© Unknown
This opposition is special because Neptune will be returning close to the spot where it was discovered in 1846, marking its first complete trip around the sun since its discovery.
Science & Technology
This opposition is special because Neptune will be returning close to the spot where it was discovered in 1846, marking its first complete trip around the sun since its discovery.
The victim, named as 23-year-old Gopal Gujjar, suffered serious injuries to his right ear, neck and shoulders.
There were no witnesses to the incident - but it was assumed he was talking on his Nokia when the blast happened in the northern state of Rajasthan.
His body was found along with the remains of the phone and battery near his farm in Banda village, Kota, reported the Times of India.
Police believe he was killed by the device after discovering pieces of the Nokia 1209 handset, a basic model released in August 2008, scattered nearby.
The victim had gone into a forest to tend to his grazing cattle around noon and his body was recovered later that night.
© IBM
A graphic overlay shows neural connections on a scan of IBM researcher Dharmendra Modha's brain
A graphic overlay shows neural connections on a scan of IBM researcher Dharmendra Modha's brain
It would be the first step toward creating machines that are more powerful than the human brain. These supercomputers could be networked into a cloud computing architecture to amplify their processing capabilities. Meanwhile, algorithms that power them could get more intelligent. Together these could create the ultimate machine that can help us handle the challenges of the future, says Kurzweil.
This point where machines surpass human intelligence has been called the "singularity." It's a term that Kurzweil helped popularize through his book.
Vanishing White Matter (VWM) disease is a devastating condition that involves the destruction of brain myelin due to a mutation in a central factor. To understand the disease and test potential treatments that could apply to other disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, Prof. Orna Elroy-Stein of Tel Aviv University's Department of Cell Research and Immunology is leading a scientific breakthrough by developing laboratory mice which carry the VWM mutation -- an important new tool.
The mice harbor a mutation of the eIF2B enzyme, which regulates protein synthesis in every cell throughout the body. The key to the new development, says Prof. Elroy-Stein, was the use of genetically-engineered embryonic stem cells to introduce the mutation.
The brain is made up of two components: grey matter, or nerves, and white matter, or glial cells which support the nerves and produce myelin, which wraps around and protects nerve extensions. Recently described in the journal Brain, the creation of these mutated mice allows for new research on VWM diseases, which trigger loss of myelin in the brain, leading to paralysis and possible death.
The mice harbor a mutation of the eIF2B enzyme, which regulates protein synthesis in every cell throughout the body. The key to the new development, says Prof. Elroy-Stein, was the use of genetically-engineered embryonic stem cells to introduce the mutation.
The brain is made up of two components: grey matter, or nerves, and white matter, or glial cells which support the nerves and produce myelin, which wraps around and protects nerve extensions. Recently described in the journal Brain, the creation of these mutated mice allows for new research on VWM diseases, which trigger loss of myelin in the brain, leading to paralysis and possible death.
© UCAR
The study was conducted by Mausumi Dikpati, Peter Gilman, and Giuliana de Toma, all scientists in the High Altitude Observatory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and by Roger Ulrich at the University of California, Los Angeles. It appeared on July 30 in Geophysical Research Letters. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, NCAR's sponsor, and by NASA's Living with a Star Program.
The Sun goes through cycles lasting approximately 11 years that include phases with increased magnetic activity, more sunspots, and more solar flares, than phases with less activity. The level of activity on the Sun can affect navigation and communications systems on Earth. Puzzlingly, solar cycle 23, the one that ended in 2008, lasted longer than previous cycles, with a prolonged phase of low activity that scientists had difficulty explaining.
Thanks to rapid increases in computing power, your confidential information is probably not safe unless you use a 12-digit randomized password, experts say.
Recent research from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) indicates that to defeat a new generation of encryption cracking software, passwords need a length of at least 12 randomized characters consisting of letters, numbers and symbols. Anything else - a keyword, a birthday or a pattern of symbols - makes you an easy mark.
Recent research from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) indicates that to defeat a new generation of encryption cracking software, passwords need a length of at least 12 randomized characters consisting of letters, numbers and symbols. Anything else - a keyword, a birthday or a pattern of symbols - makes you an easy mark.
© Choi + Shine
Human pylons
Human pylons
The "Land of Giants" plan would have seen dozens of metallic figures erected across the island's volcanic landscape.
Each humanoid electricity pylon could be twisted into a different posture, allowing the structures to project moods fitting with their surroundings.
Choi + Shine, the US architecture practice behind the proposal, said that the humanoid towers would be "powerful, solemn and variable", and represent a modern take on the ancient Easter Island statues.
According the proposals submitted to an Icelandic energy company, the pylons would stand around 150ft tall and be constructed from steel, glass and concrete.
Aluminium air-riding catamarans for Royal Marines
Blighty's elite Royal Marine Commandos have just taken delivery of a prototype semi-aircushion hover assault craft, intended to speed up the amphibious landings of the future.
Blighty's elite Royal Marine Commandos have just taken delivery of a prototype semi-aircushion hover assault craft, intended to speed up the amphibious landings of the future.
© Yet-Ming Chiang
Battery pioneer: Yet-Ming Chiang has a new battery design that could make electric vehicles much cheaper.
Battery pioneer: Yet-Ming Chiang has a new battery design that could make electric vehicles much cheaper.
The new company, called 24M, has been spun out of the advanced battery company A123 Systems. It will develop a novel type of battery based on research conducted by Yet-Ming Chiang, a professor of materials science at MIT and founder of A123 Systems. He says the battery design has the potential to cut those costs by 85 percent.
The battery pack alone in many electric cars can cost well over $10,000. Cutting this figure could make electric vehicles competitive with gasoline-fueled cars.
Nanoparticle could peek inside cells or ferret out chemicals using sound waves.
Ultrasonics have many uses in an array of industries. In medicine, ultrasound is used to peek at babies to measure their development, or to detect and sometimes destroy various types of crystalline "stones" in organs. In manufacturing, ultrasonics can pinpoint microscopic stress fractures that may introduce flaws or weaknesses to a structure, or accurately measure surface and sub-surface topographies.
Various ultrasound machine refinements have come across the DailyTech desks in the past, but a new type of device may herald a new approach to ultrasonic devices as well as dramatically expand their uses. Researchers at the University of Nottingham have created not a machine, but nanoscale particles capable of acting as transducers. Along with the amazingly small size of the multilayer particle, the simplicity of the system is also quite surprising.
Ultrasonics have many uses in an array of industries. In medicine, ultrasound is used to peek at babies to measure their development, or to detect and sometimes destroy various types of crystalline "stones" in organs. In manufacturing, ultrasonics can pinpoint microscopic stress fractures that may introduce flaws or weaknesses to a structure, or accurately measure surface and sub-surface topographies.
Various ultrasound machine refinements have come across the DailyTech desks in the past, but a new type of device may herald a new approach to ultrasonic devices as well as dramatically expand their uses. Researchers at the University of Nottingham have created not a machine, but nanoscale particles capable of acting as transducers. Along with the amazingly small size of the multilayer particle, the simplicity of the system is also quite surprising.
