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Google News Sci Tech: Invasive Crazy Ants Are Displacing Fire Ants, Researchers Find - University of T->

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Science World Report
Invasive Crazy Ants Are Displacing Fire Ants, Researchers Find
University of Texas at Austin News
Invasive “crazy ants” are displacing fire ants in areas across the southeastern United States, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. It's the latest in a history of ant invasions from the southern hemisphere and may prove to have dramatic ...
Alien 'crazy ants' invading southern USLos Angeles Times
'Crazy ants' a threat in southern USCNN International
Crazy ants are invading parts of the US, including HoustonHouston Chronicle
LiveScience.com-Nature World News-Science Recorder
all 22 news articles

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+ - Swedish data center saves $1M a year using seawater for cooling->

Submitted by alphadogg
alphadogg writes "A data center in Sweden has cut its energy bills by a million dollars a year using seawater to cool its servers, though jellyfish are an occasional hazard. Interxion, a collocation company in the Netherlands that rents data center space in 11 countries, uses water pumped from the Baltic Sea to cool the IT equipment at its facilities in Stockholm. The energy used to cool IT equipment is one of the costliest areas of running a data center. Companies have traditionally used big, mechanical chillers, but some are turning to outside air and evaporative techniques as lower-cost alternatives."
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+ - North Carolina May Ban Tesla Sales To Prevent "Unfair Competition"-> 7

Submitted by nametaken
nametaken writes "From the state that brought you the nation’s first ban on climate science comes another legislative gem: a bill that would prohibit automakers from selling their cars in the state.

The proposal, which the Raleigh News & Observer reports was unanimously approved by the state’s Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday, would apply to all car manufacturers, but the intended target is clear. It’s aimed at Tesla, the only U.S. automaker whose business model relies on selling cars directly to consumers, rather than through a network of third-party dealerships.

[The article adds] it’s easy to understand why some car dealers might feel a little threatened: Tesla’s Model S outsold the Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 Series, and Audi A8 last quarter without any help from them. If its business model were to catch on, consumers might find that they don’t need the middle-men as much as they thought."
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+ - Mayan Pyramid in Belize Levelled by Construction Crew

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "If an imposing 2300-year old Mayan temple situated at the Nohmul complex in northern Belize was on your list of things to see before you die, you're too late. The monument was essentially destroyed by a construction crew in order to provide gravel for road construction. Archaeologists expressed shock, as Nohmul (the "great mound") was a major Mayan religious center in its day. While the pyramid was situated on private property, such historical sites are supposedly protected by ordinance, and officials may file criminal charges."

+ - Researchers are developing ad hoc networks for car-to-car data exchange->

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes "Researchers are developing machine-to-machine (M2M) communication technology that allows cars to exchange data with each other, enabling vehicles to know what the cars all around them are doing, and perhaps, where they're going. Intel is working with National Taiwan University on M2M connectivity, an idea came from caravanning — an available, but-not-yet-deployed technology that uses direct line of site infrared (IR) and a range finder in order to automatically adjust the speed of cars so they can travel at a measured distance from each other. In other words, they're electronically tethered to one another. Now, imagine a group of cars traveling down the road together as an ad hoc network, each one aware of the location, any sudden actions or even the travel route of other vehicles as uploaded to the cloud from a GPS device. "We're even imagining in the future cars would be able to ask other cars, 'Hey, can I cut into your lane?' Then the other car would let you in," said Jennifer Healey, a research scientist with Intel."
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+ - Hanford nuclear waste vitrification plant "too dangerous"->

Submitted by Noryungi
Noryungi writes "Scientific American reports, in a chilling story, that the Hanford, Washington, nuclear waste vitrification treatment plant is off to a bad start. Bad planning, multiple sources of radioactive waste, leaking containment pools are just the beginning. It's never a good sign when that type of article includes the word "spontaneous criticality", if you follow my drift..."
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Comment: Re:There are 2 paths. (Score 1) 233

by Billy the Mountain (#43648325) Attached to: New Flying Car Design Unveiled
  • 1-seat
  • Less than 254 pounds max. empty weight (powered)
  • 155 pounds max empty weight (unpowered)
  • 5 gallons max. fuel capacity
  • 55 knots max. full power speed
  • 24 knots max power off stall speed
    • Other rules require operation in unrestricted airspace which is common only in areas away from airports and high population densities.

Comment: Re:A solution to a problem that doesn't exist (Score 1) 233

by Billy the Mountain (#43648127) Attached to: New Flying Car Design Unveiled
In Alaska, on Highway 1, in a mountain pass near Gunsight mountain there is a particularly straight and level stretch of road. About midway along the straight stretch there are usually one or two Piper PA-18s parked next to the cafe/gas station. Obviously they are using the roadway as a runway.

+ - Bitcoin Lawsuit: Mt. Gox, World's Largest Bitcoin Exchange, Sued By Partner->

Submitted by coolnumbr12
coolnumbr12 writes "Struggles continue at Mt. Gox, the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world. After getting hit by a slew of cyberattacks, it now faces a breach-of-contract lawsuit from its former partner, CoinLab. Mt. Gox and CoinLab made a deal in February to help Mt. Gox, which is headquartered in Japan, expand the popularity of Bitcoin in the U.S. The contract stated that CoinLab, based in Seattle, Wash., would handle all of Mt. Gox’s North American transactions. The lawsuit, filed in Washington State, claimed that the Japanese branch continued to market to customers in the in North America. CoinLab also claimed that Mt. Gox failed to provide agreed-upon data and server access that was essential for CoinLab to run a successful Bitcoin exchange."
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+ - Meet Drone Shield, an ambitious idea for a $70 drone detection system-> 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Interesting use of a Raspberry Pi:
The Drone Shield would combine a Raspberry Pi, a signal processor, a microphone, and analysis software to scan for specific audio signatures and compare them against what known drones sound like. (Because obviously a Predator drone is going to sound very different than a small quadcopter.) Once a match is found, the Drone Shield then sends an e-mail or SMS to its owner."
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+ - Robotic insect: World's smallest flying robot takes off->

Submitted by garymortimer
garymortimer writes "Scientists in the US have created a robot the size of a fly that is able to perform the agile manoeuvres of the ubiquitous insects.

This “robo-fly”, built from carbon fibre, weighs a fraction of a gram and has super-fast electronic “muscles” to power its wings.

Its Harvard University developers say tiny robots like theirs may eventually be used in rescue operations."
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+ - ESEA League Stuffed Bitcoin Mining Code inside Client Software->

Submitted by hypnosec
hypnosec writes "E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA) League has admitted to embedding Bitcoin mining code inside league’s client software. What began as an April fool’s day joke, the code ended up mining as many as 29 Bitcoins worth over $3700 for ESEA league in a span of two weeks. According to Eric Thunberg, one of the League's administrators, the mining code was included as early as April and tests were run for a few days after which they "decided it wasn't worth the potential drama, and pulled the plug, or so we thought." The code was discovered by users after they noticed that their GPUs were working away with unusual high loads over the past two weeks. After users started posting on the ESEA forums about discovery of the Bitcoin mining code, Thunberg admitted to existence of a problem – a server restart for "a setting getting changed which enables it for all idle users.""
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Comment: The problem with MOOC (Score 1) 42

by Billy the Mountain (#43603861) Attached to: Coursera To Offer K-12 Teacher Development Courses
MOOC is great, don't get me wrong. But the problem with it, as I see it, is if everybody learns the material in the exact same way, it limits a societies problem solving abilities because everyone then uses identical problem solving approaches. Richard Feynman found that he had an advantage over his colleagues in some instances by having knowledge of a different set of tools. So as long as MOOC doesn't wind up becoming "Everything 101" but rather becomes a diverse set of courses allowing many choices by students, then it will have a chance of becoming highly successful.

+ - High school student faces Federal charges for scientific curiosity

Submitted by SemperCogito
SemperCogito writes "This petition at Whitehouase.gov (http://wh.gov/zx1m) explains:

Kiera Wilmot is a Florida high school student with a perfect behavior record and good grades. She was recently arrested, hauled from school in handcuffs, expelled, and now faces Federal charges — all because of shameful over-reaction by school officials and law enforcement.

Out of curiosity and the scientific spirit, she mixed some common household chemicals together, creating a vigorous reaction that blew the top off the container she used. No one was hurt — no damage was done. But instead of appluading her boldness of spirit and connecting her to a science teacher that could mentor it, she is being treated like a criminal!

This travesty of justice and education must be stopped. Reinstate her, and wipe her records clean. Then celebrate her!

More on the story: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2013/04/florida_teen_girl_charged_with.php Her principal's email address: Ronald.Pritchard@polk-fl.net"

+ - Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Pirate Bay Moves To Island Of Sint Maarten->

Submitted by coolnumbr12
coolnumbr12 writes "For the second time in a week, The Pirate Bay has found a new home for its popular torrent website. A complaint issued Tuesday by Swedish prosecutors threated the Icelandic domain, forcing the file-sharing pirates to take harbor in the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten with a new .sx domain name."
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