Noninvasive screening of pregnant women with ultrasound early in pregnancy, combined with maternal blood analysis, has reduced the number of children born in Denmark with Down syndrome by 50 percent.

The long-running controversy about the origins of the Etruscan people appears to be very close to being settled once and for all, according to a leading geneticist. He describes strong evidence that the Etruscans, whose brilliant civilization flourished 3000 years ago in what is now Tuscany, were settlers from old Anatolia, now in southern Turkey.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage

Sure, there's been more than a few attempts to offer up DRM-laced burns, and while the overall success level is certainly debatable, DTR is giving the whole secure writing thing a go anyway. The company, which specializes in making sure that content guardians rest easy, has announced a two-faced DVD burner that can write both normal, non-protected discs or "burn secure downloaded content." Apparently, the Protected Disk Recorder (PDR) will arrive in an external flavor that can connect to "PCs, game consoles, and more" via USB, and while it can reportedly add-in whatever flavor of protection the manufacturer wants, DTR also states that its new device can "provide additional access control functions which further enhance the security of downloaded media." Currently, we've seen no details in regard to price or the actual target market, but if history continues to repeat itself, this is just another layer of DRM waiting to be cracked. [Warning: PDF read link]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

There's been plenty of talk over the years about how computers will replace textbooks in the classroom and how students will just look stuff up online instead of having to tote around books. A fair number of schools give students laptops, but now, some of those programs are being stopped because they're not having any positive impact on students' education. That's not very hard to believe, since it sounds like many of the programs cited in the original article basically just threw laptops at students, and made very little effort to work them into the curriculum in a meaningful way. This point has been clear from the outset: simply giving kids computers (or people in developing nations, as with the $100 dollar OLPC) isn't going to do much. Computers, internet access and other technologies should be seen as useful tools, not silver bullets for education. Making them available is too often seen as a quick fix by politicians and administrators, but not creating some sort of plan around them essentially ensures long-term failure once the shine of being oh-so-high-tech wears off.

Moritz Waldemeyer is a master of mechatronics -- a job that's equal parts mechanical engineering and electronics -- and the go-to tech guru for some of the biggest names in design (think Zaha Hadid)

Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

Under normal circumstances, a palm-sized mouse with a built-in wireless transceiver is about as portable as it gets, but the G4 Mouse just showed all the other guys how a mobile mouse should be constructed. The uber-slim mousing instrument folds perfectly flat in order to fit in your PCMCIA slot when not in use, and when you're all settled, it pops out, ejects a USB cable, and folds into a more ergonomic position for all your mousing needs. Additionally, the slot card mouse comes in pink, blue, and silver colors, and it appears that you can even get a matching pouch if say, a 120GB hard drive is already occupying your PC Card slot. The 800 DPI mouse boasts a left / right click and a touch-sensitive scroll wheel, touts Windows compatibility, and will run you a respectable 46,500 (or about $50). Click through for a couple more snaps.

[Via CacheYourCash]

Continue reading Uber-slim G4 Mouse slides away in your PCMCIA slot

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

The gloves have long since been removed in the battle war between Cupertino and Redmond, and while we wouldn't deem this a direct hit, it's a mighty blow to gut regardless. Microsoft's general counsel and executive vice president Brad Smith has apparently decided that whining about whiners is the best approach to garner public support, as he mouthed off to reporters and suggested that Apple should just shut its trap in regard to the limitations of DRM, and in a completely unrelated addition, claimed that sales of the iPod should be good enough for that oh-so-greedy corporation. More specifically, Mr. Smith claimed that he wasn't a "big believer in just blaming the music industry for Apple's inability to sell every conceivable iPod," but contradicted himself ever so slightly by insinuating that Apple should leave well enough alone and enjoy the profits the player is already pulling in. Is it just us, or do you sense this vibe of bitterness mixed in there somewhere, too?

[Via GizmoNews, picture courtesy of Worth1000]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!