Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Submission Summary: 0 pending, 70 declined, 30 accepted (100 total, 30.00% accepted)

×
Earth

Submission + - New Insights In The Evolution Of Intelligence (sciam.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "According to a new article published in Scientific American, the nature of and evolutionary development of animal intelligence is significantly more complicated than many have assumed. In opposition to the widely held view that intelligence is largely linear in nature, in many cases intelligent traits have developed along independent paths. From the article: "Over the past 30 years, however, research in comparative neuroanatomy clearly has shown that complex brains--and sophisticated cognition--have evolved from simpler brains multiple times independently in separate lineages ...""
Space

Submission + - Ancient Supernova Explosion Glimpsed Anew (wired.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "Astronomers are observing a supernova exactly as it appeared in 1572, a peculiar ability made possible by the slowing of light by dust particles on its way to Earth. Radio waves from the event were first detected in 1952, with "light echoes" being used to observe it as it appeared hundreds of years ago. From the article: "These rays of light coming from the supernova are only just reaching Earth now because they took the long way home, bouncing off dust particles in the interstellar medium on their way.""
Space

Submission + - Key Molecule for Life Found in our Galaxy (wired.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "A molecule thought to be linked to the origin of life has been found in a region of our galaxy thought to be habitable. The molecule, glycolaldehyde, helps in the construction of RNA. From the article: "Glycolaldehyde is a monosaccharide sugar, the basic unit of carbohydrates. It can react with the chemical propenal to form ribose, the building block of RNA." The Wired article references a research publication that provides much more in-depth information."
Space

Submission + - Martian Winter Threatens Phoenix Lander's Mission (cnn.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "The Phoenix Mars lander is unlikely to survive the coming Martian winter, according to NASA scientists. The craft will have to endure significantly more extreme conditions than it has faced to date, including being covered with snow and polar ice. With no sunlight for months, the lander's energy stores will be depleted. Although scientists will attempt to reactivate it once it has thawed out, such efforts are unlikely to be successful. From the article: "Phoenix landed at mid-summer inside the Martian arctic circle where the summer sun never sets, so the solar-powered craft had plenty of power for the first few months of its mission. But temperatures have been dropping in recent weeks, as the nights get longer and winter weather sets in.""
Earth

Submission + - Potent Greenhouse Gas Overlooked (nature.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "Nature reports on a potent greenhouse gas that's been overlooked in environmental studies. Nitrogen trifluoride, a gas commonly used in the etching of silicon chips found in plasma displays, has been found to be 12,000-20,000 times more effective than carbon dioxide at retaining heat from solar radiation. Atmospheric levels of this gas have increased twenty-fold in the last three decades. From the article: "Given its strong global-warming potential and estimated atmospheric lifetime of 740 years, this is equivalent to the effect of about 67 million tonnes of carbon dioxide — roughly the total annual CO2 emissions of Finland.""
Space

Submission + - Chinese Building 'Impossible' Space Drive (wired.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "Wired's Danger Room is reporting on claims that Chinese researchers are building an advanced space drive system that was previously considered "impossible." From the article: "Chinese researchers claim they've confirmed the theory behind an 'impossible' space drive, and are proceeding to build a demonstration version. If they're right, this might transform the economics of satellites, open up new possibilities for space exploration — and give the Chinese a decisive military advantage in space.""
Cellphones

Submission + - First "Googlephone" Carries High Expectati (wired.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "T-Mobile's new G1 handset, set to come to market next month, shows strong promise as a competitor to Apple's iPhone. Running Google's Android platform, the device represents the first commercial application of the completely open source platform. From the article: "Android's biggest asset is its open platform, said Rich Miner, Google's group manager for mobile platforms, at the Mobilize 08 conference last week. With the release of the first Android-based phone, the operating system software will become completely open source, free and available to the industry for use and modification.""
Education

Submission + - Dallas Schools Find Test Failure Acceptable (classhelper.org) 3

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "In Dallas, Texas, schools are teaching students that test failure is acceptable. New testing and grading policies in the district allow students to retake failed tests, with lower scores being tossed out entirely. While their stated reasoning behind the changes is to give kids a second chance to succeed, in truth these policies only weaken a public education system that already suffers from significant problems."
Politics

Submission + - Voting Machines Routinely Failing Nationwide (cnn.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "Voting machines in several critical swing states are causing major problems for voters. A Government Accountability Office report and Common Cause election study (PDF document) has concluded that major issues identified in the last presidential election have not been corrected, nor have election officials been notified of the problems. How long can we afford to trust our elections to black box voting practices? From the article: "In Colorado, 20,000 left polling places without voting in 2006 because of crashed computer registration machines and long lines. And this election day, Colorado will have another new registration system.""
Government

Submission + - Database Glitches Could Disenfranchise Thousands (wired.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "Serious problems with voter registration databases could disenfranchise thousands of voters in this year's upcoming presidential elections. From the Wired.com article: "... the databases, some created by the same companies that make electronic voting machines, aren't federally tested or certified and some have been plagued by missed deadlines, rushed production schedules, cost overruns, security problems, and design and reliability issues."

Emphasis is mine... of course the registration databases are produced by the same orgs that have such a stellar track record with e-voting machines."
The Military

Submission + - Spy Agencies Turn To Online Sources For Info (usnews.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "US News and World Report is running an article about increased spy agency use of online sources. Turning to well-known destinations such as NPR and Wikipedia, folks in the intel world are increasingly filling their reports with information gleaned from the public domain. From the article: "A few days ago, a senior officer at the Pentagon called his intelligence officer into his office. The boss had heard a news report about China while driving to his office and wanted some answers. It wasn't a tough assignment, given the news coverage, but there was a hitch. 'There was plenty of information in the public domain about the topic,' recalls the intelligence officer, a 10-year veteran. 'And yet, if there wasn't some classified information cited in my report, the boss would never believe it was accurate.'""
The Courts

Submission + - Virginia Courts Strike Down Anti-Spam Law (wired.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "Dealing a blow to national efforts to curtail the flood of spammers filling up citizens' inboxes, the State of Virginia Supreme Court declared their anti-spam law unconstitutional. They have also overturned the conviction of one of the nation's worst spammers. From the article: "The Virginia law "is unconstitutionally overbroad on its face because it prohibits the anonymous transmission of all unsolicited bulk e-mails, including those containing political, religious or other speech protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," Justice G. Steven Agee wrote.""
Earth

Submission + - Startup Aims To Test "Green Produc" Claims (wired.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "A startup company aims to set the record straight when it comes to products that claim to be "green" (those marketed as being environmentally friendly). The company's site, GoodGuide.com, offers in-depth product reviews based on a complete breakdown of the environmental and social factors that go into its design, manufacturing, and marketing. From the Wired.com article: "GoodGuide wants to step into the information vacuum that has developed along with the green movement. Many consumers want to purchase products in line with their values — whatever they are — but find it difficult to know if one soap or shampoo is actually better than another for their health or the planet's. The situation has been complicated by marketers who've seized on the slogan "going green" to promote products with questionable or unknown impacts.""
The Internet

Submission + - Could Life Evolve On The Internet? (wired.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "Wired Science asks whether life could evolve on the Internet. Taking cues from researchers like Martin Nowak of Harvard University and the Digital Evolution Lab at Michigan State University, the article questions whether accepted definitions of life could soon be applied to "organisms" evolving on the Internet. From the article: "'We can definitely make things in a computer that fulfill the criteria for life that NASA uses, except it's not chemical,' she added, and cited the AVIDA program at Michigan State.""

Slashdot Top Deals

"Experience has proved that some people indeed know everything." -- Russell Baker

Close