527244
submission
OakDragon writes:
Using gravitational microlensing, astronomers have discovered a planetary system that is roughly analogous to our own Solar system's relationship between the Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn. The star, OGLE-2006-BLG-109L, is about half the mass of our Sun, but the planets found are closer to it, hence the "scaled-down" description. Gravitational microlensing has turned up a handful of planets previously, but this is the first time conditions were just right to show the existence of smaller planets.
357429
submission
OakDragon writes:
Ron Paul's main support springs from the Internet. I suspect many Slashdot regulars support him (at least among those the support Republicans). But could some of his supporters be, let's say, less than human? Some researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham say that a flurry of emails supporting Paul is the work of botnets. The Wired story says:
Some participants in the online political world have long suspected Paul's technically sophisticated fan base of manipulating online tools and polls to boost the appearance of a wide base of support.
Don't everybody speak up at once, now...
47900
submission
OakDragon writes:
An Associated Press story relates:
Wearing Superman pajamas and covered with his Batman blanket, comic book illustrator Dave Cockrum died Sunday.
The 63-year-old overhauled the X-Men comic and helped popularize the relatively obscure Marvel Comics in the 1970s. He helped turn the title into a publishing sensation and major film franchise.
...
Cockrum and Wein added their own heroes to the comic and published "
Giant-Size X-Men No. 1" in 1975. Many signature characters Cockrum designed and co-created — such as Storm, Mystique, Nightcrawler and Colossus — went on to become part of the "X-Men" films starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry.
On a personal note, it was Cockrum's generation of X-Men that ultimately made me interested in the comics. Flashier artwork came later — John Byrne, et al — but Cockrum's steady hand guided the X-Men well. (And, yes, my choice of topic 'X' was intentional. :)
7871
submission
OakDragon writes:
As you may know, yesterday Google.be removed all French language press sources from its index. Today Google announced its appeal to the French court's decision. Part of Google's statement reminds us: `It is important to remember that we never show more than the headlines and a few snippets of text. If people want to read the entire story they have to click through to the newspapers' website.
7865
submission
OakDragon writes:
Market share for the Mac OS actually slipped since last September. This is a reversal of a trend in the winter and spring months that showed some slight growth. The actual per centage loss is small, but it may be significant since it follows a solid growth trend. It must be disappointing to Apple and Mac fans to see what is basically a flat line in desktop market share.
1494
submission
OakDragon writes:
In this case, "ethical" means the company making the claim, Advanced Cell Technology, didn't destroy the original embryo. A study published in Nature promises a method of extracting stem cells from an embryo without destroying it. Could this render a very controversial subject a moot point? Of course, there's no pleasing some people. "Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of pro-life activities at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, says Lanza's methods are unacceptable for several reasons, including the fact that the experiments leading to his recent advance — although done to develop a technique that would preserve embryos — actually destroyed embryos in the process."
