December 2009
20 posts
5 tags
Google's Unlocked Phone Could Start a Revolution →
If Google sells its own unlocked cell phone next month as widely rumored, it could finally bring unlocked phones to the attention of the American public. Commonplace in Europe, unlocked mobiles allow the owner to choose a cell phone provider based solely on service rather than on its phone selection.
4 tags
Airport Security: Why It Failed →
Airport screening procedures failed for many reasons to catch the Nigerian man who aimed to blow up flight 253 as it approached Detroit. Scanners that might have spotted the explosives are not fully deployed, and even at airports where they exist, the scanners aren’t used on all passengers.
4 tags
Birds Favor Most Promising Offspring →
A new study suggests that such parental vetting begins even before eggs hatch.
3 tags
Eruption Recorded at Deepest Ocean Volcano →
Scientists have recorded the deepest erupting volcano yet discovered. The West Mata Volcano, discovered in May, is nearly 4,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, in an area bounded by Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.
4 tags
The Invisible AIDS Victims: How Women Cope →
“For a long time, women with HIV were somewhat invisible in the research field and in our common knowledge,” said Watkins-Hayes, associate professor of African American studies and sociology at Northwestern University. “AIDS and HIV got tagged as a ‘man’s disease’ early on in the epidemic even though there were women being infected as well.”
2 tags
Can the Aging Process Be Slowed? →
Because some hormone levels drop with age, there’s a theory that this decline causes us to age. But, can you reverse aging by restoring your hormones?
3 tags
Geeks Drive Girls Out of Computer Science |... →
The stereotype of computer scientists as geeks who memorize Star Trek lines and never leave the lab may be driving women away from the field, a new study suggests.
1 tag
Americans Are Info-'Junkies' →
American’s are known for gorging on food, but we’re also gluttons of another sort: A new study finds that the average American consumes more than 34 gigabytes of video, music, and words a day—and that’s only on our free time.
1 tag
Wireless Braintalk (an example video) →
An example of the volunteer’s performance with the brain-computer interface that scans minds in real-time for speech data.
6 tags
Americans Believe in God, Astrology and Ghosts →
Americans are a group of believers. In fact, many individuals believe in many things that arguably conflict.
Some 24 percent of U.S. adults surveyed (including 22 percent of those who identified themselves as Christians) say they believe in reincarnation — that people will be reborn in this world again and again. Other results of the Pew Research Center survey:
* Belief in Astrology: 25...
1 tag
Tiny Nuclear Batteries to Power Micro Devices →
Now a company called Widetronix has developed new betavoltaics that can run for up to 25 years and perhaps power tiny devices in everything from military hardware to smartphone sensors.
2 tags
Mysterious Radiation May Strike Airline Passengers... →
Airline passengers flying through storms might have more to worry about than a little turbulence. A new study suggests that if jets pass near lightning discharges or related phenomena known as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, passengers and crew members could be exposed to harmful levels of radiation, a dose equal to that of 400 chest X-rays.
4 tags
The Gambler Who Blew $127 Million - WSJ.com →
LAS VEGAS — During a year-long gambling binge at the Caesars Palace and Rio casinos in 2007, Terrance Watanabe managed to lose nearly $127 million.
4 tags
Hydrogen Economy →
The hydrogen economy is a proposal for the distribution of energy using hydrogen. Hydrogen (H2) releases energy when it is combined with oxygen; however in practice, production of hydrogen from water requires more energy than is released when the hydrogen is used as fuel. Free hydrogen does not occur naturally, and thus it must be generated by electrolysis of water or another method.
3 tags
Top 10 Emerging Environmental Technologies →
Wasteful energy policies, overuse of resources, water supply shortages, global climate change, and deforestation are just some of the issues experts say need to be addressed at the U.N. Climate Change summit in Copenhagen beginning this week. Here are 10 technologies - some old, some new, some a bit offbeat - that might help.
2 tags
Yahoo Users Take Control of Ads →
Yahoo! released a beta version of a tool today (Ad Interest Manager) which enables consumers to see a summary of their online activity (interest areas) and make choices about their exposure to interest-based (read behavioral) advertising served from the Yahoo! Ad Network.
3 tags
Google Phone Could Mean Free Mobile Phone Service →
Images of the new Google phone surfaced this week after months of rumors. It appears the phone is manufactured under the Google brand, will use an even newer version of Android than that of the Droid−the only Android phone running 2.0, and most important, may use VoiP service, which uses a wireless connection to the Internet for calls rather than a cellular network. This could mean lower cell...
2 tags
Human Feeding Creates New Population of Birds →
By feeding birds, you could alter their evolutionary future, with changes visible in the very near term, scientists now conclude.
1 tag
Dubai: A High Rise, Then a Steep Fall - WSJ.com →
DUBAI — As financial crisis roiled much of the world in October 2008, the head of Dubai’s biggest state-owned developer unveiled his latest megaproject: a $38 billion development that would include a tower nearly two-thirds of a mile tall.
3 tags
CONFIRMED: Comcast to Take Control of NBC... →
What was made public earlier this week is now official: General Electric is shifting control of NBC Universal to Comcast in a $30 billion agreement.