630358
submission
Nephrite writes:
A German company has introduced a disposable DVD that can be viewed for 48 hours, then thrown away. The DVDs will sell for just 3.99 ($6.44 /£3.20).
So, it's about the same price as a new video rental in Europe — and it used to be about the same price as in US, until the Mighty Dollar turned into the Pygmy Dollar. But there are no late fees and no need to pop the disk in the post or return to the store. This opens up DVD distribution possibilities for new premium-priced movie releases — to petrol stations, convenience stores, coffee shops and the like, as well as online retailers — as there is no longer the need to book the DVDs back in. That's the idea. Will it work?
531702
submission
Nephrite writes:
Scientists investigating the icy waters of Antarctica said Tuesday they have collected mysterious creatures including giant sea spiders and huge worms in the murky depths.
Australian experts taking part in an international program to take a census of marine life in the ocean at the far south of the world collected specimens from up to 6,500 feet beneath the surface, and said many may never have been seen before.
Some of the animals far under the sea grow to unusually large sizes, a phenomenon called gigantism that scientists still do not fully understand.
"Gigantism is very common in Antarctic waters," Martin Riddle, the Australian Antarctic Division scientist who led the expedition, said in a statement. "We have collected huge worms, giant crustaceans and sea spiders the size of dinner plates."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UTL46O2&show_article=1
486298
submission
Nephrite writes:
When Marie Lupe Cooley, 41, of Jacksonville, Fla., saw a help-wanted ad in the newspaper for a position that looked suspiciously like her current job and with her boss's phone number listed she assumed she was about to be fired.
So, police say, she went to the architectural office where she works late Sunday night and erased 7 years' worth of drawings and blueprints, estimated to be worth $2.5 million.
"She decided to mess up everything for everybody," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson told reporters. "She just sabotaged the entire business, thinking she was going to get axed."
It didn't take Steven Hutchins, owner of the architectural firm that bears his name, much time to figure out who'd done it Cooley was the only other person who had full access to the files.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,325285,00.html
484300
submission
Nephrite writes:
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares are higher following a report carried on FT.com from MergerMarket which said the company could be acquired by IBM.
An excerpt:
Advanced Micro Devices and IBM may establish a more formal semiconductor tie-up than their current partnership, specualted industry sources and analysts in conversations with MergerMarket. A deal could see IBM's microelectronics division merge with AMD at some point, possibly in the near term, said the sources.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/fb1583da-c9b6-11dc-b5dc-000077b07658,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html
http://online.barrons.com/quotes/main.html?symbol=ibm
http://online.barrons.com/quotes/main.html?symbol=Amd
480002
submission
Nephrite writes:
Taking a single gene from the virus stops it replicating, US scientists wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
Ebola, currently handled in highly secure labs, kills up to 80% of those it infects.
However, one expert said the new method may not yet be a fail-safe way of dealing with the virus.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7196812.stm
478436
submission
Nephrite writes:
ZSL EDGE programme is today launching the EDGE Amphibians conservation and fundraising initiative, which highlights some of the worlds most extraordinary creatures currently threatened with extinction. This year ZSL scientists have assessed all amphibian species according to how Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) they are.
http://www.zsl.org/field-conservation/news/edge-amphibians-the-worlds-weirdest-creatures-just-got-weirder,427,NS.html
