Science & TechnologyS


Light Saber

Flashback How to fight an asteroid

Alan Boyle
msnbc
Fri, 16 Feb 2007 06:52 UTC
Today there are more than 100 entries on NASA's list of asteroids that just might possibly hit Earth, even if it's less than a one-in-a-million chance. One of them, called Apophis, currently has a risk rating of 1 in 45,000 - serious enough to get people thinking about how to avoid a "cosmic Katrina." Chances are that Apophis will soon no longer be considered a threat, but what about those others? And what about the thousands of space rocks that are expected to be added to the list over the next few years?

©NASA
A massive asteroid strike would
have a catastrophic effect.
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Display

India launches tsunami warning system


Agence France Presse
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:50 UTC
India on Monday unveiled a tsunami warning system designed to detect all earthquakes above a magnitude of six on the Richter scale in the Indian Ocean within 20 minutes, the government said.

©Unknown
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Bizarro Earth

From the depths, rare sea creatures


Associated Press
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:35 UTC
Scientists exploring a deep ocean basin in search of species isolated for millions of years found marine life believed to be previously undiscovered, including a tentacled orange worm -- "We don't know what it is," scientists said -- and an unusual black jellyfish near the sea floor.
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Telescope

New Science Instruments For Hubble


Space Daily
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:44 UTC
To enhance the Hubble Space Telescope's science capabilities, two new instruments - the Wide Field Camera 3 and Cosmic Origins Spectrograph - will be installed during the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to the observatory in August 2008.

©NASA
Engineers check NASA's Wide Field Camera 3 instrument to ensure it will fit properly in the protective enclosure that will carry it to orbit aboard the space shuttle next summer for Servicing Mission 4 to the Hubble Space Telescope.
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Heart

Doppler radar detects speeding hearts

Mark Rutherford
CNet News.com Blog
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:52 UTC
The Army has turned to a Honolulu company for Doppler radar and advanced algorithm technology to be able to detect and monitor multiple subjects based on their heart rate, even through walls.

Comment: Coming to a law enforcement officer near you...

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Monkey Wrench

Three Share Nobel in Economics for Work on Social Mechanisms

Steve Lohr
The New York Times
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:37 UTC
The Nobel in economic science was awarded to three American economists for creating and developing a sophisticated explanation of the interaction among individuals, markets and institutions.

Their work, called mechanism design theory, has influenced thinking on a wide range of problems in economics and political science, everything from the arrangement of government bond auctions to setting up patent systems and creating new voting procedures.

Comment: This is another Nobel Prize for work expanding on aspects of the Game Theory.

Interested readers are advised to have a look at Chapter 35 of "Adventures with Cassiopaea" for a fascinating look on what The Prisoner's Dillema, Al Gore and Enron have in common.

(They are all a consequence of - that's right - Game Theory)

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Key

Lizard love triangles exposed

Charles Q. Choi
msnbc LiveScience
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:24 UTC
A three-way sex struggle resembling the game rock-paper-scissors may have existed for 175 million years or more in lizards, research now suggests.

Comment: As above - so below. It is fascinating to observe how certain types of behaviour in the animal or plant kingdoms closely parallel those found in humans.

One has to wonder, too - would these imprinted patterns extend to beings of a higher-dimensional nature...?

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Clock

Boeing Conducts Successful Avenger-Mounted Laser Tests


Space War
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:59 UTC
Boeing has successfully demonstrated that its Avenger-mounted laser system can neutralize the kinds of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unexploded ordnance (UXO) that threaten U.S. troops deployed in war zones. During laser firings Sept. 26-27 at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., the Laser Avenger engaged and destroyed five targets representing IED and UXO threats.

©Unknown
The laser segment of Laser Avenger will have uses beyond the counter-IED, counter-UXO mission. For instance, it could be upgraded to have a shoot-on-the-move capability and to destroy other kinds of targets, including low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles.

Comment: Yes, it most certainly could. Afraid yet?

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Network

Google launches video-blocking tool for YouTube

Linda Rosencrance
Computerworld
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:51 UTC
Google Inc. has launched a video-blocking tool that will allow content owners to intercept copyrighted clips as they're uploaded to YouTube, its video-sharing site.

The tool, called YouTube Video Identification, is in beta testing.

"Video Identification is the next step in a long list of content policies and tools that we have provided copyright owners so that they can more easily identify their content and manage how it is made available on YouTube," said David King, YouTube product manager, in the blog post.
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Bulb

Study finds fish suffer insomnia

Kristina Peterson
Inside Bay Area
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:34 UTC
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying the mysteries of sleep have discovered a new model for their research - and it's swimming around their laboratory.

Emmanuel Mignot, the Stanford scientist who discovered the cause of narcolepsy first in dogs and later in humans, has successfully shown that common zebrafish can develop insomnia.

The finding paves the way for future study of humans, who have many of the same sleep-producing chemicals, he said Monday.
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