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Latest Articles: Science-Technology
Watch NASA's Live Coverage Of Mars Rover Landing
Post Date: 2012-08-05 12:55:31 by Brian S
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by Jonathan Skillings August 5, 2012 4:00 AM PDT Follow @jeskillingsThe final stage of Curiosity's descent to the surface of Mars will involve being slung on tethers below the spacecraft's landing stage.(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) The arrival of the Curiosity rover on Mars may well be the biggest, boldest extraterrestrial landing for NASA since Apollo 11 settled down on the moon on a summer's night in 1969. Curiosity is scheduled to land in the Red Planet's Gale Crater late Sunday or very, very early Monday, depending on your Earthbound time zone. Confirmation of the landing should come at about 10:31 p.m. PT Sunday for folks on the U.S. West Coast, or 1:31 a.m. ET ...
Climate Change To Blame For Extreme Heat: NASA Scientist
Post Date: 2012-08-05 12:50:55 by Brian S
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Human-driven climate change is to blame for a series of increasingly hot summers and the situation is already worse than was expected just two decades ago, a top NASA scientist said on Saturday. James Hansen, who directs the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, wrote in the Washington Post that even his “grim” predictions of a warming future, delivered before the US Senate in 1988, were too weak. “I have a confession to make: I was too optimistic,” Hansen wrote. “My projections about increasing global temperature have been proved true. But I failed to fully explore how quickly that average rise would drive an increase in extreme weather.” Hansen and ...
Koch-Funded Climate Scientist: I Was Wrong, Humans Are To Blame
Post Date: 2012-07-30 11:35:31 by Brian S
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The founder and director of a climate change study project funded heavily by the Koch brothers, who last year reversed course and said he believed global warming was real, has gone one step further, writing in a weekend op-ed in the New York Times that he is now convinced the phenomenon is caused by humans. In a piece titled, “The Conversion of a Climate-Change Skeptic,” Richard A. Muller, a University of California, Berkley physicist who founded the Berkley Earth Surface Temperature study (BEST) wrote that his, “total turnaround, in such a short time,” was driven by a new report from the group that concluded for the first time that global warming is a man-made problem. ...
Nasa Warns 97 Percent Of Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melted In Four Days
Post Date: 2012-07-26 12:28:37 by Brian S
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The Greenland ice sheet melted at a faster rate this month than at any other time in recorded history, with virtually the entire ice sheet showing signs of thaw. The rapid melting over just four days was captured by three satellites. It has stunned and alarmed scientists, and deepened fears about the pace and future consequences of climate change. In a statement posted on Nasa’s website on Tuesday, scientists admitted the satellite data was so striking they thought at first there had to be a mistake. “This was so extraordinary that at first I questioned the result: was this real or was it due to a data error?” Son Nghiem of Nasa’s jet propulsion laboratory in ...
Future wars may be waged with mind-controlled weaponry, Royal Society warns
Post Date: 2012-07-24 09:05:21 by A K A Stone
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Neuroscience has ramifications for future warfare, and the scientific community must be more aware. So says a report published today by the Royal Society titled Neuroscience, conflict and security, which cites interest in neuroscience from the military community, and identifies particular technologies that may arise. Among them is the potential for "neural interface systems" (NIS) to bring about weapons controllable by the human mind, though the reports also discusses more benign military applications of neuroscience, such as fostering a revolution in prosthetic limbs. Brain-controlled technology
The report distinguishes between two types of neural interface: those that "input into" ...
Tree-rings prove climate was WARMER in Roman and Medieval times than it is now - and world has been cooling for 2,000 years
Post Date: 2012-07-11 13:30:32 by Capitalist Eric
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Rings in fossilised pine trees have proven that the world was much warmer than previously thought - and the earth has been slowly COOLING for 2,000 years. Measurements stretching back to 138BC prove that the Earth is slowly cooling due to changes in the distance between the Earth and the sun. The finding may force scientists to rethink current theories of the impact of global warming. It is the first time that researchers have been able to accurately measure trends in global temperature over the last two millennia. Over that time, the world has been getting cooler - and previous estimates, used as the basis for current climate science, are wrong. Their findings demonstrate that this ...
BMW and Toyota Plan to Lead Hydrogen Fuel Cells to Commercial Viability
Post Date: 2012-07-03 09:57:00 by jwpegler
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The intensified alliance between Toyota and BMW shines a new light on a technology that has been discussed for decades, but that never quite made it: Hydrogen fuel cells. BMW will get access to Toyota’s fuel cell technologies. This essentially spells the end of fuel cell cooperation between BMW and GM, and we already know the two companies are no longer talking on the subject. Let’s take another look. Toyota is far ahead with hydrogen fuel cell technology. The company had Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles (FCHV) on the roads for ten years. In 2009, it “launched” its FCHV-adv, basically a Highlander with the hybrid synergy drive from the Toyota Prius connected to a 90-kw fuel ...
Evidence of 'God Particle' Found
Post Date: 2012-07-02 17:03:02 by Brian S
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GENEVA (AP) -- Scientists believe the "God particle" that might explain the underpinnings of the universe is real, and they are about to present their evidence to the world. Physicists at the world's biggest atom smasher plan to announce Wednesday that they have nearly confirmed the primary plank of a theory that could shape the scientific understanding of all matter. The idea is much like gravity and Isaac Newton's discovery: It was there all the time before Newton explained it. But now scientists know what it is and can put that knowledge to further use. The focus of the excitement is the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle that, if confirmed, could help explain why ...
Rice University develops spray-on battery prototype
Post Date: 2012-06-30 19:05:30 by sneakypete
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Researchers at Rice University in Houston have developed a prototype spray-on battery that could allow engineers to rethink the way portable electronics are designed. The rechargeable battery boasts similar electrical characteristics to the lithium ion batteries that power almost every mobile gadget, but it can be applied in layers to almost any surface with a conventional airbrush, said Neelam Singh, a Rice University graduate student who led a team working on the technology for more than a year. Current lithium ion batteries are almost all variations on the same basic form: an inflexible block with electrodes at one end. Because they cannot easily be shaped, they sometimes restrict ...
Genetically Modified Grass Blamed For Mass Cattle Deaths In Texas
Post Date: 2012-06-24 12:51:12 by Brian S
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A form of genetically modified grass is being cited as the likely culprit in the sudden death of a herd of cattle in Central Texas, according to CBS News. Preliminary tests revealed that the grass, an altered form of Bermuda grass known as Tifton 85, had mysteriously begun producing cyanide gas. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are conducting further tests to determine if some sort of mutation caused the grass to suddenly begin giving off the deadly gas. The cattle died roughly three weeks ago while grazing on a ranch in Elgin, Texas, about 20 miles east of Austin. According to the ranch’s owner, Jerry Abel, the cattle began howling shortly after being let out to ...
Launched In 1977, Voyager Space Probe Reaches Edge Of Solar System
Post Date: 2012-06-18 13:18:04 by Brian S
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(Reuters) - The Voyager 1 space probe has reached the edge of the solar system, extending its record for being the most distant man-made object in space. According to a statement from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the spacecraft is sending back data to Earth showing a sharp increase in charged particles that originate from beyond the solar system. "Voyager scientists looking at this rapid rise draw closer to an inevitable but historic conclusion - that humanity's first emissary to interstellar space is on the edge of our solar system," NASA said in the statement. Voyager 1, along with its sister spacecraft Voyager 2, was launched in 1977 and ...
James Lovelock, Father of Gaia Theory, Endorses Natural Gas Fracking
Post Date: 2012-06-18 08:49:45 by CZ82
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James Lovelock, Father of Gaia Theory, Endorses Natural Gas Fracking Posted by Steve Maley Saturday, June 16th at 10:31AM EDT James Lovelock, now 92 years of age, is the father of Gaia theory, the idea that Mother Earth is a sort of sentient, self-regulating organism. So it was noteworthy a few weeks back when he walked back some of his predictions of our planet’s impending doom from Global Warming. In an interview with the Guardian, Lovelock embraces fracking for natural gas, scorns renewables and castigates the Germans for shutting down their nukes in favor of lignite, a low-grade coal, for electricity generation. (H/T wattsupwiththat.com.) First, fracking: Gas is almost a ...
Flame Steals Data Even When Computers Are Not Connected to the Internet
Post Date: 2012-06-13 19:06:09 by Capitalist Eric
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Experts specializing in malware from Bitdefender have uncovered a special capability in Flame’s code that allows the virus to steal data from computers that are not connected to the Internet or networked machines. Flame can move stolen data to a USB memory stick plugged into an infected harddrive. Bitdefender asserts that this ability has never been witnessed before. This cyber-espionage virus will move stolen information to an USB outlet, then seemingly wait for the chance to upload it to the malware controllers once the infected computer links to the Internet. Bogdan Botezatu, malware analyst from Bitdefeder, said: It turns users into data mules. Chances are, at some point, a ...
The Genetic Marker for Liberalism and Progressivism Has Been Found
Post Date: 2012-06-10 07:35:23 by CZ82
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The Genetic Marker for Liberalism and Progressivism Has Been Found posted on June 9, 2012 by Gary DeMar Coming on the heels of a report by 95 Comments, the chief medical editor of NBC’s Today Show, that parents with preborn babies with genetic disorders should be given the chance to “decide whether they’re going to continue that pregnancy or not,” a report from Dr. Adolf Schicklgruber[1] reports that a genetic marker for liberalism and progressivism has just been found. After years of research in his native Austria, Dr. Schicklgruber published his results in the Contra-Liberal Review. Dr. Schicklgruber was confident that testing for the malady could begin before ...
Air Force's Secretive X-37B Space Plane Will Land Soon
Post Date: 2012-05-31 12:25:59 by Brian S
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After more than a year in space, the U.S. Air Force's secretive robotic space plane, the X-37B, is coming down soon. That's the word today (May 30) from officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the site where the reusable miniature space shuttle will land in the next few weeks, technical and weather conditions permitting. While the exact landing date and time of the unmanned X-37B space plane is not yet determined, according to a Vandenberg Air Force Base statement, the craft’s touchdown "is expected to occur during the early- to mid-June timeframe." Preparations for the second landing of the X-37B are now underway at the Air Force base. "The men ...
SpaceX Vehicle Returns to Earth After Leaving Space Station
Post Date: 2012-05-31 12:21:16 by Brian S
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Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s supply ship returned to Earth hours after leaving the International Space Station. Closely held SpaceX, controlled by billionaire Elon Musk, on May 25 became the first company to dock a craft at the station. The feat was previously accomplished only by the U.S., European, Japanese and Russian governments. The ship parachuted down and splashed into the Pacific Ocean at 11:42 a.m. New York time, about 500 miles off the coast of southern California. It returned with about 1,400 pounds of cargo. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retired its shuttle fleet last year and wants the private sector to take over ferrying supplies and ...
Cyber-Attack Concerns Raised Over Boeing 787 Chip's 'Back Door'
Post Date: 2012-05-30 12:06:48 by Brian S
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Two Cambridge experts have discovered a "back door" in a computer chip used in military systems and aircraft such as the Boeing 787 that could allow the chip to be taken over via the internet. The discovery will heighten concerns about the risks of cyber-attacks on sensitive installations, coming on the heels of the discovery this week of the 'Flamer' virus which has been attacking computer systems in Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. In a paper that has been published in draft form online and seen by the Guardian, researchers Sergei Skorobogatov of Cambridge University and Chris Woods of Quo Vadis Labs say that they have discovered a method that a hacker can use to connect ...
SpaceX Dragon Arrives At Space Station In Historic 1st
Post Date: 2012-05-25 11:14:20 by Brian S
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station for a historic docking Friday, captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm. It succeeded in making the first commercial delivery into the cosmos. U.S. astronaut Donald Pettit used the space station's 58-foot robot arm to snare the gleaming white Dragon after a few hours of extra checks and maneuvers. The two vessels came together while sailing above Australia. "Looks like we've got us a dragon by the tail," Pettit announced from 250 miles up once he locked onto Dragon's docking mechanism. "You've made a lot of folks happy down here over ...
Facebook Flops: Look Out Below!
Post Date: 2012-05-20 11:03:06 by We The People
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After all the hype and anticipation, Facebook's initial public offering turned out to be a disappointment that may bode poorly for investors in the company's richly priced shares. Facebook (ticker: FB) sold 421 million shares Thursday at $38 after bumping up the price range from the original $28 to $35 per share. The stock began trading above $42 Friday morning and came under pressure in the afternoon, spending much of the final half hour just above $38 before finishing at $38.23. (The stock traded as high as $44 in the private market in March.) Without reported support from the deal underwriters, the shares might have fallen below $38 in what would have been a big embarrassment ...
Paralyzed woman moves robotic arm using thought alone
Post Date: 2012-05-17 20:46:25 by We The People
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Using the BrainGate neural interface system, a woman paralyzed by a brainstem stroke serves herself coffee for the first time in 15 years. The BrainGate2 Neural Interface System detects brain signals that can be translated by a computer into machine instructions, enabling thought control of robotic devices.(Credit: BrainGate Collaboration) By implanting a 96-electrode sensor the size of a baby aspirin onto the surface of their brains, researchers have enabled two quadriplegic participants to use their thoughts alone to perform tasks with two types of robotic arms. The BrainGate implant -- and the resulting Jedi mind tricks -- may be sort of anxiety-producing to some. But the smile on the ...
Found: The Oldest Maya Calendar (and No, the World's Still Not Ending)
Post Date: 2012-05-14 12:36:35 by We The People
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A painted wall of a Mayan site that dates to the 9th century in Xultun, GuatemalaTyrone Turner / National Geographic / AP Here's what's not going to happen this year: the earth won't end on Dec. 12; it won't be swallowed by a black hole, consumed by the sun or get taken out by a collision with the imaginary planet Nibiru. Here's what will happen: as of today, more people than ever will believe that those calamities will occur on precisely the day they're predicted to. The reason: a new discovery — just reported in the journal Science — of the earliest known Mayan astronomical calendar, featuring elaborate and detailed work by one of the most ...
It Will Be Hot in Texas This Summer
Post Date: 2012-05-14 09:48:52 by CZ82
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It Will Be Hot in Texas This Summer By William Tucker on 5.11.12 @ 6:09AM And thanks to federal policies the state likely will run out of electricity. Texas, the most energy-intensive state in the nation, could be facing a severe electrical shortage this summer. How could such a thing happen? Mainly, it's the result of a long series of federal interventions that have finally left the state turning in circles about what to do next. First, the gory details. Last summer the state was hit with a heat wave in which the temperature was over 100 degrees for almost a month. Since most cities are barely habitable without air conditioning, electrical consumption rose to record levels. ...
East Anglia Climatic Research Unit shown to be liars by results of latest FOIA ruling and investigation
Post Date: 2012-05-07 11:41:23 by SJN
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In the over 7,000 published stories here on WUWT, I have never used the word “liar” in the headline to refer to CRU and the Yamal affair. That changes with this story. I’ve always thought that with CRU, simple incompetence is a more likely explanation than malice and/or deception. For example, Phil Jones can’t even plot trends in Excel. In this particular case, I don’t think incompetence is the plausible explanation anymore. As one commenter on CA (Andy) said “I suspect the cause of all this is an initial small lie, to cover intellectual mistakes, snowballing into a desire not to lose face, exacerbated by greater lies and compounded by group think. “ ...
Space weather expert has ominous forecast
Post Date: 2012-05-07 06:57:10 by CZ82
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Space weather expert has ominous forecast Mike Hapgood, who studies solar events, says the world isn't prepared for a truly damaging storm. And one could happen soon. A massive explosion on the sun's surface has triggered the largest solar radiation storm since 2005, hurling charged particles at Earth. (NASA / May 4, 2012) A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt. This isn't the premise of the latest doomsday thriller. Massive solar storms have happened before — and another one is likely to occur soon, according to Mike ...
Science and the Republican Brain
Post Date: 2012-05-02 18:06:06 by SJN
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The so-called Republican brain, with its deep resistance to yielding before mere scientific evidence, has played an indispensable role in the making of modern science, long before the emergence of the Grand Old Party. A new term of political opprobrium has been loosed upon the world: anti-science. Like many terms of abuse, it is easier to convey its meaning by an illustration than by a rigorous definition. For example, “If those damn Republicans weren’t so anti-science, we might have a chance of dealing with global warming.” Here’s another example: “Those damn Republicans are so anti-science that they want to see creationism taught in schools.” As these two ...
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