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Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Pyramid Stones Were Poured, not Quarried

Submitted by
brian0918
brian0918 writes: "Times Online is reporting that French and American researchers have discovered that the stones on the higher levels of the great pyramids of Egypt were built with concrete. From the article: 'Until recently it was hard for geologists to distinguish between natural limestone and the kind that would have been made by reconstituting liquefied lime.' They found 'traces of a rapid chemical reaction which did not allow natural crystalisation. The reaction would be inexplicable if the stones were quarried, but perfectly comprehensible if one accepts that they were cast like concrete.'"
Security

Submission + - Travelers get assigned "terror scores"

Submitted by punkish
punkish writes: "WASHINGTON (AP) — Without notifying the public, federal agents have assigned millions of international travelers, including Americans, computer-generated scores rating the risk they pose of being terrorists or criminals. The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments. The government intends to keep the scores on file for 40 years." http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/11/30/traveler.scre ening.ap/index.html
Space

Submission + - Increase in Carbon Dioxide Emissions Accelerating

Submitted by
brian0918
brian0918 writes: "The Discovery Channel reports that despite recent efforts to reduce global CO2 emissions, the rate of increase in emissions has more than doubled since the 1990s. From the article: 'The new data shows there were 7.9 billion tons of carbon emitted in 2005, and that the 1 percent per year carbon dioxide concentration increase rate of the 1990s has already jumped to 2.5 percent per year.' This news comes as the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether or not the EPA should regulate carbon dioxide emissions."
Security

Submission + - Customs can search your computer without cause

Submitted by macheath
macheath writes: Due to a sentence by the Ninth Circuit on a child pornography case, US Customs and Border Patrol agents can now search and seize your computer, data carriers and other electronic without cause.
This is stirring up quite a bit of unrest in the business community, as it is now impossible to safeguard confidentiality of data files on laptops, leading to fears on economic spying. The company that I work for has released a document detailing measures to take when travelling to and from the US. Personally, I would tend to avoid or limit travelling to the and/or doing business in the US.
Check out this Associated Content article for more information.
Communications

Submission + - Mad Genius' Idea Results in Incredible Translator

Submitted by
silentounce
silentounce writes: "Meaningful Machines has developed a computer based translation system with the highest BLEU(BiLingual Evaluation Understudy) score yet recorded for a machine. Jaime Carbonell, MM's chief science officer and a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, has spearheaded the development of the system built on the idea of an Israeli inventor named Eli Abir. Unlike most other computer translation systems, the MM system does not rely on parallel text. Wired.com offers an interesting article about the system's development.

From the article:
'Abir, according to Klein, had a new machine-translation idea they wanted Carbonell to evaluate. Klein had been one of the first people to take the garrulous Abir seriously when he began hitting up investors for a previous invention in 2000, often in jeans and a T-shirt, claiming credentials as "the worst student in the history of the Israeli school system." Abir, who is bilingual in Hebrew and English, also said he could solve several of the world's thorniest computer science problems, based in part on knowledge gained from three days of playing SimCity.'"
The Media

Submission + - New video game report card surprisingly good

Submitted by Unrated
Unrated writes: The National Institute on Media and the Family has issued its 11th annual report card on the video game industry. The NIMF is much more positive towards the gaming industry than it has been in the past, even handing out a couple of A's (for console makers and large retail chains). Perhaps best of all, they are emphasizing that the ultimate responsibility lies with parents, giving parental involvement an incomplete. 'Game ratings, parental control systems, and vigilant retailers are very important links in the chain. But at the end of the day, it comes down to what the parents choose to let their children do. Or as the NIMF says in its report, "Simply put, parents need to step up to the plate."'
Biotech

Submission + - SPAM: Found -- the apple gene for red

Submitted by
FiReaNGeL
FiReaNGeL writes: "Researchers have located the gene that controls the red colour of apples — a discovery that may lead to bright new apple varieties. "The red colour in apple skin is the result of anthocyanins, the natural plant compounds responsible for blue and red colours in many flowers and fruits" says the leader of the CSIRO. By identifying master genes that were activated by light, they were able to pinpoint the gene that controls the formation of anthocyanins in apples. "As well as giving apples their rosy red hue, anthocyanins are also antioxidants with healthy attributes, giving us plenty of reasons to study how the biochemical pathway leading to apple colour is regulated", researchers said."

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