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imongi

Technology

IBM's Blue Gene Supercomputer Models a Cat's Entire Brain

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 11.18.2009 27 Comments
Cats may retain an aura of mystery about their smug selves, but that could change with scientists using a supercomputer to simulate the the feline brain. That translates into 144 terabytes of working memory for the digital kitty mind.

11.19.2009 at 09:42pm - Comment by imongi

LOL @ Q42 If you are the God that created the brain, you get to decided if it lives or dies. If this is morally questionable, then tell me why we don't demand the same from our own God(s)? Instead we have alll sorts of suffering in the world... I guess he's just testing his super computer.
Technology

Following Baguette Incident, Large Hadron Collider Set for Restart This Week

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 11.18.2009 7 Comments
A bird dropping a baguette temporarily shut down the $5 billion Large Hadron Collider earlier this month. But scientists have a good feeling about the restart, which is slated for Friday, the The Guardian reports.

11.18.2009 at 09:33pm - Comment by imongi

It's the pipe in the very center of the very large one =P ... just a guess. It's a bit rediculous what can cause this machine to stop working, but it is working with very tiny things, so I guess small things can really mess up tiny things. It'd be nice if it just worked though. It's damn expensive.
X-Flex Blast Protection System

By Posted on 11.16.2009 16 Comments
X-Flex is a new kind of wallpaper: one that’s quite possibly stronger than the wall it’s on. Invented by Berry Plastics in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this lifesaving adhesive is designed for use anyplace that’s prone to blasts and other lethal forces, like in war or natural-disaster zones, chemical plants or airports.

11.16.2009 at 08:50pm - Comment by imongi

Can you make clothes out of it? LOL!
Science

China's Weather Manipulation Brings Crippling Snowstorm to Beijing

By Posted on 11.11.2009 24 Comments
In The People's Republic of China, it's no secret that the Party controls just about everything. But as Beijing suffers through its second major snowstorm this season, residents are growing weary of their leadership's control-freak tendencies. After all, while the storm came as a surprise to residents, the government knew about it all along. In fact, the government caused it.

11.15.2009 at 05:24pm - Comment by imongi

Let them destroy themselves... they want to play god. Let god play back.
Technology

German Architect Wants to Build World's Largest Artificial Mountain

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 11.13.2009 12 Comments
Berliners may soon get more to see on the horizon than just construction cranes, if a German architect realizes his massive vision. The world's largest artificial mountain could sit on the spot currently occupied by Tempelhof airport, and provide a natural getaway for Berliners and tourists alike. Did we also mention the fine skiing opportunities from September through March? Architect Jakob Tigges has named his 1,000-meter-tall mountain "The Berg," which may conjure up images of some bygone World War II-era redoubt. But the idea supposedly has many supporters among Berlin residents, and we have to admit that it's a novel way of one-upping all those other cities focused on having the tallest buildings.

11.15.2009 at 05:19pm - Comment by imongi

Mountains affect weather... just like someone said earlier. I think this is a big mistake too. I can just see the rock and mud slides now... they're going to need a lot of crazy-glue =P
Technology

Is it Possible for a Spacecraft to Fly Straight Through Jupiter?

By Sally Younger Posted on 10.12.2009 32 Comments
Despite its gusty reputation as a “gas giant,” Jupiter’s blood-red clouds hide a dense, rocky core that’s perhaps 20 times as massive as Earth. That core blocks any spacecraft’s passage through the center of the planet, but even a detour through the clouds would be a disaster.

10.16.2009 at 07:27pm - Comment by imongi

Let's just build a giant tunnel of Dyson rings and move the gases somewhere else =P
Science

Neural Stem Cells Don't Need to Be Surgically Implanted: You Can Just Snort Them

By Clay Dillow Posted on 9.23.2009 7 Comments
When surgeons need to deliver a payload directly to a patient's brain, it usually involves a rather invasive procedure that opens the skull and leaves the delicate grey matter inside inflamed. But researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered that patients with brain maladies can simply snort stem cells through the nose and directly to the brain, offering an effective and fast alternative to complicated neuro-surgical procedures.

9.24.2009 at 07:53pm - Comment by imongi

LOL snorting stem cells.... ok ok LOLOLOL... ok... ok... I'm fine now. I guess fixing all the cells people have killed off by snorting bad things is possible now?! LOL.. crazy.
Gadgets

PS3 Motion Control and 13 Compatible Games Coming Spring 2010

By Corinne Iozzio Posted on 9.24.2009 7 Comments
First there was the Wii, then Microsoft's full-body-capturing Project Natal grabbed out imaginations. And now -- and not to be left out -- Sony's finalized plans to roll out their own motion-capture system.

9.24.2009 at 06:56pm - Comment by imongi

That tech demo has been out a while now. It's cool, but I really want to see games use it. Demos like that are one thing, applying it to games is another. Hopefully they're more clever than the developers.
Science

Legos Offer Researchers a Big Picture of Nanoscale Science

By Molika Ashford Posted on 8.26.2009 3 Comments
Whoever thinks science isn't fun must have never heard of Legos. The colorful construction toy has been used before as a cellular teaching tool. But these days, even researchers working in the nanoscale world get to play around a little.

8.29.2009 at 01:59pm - Comment by imongi

I have always called them "Legos." However, it is technically Lego pieces. I think we've just grown up calling it that as kids and it just sticks. Plus it's easier/less to say.
Science

Magic Nanoparticle Ink Prints Multicolor Images In an Instant

By Molika Ashford Posted on 8.26.2009 2 Comments
Traditional color printing -- whether done with an inkjet, laser or silkscreen -- requires a page to be laid out with several different inks in various colors to produce a full color image. But Korean engineers have developed a different process using a single nanoparticle-imbued ink, which could produce color prints in fractions of a second.

8.29.2009 at 01:18pm - Comment by imongi

It most likely wont be printed with "ink" that you would have to buy seperately, Most likely it would be on the paper already, then the paper would be charged through a printer that doesn't really print, but aligns the particles to make the image. My only thought is that anything with a magnet could ruin the image. So many many every day items could ruin it.