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Science

The Incredible Shrinking Genome 113

Posted by Soulskill from the hey-it's-cold-alright dept.
Shipud writes "Mammalian genomes have been shrinking for about 65 million years, roughly since the dinosaur extinction. Why? And why were ancient mammalian genomes three times larger than they are today? A new article in Genome Biology and Evolution tries to explain this bizarre finding, and why the genomes of mammals (but not of other living groups) are still shrinking. 'Once [the dinosaurs] were gone, mammals started to radiate, fill those niches, and a whole new level of competition arose. The selective advantage of not having a genome encumbered by potentially damaging mobile DNA elements has probably become critical at this "be ye fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein" stage. In effect, the genomes of mammals has been shrinking by removing mobile DNA elements, just after the KT boundary. And according to the model presented in this study, this process is still ongoing: mammalian genomes are not at an equilibrium size. Unlike flies, mammals are still cleaning up.'"
Linux

Learning More About Linux? 184

Posted by Cliff from the diving-deeper-into-the-penguin-knowledge-base dept.
teh moges asks: "From an administrator point of view, I know a lot about Microsoft Windows: where files are stored, where settings are, which registry keys to edit, how to change drivers, and so on. I made the initial switch to Linux a year ago. I now feel capable enough with using Linux, from an end user's point of view, so that when things go wrong, I can fix them. I now want to become even more familiar with Linux. Are there any great resources, such as websites, wikis or books for someone that wants to find out exactly how Linux works and how to fix and modify it?"
HP

HP Stops Selling Printers, Starts Selling Prints 346

Posted by Zonk from the does-this-mean-i-get-a-free-printer dept.
An anonymous reader writes "HP has launched a new line of business printers but there's a big catch — you won't be able to buy one. For the first time in history, the company will make customers purchase printing services, rather than the product itself. At its biggest printer launch since the LaserJet in 1984, HP's new business-class Edgeline printers will only be available through a managed services contract. Pricing will be per page, depending on the quality of the printout. Edgeline technology is said to be so ink-efficient that if HP were to sell these printers, they would never match the money they make from consumables (cartridges etc) now."
Networking

Submission + - War 2.0: Open Source IEDs vs. Platoon Wikis

Submitted by dasbeh
dasbeh writes: OSS, Wikipedia and other forms of net-based "peer production" can help us understand how modern Guerilla warfare is organized — and what the military must do to win War 2.0. At least, that is the argument of a "Web Special" at Policy Review. It shows how the internet has shifted the strategic balance in favor of small, decentralized groups that share tactical information, ideology and military doctrine over the web- and how today's insurgents honor such OSS mantras as "release early, release often", "the permanent beta version" and "open standards". From TFA: 'War's changing character is not only augmented by the emergence of the new media; the way the web and today's communication devices are used to organize lives also instructs our understanding of how killing is organized'
Programming

Submission + - Which language would you use in 3000 AD?

Submitted by
CSLarsen
CSLarsen writes: "You are in the year 3000. At your hands is a computer that:
  • Is infinitely fast
  • Has infinite storage
Which programming language would you use to program it?

If you propose a currently non-existing language, what kind of characteristics would it have?"
Math

Submission + - Medieval Islamic tiling reveals mathematical savvy

Submitted by
MattSparkes
MattSparkes writes: "It turns out that Medieval Islamic designers used elaborate geometrical tiling patterns at least 500 years before Western mathematicians developed the concept. They are not quite perfect though, because the patterns show a few defects where a single tile was placed incorrectly. The defects are probably mistakes by workers putting together the design as there are only 11 defects out of 3700 tiles, and each can be corrected by a simple rotation. You just can't get the staff..."
Space

Submission + - Rocket creates 1000 new pieces of space junk

Submitted by
MattSparkes
MattSparkes writes: "A Russian rocket exploded in orbit on monday, creating 1000 new pieces of space junk. It is one of the worst space debris events ever recorded, the amount created being roughly on par with China's recent test. Researchers are not yet certain what may have caused it to explode; It could have been hit by a micrometeoroid, or corrosion or mechanical failure of the rocket body could have caused the fuel and oxidiser to come into contact, leading to an explosion. 2006 was an especially bad year in terms of satellite break-ups, with eight objects breaking up in orbit."

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