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Earth

Submission + - Catastrophic climate change might be unavoidable (guardian.co.uk)

Submitted by
alemaco
alemaco writes: "'Climate scientist Kevin Anderson stood before his expert audience and contemplated a strange feeling. He wanted to be wrong [...] "As an academic I wanted to be told that it was a very good piece of work and that the conclusions were sound. [...] But as a human being I desperately wanted someone to point out a mistake, and to tell me we had got it completely wrong."'
According to the article, latest research into climate change shows that scientists undervalued the amount of CO2 developing economies are pumping into the atmosphere. It might be already too late to stop catastrophic climate change. This might mean the disappearing of 'hundreds of species, [...] extreme food and water shortages in vulnerable countries and [...] floods that would displace hundreds of millions of people'."
NASA

Pieces Coming Together For NASA's New Spacecraft 78

Posted by Soulskill from the fly-me-to-the-moon dept.
Matt_dk points out an update on the progress of development for NASA's Ares I launch rocket, excerpting: "NASA is using powerful computers and software programs to design the rocket that will carry crew and cargo to space after the space shuttle retires. But those computers will have their work checked the old-fashioned way with the first of several uncrewed demonstration launches beginning in 2009. Ares I-X, the first Ares I test rocket, will lift off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. in the summer of 2009. It will climb about 25 miles in a two-minute powered test of Ares I first stage performance and its first stage separation and parachute recovery system." Reader coondoggie notes that NASA is also looking further afield, putting out the call for ideas on moon colonization. They'll be offering a variety of grants for projects which facilitate human activities that are "not reliant on Earth's resources."

Comment Re:No danger whatsoever (Score 3, Interesting) 295

by alemaco (#25985073) Attached to: Red Flag Linux Forced On Chinese Internet Cafes

Actually, the 3 T's are Tiananmen Square, Tibet and Taiwan. Ah, and don't forget to mention the Dalai Lama.

Have I got through?

Seriously though, I teach. I never mention them in the classroom. If somebody else does, I just change the topic. As I know, in each class there is one student appointed by the PCC.
Medicine

Doctor Performs Amputation By Text Message 242

Posted by samzenpus from the l33t-5ki11z dept.
Peace Corps Online writes "Vascular surgeon David Nott performed a life-saving amputation on a boy in DR Congo following instructions sent by text message from a colleague in London. The boy's left arm had been ripped off and was badly infected and gangrenous; there were just 6in (15cm) of the boy's arm remaining, much of the surrounding muscle had died and there was little skin to fold over the wound. 'He had about two or three days to live when I saw him,' Nott said. Nott, volunteering with the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, knew he needed to perform a forequarter amputation requiring removal of the collar bone and shoulder blade and contacted Professor Meirion Thomas at London's Royal Marsden Hospital, who had performed the operation before. 'I texted him and he texted back step by step instructions on how to do it,' Nott said."
Privacy

Replacing Metal Detectors With Brain Scans 327

Posted by kdawson from the what-is-it-you-intend dept.
Zordak writes "CNN has up a story about several Israeli firms that want to replace metal detectors at airports with biometric readings. For example, with funding from TSA and DHS, 'WeCU ([creepily] pronounced "We See You") Technologies, employs a combination of infra-red technology, remote sensors and imagers, and flashing of subliminal images, such as a photo of Osama bin Laden. Developers say the combination of these technologies can detect a person's reaction to certain stimuli by reading body temperature, heart rate and respiration — signals a terrorist unwittingly emits before he plans to commit an attack.' Sensors may be embedded in the carpet, seats, and check-in screens. The stated goal is to read a passenger's 'intention' in a manner that is 'more fair, more effective and less expensive' than traditional profiling. But not to worry! WeCU's CEO says, 'We don't want you to feel that you are being interrogated.' And you may get through security in 20 to 30 seconds."
Education

IT Job Without a Degree? 1123

Posted by kdawson from the killing-oneself-by-degrees dept.
adh0c writes "I have been lurking Slashdot for some time now without registering and I don't think this question has been answered yet. Is it possible to get a good IT job (assuming that there is such a thing), preferably a sysadmin position, without having a BS or other degree? From browsing the job postings on Monster and such, it would seem that everyone wants university papers. Is there hope for computer enthusiasts who didn't go to college?"

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