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Digital Tattoo Interface

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:29:48 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Her cell phone is ringing, but the display is turned off. She lightly pushes a small dot on the skin on her left forearm to suddenly reveal a two by four inch tattoo with the image of the cell phone's digital display, directly in the skin of her arm. She answers the call by pushing a tattooed button on her arm. While she's talking, the tattoo comes to life as a digital video of the caller. When she finishes, the tattoo disappears.

This Bluetooth device is permanently implanted beneath the skin. It is flat, flexible, silicon and silicone. Tightly rolled when it's inserted through a small incision, and then unfurled beneath the skin, it lies benignly between skin and muscle.

This device communicates wirelessly with the world as well as with other devices implanted in the same body. It is always present, always on, but out of sight and non-obtrusive

This product is waterproof and it is powered by pizza.

Tags: tattoo, interface

The Dawkins Delusion and others

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:51:48 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: A must read article for those who must (and can) read.

Clip Source: www.opendemocracy.net

The tendency of people to make assumptions about things they know nothing about is fed by arrogance as much as (or even more than) mere ignorance. A good example is the scientist and controversialist Richard Dawkins's book The God Delusion, which uses his expertise in evolutionary biology to speculate on the evolutionary value of religion in the past and to attest to its complete lack of value today.

The problem with this approach is that Dawkins is ignorant of bodies of knowledge - such as the sociology of religion and critical theology - that have approached religion in very different ways. This ignorance does not disqualify him from writing a book on religion, but what is inexcusable is his apparent ignorance that these bodies of knowledge even exist. His arrogance leads him into making sweeping statements about religion that are over-reliant on his own narrow field of expertise, bolstered with his own prejudices.

Tags: literacy

Finding ingenious design in nature

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:09:30 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.news.harvard.edu

Joanna Aizenberg combs the beach for engineering marvels

Joanna Aizenberg holds the skeleton of a deep-sea sponge made entirely out of a natural glass. The tube acts as a kind of high-rise apartment building for shrimp that live symbiotically in the sponge’s tissue.
Staff photo Matt Craig/Harvard News Office

“This,” Joanna Aizenberg says slyly, picking up a latticed tube from her desk in Pierce Hall, “is a glass house you can throw stones at.”

The tube, tapered to a close at one end and festooned with a cluster of curious white fibers at the tip, resembles an upturned dog’s tail. It is, in fact, the skeleton of a deep-sea sponge, she reveals, made entirely out of a natural glass. The tube acts as a kind of high-rise apartment building for shrimp that live symbiotically in the sponge’s tissue.

The glass, drawn thinly into lacy threads, looks astonishingly fragile for a structure that withstands thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch

Tags: science, sea

These fish are not destined for tables

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:43:52 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Wonderful nature. The best is last.

Clip Source: www.bountyfishing.com

The black swallower (Chiasmodon niger) is a deep sea fish that has the ability to extend its stomach 3 times its size so that it can swallow fish that are bigger than itself. It can be found in deep seas up to 1,500 meters or in hot tropical waters. It creates its own light because of the darkness found in some parts of the Pelagic zone. The black swallower can grow up to 25 centimeters.

Chimaeras are related to both sharks and rays. They are jawed fish with paired fins, paired nostrils, scales, two-chambered hearts, and skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. Chimaeras grow up to two meters long, are found in the ocean floors and have a venomous spine which they use for defense purposes.

The Atlantic Wolffish is a large bottom-dwelling predatory marine fish. The species is widely distributed across the North Atlantic.

Lumpfish

Longhorn Cowfish

Humpback Anglerfish

Axolotl

Tags: fish?

The end is near... well, in 7.6 billion years

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:30:11 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

New calculations by University of Sussex astronomers predict that the Earth will be swallowed up by the Sun in about 7.6 billion years unless the Earth's orbit can be altered.

Dr Robert Smith, Emeritus Reader in Astronomy, said his team previously calculated that the Earth would escape ultimate destruction, although be battered and burnt to a cinder. But this did not take into account the effect of the drag caused by the outer atmosphere of the dying Sun.

He says: "We showed previously that, as the Sun expanded, it would lose mass in the form of a strong wind, much more powerful than the current solar wind. This would reduce the gravitational pull of the Sun on the Earth, allowing the Earth's orbit to move outwards, ahead of the expanding Sun.

Tags: earth

Virtual Teachers Outperform Real Thing

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:40:19 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

BOSTON — Never let schooling get in the way of your education, Mark Twain supposedly said, and the latest advances in psychology and behavior science take that to a new dimension — virtual reality and the digital domain.

Virtual characters and digital tutors are helping children and adults develop advanced social and language skills that can be tough to learn via conventional approaches, according to researchers who briefed reporters here last week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Justine Cassell of Northwestern University has found that children with autism can develop advanced social skills by interacting with a "virtual child" that they might not develop by hanging out with real children or teachers. Cassell is credited with developing the Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA), a virtual human capable of interacting with humans using language and gestures.

Tags: teaching, virtuality

Boys Treat Girls Like People: Thanks to Feminism

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:37:34 GMT

clipped by: Rasmus
clipper's remarks:

Masculine stereotypes still do all kinds of harm to men and women and girls and boys alike, and there's a good argument to be made for the idea that men are much further behind women when it comes to embracing feminist ideals. But feminism has had some successes, and it's been good for all involved -- this is just one example of that. There's still a long way to go, but hopefully studies like this will serve as reminders of who actually has the interests of human beings in mind, and who is solely dedicated to a dogma that doesn't fit into most peoples' realities or ideals.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

A new study shows that most teenage boys view teenage girls as actual human beings, not simple sex toys:

The stereotype of the 16-year-old boy is that he has sex on the brain. But a fascinating new report suggests that boys are motivated more by love and a desire to form real relationships with the girls they date.

The report, published in this month’s Journal of Adolescence, paints a far different picture of teen boys than the stereotype of testosterone-fueled youth. Psychology researchers from the State University of New York at Oswego surveyed 105 10th-grade boys whose average age was about 16.

The boys were asked their reasons for dating and were allowed to mark more than one answer. Notably, being physically attracted to someone wasn’t the primary motivation they gave for dating.

The New York Times headline-writers, unfortunately, aren't quite as evolved as the 16-year-olds in the study -- they titled the piece "Inside the Mind of the Boy Dating Your Daughter."

Tags: youth, gender, boys, sex

No Cure for Love

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:45:07 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Aint No Cure for Love by Leonard Cohen

Clip Source: www.seeklyrics.com

I loved you for a long, long time
I know this love is real
It don't matter how it all went wrong
That don't change the way I feel
And I can't believe that time's
Gonna heal this wound I'm speaking of
There ain't no cure,
There ain't no cure,
There ain't no cure for love
I'm aching for you baby
I can't pretend I'm not
I need to see you naked
In your body and your thought
I've got you like a habit
And I'll never get enough
There ain't no cure,
There ain't no cure,

There ain't no cure for love

There ain't no cure for love
There ain't no cure for love
All the rocket ships are climbing through the sky
The holy books are open wide
The doctors working day and night
But they'll never ever find that cure for love
There ain't no drink no drug
(Ah tell them, angels)

There's nothing pure enough to be a cure for love

Tags: leonard cohen, love

DNA Testing Confirms Mankind's African Origins

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:48:34 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Also, they noted, they found a close a relationship between the Yakut population of Siberia and native Americans, who are believed to have migrated from Siberia via a land bridge at a time of lower sea levels.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Clip Source: news.wired.com

A new genetic analysis of people from around the world adds further confirmation to the African origin of humans. The study of genetic details from 938 individuals from 51 populations provides evidence of how people are related and different, researchers led by Richard M. Myers of Stanford University report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

The team looked at variations in 650,000 sections of each of the DNA samples, providing a view of the similarities and differences between people in greater detail than had been available previously.

Scientists have long believed that modern humans first developed in Africa and spread from there to populate the rest of the world, a theory strongly supported by the new analysis, the researchers said.

In addition, they noted that residents of the Middle East can trace their ancestry to both Africa and Europe, which they said is logical since the region formed a bridge for movement back and forth between the areas.

Tags: human, dna, africa

Gandhi's Grandson Quits under Zionist Attack.

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:51:29 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: "The grandson of Indian spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi resigned yesterday as president of the board of a conflict resolution institute after writing an online essay on a Washington Post blog calling Jews and Israel "the biggest players" in a global culture of violence."

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The grandson of Indian spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi

He wrote that Jewish identity is "locked into the holocaust experience," which Jews "overplay . . . to the point that it begins to repulse friends."

The Jewish nation -- Israel, he wrote -- is too reliant upon weapons and bombs and should instead befriend its enemies

"Apparently, in the modern world, so determined to live by the bomb, this is an alien concept. You don't befriend anyone, you dominate them. We have created a culture of violence (Israel and the Jews are the biggest players) and that Culture of Violence is eventually going to destroy humanity," he wrote

Gandhi wrote that his Jan. 7 essay "was couched in language that was hurtful and contrary to the principles of nonviolence

My intention was to generate a healthy discussion on the proliferation of violence. Clearly I did not achieve my goal

Instead, unintentionally, my words have resulted in pain, anger, confusion and embarrassment."

his resignation letter to the board

Tags: india, violence, usa, :wp, peace, holocaust, weapons, bombs

Elmo Doll Threatens to Kill Toddler

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:43:47 GMT

clipped by: Newfman

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

It sounds like something the talking doll Chucky from the movies might say: "Kill James!" Instead, a Florida family says the threat to their toddler is coming from a talking Elmo doll.

The Bowman family, of Lithia, Fla., said an Elmo doll belonging to their 2-year-old son, James, began to spout death threats towards him after they changed its batteries, TBO.com reports.

The Elmo Knows Your Name Doll started saying "Kill James!" in a sing-song voice, the site reports.

"It's not something that really you would think would ever come out of a toy," James' mother, Melissa, told the site. "But once I heard, I was just kind of distraught."

The toy's manufacturer, Fisher-Price, said it will issue the Bowmans a voucher for a replacement doll, TBO.com reports.

Campaign Clicks

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:19:58 GMT

clipped by: chithon
clipper's remarks: Great Site! Pick your favorite person running for President and click ads to fund their campaign!

Clip Source: politics.charityads.org

Support your favorite candidate by viewing ads and supporting the advertisers.
Every Click Counts! So come back everyday!

Tags: politics, election 08, clinton, obama, mccain, huckabee