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NASA

Submission + - New NASA Model Refutes Global Warming Alarmists (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by Dialecticus
Dialecticus writes: According to an article by Lewis Page at The Register, NASA says that most theoretical models of global warming fail to take into account the cooling effects of how plant life would react to higher CO2 levels in the atmosphere. NASA's new model reportedly indicates that even something as extreme as a doubling of current CO2 levels would only result in a 1.64 degree Celsius increase in overall global temperatures, with temperature increases over land being even less than that. The article does not specifically mention whether increased photosynthesis would have a natural regulating effect on CO2 levels due to the commensurate increase in the rate of naturally occurring carbon sequestration.
Power

Submission + - Scientists Discover Solar Powered Hornets (goodcleantech.com) 2

Submitted by adeelarshad82
adeelarshad82 writes: The oriental hornet is more active during the day, and tends to become even more active as the temperature rises. And now scientists have discovered the reason: the hornets are solar powered. It turns out that the distinctive yellow stripe on the hornet's abdomen is actually full of tiny protrusions that gather sunlight and harness it for energy. The insect also features a special pigment, called xanthopterin, that helps with the process.
Biotech

Magnetism Can Sway Man's Moral Compass 586

Posted by CmdrTaco from the so-can-hot-chicks dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Discovery News reports that scientists have identified a region of the brain which appears to control morality and discovered that a powerful magnetic field can scramble the moral center of the brain, impairing volunteers' notion of right and wrong. 'You think of morality as being a really high-level behavior,' says Liane Young, a scientist at MIT and co-author of the article. 'To be able to apply (a magnetic field) to a specific brain region and change people's moral judgments is really astonishing.' Young and her colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging to locate an area of the brain just above and behind the right ear known as the right temporo-parietal junction (RTPJ), which other studies had previously related to moral judgments. Volunteers were exposed to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for 25 minutes before reading stories involving morally questionable characters, and being asked to judge their actions. The researchers found that when the RTPJ was disrupted volunteers were more likely to judge actions solely on the basis of whether they caused harm — not whether they were morally wrong in themselves. The scientists didn't permanently remove the subjects' moral sensibilities and on the scientists' seven point scale, the difference was about one point, averaging out to about a 15 percent change, 'but it's still striking to see such a change in such high level behavior as moral decision-making.' Young points out that the study was correlation; their work only links the RTJP, morality, and magnetic fields, but doesn't definitively prove that one causes another."
Medicine

First Anti-Cancer Nanoparticle Trial On Humans a Success 260

Posted by samzenpus from the smallest-medicine dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Nanoparticles have been able to disable cancerous cells in living human bodies for the first time. The results are perfect so far, killing tumors with no side effects whatsoever. Mark Davis, project leader at CalTech, says that 'it sneaks in, evades the immune system, delivers the siRNA, and the disassembled components exit out.' Truly amazing."
Medicine

Child Receives Trachea Grown From Own Stem Cells 103

Posted by samzenpus from the just-add-oxygen dept.
kkleiner writes "Doctors at the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) along with colleagues at the University College London, the Royal Free Hospital, and Careggi University Hospital in Florence have successfully transplanted a trachea into a 10 year old boy using his own stem cells. A donor trachea was taken, stripped of its cells into a collagen-like scaffold, and then infused with the boy's stem cells. The trachea was surgically placed into the boy and allowed to develop in place. Because his own cells were used, there was little to no risk of rejection. This was the first time a child had received such a stem cell augmented transplant and the first time that a complete trachea had been used."
Medicine

High Fructose Corn Syrup Causes Bigger Weight Gain In Rats 542

Posted by timothy from the subsidies-cause-fatter-corn-farmers dept.
krou writes "In an experiment conducted by a Princeton University team, 'Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.' Long-term consumption also 'led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides.' Psychology professor Bart Hoebel commented that 'When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese — every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight.'"
Nintendo

Submission + - Nintendo Announces Nintendo 3DS Portable System (nintendoworldreport.com)

Submitted by Mekabyte
Mekabyte writes: In a surprise announcement, Nintendo Co., Ltd. released a brief teaser regarding their next portable system. Tentatively called the Nintendo 3DS, the system features three-dimensional gameplay without the need for glasses.

The handheld is set to release sometime in Nintendo's next fiscal year, which ends March 2011. Nintendo promises backwards compatibility with DS and DSi games. Other details regarding the system and its 3D capabilities will be revealed at E3 on June 15th.
Power

Submission + - Bill Gates May Build Small Nuclear Reactor

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "The Wall Street Journal reports that TerraPower, an energy start-up backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, is in discussions with Toshiba Corp. to develop a small-scale nuclear reactor that would represent a long-term bet to make nuclear power safer and cheaper. Toshiba confirmed it is in preliminary discussions with TerraPower, a unit of Intellectual Ventures, a patent-holding concern partially funded by Gates and Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori says the two sides are talking about how they could collaborate on nuclear technology although discussions are still in early stages and that nothing has been decided on investment or development. TerraPower has publicly said its Traveling Wave Reactor could run for decades on depleted uranium without refueling (PDF) or removing spent fuel from the device. The reactor, the company has said, could be safer, cheaper and more socially acceptable than today's reactors. Gates's recent focus on nuclear power has been fueled by an interest in developing new power systems for developing countries where he says that new energy solutions are needed to combat climate change. Terrapower faces a lengthy, multi-year process to get its “traveling wave” reactor concept reviewed by regulators but if TerraPower succeeds in advancing its plans, it could provide an alternative blueprint for the nuclear industry at a time when new reactors may be coming online."
Java

Submission + - New tool converts Java apps to Android (idg.com.au)

Submitted by
angry tapir
angry tapir writes: "Mobile software company Myriad Group has announced J2Android, which will make it possible for Java-based mobile applications to run on Android-based phones. The J2Android tool converts existing Java applications, including games, to run on Dalvik, which is the virtual machine used on all Android devices. Besides converting the application, J2Android will let the application be rescaled to fit the screen of the Android device."

Submission + - Rumor: Palm ditching webOS for Android? 8

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Jon Rubinstein, in an internal Palm memo that will be released in full shortly, is showing support for Android to replace the webOS on the Palm Pre Plus. Citing competition with the iPhone and exponential growth from the Android operating system (specifically mentioning the Motorola Droid), the leaked memo first came as a confidential internal email to certain members of the software development branch of the company.

The memo partially states: "While Palm is incredibly proud of our engineers who spent timeless work and effort to bring us this advanced operating system, consumers simply have not caught on. To provide a better future for ourselves and our customers, the only logical choice is to transition our hardware and software to the Android platform."

WebOS won't officially go away (the UI and notifications feature, which have been heavily praised by reviewers, are more than likely going to be integrated, a la Sense UI, into the Android platform), according to the memo.

Software engineers are to begin working on Palm's own builds of Android as soon as the device maker officially joins the Open Handset Alliance, which other executives at Palm say could be as soon as next week. An official statement from the company is expected as soon as the union is made.

Palm Inc.'s stock took a nosedive earlier this month when it was reported that its projections for revenue were down 50% than initially estimated. On Friday, the stock fell $1.65, or 29%, to $4.00. That value remained relatively unchanged during Monday's trading.

The full leaked memo will be posted on wikileaks.org around midnight Eastern.
Earth

Planned Nuclear Reactors Will Destroy Atomic Waste 344

Posted by Soulskill from the but-where-will-we-get-our-superheroes dept.
separsons writes "A group of French scientists are developing a nuclear reactor that burns up actinides — highly radioactive uranium isotopes. They estimate that 'the volume of high-level nuclear waste produced by all of France’s 58 reactors over the past 40 years could fit in one Olympic-size swimming pool.' And they're not the only ones trying to eliminate atomic waste: Researchers at the University of Texas in Austin are working on a fusion-fission reactor. The reactor destroys waste by firing streams of neutrons at it, reducing atomic waste by up to 99 percent!"
Science

Submission + - Quantum film might replace CMOS (pcauthority.com.au)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Quantum film could replace conventional CMOS image sensors in digital cameras and are four times more sensitive than photographic film. The film, which uses embedded quantum dots instead of silver grains like photographics film, can image scenes at higher pixel resolutions. While the technology has potential for use in mobile phones, conventional digital cameras would also gain much higher resolution sensors by using quantum film material.

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