6643533
submission
pdragon04 writes:
When leaving the US Armed Forces, it was always stressed how important it was to never loose your copy of your DD-214 as it was your only record of having served. Getting a new copy if you lost it was a long and arduous process and significantly delayed obtaining veterans benefits. An email today from my college's financial aid office stated:
"It's official, DD-214's are NOW Online. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214's online: http://vetrecs.archives.gov/
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files. Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new on-line military personnel records system to request documents. Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the on-line web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time."
6643333
submission
pdragon04 writes:
"Brain pleasure centers became progressively less responsive in rats fed a diet of high-fat, high-calorie food, a new study has found. As the changes occurred, the rats developed compulsive overeating habits — and became obese. The overeating continued even when it meant the rats had to endure an unpleasant consequence (a mild foot shock) in order to consume the food."
5602995
submission
pdragon04 writes:
Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have found that robots equipped with artificial neural networks and programmed to find "food" eventually learned to conceal their visual signals from other robots to keep the food for themselves. The results are detailed in a PNAS study published today.
4886169
submission
pdragon04 writes:
From the article, "As the threat of global warming grows more urgent, a few scientists are considering radical--and possibly extremely dangerous--schemes for reengineering the climate by brute force. Their ideas are technologically plausible and quite cheap. So cheap, in fact, that a rich and committed environmentalist could act on them tomorrow. And that's the scariest part."
4875875
submission
pdragon04 writes:
In not quite so surprising news, direct-to-consumer genetic testing isn't predicting diseases as well as they claim. "...Collins, who played a central role in the Human Genome Project and is rumored to be the next head of the National Institutes of Health, announced at the Consumer Genetics Conference in Boston last week that he had had his genome analyzed by the big three of direct-to-consumer genetic testing: 23andMe, Navigenics, and DecodeMe. Collins said that sequence-wise, the tests "appear to be highly accurate": there were almost no differences in the genotype information generated in the three different analyses. But there were significant differences in the numbers of genetic variations used to calculate disease risk, as well as the final risk score."
4834537
submission
pdragon04 writes:
From the Article, "Through education Dr. Steven C. Schlozman is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a lecturer at the Harvard School of Education. He is also an avid sci-fi and horror fan — and, apparently, the world's leading authority on the neurobiology of the living dead ... He conducted extensive research by talking with George Romero and immersing himself in genre literature and memorabilia — which is why the alternate title for his lecture is "A Way Cool Tax Deduction for a Bunch of Cool Books, Action Figures and a Movie." "
4519425
submission
pdragon04 writes:
"An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) developed in Germany has the potential to produce the same quality of white light as incandescent bulbs but with power efficiencies considerably better than even fluorescent lighting ... with both fluorescent and LED lighting, the quality of white light produced has always left something to be desired ... In contrast, OLEDs can be made from a wide range of materials, so achieving good-quality white light is less challenging, says Reineke. It has not been the quality of light that has let OLEDs down but rather their efficiencies. "
3402263
submission
pdragon04 writes:
"Gene therapy marked another successful milestone last week when it was used to completely cure eight of 10 children who had potentially fatal "bubble boy disease," according to a study that followed their progress for an average of four years after treatment. Formally known as severe combined immunodeficiency, or SCID, the genetic disease causes its carriers to develop non-functional immune systems, typically resulting in death from infection within the first year of life without advanced treatment."
807189
submission
pdragon04 writes:
According to The Register, "the Knights Templar are demanding that the Vatican give them back their good name and, possibly, billions in assets into the bargain, 700 years after the order was brutally suppressed by a joint venture between the Pope and the King of France...".
341955
submission
pdragon writes:
The Mythbuntu team is proud to present the first stable release of Mythbuntu — A combination of the MythTV DVR system and Ubuntu Linux. This release is based upon Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon).
Features
- Frontend can be run from the live CD
- Complete installations(Backend, Frontend, Backend/Frontend, etc)
- Xfce4 Desktop Environment
- Easily upgrade from Ubuntu Gutsy to Mythbuntu
- Custom Mythbuntu MythTV theme
- GUI setup of LIRC
- Setup MythTV optimizations through MCC (Mythbuntu Control Center)
