Physicists Dream Up the Antilaser

Wired Science - News for Your Neurons | Wired.com: "Fifty years after physicists invented the laser, ushering in everything from supermarket scanners to music CDs, scientists have conceived its opposite — the “antilaser.”

Unlike its more popular cousin, the antilaser is unlikely to take over the world. Still, it could be useful one day, for instance in new types of optical switches for computers."

Witness says flat-bottom UFO near Somerville, NJ, 'rather bizarre'

Witness says flat-bottom UFO near Somerville, NJ, 'rather bizarre': "'It had a flat bottom portion that consisted of way more than 25 lights. They would flash in a specific random sequence, turn off for a second or two, turn back on and begin flashing again. They were also accompanied by a blue light on the side. It was very hard to tell the depth and true image of the top portion of the object, but it had one nonetheless.'"

Another Solar System's Nibiru anyone? -- Brown Dwarf Found Orbiting a Young Sun-Like Star

Brown Dwarf Found Orbiting a Young Sun-Like Star: "(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers have imaged a very young brown dwarf, or failed star, in a tight orbit around a young nearby sun-like star. The discovery is expected to shed light on the early stages of solar system formation."

Could this possibility allow for a similar situation in our solar system, i.e., Planet X or Nibiru....?

Motorists in Route to Reno, Nevada, See Silver, Cigar-Shaped UFO - UFO Casebook Files

Motorists in Route to Reno, Nevada, See Silver, Cigar-Shaped UFO - UFO Casebook Files: "It was flying too low to be a commercial airliner, and too large to be a private jet - it was moving left to right at a very fast rate of speed, but slow enough for me to see it clearly. It did not appear to have any windows nor did it have any decals or markings on it."

SPACE.com -- Ambitious Venus Mission Ideas Include Robots, Planes, Humans

SPACE.com -- Ambitious Venus Mission Ideas Include Robots, Planes, Humans: "After more than 20 years of neglect, the planet Venus is once more drawing NASA's eye for ambitious new missions.

A Venusian dream expedition for some scientists would include nothing short of an exploration flotilla – a ground robot, planetary airplane and orbiting manned spacecraft. The potential mission to Venus could investigate its surface from up-close for the first time in several decades, a NASA scientist said."

One nation, under surveillance? Security cameras record more and more of life | cleveland.com

One nation, under surveillance? Security cameras record more and more of life | cleveland.com: "ORLANDO, Florida -- Whether you're using an ATM, driving through a busy intersection or stopping at the corner store for a gallon of milk, there's a good chance cameras are following your every move."

CultureLab: Inside TRAK: a new robot shows us how we think

CultureLab: Inside TRAK: a new robot shows us how we think: "'What's going on inside your head?' It's a question we often ask of our friends and family, but not the kind of thing most of us would consider asking a robot. After all, they don't generate their own thoughts. They don't even have brains, right?

Visitors to Sheffield's Inside TRAK exhibition might take a different view. After all, they haven't just met a robot with a brain, they have also taken a peek inside it to see what lurks within."

The Science Of 'Inception' - Forbes.com

The Science Of 'Inception' - Forbes.com: "Stealing your thoughts and dreams isn't completely farfetched."

Cloned Livestock Gain a Foothold in Europe - NYTimes.com

Cloned Livestock Gain a Foothold in Europe - NYTimes.com: "ALBRIGHTON, England — Many Europeans recoil at the very idea of cloning animals. But a handful of breeders in Switzerland, Britain and possibly other countries have imported semen and embryos from cloned animals or their progeny from the United States, seeking to create more consistently plump and productive livestock.

And although no vendor has publicly acknowledged it, meat or dairy products originating from such techniques are believed to be already on supermarket shelves."

Researchers concerned by gender-bending fish - Yahoo! Canada News

Researchers concerned by gender-bending fish - Yahoo! Canada News: "CALGARY - Alberta researchers say gender-bending fish swimming in the province's southern rivers raise serious questions about whether the water is safe for people to drink.

Two University of Calgary professors have been studying how a small species of minnow reacts to a wide variety of hormone-altering chemicals detected in several rivers."

Exclusive: Google, CIA Invest in ‘Future’ of Web Monitoring | Danger Room | Wired.com

Exclusive: Google, CIA Invest in ‘Future’ of Web Monitoring | Danger Room | Wired.com: "The company is called Recorded Future, and it scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships between people, organizations, actions and incidents — both present and still-to-come. In a white paper, the company says its temporal analytics engine “goes beyond search” by “looking at the ‘invisible links’ between documents that talk about the same, or related, entities and events.”"

Monsanto: The evil corporation in your refrigerator

Monsanto: The evil corporation in your refrigerator: "Anyone who can read a label knows that corn, soy and cotton can be found in just about every American food product. Upwards of 90% of all corn, soybeans and cotton are grown from genetically engineered seeds, also known as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). These genetically enhanced products appear in around 70% of all American processed food products. And Monsanto controls 90% of all genetically engineered seeds. In other words, Monsanto controls -- and owns patents on -- most of the American food supply."

"The Big Bang Never Happened" The New Standard?

"The Big Bang Never Happened" The New Standard?: "While there is scientific consensus that the Big Bang is the best explanation for the origin of the Universe, there's a growing chorus of doubters among the world astrophysics community, led by the fascinating new work of Wun-Yi Shu at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan who has developed an innovative new description of the Universe in which the roles of time space and mass are related in new kind of relativity."

Stem cells to naturally rebuild human joints | COSMOS magazine

Stem cells to naturally rebuild human joints | COSMOS magazine: "PARIS: Scientists have shown for the first time that it may be possible to replace a human hip or knee with a joint grown naturally inside the body using the patient's stem cells.

In experiments on rabbits, the researchers coaxed the animals' stem cells to rebuild the bone and cartilage of a missing leg joint, according to a new study.

'This is the first time an entire joint surface was regenerated with return of functions including weight bearing and locomotion,' lead researcher, Jeremy Mao from Columbia University, said in a statement."

Top 10 Ways to Stop an Asteroid : Discovery News

Top 10 Ways to Stop an Asteroid : Discovery News

Pretty interesting slideshow....

Very Early Warning: 1-in-1,000 Chance of Asteroid Impact in 2182 : Discovery News

Very Early Warning: 1-in-1,000 Chance of Asteroid Impact in 2182 : Discovery News: "This isn't an urgent call to arms, but it's certainly a future date to consider. In the year 2182 -- 172 years time -- there's the possibility that we might be hit by an asteroid with potential to cause some significant global turmoil. This long-distance forecast could help mankind determine whether asteroid deflection techniques are warranted, especially when given nearly two centuries of lead time."

Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.: Quantum Consciousness: The Way to Reconcile Science and Spirituality

Kingsley Dennis, Ph.D.: Quantum Consciousness: The Way to Reconcile Science and Spirituality: "Human thought in the twenty-first century needs to work towards a new model that immerses the human being within a vibrant energetic universe. However, this need not demand that we throw away what we already have; rather, we can expand upon the tools that have brought us to our present position. There is an eastern proverb that roughly translates as: 'You may ride your donkey up to your front door, but would you ride it into your house?' In other words, when we have arrived at a particular destination we are often required to make a transition in order to continue the journey. In this sense we can be grateful to a vast knowledge base of scientific and religious thought for helping us arrive at the point where we presently stand. Yet it is now imperative that we move forward. As Deepak Chopra wrote his post 'Consciousness and the End of the War Between Science and Religion,' how we move forward is likely to be centered in our understanding of consciousness."

New high-resolution photo of famous 'Face on Mars' proves it is just a rocky hill | Mail Online

New high-resolution photo of famous 'Face on Mars' proves it is just a rocky hill | Mail Online: "It was the startling photograph that spawned a thousand conspiracy theories.

A photograph taken by the American Viking 1 Orbiter in July 1976 appeared to show a hill in the shape of a human face on the dusty surface of Mars.

But a new photograph released today, which was taken with Nasa’s high-definition HiRISE camera, finally shows the Face on Mars for what it really is: just a large, rocky hill in the middle of the Martian desert."

Japanese Researchers Invent Holograms You Can Touch

Japanese Researchers Invent Holograms You Can Touch: "We're still waiting for flying cars, laser guns and teleportation devices, but it looks like we can scratch one childhood dream off the list: touchable holograms. According to the NTDTV report posted after the jump, researchers at Japan's Tokyo University have managed to concoct holograms that not only react to touch, but that also create the sensation of touch, itself."

Model describes universe with no big bang, no beginning, and no end

Model describes universe with no big bang, no beginning, and no end: "(PhysOrg.com) -- By suggesting that mass, time, and length can be converted into one another as the universe evolves, Wun-Yi Shu has proposed a new class of cosmological models that may fit observations of the universe better than the current big bang model. What this means specifically is that the new models might explain the increasing acceleration of the universe without relying on a cosmological constant such as dark energy, as well as solve or eliminate other cosmological dilemmas such as the flatness problem and the horizon problem."

The Next Big Privacy Concern: RFID “Spychips” | NetworkWorld.com Community

The Next Big Privacy Concern: RFID “Spychips” | NetworkWorld.com Community: "Radio-frequency I.D. (RFID) tags are a convenient way to track items and cut costs for companies. But this technology is increasingly being used to track other things, like security badges — or even people — giving it the potential to cause a horrific erosion of privacy. Tracking people with smart tags, their shopping preferences, their activities, and their personal belongings sounds like something from a sci-fi thriller. But If you got your panties in a twist over Walmart's decision to track your undies via RFID smart tags, then you'll be doublely concerned at how close we are to cradle-to-grave surveillance."

Farmers brace for 'worst' locust plague on record - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Farmers brace for 'worst' locust plague on record - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): "There is a warning the spring locust plague could be the worst on record due to the increasing use of modern farming methods.

A central west New South Wales agronomist says direct drilling to sow crops in the western region has not destroyed the egg beds and the tall, dry pasture will make it almost impossible to detect hatchings."

Plankton, base of ocean food web, in big decline | World news | guardian.co.uk

Plankton, base of ocean food web, in big decline | World news | guardian.co.uk: "AP Science Writer= WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite their tiny size, plant plankton found in the world's oceans are crucial to much of life on Earth. They are the foundation of the bountiful marine food web, produce half the world's oxygen and suck up harmful carbon dioxide.

And they are declining sharply.

Worldwide phytoplankton levels are down 40 percent since the 1950s, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The likely cause is global warming, which makes it hard for the plant plankton to get vital nutrients, researchers say.

The numbers are both staggering and disturbing, say the Canadian scientists who did the study and a top U.S. government scientist."

Truck-borne laser weapon to be on way soon

Truck-borne laser weapon to be on way soon: "The laser-beam weapon, being developed by the U.S. Army and Boeing, is seen to be a more focused alternative to artillery or rocket response to enemy action that usually results in innocent civilians or friendly forces being caught up in the onslaught."

Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: Big Bang Abandoned in New Model of the Universe

Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: Big Bang Abandoned in New Model of the Universe: "Shu's idea is that time and space are not independent entities but can be converted back and forth between each other. In his formulation of the geometry of spacetime, the speed of light is simply the conversion factor between the two. Similarly, mass and length are interchangeable in a relationship in which the conversion factor depends on both the gravitational constant G and the speed of light, neither of which need be constant.

So as the Universe expands, mass and time are converted to length and space and vice versa as it contracts.

This universe has no beginning or end, just alternating periods of expansion and contraction. In fact, Shu shows that singularities cannot exist in this cosmos."

Shields up! Force fields could protect Mars missions - space - 28 July 2010 - New Scientist

Shields up! Force fields could protect Mars missions - space - 28 July 2010 - New Scientist: "Interplanetary adventurers must contend with deadly solar radiation – but the moon's magnetic memories may hold the key to safe space flight"

John Podesta writes probing foreword for new book on UFOs | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

John Podesta writes probing foreword for new book on UFOs | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times: "He’s not saying he was abducted by a UFO and probed or anything, but former President Clinton’s chief of staff John Podesta is lending his name to a new book on UFOs.

Podesta has written the foreword for “UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record” by investigative journalist Leslie Kean, which will be released Aug. 10.

This isn’t that shocking, as Podesta has been on the record before as an advocate for the Pentagon to release classified government papers on UFO investigations.

'It is time for the government to declassify records that are more than 25 years old and to provide scientists with data that will assist in determining the real nature of this phenomenon,' he said back in 2002."

RealClearWorld - Sun Could Set Suddenly on Superpower as Debt Bites

RealClearWorld - Sun Could Set Suddenly on Superpower as Debt Bites: "What if collapse does not arrive over a number of centuries but comes suddenly, like a thief in the night?

Great powers and empires are complex systems, which means their construction more resembles a termite hill than an Egyptian pyramid. They operate somewhere between order and disorder, on 'the edge of chaos', in the phrase of the computer scientist Christopher Langton.

Such systems can appear to operate quite stably for some time; they seem to be in equilibrium but are, in fact, constantly adapting."

Huge Spacequakes Impact Earth's Magnetic Field

Huge Spacequakes Impact Earth's Magnetic Field: "A new study has found that spacequakes, like an earthquake in space, are temblors in Earth's magnetic field caused by plasma flying off the sun that could help generate the colorful auroras that dance high in Earth's atmosphere. While felt most strongly in Earth's upper orbit, these quakes can down to the surface of Earth itself."

Distant Galaxy Observed With a Black Hole 100 Million X the Mass of Our Sun

Distant Galaxy Observed With a Black Hole 100 Million X the Mass of Our Sun: "NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has imaged this coiled galaxy with an eye-like object at its center. The 'eye' at the center of the galaxy is actually a monstrous black hole surrounded by a ring of stars. In this color-coded infrared view from Spitzer, the area around the invisible black hole is blue and the ring of stars, white. The galaxy, called NGC 1097 and located 50 million light-years away, is spiral-shaped like our Milky Way, with long, spindly arms of stars."

Stephen Hawking on the Possibility of Quantum ET's (A Galaxy 'Most Popular)

Stephen Hawking on the Possibility of Quantum ET's (A Galaxy 'Most Popular): "'Our understanding of quantum mechanics is rudimentary, at best, yet we are on the verge of developing practical quantum computers that promise virtually unlimited computational power. It is conceivable that, in the billions of years since the Big Bang, other organisms evolved at some time and some place that have already mastered quantum mechanics. Let’s say that intelligent, social, organisms with chemically-based metabolism, fundamentally not unlike ourselves, evolved on a planet somewhere in the universe. Their unquenchable curiosity about the universe (or, like us, their unquenchable desire to exploit it) led them to develop efficient quantum computers. They realized that, with such computers, the whole of their existence could be computerized, all memories and life experiences, all emotions and motivations, could be transferred to a collective “quantum brain”. In effect, their “species”, though biologically extinct, could become immortal."

Scientists Map Entire Human Brain Network: “The most complex mass of protoplasm on earth—perhaps even in our galaxy.".”

Scientists Map Entire Human Brain Network: “The most complex mass of protoplasm on earth—perhaps even in our galaxy.".”: "“We have successfully uncovered and mapped the most comprehensive long-distance network of the Macaque monkey brain, which is essential for understanding the brain’s behavior, complexity, dynamics and computation,” announced Dharmendra S. Modha of IBM. “We can now gain unprecedented insight into how information travels and is processed across the brain. We have collated a comprehensive, consistent, concise, coherent, and colossal network spanning the entire brain and grounded in anatomical tracing studies that is a stepping stone to both fundamental and applied research in neuroscience and cognitive computing,” he added."

A Brief History Of Possibly Obsolete Time Travel Paradoxes | Motherboard

A Brief History Of Possibly Obsolete Time Travel Paradoxes | Motherboard: "In honor of recent developments in theorizing paradox-free time travel via quantum mechanics and one of its particular weirdnesses, called “postselection.”"

Kentucky mother suspects son may have been abducted

Kentucky mother suspects son may have been abducted: "A Kentucky mother has been watching everything she can about alien abduction ever since her 5-year-old son woke up June 10, 2010, and described an unusual encounter, according to testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database."

Cosmic Log - Millions of Earths? Talk causes a stir

Cosmic Log - Millions of Earths? Talk causes a stir: "Alan Boyle writes: A leader of the Kepler planet-hunting team has created a slow-moving scientific stir by telling an audience at a high-tech conference that our galaxy could harbor 100 million Earths, based on the space mission's raw data. The resulting buzz focuses not only on the findings, but also on the means by which they came to light."

ARE UFOs JUST A CIA CON-TRICK?: MIRAGE MEN BY MARK PILKINGTON | Mail Online

ARE UFOs JUST A CIA CON-TRICK?: MIRAGE MEN BY MARK PILKINGTON | Mail Online: "Ufology is a faith that includes many beliefs, from the oddly popular one about Nazi aliens who live under the ground to David Icke's contention that the Duke of Edinburgh is in fact a shape-changing, blood-sucking alien lizard. But here's the core of the faith - that some UFO sightings and encounters are real, the U.S. government knows all about these extraterrestrial visitations, and they've mounted a huge conspiracy to keep the aliens secret and us in the dark."

Are Earth's Search Technologies Too Primitive to Detect Advanced ET Life?

Are Earth's Search Technologies Too Primitive to Detect Advanced ET Life?: "Some of the world's leading astronomers -including Great Britain's astronomer royal, Sir Martin Rees- believe aliens, rather than using different radio waves or visible light to signal, may be using an entirely different communication medium such as ghostly neutrinos or with gravitational waves (ripples in the fabric of space-time) or using communication mechanisms we cannot begin to fathom."

Why it matters that we're close to discovering the Higgs Boson particle

Why it matters that we're close to discovering the Higgs Boson particle: "Last month rumors swirled that scientists at the Large Hadron Collider found the Higgs Boson particle. Those reports were untrue, but we have made significant progress towards finding the elusive particle. Why is this such an important discovery?"

Haunted Hotel Spooks 'Ghost Adventures' Stars

Haunted Hotel Spooks 'Ghost Adventures' Stars: "'We live with things that follow us constantly. This 'door' has been open so long that it just constantly keeps getting wider and wider. So when we go places, it's almost like we're known in the spirit world."

Aussies sell 'Terminator' robots to US marines

Aussies sell 'Terminator' robots to US marines: "A small team of Sydney scientists has secured a $57 million contract to supply robots to the US Marine Corps.

The Terminator-style technology uses artificial intelligence and could be the next big thing in military training.

'People train on static pop up targets or targets that move predictably on rails,' Eric Watson from Marathon Robotics, based in Redfern, told Nine News.

'This can move anywhere throughout the range. It can move unpredictably. It can surprise people. It adds a dynamic element to training. It makes people think in different ways.'"

eggsploitation ::: the infertility industry has a dirty little secret...

eggsploitation ::: the infertility industry has a dirty little secret...

Freaky and bizarre...

Browse online for beautiful sperm and eggs! - Yahoo! Canada News

Browse online for beautiful sperm and eggs! - Yahoo! Canada News: "LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Ever worried about having an ugly baby? Fret not, a popular dating website exclusively for beautiful people has branched out to provide a fertility forum aimed at creating beautiful babies. Criticized by some as narcissism gone mad, the project was launched in June, shortly after BeautifulPeople.com booted out 5,000 people who gained weight and were deemed too ugly to remain members."

IBM scientists create most comprehensive map of the brain’s network � KurzweilAI

IBM scientists create most comprehensive map of the brain’s network � KurzweilAI: "The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published Tuesday a landmark paper entitled “Network architecture of the long-distance pathways in the macaque brain” (an open-access paper) by Dharmendra S. Modha (IBM Almaden) and Raghavendra Singh (IBM Research-India) with major implications for reverse-engineering the brain and developing a network of cognitive-computing chips.

“We have successfully uncovered and mapped the most comprehensive long-distance network of the Macaque monkey brain, which is essential for understanding the brain’s behavior, complexity, dynamics and computation,” Dr. Modha says. “We can now gain unprecedented insight into how information travels and is processed across the brain.

“We have collated a comprehensive, consistent, concise, coherent, and colossal network spanning the entire brain and grounded in anatomical tracing studies that is a stepping stone to both fundamental and applied research in neuroscience and cognitive computing.”"

First Step Towards Electronic DNA Sequencing: Translocation Through Graphene Nanopores | Penn News

First Step Towards Electronic DNA Sequencing: Translocation Through Graphene Nanopores | Penn News: "PHILADELPHIA –- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a new, carbon-based nanoscale platform to electrically detect single DNA molecules.

Using electric fields, the tiny DNA strands are pushed through nanoscale-sized, atomically thin pores in a graphene nanopore platform that ultimately may be important for fast electronic sequencing of the four chemical bases of DNA based on their unique electrical signature."

An Order of Seven Global Cyber-Guardians Now Hold Keys to the Internet | Popular Science

An Order of Seven Global Cyber-Guardians Now Hold Keys to the Internet | Popular Science: "You may have heard the rumor that swirled briefly last month about an Internet “kill switch” that could power down the Web in the case of a critical cyber attack. Those rumors turned out to be largely overblown, but it turns out there are now seven individuals out there holding keys to the Internet. In the aftermath of a cataclysmic cyber attack, these members of a “chain of trust” will be responsible for rebooting the Web."

Sun surges: Yet another apocalypic theory to worry about - Environment - Macleans.ca

Sun surges: Yet another apocalypic theory to worry about - Environment - Macleans.ca: "Every 11 years, for reasons that aren’t completely understood, our sun hits what’s called its solar maximum: an especially active period when sun spots, solar flares and “coronal mass ejections—these clouds of plasma that flow out of the sun at millions of kilometres an hour,” as astronomer Sten Odenwald puts it, are more likely to occur. The resulting streams of particles and pulses of electromagnetic energy create what’s called space weather, which can have all sorts of impacts here, throwing the Earth’s magnetic field into disarray and disrupting everything from GPS systems to the power grid. We’re now coming out of a quiet period for the sun, as it wakes up and moves toward the next solar maximum, expected in 2013, and experts say we should be preparing for the worst."

The non-Ice Age cometh | NEWS | The Moscow News

The non-Ice Age cometh | NEWS | The Moscow News: "The fast-disappearing Arctic ice cap could indicate that Russia is in for more summer heat waves – and winter deep freezes – as climate change creates more instability in global weather.

That’s the warning from Russian scientists, who say that while global warming is not exactly to blame for the country’s current heat wave, increasingly erratic weather is causing Arctic Sea ice to disappear at an alarming rate.

And that could speed up global warming.

“Arctic ice doesn’t impact climate, it is the climate,” climatologist Vladimir Kattsev of the Voyeykov Geophysical Observatory told The Moscow News."

Climate Weapons: More Than Just a Conspiracy Theory? | "International Affairs" | RIA Novosti

Climate Weapons: More Than Just a Conspiracy Theory? | "International Affairs" | RIA Novosti: "The abnormally hot weather in the central regions of Russia has already caused serious economic damage. It has destroyed crops on roughly 20% of the country's agricultural land lots, the result being that the food prices are clearly set to climb next fall. On top of that, fires are raging over peat lands around Moscow. These days, the majority of forecasts concerning the climate are alarming: droughts, hurricanes, and floods are going to be increasingly frequent and severe. Director of the climate and energy program of the Wildlife Fund A. Kokorin says that the current trend is not a random phenomenon and should not be expected to subside"

Doomsday shelters making a comeback - USATODAY.com

Doomsday shelters making a comeback - USATODAY.com: "Jason Hodge, father of four children from Barstow, Calif., says he's 'not paranoid' but he is concerned, and that's why he bought space in what might be labeled a doomsday shelter."

Armed Robots Will Make Us Behave | h Magazine

Armed Robots Will Make Us Behave | h Magazine: "In the future, security guards won't be chubby failed cops getting minimum wage. Instead, they'll be metal death machines that can spray 900 bullets per minute if you're intruding without proper ID. Robotic sentries are presently patrolling Israel's 70-kilometer Gaza border, and South Korea's 250-kilometer DMZ. Russia has developed a remarkably lethal beast — the MRK-27-BT — touted as superior to the USA's SWORDS in Iraq, and Australia shot into the market with its ferociously-named 'Redback Metal Storm.'"

The Struggle for the (Possible) Soul of David Eagleman < Killing the Buddha

The Struggle for the (Possible) Soul of David Eagleman < Killing the Buddha: "There’s a struggle inside the brain of David Eagleman for the soul of David Eagleman.

That is, there might be such a struggle if Eagleman’s brain believed that Eagleman had a soul, which he is not sure about. In fact, Eagleman’s brain is not completely sure that there is an Eagleman-beyond-Eagleman’s-brain at all—with or without a soul, whatever that term might mean.

Welcome to the world of “possibilian” neuroscientist-writer David Eagleman, to life in the space between what-is and what-if, between the facts we think we know and the fictions that illuminate what we don’t know."

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

VHEMT: "Phasing out the human race by voluntarily ceasing to breed will allow Earth’s biosphere to return to good health. Crowded conditions and resource shortages will improve as we become less dense."

Homo Sapiens: Are We the First Software Species?

Homo Sapiens: Are We the First Software Species?: "For humans, our software, which we call our 'culture,' has become ever more important to our behavior. Homo sapiens sapiens is now predominately a software species, governed primarily by factors outside the genome, some of which are extrasomatic, outside the body. In short, today what makes us unique as a species is not what's stored in our DNA, but in our laws, music, traditions, and digital libraries."

Bringing Ancient Human Viruses Back to Life: A Jurassic Park or Salvation?

Bringing Ancient Human Viruses Back to Life: A Jurassic Park or Salvation?: "When the mapping of the human genome was completed in 2003, researchers discovered a shocking fact: our bodies are littered with the shards of retroviruses, fragments of the chemical code from which all genetic material is made. This discovery has created a new discipline, paleovirology, which seeks to better understand the impact of modern diseases by studying the genetic history of ancient viruses."

World-leading Physicist: "ET Artifacts Could Be Camouflaged as Natural Objects in the Universe"

World-leading Physicist: "ET Artifacts Could Be Camouflaged as Natural Objects in the Universe": "ET artifacts coordinated by computers would look far more like a natural artifact. It is easy to distinguish a technological artifact such as a car from a natural object such as a tree. The tree is far more complicated. But, says Wolfram,'this is simply because our technological artifacts are primitive. As they become more complex - with computer processors enabling them to make a moment-by-moment decisions - they will begin to look just as complex as trees and people and stars.' We have slim chance, he suggests, of distinguishing an ET artifact from a natural celestial object."

The Humanist - a magazine of critical inquiry and social concern

The Humanist - a magazine of critical inquiry and social concern: "What bothered him the most, perhaps, was what he perceived as a growing intolerance among his scientific colleagues for unorthodox opinions. Some scientists who should have maintained a rigorous standard of proof when it came to interpreting data were being led astray by charismatic figures, and then blamed others who refused to join them. Dyson asserted that Al Gore—whose movie An Inconvenient Truth was a cause celebre—wasn’t just being alarmist but had become the chief propagandist for, or the high priest of, the secular religion of climate change, a belief system in which scientific facts are trumped by politics."

Deep space probe finds hundreds of new planets | Mail Online

Deep space probe finds hundreds of new planets | Mail Online: "Hundreds of new planets have been discovered by Nasa's new space probe, sparking new hope of life outside our solar system.
Up to 140 of the newly-found planets are similar in size to Earth, scientists have said. The Kepler probe - which constantly monitors more than 150,000 stars for tell-tale signs of planets orbiting them - also may have found five new solar systems, Nasa said."

Is ET using Twitter? Scientists claim aliens are likely to be sending short messages to us from space | Mail Online

Is ET using Twitter? Scientists claim aliens are likely to be sending short messages to us from space | Mail Online: "Sometimes it seems as if the expansion of the social networking phenomenon knows no bounds. And now scientists say even aliens might not be immune to Twitter. They could have been using cosmic 'tweets' to contact us for decades, researchers claim - but we have been missing them."

Brazil UFO Sighting - 'Contact Between Them and Us is Inevitable'

Brazil UFO Sighting - 'Contact Between Them and Us is Inevitable': "When asked about his personal view of the alien presence on Earth, Lieutenant-Colonel Leo Tercio Sperb demonstrated that he belongs to a lineage of Brazilian military that is quite open and prepared to face the reality of the UFO Phenomenon. He asserted that he thinks 'there's no question about the existence of other intelligences in contact with Earth's humankind', and that 'contact between them and us is inevitable and will definitely happen in the future'."

UFO stuns Pretoria residents: News24: Sci-Tech: News

UFO stuns Pretoria residents: News24: Sci-Tech: News: "Pretoria - An unidentified flying object (UFO), which apparently consisted of three bright lights, astounded residents from Booysens in Pretoria for two consecutive nights for several hours."

How to find aliens: Follow the photosynthesis - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - msnbc.com

How to find aliens: Follow the photosynthesis - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - msnbc.com: "By calculating where photosynthesis might be possible around the galaxy, scientists are developing a new way to figure out where Earth-like planets might be located. When seeking to figure out where life might evolve, researchers have often focused on the ' habitable zones ' around stars, where the heat from the star is at the perfect level for liquid water to exist on the surface of a planet in that zone. The reasoning there is that wherever there is water on Earth, there is a chance for life."

UFO Symposium Draws Believers, Experts - cbs4denver.com

UFO Symposium Draws Believers, Experts - cbs4denver.com: "DENVER (CBS4) ― Thousands gathered over the weekend for a symposium where experts tried to explain those that are unexplainable."

SPACE.com -- NASA Panel Calls for Asteroid Defense Office

SPACE.com -- NASA Panel Calls for Asteroid Defense Office: "BOULDER, Colo. — Protecting Earth from menacing space rocks that could impact our planet should be designated a top-level NASA strategic goal, according to an agency task force. To achieve that goal, NASA should establish a Planetary Defense Coordination Office to oversee the effort, the task force said."

Millennium Ark: Earthquakes 1992 - 2010

Millennium Ark: Earthquakes 1992 - 2010: "It's not your imagination. More earthquakes than usual have struck so far in 2010 – at least this early in the year. Because these events have clustered together in the first seven months, it has magnified the data. Whether this increased trend maintains throughout the year is the big question.

Something unique occurred July 23rd, just three days ago. Three massive earthquakes – 7.3, 7.6 and 7.4 – struck the Philippines in rapid succession, like seismic gunfire. Numerous other quakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 6.5 then hit the same area.

The good news – which is probably why this hasn't been reported on at length – is that these quakes occurred deeply and just off-shore. Had they erupted near the surface instead of 380 miles deep, we could have seen large tsunamis – especially with three events ripping so closely together. All struck within 67 short minutes."

‘Minority Report’ technology used by police to predict crimes - Telegraph

‘Minority Report’ technology used by police to predict crimes - Telegraph: "Software that can predict when and where future violent crimes will be committed is being used in Britain for the first time."

Pentagon Pushes for Near-Perfect Regenerative Medicine | Danger Room | Wired.com

Pentagon Pushes for Near-Perfect Regenerative Medicine | Danger Room | Wired.com: "Military-funded research is already behind some of the most cutting-edge regenerative science. Extreme projects, like bone-fusing cement and muscle-growing cell scaffolds, are rolling into human trials thanks to a $12 million Pentagon grant earlier this year, and Darpa-funded scientists have made rapid strides toward regrowing human limbs."

Scientists confirm role for mysterious cell component -- the nucleolinus

Scientists confirm role for mysterious cell component -- the nucleolinus: "The nucleolinus is a structure observed in the nucleus of many cells, including invertebrate egg cells and some mammalian cells. While it was discovered more than 150 years ago, and other scientists have proposed that is involved in cell division, difficulties in visualizing the nucleolinus inside most cells have kept that hypothesis dormant."

Triple-slit experiment confirms reality is quantum - physics-math - 22 July 2010 - New Scientist

Triple-slit experiment confirms reality is quantum - physics-math - 22 July 2010 - New Scientist: "It is one of the all-time greatest physics experiments: such a classic that it's taken a century to go one better.

In the double-slit experiment of 1908, a photon fired at a pair of slits passed through both simultaneously and interfered with itself. This surprising effect provided one of the first clues to the weird world of quantum mechanics.

Now precise measurements have been made on a version with three slits – and they again confirm the predictions of quantum mechanics."

Contactless technology waves goodbye to cash

Contactless technology waves goodbye to cash: "Contactless payment technology continues to develop; it is a hot topic of discussion as Barclaycard rolls out an update to its TV advert demonstrating the ease of contactless technology – but will its implementation become a rollercoaster ride for retailers and will hard currency become harder to find in the future?"

Report: United States Is Vulnerable to Nuclear Attack

Report: United States Is Vulnerable to Nuclear Attack: "(July 22) -- The threat of an all-out nuclear exchange between Russia and the United States may be less than it was during the Cold War, but defense experts say decades-long efforts to avoid a possible Armageddon have had a downside: The United States is now woefully unprepared for any kind of nuclear attack."

Doomsday scenarios: is humanity prepared for the worst? | Science | The Observer

Doomsday scenarios: is humanity prepared for the worst? | Science | The Observer: "Designer viruses, potent new weapons, hurtling asteroids... all have the potential to obliterate humanity. So how do scientists plan for such catastrophes?"

BBC News - LHC closes in on massive particle

BBC News - LHC closes in on massive particle: "Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have seen several candidates for the heaviest elementary particle known to science. If the observations are confirmed, it would be a first for Europe; so far, the top quark particle has only been generated by one lab in the US."

Quantum time machine 'allows paradox-free time travel' - Telegraph

Quantum time machine 'allows paradox-free time travel' - Telegraph: "Quantum physicists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believe it is possible to create a time machine which could affect the past without creating a 'grandfather paradox'."

Wal-Mart to Put Radio Tags on Clothes - WSJ.com

Wal-Mart to Put Radio Tags on Clothes - WSJ.com: "Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to roll out sophisticated electronic ID tags to track individual pairs of jeans and underwear, the first step in a system that advocates say better controls inventory but some critics say raises privacy concerns."

Researchers confirm subsea Gulf oil plumes are from BP well | McClatchy

Researchers confirm subsea Gulf oil plumes are from BP well | McClatchy: "'What we have learned completely changes the idea of what an oil spill is,' said chemical oceanographer David Hollander, one of three USF researchers credited with the matching samples of oil taken from the water with samples from the BP well. 'It has gone from a two-dimensional disaster to a three-dimensional catastrophe.'"

YouTube - transhumanism

YouTube - transhumanism: "A brief critical analysis of the transhumanist movement. Posthuman utopia, or the ultimate scientific dictatorship?"

Planet of the Apes Theory (Revised): "Is Intelligence Inevitable in the Universe?"

Planet of the Apes Theory (Revised): "Is Intelligence Inevitable in the Universe?": "If we should discover an alien civilization that was based on science, it would be strong evidence that there are universal laws of social and intellectual organization just as there are universal laws of physics. That given a race with the biological trait of curiosity, that science is inevitable. Or is it?"

The Jubilee Centre - Enhancing humans or a new creation?

The Jubilee Centre - Enhancing humans or a new creation?: "Transhumanism views humanity as an evolving phenomenon during which humans have developed consciousness and skill in technology. The next step in evolution is in our hands – to move beyond unguided evolution and use our technology in radical ways for self-enhancement: ‘It is not our human shape or the details of our current human biology that define what is valuable about us, but rather our aspirations and ideals, our experiences, and the kinds of lives we lead.’"

Censored Gulf news: People bleeding internally, millions poisoned says 'EPA whistleblower'

Censored Gulf news: People bleeding internally, millions poisoned says 'EPA whistleblower': "..we have dolphins that are hemorrhaging. People who work near it are hemorrhaging internally. And that’s what dispersants are supposed to do... Congressman Markey and Nadler, as well as Senator Mikulski, have been heroes... Mark Kaufman, EPA whistleblower, Democracy Now!"

Chaos theory and divine action | Mark Vernon | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Chaos theory and divine action | Mark Vernon | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "Whether or not science can explain everything is a question that was never far from the minds of a large group of theologians and scientists who met in Oxford last week. They'd assembled to celebrate the 80th birthday of John Polkinghorne, the professor of mathematical physics who made his name for his work on quarks, now an Anglican priest, and author of many books on science and religion. Moreover, it turns out that the question of science's limitations is intimately linked to Polkinghorne's much misunderstood account of God's action in the world."

DNA factory builds up steam : Nature News

DNA factory builds up steam : Nature News: "First reliable components for synthetic biology could be available by the end of the year. Six months since it launched, the world's first factory for making professional-quality biological DNA 'parts' is beginning to stock its shelves."

What is Transhumanism? Transhumanist FAQ

Humanity � Transhumanist FAQ

Get up to speed with the issues and questions of H+

Report Blasts Military For Not Being Nuke-Proof | Danger Room | Wired.com

Report Blasts Military For Not Being Nuke-Proof | Danger Room | Wired.com: "If, by some chance, you end up surviving the nuclear apocalypse, don’t count on the U.S. military to be around to help you rebuild. Or don’t expect all its fancy electronics and communications equipment to work, at least.

That’s the strongly worded, rather ominous assessment from a joint Defense Science Board/ Threat Reduction Advisory Committee Task Force, which warns in a recent report that the military needs to wake up to its vulnerability to nuclear attack."

Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology: Dim All The Lights: UFOs and Blackouts

Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology: Dim All The Lights: UFOs and Blackouts: "Summer can be the cruelest season when the mercury soars past the hundred degree mark and the nights are almost just as hot. Without an electric fan or air conditioner, sleep can be reduced to an incessant tossing and turning. The Spanish town of Bollullos (Huelva) was certainly a perfect example of this unrelenting heat in the month of July 1975, when what little relief offered by mechanical cooling devices was interrupted by a sudden, unexpected blackout."

Introducing Cornucopia, the food printer

Introducing Cornucopia, the food printer: "(PhysOrg.com) -- US scientists have introduced a concept design of the 'Cornucopia' or Digital Fabricator, a 'personal food factory' able to print food from specified ingredients, with no waste at the point of cooking."

Every black hole may hold a hidden universe - space - 23 July 2010 - New Scientist

Every black hole may hold a hidden universe - space - 23 July 2010 - New Scientist: "WE COULD be living inside a black hole. This head-spinning idea is one cosmologist's conclusion based on a modification of Einstein's equations of general relativity that changes our picture of what happens at the core of a black hole.

In an analysis of the motion of particles entering a black hole, published in March, Nikodem Poplawski of Indiana University in Bloomington showed that inside each black hole there could exist another universe (Physics Letters B, DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2010.03.029). 'Maybe the huge black holes at the centre of the Milky Way and other galaxies are bridges to different universes,' Poplawski says. If that is correct - and it's a big 'if' - there is nothing to rule out our universe itself being inside a black hole."

The Dulce Interview: Retired USAF Colonel Confirms Secret Military Installation at Dulce

The Dulce Interview: Retired USAF Colonel Confirms Secret Military Installation at Dulce: "This interview was held at a private residence in Placer County, CA. on January 6th, 2010 conducted by researcher Anthony F. Sanchez, with a retired USAF Colonel to recall the events surrounding a classified 1979 incident which took place at Dulce, NM. This includes details involving (Colonel X) who was assigned to Dulce as part of a special Medical Detachment where he learned the history and circumstances surrounding the 1940 Dulce Discovery event; a harrowing event, as claimed by the Colonel, filled with many intriguing details, which have never been revealed to the public before."

Nanotech coatings offer possibility of ‘brown’ electricity from sewage

Nanotech coatings offer possibility of ‘brown’ electricity from sewage: "While much of the focus on renewable electricity production focuses on green alternatives, a team of engineers at Oregon State University is looking at ways to improve electricity production from a “brown” source – namely sewage. The engineers found that using new coatings on the anodes of microbial electrochemical cells they were able to increase the electricity production from sewage about 20 times."

NASA telescope finds elusive buckyballs in space for first time

NASA telescope finds elusive buckyballs in space for first time: "ScienceDaily (July 23, 2010) — Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered carbon molecules, known as 'buckyballs,' in space for the first time. Buckyballs are soccer-ball-shaped molecules that were first observed in a laboratory 25 years ago."

Evidence of water in lunar rocks: Water on moon may be widespread, similar to Earth's

Evidence of water in lunar rocks: Water on moon may be widespread, similar to Earth's: "ScienceDaily (July 22, 2010) — That dry, dusty moon overhead? Seems it isn't quite as dry as it's long been thought to be. Although you won't find oceans, lakes, or even a shallow puddle on its surface, a team of geologists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), working with colleagues at the University of Tennessee, has found structurally bound hydroxyl groups (i.e., water) in a mineral in a lunar rock returned to Earth by the Apollo program."

CNSNews.com - White House Backs Bill to Collect Employee Pay Information from Businesses

CNSNews.com - White House Backs Bill to Collect Employee Pay Information from Businesses: "(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration is backing legislation that includes regulations requiring U.S. businesses to provide to the government data about employee pay as it relates to the sex, race and national origin of employees. In an orchestrated effort that included a statement by President Barack Obama and an event at the White House featuring Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, the president and his cabinet endorsed the Paycheck Fairness Act."

Scalar Wars - Weaponization

Scalar Wars - Weaponization: "Warfare has been changed forever by the development of these scalar energy longitudinal wave howitzers. To get a basic understanding of scalar waves is to have the imagination suddenly run wild as all the implications and possibilities regarding warfare fall into place. One realizes with a certain horror that the world has totally changed, and that there are some very fearsome possibilities. Remember, the power for these weapons comes from the time domain, longitudinal EM waves in the vacuum of empty space, and the power is tremendous and mind-boggling. Being able to blast away at any target from a distant control booth is something that has never happened before. This is incredible power to be in control of and it divides the history of weaponry into 'before' and 'after.' And the destructive power of these weapons is delivered instantaneously to the target from the local vacuum at the place of the target."

Scientists invent invisibility cloak made of glass | Mail Online

Scientists invent invisibility cloak made of glass | Mail Online: "It sounds like a far-fetched invention from science-fiction or fairytales. But US scientists have developed a working invisibility cloak made from small particles of glass. When light hits an object, it bounces off the surface and into the naked eye, making it visible."

Stonehenge's wooden 'lost twin' discovered - Channel 4 News

Stonehenge's wooden 'lost twin' discovered - Channel 4 News: "Archaeologists studying the land around Stonehenge in Wiltshire have discovered the remains of another monument, being dubbed the structure's 'lost twin.'"

YouTube - The insider: chemtrails KC-10 sprayer air to air - The proof ====✈

YouTube - The insider: chemtrails KC-10 sprayer air to air - The proof ====✈: "A pilot shots a chemical plane from his cockpit: the video shows an aircraft that spread chemtrails over Canada from the nozzles. The footage is the irrefutable proof of a chemical and clandestine operation that a bold pilot offers to the public in order to demonstrate that chemtrails are real. The 'smoke' we can see is neither a fuel dumping nor a contrail. The chemtrails, in fact, is iridescent too."

Creepy ‘Human Fish’ Can Live 100 Years | Wired Science | Wired.com

Creepy ‘Human Fish’ Can Live 100 Years | Wired Science | Wired.com: "The olm, a foot-long salamander nicknamed “the human fish” because of its fleshy skin and tubular shape, is certainly a strange-looking animal. But beneath the surface, they’re even weirder: Olms can live for 100 years, far longer than any other amphibian. Scientists have no idea why."

The Web Means the End of Forgetting - NYTimes.com

The Web Means the End of Forgetting - NYTimes.com: "All around the world, political leaders, scholars and citizens are searching for responses to the challenge of preserving control of our identities in a digital world that never forgets. Are the most promising solutions going to be technological? Legislative? Judicial? Ethical? A result of shifting social norms and cultural expectations? Or some mix of the above?"

"Did We Inherit Time from an Earlier Universe?" (VIDEO)

"Did We Inherit Time from an Earlier Universe?" (VIDEO): "A world-class team of physicists studying the cosmic microwave background (CMB), light emitted when the Universe was just 400,000 years old have claimed that our view of the early Universe may contain the signature of a time before the Big Bang. Their discovery may help explain why we experience time moving in a straight line from yesterday into tomorrow."

Scroll down in the article for video link.

Do we have an alien-contact contingency plan? - By Juliet Lapidos - Slate Magazine

Do we have an alien-contact contingency plan? - By Juliet Lapidos - Slate Magazine: "The Chinese government has promised to investigate the unidentified flying object that forced Xiaoshan Airport to delay 18 flights last week. Tabloids rushed to cover the incident, with the U.K. Sun making a gratuitous 'alien craft' reference, and video footage on YouTube led to numerous comments regarding the existence of extraterrestrial life. What if aliens were to make contact—do we have an E.T. contingency plan?"

The real science of dream research - Technology & science - Science - msnbc.com

The real science of dream research - Technology & science - Science - msnbc.com: "Movie director Chris Nolan is famous for his unorthodox spin on thrillers ranging from “Memento” and “The Prestige” to “The Dark Knight.” Nolan’s latest movie, “Inception,” takes viewers on a sci-fi trip to a novel frontier: the visions of the sleeping mind. The cerebral adventure introduces the concept of “extraction,” where corporate thieves enter people's dreams and steal their ideas. Master extractor Dom Cobb – played by Leonardo DiCaprio, shown here with Nolan on a movie set – is given the task of planting a dream instead."

Inside 'Inception': Could Christopher Nolan's Dream World Exist in Real Life? - ABC News

Inside 'Inception': Could Christopher Nolan's Dream World Exist in Real Life? - ABC News: "The premise put forth in 'Inception' seems fantastical, other-worldly, something out of Big Brother -- the idea that someone can penetrate another's subconscious to extract information or plant an idea. But according to experts versed in the science of dreaming, the notion is closer to reality than sci-fi."

Inception: peering into the science of dreams

CultureLab: Inception: peering into the science of dreams: "Is it possible to directly access someone's dreaming mind?

In the movie, the dream-snatchers use a drug called somnacin and a dream machine to upload a scenario into someone's sleeping mind. One or more of them then go to sleep themselves, hooked up to the machine, and enter the target's dream.

This fictional dream machine is called a Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous (PASIV) Device.

A device does already exist that can effectively read someone's mind. A functional MRI scanner takes snapshots of brain activity, and then the software recreates images of what the subject was looking at.

The researchers say it has the potential one day be able to record someone's dream - without the mess and danger (or the fun) of actually sharing that dream."

Books on Science - When the Day After Tomorrow Has Come - NYTimes.com

Books on Science - When the Day After Tomorrow Has Come - NYTimes.com: "Geoengineering is generally defined as the application of engineering techniques to alter the planet as a whole. As far as climate is concerned proposals fall into two groups.

The first involves removing carbon from the atmosphere by, say, fertilizing oceans with iron, to encourage the growth of plankton or algae. In theory, the plankton would absorb the carbon and, when they die, take it with them as they sink to the ocean floor. (As Mr. Kintisch relates, private groups have already experimented with this technique, in hopes of eventually selling credits to buyers eager to offset carbon emissions.)

The second approach involves reflecting solar radiation back into space by, say, spraying sulfate aerosols into the atmosphere to make the Earth, in effect, shinier."

An evil atmosphere is forming around geoengineering - opinion - 21 July 2010 - New Scientist

An evil atmosphere is forming around geoengineering - opinion - 21 July 2010 - New Scientist: "Now a powerful group of scientists, venture capitalists and conservative think tanks is coalescing around the idea of reproducing this cooling effect by injecting sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere to counter climate change. Despite the enormity of what is being proposed - nothing less than seizing control of the climate - the public has been almost entirely excluded from the planning.

Up to now, governments have been reluctant to talk about geoengineering. The reason is simple: apart from its unknown side effects, it would weaken resolve to reduce emissions."

Computer program translates ancient language | Mail Online

Computer program translates ancient language | Mail Online: "Scientists have used a computer program to decipher a written language that is more than three thousand years old.

The program automatically translated the ancient written language of Ugaritic within just a few hours.

Scientists hope the breakthrough could help them decipher the few ancient languages that they have been unable to translate so far.

Ugaritic was last used around 1200 B.C. in western Syria and consists of dots on clay tablets. It was first discovered in 1920 but was not deciphered until 1932."

When E.T. Phones the Pope - washingtonpost.com

Marc Kaufman -- The religious questions raised by aliens - washingtonpost.com: "The Catholic Church isn't the only institution preparing itself for what could be a world-changing event. For instance, NASA's National Astrobiology Institute, established in 1998, sponsored a meeting of scientists, ethicists, religious leaders and philosophers in February to brainstorm about the societal implications of astrobiology, and it is preparing a semiofficial 'road map' of sensitive issues we'd need to address should the presence of life elsewhere be established."

Nasa telescope spots 25,000 new asteroids in just six months | Mail Online

Nasa telescope spots 25,000 new asteroids in just six months | Mail Online: "More than 25,000 new asteroids have been discovered in just six months by Nasa’s newest space telescope.

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has discovered 95 of these asteroids are classified as ‘near-Earth' objects, meaning roughly 30 million miles from the planet.

WISE completed its first survey of the entire sky on Saturday and has generated more than one million images so far, of everything from asteroids to distant galaxies."

Robot surgeons to be used to carry out operations on patients without human assistance | Mail Online

Robot surgeons to be used to carry out operations on patients without human assistance | Mail Online: "Robot surgeons that can operate without human assistance may one day be able carry out routine procedures on real patients.

Research in the US has shown that a robot can locate and operate on a human organ and even take samples – all without a surgeon’s intervention."

BBC News - Astronomers detect 'monster star'

BBC News - Astronomers detect 'monster star': "They are among the true monsters of space - colossal stars whose size and brightness go well beyond what many scientists thought was even possible."

The Lifeboat Foundation: Battling Asteroids, Nanobots and A.I. - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

The Lifeboat Foundation: Battling Asteroids, Nanobots and A.I. - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com: "Do antimatter fears keep you up at night? Has your day been ruined by worries about black holes? Are you paralyzed by the oncoming threat of ecophages and nonreplicating nanoweapons?

Then, the Lifeboat Foundation is the organization for you.

The Lifeboat Foundation is a nonprofit that seeks to protect people from some seriously catastrophic technology-related events. It funds research that would prevent a situation where technology has run amok, sort of like a pre-Fringe Unit."

Using Supermassive Black Holes as Cosmic Telescopes to Explore the Universe

Using Supermassive Black Holes as Cosmic Telescopes to Explore the Universe: "Gravitational lenses are common throughout the universe. They are caused by massive objects such as stars or galaxies such as Einstein's Cross shown above that bend rays of light passing nearby. If these objects are between the earth and a more distant light source, the light will therefore be brighter and easier to observe, but also very distorted. If the alignment of the various stellar bodies is almost perfect, the image of the source will be multiplied."

Developers Say Lunar Elevator Could be Built Within a Decade | Universe Today

Developers Say Lunar Elevator Could be Built Within a Decade | Universe Today: "The idea of a space elevator has been around since the late 1800's, but despite big dreams and years of research, the low-cost, easy access to orbit that a space elevator promises is likely still decades away. The biggest problem rests on the fact that no one has been able to successfully manufacture long ribbons made of ultra-light, ultra-strong carbon nanotubes, the only known material that is strong enough for a space elevator. But entrepreneur Michael Laine believes a lunar elevator – a space elevator from the surface of the Moon – could be created with materials that are available now. With more research and the right amount of capital, Laine says a lunar elevator could be built within a decade."

Physicists Tame Time Travel by Forbidding You to Kill Your Grandfather | Wired Science | Wired.com

Physicists Tame Time Travel by Forbidding You to Kill Your Grandfather | Wired Science | Wired.com: "Novelists and screenwriters know that time travel can be accomplished in all sorts of ways: A supercharged DeLorean, Hermione’s small watch and, most recently, a spacetime-bending hot tub have allowed fictional heroes to jump between past and future.

But physicists know that time travel is more than just a compelling plot device — it’s a serious prediction of Einstein’s general relativity equations. In a new study posted online July 15, researchers led by Seth Lloyd at MIT analyze how some of the quirks and peculiarities of real-life time travel might play out. This particular kind of time travel evades some of its most paradoxical predictions, Lloyd says.

Any theory of time travel has to confront the devastating “grandfather paradox,” in which a traveler jumps back in time and kills his grandfather, which prevents his own existence, which then prevents the murder in the first place, and so on."

The Interplanetary Internet: Towards a Matrioshka Brain? | h Magazine

The Interplanetary Internet: Towards a Matrioshka Brain? | h Magazine: "In 2008, NASA quietly announced the first successful test of a deep space communications network modeled on the Internet. The new software protocol was jointly developed with Google’s Vint Cerf and is being deployed on the International Space Station as a first step in what could become an Interplanetary Internet. The software protocol is an attempt to deal with the variable delays and intermittent connectivity of transmitting information through space. If you think you’ve got problems today connecting to the Internet from your smart phone or home wireless network, imagine that magnified a 1,000,000-fold when information is being shared between the Earth’s Moon, Mars, and beyond."

The Search for Galactic Time Bombs: Future "Hypernovas" - The Most Violent Objects in the Universe

The Search for Galactic Time Bombs: Future "Hypernovas" - The Most Violent Objects in the Universe: "Many astronomers today believe that one of the most plausible reasons we have yet to detect intelligent life in the universe is due to the deadly effects of local supernova explosions that wipe out all life in a given region of a galaxy."

BBC News - Russia to kick off construction of a new spaceport

BBC News - Russia to kick off construction of a new spaceport: "Russia will invest US $800m into a new spaceport in the country's Far East, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has announced.

The move is meant to ease the dependence on the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan, built during the Soviet-era.

The future cosmodrome will be built near the town of Uglegorsk in the Far Eastern Amur region, close to the border with China.

It is planned to be mostly used for civilian launches and should be operational by 2015."

The Transformation of American Warfare: Fighting Wars with Robots - BlackListed News

The Transformation of American Warfare: Fighting Wars with Robots - BlackListed News: "The Pentagon is rapidly improving its ability to fight wars with robots. This capability is “bringing about the most profound transformation of warfare since the advent of the atom bomb,” says Scientific American, and raises “a host of ethical and legal issues.”

“Robots are pouring onto battlefields as if a new species of mechanotronic alien had just landed on our planet,” the publication says in an editorial on their development in its July issue. “The prospect of androids that hunt down and kill on their own accord (shades of Terminator) should give us all pause. An automatic pilot that makes its own calls about whom to shoot violates the ‘human’ part of international humanitarian law, the one that recognizes that some weapons are so abhorrent that they just should be eliminated.”

Since 2003, 7,000 unmanned aircraft and 12,000 ground vehicles have entered the U.S. military inventory, “entrusted with missions that range from seeking out snipers to bombing the hideouts of al-Qaeda higher-ups in Pakistan,” writes P.W. Singer in an accompanying article titled “War of The Machines.”"

In-Helmet Social Networking: Influential Ex-General’s Vision of Future War | Danger Room | Wired.com

In-Helmet Social Networking: Influential Ex-General’s Vision of Future War | Danger Room | Wired.com: "In the near future, infantrymen will be selected by psychologists, train like football teams and tap online social networks of military experts as they enter a war-zone village. The soldiers will rely on overseas translators to talk to the locals, drive all-electric vehicles and have their vital signs constantly monitored by their superiors. And thanks to new “weapons and sensing technologies and the creation of hyper-performing small units,” a small handful of troops will be able to control vast swaths of territory and influence large populations.

That’s the future, at least, as sketched out for Gen. James Mattis, the nominee to take over U.S. Central Command, by retired Maj. Gen.Robert Scales, a well-known military futurist. Earlier this year, Scales and Mattis were sharing ideas about the next generation of small units — something the two iconoclastic senior officers have done repeatedly over the last six years."

The Active Denial System: the weapon that's a hot topic - Telegraph

The Active Denial System: the weapon that's a hot topic - Telegraph: "'It was as if some invisible jet impinged upon them… I saw them staggering and falling, and their supporters turning to run.” Since the first appearance of the “heat-ray” in H G Wells’s The War of the Worlds, ray guns have been a staple feature of science fiction: the classic sign of overwhelming technological superiority. But they are no longer fiction. Last month, Lt Col John Dorrian admitted that the US military’s brand-new Active Denial System (ADS) had been shipped to Afghanistan, the first time it has been present in an active theatre of war. According to the top brass, it is a “non-lethal, directed-energy, counter-personnel weapon”. Among the troops, however, its favoured description is rather shorter: “the pain ray”."

Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation - America.gov

Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation - America.gov: "Conspiracy theories exist in the realm of myth, where imaginations run wild, fears trump facts, and evidence is ignored. As a superpower, the United States is often cast as a villain in these dramas."

Posted for the U.S. Government's side of things...

Nasa 'elated' after new telescope uncovers 'previously invisible space objects' - Telegraph

Nasa 'elated' after new telescope uncovers 'previously invisible space objects' - Telegraph: "In what has left scientists at the space agency “elated”, the $320m sky-mapping spacecraft has for the first time identified previously thousands of unseen space objects including stars, asteroids, dust clouds, comets and even a new galaxy."

Stephen Hawking: "Time Travel to the Future is Possible"

Stephen Hawking: "Time Travel to the Future is Possible": "'I do believe in time travel. Time travel to the future. Time flows like a river and it seems as if each of us is carried relentlessly along by time's current. But time is like a river in another way. It flows at diff erent speeds in diff erent places and that is the key to travelling into the future. This idea was first proposed by Albert Einstein over 100 years ago.'

Life in the Universe: "It May Not Even Have a Genetic Code"

Life in the Universe: "It May Not Even Have a Genetic Code": "The search for life should not and cannot be limited to the search for Earth-like features. This cosmic view of the diverse nature of extraterrestrial life, is a revolutionary perspective which has the potential to make a great impact on our way of thinking as profound as the Copernican revolution.

We should be careful if we ever happen upon extraterrestrial life, Hawking warns. Alien life may not have DNA like ours: 'Watch out if you would meet an alien. You could be infected with a disease with which you have no resistance.'"

What's Pushing Our Universe Apart, Faster and Faster, with Each Passing Moment: The Debate Heats Up!

What's Pushing Our Universe Apart, Faster and Faster, with Each Passing Moment: The Debate Heats Up!: "Through observations of massive galaxy clusters, scientists have made the most precise measurements to date of the effects of dark energy and gravity on cosmological scales. This work is an important step toward understanding why the expansion of the universe is accelerating.

Something is pushing our universe apart, faster and faster, with each passing moment, and future work using similar methods should determine whether that something is dark energy or a change in the way gravity works on cosmological scales. While the microwave background presumably originated 380,000 years after the Big Bang, gravitational wave background comes directly from events in the first minute after the Big Bang. The Big Bang is believed to have created a flood of gravitational waves; ripples in the fabric of space-time. These gravitational waves should still fill the universe. However, presumably they are at a very feeble strength and cannot be detected by conventional astronomical tools. Nevertheless, they should carry information about the universe as it was in the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang. If these waves cannot be detected, this challenges the Big Bang."

Bug Spy is the Next Big DARPA Project

Bug Spy is the Next Big DARPA Project: "As unreal as it sounds, according to the blog “Space War,” the U.S. government is now trying to create an army of insect cyborgs. The blog states that the government plans to insert tiny cameras and sensors into these insects that would allow technicians to control their movement and collect important data such as video and sensory data."

Self-Sustaining Robot Equipped with New Artificial Gut Eats, and Excretes, All By Itself | Popular Science

Self-Sustaining Robot Equipped with New Artificial Gut Eats, and Excretes, All By Itself | Popular Science: "In order to create truly autonomous robots that can sustain themselves without human intervention, it's necessary to first create a way for them to fuel themselves. While engineering our 'bots to plug themselves into the wall is one solution, robotics researchers envision the androids of the future consuming waste and biomass to generate power to operate. To that end, researchers at Bristol Robotics Lab in the UK have created the first synthetic gut for use in self-sustaining robots.
Biomass-munching robots aren't new in concept -- many have been demonstrated in the past, relying on microbial fuel cells to turn organic matter into hydrogen atoms that can fuel a machine -- but the synthetic gut is the first to deal with the waste produced during this process. Bristol's Ecobot III consumes its own meals, turns a mash of nutrient-rich, partially processed sewage into fuel, and later, ahem, excretes."

Should We Clone Neanderthals?

Should We Clone Neanderthals?: "If Neanderthals ever walk the earth again, the primordial ooze from which they will rise is an emulsion of oil, water, and DNA capture beads engineered in the laboratory of 454 Life Sciences in Branford, Connecticut. Over the past 4 years those beads have been gathering tiny fragments of DNA from samples of dissolved organic materials, including pieces of Neanderthal bone. Genetic sequences have given paleoanthropologists a new line of evidence for testing ideas about the biology of our closest extinct relative."

Or what about those GIANT skeletons that are occasionally found...i.e. the Nephilim...

Artificial Cells Developed: Communicate and Cooperate Like Biological Cells

Artificial Cells Developed: Communicate and Cooperate Like Biological Cells: "A team of engineers at the University of Pittsburgh have published computational models that provide a blueprint for developing artificial cells—or microcapsules—that can communicate, move independently, and transport 'cargo' such as chemicals needed for reactions. Most importantly, the 'biologically inspired' devices function entirely through simple physical and chemical processes, behaving like complex natural organisms but without the complicated internal biochemistry.

The engineers have designed artificial cells capable of self-organizing into independent groups that can communicate and cooperate. The research �is a significant step toward producing synthetic cells that behave like natural organisms and could perform important, microscale functions in fields ranging from the chemical industry to medicine.�"

Earthfiles.com Environment | New Hangzhou UFO Photo and Xiaoshan Airport Staff Interview

Earthfiles.com Environment | New Hangzhou UFO Photo and Xiaoshan Airport Staff Interview: "“There was an unknown object seen in the skies over the airport. So, according to our regulations, we had to close the airspace. Aircraft movements were suspended from 8:45 PM to 9:45 PM (on July 7, 2010).” - Ruan Zhouchang, Spokesperson, Xiaoshan Airport, Hangzhou, China"

BBC News - Anti-aircraft laser unveiled at Farnborough Airshow

BBC News - Anti-aircraft laser unveiled at Farnborough Airshow: "The Laser Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) can either be used on its own or alongside a gunnery system.

In May, the laser was used to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a series of tests.

Raytheon said the solid state fibre laser produces a 50 kilowatt beam and can be used against UAV, mortar, rockets and small surface ships.

The idea of using lasers as weapons has been around almost as long as the laser itself, invented in 1960."

BBC News - Vaccine patch may replace needles

BBC News - Vaccine patch may replace needles: "A vaccine patch could cut out the need for painful needles and boost the effectiveness of immunisation against diseases like flu, say US researchers."

China has become fertile ground for UFO conspiracy theories – Telegraph Blogs

China has become fertile ground for UFO conspiracy theories – Telegraph Blogs: "Last week a Chinese airport was temporarily closed, and flights suspended and diverted, because of a UFO. A number of people had apparently seen a white glowing object proceeding rapidly across the evening skies over Xiaoshan, near Hangzhou in Eastern China. Panic broke out – and the authorities decided to close the airport just in case."

A triangular craft seen over Belgium during the 1990s