Comment Re:Thanks, Homeland (Score 1) 123
Hey I just said it was an idea. You kind of gave away that it was a spoiler, you...
Comment Thanks, Homeland (Score 1) 123
Thanks go to Homeland for giving them this brilliant idea
Comment Re:Wow, Monsanto's evil tentacles reached his brai (Score 2) 758
If one understands how the pesticide works, it's not so scary. Per WikiP:
"When insects ingest [BT] toxin crystals, the alkaline pH of their digestive tract denatures the insoluble crystals, making them soluble and thus amenable to being cut with proteases found in the insect gut, which liberate the cry toxin from the crystal. The Cry toxin is then inserted into the insect gut cell membrane, forming a pore. The pore results in cell lysis and eventual death of the insect."
Humans, and I believe all vertebrates, have acidic digestive tracts, so BT is not active and cannot hurt you.
Not to say, in some remote universe, you couldn't be allergic to it, but that's true with any new molecule introduced into your person.
Humans, and I believe all vertebrates, have acidic digestive tracts, so BT is not active and cannot hurt you.
Not to say, in some remote universe, you couldn't be allergic to it, but that's true with any new molecule introduced into your person.
Qt 5.0 Released 161
sfcrazy writes "The Qt project and Digia, the company behind Qt framework, have released the most awaited C++ framework for developers, Qt 5.0. The company claims it's one of the best releases to date and has invested a significant amount of time behind this release. It's an overhaul of the Qt 4.x series and makes Qt fit for the future."
Update: 12/19 17:46 GMT by U L : Major new features include an overhauled graphics layer, full integration of Qt Quick for creating flexible interfaces using Javascript, and increased modularization including the first steps toward de-emphasizing QtWidgets by separating them into their own module.
For Much of the World, Demand For Water Outstrips Supply 318
ananyo writes "Almost one-quarter of the world's population lives in regions where groundwater is being used up faster than it can be replenished, concludes a comprehensive global analysis of groundwater depletion (abstract). Across the world, human civilizations depend largely on tapping vast reservoirs of water that have been stored for up to thousands of years in sand, clay and rock deep underground. These massive aquifers — which in some cases stretch across multiple states and country borders — provide water for drinking and crop irrigation, as well as to support ecosystems such as forests and fisheries. Yet in most of the world's major agricultural regions, including the Central Valley in California, the Nile delta region of Egypt, and the Upper Ganges in India and Pakistan, demand exceeds these reservoirs' capacity for renewal."
Comment Thanks for that useless info (Score 1) 412
Here's a useless comment to go with a useless story.
Delaware To Permit In-state Online Gambling 148
schwit1 writes "Delaware became the first state to enter the realm of legal online casino gambling Thursday with the governor's approval of legislation that allows for full-service betting websites offering slots play and games like roulette, poker and blackjack. Federal law limits online gambling to players within the state's borders, which will be verified using geolocation software. The state hopes to launch online gambling in 2013 and intends to make betting available on a variety of digital devices including smart phones and tablets."
National "Do Not Kill Registry" Launched In Response To Drone Kill List 484
First time accepted submitter crtitheories writes "In response to the national kill list revealed by the New York Times a few weeks ago, an online "Do Not Kill" Registry has been launched where users can sign up to avoid being mistakenly added. From the Do Not Kill website: 'Through an active collaboration between the Do not Kill Registry, the brave pilots and operators of the U.S. drone program, and the American public, we believe that we can find the political and moral solutions needed to both protect the security of the United States while also satisfying the concerns of the broader global community'. "
Comment Cybernetic Brain Artery Model + Realdoll = ?? (Score 1) 30
horrible, horrible, life-changing, permanently-scarring bloodbath.
At least until you get the tentacle mod.
At least until you get the tentacle mod.
Comment Selective pressure (Score 1) 470
Hey NY, you're raising wimps!
Comment Duhhhh (Score 1) 1128
That's the great thing about science: you don't have to trust it! It's got all the evidence right there!
Sure, you have to believe all the data isn't fabricated, but that's a much smaller chasm than, oh, say, a bigwig in the sky is calling the shots.
Maybe that's just me.
Comment Other timelines (Score 4, Informative) 86
Here's another decent open source timeline I've used. It's not immediately scalable, but with a little db knowledge, I think it could be modified.
http://www.simile-widgets.org/timeline/
Publishers Warned On Ebook Prices 352
An anonymous reader writes "The DoJ says Simon and Schuster, Hachette, Penguin, Macmillan and HarperCollins conspired to raise the prices of ebooks. The report originates from the WSJ, but the BBC adds comments from an analyst bizarrely claiming increased prices are somehow a good thing and thinking otherwise is the result of 'confusion'. I'd like to see an explanation of why the wholesale model, while continuing to work fine (presumably) for physical books, somehow didn't work for ebooks and why the agency model is better despite increasing costs for consumers."
Comment Proper controls (Score 1) 304
In order to balance out self-selection bias, they should have switched what type of game the kids had halfway through.
Obama Pushes For Cheaper Pennies 825
Hugh Pickens writes "Time Magazine reports that hidden deep inside in the White House's $3.8 trillion, 2,000-page budget that was sent to Congress this week is a proposal to make pennies and nickels cheaper to produce. Why? Because it currently costs the federal government 2.4 cents to make a penny and 11.2 cents for every nickel. If passed, the budget would allow the Treasury Department to 'change the composition of coins to more cost-effective materials' resulting in changes that could save more than $100 million a year. Since 1982, our copper-looking pennies have been merely coppery. In the 1970s, the price of copper soared, so President Nixon proposed changing the penny's composition to a cheaper aluminum. Today, only 2.5% of a penny is copper (which makes up the coin's coating) while 97.5% is zinc. The mint did make steel pennies for one year — in 1943 — when copper was needed for the war effort and steel might be a cheaper alternative this time. What about the bill introduced in 2006 that the US abandon pennies altogether.? At the time, fifty-five percent of respondents considered the penny useful compared to 43 percent who agreed it should be eliminated. More telling, 76 percent of respondents said they would pick up a penny if they saw it on the ground."
