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Space

Most Powerful Star Explosion Observed

Submitted by necro81
necro81 writes "The NY Times is reporting a discovery from a team of researchers about observations of the cataclysmic explosion of a 100- to 200-solar-mass star — the brightest stellar explosion ever observed. The researchers believe that the explosion is similar to the death spasms of the first stars in the universe. Rather than create a black hole, the super-massive star's collapse is believed to have been so energetic as to create unstable electron-positron pairs that tore the star apart before it could collapse into a black hole — seeding the universe with heavier elements."
Robotics

Soliders Bond With Bots, Take Them Fishing

Submitted by HarryCaul
HarryCaul writes "Soldiers are finding themselves becoming more and more attached to their robotic helpers. During one test of a mine clearing robot, "every time it found a mine, blew it up and lost a limb, it picked itself up and readjusted to move forward on its remaining legs, continuing to clear a path through the minefield." The man in charge halted the test, though- "He just could not stand the pathos of watching the burned, scarred and crippled machine drag itself forward on its last leg. This test, he charged, was inhumane." Sometimes the soldiers even take their metallic companions fishing. Is there more sympathy for Robot Rights than previously suspected?"

Optimism is the content of small men in high places. -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Crack Up"

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