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Comment Re:Too much legal liability. (Score 1) 211

by merfle (#26200167) Attached to: Scientists Build Neonatal Incubator From Car Parts
Cynicism not entirely misplaced, but...RTFA? The problem isn't a general lack of incubators here, it's a lack of repairable, durable incubators in the developing world. Not the U.S. (opinions on our current economic state aside). This is targeted to places where, with WHO approval, the FDA has no sway even though the car part incubator is an invention from American scientists.

It looks like a deliciously practical approach to development, actually. The scientist saw a problem, found what resources would be available on site to fix the problem and keep it fixed, and worked from there. It's also not something people are really going to "market" - this was done by academics, not doctors, and they really don't seem to be looking for a big payout. It's a fix for babies who die outside broken, useless high-tech incubators, and I don't see Indonesian judges having a problem with that.

(Please excuse my optimism. It's just the tail end of my hope fever.)
The Military

US Army To Develop "Thought Helmets" 226

Posted by Soulskill from the better-than-"thought-pants"-i-guess dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Time Magazine reports on a $4 million US Army contract to begin developing 'thought helmets' to harness silent brain waves for secure communication among troops that the Army hopes will 'lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone.' The Army's initial goal is to capture brain waves with software that translates the waves into audible radio messages for other troops in the field. 'It'd be radio without a microphone,' says Dr. Elmar Schmeisser, the Army neuroscientist overseeing the program. 'Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way.' The key challenge will be to develop software able to pinpoint speech-related brain waves and pick them up with a 128-sensor array that ultimately will be buried inside a helmet. Scientists deny charges that they're messing with soldiers' minds. 'A lot of people interpret wires coming out of the head as some sort of mind reading,' says Dr. Mike D'Zmura. 'But there's no way you can get there from here.' One potential civilian spin-off: a Bluetooth Helmet so people nearby can't hear you when you talk on your cell phone."
Science

Second Snag This Week Could Delay LHC for Weeks 160

Posted by Soulskill from the unfortunate-but-to-be-expected dept.
sciencehabit writes "After a transformer failure earlier this week, the Large Hadron Collider has hit another snag — and this one is much more serious. As Science reports, 'At least one of the LHC's more than 1700 superconducting magnets failed, springing a leak and spewing helium gas into the subterranean tunnel that houses the collider ... How long [repairs take] will depend in part on how much of the LHC must be warmed to room temperature for servicing. If it's only a short section, the repair could be relatively quick. But the machine is built in octants, and if workers have to heat and cool an entire octant, then the cooling alone would take several weeks." Reader Simmeh contributes coverage from the BBC. We recently discussed the transformer malfunction at the LHC, which was a smaller problem and has already been fixed. Update - 9/20 at 12:52 by SS: CNN reports that the LHC will be out of commission for two months.
It's funny. Laugh.

Metallica Guitar Hero Release Has Higher Quality Than CDs 102

Posted by Soulskill from the facepalm dept.
Last week Metallica released a new album, Death Magnetic, on traditional CDs as well as downloadable content for Guitar Hero III. Fans quickly noticed that the sound quality on the CD version was noticeably below-par, thanks to the recording studio's decision to sacrifice range for loudness. However, the tracks released for Guitar Hero III made no such sacrifice, as proved by Mastering Engineer Ian Shepherd. NME found an audio clip comparing the two tracks. This comes alongside statements from Activision claiming that Aerosmith's recent venture into Guitar Hero is generating more success for the band than their actual albums.

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