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The evidence of steps yet untaken, leaps still grounded in the now but with an eye toward the future...this is where I live, in the fastest changing world since the history of mankind. Dare to witness and participate in it, this time so singular in its speed and power. Share it with the future and present, read and post the record of its' passing.
A landmark national survey on the use of nanotechnology for "human enhancement" shows widespread public support for applications of the new technology related to improving human health. However, the survey also shows broad disapproval for nanotech human enhancement research in areas without health benefits. A team of researchers at North Carolina State University and Arizona State University (ASU) conducted the study, which could influence the direction of future nanotechnology research efforts. The "Public Awareness of Nanotechnology Study" is the first nationally representative survey to examine public opinion on the use of nanotechnology for human enhancement. The survey found significant support for enhancements that promise to improve human health. For example, 88 percent of participants were in favor of research for a video-to-brain link that would amount to artificial eyesight for the blind. However, there was little support for non-health research endeavors....
MIT engineers mass-produce smell receptors in lab; 'artificial noses' to follow?
MIT biological engineers have found a way to mass-produce smell receptors in the laboratory, an advance that paves the way for "artificial noses" to be created and used in a variety of settings.
The work could also allow scientists to unlock the mystery of how the sense of smell can recognize a seemingly infinite range of odors.
"Smell is perhaps one of the oldest and most primitive senses, but nobody really understands how it works. It still remains a tantalizing enigma," said Shuguang Zhang, associate director of MIT's Center for Biomedical Engineering and senior author of a paper on the work appearing online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Artificial noses could one day replace drug- and explosive-sniffing dogs, and could have numerous medical applications, according to Zhang and his colleagues. DARPA...
Intel’s Nehalem Chip May Save $2-Billion In Energy Costs And Up To 20 Terawatt Hours.
Intel’s new microprocessor was designed with the environment in mind. The company says the chip is not only rocket fast but is also extremely energy efficient. The chip—code named Nehalem—follows the Intel Core II and IV series processors.
“Going into this project … we insisted on energy efficiency … and power,” said Steve Gunther, an engineer for Intel. Adding more processing speed to a chip often requires pulling a lot more energy. Meeting this challenge was not an easy one, he notes.
Nehalem engineers had to tweak both the chip’s clock cycle and its operating voltage, both of which typically eat up a lot of energy. The biggest energy cut came from reducing usage on an idle machine; a lot of the chip’s life-cycle is spent idle. So that makes sense, if you’re not in the room…turn off the lights.
There’s a catch, though. The chip still needs...
As the computer industry embraces cloud computing, Palo Alto, Calif.-based VMware aims to deliver one of the key pieces of the puzzle. VMware's virtualization software has become a mainstay of most big data centers because it lets engineers allocate computer resources more efficiently. Now the company is pushing what it calls a "vCloud Initiative," to work with partners to build data centers that can support cloud computing.
VMware CEO Paul Maritz talked with NEWSWEEK's Dan Lyons about how the next era will unfold. Excerpts: NEWSWEEEK: What is VMware ' s vision of cloud computing?
Paul Maritz: You can divide the cloud today into two categories. One is the enterprise cloud, and there is one, for want of a better phrase, that I call the new-age cloud. The enterprise cloud is really about providing the opportunity for existing IT customers to take their existing workloads and have somebody else supply the underlying infrastructure...
Professor Stephen Hawking has held the academic title since 1979
Professor Stephen Hawking is to give up a prestigious academic title.
The physicist, who has motor neurone disease, will give up his position as Cambridge University's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics next year.
The university said it was policy for holders of the title to retire at 67 and Prof Hawking will be 67 in January.
Prof Hawking, who is one of the world's leading cosmologists, will continue working at the university and a new Lucasian Professor will be appointed.
Previous holders of the title, founded by MP Henry Lucas in 1663, include Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Babbage, Sir Joseph Larmor and Sir James Lighthill.
Prof Hawking, who began work in Cambridge in 1962 and has held the Lucasian Professorship since 1979, gained fame following the publication of his
best-selling book A Brief History of Time in 1988.
As many of you probably know (especially if you live in the UK), you have to buy a license to have a TV (or even a TV tuner card for a computer). The license fees go to pay the BBC to operate. Apparently, the BBC has some secret "TV detector" vans that can sit outside your house and determine if you have an illegal TV (I only wish I were making this up). Someone filed a Freedom of Information request to find out how these supposed detector vans worked, but the request has been denied, and these magic detector vans shall remain a state secret. The BBC claimed that it could not reveal the details of the van "because if it did so it would damage the public's perception of the effectiveness of TV detector vans." I'm not sure, but I think that statement alone destroys the public's perception of the effectiveness of the TV detector vans. I'm guessing that the vans are totally empty but someone drives by your place at night and...
A report published in the peer reviewed Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics1 provides comprehensive evidence that safety fears about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are unfounded.
The LHC is CERN’s2 new flagship research facility. As the world’s highest energy particle accelerator, it is poised to provide new insights into the mysteries of our universe.
“The LHC will enable us to study in detail what nature is doing all around us,” said CERN Director General Robert Aymar. “The LHC is safe, and any suggestion that it might present a risk is pure fiction.”
Safety has been an integral part of the LHC project since its inception in 1994, and the project has been subject to numerous audits covering all aspects of safety and environmental impact. A comprehensive report by independent scientists addressing safety issues related to the production of new particles at the LHC was presented to CERN’s governing body, the CERN Council, in...
Particle collision experiments fuel fears that black hole will swallow the universe
An MIT physics professor and Nobel laureate has received death threats because of his involvement with the Large Hadron Collider, which performed the world's biggest physics experiment today.
Frank Wilczek, whose research interests include particle physics and cosmology, received the threats as the collider made its first test run, which is widely considered a major milestone in particle physics.
Jen Hirsch, a spokeswoman for MIT, said campus and Cambridge, Mass., police have been notified of the threats.
While scientists are using the collider to find an answer to how the universe was created, there have been increasing rumors circulating around the Internet that the experiments will destroy the Earth and possibly the entire galaxy. People have been fearful that when the particles collide at high energy, they will create a black hole that will suck everything and everyone...
