Saturday, November 20, 2010
The Weekend Debate: Is It Possible a "Universe-In-Mass" Black Hole Exists?
The Weekend Debate: Is It Possible a "Universe-In-Mass" Black Hole Exists?: "The existence of a large void of some billion light-years in diameter in the Constellation Eridanus appears to be improbable given current cosmological models. A radical and controversial theory proposes that it is a 'universe-in-mass black hole' rather than dark matter that is responsible for the phenomenon described as the expanding-accelerating universe. This radical theory of cosmology suggests that stars at the edge of the Hubble length universe are being consumed by a universe-in-mass black hole."
Bill Gates: Register Every Birth by Cellphone To Ensure Vaccination, Control Population Growth
Bill Gates: Register Every Birth by Cellphone To Ensure Vaccination, Control Population Growth: "On the tails of a recent TED conference where Bill Gates stated that vaccines need to be used to reduce world population figures, he added more to this insanity last week with a keynote address at the mHealth Summit, an annual gathering whose supposedly focuses on improving health care through mobile technology.
Gates told an audience of more than 2,000 that if we could register every worldwide birth on a cell phone, we could ensure that children receive the proper vaccines. He also said the key to controlling population growth is to save the lives of children under 5; and the next big thing in technology is robots."
Gates told an audience of more than 2,000 that if we could register every worldwide birth on a cell phone, we could ensure that children receive the proper vaccines. He also said the key to controlling population growth is to save the lives of children under 5; and the next big thing in technology is robots."
Singapore’s A*STAR participates in groundbreaking European Union (EU) project to jointly create a processor that is the size of a molecule > Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) > Press Releases
Singapore’s A*STAR participates in groundbreaking European Union (EU) project to jointly create a processor that is the size of a molecule > Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) > Press Releases: "A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) partners 10 EU research organisations to work on the groundbreaking €10 million ATMOL project that lays the foundation for creating and testing a molecular-sized processor chip.
A*STAR’s IMRE and 10 EU research organisations are working together to build what is essentially a single molecule processor chip. As a comparison, a thousand of such molecular chips could fit into one of today’s microchips, the core device that determines computational speed. The ambitious project, termed Atomic Scale and Single Molecule Logic Gate Technologies (ATMOL), will establish a new process for making a complete molecular chip. This means that computing power can be increased significantly but take up only a small fraction of the space that is required by today’s standards."
A*STAR’s IMRE and 10 EU research organisations are working together to build what is essentially a single molecule processor chip. As a comparison, a thousand of such molecular chips could fit into one of today’s microchips, the core device that determines computational speed. The ambitious project, termed Atomic Scale and Single Molecule Logic Gate Technologies (ATMOL), will establish a new process for making a complete molecular chip. This means that computing power can be increased significantly but take up only a small fraction of the space that is required by today’s standards."
All viruses 'can be DNA stowaways'
All viruses 'can be DNA stowaways': "(PhysOrg.com) -- 'Fossil viruses' preserved inside the DNA of mammals and insects suggest that all viruses, including relatives of HIV and Ebola, could potentially be ‘stowaways’ transmitted from generation to generation for millions of years, according to new research."
5 Space Bloggers on When Humans Will Settle outside of Earth - I Look Forward To
Altamaha-ha: An American River Monster
Phantoms and Monsters: Paranormal, UFOs, Cryptids and Unexplained Phenomena: "One of the largest rivers in the state of Georgia is the Altamaha River in the southeast portion of the state The river actually empties in to the Atlantic Ocean off the coast. It is said to be one of the largest river basins in the country, and as such, there are a lot of tributaries to this river.
According to legend, in the waters of the Altamaha, near the city of Darien, there is a strange creature. It appears ever so often and sightings of this creature go back to the times before whites settled the area. The Tama Indians from that area first told tales of a huge water serpent that hissed and bellowed. In the 1920s, timbermen who rode the river reported sighting something that fits the description of 'Altamaha-ha', also known as 'Altie'. Other sightings include a Boy Scout troop from the 1940s and two officials from the Reidsville State Prison from the 1950s."
According to legend, in the waters of the Altamaha, near the city of Darien, there is a strange creature. It appears ever so often and sightings of this creature go back to the times before whites settled the area. The Tama Indians from that area first told tales of a huge water serpent that hissed and bellowed. In the 1920s, timbermen who rode the river reported sighting something that fits the description of 'Altamaha-ha', also known as 'Altie'. Other sightings include a Boy Scout troop from the 1940s and two officials from the Reidsville State Prison from the 1950s."
Friday, November 19, 2010
Russian domed city would hold 100,000 people | DVICE
The city, named Eco-city 2020, would be constructed inside the Mir diamond mine, the second largest excavated hole on the planet. It's a quarter-mile wide at the top and over 1,700 feet deep, which is so big that air flowing into the hole can actually suck helicopters out of the sky. If the project gets going, the mine would be completely covered over with a glass dome to protect the city from the weather in Siberia (which is apparently lousy almost all the time), and solar cells embedded in the dome would provide power for the entire structure.
Eco-city would be constructed of multiple levels, with a huge central core. The main floor would hold parks and recreation areas, with residential areas terracing up around the walls of the mine. Underneath would be space for vertical farms and forests, subsiding on light piped down the central core. An estimated 100,000 people would be able to live in Eco-city, and architects are hoping that it would help to attract tourists to Eastern Siberia."
'Spacetime cloak' can make time travel possible
A 'cloaked' individual could, for instance, travel from one place to another while appearing to vanish and appear instantaneously in a new location.
The device would speed up and slow down light to give the illusion that events have just not happened, according to the Journal of Optics.
For instance, a scientifically-savvy thief with access to technology could open a safe, empty its contents, and escape right under the watchful eye of a surveillance camera, reports the Daily Mail.
The video footage would show that the safe door was closed all the time. Scientists at Imperial College London have proved it could work in theory by adapting standard fibreoptic technology."
Hubble captures new life in an ancient galaxy
But new observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are helping to show that elliptical galaxies still have some youthful vigor left, thanks to encounters with smaller galaxies.
Images of the core of NGC 4150, taken in near-ultraviolet light with the sharp-eyed Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), reveal streamers of dust and gas and clumps of young, blue stars that are significantly less than a billion years old. Evidence shows that the star birth was sparked by a merger with a dwarf galaxy.
The new study helps bolster the emerging view that most elliptical galaxies have young stars, bringing new life to old galaxies."
Extragalactic Expat: Newfound Exoplanet Likely Came from Another Galaxy: Scientific American
Extragalactic Expat: Newfound Exoplanet Likely Came from Another Galaxy: Scientific American: "Nearly everything we can see in the night sky without the aid of a telescope is in Earth's cosmic neighborhood, the Milky Way Galaxy. And the hundreds of planets that have been discovered outside our solar system all orbit stars within the Milky Way; their relative proximity permits the kind of careful look needed to identify an orbital companion.
Now a new study has located yet another extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, within our galaxy. But this one seems to have started out in another galaxy that was then consumed by, and incorporated into, the Milky Way several billion years ago."
Now a new study has located yet another extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, within our galaxy. But this one seems to have started out in another galaxy that was then consumed by, and incorporated into, the Milky Way several billion years ago."
Trained Bacteria Convert Bio-Wastes Into Plastic | Before It's News
Trained Bacteria Convert Bio-Wastes Into Plastic | Before It's News: "Researcher Jean-Paul Meijnen has ‘trained’ bacteria to convert all the main sugars in vegetable, fruit and garden waste efficiently into high-quality environmentally friendly products such as bioplastics. He will be defending his doctoral thesis on this topic, which was carried out in the context of the NWO B-Basic program, at TU Delft on Monday 22 November 2010."
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Futurisms: "What it Means for Society to Drastically Prolong Life" (panel two)
Futurisms: "What it Means for Society to Drastically Prolong Life" (panel two): "'What it Means for Society to Drastically Prolong Life' (panel two)
The second panel at today's conference was called 'Happily Ever After? What it Means for Society to Drastically Prolong Life.' The first speaker was Ted Fishman, author of the concisely-titled book Shock of Gray: The Aging of the World's Population and How it Pits Young Against Old, Child Against Parent, Worker Against Boss, Company Against Rival, and Nation Against Nation. The title actually tells you a lot about his talk, which seemed remarkably level-headed and even-handed for this conference."
The second panel at today's conference was called 'Happily Ever After? What it Means for Society to Drastically Prolong Life.' The first speaker was Ted Fishman, author of the concisely-titled book Shock of Gray: The Aging of the World's Population and How it Pits Young Against Old, Child Against Parent, Worker Against Boss, Company Against Rival, and Nation Against Nation. The title actually tells you a lot about his talk, which seemed remarkably level-headed and even-handed for this conference."
Top Five Reasons 'The Singularity' Is A Misnomer | h+ Magazine
Actually, I don’t really buy into the concept. I do believe that the coming decades and century are going to see tremendous progress in science and technology. I do think that eventually (if we don’t destroy ourselves first) we’ll be able to upload minds, to create AIs smarter than we are, and to halt, reverse, or at least dramatically reduce human aging.
None of those deserve the term ‘Singularity’, though. And none of them is likely to come as quickly as we hope, or to have impacts quite as broad as the most optimistic assessments project. Indeed, we’re living with the consequences of precursors to all of those phenomena today, and they seem, well, normal."
Synthetic Biology Raises Ethical Concerns « Liveshots
Synthetic Biology Raises Ethical Concerns « Liveshots: "Today, a panel of doctors, researchers and ethicists appointed by President Obama will recommend guidelines for the study of synthetic biology. The field, still in its infancy, carries many unknowns, but promises advances in medicine, agriculture and industrial chemistry.
“It’s an emerging technology where researchers change the chemistry inside cells, bacteria or fungi to produce vaccines, bio-fuel and even microorganisms that can break down oil spills,” said David Lynn, a chemistry professor at Emory University in Atlanta.
The commission, which is meeting at Emory, is examining both the benefits and potential risks of synthetic biology. One concern is how synthetic organisms might behave outside of a laboratory setting.
'Synthetic biology is a brand new field,” said Emory University Ethicist Paul Root Wolpe. “The organisms that have been created so far, we can barely keep alive in the laboratory, never mind worry about them being alive somewhere else. So, at this point in time, there's very little risk.”
Although the risk may be low now, Wolpe and other experts said that makes the timing ideal for establishing guidelines for the study of synthetic biology moving forward."
“It’s an emerging technology where researchers change the chemistry inside cells, bacteria or fungi to produce vaccines, bio-fuel and even microorganisms that can break down oil spills,” said David Lynn, a chemistry professor at Emory University in Atlanta.
The commission, which is meeting at Emory, is examining both the benefits and potential risks of synthetic biology. One concern is how synthetic organisms might behave outside of a laboratory setting.
'Synthetic biology is a brand new field,” said Emory University Ethicist Paul Root Wolpe. “The organisms that have been created so far, we can barely keep alive in the laboratory, never mind worry about them being alive somewhere else. So, at this point in time, there's very little risk.”
Although the risk may be low now, Wolpe and other experts said that makes the timing ideal for establishing guidelines for the study of synthetic biology moving forward."
Scientists claim breakthrough in antimatter hunt - Yahoo! News
Scientists claim breakthrough in antimatter hunt - Yahoo! News: "GENEVA – Scientists claimed a breakthrough Thursday in solving one of the biggest riddles of physics, successfully trapping the first 'anti-atom' in a quest to understand what happened to all the antimatter that has vanished since the Big Bang.
An international team of physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, managed to create an atom of anti-hydrogen and then hold onto it for long enough to demonstrate that it can be studied in the lab.
'For us it's a big breakthrough because it means we can take the next step, which is to try to compare matter and antimatter,' the team's spokesman, American scientist Jeffrey Hangst, told The Associated Press.
'This field is 20 years old and has been making incremental progress toward exactly this all along the way,' he added. 'We really think that this was the most difficult step.'
For decades, researchers have puzzled over why antimatter seems to have disappeared from the universe.
Theory posits that matter and antimatter were created in equal amounts at the moment of the Big Bang, which spawned the universe some 13.7 billion years ago. But while matter — defined as having mass and taking up space — went on to become the building block of everything that exists, antimatter has all but disappeared except in the lab."
National UFO Center | George Filer | Filer's Files
National UFO Center | George Filer | Filer's Files: "The purpose of these files is to report the UFO eyewitness and photo/video evidence that occurs on a daily basis around the world and in space. These Files assume that extraterrestrial intelligent life not only exists, but my hypothesis is that the over a thousand UFOs reported each month represent technologically advanced spacecraft conducting surveillance of Earth. I personally became interested in UFOs when London Control ordered me to intercept one over England while flying for the US Air Force. Under Project Blue Book, the US Air Force investigated UFOs for more than twenty years; and we continue this research. I believe the God of the universe has spread life throughout the cosmos and UFO’s are visiting us in ever-increasing numbers."
Nazi spaceship film sparks UFO debate - Telegraph
YouTube - History Channel UFO Hunters 305 Nazi Ufos 2009-1.avi
YouTube - History Channel UFO Hunters 305 Nazi Ufos 2009-1.avi: "It has long been suspected that Nazi leaders had more than a passing interesting in the occult and UFOs. UFO investigators now believe there was a connection between the UFO phenomenon and the Third Reich. Could the technology that grew into our modern day space program have been passed to the Germans by aliens, as some believe, and then confiscated by the U.S. government after the end of World War II? Now, our team will travel to Germany and Poland to investigate bizarre alien links that go back hundreds of years."
Corn chip shaped UFO filmed in UK | Herald Sun
Corn chip shaped UFO filmed in UK | Herald Sun: "YOU'VE heard about flying saucers - but how about a flying chip? A UFO which resembles a popular salty snack has been spotted in the skies over the UK for the third time in as many years.
The space invader, dubbed by locals the 'Dudley Dorito', was sighted over the Midlands.
In the latest sighting of the 'extra-terrestrial tortilla chip', quality inspector Munesh Mistry, 21, spotted the triangular object in the the skies above his home in Tipton, West Midlands about 10.15pm on Sunday.
His sighting comes just weeks after a UFO was spotted hovering over nearby Sutton Coldfield on the eve of Bonfire Night.
That time the triangular object, which was reportedly four or five times the size of a commercial airliner, was seen by local David Allen, from Boldmere on November 4.
The sightings have echoes of reports received during 2007 and 2008, which also claimed to have seen the Dudley Dorito swooping through the night skies."
The space invader, dubbed by locals the 'Dudley Dorito', was sighted over the Midlands.
In the latest sighting of the 'extra-terrestrial tortilla chip', quality inspector Munesh Mistry, 21, spotted the triangular object in the the skies above his home in Tipton, West Midlands about 10.15pm on Sunday.
His sighting comes just weeks after a UFO was spotted hovering over nearby Sutton Coldfield on the eve of Bonfire Night.
That time the triangular object, which was reportedly four or five times the size of a commercial airliner, was seen by local David Allen, from Boldmere on November 4.
The sightings have echoes of reports received during 2007 and 2008, which also claimed to have seen the Dudley Dorito swooping through the night skies."
Feeling The Future: Is Precognition Possible? | Wired Science | Wired.com
Feeling The Future: Is Precognition Possible? | Wired Science | Wired.com: "Most science papers don’t begin with a description of psi, those “anomalous processes of information or energy transfer” that have no material explanation. (Popular examples of psi include telepathy, clairvoyance and psychokinesis.) It’s even less common for a serious science paper, published in an elite journal, to show that psi is a real phenomenon. But that’s exactly what Daryl Bem of Cornell University has demonstrated in his new paper, “Feeling the Future: Experimental Evidence for Anomalous Retroactive Influences on Cognition and Affect,” which was just published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology."
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