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Physics of the Impossible

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:16:31 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: 'If this all sounds like pie in the sky, think again. After all, how would physicists 200 years ago have reacted if you'd told them about the internet, the atomic bomb or the moon landings? What would they have made of Einstein's theory of relativity?"

Clip Source: www.bryanchristiedesign.com

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Precognition may not be possible, but a speculative physicist can predict a future of teleportation and starships

Michio Kaku doesn't know the meaning of the word "impossible".

for those of us not au fait with the process of speculating on the future of physics, he's split his impossibilities into three categories. Class I impossibilities are technologies which are impossible today, but don't violate the known laws of physics. Kaku reckons that these impossibilities – including things such as teleportation and psychokinesis – might be possible in some reduced form sometime within the next couple of hundred years.

Class II impossibilities such as time machines and hyperspace travel are at the very edge of our scientific understanding, and may take millions of years to become possible.

Class III impossibilities, are technologies which break the laws of physics as we know them.

Solar powered Prius!!

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:55:31 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Now this is exciting news! This type of innovation is exactly what the world needs to help us lose our dependency on oil. It is also the type of progress that i believe will spur the economy out of its very nasty funk.

Clip Source: www.marketwatch.com

The move will make Toyota the first major automaker to install a popular model with solar panels. The redesigned Prius will have solar panels on the roof, which will supply part of the two to five kilowatts needed to power the air-conditioning unit, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Tags: alternative energy, oil, prius, solar

Yellowcake Uranium Found In Iraq, Bush Was Right! Well, Not So Much

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:42:26 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: And guess what:

Top recommended post at Redstate:

Yellowcake uranium found in Iraq, Saddam’s legacy, Bush was right!

Reading comprehension?

FAIL!

Clip Source: www.crooksandliars.com

This article from the AP was posted yesterday, reporting the sale and transport of 550 metric tons of yellowcake uranium from Iraq to Canada. Some of the leading right wing blogs were quick to hail the find as a significant victory for the Bush administration and proof of Saddam’s WMD program, but as Daniel De Groot at Open Left Points out, their celebrations may be a bit premature, if not dishonest:

I noted last night that a supply of uranium from Iraq had been successfully moved to Montreal in secrecy.

If you check into this, you’ll quickly find that the uranium a) was not weapons grade and b) was well known to the UN and IAEA and was being stored legally by Saddam’s government. It was legally in Iraq according to international law.

I wondered if the right wing echo chamber would use this as “proof” that the WMD claims were true after all. I got even better than I hoped, as not only do they use it that way, but they reveal how dishonest they are by the way they have done this.

Tags: yellowcake, iraq, wmds, the, lie, nukes, saddam

Ordinary into Genius- Genes

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:40:18 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: io9.com

Scientists Identify Genes that Could Turn Ordinary People into Supergeniuses (or Mindless Drones)

It's clear that there's a specific set of genes responsible for brain development when you're in the womb, and that those genes affect your ability to learn later on. But now a group of researchers in the U.S. and Canada have identified those genes. And their discovery could represent the first step in tweaking brain development. It's possible that that knocking out some of those genes or adding extra copies of them to a developing baby could result in the tailor-made human minds of Brave New World: Some will be born to develop cutting-edge technologies, and others to be slow-witted and compliant.

Published this weekend in PLoS Genetics, the study is extraordinary not just because of its futuristic implications, but because of the cool new super-rapid system the researchers used to identify which genes are active during brain development. The technique is called RNA interference, or RNAi:

Tags: genetics, genes, dna, genius, drones

Cheaper Solar Power

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:26:07 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The future of energy seems to be solar.

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

New solar arrays from SolFocus generate more power than conventional solar panels but use just one-thousandth as much expensive semiconductor material.

The arrays' curved mirrors focus sunlight onto one-square-centimeter solar cells, concentrating the light 500 times and improving the cells' efficiency.

SolFocus's first power-producing installation will be generating 500 kilowatts of electricity by the end of the summer.

The company expects that by 2010, electricity from its arrays will be about as cheap as electricity from conventional sources.

Tags: energy, solar energy

Impossible Experiments (1)

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:15:29 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Continue on the second part of this clip.

Clip Source: blogs.psychologytoday.com

What psychology experiment would you love to carry out if neither ethics nor practical reality stood in your way? For the August issue of Psychology Today, I asked several PT bloggers this question and printed four responses.

Musical Storks

I would collect all newborn babies and randomly reassign them to new parents. I'm confident that we will confirm the 50-0-50 rule: Adult personality is roughly 50% genetic, 0% how they are raised by their parents, and 50% socialization outside the family by peers and friends

Universal Grammar

I would entirely determine the sentences and words children are presented with during their infancy and childhood. For instance, you could entirely deprive children of examples of some linguistic constructions.

Then see whether children develop a normal linguistic competence. If so, that would be very strong evidence that we possess a dedicated cognitive mechanism to help us acquire language

Tags: psychology

Virtual Personal Assistants: Not Just for the Filthy Rich

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:15:26 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.technewsworld.com

If you think virtual assistants are too expensive, you might want to think again. AskSunday.com, for instance, charges users $29 a month for 15 "requests"; meanwhile, GetFriday.com offers monthly plans that start at $120 a month for 10 hours and pay-as-you-go options.

Think only celebrities, high-ranking professionals and the wealthy can enjoy having personal assistants at their beck and call? Not necessarily.

A growing number of Web sites are making it easier to outsource virtual errands overseas, making it cheaper to indulge in the luxury of never having to write another thank-you card or sit on hold with the department of motor vehicles.

Those who use the sites, for everything from ordering takeout to managing online dating, say the cost is affordable and a small price to free up their time -- even in the face of a sputtering economy.

Taking Over Tedious Tasks

Tags: virtual, personal assistants

Impossible Experiments (2)

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:22:54 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks:

Clip Source: blogs.psychologytoday.com

For Better or Worse

I'd like to take couples who are living together and randomly assign half of them to marry and the others to stay unmarried.

Then we could really know something about the implications of co-habitation vs. marriage.

More outrageously, take people who are not in a serious romantic relationship, and assign half of them, at random, to marry.

Single people are randomly assigned to a spouse who is chosen at random, or to a spouse who fits their description of their perfect partner, or to stay single

Who do you think would end up the happiest a decade later?

Enter the Matrx

I would create an "experience machine" that gave people the illusion that they were living a vibrant and exciting life.

Philosophers have long wondered whether people care only about their own feelings of happiness or whether they truly do want to be accomplishing something meaningful in their lives.

If we could offer people the choice to go into this machine, we would

figuring out what the answer really was

Tags: psychology

The Caves of Dunhuang - Buddha’s Caveshe

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:22:27 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "this series explore how China's shifting self-image is reshaping its art and art institutions"

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

this series explore how China's shifting self-image is reshaping its art and art institutions.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

It's one of many threats to the major tourist draw of Dunhuang, a city on the lip of the Gobi desert: the hundreds of rock-cut Buddhist grottoes that pepper a cliff face outside town.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Known as Mogaoku - ''peerless caves'' - and filled with paradisiacal frescos and hand-molded clay sculptures of savior-gods and saints, they are like nothing else in the Chinese Buddhist world. And Mogaoku is in trouble. After a dramatic increase in traffic, the caves are deteriorating because of high levels of carbon dioxide and humidity.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Set between Mongolia and Tibet, Dunhuang was a vital juncture on the Silk Road.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The earliest examples of caves, small and plain, were used for shelter and meditation

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

hunting scene, painted in a cave in Dunhuang.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

fifth-century painted Buddha, sprinkled with desert dust, shows some deterioration

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

A War On Science: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design -BBC documentary - Part 1-6

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:46:22 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: This documentary looks at the current situation surrounding the evolution vs. creationism/intelligent design in the USA.

Clip Source: ca.youtube.com

A War On Science: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design (1-6)

Some 150 years ago Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution which went against the belief humans and all life on earth was created by God. After years of controversy surrounding his theory evolution became accepted as the dominant scientific explanation for the creation of life and the world. However, a new challenge is launched against Darwin and his theory of evolution: intelligent design.
This documentary looks at the current situation surrounding the evolution vs. creationism/intelligent design in the USA.

[Video]

Clip Source: ca.youtube.com

A War On Science: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design (2-6)

A War On Science: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design (3-6)

War on Science - intelligent design - Part 4

A War On Science: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design (5-6)

A War On Science: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design (6-6)

A Little Welcome Home from the Torture Masters

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:45:31 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: "As they ridiculed me, they took delight most in mocking letters I had received from readers in England. I had now been without food and water and the toilet for 12 hours, and having been made to stand, my legs buckled. I vomited and passed out. All I remember is one of them gouging, scraping and clawing with his nails at the tender flesh beneath my eyes. He scooped my head and dug his fingers in near the auditory nerves between my head and eardrum. The pain became sharper as he dug in two fingers at a time. Another man had his combat boot on my neck, pressing into the hard floor. I lay there for over an hour. The room became a menagerie of pain, sound and terror."

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

From triumph to torture

Clip Source: www.ukzn.ac.za

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

I presented a young Palestinian, Mohammed Omer, with the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism

shares the prize of £5,000 with Dahr Jamail. At 24, he is the youngest winner

Clip Source: www.ips.org

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

An Israeli bulldozer crushed his home while the family were inside, seriously injuring his mother

Clip Source: www.peaceworkmagazine.org

Clip Source: www.september11news.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Dutch ambassador, Jan Wijenberg, "he is a moderating voice,

seized by Shin Bet,

call his embassy escort and was told forcefully he could not

"Where's the money?"

"Where is the English pound you have?"

surrounded by eight Shin Bet officers, all armed

I stripped down to my underwear

Avi put his hand on his gun. I began to cry: 'Why are you treating me this way?

'This is nothing

gun out, pressing it to my head and with his full body weight pinning me on my side, he forcibly removed my underwear

dance

I vomited and passed out

gouging, scraping and clawing with his nails at the tender flesh beneath my eyes

combat boot on my neck

ambulance

a hospital

signed a statement indemnifying the Israelis

medic refused

Clip Source: www.pbsguide.org

Clip Source: www.palestinechronicle.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Dutch embas

Tags: israel, torture, journalist, award, prize, theft, shinbet

Single Celled Organisms that can Make Oil, Cure Cancer, and Build a City

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:17:14 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

there are some super-powered single cells which are far more than meets the unaided eye. We might think their mightiest power is confining us to the bathroom after an ill-advised late night snack, but having only one cell to deal with means bacteria can adapt incredibly well - and a single mutation can give rise to powers that make Professor Xavier's wheelchair-accessible mansion look like a home for people who are good at minigolf. Here we look at five organisms that would be called the Super-Cells, if that name wasn't probably already taken by Michael Crichton.

1) Eat Radiation

a species of bacteria with the ability to consume uranium and other extremely antisocial wastes has been discovered by US scientists

2) Generate Electricity

3) Make oil without the inconvenient "millions of years" thing

4) Cure cancer

5) Build a city

They form highly organized structures called biofilms, mini-city analogs which can share food intake and waste disposal routes for the good of the whole colony.

Tags: cell, bacteria