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Pulsout

Technology

In Defense of Cyborg Athletes

By John Mahoney Posted on 11.12.2009 10 Comments
Much of the debate on the place of advanced prostheses for the disabled in competitive sports often downplays arguably the most important perspective: that of the athletes who couldn't compete without them. In light of the recent MIT research project that found prosthetic limbs offering no advantage over natural legs, sprinter and double Cheetah leg user Aimee Mullins has some even more thought-provoking (and first-hand) analysis of the issue.

11.12.2009 at 10:04pm - Comment by Pulsout

Like they have been hinting at, maybe now these limbs do not give you an advantage, but one day they can and will ( for those with enough cash) So if there is a time to draw a line it is now. If we cant have chemical enhancements then we shouldn't be able to have mechanical enhancements.
Science

Singularity Summit 2009: Thus Spake Kurzweil

By Stuart Fox Posted on 10.5.2009 11 Comments
Welcome to the main event. At the end of a day filled with many interesting, thought provoking talks (and a few that gave me some much needed sleep), the audience at the Singularity Summit 2009 sat content but exhausted. After all, contemplating the future of humanity really takes it out of you. Then came Kurzweil. He's the man everyone came to see, and they greeted him appropriately. After the standing ovation died down, the auditorium reached its quietest point yet, as the collected skeptics, crazies and disciples waited to hear from the first prophet of Singularity.

10.4.2009 at 06:18pm - Comment by Pulsout

"All I know is that when it does get here, I hope it doesn't run on Windows. " haha nice
Science

First, Let's Synchronize Our Watches

By PopSci Staff Posted on 10.24.2008 6 Comments
Leonard Monroe wonders: "What would happen if everyone in the world were to jump and land at the same time?" Post your answer in the comments. Submit your science and technology questions to fyi@popsci.com.

10.25.2008 at 03:50pm - Comment by Pulsout

people are reasonable distributed around the world so if jumping did any thing it would cancel it self out.
Entertainment & Gaming

The Baseball Replay Redux

By Brett Zarda Posted on 8.27.2008 3 Comments
Can’t say we didn’t try. When we saw the proposed instant replay plan for Major League Baseball in June we pleaded with Bud Selig to reconsider. Heck, we even gave him a blueprint for how to get it right. Apparently, Bud wasn’t listening. As of this Thursday, MLB will implement its weak excuse for instant replay.

8.31.2008 at 01:40pm - Comment by Pulsout

baseball = worst spectator sport
Science

Super-Repellant Surfaces

By Posted on 6.3.2008 5 Comments
A trio of prismatic drops (left to right: water, ethylene glycol and ethanol) balances on a new ultra-repellent surface invented by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The surface, made up of silicon spikes just 400 nanometers wide, physically repels a wide variety of liquids, including water, oil, solvents and detergents. Previously, scientists relied on chemical modification to make surfaces repel liquids, a time-consuming process. In the end, each coating worked to repel only certain liquids, and oil-repellent surfaces simply weren’t possible to manufacture.

6.3.2008 at 04:14pm - Comment by Pulsout

maybe one could put it on as a coating, like the wood repelent stuff except better. it does not say if it is very costly i imagine though it is
Science

Monkeys Work Robotic Arm

By Posted on 6.3.2008 2 Comments
While robotic prosthetics controlled by electrical impulses from an amputee are nothing new, their range of motion and practicality in daily life have been particularly limited since they first appeared on the market. New research coming out of the University of Pittsburgh promises to change that, with a robotic arm capable of complex and subtle movements. The scientists behind the project successfully trained macaque monkeys to feed themselves by using the arm to reach out for an grab marshmallows without knocking them over. It sounds like an inconsequential task, but the hurdles between an arm on which the "hand" simply opens and closes and an arm with an articulated shoulder, elbow, and wrist, and a gripping hand working together with the brain have been not insignificant.

6.3.2008 at 04:12pm - Comment by Pulsout

this is amazing, the future is here people, not only is this just cool but all the amputies coming from war will now(soon) have a normal life. Problems First as it said there are not "touch" sensors yet second is power i wonder what kind of battery pack it requires to run one of those.
Science

Energy Drinks May Promote Risky Behavior

By Posted on 5.29.2008 12 Comments
Energy drinks like Monster, Full Throttle, Red Bull and others account for more than $3 billion in annual sales in the U.S., and roughly one-third of people between the ages of twelve and 24 say they suck them down on a regular basis. The beverages have been linked to a number of negative health effects, but now an addiction researcher at the University of Buffalo has published a report demonstrating that excessive consumption is also correlated to risky behavior such as unprotected sex, substance abuse and violence.

5.30.2008 at 03:53pm - Comment by Pulsout

im 16 and personally i hate the stuff , it tastes like liquid cotton candy and is sold a outrageous prices, 3$ for sugar water? i don't think so.
Technology

Japanese Brewery Introduces "Space Beer"

By Posted on 5.30.2008 13 Comments
Taking beer-making to a whole new sphere, Japan's famous Sapporo Holdings Ltd. plans to launch a beer in November that's literally from out of this world. The brewery will collaborate with scientists at the Okayama University in Japan to concoct this unearthly beverage from a third generation of barley grains that spent five months on the International Space Station in 2006.

5.30.2008 at 03:48pm - Comment by Pulsout

be cool if it really did taste diff. a market for space grown beer :)
Gadgets

Border Security to Become Copyright Police?

By Posted on 5.30.2008 19 Comments
As if the security in airports and controls at border crossings weren't slow and intrusive enough, governments around the world are quietly passing laws to allow them to search the contents of your laptop and other electronic devices, like iPods and cellphones. A United States court last month gave border agents carte blanche to hold a laptop for days and even copy its entire contents. The UK government has given its agents authority to search computers at its borders for pornography. But in what may be the most baffling and cumbersome move of all, the US, Canada, UK, and other EU nations are working behind closed doors on a new trade agreement which could turn border agents into the copyright police.

5.30.2008 at 03:40pm - Comment by Pulsout

thats so lame, this basically gives the security people full acsess to any thing on your computer, which now adays is part of a persons life and has sooo much info, and it would take forever.
Technology

Strange New Pulsar Discovered

By Posted on 5.19.2008 1 Comments
Astronomers using the Arecibo telescope have discovered a fast-rotating pulsar that doesn't fit the accepted notions of how those exotic, lighthouse-like stellar objects form. Pulsars get their name from the brief beams of light they shoot our way every few milliseconds or more.

5.19.2008 at 01:33pm - Comment by Pulsout

creepy, maybe its alien tech. JK but seriously I think its sick that we are doing stuff like this and I hope we do more ( I wish spending for NASA would be increased (thanks Bush))