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Submission + - NASA Tests Alternative Crew Escape Launch System (associatedcontent.com)

Submitted by Boccaccio
Boccaccio writes: NASA on Wednesday successfully tested it's MLAS alternative launch escape system designed for the new Orion Crew module. MLAS, or Max Launch Abort System, is named after the inventor of the crew escape system on the Mercury program, Maxime (Max) Faget and consists of 4 rocket motors built into a fairing that encloses an Orion module during Launch. MLAS is designed to pull the crew away from the main rocket stack during the critical first 2.5 minutes of flight in the event of a catastrophic failure. The advantage of the MLAS system over the more traditional LAS (Launch Abort System) is that it reduces the total height of the rocket lowering the centre of gravity and adding stability and potentially allowing higher fuel load. You can watch a video of the launch at the NASA website here and there are also a bunch of pictures.
Patents

Submission + - British Government against 'pure' software patents

Submitted by
uglyduckling
uglyduckling writes: "The British Government has issued a response to a recent petition calling for 'the Prime Minister to make software patents clearly unenforcible'. The answer is reassuring but perhaps doesn't go far enough, and gives no specific promises to bring into line a patent office that grants software patents (according to the petition) 'against the letter and the spirit of the law'. The Gowers Review that it references gives detailed insight into the current British position on this debate, most interestingly recommending a policy of 'not extending patent rights beyond their present limits within the areas of software, business methods and genes.'"
Bug

Submission + - Vanishing Honeybees will affect future crops

Submitted by
daninbusiness
daninbusiness writes: "Across the US, beekeepers are finding that their bees are disappearing — not returning while searching for nectar and pollen. This could have a major impact on the food industry in the United States, where as much as 14 billion dollars' worth of agriculture business depends on bees for crop pollination. Reasons for this problem, dubbed "colony collapse disorder" are still unknown. Theories include viruses, some type of fungus, poor bee nutrition, and pesticides. TFA is in the New York Times (login may be required)."

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This is clearly another case of too many mad scientists, and not enough hunchbacks.

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