You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October, 2006.
A method for sorting nanotubes by electronic properties could make widespread nanotube-based electronics a reality.
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Chinese Government has been opposing His Holiness the Dalai Lama
’s trip to different parts of the world. This time His Holiness visit to Japan is no difference. Chinese Government vehemently opposed Japan’s decision to have His Holiness in their country, even though this visit was meant to be a non-political, spiritual related. Historicall
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“NINETEEN hundred and thirty-six will be the year of the big television explosion!†The impending “explosion†is the eruption of television out of the laboratory into commercial refinement.
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Manufactured silk could be used for artificial tendons and ligaments, sutures, parachutes and bulletproof vests. A team of MIT engineers has identified two key physical processes that lend spider silk its unrivaled strength and durability, bringing closer to reality the long-sought goal of spinning artificial spider silk.
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“Google’s first “Sponsored Video†had it’s debut. Titled The Domino Effect, it’s Diet Coke and Mentos part II from the guys in white lab coats - EepyBird. It’s sponsored, believe it or not, by Coca Cola and Mentos. The original video the pair made was much more entertaining and brought them a reported $35,000 via the Revver revenue sharing system.”
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The most dangerous tourist route in the world is located in Tibet
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Marijuana comes in at #1 with 140 billion. Pirated Web Videos comes in at #5 with 60 billion. Pirated Software comes in at #7 with 34 billion. Pirated Movies comes in at #16 with 6.1 billion. Smuggled gas and oil comes in at #18 with 5.2 billion. Pirated music comes in at #20 with 4.5 billion. Pirated Video Games comes in at #23 with 3 billion.
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Title says it all….
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British scientists have grown the world’s first artificial liver from stem cells in a breakthrough that will one day provide entire organs for transplant.
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Circulation at the nation’s largest newspapers plunged over the last six months. Though the industry has felt consecutive declines over the last five years, the Newspaper Association of America said that the figures for the latest period were “the largest variance year over year†of which it was aware.
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The fried chicken sold in all 5,500 KFC restaurants in the United States will soon be cooked with a soybean-based oil that contains no trans fat, the company announced Monday.
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“…a promising step toward identifying potential components to combine into a vaccine designed for people at high risk of invasive S. aureus infection,” says Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
S. aureus, the most common agent of hospital-acquired infection, as well as other nasty infections, including food poisoning.
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Virtual colonoscopy is less invasive than optical colonoscopy and produces precise and detailed 3-D “fly-through” images of the entire colon’s interior without having to insert a scope.
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Finally, a scientific explanation for the metrosexual. The reasons for this trend are unclear, said researchers at the New England Research Institutes in Waterdown, Mass. They noted that neither aging nor certain other health factors, such as smoking or obesity, can fully explain the decline.
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With the border closed, shops shuttered and markets emptied, millions of Congolese, with hopes as vast as their country, headed to polls Sunday to elect a president for the first time in more than 40 years.
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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been re-elected in a landslide victory, in the country’s second round of presidential elections. Partial results show the president, known as “Lula” with more than 60% of the votes, outstripping rival Geraldo Alckmin, who has just under 40%.
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“Health care” does not, as the term is currently used, focus on health. Health care providers treat illness. Six thousand people die each day in the U.S. Most of them die from diseases that are preventable. Take the six-fold path to optimum health, beginning with one’s diet. (And on through the next five)
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I sat next to Jimbo at a Wikipedia dinner over the summer. I begged him to put a leaderboard on Wikipedia and told him I would get AOL to sell it and host Wikipedia–for free. He declined saying there will never be ads on Wikipedia. I then explained to him in detail how that one leaderboard could make over $100M per year.
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U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced on Friday $450 million in grants during the next decade to further research into technology that would lessen the environmental impacts of coal use.
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Wow.
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Our robot-breeding friends over in Japan — at the Chiba Institute of Technology and the University of Tsukuba — have announced the development of a crawling robot that can slide across dirt floors and lift itself over plumbing and other pipes. It’s designed to fit spaces 500 millimeters (19.68 inches) wide and 300 millimeters (11.8 inches) tall,
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“As secretary-general, I will leave no stone unturned in my endeavor to dispel the bitter atmosphere and shore up the trust and confidence among all stakeholders,” Ban told a luncheon marking the U.N. anniversary. “This will begin with winning the trust of all in myself and my leadership as secretary-general.”
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Shuttleworth is investing money in South Africa. Perhaps if this venture is successful it will convince other VC firms Africa is capable of making a return on a capital investment.
MMCs extend the opportunity to create novel materials not found in nature by combining metals with other substances such as ceramics or industrial waste. For example, ceramics and aluminum can be combined to make an alloy that is lighter but just as strong as iron based alloys. Read more to find out about other novel combinations being explored.
The dye in your blue jeans could soon be used to kill cancer cells, say scientists. The common dye found in blue jeans and ballpoint pens is called phthalocyanine and is a light-activated, or photosensitive, agent with cell-destroying properties.
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EO-1 is a new breed of satellite that can think for itself. “We programmed it to notice things that change (like the plume of a volcano) and take appropriate action,” Chien explains. EO-1 can re-organize its own priorities to study volcanic eruptions, flash-floods, forest fires, disintegrating sea-ice—in short, anything unexpected.
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For the first time, women in India have legal protection against abuse in their own homes under a law which came into force yesterday. It is the first time Indian law has recognised marital rape, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse of a woman by her husband as crimes. India is a country where the streets are safe - but a woman is not safe
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The pressure of the eyelid on the eyeball could cause one of the most common vision problems, new research shows.
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Lots more strange stuff
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Scientists helping to develop the next generation of cancer-beating drugs say they have had a major breakthrough with their latest results.
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How much is a bachelor’s degree worth? About $23,000 a year, the government said in a report released Thursday. That is the average gap in earnings between adults with bachelor’s degrees and those with high school diplomas, according to data from the Census Bureau.
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Composed of peptides (fragments of proteins), the liquid forms a gel when applied to an open wound, quickly stemming the flow of any blood
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For several reasons - especially growing demand in developing countries - tech’s run will probably last many years.
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Creative Commons filmmaking experiment A Swarm Of Angels aims to create and distribute the first collaborative internet film. The aim is to use community participation and funding to make a film that would traditionally cost $3-4 million for just $1.75 million. Users will be able to freely download, share, burn and remix the content as they see fit
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A “Tower of Babel” device that gives the illusion of being bilingual is being developed by US scientists. The prototype attaches to the neck and the person just mouths the words and the translator talks in the desired language. Talk about dubbing real life!
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Perceived wisdom shifts. Using farming as an analogy, Victor Davis Hanson reveals the fickleness of human nature, how it relates to our current struggles in Iraq, and how ultimately, Iraq’s outcome will be a product of fate. Additionally, he comments on a potential Presidential Candidate for 2008, Governor Mitt Romney.
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Finance minister Trevor Manuel told Parliament on Wednesday that preparations for the tournament — the first to be held in Africa — were one of the country’s top spending priorities for the next three years.
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Wall Street investment banks are making a serious commitment to energy-saving initiatives, Fortune’s Matt Boyle reports.
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A U.S. panel today recommended that those 60 and older be administered a newly approved vaccine that will prevent shingles, a painful disease of the skin.
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Major broadcasters let the FCC know this week that they want the agency to relax or remove most of its media ownership rules. They claim that this would be good for customers, but four academic studies and one FCC Commissioner aren’t so sure.
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The United States was pressing Iraqi leaders to take “bold steps” to end sectarian violence, and “we are making it clear that American patience is not unlimited,” Bush told a news conference in Washington.
Even so, he added, “We will not put more pressure on the Iraqi government than it can bear.”
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“We’re winning and we will win, unless we leave before the job is done,” Bush said in a White House press conference.
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The Home Depot has teamed up with BP Solar to provide solar installation service to customers. It is offering its customers the ability to sign-up online for free, in-home consultations.
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Beijing’s longer-term goal is to create a new generation of Mandarin-speaking Uighurs with fewer ties to Islam or traditional Uighur culture, critics say, including programs that send the brightest young Uighurs to Mandarin-only schools in other provinces.
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A dual-mode phone is able to use both cellular and Wi-Fi radio signal for communication. This technology is not quite ready yet, but it has huge implications for the future of mobile communication.
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By 2010 more than 25% of American households will no longer even own a traditional land line. VOIP is cheaper and has better technology. Better yet, you don’t have to deal with telecom customer service.
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A silicon retina that reproduces signals in the optic nerve
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A team of researchers supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research report they have created a new smart anti-microbial treatment that can be chemically programmed in the laboratory to seek out and kill a specific cavity-causing species of bacteria, leaving the good bacteria untouched.
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The GumStix NetStix 400xm-cf is Linux based and has a 400MHz Intel processor coupled with 64MB of RAM. And that slash you see there is a CompactFlash slot for expanding memory. As far as mini PCs go, this one wins hands down.
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Wars are messy and imperfect. Crying, “Whoa is me!” and searching for someone to blame for our previous mistakes in the current Iraq War is a sure way to invite failure.
But if we give up now, worse things will happen, and it would be quite a shame when we are so close to success.
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For once there is some good news from Africa. Farmers are reclaiming the desert, turning the barren wastelands of the Sahel region on the Sahara’s southern edge into green, productive farmland.
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An amazing picture of the Space Shuttle, launching from Florida, as seen out the window of the International Space Station. A must see!
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The City of Chicago’s announced successful migration to Red Hat Enterprise Linux for essential government programs including the vehicle registration system online job applications restaurant inspections ethics training and more. The City of Chicago migrated to Red Hat in order to reduce costs and improve support performance and scalability.
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Don’t wait for your doctor to write a prescription for vitamin C. For now, the public will have to move ahead on its own, given that the medical profession is dragging its feet. In 1970 Dr. Linus Pauling broke through to the public with his book, Vitamin C & the Common Cold, and consumption of it rose by 300 % and mortality from heart disease decre
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There are several reasons banks don’t usually reach out to the poor. The biggest is that banks see them as “risky” investments. The poor are too likely to default on a loan and can’t provide the bank enough collateral to compensate for a defaulted loan.
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Jewish support for a military strike against Iran is declining, according to a new study.
Thirty-eight percent of American Jews would support U.S. military action against Iran, according to the American Jewish Committee
’s annual survey of U.S. Jewish opinion, down from 49 percent last year.
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Algae ingests carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in the photosynthesis process. Algae is laden with oils that can be used to produce biodiesel, starches that can be transformed into ethanol and protein that could have a market niche in cattle and fish feed.
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Human-mice “chimeras” – mice implanted with human tissues and human stem cells – that developed fully functional human immune systems and infection-fighting cells, such as T cells, throughout their bodies, can now be used to study human infections and diseases.
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Google, a global economic force but a latecomer to Washington politics, is trying to boost its influence in Congress with the first campaign contributions from its new political action committee. Alan Davidson, a Google lobbyist, said the PAC is “a logical step toward building long-term relationships with policy-makers.”
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Not that cannabis is a safe drug, because there is no such thing, but it is not “more dangerous than heroin” (Melanie Reid, October 19). We assert that even though one of us has published work showing heroin not to be as dangerous as commonly thought. It is not even true that cannabis is more dangerous than alcohol.
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Nature provides an anti-cancer molecule found in rice bran that exceeds the effectiveness and safety of most anti-cancer drugs. Yet it goes unutilized by modern medicine. Most drugs are modeled after molecules found in nature. Nature’s molecules are then re-arranged so as to acquire a patent. Pharmaceutical companies can then justify the expense
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Oil of oregano at relatively low doses was found to be efficacious against Staphylococcus bacteria and was comparable in its germ-killing properties to antibiotic drugs such as streptomycin, penicillin and vancomycin. Drug resistance does not develop against naturally-occurring antibiotics such as garlic and oil of oregano.
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Wal-Mart employees’ familiar blue vests emblazoned with “May I help you?” and the smiley face logo may become a thing of the past as the world’s largest retailer makes another visible change as part of its efforts to upgrade stores and attract more shoppers
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Here’s the first one: Approach and engage a pretty girl in conversation with no prompting from anyone. She might not want to talk. She might even tell you to go jerk yourself a soda. But she might not.
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With a 50 kW electric motor, a Prius delivers 67 horses and 297 lb-ft of torque. The 2006 Civic Hybrid, with a 15 kW motor, delivers 20 hp and 76 lb-ft of torque. Raser’s has not released horsepower or torque figures, but being twice as powerful as the Prius’ electric motor, positive change is on the horizon.
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A proper balance must be struck between the ideologies of the traditionalist spiritual right (i.e. fundamentalism, stuck in the 1200’s) and the amoral left (science and secular progressives, stuck in 1967).
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The AutoFFV works with the vehicle’s existing sensors to detect the ethanol/gasoline ratio and instructs the engine to operate accordingly. The company has developed adapters for Ford, GM, Honda, Mazda, Volvo and Toyota vehicles.
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Recall how hydrogen peroxide is poured on wounds to kill germs. Well now researchers clearly show high-dose vitamin C, when administered intravenously, can increase hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels within cancer cells and kills them. I.V. vitamin C was also demonstrated to kill germs and may be an effective therapy for infectious disease.
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A poll conducted in September for the Las Vegas Review-Journal found 51 percent of voters opposed Question 7, while 42 percent supported it and 7 percent were undecided.
Rev. William C. Webb, a Baptist minister…joined dozens of other religious leaders in announcing their backing.
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Leftist ideology creates Nihilism because leftist ideology creates victims. Victims feel hopeless, and this victim-hood creates a state of spiritual deprivation.
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The Dow Jones industrials jumped past the 12,000 mark for the first time in history Wednesday as a tame reading on inflation, surprisingly solid housing numbers and strong earnings pushed stocks higher.
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Fonix Speech has updated its automatic speech recognition (ASR) software that runs on Linux, among other OSes. The company claims that VoiceIn SE 4.1 boosts recognition by 24 percent, to accuracy rates as high as 98 percent, and offers significantly improved recognition accuracy in “noise-saturated” environments.
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$14,374,330,000,000 Total Increase in Household Wealth Since April 2003; $625,000,000,000 Total Increase in Federal Tax Revenues Since FY 2003;
$207,788,000,000 Reduction in the Deficit in the Past 29 Months Due to Stronger Economic Growth - There you have it. America is over-taxed. Reduce tax rates, increase tax revenue.
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They claim their Plug
’n Drive system delivers approx. 40 miles of range and charges fully in four hours. They also claim their batteries deliver full power until completely drained (rather than slowly dwindling).
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Those in the know about technology must spend more time reaching out to governments and helping them understand the Internet’s role in society, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said Tuesday.
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The National Security Service (SNB) of Kyrgyzstan has developed a special plan on strengthening the control over the republic’s Islamic clergy. This was told by a high-ranking source in the diplomatic department of one of the Central Asian region countries.
A computer that uses strands of DNA to perform calculations has mastered the game tic-tac-toe.
MAYA-II, developed by researchers at Columbia University and the University of New Mexico in the US, uses a system of DNA logic gates to calculate its moves.
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Great video giving us insight into how the lobbyists, special interest groups and the wealthy control California politicians with money. I’m sure this scene repeats itself in states across the nation. Visit timefor89.org for more great videos on why we need Prop 89 in California (and in every other state).
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“Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 15 through October 21, 2006, as National Character Counts Week.” (Full presidential proclamation included)
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Gambling, prostitution, and now pot? Organizers of a Nevada ballot measure hope voters in a state where almost everything goes will go one better and legalize marijuana.
If it passes Nov. 7, Nevada will be the first state to allow adults to possess up to an ounce of pot that they could buy at government-regulated marijuana shops.
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Researchers can now detect the spread of skin cancer cells through the blood by literally listening to their sound. The unprecedented, minimally invasive technique causes melanoma cells to emit noise, and could let oncologists spot early signs of metastases– as few as 10 cancer cells in a blood sample — before they even settle in other organs.
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An insane look at the crazy growth in Dubai. From desert to desert paradise.
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Testing soldiers to see if they have been exposed to biological or chemical weapons could soon be much faster and easier, thanks to MIT researchers who are helping to develop a tiny diagnostic device that could be carried into battle.
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Google Inc. plans a solar-powered electricity system at its Silicon Valley headquarters that will rank as the largest U.S. solar-powered corporate office complex, the company said on Wednesday.
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Researchers have identified how the body’s own immune system contributes to the nerve fiber damage caused by multiple sclerosis, a finding that can potentially aid earlier diagnosis and improved treatment for this chronic disease.
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Wow! The future of warfare is really going places. The army now have a bullet proof spray which makes pretty much anything bullet proof. Quite amazing i think
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The new fuel - which represents a 97% reduction in sulfur content from previous diesel fuel - is now available at fueling stations nationwide. This environmental revolution means cleaner air for all Americans and paves the way for introduction of the rest of the clean diesel system.
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General Dynamics has just released a new video demonstrating its Trophy Active Defense System, which is basically an invisible force field for military vehicles that disables incoming RPG rounds. Direct youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62jzAupr044
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These were taken from the 33rd level Emirates Towers. Simply surreal.
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Patent filings in China increased by more than six times in a decade, helping the Asian country make a dramatic leap in catching up to the world leaders in patent activity, the U.N. agency that oversees intellectual property said Monday.
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CNET Networks Inc. said on Monday it launched CNET TV, a Web site to broadcast video news and product review segments, as well as a partnership with Verizon Communications Inc. to distribute CNET’s video segments through on-demand television
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Good news in the search for cleaner electricity: SunPower,which makes solar cells and panels,says it has boosted the efficiency and size of its solar panels, yielding substantially more electricity than current panels. Overall, these changes result in a 43 percent increase in power, and will have roughly the same cost per watt as the existing line.
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If the plan is perfectly executed, Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child project will deploy 100 million laptops in the first year. In one fell swoop, the nonprofit organization will create the largest computing monoculture in history.
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Hanson lays out an argument as to why eco-doom soothsayers simply project their own biases onto their prophesies.
By Victor Davis Hanson
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What are we trying to do with Venice? It
’s simple, really — we are trying to bring together the best of TV with the best of the Internet. We think TV is one of the most powerful, engaging mass medias of all time. People love TV, but they also hate TV.
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Yes, and a multifaceted one, at that.
by Victor Davis Hanson
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Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s “banker to the poor” was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize today.
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The Nobel prize-winning Grameen Bank employs thousands of people across Bangladesh, sending them from urban slums to villages to make small loans to poor people….
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But there is a problem – the bird flu virus we need to stop probably does not even exist, yet, which makes it difficult to design a preventive medicine. But researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center think they are on to something – a one-two punch that has worked in a small trial.
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“Every time you run a Google search, you make its brain more powerful”
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The University of Wisconsin has agreed to take part in Google’s bid to scan book collections of the world’s great libraries, joining a second wave of backers for the controversial project, the two organizations said late on Wednesday.
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A new motor designed by scientists from Japan offers the best of both worlds: the living and the non-living. The group built a hybrid micromachine that is powered by gliding bacteria which travels on an inorganic silicon track and pushes a silicon dioxide rotor. The combination takes advantage of the precise engineering of synthetic devices …
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University of Chicago chemist David Mazziotti has developed a new method for determining the behavior of electrons in atoms and molecules, a key ingredient in predicting chemical properties and reactions.
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“It takes a long time for technologies to understand each other. So how long will it take for social and business applications to embrace each other, much less produce the next generation of applications? It turns out not too much longer, because social and business applications have both been around the block a few times….”
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Please do yourselves a favor and DIGG THIS. It’s America at its best; and it’s the Duke at his best.
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Nearly a year in the making, the OSDL and freedesktop.org today announced general availability of Portland 1.0, the first set of common interfaces for GNOME and KDE desktops. This support may be a small step for GNOME and KDE, but it’s a giant leap for the Linux desktop.
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China has unblocked Wikipedia. Wikipedia refused to censor itself to appease totalitarian Beijing, but China unblocked it anyway. China needs Wikipedia and Chinese net-users would access it using circumvention tools.
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Nokia, the world’s largest producer of mobile handsets, announced on Wednesday that it will introduce cell-phones based on the emerging WiMAX standard, beginning in 2008.
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At PayScale users go through a process of disclosing detailed information about their job function and compensation, and add it to what PayScale says is the “world’s largest database of salary information.†The user can then access detailed salary information in the database, including custom reports based on salary, bonus, commission, etc.
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The federal budget deficit, helped by a gusher of tax revenues, fell to $247.7 billion in 2006, the smallest amount of red ink in four years. The deficit for the budget year that ended Sept. 30 was 22 percent lower than the $318.7 billion imbalance for 2005.
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Xogen claims to have developed a process to split water and deliver hydrogen on demand to a burner tip, combustion chamber, or fuel cell, without external pressurisation or storage while consuming modest amounts of electrical current.
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People with over 25,000 dollars will receive 30 free trades a month. This has the online brokerage businesses shaking in their boots.
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For too long scientists have