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njdevil

Science

This Week in the Future, October 19-23, 2009

By Posted on 10.24.2009 23 Comments
China engineers the world's smartest rat? The mayor of Moscow wants to control the weather? Skiing robots?. What a week. See the stories, and win the shirt!

10.25.2009 at 11:48am - Comment by njdevil

If Russia can control the weather- we shall all be under threat from their skiing robot army! our only defense is a race of supermice.
Science

Colorblind Monkeys Recover Sight with Gene Therapy

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 9.16.2009 5 Comments
A few colorblind squirrel monkeys in ophthalmology professor Jay Neitz's lab at the University of Washington, Seattle have received an early Christmas gift: gene therapy has restored their ability to see red and green. Neitz and his colleagues say that the achievement provides hope for treating vision disorders in human adults as well.

9.17.2009 at 01:11pm - Comment by njdevil

Mister Glassman: I am not sure if this was intentional or not, but giving your name, place of work etc, you are letting people know a little too much information. Not only could someone hypothetically find your address (ussearch.com), linkedIn page (possibly intentional to attract employers), but your amazon page showing your picture(!) and recent purchases (by the way, did you enjoy the "Kelly Madison and her Busty Friends DVD"?) I don't mean to scare you or anything, rather to inform you. Next time someone with more sinister intentions might take a liking to you.
Technology

Look Out Mars, India's Gonna Get Ya!

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 8.31.2009 8 Comments
India has officially given up on its lunar probe Chandrayaan-1, which launched in 2008 and stayed alive for ten months before mission controllers lost radio contact. But officials are already looking forward to sending a robotic explorer to the red planet. The nation's state-run space agency announced today a mission to Mars between 2013 and 2015. Xinhua reports that the planning will become reality after India launches its Chandrayaan-2 lunar rover in 2011.

8.31.2009 at 06:08pm - Comment by njdevil

@steven-t: Really? Personally I am one of those people who believe that India of all places should not have a space program. If there are people living on the streets of Calcutta who still require aid from other countries in Europe and elsewhere, Then now is not the time to start developing space technology. Space is the final frontier, not necessarily the next frontier. And it ain't going anywhere anytime soon. I am all for the advancement of science, but $100 million dollars could build one heck of a sewage treatment plant. OR build a lot of adequate housing. an awful lot.
Science

Planes, Trains and Supersonic Spaceships

By Cliff Kuang Posted on 5.4.2009 11 Comments
Commercial Flight: 2020
The long, skinny tube has to go. Tasked with improving the nation's air transportation, NASA wants airplanes to burn 40 percent less fuel than a 777 by 2020 and 70 percent less by 2030. Not only that, it wants those same planes to be whisper-quiet. The best -- and perhaps the only -- way to reach these ambitious benchmarks is to design commercial planes more like stealth bombers and less like pencils.

5.4.2009 at 01:01pm - Comment by njdevil

I have a copy of popular mechanics from the late 50's that has a picture of a 'space plane' that looks uncannily similar to the one on page 2, with a similar claim of speed. They said we would have one by the late 1960's. People will undoubtedly look at this article in 2015 and laugh, as they sit in the airport lounge waiting to be crammed into a 747.
Science

Birds Have Got the Beat

By Brooke Borel Posted on 4.30.2009 5 Comments
Previously, it was believed that dancing was unique to humans. Now, two separate studies have shown that parrots have the ability to bob their heads and tap their feet to a number of different beats, proving that humans aren't the only ones with rhythm. One of the birds studied even has a favorite song: "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys.

5.2.2009 at 05:34pm - Comment by njdevil

of course birds dance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne3qP2u_S4Y
Entertainment & Gaming

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

By Scott Steinberg Posted on 5.4.2009 5 Comments
According to the Entertainment Software Association, 40 percent of video game players are female, while women over 18 represent a larger built-in audience than even teenage boys. But where are the titles which speak to this diversity, and intelligently at that? One glance at store shelves and online portals -- crowded by childish outings (My Fashion Studio), self-help programs (Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009) and cutesy diversions (Diaper Dash) -- and it's hard to tell.

5.2.2009 at 05:31pm - Comment by njdevil

"According to the Entertainment Software Association, 40 percent of video game players are female, while women over 18 represent a larger built-in audience than even teenage boys" I'm sorry, but this is a load of crap. 40 percent? I would guess at MOST 10%.
DIY

Apple Juice

By Theodore Gray Posted on 5.1.2009 5 Comments
Arthur C. Clarke wrote that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," but he was wrong. It's easy to tell the difference -- technology works. For example, "remote-viewing" mentalists claim they can see events far away, yet they fail every test. In fact, remote viewing is simple: It’s called TV. Another example that recently circulated online was a fake video of someone charging his iPhone by jamming the end of a USB cable into an onion. How do I know it was fake? First, you need contacts made of two different metals, and second, you can't get enough voltage out of a single vegetable. What makes the ruse so disappointing is that it is possible to charge an iPhone this way, if you do it right.

5.2.2009 at 05:24pm - Comment by njdevil

Did the iPhone really hover above the table for that 1 second too, as in the picture? if so, definitely work spending the day chopping apples.
Science

Learn How You'll Die For Only $68,000

By Joel Barnard Posted on 4.24.2009 7 Comments
No doubt you have it on your calendars, but in case you forgot, the 25th is National DNA Day. Can't think how to celebrate it? Well, if you have $68,000 or more lying around, you can bid for a chance to have your entire personal genome sequenced by Knome, a company that does such things.

4.25.2009 at 05:57pm - Comment by njdevil

for $68,000, I'm guessing the most probable cause of death they will say is 'death by buyers remorse' or possibly being beaten to death by some paypal collectors looking for their $68,000.
Science

Islam Is Good

By M. Farbman Posted on 4.21.2009 33 Comments
British government officials are planning to deploy search-engine optimization in their war on terror, working with certain Muslim groups to push "positive" depictions of Islam up in the Google rankings. Also in today's links: watching your kids like a hawk, living like a pig, and more.

4.22.2009 at 07:18am - Comment by njdevil

and also I don't see how making Google say Muslims are great is going to help any anti-terror war.Its just trying to change people's opinions subliminally It sounds like something out of George Orwell's 1984.
Science

Islam Is Good

By M. Farbman Posted on 4.21.2009 33 Comments
British government officials are planning to deploy search-engine optimization in their war on terror, working with certain Muslim groups to push "positive" depictions of Islam up in the Google rankings. Also in today's links: watching your kids like a hawk, living like a pig, and more.

4.22.2009 at 07:15am - Comment by njdevil

Criticalscience, I find one thing in what you said unfair, you assume that atheists are unhappy with themselves and have 'given up'. Its not because I feel God has let me down that I am an atheist. I just don't believe. I need proof. An ancient book Isn't good enough. But that doesn't mean is that I sit in the dark all day because if there is no God there is no point to anything. The complete opposite. I have a happy life, I go out and make the most of it. Because I believe once you are dead, you are dead. No eternal life.