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DeathscytheX

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  3. Posted · Report reply

    Discovered in Israel, the finding challenges conventional wisdom that Homo sapiens originated in Africa

    it still baffles me that as old as we are we didn't decide to flush turds away until a few thousand years ago .....:huh:

    Than again, we just have to look at the series "life without people" to see how many times catastrophe could have reduced the human population to almost nothing, allowing Nature to wipe out proof of advanced civilization. They have found dry cell batteries in the middle of north america that date thousands of years ago. Who knows eh?

  4. Posted · Report reply

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/einstein-was-right-you-can-be-in-two-places-at-once-2162648.html

    A device that exists in two different states at the same time, and coincidentally proves that Albert Einstein was right when he thought he was wrong, has been named as the scientific breakthrough of the year.

    The machine, consisting of a sliver of wafer-thin metal, is the first man-made device to be governed by the mysterious quantum forces that operate at the level of atoms and sub-atomic particles.

    Normal, everyday objects obey the laws of conventional Newtonian physics, named after Sir Isaac Newton, but these rules break down on the sub-atomic scale and a whole new branch of theoretical physics

    had to be invented to explain what happens on this sub-microscopic level.

    Einstein was the first to embrace quantum physics but later rejected it on the grounds that it made everything unpredictable – "God does not play dice with the universe," he famously stated.

    However, a range of effects has been recorded over the past few years that can only be explained by quantum mechanics and in March scientists were able to build the first device that seemed to follow the quantum rules that Einstein was the first to realise applied to light waves.

    The breakthrough, recognised by the journal Science as the most significant this year, opens the way to a range of practical developments such as quantum computers that are far faster than conventional processors and which could never be hacked into because they handle and transmit data using an unbreakable form of encryption.

    "Quantum theory dictates that a very tiny thing can absorb energy only in discrete amounts, can never sit perfectly still, and can literally be in two places at once," said Adrian Cho, a writer for Science. "This represents the first time that scientists have demonstrated quantum effects in the motion of a human-made object. It opens up a variety of possibilities ranging from new experiments that meld quantum control over light, electrical currents and motion to, perhaps someday, tests of the bounds of quantum mechanics and our sense of reality."

    The breakthrough was achieved by physicists Andrew Cleland and John Martinis from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Their machine consisted of a tiny metal paddle made of semiconductor material just visible to the naked eye. By supercooling the device to just above absolute zero (minus 273C), then raising its energy by a "single quantum", they made it vibrate by getting thicker and thinner at a frequency of some 6 billion times a second, producing a detectable electric current. They even managed to get it to vibrate in two energy states at once, both a lot and a little – a phenomenon allowed only by the rules of quantum mechanics.

    "Physicists still haven't achieved a two-places-at-once state with a tiny object like this one," Mr Cho said. "But now that they have reached this simplest state of quantum motion, it seems a whole lot more obtainable."

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  10. Posted · Report reply

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20026283-266.html

    The Federal Communications Commission today officially adopted controversial Net neutrality rules, but the fight is far from over as the FCC's authority to create and enforce these rules may still be in question.

    With the support of the Democratic FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski, and two other Democratic commissioners, Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn, the agency passed the rules in a 3-to-2 vote. The two Republican commissioners, Robert McDowell and Meredith Attwell Baker, voted against the rules.

    While Democrats and Republicans on the commission differ on the need for these rules, all four seem to agree that the commission's legal authority for enforcing them is still uncertain. McDowell and Baker said that the FCC's loss earlier this year in a federal court case against Comcast for violating Net neutrality principles sends a clear message that the courts do not believe the FCC has the legal authority to apply such rules--and therefore the rules should not be enacted, because the FCC will find itself in court defending its authority. Meanwhile, the Democrats on the commission, who reluctantly voted in favor for the new rules, said the FCC should still consider reclassifying broadband traffic to ensure it has the authority to enforce new rules.

    Genachowski did not address the question of legal authority in his comments. This summer he had proposed a "third way" that would reclassify broadband traffic so that some aspects of broadband would comply with old rules used to regulate the telephone network. This proposal was largely panned by critics. And in recent months, Genachowski has backed away from talk of reclassifying broadband traffic.

    The new Net neutrality rules adopted Tuesday essentially create two classes of service subject to different rules: one that applies to fixed broadband networks and one for wireless networks. The FCC says this is necessary because wireless networks are technologically different from fixed broadband networks.

    The first rule requires both wireless and wireline providers to be transparent in how they manage and operate their networks.

    The second Net neutrality rule prohibits the blocking of traffic on the Internet. The rule applies to both fixed wireline broadband network operators as well as to wireless providers. But the stipulations for each type of network are slightly different.

    For fixed broadband networks, operators cannot block any lawful content, services, applications, or devices on their network. Wireless providers area also prohibited from blocking Web sites, but the rule is slightly more lenient when it comes to blocking applications and services. The rule only prohibits these companies from blocking access to applications that specifically compete with a carrier's telephony voice or video services. In each case, the blocking rule also allows fixed and wireless broadband providers to reasonably manage their networks.

    And finally, the last rule applies only to fixed broadband providers. It prohibits fixed wireline broadband providers from unreasonably discriminating against traffic on their network.

    Fast lane, slow lane?

    While he voted in favor of the new rules, Commissioner Copps said he is not entirely happy with the final outcome. In particular, he is concerned that broadband providers will force Internet companies to "pay for prioritization." This would create a fast lane on the public Internet for services that pay to have their traffic prioritized above other traffic, while all other Internet traffic travels in the slow lane. But Copps acknowledged that the "no unreasonable discrimination rule" should protect consumers against such abuses.

    Copps also noted concern over the fact that wireless and fixed broadband services will be treated differently.

    "The Internet is the Internet no matter how you access it," he said.

    Still, he said that a no vote would delay any action at least another two years, which is not in the best interest of consumers.

    McDowell, who voted against the rules, has been one of the most vocal opponents of Net neutrality regulation. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, McDowell called the Net neutrality rules unnecessary.

    "On this winter solstice, we will witness jaw-dropping interventionist chutzpah as the FCC bypasses branches of our government in the dogged pursuit of needless and harmful regulation," McDowell wrote. "The darkest day of the year may end up marking the beginning of a long winter's night for Internet freedom."

    During the FCC meeting he explained his opinion, citing four reasons why he did not vote for the regulation:

    1. Nothing is broken with the current system.

    2. The FCC doesn't have the legal authority to enforces these rules.

    3. The rules will cause harm to the economy by stifling investment.

    4. Existing laws and government structures provide ample consumer protections in the event of systemic market failure.

    The FCC has been working on developing these official rules of the road for the Internet for more than a year. In September 2009, Genachowski suggested adding to the original Internet Openness principles adopted by the commission under former Chairman Michael Powell.

    The debate over whether to have such rules and what these rules should include has become a highly politicized issue attracting the attention of both Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

    In a statement released the night before the vote, Genachowski said that the rules that are now codified as official FCC regulation offer consumers, entrepreneurs, and Internet companies the protection they need, while also promoting investment in new technologies.

    "On one end of the spectrum, there are those who say government should do nothing at all," he said. "On the other end of the spectrum are those who would adopt a set of detailed and rigid regulations. I reject both extremes in favor of a strong and sensible framework--one that protects Internet freedom and openness and promotes robust innovation and investment."

    Genachowski went on to say that the new rules will be good for business, because they will help stimulate investment and jobs.

    "We're adopting a framework that will increase certainty for businesses, investors, and entrepreneurs," he said. "We're taking an approach that will help foster a cycle of massive investment, innovation and consumer demand both at the edge and in the core of our broadband networks."

    Net neutrality supporters say the regulation doesn't go far enough. They believe that FCC sided too heavily with big phone companies and cable operators in drafting the new rules. And they believe that the new rules do not provide enough protection for consumers.

    Harold Feld, legal director for Public Knowledge, one of the groups leading the Net neutrality battle, said that FCC's rules are an "incremental step" when it could have been more.

    "It's a step forward, but hardly more than an incremental step beyond the Internet Policy Statement adopted by the previous Republican FCC," Feld said in a blog post. "After such an enormous build up and tumultuous process, it is unsurprising that supporters of an open Internet are bitterly disappointed--particularly given the uncertainty over how the rules will be enforced."

    est

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  19. Posted · Report reply

    http://gizmodo.com/5704498/spray+on-stem-cells-heal-burns-fast

    Burns that previously would take months to heal are being mended faster than ever, thanks to the power of our own stem cells.

    Researchers at the University of Utah have been running trials that mix a concentrate of platelets and progenitor cells with calcium and thrombin to create a Jello-like substance accelerates the healing process and, eventually, may make scarring a thing of the past.

    Ladywriter, Pchan, Khellendross and 1 other reacted to this

  21. Posted · Report reply

    http://kotaku.com/5704249/nasa-discovers-alien-life-in-california

    Today NASA will hold a press conference revealing to the world the discovery of a form of life unlike any other on Earth. What twisted alien landscape gave birth to such a life form? Try California.

    Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon of the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California has been plumbing the depths Mono Lake for quite some time. The alkaline and hypersaline lake, located in California's Mono County, is one of the world's most naturally concentrated sources of arsenic. Arsenic is highly poisonous to most forms of multi-cellular life, but Wolfe-Simon believed that life could exist in the lake; just not life as we know it. She hoped to discover life so fundamentally different from that of any known life on Earth that it would prove the existence of a shadow biosphere, as well as a second genesis for life on Earth.

    Speaking to the UK's Times Online earlier this year, Wolfe-Simon teased that her research had generated "some very exciting data," and that results would be published by the end of this year.

    Apparently her search was successful, and NASA is ready to tell the world.

    Phosphorus, along with hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, make up the fundamental building blocks of life as we know it. Wolfe-Simon has discovered a bacteria that swaps out phosphorus with arsenic. The discovery that a life form can be comprised of something other than the six fundamental building blocks of life changes everything.

    Biology textbooks will need to be rewritten. They Might Be Giants will have to re-record their song "Meet the Elements," though they left out phosphorus and sulfur the first time around anyway.

    For Astrobiology, the study of life elsewhere in the universe, the impact of this discovery is tremendous. For years astrobiologists have been basing the potential for alien worlds to support life on the presence of the fundamental building blocks of life. Now that we know they aren't as fundamental as we first thought, the search will have to change.

    Hopefully NASA will discuss how the search for extraterrestrial life will change on the heels of this news later today during the official press conference.

    As for my original speculation that life was found on Saturn's moon Rhea? The jury isn't out yet. As today's news demonstrates, stranger things have happened.

    EDIT: Another article on it http://kotaku.com/5704462/poison+based-bacteria-redefines-life-as-we-know-it

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  23. Posted · Report reply

    http://www.dailysquib.co.uk/?a=2389&c=124

    DENVER - USA - A full body scanner operator was caught masturbating during a scanning session by airport staff late Tuesday.

    Airport officials at Denver International airport were on high alert yesterday when a full body scanner operator was caught masturbating in his booth as a team of High School netball players went through the scanner.

    "The young ladies were going through the scanner one by one, and every time one went through, this guys face was getting redder and redder. His hand was moving and then he started sweating. He was then seen doing his 'O' face. That's when the security dragged him out of his booth and cuffed him. He had his pants round his ankles and everybody was really disgusted," Jeb Rather, a passenger on a flight to New York told CBS news.

    The controversial scanners display every minute detail of a person's body and have been called intrusive by privacy campaigners. Body scanners penetrate clothing to provide a highly detailed image so accurate that critics have likened it to a virtual porn shoot. Technologies vary, with millimeter wave systems capturing highly detailed pictures of genitals, and backscatter X-ray machines able to show precise anatomical detail. The U.S. government likes the idea because body scanners can detect concealed weapons better than traditional magnetometers.

    "What do you want to do, get blown up by a goddamn Arab at 30,000 feet or we get to see your private parts? It's up to you, the ball's in your park," head of the TSA's scanning department, Rodney Schroeder, told CNN.

    Cool retaliation

    http://laughingsquid.com/underclothes-that-display-the-4th-amendment-when-x-rayed-by-tsa/

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