New Scientist Breaking News - Did oxygen boost fuel rise of large mammals?

New Scientist Breaking News - Did oxygen boost fuel rise of large mammals?

Interesting theory ....

I wish I knew what key combinations are happening to cause these instantaneous double blog posts ... hmmmmmm

Spider blood found in 20 million year old fossil

Spider blood found in 20 million year old fossil

Wonder if the movie would be called Miocene OR Arachnid Park? .. ;-)

Deep sleep short-circuits brain's grid of connectivity

Deep sleep short-circuits brain's grid of connectivity

This opens up a whole new realm of exploration involving the various regions of the brain, and how and when they communicate with each other.

Biologists observe gorillas using tools

USATODAY.com - Biologists observe gorillas using tools

Smarter than we gave them credit for being ....

Pandemic 'could kill 150m people'

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Pandemic 'could kill 150m people'

Like codes for gigantic combination locks ... these viruses just keep spinning different combinations to see what "works" ....

Google and Nasa in space venture

BBC NEWS | Business | Google and Nasa in space venture

I've been reading about this for a while, but I thought that it was merely about the acquisition of a large office site. I didn't realize that Google and NASA were partnering up ... :)

Venus Express spacecraft ready for launch

New Scientist Breaking News - Venus Express spacecraft ready for launch

There are significant hurdles ... but we need to start Terraforming Venus.
I think I'll start on this, right after I help colonize Mars .... ;-)

Quicksand can't suck you under

news @ nature.com�-�Quicksand can't suck you under�-�Experiments show that humans do not sink all the way into shifting sands.

This ties in very well with the article about sand castles ... only this time, the sand is so saturated with water, that it can not support any weight.
I recall many times as a kid, watching an old Tarzan movie, or jungle movie, where someone was being sucked down into the quicksand. And then, usually the inevitable last gasp as they breached the surface for the last time....... :)
Man! I felt like I was going down in that stuff with them! ;-)

I do have a similar experience however, that I wish these investigators would experiment with. My parents always warned me as a kid, about a ditch near where I was raised, that contained "quicksand". Being an enterprising kid, I had to check it's power out, to determine if quicksand actually worked.
Once you dug down about a foot or so, you would find that this stuff was actually mucky gray clay. The water saturation, however would create a vacuum on your boots or feet ..... and I NEARLY got in a predicament from which I could not escape.

I kept sinking ... and it kept sucking me down deeper! I had a very hard time extricating myself. Stuck down to about knee depth. It's debateable whether or not, I would have eventually sunk down over my head, but at that moment it seemed realistic.

I'm not the only thing that muck caught. When the road next to it, was being built, it managed to capture several pieces of heavy equipment, that required some tow-trucks or other heavy equipment to pull out.

How to build the perfect sandcastle

News in Science - How to build the perfect sandcastle - 29/09/2005

Eight Parts Sand to One Part Water..... Only next time, they plan to test with real sand.

Hospital Halts Organ Program

Hospital Halts Organ Program - Los Angeles Times

THIS STINKS !! .... And my personal belief is, that they are telling lies upon lies to cover it up ....

Scientists photograph giant squid in wild

USATODAY.com - Scientists photograph giant squid in wild

Better photo ....

Cassini flyby of Hyperion reveals tortured world

New Scientist Breaking News - Cassini flyby of Hyperion reveals tortured world

Hyperion is shaped like a Tater ... the only thing is ... this Tater is about 223 X 155 miles across. And it also has cliff faces that are in excess of 12 miles tall.

First pictures of live giant squid in its natural habitat

New Scientist Breaking News - First pictures of live giant squid in its natural habitat

They tried using "bait" ........... BRILLIANT !!!!!!!!!!!!! ...... ;-)

Cassini spots huge "spear" on Saturn moon

New Scientist Breaking News - Cassini spots huge "spear" on Saturn moon

Intriguing photo ... Obviously the "spear" is the exposed backbone of an Enormous Space Lizard ..... You can see the eye socket, skull and lower set of teeth, down at the lower right ..... ;-)

Ice age 'twins' found in ancient burial ground

New Scientist Breaking News - Ice age 'twins' found in ancient burial ground

Ice Age twins buried on a hill overlooking the Danube river in Austria, beneath a wooly mammoth's shoulder blade propped up with mammoth tusk, and the bodies covered in red ochre. The burial is between 27,000 and 40,000 years old, and seems very ritualistic. Included in the gravesite were nearly three dozen ivory beads.

Troubling Signs of Climate Change Seen in Arctic

ABC News: Troubling Signs of Climate Change Seen in Arctic

Troubling indeed ......

Distant Galaxy is Too Massive For Current Theories

Universe Today - Distant Galaxy is Too Massive For Current Theories

It was a heavy little baby galaxy ..........

Study reveals plant 'stem cell'

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Study reveals plant 'stem cell'

Since plants can survive genetic manipulations or variations that easily kill animals, this should yield some spectacular results.

Robot claims 'treasure island' booty

New Scientist Breaking News - Robot claims 'treasure island' booty

Seems to me, that it would be advantageous to FIND the $10 Billion treasure, BEFORE announcing you had found it. Unless of course you are searching for investors ....... hmmm
I guess the law down there requires you to announce a find before you can obtain permits to excavate.

The great static debate sparks up -- Warrnambool Standard

Warrnambool Standard

Mr. Frank Clewer was wearing a woollen shirt and a synthetic nylon jacket that apparently generated 30000-40000 volts of static charge that left scorch marks on carpet and melted plastic in his wake. Firefighters evacuated three buildings and ended up confiscating his jacket ---- which continued to give off voltage!
Here is another link that describes the action.

"Get Smart" Star Adams Dies

"Get Smart" Star Adams Dies - Sep 26, 2005 - E! Online News

So long, Agent 86 ........................

Robots, creators eye $2 million prize

USATODAY.com - Robots, creators eye $2 million prize

I'll always remember the one from last year, that got stuck in the barbed wire fence ..... :)

GPS modernization begins with Delta rocket launch

Spaceflight Now | Delta Launch Report | GPS modernization begins with Delta rocket launch

..... Can you triangulate on me now? ....... ;-)

Warcraft Plague Runs Amok

Gadgeteer

Amazing how a virtual plague is inadvertently created, and accidentally starts to decimate the populous.
I don't play this game, but there are more details about the "Corrupted Blood" plague's origin here.

Fuel Cell Today - University of Denmark Scientists Develop Hydrogen Tablet

Fuel Cell Today - University of Denmark Scientists Develop Hydrogen Tablet

With this technology, they expect to get almost 400 miles, with a normal
size fuel tank.

Advent of Cold Plasma

Advent of Cold Plasma

Cold Plasma ... Remarkable ....

Ants make 'devil's garden' of Eden

news @ nature.com�-�Ants make 'devil's garden' of Eden�-�Ants use natural poison to kill all but their host plant.

From what I read ... some of these gardens can be over 800 years old.

Flat-panel glut good for holiday shoppers

Flat-panel glut good for holiday shoppers | CNET News.com

Ah! ... Bargains ...... :)

Halo of Blue Stars Around a Black Hole

Universe Today - Halo of Blue Stars Around a Black Hole

Very Mysterious ... Why would there be about 400 young stars within a light-year of a supermassive black hole, the weight of 140 million of our size suns? The young stars are about 200 million years old, and they are surrounded by a galaxy that is 12 Billion years old.

Brand New Martian Gullies

Universe Today - Brand New Martian Gullies

It appears that Mars may be more geologically active, than we imagined ...

Nature's Design Workshop

Nature's Design Workshop - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com

So .. OK .. Nature got a 3.8 Billion Year headstart on us .... I feel like we are catching our second wind ..... :)

Sight for sore eyes: ancient fish see colour

Sight for sore eyes: ancient fish see colour

Little too fast on the trigger ... hmmm .. I clicked twice to start typing here, and it posted two blank versions of this link, with identical timestamps.... weird ...

Anyway, the lungfish has 5 kinds of visual pigment in their eyes ... we humans have only 3... interesting discovery.

Google to bid on AOL?

Google to bid on AOL? | CNET News.com

To my friend GaMtnMan: This makes me feel less devastated ... ;-)

Cassini sees dusty 'spokes' in Saturn's rings

New Scientist Breaking News - Cassini sees dusty 'spokes' in Saturn's rings

It appears that Saturn's current orientation toward the sun, helps highlight these features.

Adult Stem Cells May Help Spine-Injured Mice

Adult Stem Cells May Help Spine-Injured Mice

It's interesting to note that these adult human neural stem cells, both migrated to the site of injury, and had not been coaxed chemically, in the lab prior to injection, down the pathway toward becoming neurons. Chemicals in the mice, near the site of injury, set in motion the process by which the ASCs differentiated into neurons.

Crave privacy? New tech knocks out digital cameras

Crave privacy? New tech knocks out digital cameras | Tech News on ZDNet

At Last! ... Deep Hal now has a way to thwart the paparazzi that constantly stalk him! ........ ;-)

Cassini Radar Images Show Dramatic Shoreline on Titan

BBSNews - Cassini Radar Images Show Dramatic Shoreline on Titan

Hey! It's Dramatic! .... I think I can see sunbathers near the beach ... ;-)

Scottish police pioneer 'DNA' for banknotes

Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech - Scottish police pioneer 'DNA' for banknotes

If paper were still a living organism, about to be infused with this new "genetic" material, then I could see the anti-GM food protestors calling these " Franken-Bankin'-Notes " .......... :)

Seriously, when you sometimes have unexpected consequences, such as Genetically Modified Corn, that has a pollen that can kill butterflies .... then I always wonder about loose synthetic DNA strands being incorporated into say ... bacteria, etc.

Space Cycle may boost astronauts' fitness

New Scientist Breaking News - Space Cycle may boost astronauts' fitness

Hard to believe that a human-powered exercise cycle could develop up to 5g's worth of artificial gravity.

Researchers build world's smallest mobile robot

Researchers build world's smallest mobile robot

It looks like a meat-cleaver. Can't wait until someone figures out some useful work for thousands (millions?) of these things to do ...

Whole frozen ovary transplanted

BBC NEWS | Health | Whole frozen ovary transplanted

This could be useful for cancer patients wishing to have families later, or people that change their minds and wish to have kids later in life. An added benefit would be less gene defects since the eggs would not age at the same rate as the mother.
If this method proved to be viable, then I am guessing the freezing process might work for as long as, say 15 years.
You then have the possibilty of a 50 year old woman working with her own eggs to have a baby, that are essentially from a 35 year old version of herself.

Asteroid Ceres may be a freshwater planet

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Asteroid Ceres may be a freshwater planet

We should really drag an ice-house out on the surface and see how
the fishing is .................. :)

And nobody is kicking me ..... ;-)

Black Hole Lurks in Invisible Galaxy

SPACE.com -- Black Hole Lurks in Invisible Galaxy

"Fascinating" .... to coin a phrase ...

Radioactive fallout shows up in teeth

Ancient Worlds News - Radioactive fallout shows up in teeth - 15/09/2005

CSI's will now be able to date teeth from people born after 1943
to within 1.6 years of age.

UPDATE 3-Gillette unveils five-blade razors with trimmers

Stock Market News and Investment Information | Reuters.com

Do you ever get the feeling that straight-blade razor manufacturers have gone insane? ............. ;-)

I mean ... how much does it take, to say ... "Let's add another blade"

I don't follow it that closely, but I seem to recall the Mach3 razor cost about $750 million US, to develop.

And a tiny microchip in my straight razor ... to tell me when the battery is running low ..... hmmmm ...... it also does voltage regulation and timing of the pulses,
that vibrate the razor.
But it almost seems the purpose in life, of both the chip AND the battery, it to justify each other's existence.

Occam! --- Patron Saint of the Razor Industry --- We beseech thee
to bestow some sense upon the Razor Makers "!!!!!" ...... ;-)

Digital High-Speed Cameras ...

>Photron USA, Inc. - August 2005 Issue - (AdvancedImagingPro.com | Advanced Imaging)

Kind of excedes my needs at the moment, but I thought this was interesting ....
They have products that capture 1 megapixel images at 1000 and 3000 frames per second, respectively.

Truveo unveils 'visual' video search engine

Internet News Article | Reuters.com

The visual aspect only seems to pertain to spotting video content on various websites via their Web Crawler. They then index the content from keywords and metadata found within the video file.

It doesn't let you search for say .... "A Red House" + "beach dunes".
I have seen a computer language that will let you attack the problem from that angle however, and search images.

Scientists discover how fish oil protects the brain

Scientists discover how fish oil protects the brain

DHA may protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease ....

Japanese probe parks near asteroid target

New Scientist Breaking News - Japanese probe parks near asteroid target

Bringing home some asteroid pieces .... Sweet! ...

And they are going to deploy a hopping camera/thermometer ... that will jump around on this giant space potato ... :)

Novell: Vista will drive users to Linux

Novell: Vista will drive users to Linux | Tech News on ZDNet

The seven towers of Babel ... or flavors of Vista ... may just drive people in that direction.

Argonne theorist gains new insight into the nature of nanodiamond

Argonne theorist gains new insight into the nature of nanodiamond

I'm fast coming to the conclusion that every breakthrough in nanotechnology, is leading to bigger, brighter, cheaper flat-panel TVs ..... ;-)

Crystal clumps preserve fossilised DNA

New Scientist Breaking News - Crystal clumps preserve fossilised DNA

Outstanding! ... I think this is beyond what anyone was expecting, in the near future ....

'Bionic eye' has potential to cure blindness

Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech - 'Bionic eye' has potential to cure blindness

I know at least three people that this could help immediately.

It's good that they are exploring all the extreme possiblities that the computer end of this could allow, such as ultraviolet and infrared vision .... but they should really buckle down and hurry, with the "plainer" high resolution, normal vision first.

Vitamin C in high dose may help beat cancer

Scotsman.com News - Health - Vitamin C in high dose may help beat cancer

Excellent news ....

NASA Swift: Most Distant Explosion Detected - Smashes Previous Record

NASA Swift: Most Distant Explosion Detected - Smashes Previous Record | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

For those of you keeping notes ... this occured 13,000,000,000 Years Ago .... In A Galaxy, Far, Far, Away ............. :)

Memory problems linked to distractions, not focus

The Globe and Mail: Memory problems linked to distractions, not focus

I have the same problem with sound in a crowded room .... ;-)

Samsung Proposes a 16Gb NAND Flash

Samsung Proposes a 16Gb NAND Flash - Softpedia

Tech progress ... Don't ya just love it! ..... :)

Could Earth survive the Sun's demise?

New Scientist Breaking News - Could Earth survive the Sun's demise?

This question raises a lot of interesting possibilities. Could we transit huge populations between the stars? .. And if so ... Wouldn't this involve similar technology for surviving the demise of our own sun, Sol.
And something I've been contemplating a good bit in recent times ... Are there Rogue Planets moving through the void between stars? Leftovers from stars that supernovaed ages ago, or that were torn away from their burned out host stars, from gravitational interactions with other stars, or even galactic collisons?

Leaf and Mamiya introduce 22MP DSLR

Leaf and Mamiya introduce 22MP DSLR: Digital Photography Review

This 22 megapixel, Leaf Aptus digital back works on a variety of cameras.

Study Suggests Titan May Hold Keys For Exotic Brand Of Life

Study Suggests Titan May Hold Keys For Exotic Brand Of Life

Yet another case for a different brand of extremophiles ....

Pig-to-human organ swaps could soon be a reality

Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech - Pig-to-human organ swaps could soon be a reality

Certain to be some heated debates about this one .....

Distant solar system body may be cigar-shaped

New Scientist Breaking News - Distant solar system body may be cigar-shaped

How Peculiar! .......

'Proof' our brains are evolving

BBC NEWS | Health | 'Proof' our brains are evolving

Who announced that it had stopped evolving? .... :)

Flying reptiles just got bigger

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Flying reptiles just got bigger

THAT is one of the most Outlandish Dinosaur Drawings I have ever seen! You really need to check out the teeth on the enlarged version of the picture .....

I think, with an almost 60ft wingspan and teeth like that, it could skewer almost anything it wanted to .....

Sony announces Cyber-shot DSC-R1

NEWS! - Sony announces Cyber-shot DSC-R1

The large ... over one inch CMOS sensor in this camera, allows for 10.3 megapixel images (effective). It obviously allowed the designers to adapt a lens that moves further into the wide-angle range .. 24mm in 35mm camera-equivalent terms.
Digital cameras with smaller sensors are stuck with an image multiplier of somewhere around 1.5 to 1.7 .... (This means you multiply the digital camera's "actual" lens range in millimeters by this multiplier, to calculate their 35mm equivalent.)
You can certainly see how that immediately hurts you on the wide-angle end of lens development.
Fixed lens, so that is good as far as preventing dust from coming in contact with the sensor, but I really wish it had more on the high end, than 120 mm. (35mm camera equivalent)
It has a 2X digital zoom, but digital zoom means nothing as far as I'm concerned. You can do all that stuff on a computer, and it doesn't add anything as far as resolution.
I like that it goes up to ISO 3200 range.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Liquid drop takes big nano step

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Liquid drop takes big nano step

One Nano-Step for a droplet .... One Giga-Leap for ...

Well ... you get it ..... ;-)

Samsung to play safe with dual HD DVD/Blu-ray rig

Samsung to play safe with dual HD DVD/Blu-ray rig | The Register

Action instead of indecision .... What a Concept ....

Martian dunes hide water secret

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Martian dunes hide water secret

We will certainly need water when we arrive on Mars .... :)

'Smear Campaign' May Bring Armstrong Back

'Smear Campaign' May Bring Armstrong Back - Los Angeles Times

I was hoping Lance would do this, but I didn't think he would consider it.

Since they base their LIES on 6 year old urine samples ... I say ...

LANCE --- GIVE 'EM SOME FRESH P*SS AND VINEGAR !! .... :)

A Sunshine Deal

A Sunshine Deal

Solar tech is great and Stirling Engines are cool too! ....

Clobbered comet gives up fluffy secrets

Clobbered comet gives up fluffy secrets - Space.com - MSNBC.com

So ... the outer tens of yards worth of comet, are weaker than a snow bank .... hmmm .....

Bob Denver (1935 -2005)

Moviehole.net - Bob Denver (1935 -2005)

Spent many an enjoyable hour watching Gilligan and the Castaways ...

Changes in Saturn rings baffle scientists

USATODAY.com - Changes in Saturn rings baffle scientists

I would have imagined that the moons of Saturn would cause periodic and regular changes to the shape of elements of the rings, but I never would have imagined that part of the D ring would shift 125 miles!

Peru finds giant crocodile fossil in Amazon

Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk

A 9-ton 46 foot long crocodile would be Fearsome Indeed !! Glad that ones this big aren't still around. ... Then again I sure would like to see a live specimen of the creature.

Hitachi thinks small with new 8 GByte microdrive

Tom's Hardware Guide: Tom's Hard News

It's Bling AND it's shockproof! How cool is that? ... :)

Several companies are about to introduce similar devices.

It's a miracle: mice regrow hearts

The Australian: It's a miracle: mice regrow hearts [August 29, 2005]

Astounding Stuff! ... Salamanders are great at regrowing body parts.
Humans also have this ability to a certain degree. Adults can sometimes regrow part of an amputated fingertip. Some children under the age of 11 have regrown an entire fingertip.

South African Large Telescope Makes Its Debut

South African Large Telescope Makes Its Debut

SALT and Mirrors .. I thought the phrase was "Smoke and Mirrors".. :)

Hamster-powered phone charger

Ananova - Hamster-powered phone charger

I think he deserved a better grade for the course ..... :)

He's got the true inventive spirit!

Google Announces Plan To Destroy All Information It Can't Index

Google Announces Plan To Destroy All Information It Can't Index | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

[Foghorn Leghorn -- "That's a JOKE SON !! ..." ]

It IS the Onion ................

Extra-virgin olive oil mimics painkiller

news @ nature.com�-�Extra-virgin olive oil mimics painkiller�-�Oil may help stave off cancer, as long as you stick to the good stuff.

The bad news is that the extra-virgin olive oil at your local supermarket probably doesn't contain very much of the compound called oleocanthal. It is found only in freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil, and heat and time take their toll on the efficacy of the chemical.
The good news is that the scientists that discovered this compound have created and patented a synthetic version of the chemical.
Let's hope its safety is proven, and they develop a pill version of the synthetic version.

My One Question would be: If lutein is found in higher levels when you eat canned tomatoes as opposed to eating fresh tomatoes (because the cell walls break during the heating process)
similarly, then would oleocanthal STILL REMAIN in high amounts inside whole preserved olives that had never been crushed??

Chimpanzee joins the genome club

news @ nature.com�-�Chimpanzee joins the genome club�-�Genetic sequence could show just how we differ from other apes.

It now looks like humans and chimps share about 96% of their DNA. The comparison of these two entire genomes may help us discover why humans get cancers and other diseases from which chimpanzees seldom suffer.