32914561
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Bloomberg reports that Eduardo Saverin, the billionaire co- founder of Facebook Inc. (FB), renounced his U.S. citizenship before an initial public offering that values the social network at as much as $96 billion, a move that may reduce his tax bill.
Facebook plans to raise as much as $11.8 billion through the IPO, the biggest in history for an Internet company. Saverin’s stake is about 4 percent, according to the website Who Owns Facebook. At the high end of the IPO valuation, that would be worth about $3.84 billion. Saverin, 30, joins a growing number of people giving up U.S. citizenship, a move that can trim their tax liabilities in that country.
Saverin won’t escape all U.S. taxes. Americans who give up their citizenship owe what is effectively an exit tax on the capital gains from their stock holdings, even if they don’t sell the shares, said Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, director of the international tax program at the University of Michigan’s law school. For tax purposes, the IRS treats the stock as if it has been sold.
32865009
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
In recent years researchers have made great strides in their theoretical understanding of how "Invisibility Cloaks" work and consequently built increasingly complex and impressive devices. But these devices generally work in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum, where wavelengths are measured in centimetres. Enter Arseniy Kuznetsov at the Data Storage Institute in Singapore and a few pals. These guys say they've found an alternative to split ring resonators that work well at optical frequencies, with few losses. This alternative is silicon nanospheres between 100 and 200 nm in diameter. It turns out that these spheres behave just like split ring resonators in the sense that they allow for the same kind of magnetic resonances when they interact with light. This magnetic resonance can also be tuned to match any part of the visible spectrum simply selecting spheres of a specific size. That's important because it opens up an entirely new way make invisibility cloaks that operate in the visible region. "These optical systems open up new perspectives for fabrication of low-loss optical metamaterials and nanophotonic devices," they say. The trouble of course is making these spheres.
32506837
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Physicists have, for the first time, demonstrated in an experiment that the decision whether two particles were in an entangled or in a separable quantum state can be made even after these particles have been measured and may no longer exist. Entangled particles exhibit correlations which are stronger and more intricate than those allowed by the laws of classical physics. If two particles are in an entangled quantum state, they have perfectly defined joint properties at the expense of losing their individual properties. This is like having two dice which have no orientation until they are subject to measurement, upon which they certainly show the same (random) side up. In contrast, so-called separable quantum states allow for a classical description, because every particle has well-defined properties on its own. Two dice, each one of them with its own well-defined orientation, are in a separable state. Now, one would think that at least the nature of the quantum state must be an objective fact of reality. Either the dice are entangled or not. Zeilinger's team has now demonstrated in an experiment that this is not always the case. Free abstract along with the choice to pay for the full paper can be found on the nature website
32334769
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Eugene Kaspersky, the CEO of security firm Kaspersky Lab, says Apple is headed for a rough patch. However, this one's in the world of computer security, and he says Apple is already getting into the thick of it. Kaspersky said that when it comes to computer security, Apple's Mac platform was a decade behind Microsoft's, and that it's got some things to learn from its rival. "They will have to make changes in terms of the cycle of updates and so on and will be forced to invest more into their security audits for the software. That's what Microsoft did in the past after so many incidents like Blaster and the more complicated worms that infected millions of computers in a short time," he added. "They had to do a lot of work to check the code to find mistakes and vulnerabilities. Now it's time for Apple [to do the same]."
31678945
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Researchers Professor Ping Koy Lam, Dr Thomas Symul and Dr Syed Assad from the ANU ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology have developed the fastest random number generator in the world by listening to the 'sounds of silence'. Vacuum was once thought to be completely empty, dark, and silent until the discovery of the modern quantum theory. Since then scientists have discovered that vacuum is an extent of space that has virtual sub-atomic particles spontaneously appearing and disappearing. It is the presence of these virtual particles that give rise to random noise.
The researchers have tuned their very sensitive light detectors to listen to vacuum — a region of space that is empty. Professor Lam said " This 'vacuum noise' is omnipresent and may affect and ultimately pose a limit to the performances of fibre optic communication, radio broadcasts and computer operation." The random number generator is online and can be accessed from anywhere, anytime around the world here
31424001
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Scientists at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering said they have developed a robotic device made from DNA that could potentially seek specific cell targets and deliver important molecular instructions, such as telling cancer cells to self-destruct. The technology may some day be used to program immune responses to treat various diseases, they wrote in today’s issue of Science. Using the DNA origami method, in which complex three-dimensional shapes and objects are constructed by folding strands of DNA, the researchers created a nanosized robot that looks like an open barrel with its halves connected by a hinge. The DNA barrel, which acts as a container, is held shut by special DNA latches that can recognize and seek out combinations of cell-surface proteins, including disease markers. When the latches find their targets, they reconfigure, causing the two halves of the barrel to swing open and expose the contents or “payload.” The container can hold various types of payloads, including certain molecules with encoded instructions that can interact with specific cell surface signaling receptors. “We can finally integrate sensing and logical computing functions via complex, yet predictable, nanostructures—some of the first hybrids of structural DNA, antibodies, aptamers and metal atomic clusters—aimed at useful, very specific targeting of human cancers and T-cells,” George Church, a Wyss faculty member and principal investigator on the project, said in a statement.
31191961
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Researchers in MIT are developing tiny robots that can assemble themselves into products and then disassemble when no longer needed. "A heap of smart sand would be analogous to the rough block of stone that a sculptor begins with. The individual grains would pass messages back and forth and selectively attach to each other to form a three-dimensional object; the grains not necessary to build that object would simply fall away. When the object had served its purpose, it would be returned to the heap. Its constituent grains would detach from each other, becoming free to participate in the formation of a new shape." To attach to each other, to communicate and to share power, the cubes use 'electropermanent magnets,' materials whose magnetism can be switched on and off with jolts of electricity. Another discussion for this paper can be read here
30641527
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Anonymous Industry sources have confirmed that Google is developing a low-budget tablet in an attempt to bolster a floundering stable of Android-based tablets. The rumored 7-inch tablet, dubbed the Nexus Tablet, could cost the same price as the Amazon Kindle Fire, $199, or even better — $149.
Industry sources say that Asus is working with Google to make a 7-inch tablet loosely based off of the Asus Memo 370T, which debuted at CES 2012. Industry sources say that Asus is working with Google to make a 7-inch tablet loosely based off of the Asus Memo 370T, which debuted at CES 2012. An anonymous source from a U.S. supply chain has told the tech blog Android and Me that the new small-form tablet will cost $149, while the more visited site the Verge has a source that says the new tablet will cost $199.
29655887
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
A San Diego-based startup Organovo is building human muscle tissue with the help of 3-D printers . Organovo’s product is so similar to human tissue, it could help researchers identify drugs that will fail long before they reach clinical trials. This technology lets cells interact with each other – like the way they do in the body. They’re packed together tightly and incubated, prompting them to trade chemical signals. When they’re printed, the cells are kept bunched together in a paste that helps them grow, migrate, and align themselves properly. So far, Organovo has built tissue of several types, including cardiac muscle, lung, and blood vessels. They’ve only made small pieces of tissue, but the goal is to use their 3-D printer to make organs for transplants.
28495999
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Washington Post reports Tuesday it will require users to allow the company to follow their activities across e-mail, search, YouTube and other services, a radical shift in strategy that is expected to invite greater scrutiny of its privacy and competitive practices.
The information will enable Google to develop a fuller picture of how people use its growing empire of Web sites. Consumers will have no choice but to accept the changes. The policy will take effect March 1 and will also impact Android mobile phone users. “If you’re signed in, we may combine information you’ve provided from one service with information from other services,” Alma Whitten, Google’s director of privacy, product and engineering wrote in a blog post.
28371126
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
NY Times reports that a huge sunspot unleashed a blob of charged plasma Thursday that space weather watchers predict will blast past the Earth on Sunday. Satellite operators and power companies are keeping a close eye on the incoming cloud, which could distort the Earth’s magnetic field and disrupt radio communications, especially at higher latitudes. The huge blob of charged gas spotted by NASA satellites is speeding toward Earth at more than 2 million mph. The most damaging solar discharges, which are very rare, can zoom at speeds more than twice that fast. A better link with some animation is available here
28016644
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
The Wired blog Danger Room dissects a recent Congressional Research Service report, simply titled U.S. Unmanned Aerial Systems, that looks at the ever-more-prominent role being played by drones. In 2005, drones made up just 5 percent of the military’s aircraft. Today one in three American military aircraft is a drone. The upsides of drones being they are cheaper and safer — the military spent 92% of the aircraft procurement money on manned aircraft. The downside — they're bandwidth hogs: a single Global Hawk drone requires 500 megabytes per second worth of bandwidth, the report finds, which is 500 percent of the total bandwidth of the entire U.S. military used during the 1991 Gulf War". Another Slate article also talks about it.
24044052
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Earlier today Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sent out an email apologizing for a bunch of things like the sudden price hike and the subsequent reaction from his company spokespeople. An excerpt from his email "It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology."
Another interesting development mentioned in the email was the renaming of the DVD-by-mail service to Qwikster. Currently the website shows nothing — www.qwikster.com . Also from the email — "The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo."
23589908
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
The First Court of Appeals has reached a decision that would allow the general public to video-tape police officers while they are working. This decision comes right after several well-known public cases have come to light involving citizens being arrested for video-taping police.This specific case in question was Simon Glik vs.The City of Boston (and several police officers), in which a teenage Simon Gilk was arrested after videotaping Boston Police abusing a homeless man. While Mr. Gilk was not interfering with the police, he was arrested on wiretapping charges. The ACLU had sued on his behalf, even when the charges were dropped, noting that there was a growing epidemic of citizens in the United States being arrested by police for videotaping, even when documenting police brutality and abuse. The First Court Agreed with the ACLU that this should be legal, and wrote that: "The filming of government officials engaged in their duties in a public place, including police officers performing their responsibilities, fits comfortably within these principles [of protected First Amendment activity].
23321118
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
New studies by researchers at the University at Buffalo have found that when a woman's goal is to be romantically desirable, she distances herself from academic majors and activities related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The studies, funded in part by the National Science Foundation, were undertaken to determine why women, who have made tremendous progress in education and the workplace over the past few decades, continue to be underrepresented at the highest levels of STEM. Lead author Lora E. Park, PhD, UB associate professor of psychology and her co-authors, found converging support for the idea that when romantic goals are activated, either by environmental cues or personal choice, women — but not men — show less interest in STEM and more interest in feminine fields, such as the arts, languages and English. Alternative link is here
