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Light Activated ‘Warhead’ Turns Modest Molecules into Super Protein Killers (PhysOrg)
March 14, 2010 – 2:08 pm | Comments Off

Using a novel light activation technique, Scripps Research Institute scientists have been able to turn molecules with only a modest ability to fight specific proteins into virtual protein destroyers. … Read more

Virtual Reality Pioneer Turns Against Web 2.0 Culture (Toronto Star)
March 14, 2010 – 2:03 pm | Comments Off

Lanier, a former proponent of the open-source model of freely sharing intellectual property, has reversed course as the author of a contentious new book, You are Not a Gadget. The heretical manifesto sounds a serious …

Climate Change ‘Makes Birds Shrink’ in North America (BBC)
March 14, 2010 – 2:01 pm | Comments Off

Songbirds in the US are getting smaller, and climate change is suspected as the cause. A study of almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 species, shows that many are gradually becoming lighter …

The Digital Disconnect: In Relentless Pursuit of ‘Connecting,’ We Miss Out on Each Other (Seattle Times)
March 14, 2010 – 1:59 pm | Comments Off

While communication and gaming gadgets have convenienced and connected us in ways never before possible, they may also be profoundly hurting our ability to be social, empathic and involved with each other. The signs are …

The Virtual Battles Where Soldiers Can’t Die: MoD Trains Army to Fight Using Sophisticated video Games (Daily Mail)
March 14, 2010 – 1:56 pm | Comments Off

Poised with his rifle in the searing heat of the Afghan desert, a British soldier suddenly has to dive for cover as he comes under enemy fire. However, despite the bullets whizzing all around he …

India Company’s Medical-Tourism Push (BusinessWeek)
March 14, 2010 – 1:53 pm | Comments Off

Indian hospital operator Fortis Healthcare’s purchase of a big stake in Singapore-based Parkway Holdings could lead to a major shakeup in the global health-care industry. … Read more

China Looks to ‘Combustible Ice’ as a Fuel Source (PhysOrg)
March 14, 2010 – 1:52 pm | Comments Off

Buried below the tundra of China’s Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a type of frozen natural gas containing methane and ice crystals that could supply energy to China for 90 years. China discovered the large reserve of …

New Computing Tools Threaten the Role of the PC (Mercury News)
March 14, 2010 – 1:44 pm | Comments Off

The PC has been at the center of the computing universe for 30 years. But that’s about to change. Within two or three years, smartphones will outsell PCs, if analysts’ projections hold true. Already, netbooks …

The Smart Swarm: How Understanding Flocks, Schools, and Colonies Can Make Us Better at Communicating, Decision Making, and Getting Things Done. By Peter Miller. Avery.
March 13, 2010 – 11:39 am | Comments Off
The Smart Swarm: How Understanding Flocks, Schools, and Colonies Can Make Us Better at Communicating, Decision Making, and Getting Things Done. By Peter Miller. Avery.

The modern world may be obsessed with speed and productivity, but twenty-first-century humans actually have much to learn from the ancient instincts of swarms. A fascinating new take on the concept of collective intelligence and …

Japan Aims its Home Fuel Cells at Europe (BBC)
March 13, 2010 – 9:12 am | Comments Off

With over 5,000 fuel cells providing heat and energy for conventional homes up and down Japan, the BBC has learnt that companies such as electronics giant Panasonic are in talks with EU governments about the …

China May Emulate U.S. ‘Quiet Revolution’ in Shale Gas Output (Bloomberg)
March 11, 2010 – 10:11 pm | Comments Off

China may produce a quarter of its natural gas from shale deposits within 20 years to meet growing demand for the cleaner-burning fuel, reduce imports and emulate a boom in U.S. output from the gas-bearing …

Computer Program ‘Reads’ Minds (CBC)
March 11, 2010 – 10:09 pm | Comments Off

U.K. researchers have used a computer program to analyze human brain activity and “read” a person’s memory of watching a short film. … Read more

Recognition Technology to Transform Mobile Devices (PhysOrg)
March 11, 2010 – 10:07 pm | Comments Off

UT Dallas researchers are working with Texas Instruments Inc. and GetFugu Inc. to enable next-generation human-device interaction (HDI) technologies that merge a physical, real-world environment with virtual, computer-generated imagery on mobile devices. … …

Curbs on Media, Internet Rise Worldwide, U.S. Says (BusinessWeek)
March 11, 2010 – 10:06 pm | Comments Off

Crackdowns on the media and on Internet use rose last year in China, Iran, Russia and other nations in an effort by governments to clamp down on dissent, according to the annual U.S. report on …

Down on the Farm With the Robots (BBC)
March 11, 2010 – 10:04 pm | Comments Off

Dr. Richard Dudley and colleagues at NPL along with agricultural firm Vegetable Harvesting Systems (VHS) are working on robots that are as fast as humans at working out if a cauliflower is ready to be …

Google’s Library Project Forces Important Media Decisions (PhysOrg)
March 11, 2010 – 10:01 pm | Comments Off

Sometime in the near future, a federal judge will decide whether Google can proceed with its plan to create a digital library and bookstore out of millions of old books scanned from libraries around the …

Arctic Seed Vault Becomes World’s Most Diverse Collection of Crop Diversity (PhysOrg)
March 10, 2010 – 10:13 pm | Comments Off

Days after celebrating its second anniversary, the Svalbard “Doomsday” Global Seed Vault is receiving this week thousands of new seeds that will push its collection to more than half a million unique samples, making it …

Google to Digitize Old Books from Rome, Florence (Boston Globe)
March 10, 2010 – 10:10 pm | Comments Off

Google said it will scan up to 1 million old books in national libraries in Rome and Florence, including works by astronomer Galileo Galilei, in what’s being described as the first deal of its kind. …

Huge ‘Botnet’ Amputated, but Criminals Reconnect (Boston Globe)
March 10, 2010 – 10:05 pm | Comments Off

The sudden takedown of an Internet provider thought to be helping spread one of the most promiscuous pieces of malicious software out there appears to have cut off criminals from potentially millions of personal computers …

World Crude Oil Production May Peak a Decade Earlier than Some Predict (PhysOrg)
March 10, 2010 – 10:04 pm | Comments Off

In a finding that may speed efforts to conserve oil and intensify the search for alternative fuel sources, scientists in Kuwait predict that world conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014 — almost a …

Solar Power Could Provide 10% of US Energy: Report (PhysOrg)
March 10, 2010 – 10:00 pm | Comments Off

The United States could source 10 percent of its electricity from solar power by 2030, a report said, winning support from a US lawmaker who wants to boost the number of US solar panels. …

New Method to Grow Arteries Could Lead to ‘Biological Bypass’ for Heart Disease (PhysOrg)
March 9, 2010 – 11:10 am | Comments Off

A new method of growing arteries could lead to a “biological bypass”—or a non-invasive way to treat coronary artery disease, Yale School of Medicine researchers report with their colleagues in the April issue of Journal …

Seizing the White Space: Business Model Innovation for Growth and Renewal. By Mark W. Johnson. Harvard Business Press.
March 8, 2010 – 7:34 pm | Comments Off
Seizing the White Space: Business Model Innovation for Growth and Renewal. By Mark W. Johnson. Harvard Business Press.

Transformative growth, the need for innovation, and the relentless pressure to boost profit and value are the drivers of today’s global economy. Executives the world over are on the watch for the opportunities that lie …

A Vaccine to Cure Addictions? (Kojo Nnamdi)
March 8, 2010 – 12:22 pm | Comments Off

Windows Media | Real Audio … Can an injection help you stop smoking? Or end a drug addiction? We hear about a new approach to curing addiction that works like the flu vaccine. How your …

Future Shock, Past and Present (On the Media)
March 8, 2010 – 12:15 pm | Comments Off

MP3… Just about every week, a TV news segment or magazine cover scares us with the prospect that new media technology is damaging our brains, our social skills and our culture. But, says neuropsychologist Dr. …

Buffett-Backed BYD Targets Toyota (BusinessWeek)
March 8, 2010 – 11:37 am | Comments Off

Can an automaker from China capitalize on the Toyota recall scandals? With the reputation of the Prius tarnished, the Chinese company backed by Warren Buffett, BYD, could hardly have found a better time to roll …

China Starts Work on Guangdong Strategic Oil Reserves (BusinessWeek)
March 8, 2010 – 11:35 am | Comments Off

The world’s second-largest energy-consuming nation is embarking on a three-phase project to build emergency reserves, taking advantage of oil prices weakened by the global slowdown. The government said last year it’s planning to build the …

Climate Confusion (Living on Earth)
March 8, 2010 – 10:15 am | Comments Off

MP3… “Climategate” has damaged the credentials of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and decades of science on global warming. But as scientists push back against efforts to dismiss the threat of global warming, some …

MIT Researchers Discover New Way of Producing Electricity (PhysOrg)
March 7, 2010 – 1:02 pm | Comments Off

A team of scientists at MIT have discovered a previously unknown phenomenon that can cause powerful waves of energy to shoot through minuscule wires known as carbon nanotubes. The discovery could lead to a new …