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Science

Using Infrared Cameras To Find Tastiness of Beef 108

Posted by Soulskill from the i-use-a-fork dept.
JoshuaInNippon writes "Might we one day be able to use our cell phone cameras to pick out the best piece of meat on display at the market? Some Japanese researchers seem to hope so. A team of scientists is using infrared camera technology to try and determine the tastiest slices of high-grade Japanese beef. The researchers believe that the levels of Oleic acid found within the beef strongly affect the beef's tenderness, smell, and overall taste. The infrared camera can be tuned to pick out the Oleic acid levels through a whole slab, a process that would be impossible to do with the human eye. While the accuracy is still relatively low — a taste test this month resulted in only 60% of participants preferring beef that was believed to have had a higher level of Oleic acid — the researchers hope to fine tune the process for market testing by next year."
Education

Chemistry Tasks For the Computer Lab? 154

Posted by timothy from the just-the-basics dept.
soupman55 writes "I teach Chemistry to students completing their last two years of high school. Basically it's a 'teach and test' course with a few experiments thrown in. I want to jazz up the course using computer and internet resources. For instance, I could set some tasks that require Excel spreadsheet calculations. Or I could set some web quests where students search for information online. One of the decisions to be made is: Do I use computer/internet tasks to help the students grasp the material that is already in the course, or do I help them become aware of ideas that are extensions to their course? Also, when I compare Chemistry classes with Accounting classes, it strikes me that unlike Accounting where learning to use software like Quick Books is an integral part of the course, that there is no particular software that a chemistry student must learn to use. Or is there? What in terms of chemistry and computers worked for you? Or what is there computer-wise that wasn't in your high school chemistry course but should have been?"
Image

Police Called Over 11-Year-Old's Science Project 687

Posted by samzenpus from the duck-and-cover dept.
garg0yle writes "Police in San Diego were called to investigate an 11-year-old's science project, consisting of 'a motion detector made out of an empty Gatorade bottle and some electronics,' after the vice-principal came to the conclusion that it was a bomb. Charges aren't being laid against the youth, but it's being recommended that he and his family 'get counseling.' Apparently, the student violated school policies — I'm assuming these are policies against having any kind of independent thought?"
Programming

The State of Ruby VMs — Ruby Renaissance 89

Posted by Soulskill from the take-your-pick dept.
igrigorik writes "In the short span of just a couple of years, the Ruby VM space has evolved to more than just a handful of choices: MRI, JRuby, IronRuby, MacRuby, Rubinius, MagLev, REE and BlueRuby. Four of these VMs will hit 1.0 status in the upcoming year and will open up entirely new possibilities for the language — Mac apps via MacRuby, Ruby in the browser via Silverlight, object persistence via Smalltalk VM, and so forth. This article takes a detailed look at the past year, the progress of each project, and where the community is heading. It's an exciting time to be a Rubyist."

Comment Accept it if the the money is substantial enough. (Score 1) 412

by multiplezeta (#27885589) Attached to: What To Do When a Megacorp Wants To Buy You?

When someone offers cash in the current economic scenario, do not think twice. Accept it if it is X times the money and effort you put in it, where X is something you (as a team) are comfortable with.

The next 3 years are going to be really bad from an economic point of view and there is a distinct possibility (Probability > 0.91) that such an opportunity may not come your way again, however good you and your product are. So dilute your expectations, negotiate hard and take cash. Do not take stock or anything equivalent. And execute a good exit strategy. A business is only as good as the cash it generates and the sooner the better.

The rest is polemic.

Good Luck
News

Journal Journal: Coke, Pepsi and Pesticides

Journal by multiplezeta

Centre for Science and Environment's (CSE), India recently tested the soft drinks Coke and Pepsi and found that the level of pesticides in Coke and Pepsi was 50 times more than the prescribed limit. A raging battle is going on in India. The Indian parliament banned Pepsi and Coke from their premises. Some universities have also followed suit. Coke and Pepsi have approached the court for restraining more information being published... see this link
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_st

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