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I love you, mum: First words of brain-damaged girl

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:10:06 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: I love you, mum: First words of brain-damaged girl, 6, given power of speech by laser which tracks her eye movements

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

I love you, mum: First words of brain-damaged girl, 6, given power of speech by laser which tracks her eye movements

A severely handicapped little girl who cannot walk or talk has used a machine to tell her mother for the first time: 'I love you.'

Six-year-old Elke Wisbey, who was born brain-damaged, has been able to communicate with her family by using a high-tech gadget which tracks her eye movements.

The £17,000 MyTobii Smartbox machine from Sweden detects which icons Elke is looking at by using tiny lasers.

When her eyes settle on an icon on the screen of the Smartbox, a pre-programmed voice speaks the word or phrase for her.

Just a few days after setting up the equipment, Elke's parents, Glynnis and Matt Wisbey, described how their daughter started using her eyes to repeat the words 'I love you' over and over again.

'I thought it was stuck and then I realised what she was saying.

'She was looking at the "I love you" icon and I couldn't believe it, she kept doing it.

TIME's Best Inventions of 2008

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:55:32 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: for more + explanations and detailed descriptions go to the site

Clip Source: www.time.com

From a genetic testing service to an invisibility cloak to an ingenious public bike system to the world's first moving skyscraper — here are TIME's picks for the top innovations of 2008

Clip Source: www.time.com

1. The Retail DNA Test

Clip Source: www.time.com

2. The Tesla Roadster

Clip Source: www.time.com

3. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Clip Source: www.time.com

4. Hulu.com

Clip Source: www.time.com

5. The Large Hadron Collider

Clip Source: www.time.com

6. The Global Seed Vault

Clip Source: www.time.com

7. The Chevy Volt

Clip Source: www.time.com

8. Bullets That Shoot Bullets

Clip Source: www.time.com

9. The Orbital Internet

Clip Source: www.time.com

10. The World's Fastest Computer

Clip Source: www.time.com

11. Green Crude

Clip Source: www.time.com

12. Housing Funds

Clip Source: www.time.com

13. The Memristor

Clip Source: www.time.com

14. The Bionic Hand

Clip Source: www.time.com

15. The Direct-to-Web Supervillain Musical

Clip Source: www.time.com

16. The Dynamic Tower

Clip Source: www.time.com

17. The Mobile, Dexterous, Social Robot

Clip Source: www.time.com

18. The New Mars Rover

Clip Source: www.time.com

19. Montreal's Public Bike System

Clip Source: www.time.com

20. The Everything Game

Clip Source: www.time.com

21. The Synthetic Organism

Clip Source: www.time.com

22. The Shadowless Skyscraper

Clip Source: www.time.com

23. The Branded Candidate

Clip Source: www.time.com

24. Bionic Contacts

Clip Source: www.time.com

25. Thin-Film Solar Panels

Clip Source: www.time.com

26. The Speedo LZR Racer

Clip Source: www.time.com

27. Bubble Photography

Clip Source: www.time.com

28. The Invisibility Cloak

Clip Source: www.time.com

30. The Internet Of Things

Clip Source: www.time.com

33. Biomechanical Energy Harvester

Clip Source: www.time.com

34. Made-in-Transit Packaging

Tags: time, best inventions 2008

How Hatred Transforms Your Brain

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:09:58 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "What is surprising is the degree to which hatred is associated with logic and planning. The researchers write in their paper:

What seems not to be in doubt is that this cortical zone involves the premotor cortex, a zone that has been implicated in the preparation of motor planning and its execution. We hypothesize that the sight of a hated person mobilizes the motor system for the possibility of attack or defense. In addition, the involvement of the frontal pole consider to be critical in predicting the action of others, arguably an important feature when confronted by a hated person . . . it is more likely that in
the context of hate the hater may want to exercise judgment in calculating moves to harm, injure or otherwise extract revenge."

Clip Source: io9.com

How Hatred Transforms Your Brain

When you see somebody you hate, whether it's an evil ex or a mean colleague, your brain undergoes a rather unexpected transformation. A new study published in PLoS One today reveals that hatred isn't the blind, irrational emotion it might seem. In fact, hate activates the brain regions associated with higher reason and the ability to predict what other people will do.

British neuroscientists did fMRI brain scans of subjects while they looked at pictures of people they claimed to hate. As a baseline, they also showed them pictures of people they felt neutrally about. Not surprisingly, hatred activated the regions of the brain associated with aggression and the motor regions that would translate this aggression into action. And given that love often turns into hate, it's not too surprising that hatred also activates two brain regions, the putamen and the insula, associated with passionate, romantic love.

Conscientious people live longer

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:09:49 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: Conscientiousness, said Friedman in a news release, "seems to be as important as most commonly assessed medical risk factors, few of which are psychological ... Not only do conscientious individuals have better health habits and less risk-taking, but they also travel life pathways toward healthier psychosocial environments -- such as more stable jobs and marriages -- and may even have a biological predisposition toward good health."

Clip Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Conscientious people live longer

Most of the factors related to longevity are physical: the presence of disease, body weight, smoking or drinking habits, and on and on. But having a personality trait known as conscientiousness seems to matter, too, according to a new study.

The research, conducted at UC Riverside, analyzed data from 20 studies on conscientiousness-related traits and longevity. The studies involved more than 8,900 people in the United States, Germany, Norway, Japan and Sweden. Psychology professor Howard S. Friedman found highly conscientious people live two to four years longer, are less likely to smoke or drink to excess and live more stable and less stressful lives. He also examined several facets of conscientiousness, such as being organized, efficient, responsible, self-controlled, disciplined, achievement-oriented, persistent, industrious and socially responsible. He found that achievement and having an orderly life were the strongest facets linked to longevity.

No Election!?

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:42:29 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Read the whole piece. I have been seeing this everywhere, it is gaining traction, so that is why I clipped it. This was dismissed by a federal judge, now he is trying to get a Supreme Court injunction.

Clip Source: www.worldnetdaily.com

The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to help the nation avoid a constitutional crisis by halting Tuesday's election until Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama documents his eligibility to run for the top office in the nation.

Democratic attorney Philip Berg had filed a lawsuit alleging Obama is ineligible to be president because of possible birth in Kenya, but as WND reported, a federal judge dismissed the complaint claiming Berg lacks standing to bring the action.

The 34-page memorandum that accompanied the court order from Judge R. Barclay Surrick concluded ordinary citizens can't sue to ensure that a presidential candidate actually meets the constitutional requirements of the office.

In a statement today, Berg said he is applying to Justice David Souter for an "Immediate Injunction to Stay the Presidential Election of November 4, 2008."

"I am hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court will grant the injunction pending a review of this case to avoid a constitutional crisis

A Living Organism

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:02:54 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

I once read that a word is like a living organism, capable of growing, changing, spreading, and influencing the world in many ways, directly and indirectly through others. I never thought about a word being 'alive' but then I thought of words spoken 3,000 years ago, written down and passed through many generations, and they seem quite alive when read or spoken today, having lived 3,000 years. As I ponder the power of the word to incite and divide, to calm and connect, or to create and effect change, I am ever more cautious in what I say and how I listen to the words around me.

World faces growing risk of war: US intelligence chief

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 05:25:59 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.breitbart.com

World faces growing risk of war: US intelligence chief

Michael McConnell, the director of national intelligence, predicted rising demand for scarce supplies of food and fuel, strategic competition over new technologies, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

"What I'm suggesting -- there's an increased potential for conflict," McConnell said in a speech Thursday to intelligence professionals in Nashville, Tennessee.

"During the period of this assessment, out to 2025, the probability for conflict between nations and within nation-state entities will be greater," he said.

Conditions for "large casualty terrorist attacks using chemical, biological, or less likely, nuclear materials" also will increase during that period, he said.

McConnell described a multi-polar world in 2025 shaped by the rise of China, India and Brazil, whose economies will by then match those of the western industrial states.

Tags: intelligence, war, us, national intel, world, east, west

E-mail error ends up on road sign

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 07:52:38 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The English is clear enough to lorry drivers - but the Welsh reads "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated."

When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.

Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated".

So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket.

"When they're proofing signs, they should really use someone who speaks Welsh," said journalist Dylan Iorwerth.

Swansea Council became lost in translation when it was looking to halt heavy goods vehicles using a road near an Asda store in the Morriston area

All official road signs in Wales are bilingual, so the local authority e-mailed its in-house translation service for the Welsh version of: "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only".