Researchers have uncovered genetic errors that may shed light on the causes of schizophrenia. The scientists found that deletions and duplications of DNA are more common in people with the mental disorder, and that many of those errors occur in genes related to brain development and neurological function.

Researchers have discovered a new and unexpected mode of self-assembly involving a polymer (hyaluronic acid) and a small molecule (peptide amphiphiles). When brought together, the two instantly assemble into a flexible but strong sac in which the researchers can grow human stem cells, creating a sort of miniature laboratory. The sacs can survive for weeks in culture, and their membranes are permeable to proteins. The method also can produce thin films whose size and shape can be tailored.

Cambridge (MA) - A new solar energy start-up called 1366 Technologies has just received $12.

Filed under: Robots

The robot uprising, it inches ever closer -- researchers working on the EU-funded COSPAL project have developed a new robotic AI that they say is the most advanced of its type ever created. Using both learning neural AI techniques and traditional rules-based AI as a control mechanism, the robot can be trained "like a child or a puppy," and has managed to figure out simple sorting tasks on its own. The next step is to try and integrate the system into a car that can adjust to unforeseen driving conditions, but the researchers in charge aren't worried about creating an army of KARRs set to mow us all down -- according to researcher Michael Felsberg, adult-level AI based on this system probably won't happen in our lifetimes. On the other hand, we've heard machines will match us by 2029 -- that'll be a fun debate to have when we're all slaving away in the robo-mines.

[Apologies for the terrible photo -- sure, COSPAL can develop puppy-level AI, but they're apparently still rocking a QuickTake 100.]

Read - Physorg article on the COSPAL robot
Read - COSPAL site

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C:\> cd \memories\ibm\1981

This Old Box It's time again to rewind that fleshy cassette storage device in your head to yesteryear.

You didn't think Comcast was the only company jamming certain types of traffic, did you? With all the heat on Comcast, it's no surprise that others are being discovered as well. For example, people are now noticing that cable provider Cox is using a very similar method to jam bittorrent uploads. It's too bad to hear this from a cable company that prided itself on actually being consumer friendly. Perhaps that means that Cox will actually admit to what it's doing, unlike Comcast. Of course, it also probably helps Cox that it wasn't the first one called out on this. Just like Sony took all the heat for the rootkit, even though the same rootkit was also found on CDs from other labels, it's likely that Comcast will take most of the heat for its bittorrent jamming.

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Advanced Micro Devices said that an investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s government had taken an 8 percent stake in the chip company for $622 million.

The latest news in the patent dispute between Sun and Network Appliance is that Sun is trying to move the case to California. NetApp filed the lawsuit in east Texas, a favorite location for patent holders, since the judges there are known for fast trials that almost always end with the patent holder coming out on top. Even if companies have no real presence in east Texas, they figure out how to get something resembling a presence there in order to file the lawsuit there. Amusingly, patent reform in the early 80s was designed to stop this type of jurisdiction shopping at the appeals court level, but all it seems to have done was push it down to the district court level. In trying to move the case, Sun points out that both it and NetApp have headquarters approximately 10 miles away from each other in California -- and there seems to be no reason whatsoever to have the case filed in east Texas unless you were jurisdiction shopping. There's been some talk lately suggesting that the folks in east Texas are getting a little annoyed at their reputation for being so friendly for patent holders, so hopefully they'll agree that this case really belongs in California.

Hopes to simplify interoperability

The Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) recently announced the acceptance of a draft specification submitted by leading virtualization companies that seeks to establish an industry-standard format for portable virtual machines.

Filed under: Robots

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

In a recent public appearance, NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker laid the blame for the music industry's recent difficulties squarely at the doorstep of Apple.