Saturday, May 7, 2005
Nanotechnology + Superconductivity = Spintronics?
PhysOrg: “As the ever-increasing power of computer chips brings us closer and closer to the limits of silicon technology, many researchers are betting that the future will belong to ‘spintronics’: a nanoscale technology in which information is carried not by the electron’s charge, as it is in conventional microchips, but by the electron’s intrinsic spin.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 11:43 PM / Comments (0)
Monday, May 2, 2005
Scientists: Life on Mars Likely
Wired News: “Tantalizing evidence is accumulating that suggests the red planet is alive, but incontrovertible proof is still lacking. And while the European Space Agency is keen to send a lander to find it, a history of failed life-finding missions at NASA makes Americans more cautious.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 06:23 PM / Comments (0)
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Mind-reading machine knows what you see
NewScientist: “It is possible to read someone’s mind by remotely measuring their brain activity, researchers have shown. The technique can even extract information from subjects that they are not aware of themselves.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 06:25 PM / Comments (0)
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Alien asteroid belt detected around Sun-like star
NewScientist: “An alien asteroid belt may have been spotted circling a mature star nearby. The observations, made by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, reveal a dense ring of dust around the star that might arise from rocks colliding and smashing each other apart.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 07:17 PM / Comments (0)
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Look out for giant triangles in space
New Scientist: “The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) could be taking the wrong approach. Instead of listening for alien radio broadcasts, a better strategy may be to look for giant structures placed in orbit around nearby stars by alien civilisations.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 07:42 AM / Comments (0)
Monday, April 11, 2005
Clouds May Harbor Nanobacteria
Wired News: “Tiny particles linked to a number of painful and sometimes deadly diseases may spread across the globe by hitching a ride in clouds, claim researchers in a recent issue of the Journal of Proteome Research. The particles, known as nanobacteria, are 100 times smaller than typical bacteria and have been found in kidney stones, arterial plaques and ovarian cancers.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 04:50 PM / Comments (0)
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Non-acoustic sensors detect speech without sound
NewScientist: “DARPA, the US Department of Defense’s research agency, is working on a project known as Advanced Speech Encoding, aimed at replacing microphones with non-acoustic sensors that detect speech via the speaker’s nerve and muscle activity, rather than sound itself.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 01:38 PM / Comments (0)
Monday, April 4, 2005
Do black holes really exist?
Ars Technica: “Black holes. Superdense collapsed stars that helped make Steven Hawking famous, and introduced a legion of little kids to Maximillian Schell… Now, scientists at Lawrence Livermore are challenging accepted beliefs, claiming that there’s no such thing as a black hole. According to [them], black holes are actually stars made out of dark energy formed by the collapse of massive stars.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 04:33 PM / Comments (0)
Monday, March 28, 2005
Gravity Probe B Aims to Confirm Einstein's Theory
Red Nova: “By measuring the shape of space with exquisite precision, NASA’s Gravity Probe B aims to confirm Einstein’s theory of relativity… or provide the first evidence against it.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 03:15 PM / Comments (0)
Global Warming's Silver Lining
Wired News: “Earth’s temperature is on the rise, researchers say, and environmental watchdogs are howling, hoping it’s not too late to avert negative effects that could range from melting icecaps to mass extinctions… [Yet] some researchers believe the benefits of Earth’s warming will help compensate for the harmful consequences.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 01:31 PM / Comments (2)
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Exotic black holes spawn new universal law
Jenny Hogan reports for New Scientist: “Black holes may define the perfect fluid, suggests a study of black holes that only exist in a theoretical 10-dimensional space. The finding may have spawned a new universal law in physics, which puts constraints on the way fluids behave in the real world.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 03:15 PM / Comments (0)
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
3D printer to churn out copies of itself
New Scientist: “A self-replicating 3D printer that spawns new, improved versions of itself is in development at the University of Bath in the UK. The self replicating rapid prototyper or RepRap could vastly reduce the cost of 3D printers, paving the way for a future where broken objects and spare parts are simply “re-printed” at home. New and unique objects could also be created.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 08:00 PM / Comments (0)
Monday, March 21, 2005
Global warming could trigger ant invasions
New Scientist: “Global warming may lead to an unexpected threat from the insect world - swarming invasions of tiny ants - suggests new research. The study of 665 ant colonies in environments ranging from tropical rainforests to frozen tundra suggests that in warmer environments the ants’ body size shrinks…”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 07:17 PM / Comments (0)
Sunday, March 20, 2005
More than meats the eye
Guardian Unlimited: “You may scoff at the idea of an emotional cow, but the latest research suggests animals might have feelings just like ours.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 09:38 PM / Comments (0)
Friday, March 18, 2005
13 things that do not make sense
New Scientist: “The placebo effect, The horizon problem, Ultra-energetic cosmic rays, Belfast homeopathy results, Dark matter, Viking’s methane, So why no party, Tetraneutrons, The Pioneer anomaly, Dark energy, The Kuiper cliff, The Wow signal, Not-so-constant constants, Cold fusion.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 09:40 AM / Comments (0)
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Black holes in production in New York
Lucy Sherriff reports for The Register: “Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York have created a very short-lived, very tiny black hole, or at least, a fireball that behaved quite a lot like one for a millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 04:46 PM / Comments (0)
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Hello aliens, this is Earth calling
Kelly Young reports for NewScientist: “A group of engineers has offered a solution for people who want a direct line to aliens - by broadcasting their phone calls directly into space. The company is not aiming its antenna at specific stars with the potential to harbour life. Rather, they have opted to track across the Milky Way galaxy to cover a host of nearby stars.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 09:35 PM / Comments (0)
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Penrose: The Answer's Not 42
Wired News: “In 1998, Stephen Hawking laid 50-50 odds that the holy grail of physics, the elusive theory of everything, was less than 20 years away. We are nowhere close to an accurate, purely physical theory of everything, Penrose told Nature earlier this year. For instance, despite the stampede of physicists today seeking to unify all physical theories under the aegis of string theory, Penrose thinks his colleagues are on a wild goose chase.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 10:06 PM / Comments (0)
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Moon measurements might explain away dark energy
Will Knight of NewScientist reports: “Plans to trace the Moon’s orbit with extraordinary new accuracy could reveal kinks in Einstein’s theory of gravity and help explain the mysterious accelerating expansion of the universe, says a US researcher.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 12:52 PM / Comments (0)
Friday, February 18, 2005
Experts: Global Warming Is Real
From Wired News Technology: “New computer models that look at ocean temperatures instead of the atmosphere show the clearest signal yet that global warming is well underway, said Tim Barnett of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His team used millions of temperature readings made by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to calculate steady ocean warming. The debate over whether or not there is a global warming signal is now over, at least for rational people, he said.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 05:17 PM / Comments (0)
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Life on Mars?
Space.com: “A pair of NASA scientists told a group of space officials at a private meeting here Sunday that they have found strong evidence that life may exist today on Mars, hidden away in caves and sustained by pockets of water.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 06:45 PM / Comments (0)
Just how exciting is it?
Rowan Hooper, Wired News: “What thrills us depends on our personal hopes, fears, loves and desires. But now a British designer, working with a computer scientist, is creating a machine that can measure the experience of thrill. The hope is to create an industry-standard measure that can be used to gauge thrilling experiences, and, ultimately, dynamically modify such experiences in real time.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 05:38 PM / Comments (0)
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Never say die: Live Forever
From Wired News Technology: “As part of his daily routine, Kurzweil ingests 250 supplements, eight to 10 glasses of alkaline water and 10 cups of green tea. He also periodically tracks 40 to 50 fitness indicators, down to his ‘tactile sensitivity.’ Adjustments are made as needed.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 05:06 PM / Comments (0)
Can This Black Box See Into the Future?
Red Nova: “The machine apparently sensed the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre four hours before they happened - but in the fevered mood of conspiracy theories of the time, the claims were swiftly knocked back by sceptics. But last December, it also appeared to forewarn of the Asian tsunami just before the deep sea earthquake that precipitated the epic tragedy.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 11:26 AM / Comments (0)