...ushers in a new era of snack portability with this mashup of drink cup and food container that holds popcorn chicken up top and a cold drink in the bottom.

Top 10s On Live Science

10 Things You Didn't Know About You

10 Trailblazing Scientists About to Change Your Future

the count up

Middle East and Asia lose internet access after cable fails

Huge swathes of the Middle East and Asia have been left without internet access after a vital undersea cable was damaged.

Heat causes chemical to leach from plastic

A new study may provide a clearer picture of how a controversial chemical called bisphenol A leaches out of plastics.

Science and Tech

Rice researchers make a dark discovery

A scientist at Rice University has created the darkest material known to man, a carpet of carbon nanotubes that reflects only 0.045 percent of all light shined upon it. That's four times darker than the previously darkest known substance, and more than 100 times darker than the paint on a black Corvette.

BeatBearing project weds ball bearings, elegance to make jams

As with most musical things, this truly is better appreciated through video, so do yourself a favor and click on through to see it in action.

The Algorithm: Idiom of Modern Science

"The Algorithm's coming-of-age as the new language of science promises to be the most disruptive scientific development since quantum mechanics."

Growing New Hearts from Old

In experiments performed on rats and pigs, the researchers stripped donor hearts of their cells to create scaffolds on which the recipients' cells were grown.

Virtual Cable Car Navigation - Safe, Simple and Intuitive

Virtual Cable is a unique display for a car navigation system. The driver sees the Virtual Cable™ image through the windshield.

Robots Evolve And Learn How to Lie

Robots can evolve to communicate with each other, to help, and even to deceive each other, according to Dario Floreano of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

New Study May Have Found a Way to Reverse Alzheimer's Symptoms Within Minutes

An amazing new study, published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, has documented improvement in the brain of a patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease within minutes of administrating a therapeutic molecule.

5min - What are gravitational waves - Video

What are gravitational waves

Cool Water Experiment Video

This is an experiment with hot water that makes clouds. Cool music and sweet slow motion effects!

10-Fold Life Span Extension Reported

Biologists have created baker's yeast capable of living to 800 in yeast years without apparent side effects.

Is the Right Side of the Bed the Wrong One?

Following a “hot debate” by a sleep scientist, a Feng Shui expert, and a motivational speaker, the final conclusion to the bedside conundrum was that left was right, and right was wrong.

Destruction: $70,000 Industrial Robot Modded to Fire Flameballs

There's only one thing better than robots that can destruct things: robots that can destruct things and terrify people by firing flameballs, bowling balls, watermelons and bloody pig entrails at high speed.

480-million-year-old Fossil Sheds Light On 150-year-old Paleontological Mystery

Discovery of an exceptional fossil specimen in southeastern Morocco that preserves evidence of the animal's soft tissues has solved a paleontological puzzle about the origins of an extinct group of bizarre slug-like animals with rows of mineralized armor plates on their backs

LightPoints from Schott

This is a shiny design idea that brings together new technologies and materials in creating a miniature spectacle of light. But as you will see in the pictures below, it's a concept that may be applied at a large scale also.

Super-wine might boost lifespan

Would you drink wine made from genetically engineered grapes if it had extra benefits?

Solar Cells with 60% Efficiency?

Nuclear Engineer Lonnie Johnson, best known for his invention of the super soaker squirt gun, has recently designed a new type of solar energy technology that he says can achieve a conversion efficiency rate of more than 60 percent. Considering that the best solar energy systems today have an efficiency of 30-40 percent, Johnson´s method could cut the cost of solar energy nearly in half.

State of US science report shows disturbing trends; challenges

US schools continue to lag behind internationally in science and math education. On the other hand, the US is the largest, single, R&D-performing nation in the world

Google to Host Terabytes of Open-Source Science Data

Sources at Google have disclosed that the humble domain, http://research.google.com, will soon provide a home for terabytes of open-source scientific datasets. The storage will be free to scientists and access to the data will be free for all.

Reversal Of Alzheimer's Symptoms Within Minutes In Human Study

An extraordinary new scientific study, which for the first time documents marked improvement in Alzheimer's disease within minutes of administration of a therapeutic molecule, has just been published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation.

Hopes of custom-built organs as scientists create beating heart

Scientists have created a beating heart in the laboratory in a breakthrough that could allow doctors one day to make a range of organs for transplant almost from scratch.

Monitor your gadgets energy usage with the Saverclip

The Saverclip is a gadget shapoed like a tie pin that reads electric usage on any power cable it's clipped onto.

UK OKs human-animal embryo research

British authorities ...approved scientists' use of animal eggs to create human stem cells, a ruling that will boost the supply of stem cells for research.

Charge Your Cellphone Just By Moving

Well, for those of you who hate the pain of cell-phone charging, there is now a promising new technology that could get rid of the messy problem of cellphone chargers once and for all, AND eliminate 30 to 40 percent of the toxic heavy metals that are currently found in cell-phone batteries.

Scientists Use Sunlight to Make Fuel From CO2

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico have found a way of using sunlight to recycle carbon dioxide and produce fuels like methanol or gasoline. The Sunlight to Petrol, or S2P, project essentially reverses the combustion process, recovering the building blocks of hydrocarbons.

Science and Technology News

Science Art: When Nano-Wires Explode

This image of "Nano-Explosions" won first prize in this year's "Science As Art" competition.

New 3-D Technique From RabbitHoles Makes Posters Pop

Now, a Canadian company has developed a way to print lifelike holographic posters that could make that kind of eye-catching advertising possible.

Streaming TV with Skype

How would you like to use your Slingbox with Skype or is it Skype with Slingbox?

Edison Fries an Elephant to Prove His Point

Topsy the elephant was electrocuted at Luna Park Zoo on Coney Island in 1903. Captured on film by Thomas Edison, the event was one of a string of animal electrocutions Edison staged to discredit a new form of electricity: alternating current.

Five unbelievably cool research facilities

otherwordly structures, massive machines, surreal technology…. some incredible beasts have been constructed in the name of research and below are 5 of the most immediately intriguing.

Light Emitting Wallpaper

The light emitting wallpaper is exactly what its names suggests. The interesting thing about it is that when it’s not turned [on], it seems to be just a normal wallpaper.

Universal flu jab works in people

A single jab that could give lifelong protection against all types of flu has produced promising results in human trials.

Spiral Fantasy

Amazing image from the Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest 2007

Bird Flu Good news at last!

By adding an agent that stimulates the immune system, it appears that the existing vaccine is effective against various strains of the bird flu virus.

Scientists Find Good News About Methane Bubbling Up From...

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered that only one percent of this dissolved methane escapes into the air –– good news for the Earth's atmosphere.

The first batch of new gadgets unveiled at CES

Several gadgets made their entrance Saturday night at the Consumer Electronics Show' Unveiled press event. Here’s a rundown of some of the neat things I spotted.

Inventor sacrifices family, savings to help world's poor

Nunez wonders if he'd get more respect if he hailed from Silicon Valley instead of this tiny Central American nation, where he toils in obscurity at a small private university.

Google’s Lunchtime Betting Game

It probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise to learn that while employees in many companies sit in the cafeteria gossiping about work, or the boss, or the competition, at Google they are doing something else.

DigitalGlobe Satellite In Operation

Longmont-based DigitalGlobe, a provider of commercial satellite imagery, said ...that its WorldView-1 satellite is fully operational and available to customers.

Zeitgeist: Gizmodo's Most Popular Hits of 2007

Here are Gizmodo's Greatest Hits 2007, the most popular stories, the best of the best in a single bubblelicious list full of gadgets, juicy industry happenings, in-deep reviews, shocking tech news, weird war planes, Star Wars, boobs and sex.

Satellite Images in Near-Real-Time (Low Resolution)

The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily satellite images of the United States and many other parts of the Earth.

Key To Avian Flu In Humans Discovered

MIT researchers have uncovered a critical difference between flu viruses that infect birds and humans, a discovery that could help scientists monitor the evolution of avian flu strains and aid in the development of vaccines against a deadly flu pandemic.

Virtual Earth Screen Saver

Check out the Virtual Earth Screen Saver ...The screen saver reads Virtual Earth permalinks from RSS feeds and uses the Virtual Earth API to show Birdseye and satellite images

Techland CES 2008: Previewing the future «

there will be a lot of floor space this year once again devoted to gadgets that connect to your iPod or some other digital music player. ...Devices that connect to the Internet without the use of a computer are also making a run...

Solar Powered AC Is Genius!

One of the biggest Money and energy wasters finally got solar!

The perfect computer memory: quantum dots?

The perfect memory would be nonvolatile like flash yet provide access faster than the current generation of DRAM. Quantum dots, with their nicely tunable electronic properties, look like they may fit the bill.

Ten Amazing Brain Facts

What part of you is only 1% to 3% of your body’s mass, yet uses 20% of all the oxygen you breathe? Your brain! Here are ten more brain facts:

Data shed new light on night clouds

He thinks that the changes might be caused by human-generated global warming.

Science and Technology News

The technology with impact 2007

The BBC News technology team members pick out their favourite technology of 2007.

Hospitals Look to Nuclear Tool to Fight Cancer

There is a new nuclear arms race under way — in hospitals. Medical centers are rushing to turn nuclear particle accelerators, formerly used only for exotic physics research, into the latest weapons against cancer.

Shower-ready suit to go on sale in Japan

...business suits, which can be washed in a warm shower and require no ironing...

The Spectrum Swindle

On January 24 a strange transaction will take place. At least $4.6 billion dollars will change hands between one or more firms and the FCC. The likely payoff is estimated to be somewhere between $10 and $30 billion.

Time is running out - literally, says scientist

Scientists have come up with the radical suggestion that the universe's end may come not with a bang but a standstill - that time could be literally running out and could, one day, stop altogether.

Google-powered mobile phones to make a February debut?

Right now, it's what sits inside the phone that is most important.

Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2007

Welcome to the first annual Wired News rundown of the year's 10 most important scientific breakthroughs. 2007 was an amazing year for science.

Samsung unveils 31-inch organic screen

Samsung ...said on Thursday it had developed a 31-inch ultra-thin organic screen, raising the stakes in an accelerating worldwide race for organic displays.

Breakthrough battery for electric cars?

Toshiba promises 'energy solution' with nearly full recharge in 5 minutes

Open Source Living

Welcome to Open Source Living, an archive of the Web's best Open Source software, applications and references for a zero-cost / top quality digital experience.

The Best Money-Saving Technologies of 2007

Here are some of the technologies that gained prominence in 2007 and that are considered to be among the best at helping companies retain their hard-earned profits.

Russian GPS alternative near completion, Putin and dog celebrate

The GPS competitor ...is now theoretically capable of providing coverage to the entire Russian territory

The Pogies: Envelope, Please

...this award was created to celebrate the tiny glints of cleverness and innovation that sometimes appear in consumer electronics. We award 10 Pogie trophies — not to products, but to individual features within them.

Largest diamond in galaxy predicts future of solar system

Astronomers discovered the largest diamond of all times in space. The weight of the precious stone reportedly makes up ten billion trillion trillion carats or five million trillion trillion pounds).

Merry Christmahanukwanzaakkah: How to Set Up Your New Computer

Trick out your new rig with our favorite system tweaks and downloads for Windows XP, Vista, Mac, and Linux.

Everex gPC: Full Review - Reviews by PC Magazine

Aside from being cheap and unaffected by Windows viruses, there's not a lot to recommend in the Everex gPC.

'Test tube universe' hints at unifying theory

A "universe in a test tube" that could be used to assess theories of everything has been created by physicists.

The Best Notebooks Concept Ideas

The ranking chosen for this top [10] is based on how cool these concepts are but also on how realistic their design is, because in our view it is more important that such a machine to be functional and reliable, rather than just futuristic looking.

» Best picture quality with 6 megapixels!

A digital camera with 12 million pixels is better than one with 6 million. ‘That is correct’ is what you would probably say because you’ve always heard more pixels are better. It’s not true(!!!)

Science and Technology News

Scientists say mummified dinosaur reveals surprises

A partially mummified hadrosaur discovered by a teenager in North Dakota may be the most complete dinosaur ever found, with intact skin that shows evidence of stripes and perhaps soft tissue, researchers said on Monday.

Barrier Reef could be gone within 30 years: study

A new study predicts the world's coral reef systems, including Queensland's Great Barrier Reef, could collapse within 30 years if the effects of global warming are not reversed.

Scientists who studied 'dolphinese' claim they are closer to humans than we thought

Scientists are teaching themselves to speak dolphinese.

The Risks and Rewards of Skipping Meals

People often miss meals because they get busy or are trying to lose weight. But how you skip meals, and the amount you eat at your next meal, can affect your overall health.

Ancient trees found using 200 year old maps

Maps more than 200 years old are being used to help find and protect Britain's natural treasure house of ancient trees.

Medical myths that even doctors believe

Researchers in the United States selected seven medical beliefs, long assumed to be true by both doctors and the general public and then searched for evidence to support or refute each of these claims.

FBI Prepares Vast Database Of Biometrics

The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad.

Warwick University scientists invent colour Sudoku

A colourful new way to make Sudoku more addictive, and easier, has come from scientists who are trying to make computers more creative.

The secret to winning at rock, paper, scissors

Scientists believe they have worked out the secret to winning at paper, scissors, stone.

Whale 'missing link' discovered

The whale is descended from a deer-like animal that lived 48 million years ago, according to fossil evidence.