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Submission + - Ask Slashdot - would you really want to live to 15 (theage.com.au) 3

Submitted by Macgrrl
Macgrrl writes: It was reported today in The Age newspaper that scientists believe that they will have a drug within the next 5-10 years that will extend the average human lifespan to 150 years.

Given the retirement age in Australia is 65, that would give you an extra 95 years past the current reitrment age, meaning you would probably have to extend the average working life to 100 or 120 years to prevent the economy becoming totally unbalanced and pensions running out.

That assumes that the life extension is all 'good years', and not a prolonged period of dementia and physical decline.

Would you want to live to 150? What do you see as being the most likely issues and what do you think you would do with all the extra years?
Businesses

Submission + - Businesses dodge DRM to keep using MYOB software (pcpro.co.uk) 1

Submitted by
nk497
nk497 writes: "In 2008, MYOB pulled out of the UK, handing its customer base to local rival Mamut. That firm has told UK-based MYOB users the accounting software will move into read-only mode at the end of the year, making use of its built-in DRM to artificially push users to change to its own product.

A user group has sprung up with a solution: crack the DRM. A software developer has come up with a way to create new "reconfirmation" numbers that mean users will be able to keep using MYOB. “I don’t know if we’re allowed to do it or not, it’s certainly a difficult one," the user group's spokesman Mark Hill said, adding: "In our view the licence is being breached by the software house, MYOB... not the users.""
Biotech

Submission + - Can the Hottest Peppers in the World Kill You? 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Katharine Gammon writes that last week, the Kismot Indian restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland, held a competition to eat the extra-hot Kismot Killer curry and several ambulances were called after some of the competitive eaters were left writhing on the floor in agony, vomiting and fainting. Paul Bosland, professor of horticulture at New Mexico State University and director of the Chile Pepper Institute, says that chili peppers can indeed cause death — but most people's bodies would falter long before they reached that point. "Theoretically, one could eat enough really hot chiles to kill you," says Bosland adding that a research study in 1980 calculated that three pounds of the hottest peppers in the world — something like the Bhut Jolokia — eaten all at once could kill a 150-pound person. Chili peppers cause the eater's insides to rev up activating the sympathetic nervous system — which helps control most of the body's internal organs — to expend more energy, so the body burns more calories when the same food is eaten with chili peppers. But tissue inflammation could explain why the contestants in the Killer Curry contest said they felt like chainsaws were ripping through their insides. As for the contest, restaurant owner Abdul Ali admitted the fiery dish may have been too spicy after the Scottish Ambulance Service warned him to review his event. ‘I think we’ll tone it down, but we’ll definitely do it next year.’"

Submission + - Parlyzed Man Moved Freely After Device Implant (yahoo.com) 1

Submitted by clm1970
clm1970 writes: In a new treatment for paraplegics with complete spinal cord injuries an Oregon man is able to move freely and even take steps. The treatment had previously only had shown promise in persons with only partial severs of the spinal cord.
Science

Submission + - Human Astrocytes Developed From Stem Cells (sciencedebate.com)

Submitted by RogerRoast
RogerRoast writes: Astrocytes are the most ubiquitous cells in the brain. They perform critical support function to the neurons. These cells are also implicated in several human brain disorders. The U of Wisconsin researchers developed a method to create these cells from stem cells. The paper was published in Nature Biotechnology (May 22, 2011 online issue) and reported in ScienceDebate.com. According to the lead author Dr Zhang, “not a lot of attention has been paid to these cells because human astrocytes have been hard to get, but we can make billions or trillions of them from a single stem cell." The technology developed by the Wisconsin group lays a foundation to make all the different species of astrocytes. It may be possible to genetically engineer them to mimic disease so that previously inaccessible neurological conditions can be studied in the lab.
Crime

Submission + - Computer Records Hold Key in IMF Rape Case

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "ABA Journal reports that the chief of the International Monetary Fund may claim consent as a defense to accusations that he sexually assaulted a maid at the Sofitel Hotel in New York as defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman told the judge he believed the “forensic evidence” was “not consistent with forcible encounter.” Police have said the maid knocked on Strauss-Kahn’s door and called out, used her master keycard to open the door, and left her work cart in the doorway, a typical safety practice in hotels. According to the police account, Strauss-Kahn emerged naked, tried to attack the maid, and then shut the hotel door when she tried to escape. The NY Times explains how the key card evidence may play out: “If the defense for Mr. Strauss-Kahn maintains that the encounter was consensual, its version will have to accommodate the unambiguous computer record of her leaving the door propped open," the story says. "It will also have to explain how and when she decided that sex with Mr. Strauss-Kahn was a better use of her time than changing the linens.”"
Government

Submission + - RIAA-Backed Warrantless Search Bill (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by lordvramir
lordvramir writes: If you run a CD or DVD duplication company and you're based in California, you may soon be subject to warrantless searches in order to "fight piracy." California Senate Bill 550, introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), has slowly begun making its way through the state legislature as a way to cut down on counterfeit discs, but critics worry that it may open the door to Fourth Amendment violations.
NASA

Submission + - Scientists Uncover Free-Floating, Starless Planets (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by
gabbo529
gabbo529 writes: "A group of researchers have discovered a new class of planets in the Milky Way Galaxy and they don't have an orbital home. According to a study done by a group of international researchers, the planets are dark, isolated Jupiter-mass bodies located far away from any host star. The researchers, led by Takahiro Sumi of Osaka University, say the planets were most likely ejected from developing planetary systems. The researchers' study will appear as part of a paper appearing in the May 19th issue of the journal Nature."

Submission + - FBI leaves paperwork behind after raid on anti-war (stopfbi.net)

Submitted by Sprouticus
Sprouticus writes: An interesting development has occured in the case of some anti-war activists who had their house raided by the FBI. Apparently in their hurry to take the photos, computers and phones of the people involved, the FBI left their raid paperwork, including the raid plan and the interrogation questions, behind. This information has been posted oon a website put up to support the activists. It gives some real insight into the FBI mindset.
PlayStation (Games)

Submission + - 3.61 firmware update causes PS3 overheating issues (rockstargames.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Sony's Playstation woes continue. Complaints on Sony's forums allege that the latest system update is causing certain fat PS3 models to constantly overheat or freeze..

After receiving complaints about freezes during LA Noire, Rockstar have posted information on their support website, where they confirm the issue is not specific to LA Noire and can be reproduced with a number of games, but only on machines running 3.61. Affected users are advised to contact Sony directly.
Japan

Submission + - Chain Reactions Reignited At Fukushima (technologyreview.com)

Submitted by
mdsolar
mdsolar writes: "Radioactive byproducts indicate that nuclear chain reactions must have been burning at the damaged nuclear reactors long after the disaster unfolded.

Tetsuo Matsui at the University of Tokyo, says the limited data from Fukushima indicates that nuclear chain reactions must have reignited at Fuksuhima up to 12 days after the accident.

Matsui says the evidence comes from measurements of the ratio of cesium-137 and iodine-131 at several points around the facility and in the seawater nearby."
Transportation

Marking 125 Years Since the Great Gauge Change 426

Posted by timothy from the railly-good-effort dept.
Arnold Reinhold writes "This month ends with the 125th anniversary of one of the most remarkable achievements in technology history. Over two days beginning Monday, May 31, 1886, the railroad network in the southern United States was converted from a five-foot gauge to one compatible with the slightly narrower gauge used in the US North, now know as standard gauge. The shift was meticulously planned and executed. It required one side of every track to be moved three inches closer to the other. All wheel sets had to be adjusted as well. Some minor track and rolling stock was sensibly deferred until later, but by Wednesday the South's 11,500 mile rail network was back in business and able to exchange rail cars with the North. Other countries are still struggling with incompatible rail gauges. Australia still has three. Most of Europe runs on standard gauge, but Russia uses essentially the same five foot gauge as the old South and Spain and Portugal use an even broader gauge. India has a multi-year Project Unigauge, aimed at converting its narrow gauge lines to the subcontinent's five foot six inch standard."
Science

Submission + - Easily Distracted People May Have Too Much Brain (gizmodo.com) 1

Submitted by
fysdt
fysdt writes: "Those who are easily distracted from the task in hand may have "too much brain".

So says Ryota Kanai and his colleagues at University College London, who found larger than average volumes of grey matter in certain brain regions in those whose attention is readily diverted.

To investigate distractibility, the team compared the brains of easy and difficult-to-distract individuals.

They assessed each person's distractibility by quizzing them about how often they fail to notice road signs, or go into a supermarket and become sidetracked to the point that they forget what they came in to buy. The most distractible individuals received the highest score."

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