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Submission + - Scientists Race To Develop Farm Animals That Can Survive Climate Change

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Evan Halper writes in the LA Times that with efforts to reduce carbon emissions lagging, researchers, backed by millions of dollars from the federal government, are looking for ways to protect key industries from the impact of climate change by racing to develop new breeds of farm animals that can stand up to the hazards of global warming. ""We are dealing with the challenge of difficult weather conditions at the same time we have to massively increase food production" to accommodate larger populations and a growing demand for meat, says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. For example a team of researchers is trying to map the genetic code of bizarre-looking African naked-neck chickens to see if their ability to withstand heat can be bred into flocks of US broilers. "The game is changing since the climate is changing," says Carl Schmidt. "We have to start now to anticipate what changes we have to make in order to feed 9 billion people," citing global-population estimates for 2050.

Warmer temperatures can create huge problems for animals farmed for food. Turkeys are vulnerable to a condition that makes their breast meat mushy and unappetizing. Disease rips through chicken coops. Brutal weather can claim entire cattle herds. Some climate experts, however, question the federal government's emphasis on keeping pace with a projected growing global appetite for meat. Because raising animals demands so many resources, the only viable way to hit global targets for greenhouse gas reduction may be to encourage people to eat less meat and point to an approach backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates that takes animals out the process altogether. "There's no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people," says Bill Gates. "Yet we can't ask everyone to become vegetarians. We need more options for producing meat without depleting our resources."

Feed Google News Sci Tech: Asteroid 2014 HL129 Narrowly Misses Earth Barely Getting Noticed - American Live (google.com)


American Live Wire

Asteroid 2014 HL129 Narrowly Misses Earth Barely Getting Noticed
American Live Wire
Our ability to detect dangerous asteroids may be getting better, but there are still many that slip through the cracks. Asteroid 2014 HL129 squeaked by Earth on Saturday at a distance that was even closer than our own moon. It may have been almost 200,000...
Asteroid the size of a bus grazes past Earth - coming even closer than the moon ... Daily Mail
Small Asteroid Whizzed by Earth at Range Closer Than Moon on SaturdayGuardian Liberty Voice
Asteroid 2014 HL129 Narrowly Misses Earth Just Days After Being Discovered ... International Business Times
The Space Reporter-Daily Digest-Aitkin Independent Age
all 20 news articles

Submission + - Texas Drivers Stopped at Roadblock Asked for Saliva, Blood (nbcdfw.com)

schwit1 writes: Some drivers along a busy Fort Worth street on Friday were stopped at a police roadblock and directed into a parking lot, where they were asked by federal contractors for samples of their breath, saliva and even blood.

It was part of a government research study aimed at determining the number of drunken or drug-impaired drivers.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is spending $7.9 million on the survey over three years, said participation was "100 percent voluntary" and anonymous. The 'participants' hardly agree.

Submission + - Google Maps, Lasers Reveal Vatican Capacombs (slashdot.org) 1

Nerval's Lobster writes: The Vatican, while notoriously secretive about things buried in its vaults and archives, is being as public as the digital age allows it to be about the nearly completed restoration of catacombs early Christians used as secret churches as well as burial sites. Contractors, archaeologists and art experts spent the past five years restoring the Priscilla catacombs under the Vatican using lasers, among other techniques, to restore frescoes painted on the walls of the burial chambers. The Vatican unveiled the work Nov. 19 with a press conference in the Basilica of San Silvestro outside the burial tunnels, accompanied by a virtual tour of the Priscilla catacombs provided by Google Maps. The basilica is divided into an area for religious services and another that acts as a deposit for sculptures and artifacts dug up during excavations of the catacombs and other areas underneath the Vatican.

Submission + - Neil deGrasse Tyson says that private business will not open the space frontie (examiner.com) 1

MarkWhittington writes: Neil degrasse Tyson, the famous astrophysicist and media personality offered something of a reality check on the potential of commercial enterprises to open the space frontier without the aid of government

Specifically referencing SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk’s boast that he would establish a Mars colony, Tyson said on a recent video podcast, "It's not possible. Space is dangerous. It's expensive. There are unquantified risks. Combine all of those under one umbrella; you cannot establish a free market capitalization of that enterprise."

Submission + - Sent to jail because of a software bug.

toshikodo writes: The BBC is reporting a claim that some sub-postoffice workers in the UK have been sent to jail because of a bug in the accounting software that they use. Post Office admits Horizon computer defect. I've worked on safety critical system in the past, and I am well aware of the potential for software to ruin lives (thankfully AFAIK nobody has been harmed by my software), but how many of us consider the potential for bugs in ordinary software to adversely affect those that use it?
NASA

Submission + - NASA: Feb. 15 asteroid fly-by will buzz Earth closer than many satellites (networkworld.com)

coondoggie writes: "NASA says an asteroid about half the size of a football field will blow past Earth on Feb 15 closer than many man-made satellites. NASA added that while the asteroid, designated 2012 DA14 has no change of striking Earth, since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to our planet."
Android

Submission + - Microsoft blames PC makers for Windows failure. (theregister.co.uk) 1

rtfa-troll writes: The Register tells us that Microsoft has begun squabbling with PC manufacturers over the reasons behind the failure of Windows 8. Microsoft is "frustrated with major OEMs who didn't build nearly enough touch systems". PC manufacturers have hit back saying that they "would have been saddled with the costs of a huge piles of unsold units" claiming that customers actually avoided higher end touch products which were available and instead bought lower end cheaper laptops whilst "Microsoft is not blaming itself for" the failure of it's own touch device, surface RT. The PC manufacturer's claims that touch is the problem seem to be backed by reviews, and some educational rants from users and opinion from user interface design experts, however Microsoft sees this differently . Microsoft is planning to strike back at the PC vendors in February with Surface pro; with a shorter battery life and much heavier than a normal tablet, this is being seen as a direct competitor to traditional laptops. By using it's desktop operating system franchise as a lever Microsoft will be able to enter the lower specification end of the Laptop market with a cost advantage which make make life difficult for former partners such as HP and Dell.

We've discussed previously how some PC manufactures such as Dell have failed in generational change whilst others have diversified to survive market chainges; Samsung with Android and the (still) bestselling Chromebook. ASUS with their successful Nexus tablets. We also discussed the ergonomic problems which are claimed to make touch screens unsuitable for PC use.

The Courts

Submission + - Free Speech For Computers? (nytimes.com)

snydeq writes: "Law professor Tim Wu sheds light on a growing legal concern: the extent to which computers have a constitutional right to free speech. 'This may sound like a fanciful question, a matter of philosophy or science fiction. But it’s become a real issue with important consequences,' Wu writes. First it was Google defending — and winning — a civil suit on grounds that search results are constitutionally protected speech. Now it is doubling down on the argument amidst greater federal scrutiny. 'Consider that Google has attracted attention from both antitrust and consumer protection officials after accusations that it has used its dominance in search to hinder competitors and in some instances has not made clear the line between advertisement and results. Consider that the “decisions” made by Facebook’s computers may involve widely sharing your private information. ... Ordinarily, such practices could violate laws meant to protect consumers. But if we call computerized decisions “speech,” the judiciary must consider these laws as potential censorship, making the First Amendment, for these companies, a formidable anti-regulatory tool.'"

Comment Re:Blegh (Score 1) 458

In Australia if you have lived with a person for more than a set time (which may vary from state to state) you are considered to be a de facto partner. Once you've attained that status, if the relationship falls apart the assets of that relationship are divided between the parties. If the relationship was relatively short term and you were the partner who brought the most (financially) into the relationship, you stand to lose out financially. No, it's not about the girl getting everything. It's not sexist. If the woman was the major bread-winner and owned the house, then the man moved in with her, HE is entitled to a share of the house and her money.
Image

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

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?"

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