Pear-Shaped UFO Sighted in Scotland: "Scotland. Known for medieval castles, highlands, islands, clans, kilts and one large lake where a legendary beastie, the Loch Ness Monster, allegedly resides.
But for decades, Scotland has also been home to another mystery yet to be resolved: UFOs."
Friday, January 21, 2011
Call to ban pesticides linked to bee deaths worldwide | Mail Online
Call to ban pesticides linked to bee deaths worldwide | Mail Online: "A new generation of pesticides could be to blame for Britain's vanishing honeybees, a study has shown.
The chemicals, which are routinely used on farms and garden centres, attack the central systems of insects and make bee colonies more vulnerable to disease and pests, researchers say.
The claims, which appear in an unpublished study carried out at the US Department of Agriculture's Bee Research Laboratory, add to the evidence that pesticides are partly responsible for the mysterious decline of one of the world's best loved insects."
The chemicals, which are routinely used on farms and garden centres, attack the central systems of insects and make bee colonies more vulnerable to disease and pests, researchers say.
The claims, which appear in an unpublished study carried out at the US Department of Agriculture's Bee Research Laboratory, add to the evidence that pesticides are partly responsible for the mysterious decline of one of the world's best loved insects."
Best pictures of our solar system taken from space | Mail Online
Best pictures of our solar system taken from space | Mail Online: "Ever wondered what the sun setting on Mars looks like?
These stunning and inspiring images reveal the secrets of our solar system and were all taken by space probes launched by Nasa and the European Space Agency in the past five years.
They were released by the Royal Observatory in London to encourage entries for its Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2011 competition."
These stunning and inspiring images reveal the secrets of our solar system and were all taken by space probes launched by Nasa and the European Space Agency in the past five years.
They were released by the Royal Observatory in London to encourage entries for its Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2011 competition."
ONE STEP CLOSER TO SINGULARITY -- Super-fast quantum computers could soon be a reality after scientists make silicon breakthrough | Mail Online
The achievement in silicon - the basis of the computer chip - has important implications for integration with existing technology, according to a multi-national team of researchers.
The Scientists, from Britain, Japan, Canada and Germany, believe that super-fast quantum computers, based on quantum bits - or qubits - will be able to test many possible solutions to a problem at once.
Conventional computers based on binary 'switches', or bits, can only do one thing at a time.
Dr John Morton, of Oxford University, said: 'Creating ten billion entangled pairs in silicon with high fidelity is an important step forward for us.
'We now need to deal with the challenge of coupling these pairs together to build a scalable quantum computer in silicon.'"
Two Suns? Twin Stars Could Be Visible From Earth By 2012
Two Suns? Twin Stars Could Be Visible From Earth By 2012: "Earth could be getting a second sun, at least temporarily.
Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, outlined the scenario to news.com.au. Betelgeuse, one of the night sky's brightest stars, is losing mass, indicating it is collapsing. It could run out of fuel and go super-nova at any time.
When that happens, for at least a few weeks, we'd see a second sun, Carter says. There may also be no night during that timeframe.
The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says... or it could take longer. The explosion could also cause a neutron star or result in the formation of a black hole 1300 light years from Earth, reports news.com.au."
Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, outlined the scenario to news.com.au. Betelgeuse, one of the night sky's brightest stars, is losing mass, indicating it is collapsing. It could run out of fuel and go super-nova at any time.
When that happens, for at least a few weeks, we'd see a second sun, Carter says. There may also be no night during that timeframe.
The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says... or it could take longer. The explosion could also cause a neutron star or result in the formation of a black hole 1300 light years from Earth, reports news.com.au."
Secret payload launched on largest West Coast rocket | Reuters
Secret payload launched on largest West Coast rocket | Reuters: "The Delta IV Heavy rocket stood 23 stories tall, and its engines produced 2 million pounds of thrust, according to the 30th Space Wing of the U.S. Air Force.
Blasting off at 1:10 p.m. Pacific time from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg in California, the rocket carried a payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, military officials said. The nature of the payload was secret.
But the Los Angeles Times cited analysts who said it was a spy satellite, capable of snapping pictures detailed enough to distinguish the model of a car hundreds of miles below."
Blasting off at 1:10 p.m. Pacific time from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg in California, the rocket carried a payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, military officials said. The nature of the payload was secret.
But the Los Angeles Times cited analysts who said it was a spy satellite, capable of snapping pictures detailed enough to distinguish the model of a car hundreds of miles below."
Reverence for the Heavens: How Astronomy & Religion Intersect | Science & Universe, Christianity & Spirtuality | Space.com
Reverence for the Heavens: How Astronomy & Religion Intersect | Science & Universe, Christianity & Spirtuality | Space.com: "Our sun is just one small point of light in the swirl of suns that shape the disk of the Milky Way.
The galaxy's hundreds of billions of stars are strewn so widely apart, it would take a spaceship traveling at the speed of light one hundred thousand years to travel the distance. The starry wheel of the galaxy turns around a massive black hole, a point of infinite density with gravity so complete that not even light can escape.
The structure and scale of our galaxy is astonishing. But ours is just one among hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe.
Little wonder, then, that the contemplation of the cosmos can evoke the same emotions as religious awe and reverence."
The galaxy's hundreds of billions of stars are strewn so widely apart, it would take a spaceship traveling at the speed of light one hundred thousand years to travel the distance. The starry wheel of the galaxy turns around a massive black hole, a point of infinite density with gravity so complete that not even light can escape.
The structure and scale of our galaxy is astonishing. But ours is just one among hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe.
Little wonder, then, that the contemplation of the cosmos can evoke the same emotions as religious awe and reverence."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Yellowstone Has Bulged as Magma Pocket Swells
The simmering volcano has produced major eruptions—each a thousand times more powerful than Mount St. Helens's 1980 eruption—three times in the past 2.1 million years. Yellowstone's caldera, which covers a 25- by 37-mile (40- by 60-kilometer) swath of Wyoming, is an ancient crater formed after the last big blast, some 640,000 years ago.
(See 'When Yellowstone Explodes' in National Geographic magazine.)
Since then, about 30 smaller eruptions—including one as recent as 70,000 years ago—have filled the caldera with lava and ash, producing the relatively flat landscape we see today.
But beginning in 2004, scientists saw the ground above the caldera rise upward at rates as high as 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) a year. (Related: 'Yellowstone Is Rising on Swollen 'Supervolcano.'')
The rate slowed between 2007 and 2010 to a centimeter a year or less. Still, since the start of the swelling, ground levels over the volcano have been raised by as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) in places.
'It's an extraordinary uplift, because it covers such a large area and the rates are so high,' said the University of Utah's Bob Smith, a longtime expert in Yellowstone's volcanism."
Hundreds of Yankton, South Dakota birds poisoned by USDA - KTIV NewsChannel 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports
Hundreds of Yankton, South Dakota birds poisoned by USDA - KTIV NewsChannel 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports: "YANKTON, S.D. (KTIV) -- It's happened in places like Louisiana, Arkansas and Kentucky. Hundreds of birds mysteriously found dead.
Folks in Yankton, South Dakota, thought they were being added to the list after hundreds of dead birds were found there on Monday. Turns out the unpleasant feathered discovery has a solid explanation. They were poisoned.
Some had thought 200 Starlings found dead in Yankton's Riverside park had froze to death. But they were actually poisoned on purpose, by the US Department of Agriculture.
Many of the European Starlings discovered by a passerby, were laying on the ground or frozen in trees. Officials first thought the birds were late to migrate and froze to death during the recent cold spell.
But that theory changed after Yankton police received a phone call from a USDA official who said the birds had been poisoned."
Folks in Yankton, South Dakota, thought they were being added to the list after hundreds of dead birds were found there on Monday. Turns out the unpleasant feathered discovery has a solid explanation. They were poisoned.
Some had thought 200 Starlings found dead in Yankton's Riverside park had froze to death. But they were actually poisoned on purpose, by the US Department of Agriculture.
Many of the European Starlings discovered by a passerby, were laying on the ground or frozen in trees. Officials first thought the birds were late to migrate and froze to death during the recent cold spell.
But that theory changed after Yankton police received a phone call from a USDA official who said the birds had been poisoned."
REWIND -- Nasa warns solar flares from 'huge space storm' will cause devastation - Telegraph
Nasa warns solar flares from 'huge space storm' will cause devastation - Telegraph: "Britain could face widespread power blackouts and be left without critical communication signals for long periods of time, after the earth is hit by a once-in-a-generation “space storm”, Nasa has warned."
The robot armageddon is nigh! | memeburn
The robot armageddon is nigh! | memeburn: "Science fiction has long forewarned the rise of the machine and the ultimate end of humanity. It’s usually the realm of late night geek discussions, or perhaps lunatics wrapped snugly in straitjackets.
In the popular movie “Terminator” an artificial intelligence network called Skynet becomes self-aware and initiates a nuclear holocaust on mankind. “The Matrix” depicts a future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated virtual reality created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the human population, while body heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. We have become nothing more than a series of batteries for the machines.
It’s mostly considered future fantasy. Until now. Recent robotic developments have been giving me an eye-twitch. Herewith, some advancements in tech that point directly to robots becoming our overlords."
YouTube - Nasa Warns Of Super Solar Storm 2012
YouTube - Nasa Warns Of Super Solar Storm 2012: "Nasa says super solar storm coming in 2012. It could knock out all electricity on the planet!"
Augmented reality ads on the rise around Europe | Science & Technology | Deutsche Welle | 18.01.2011
Augmented reality ads on the rise around Europe | Science & Technology | Deutsche Welle | 18.01.2011: "On Tuesday, the American pop band Black Eyed Peas released a new ad campaign to help promote the band's latest hit single: 'The Time (Dirty Bit).'
In their recent music video, lead singer will.i.am points a Blackberry PlayBook at a billboard showing a videogame version of himself, and out pops a 3D hologram of the character who proceeds to monkey around the skyscraper.
What was a special effect in the music video became an iPhone app, which allows users to mimic this augmented reality experience.
'Technology has finally caught up with our imaginations,' wrote will.i.am on the band's website last year, when the song debuted. '[Our album] is symbolic of adopting these new technologies, such as augmented reality.'
Bringing the virtual world into the real world
This new ad campaign is just the latest example of augmented reality as a rising technological tool that takes the world and combines it with a layer of virtual information glued on top of it... "
In their recent music video, lead singer will.i.am points a Blackberry PlayBook at a billboard showing a videogame version of himself, and out pops a 3D hologram of the character who proceeds to monkey around the skyscraper.
What was a special effect in the music video became an iPhone app, which allows users to mimic this augmented reality experience.
'Technology has finally caught up with our imaginations,' wrote will.i.am on the band's website last year, when the song debuted. '[Our album] is symbolic of adopting these new technologies, such as augmented reality.'
Bringing the virtual world into the real world
This new ad campaign is just the latest example of augmented reality as a rising technological tool that takes the world and combines it with a layer of virtual information glued on top of it... "
German docs develop remote-control stomach submarine • The Register
German docs develop remote-control stomach submarine • The Register: "Boffins in Germany were chuffed indeed yesterday, as they announced successful trials of the latest medi-tech development: swallowable, remote controlled video-cam 'capsule' submarines, able to probe a patient's guts without the need for an intrusive umbilical cable running down the throat or up the bottom.
Thus far, docs needing a good look at the inside of someone's stomach, intestines etc have employed two methods: the mainstream one involves use of a conventional endoscope, in effect a flexible tentacle periscope inserted at one end of the alimentary canal or the other."
Thus far, docs needing a good look at the inside of someone's stomach, intestines etc have employed two methods: the mainstream one involves use of a conventional endoscope, in effect a flexible tentacle periscope inserted at one end of the alimentary canal or the other."
George Lucas Believes the World Will End in 2012
George Lucas Believes the World Will End in 2012: "How far would your jaw have dropped if George Lucas told you how he thinks the world will end next year? If you were comedian/actor Seth Rogen, you'd scoop your jaw up and then tell the world all about it."
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Is God an Alien Mathematician? | h+ Magazine
Is God an Alien Mathematician? | h+ Magazine: "Ben Goertzel converses with Hugo de Garis on his transhumanist argument for the reality of a Creator."
Click on link for interview...
Is artificial intelligence a threat to humankind? - Technology news
Imagine a robot washing your cloths, preparing your food or even talking to you when you feel lonely - how nice! But what if the same robot turns into a machine that can kill autonomously and no one can stop it? This is what scientists are concerned about today. The fear is reasonable enough - further advances in AI could create profound social disruptions and even have dangerous end results."
Transhumanism: are we on the brink of creating new human species? | TechNyou
Transhumanism: are we on the brink of creating new human species? | TechNyou: "2011 has brought the futurists out from hiding. Humans have that wonderful capacity to think ahead and speculate and imagine about what could be. In the not-so-distant future, we envision the rise of the machines, victory over disease, ageing and injury, revolutionary transport and energy generation…and so on.
One of the more interesting and ethically challenging futuristic concepts is human enhancement where we use our advanced knowledge and technologies to tweak the human species to make it “better”. A recent paper in the last Journal of Evolution and Technology is one of a number of commentaries on this topic. Andrew Maynard also touches on this in a recent talk about risk science in the 21st Century. He outlines 5 pressure point technologies that he predicts will radically change society in the next few decades, two of these relate to human enhancement: machine-human interface and cognitive enhancers...."
One of the more interesting and ethically challenging futuristic concepts is human enhancement where we use our advanced knowledge and technologies to tweak the human species to make it “better”. A recent paper in the last Journal of Evolution and Technology is one of a number of commentaries on this topic. Andrew Maynard also touches on this in a recent talk about risk science in the 21st Century. He outlines 5 pressure point technologies that he predicts will radically change society in the next few decades, two of these relate to human enhancement: machine-human interface and cognitive enhancers...."
Is That a Computer in Your Sweater or Are You Just Glad To See Me? - Technology News by ExtremeTech
Is That a Computer in Your Sweater or Are You Just Glad To See Me? - Technology News by ExtremeTech: "Still in awe of the new smart phone or tablet you got for Christmas? Well, aren't you just adorable with your little 'handheld device'? But in the not-so-distant future, mobile tech won't be something you hold in your hand, it'll be sitting on your head, wrapped around your shoulders, and keeping your feet warm. Smart textiles or 'soft computers' will combine the functionality of the gadgets in our pockets with the clothing on our bodies.
Onward we march into the Fashionista Singularity...."
Onward we march into the Fashionista Singularity...."
New Contact Lenses With LED Displays is Must-See TV, Literally - Technology News by ExtremeTech
New Contact Lenses With LED Displays is Must-See TV, Literally - Technology News by ExtremeTech: "We recently profiled a new crop of Augmented Reality video games designed for your mobile phone. How adorably 2010. The whole concept of mobile AR is already behind the curve, the real future will be in Augmented Vision—a virtual layer on reality, no smart phone necessary. And 'AV' may have just taken one giant step closer to feasibility. A research team at the University of Washington has designed a contact lens that has the ability to project LED displays directly into the irises.
The concept originated in 2008 when the UoW team developed a proof-of-concept contact lens embedded with electronics that gave diabetes patients the ability to monitor glucose levels in their tear fluid. The prototype contained a single red LED that would project feedback to the lens bearer. The team has since crafted blue miniature LEDs, leaving only green to be developed for a full-color display. The lenses are powered remotely by nearby 'loop antennas,' which transmit electricity directly to the lens."
The concept originated in 2008 when the UoW team developed a proof-of-concept contact lens embedded with electronics that gave diabetes patients the ability to monitor glucose levels in their tear fluid. The prototype contained a single red LED that would project feedback to the lens bearer. The team has since crafted blue miniature LEDs, leaving only green to be developed for a full-color display. The lenses are powered remotely by nearby 'loop antennas,' which transmit electricity directly to the lens."
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