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Transportation

Submission + - Laser attacks on Aircraft on the rise (faa.gov)

Submitted by EqualSlash
EqualSlash writes: High power Laser pointers available for cheap are increasingly finding abuse as the ultimate long-distance weapons of pranksters and vandals. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says laser attacks aimed on planes have nearly doubled in the last year, leaping from 1,527 in 2009 to 2,836 in 2010. The highest number of incidents was reported at Los Angeles International Airport, which recorded 102 in 2010. Lasers pointed at cockpits can temporarily blind pilots, forcing them to give up control of an aircraft to their co-pilot or abort a take-off/landing. In March of 2008, unidentified individuals wielding four green laser pointers launched a coordinated attack on six incoming aeroplanes at Sydney Airport which resulted in a ban on all laser pointers in the state of New South Wales.
Hardware

Submission + - New family of Arduino Boards launched (arduino.cc)

Submitted by EqualSlash
EqualSlash writes: The Arduino Project is releasing two new boards — Arduino Uno to replace Duemilanove and Arduino Mega 2560 to replace the existing Arduino Mega board. With Uno, the board is not just getting a new pronunciation-friendly name but also has a custom made USB-serial converter to replace the older FTDI chipset, thereby removing the need to install drivers (they now have their own USB Vendor ID). It now has a logo, stylish packaging and soon will have its own branded web store. A new Ethernet integrated board and a tinkering toolkit will be made available shortly.
Biotech

Submission + - The birth of quantum biology

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "Just when you finally have grasped the concept of quantum mechanics, it's time to wake up and to see the arrival of a nascent field named quantum biology. This is the scientific study of biological processes in terms of quantum mechanics and it uses today's high-performance computers to precisely model these processes. And this is what researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) are doing, using powerful computer models to reveal biological mechanisms. Right now, they're working on a "nanoswitch" that might be used for a variety of applications, such as targeted drug delivery to sensors. Read more for additional references and a picture showing how a protein could be used as a nanoswitch."

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