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Comment Re:Won't happen (Score 1) 322

But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. - John Maynard Keynes Its no very helpful to say eventually over population will sort itself out. The point of these sorts of reports is want to avoid all the misery that usually accompanies systems balancing themselves "naturally".
Space

Colbert Wins Space Station Name Contest 471

As we speculated a couple of weeks back, it has come to pass. Reader mknewman writes to tell us that comedian Stephen Colbert has won the vote to have his name immortalized (or at least until it crashes) as the moniker on NASA's newest addition to the International Space Station. We can but wonder what NASA will do now. "NASA's mistake was allowing write-ins. Colbert urged viewers of his Comedy Central show, 'The Colbert Report' to write in his name. And they complied, with 230,539 votes. That clobbered Serenity, one of the NASA choices, by more than 40,000 votes. Nearly 1.2 million votes were cast by the time the contest ended Friday."
Medicine

Scientists Reverse Muscular Dystrophy In Dogs 143

Al writes "Scientists have taken a step toward developing a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) by successfully treating the condition in dogs using a novel genetic technique. The scientists used a method called exon skipping, which involves adding a genetic 'patch' to block transcription of a portion of the gene involved in DMD. This puts the remaining genetic sequence back in order, essentially creating a much less severe version of the condition. The scientists recorded some remarkable video footage showing the resulting improvements in several dogs with naturally-occurring DMD. More work is needed before the treatment can be given to humans, however, because DMD sufferers often have different genetic mutations."

Comment Re:Hmm. (Score 1) 307

Maybe we should move to a radical new idea. People PAY (money!!!) for the goods and services they consume, instead of being subsidised by a third party (i.e. advertisers), who will be deciding for you what you should see! The one bad thing about the internet (well probably one of the bad things) is that people expect things to be free. Some one some where contributed his or her time, and that person(s) has to live. Of course, companies over charge ridiclously when charging for info (think CD's and DVD's), but directly (rather than indirectly through a higher cost of goods because the money need to pay for advertising which pays for what you're using) is always the best option.

Comment Re:A Little Known Maryland Scientist Has Made Publ (Score 1) 492

No one (in the comments I've read, seems to have mention the role that rain plays in washing CO2 out of the atmosphere. Its part of the feedback cycle. Increase CO2 warms the atmosphere, so there is more water vapour capacity in the atmosphere, more rain, and more more CO2 is dissolved in the rain water. Of course I think we get a build of dissolved CO2 in the oceans, so maybe that's a problem too. Also, the increased rain washes other particulate matter out of the atmopsphere, particles which are currently reflecting sunlight back into space. So the atmosphere washing effect will probably increase incoming solar radiation. Maybe we should just tackle the root cause?
PC Games (Games)

Evolutionary Scientists Test-Drive Spore, Gripe 252

ahab_2001 writes "The computer game Spore has been marketed partly as an experience that makes evolutionary biology come alive in a game setting. But does that claim hold water? To find out, John Bohannon, a correspondent for Science Magazine (writing as 'The Gonzo Scientist'), sat four card-carrying scientists, ranging from evolutionary biologist Niles Eldredge to JPL astrophysicist Miles Smith, down in front of a terminal to play the game. The upshot, says Bohannon: Spore flunks basic science, getting 'most of biology badly, needlessly, and often bizarrely wrong.'"
Supercomputing

Cray's CX1 Desktop Supercomputer, Now For Sale 294

ocularb0b writes "Cray has announced the CX1 desktop supercomputer. Cray teamed with Microsoft and Intel to build the new machine that supports up to 8 nodes, a total of 64 cores and 64Gb of memory per node. CX1 can be ordered online with starting prices of $25K, and a choice of Linux or Windows HPC. This should be a pretty big deal for smaller schools and scientists waiting in line for time on the world's big computing centers, as well as 3D and VFX shops."

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