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Submission + - Type Ia Supernova Could Soon "Fry" Earth (spacedaily.com) 3

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Space Daily reports that T Pyxidis is on the verge of becoming a type Ia supernova. They say, "Astronomers have uncovered evidence that a massive, explosive white dwarf star in a binary star system with a Sun-like star in our Milky Way Galaxy is growing in mass and is much closer to our solar system than previously thought....An interesting, if a bit scary, speculative sidelight is that if a Type Ia supernova explosion occurs within 1,000 parsecs (1 parsec = 3.26 light-years) of Earth, then the gamma radiation emitted by the supernova would fry the Earth, dumping as much gamma radiation (~100,000 ergs/square centimeter) into our planet, which is equivalent to the gamma ray input of 1,000 solar flares simultaneously. The production of nitrous oxides in Earth's atmosphere by the supernova's gamma rays would completely destroy the ozone layer if the supernova went off within 1,000 parsecs."
Microsoft

Submission + - Who uses tablet pcs? 2

Submitted by lyberth
lyberth writes: With all the hype about Apples new iWhatever I wonder who is using the MS (or other OS) versions of tablet pcs? I have met alot of people that are very into this hype, but when I ask what they would use it for, how they would use it and where, i get no good answers. So i figure if anyone will know, it will be the Slashdot guys. So please: give the Who, How, Where about the tablet pcs.
Does anyone really use them?

Comment Re:Don't you love weasel language (Score 1) 124

by MaxTardiveau (#30637086) Attached to: Ideas For Exploiting NASA's SRTM Data
Well, as other posters have pointed out, there is little value in mapping the surface of the oceans (at least with this technology).

If you think that land north of 60N and south of 56S represents a major portion of the earth, you need to stop using Mercator projection maps. and graduate to something like the Gall-Peters projection.

Having said that, it's absolutely true that the SRTM data set does not cover Iceland, most of Norway and Sweden, northern Russia, etc... It's not that NASA doesn't like Nordic people, it's just a limitation due to the space shuttle's orbit.

Comment Re:Best GIS software ? (Score 1) 124

by MaxTardiveau (#30636616) Attached to: Ideas For Exploiting NASA's SRTM Data
To answer your original question -- all the screenshots in the article are from our iPhone apps, which cover about 20 U.S. states so far. They come with many layers, one of which is the SRTM data limited to (typically) 180-meter resolution, because you only have so much storage on a phone. The 30-meter resolution data is obviously even better than what I showed (nine times better, in fact :-)

Comment Re:SRTM-DEM CSI-CGIAR v4 + ASTER-GDEM and more (Score 1) 124

by MaxTardiveau (#30636560) Attached to: Ideas For Exploiting NASA's SRTM Data
ASTER-GDEM data is excellent, but unfortunately is not without restrictions:

"ASTER Global DEM (GDEM) data are subject to redistribution and citation policies. Before ordering ASTER GDEM data, users must agree to redistribute data products only to individuals within their organizations or projects of intended use, or in response to disasters in support of the GEO Disaster Theme."

Part of what makes SRTM data so great is that anyone can use it for any purpose. That makes a huge difference. I wish government agencies (especially state and local in the US) would follow the lead of NASA and USGS on this. You can create far more value by making the data available to the general public than by trying to control it. Sometimes I think the bureaucrats are afraid that someone will actually make something useful or (gasp) profitable from it.
Earth

Ideas For Exploiting NASA's SRTM Data 124

Posted by timothy from the this-is-just-the-1000-foot-view dept.
MaxTardiveau writes with an excerpt from an article where the pictures are worth clicking through for: "Ten years ago, in February 2000, NASA mapped the entire world in eleven days. It's true: the mission was called the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), and over the course of eleven days, it used a big radar attached to the space shuttle to get elevation data from the vast majority of solid Earth; practically all land between 60 degrees North and 56 degrees South was included, with a resolution of 30 meters (90 feet). Over 9 terabytes of data were captured. It then took two years to process that data and make it usable (and it is still being refined to this day). This data is freely available to anyone, and the number of possible applications is almost infinite. It's been used in GIS, cartography, environmental planning, weather modeling (weather patterns are enormously influenced by the topography), flight simulators, Google Earth, and the list goes on. In this short article, I would like to give you a quick tour of the kinds of things this data can reveal. My hope is to get you thinking about what else could be done with this incredible resource."
Biotech

Scientists Measure How Quickly Plant Genes Mutate 67

Posted by Soulskill from the starting-countdown-to-triffid-massacre dept.
eldavojohn writes "A recent study puts observed numbers on genome mutations in plants. This kind of research is becoming more popular in understanding evolution. The research 'followed all genetic changes in five lines of the mustard relative Arabidopsis thaliana that occurred during 30 generations. In the genome of the final generation they then searched for differences to the genome of the original ancestor.' A single generation has about a one in 140 million chance of mutating any letter of the genome (which has about 120 million base pairs). Sound like bad odds? From the article, 'if one starts to consider that they occur in the genomes of every member of a species, it becomes clear how fluid the genome is: In a collection of only 60 million Arabidopsis plants, each letter in the genome is changed, on average, once. For an organism that produces thousands of seeds in each generation, 60 million is not such a big number at all.' The academic paper is available in Science, though seeing more than the abstract requires a subscription."

Submission + - The Year 2016 No One Suspected (smh.com.au) 3

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Seems like some systems are suffering from Y2K16 bug. When 2009 ticked over to 2010, some Australian EFTPOS machines skipped to the year 2016. Coincidentally, some Windows Mobile users are also having similar issue with their new year SMSes coming from 2016. What function could cause this kind of error?

Submission + - Reading the world in Braille (integrity-logic.com)

Submitted by MaxTardiveau
MaxTardiveau writes: Ten years ago, in February 2000, NASA mapped the entire world in eleven days.

It's true: the mission was called the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), and over the course of eleven days, it used a big radar attached to the space shuttle to get elevation data from the vast majority of solid Earth; practically all land between 60 degrees North and 56 degrees South was included, with a resolution of 30 meters (90 feet). Over 9 terabytes of data were captured. It then took two years to process that data and make it usable (and it is still being refined to this day).

This data is freely available to anyone, and the number of possible applications is almost infinite. It's been used in GIS, cartography, environmental planning, weather modeling (weather patterns are enormously influenced by the topography), flight simulators, Google Earth, and the list goes on.

In this short article, I would like to give you a quick tour of the kinds of things this data can reveal. My hope is to get you thinking about what else could be done with this incredible resource.

Submission + - SPAM: DC Suing AT&T for Unclaimed Phone Minutes

Submitted by Suki I
Suki I writes: "The suit claims that AT&T should turn over unused balances on the calling cards of consumers whose last known address was in Washington, D.C. and have not used the calling card for three years.

"AT&T's prepaid calling cards must be treated as unclaimed property under district law," the attorney general's office said in a statement.

According to the attorney general's office, that sum, known in the industry as "breakage," represents some 5 to 20 percent of the total balances purchased by consumers who use the calling cards.

States and municipalities have often similarly used unclaimed property laws, known as escheat laws, to claim ownership of unused retail gift card balances.

A spokesman for AT&T declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The case is: District of Columbia vs. AT&T Corp, Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

(Reporting by Emily Chasan; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Matthew Lewis)"

Radley Balko of Reason Magazine covers it here: D.C. to AT&T: All Your Unused Minutes Are Belong to Us (props for the cool title :)
Link to Original Source
Medicine

Submission + - Can Tax Breaks Prolong Life?

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "The Wall Street Journal reports that new tax laws that came into effect starting January 1, 2010 may have motivated at least some terminally ill taxpayers to cling to life to see the new year. The federal estate tax — which can erase nearly half of a wealthy person's estate — goes away completely for 2010 but is scheduled to return in 2011 at a 55% rate with an exemption of slightly more than $1 million presenting some families with unprecedented ethical quandaries. "I have two clients on life support, and the families are struggling with whether to continue heroic measures for a few more days," says estate lawyer Joshua Rubenstein. The macabre situation stems from 2001, when Congress raised estate-tax exemptions, culminating with the tax's disappearance in 2010. However, due to budget constraints, lawmakers didn't make the change permanent so the estate tax is due to come back to life in 2011 — at a higher rate and lower exemption. Estate-tax experts didn't expect Congress to allow the tax to lapse, and are flabbergasted that it is actually happening. "I've been practicing for more than 30 years, and never has the timing of death made such a financial difference," says Dennis Belcher, president of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. "People have a hard enough time talking about death and addressing estate planning without this." Of course, plenty of taxpayers themselves have been eager to live to see the new year. But one wealthy, terminally ill real-estate entrepreneur told his doctors he was determined to live until the law changes. "Whenever he wakes up," says his lawyer, "He says: 'What day is it? Is it January 1 yet?'""

Submission + - San Francisco's sea lions end their 20-year stay (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by hoggy
hoggy writes: According to the BBC:
'The famous sea lions of San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf have disappeared after 20 years — leaving experts baffled as to why.
Last month, Pier 39 groaned under the weight of some 1,500 of the animals. But now all but a few have swum off bringing to an end a two-decade long sojourn — and one of the world's smelliest tourist attractions. ... Officials hope the departure is only temporary — as a 20th anniversary party had been planned for 15 January. ... One more outlandish theory is that their departure is the sign of an imminent earthquake.'
My theory is that they just hate parties.

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