Clipmarks | arifsali's clips

150-Year-Old Computer Brought to Life

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:24:12 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

A Silicon Valley museum brings inventor, philosopher and alleged music hater Charles Babbage's computing contraption to life

Exhibited for the first time in North America, this is one of only two Babbage Difference Engine No. 2 devices ever built.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

BLUEPRINT:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

CARRY THE 10:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

CHAPTER WHEEL:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

IT FIGURES:

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

PRINTING PROCESS:

Tags: computer, history

The science of architecture: Gehry building to provide distinctive home for Lewis library

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:19:33 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.princeton.edu

Those who have watched its bold, curved stainless steel roofline emerge on the corner of Washington Road and Ivy Lane no doubt believe the Lewis Science Library designed by Frank Gehry will have a distinctive exterior look.

Tags: architecture, library

Researchers map the math in music

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:17:47 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.princeton.edu

The connection between music and mathematics has fascinated scholars for centuries.

More than 2000 years ago Pythagoras reportedly discovered that pleasing musical intervals could be described using simple ratios.

And the so-called musica universalis or "music of the spheres" emerged in the Middle Ages as the philosophical idea that the proportions in the movements of the celestial bodies -- the sun, moon and planets -- could be viewed as a form of music, inaudible but perfectly harmonious.

Now, three music professors – Clifton Callender at Florida State University, Ian Quinn at Yale University and Dmitri Tymoczko at Princeton University -- have devised a new way of analyzing and categorizing music that takes advantage of the deep, complex mathematics they see enmeshed in its very fabric.

Tags: math, music, science

Princeton scientists discover exotic quantum state of matter

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:16:35 GMT

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Clip Source: www.princeton.edu

'Quantum Hall-like effect' found in a bulk material without an applied magnetic field

A team of scientists from Princeton University has found that one of the most intriguing phenomena in condensed-matter physics -- known as the quantum Hall effect -- can occur in nature in a way that no one has ever before seen.

Writing in the April 24 issue of Nature, the scientists report that they have recorded this exotic behavior of electrons in a bulk crystal of bismuth-antimony without any external magnetic field being present. The work, while significant in a fundamental way, also could lead to advances in new kinds of fast quantum or "spintronic" computing devices, of potential use in future electronic technologies, the authors said.

"We had the right tool and the right set of ideas," said Zahid Hasan, an assistant professor of physics who led the research and propelled X-ray photons at the surface of the crystal to find the effect.

Tags: science, quantum, princeton

Oxford researchers urge to take the heat out of music

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:14:16 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.ox.ac.uk

The UK music industry is creating the equivalent of nearly one million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, according to research conducted by Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute (ECI).

Music fans are encouraged to catch a bus or train to the concerts

The research was commissioned by Julie’s Bicycle, a not-for-profit body, which is developing as a music industry collaboration to try and reduce the sector’s own carbon footprint.

This initial audit shows that live performances to UK audiences and the sale of music products in this country are currently creating at least 538,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is roughly equal to the annual emissions from 180,000 cars. Although there is limited data currently available, researchers believes that US and European touring by UK artists is responsible for at least 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

The music industry has the power and the responsibility to encourage more efficient energy use

Tags: music, environment

Boy or girl? See what your mother-to-be eats

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:12:39 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.ox.ac.uk

New research by the Universities of Oxford and Exeter provides the first evidence that infant sex is associated with a mother’s diet.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, shows a clear link between higher energy intake around the time of conception and the birth of sons. The findings may help explain the falling birth-rate of boys in industrialised countries, including the UK and US.

The study focused on 740 first-time pregnant mothers in the UK, who did not know the sex of their fetus. They were asked to provide records of their eating habits before and during the early stages of pregnancy. They were then split into three groups according to the number of calories consumed per day around the time they conceived. 56 per cent of the women in the group with the highest energy intake at conception had sons, compared with 45 per cent in the lowest group.

It's true then: bananas make boys

Tags: research, sex, diet

Scientists Find Efficient Way to Grow Heart Cells

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:51:06 GMT

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Clip Source: www.npr.org

Morning Edition, April 24, 2008 · A team of scientists in Canada has developed an efficient way to produce heart cells from human embryonic stem cells, a significant step for potential organ repair. But the study must move to trials with laboratory animals before the cells can be used with human patients.

Listen Now [2 min 19 sec] add to playlist

Tags: science, heart

Hotelier's passion for Persia given free rein on Iranian island

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:50:31 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.iht.com

The indoor dolphin show was in full swing as Hossein Sabet walked in to a burst of applause from the 1,200 people in attendance. Clad in tight beige equestrian pants and long black boots, he waved at the crowd and went straight to his office behind the pool.

Sabet, 58, an Iranian expatriate who spends most of his time in Germany, is no performer, however. He is a businessman and something of a local legend, having invested more than $300 million here in hotels and attractions like the dolphin show, the only one in the Middle East.

He has built this island's fanciest establishment, the Dariush Grand Hotel, modeled after the Persian capital of Persepolis, which dates from 500 B.C. He also owns 11 hotels in Europe and the Canary Islands.

One of the Iranian islands in the Gulf, Kish is accessible to foreigners without a visa and to Iranians looking to vacation in a relatively relaxed atmosphere, though things are not as relaxed now as they were before President

Ahmadinejad came to power

Tags: iran, development

Restoring an Afghan Dam in a Taliban Stronghold

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:49:10 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.npr.org

It has been nearly seven years since the Taliban regime fell in Afghanistan, but only 7 percent of the country's residents have access to government-provided electricity.

American contractors hope to change that next year, at least for more than 1 million households in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province. Engineers there are trying to restore a half-century-old, U.S.-built dam and power plant in country that has become the heart of a Taliban insurgency.

Afghan experts say that if it were up to Mother Nature, their country would be aglow with electricity: There are plenty of waterways to power hydroelectric plants and wind to power turbines.

Yet little of this natural energy has been harnessed, despite millions of dollars in aid toward boosting the country's power supply. Even in the capital, Kabul, most residents get only a few hours of electricity every other day.

Tags: afghanistan, united states, development

Master of a fading craft

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:43:55 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.iht.com

If he hadn't smoked himself to an early death, Edward R. Murrow would have turned 100 years old on Friday. There couldn't be a better time to remember America's most famous reporter and his legacy - advocacy journalism.

The anniversary of Murrow's birth comes just as many news organizations around the world are publicly rethinking the role of objectivity in journalism. In a reversal of common practice, some media have concluded, as Murrow did, that reports often benefit when a journalist's opinions are reflected.

Murrow viewed journalism as a tool to educate the world, which is not surprising given that he was originally going to be a teacher, not a journalist. After being hired by CBS News in 1935 to be "Director of Talks" in Europe - basically a glorified booker - he ended up going on the air when the Nazis invaded Austria, because no one else was nearby.

Tags: journalism, united states

Friedman gets a pie!

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:42:32 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: And a clap for it as well.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was hit with a pie Tuesday during a speech at Brown. You can read about Friedman's speech and the pie incident here, or you can watch the video of the pieing below:

[Video]

Tags: politics

'Untouchable' woman dies after Indian medics refuse treatment.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:30:59 GMT

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Clip Source: www.dawn.com

LUCKNOW, India, April 24 (AFP): An “untouchable” woman who gave birth outside an Indian hospital because doctors would not treat her died Thursday, a day after her baby, officials admitted. The newborn boy of Maya Devi, 28, died Wednesday due to lack of medical help minutes after being born outside the maternity wing of Kanpur Medical College in northern Uttar Pradesh state. Devi was only put in intensive care after giving birth but died of a heart attack early Thursday. Several doctors, including the hospital's chief medical superintendent, refused to touch her or provide medical care as she delivered her baby, the Press Trust of India reported. Devi was a Dalit, or “untouchable”, a group at the bottom of the caste social ladder long ostracised and forced into menial professions despite laws banning discrimination. Many high-class Hindus fear coming into contact with them. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)

Tags: india, discrimination, health, baby, women

Israelis Claim Secret Agreement With U.S.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:29:53 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

A letter that President Bush personally delivered to then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon four years ago has emerged as a significant obstacle to the president's efforts to forge a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians during his last year in office.

Ehud Olmert, the current Israeli prime minister, said this week that Bush's letter gave the Jewish state permission to expand the West Bank settlements that it hopes to retain in a final peace deal, even though Bush's peace plan officially calls for a freeze of Israeli settlements across Palestinian territories on the West Bank. In an interview this week, Sharon's chief of staff, Dov Weissglas, said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reaffirmed this understanding in a secret agreement reached between Israel and the United States in the spring of 2005, just before Israel withdrew from Gaza.

Tags: united states, israel, politics

Italian saint draws huge crowds

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:28:50 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: english.aljazeera.net

The exhumed body of Padre Pio, a saint considered a miracle worker by his devotees, has attracted thousands of pilgrims after going on display in a southern Italian town 40 years after his death.

Padre Pio, one of the Catholic church's most popular saints, is said to have the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus's crucifixion on his hands and feet.

The saint's body, displayed in a crystal sepulcher, was unveiled in a church in San Giovanni Rotondo on Thursday.

About 15,000 people attended an open air mass before the body was unveiled in the church where Padre Pio spent most of his life.

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican's sainthood in the church, led the mass.

"Today, we venerate his body, opening a particularly intense period of
pilgrimage,'' Saraiva Martins said.

Tags: italy, christianity

Kids Removed from Sect Have Never Seen TV

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:20:53 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.npr.org

Day to Day, April 24, 2008 · Most of the children removed from the Yearning for Zion ranch in Texas have never watched TV, listened to the radio or surfed the Web. Arriving at temporary homes in their pioneer outfits, they are struggling to adapt, says NPR's Wade Goodwyn.

According to Child Protective Services (CPS), at least 20 girls under 16 were subjected to sexual experiences at the ranch. Several, officials say, are pregnant.

Mothers trying to get their children back, meanwhile, say these instances were an aberration rather than the norm and that they have been treated inhumanely by CPS.

Tags: united states, children, abuse