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Enlightenment

Submission + - Weak individuals hear dangerous sounds differently (examiner.com) 1

Submitted by mmmscience
mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m4d24-Weak-individual-hear-dangerous-sounds-differently A new study shows that people who are physically weaker tend to think that a looming sound is closer than it actually is when compared to their stronger counterparts. Researchers believe it is an evolutionary early warning system to give those less capable of handling danger time to flee. Participants were asked to press a button when they thought an approaching sound was directly in front of them. Highlights from the experiment are as follows: Everyone presses the button too soon (so we're all programmed to be very aware of on-coming noises) Women tended to press the button sooner than men, and those who were physically weaker tended to press the button sooner in order to provide a greater margin of 'safety.'
Government

Submission + - Cybersecurity Act of 2009

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A bill by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) would give the US federal government extensive new authority and introduce new regulation pertaining to the Internet and information systems. Also, new licensing would be put in place for cybersecurity professionals. Some sweeping new powers include the Secretary of Commerce being able to access all relevant data concerning critical information systems and networks without regard to any provision of law. And the President could declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised United States systems or networks.
Medicine

Submission + - Evolution-proof insecticides could halt malaria (cosmosmagazine.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Scientists have proposed a new weapon in the battle against malaria: insecticides that mosquitoes can't develop resistance to.

The new strategy could halt the rise of resistant strains by targeting older mosquitoes after they've laid eggs, but before they can pass on the parasite.

"Late-life insecticides will be useful for much, much longer than conventional insecticides," said lead author Andrew Read, an entomologist at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, USA. "Maybe even forever."
Announcements

Submission + - Australian Govt. to build 100Mbit FTTH network (dbcde.gov.au)

Submitted by PhysicsPhil
PhysicsPhil writes: According to whirlpool, the Australian federal government is going to build a national fibre to the home network to serve 90% of the population, with 3rd generation satellite connections to serve the remainder. The project is to be a public-private partnership, with 51% government control. The project will begin in Tasmania, with work on the mainland to begin in 2010. The official announcement is here.
Networking

Submission + - Australia to get $43bn fibre-to-home network (apcmag.com)

Submitted by
KrispyConroy
KrispyConroy writes: "The Australian Government has announced a $43 billion fibre-to-the-home network that will provide 100Mbit/s Ethernet to 90% of premises in the country. It will be one of the largest FTTH rollouts in the world because of Australia's vast geographic size. Despite many private companies bidding to build smaller-scale fibre networks, the Australian government decided to go it alone, because it didn't believe any of them could actually stump up the cash in the global financial crisis. The network will be supplemented by a wireless (probably WiMax) and satellite network to reach the remaining 10% of far-flung premises."
Medicine

Submission + - Beware the Perils of Caffeine Withdrawal (cnn.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "CNN is running an article on the notorious effects of caffeine withdrawal, a problem that seems to be affecting an increasing number of people. Citing numerous reasons why people might need to cut back on their caffeine intake (pregnancy, pre-surgery requirements, etc), the story notes a significant number of people who are simply unable to quit. I drink around eight cups of coffee a day, along with a soda or two, and I definitely suffer from nasty withdrawal symptoms without my fix."

Comment Re:Already here for some of us (Score 1) 330

by Twide (#27294373) Attached to: Body 2.0 — Continuous Monitoring of the Human Body

How does it work? I'm curious because I'd expect any sensor to be subject to fouling by body proteins and fats.

Bert

These devices need the sensor part replaced around every three days or so... But yes, they dont measure the actual Blood Sugar level, but the level within the fats etc.. which can lag behind by a couple of hours...
Censorship

Submission + - iiNet pulls out of Australian censorship trial (news.com.au)

Submitted by taucross
taucross writes: ISP iiNet today confirmed it's exit from the Australian governments internet filtering trials. iiNet had originally taken part in the plan in order to prove the filter was flawed. Citing a number of concerns, their withdrawal leaves only five Australian ISPs continuing to test the filter. Does this spell the end of internet censorship in Australia?
The Military

Submission + - Military Story Vanishes From Slashdot's Index Page (slashdot.org) 2

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "A story I'd been following for the better part of seven hours, dealing with the collision of a U.S. submarine with an amphibious vessel has disappeared from Slashdot's front page. Thinking this was merely a consequence of some preference setting on my part, I browsed the site in another (sans-cookie) browser. Same result; the story is still available via a direct link, but it's no longer part of the normal stream of stories showing up on the front page. I got the same result browsing from a different geographic location via SSH. What's going on? If there's a reasonable explanation, I'd love to hear it."

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