27153750
submission
a_hanso writes:
A press release by the National Institute of Health heralds the end of most types of research that use chimpanzees. The announcement does not say why, except "oemost current use of chimpanzees for biomedical research is unnecessary."
26444370
submission
a_hanso writes:
Hard drives that combine a traditional spinning platter for mass storage and solid state flash memory for frequently accessed data, have always made sense. They may be slower than SSDs, but they are a lot cheaper gigabyte-for-gigabyte. CNET's Harry McCracken speculates on how soon such drives may become mainstream.
26287812
submission
a_hanso writes:
A study by Oregon State University suggests that the effects of rising levels of carbon dioxide on temperature may be less than previously thought.
The new models predict that given a doubling in CO2 levels from pre-industrial levels, the Earth's surface temperatures will rise by 1.7 to 2.6 degrees C. That is a much tighter range than suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s 2007 report, which suggested a rise of between 2 to 4.5 degrees C.
25028734
submission
a_hanso writes:
The Google.org-funded Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) research at the Southern Methodist University has produced a coast-to-coast geothermal potential map of the United States. Having invested over $10 million on geothermal energy, Google seems to believe that it is our best bet at kicking the oil habit (especially now that nuclear power has suddenly become disproportionately unpopular).
23862982
submission
a_hanso writes:
According to The Telegraph, Dutch scientists experimenting with in vitro meat are six months away from producing the world's first vat grown sausage. The price tag: US$350,000. But with the world's meat consumption predicted to double by 2050, artificial meat may soon become more economical than farming animals.
20574170
submission
a_hanso writes:
With the upcoming appointment of General Petraeus as the head of the CIA and the former CIA head as the secretary of defense, is the US shifting its defense strategy further toward unconventional warfare? Drone strikes have already tripled under the Obama administration and surgical strikes based on intelligence are increasingly replacing brute force assaults, which are not preferred by either man. Begun, have the Drone Wars?
20333784
submission
a_hanso writes:
From the NY Times: On May 26, 2009, Robert Lustig gave a lecture called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” which was posted on YouTube the following July. Since then, it has been viewed well over 800,000 times, gaining new viewers at a rate of about 50,000 per month, fairly remarkable numbers for a 90-minute discussion of the nuances of fructose biochemistry and human physiology.
18728822
submission
a_hanso writes:
The National Reconnaissance Office has announced the launch of what we may assume to be a rather large reconnaissance satellite. According to the NRO press release, it is the third of a series of six such payloads. We can only speculate as to what kind of monitoring capabilities these satellites will bring to the US defense/intelligence community once they are fully operational.
