Submission + - Space Station Saved by a Toothbrush?
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Denise Chow reports that two spacewalking astronauts successfully replaced a vital power unit on the International Space Station today, defeating a stubborn bolt that prevented the astronauts from properly installing the power unit on the ISS's backbone-like truss with the help of some improvised tools made of spare parts and a toothbrush. Astronauts Sunita Williams and Akihiko Hoshide started by removing the power box, called a main bus switching unit (MBSU), from where it had been temporarily tied down with a tether, then spent several hours troubleshooting the unit and the two bolts that are designed to secure it in place on the space station's truss. After undoing the bolts, the spacewalkers examined them for possible damage, and used improvised cleaning tools and a pressurized can of nitrogen gas to clean out the metal shavings from the bolt receptacles. "I see a lot of metal shavings coming out," Hoshide said as he maneuvered a wire cleaner around one of the bolt holders. Williams and Hoshide then lubricated a spare bolt and manually threaded it into the place where the real bolt was eventually driven, in an effort to ensure that the receptacle was clear of any debris. Then the two applied grease to the sticky bolt as well as extra pressure and plain old jiggling until finally 4½ hours into the spacewalk, Hoshide reported: "It is locked." When Hoshide reported that the troublesome bolt was finally locked into place, the flight managers erupted in applause while astronaut Jack Fischer at Mission Control told the astonauts "that is a little slice of awesome pie.""
Submission + - Breakthrough in battery technology could lead to practical electric cars (bbc.co.uk) 3
An anonymous reader writes: An Israeli engineering firm has developed a breakthrough battery technology that can near instantly recharge the battery of an electric vehicle. Long battery recharge times have long been a barrier to widespread adoption of electric vehicles. The BBC article reviews this new technology.
Submission + - An Independent Film Producer Confronts Piracy In A Unique Way (filmmakermagazine.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Producer Matt Compton says he knew the feature he produced — a “thinking man’s horror film,” Midnight Son — would eventually be pirated. “I always knew the film would end up on the torrent sites,” he writes in an email, “and that there would be nothing I could do about it." But he wasn’t prepared for his film to show up three weeks before the film was commercially available. When that happened, Compton decided to speak to the pirates directly by posting on The Pirate Bay. I asked him a few questions about his experience in the high seas of filesharing.
Submission + - NASA Releases HiRISE Images of Curiosity's Descent (nasa.gov)
gcnaddict writes: NASA released content from the MRO HiRISE imager taken during the descent of the Curiosity Rover. Among the most notable artifacts are the images themselves as well as a diagram showing the exact location of the rover relative to NASA's target.
Submission + - MSL Landing Timeline: What to Expect Tonight (ieee.org) 1
An anonymous reader writes: When the Curiosity rover lands on Mars later tonight, she'll be executing a complex series of maneuvers. JPL will be relying on the Mars Odyssey orbiter to relay telemetry back to Earth in time-delayed real-time, and if all goes well, we'll be getting confirmation on the success (or failure) of each entry, descent, and landing phase, outlined in detail here.
Submission + - Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Hits Primetime (washingtonpost.com)
Goat_Cheese_Pizza writes: Word on the Intertubes (I picked the Washington Post) is Joss Whedon's musical masterpiece, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, will air on CW's primetime lineup on October 9th. I've always wanted to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog with commercials! Thanks, CW!
Submission + - The US turns a blind eye to SILEX, a dangerous new enrichment technology (thebulletin.org)
__aaqpaq9254 writes: Scott Kemp has a disturbing look at SILEX, a new technology that "happens to be well suited for making nuclear weapons." There are many disturbing aspects the this article, not least that the NRC, which is required to consider the critical question of proliferation, has so far punted when it comes to examining that question. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has refused to consider the proliferation risk in its decision to issue a license for the first commercial SILEX facility, despite a statutory obligation to do so. Only a few weeks remain for Congress to intervene."
Comment Re:Censored Slashdot Post (Score 2) 264
Normally we try not to feed the trolls but since this has started to pop up in comments, here's Soulskills response to this tired accusation when it was brought up on Reddit last week. http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/wzmdu/censored_slashdot_post_describes_in_explicit/c5hzate. Or you could read the FAQ about why we don't post a story. The relevant part being:
Could you explain why my submission was declined?
This is harder than it sounds. We try to select the most interesting, timely, and relevant submissions, but can only run a fraction of those submitted; there are probably as many reasons for stories to get declined as there are stories. Think positive: read our submissions guidelines for some hints about increasing the chances that we'll run yours.
Submission + - Asteroid Crashes Likely Gave Earth Its Water (space.com)
Diggester writes: Asteroids from the inner solar system are the most likely source of the majority of Earth's water, a new study suggests.
The results contradict prevailing theories, which hold that most of our planet's water originated in the outer solar system and was delivered by comets or asteroids that coalesced beyond Jupiter's orbit, then migrated inward.
The results contradict prevailing theories, which hold that most of our planet's water originated in the outer solar system and was delivered by comets or asteroids that coalesced beyond Jupiter's orbit, then migrated inward.
Submission + - Has the Command Line Outstayed Its Welcome? (linuxinsider.com)
dgharmon writes: The Command Line Interface has its uses, acknowledged Mobile Raptor blogger Roberto Lim, "but no piece of technology targeted at the consumer market should ever require that something be done via CLI; keep it as an option or you can take it out all together. "If it is there, it should just be there for the IT people or tech support to use when you encounter a problem."
Submission + - My Child Will One Day Be Your Child's Leader (cbsnews.com) 1
Vulcan195 writes: "Would you let your 3-yr play with a real saw? You would if you were a parent in Switzerland. Suzanne Lucas (a US mom residing in Switzerland) writes about the contrasts between the US and Swiss ways of instilling wisdom. She writes: "Every Friday, whether rain, shine, snow, or heat, my 3-yr old goes into the forest for four hours with 10 other school children. In addition to playing with saws and files, they roast their own hot dogs over an open fire. If a child drops a hot dog, the teacher picks it up, brushes the dirt off, and hands it back." She suggests that such kids grow up and lead the ones who were coddled (e.g. US kids) during their early years."
Submission + - Details of the Second Controversial Mutant Bird Flu Study Finally Published (medicaldaily.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The second of the two controversial bird flu studies once considered too risky to publish in fears that they would trigger a potentially devastating global influenza epidemic was published Thursday.
The study describes how scientists created H5N1 virus strains that could become capable of airborne transmission between mammals. Scientists said that the findings, which had been censored for half a year, could help them detect dangerous virus strains in nature.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/336/6088/1534.full
The study describes how scientists created H5N1 virus strains that could become capable of airborne transmission between mammals. Scientists said that the findings, which had been censored for half a year, could help them detect dangerous virus strains in nature.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/336/6088/1534.full
Submission + - Inexplicable stellar disk (sciencenews.org)
Coisiche writes: A star has been found with an over-sized debris ring that's difficult to reconcile with current star system models. I expect that there will be a natural phenomenon behind it but just once I want to see "artificial" as the only explanation for something like this.
Submission + - Google Reveals 'Terrorism Video' Removals
jones_supa writes: Google has revealed it removed about 640 videos from YouTube that allegedly promoted terrorism over the second half of 2011 after complaints from the UK's Association of Chief Police Officers. The news was contained in its latest Transparency Report which discloses requests by international authorities to remove or hand over material. YouTube had also rejected many other state's requests for action. Overall, Google summed it had received 461 court orders covering a total of 6,989 items between July and December 2011. From those, it said 68% of the orders were complied with. Google added that it had received a further 546 informal requests covering 4,925 items, of which it had agreed to 43% of the cases. The BBC article lists some examples of videos that were either terminated or allowed to stay.
