February 6, 2010 – 11:21 pm | Comments Off

MP3… Within a single generation, digital media and the World Wide Web have transformed virtually every aspect of modern culture, from how we learn and work to how we communicate and even conduct war. Frontline …

Read the full story »
audio

blogs

books

news

video

Home » Archive by Category

Articles in news

Can Battlefield Robots Take the Place of Soldiers? (BBC)
February 8, 2010 – 12:57 pm | Comments Off

Can war be fought by lots of well-behaved machines, making it “safer for humans”? That is the seductive vision, and hope, of those manufacturing and researching the future of military robotics. … Read more

Spain’s Telefonica Considers Charging Google (Boston Globe)
February 8, 2010 – 12:51 pm | Comments Off

Spanish telecoms operator Telefonica says it is considering charging Internet search companies like Google and Yahoo for network use. … Read more

Genes Reveal ‘Biological Ageing’ (BBC)
February 8, 2010 – 8:59 am | Comments Off

Gene variants that might show how fast people’s bodies are actually ageing have been pinpointed by scientists. … Read more

Google to Launch Smartphones that will Translate for You in Real Time (Daily Mail)
February 8, 2010 – 8:57 am | Comments Off

A mobile phone that can act as an interpreter is being developed by Google. The firm says its device will convert spoken words into another language almost instantly. … Read more

How Our Belief in Climate Change is Draining Away (Daily Mail)
February 6, 2010 – 10:52 pm | Comments Off

A growing number of Britons are sceptical about global warming, a poll has revealed. It found around 26 per cent – a rise of 10 per cent in just three months – do not believe …

U.S. Wage Growth: The Downward Spiral (Business Week)
February 6, 2010 – 10:49 pm | Comments Off

Whether the measure is wages, earnings, or total compensation, the inflation-adjusted pay narrative remains the same: Workers have seen their inflation-adjusted pay go up only a little during the past four business cycle expansions while …

Renewable Oil Companies (PhysOrg)
February 6, 2010 – 10:47 pm | Comments Off

The entry of oil companies into the realm of renewable energy could present major obstacles for the development of a sustainable economy that is not based on carbon resources, according to a report in the …

Australia 2050: A Future We Can’t Afford (WA Today)
February 6, 2010 – 10:45 pm | Comments Off

Australians must prepare for a fundamental shift in the way we live because the country cannot afford to cope with 36 million people. … Read more

This Car Runs on Code (Discovery)
February 6, 2010 – 10:42 pm | Comments Off

The Toyota recall may be a harbinger of things to come in the auto industry, where vehicle electronics are getting more and more complex. … Read more

Hawaii Aims to Become Green Energy Leader (UPI)
February 6, 2010 – 10:41 pm | Comments Off

Hawaiian officials have concluded that the resource-rich tropical state has little choice but to pursue green ambitions, reports the Los Angeles Times. Their goal is to transform the nation’s most energy-dependent state into its cleanest …

Physicists Kill Cancer With ‘Nanobubbles’ (Red Orbit)
February 6, 2010 – 10:36 pm | Comments Off

Using lasers and nanoparticles, scientists at Rice University have discovered a new technique for singling out individual diseased cells and destroying them with tiny explosions. The scientists used lasers to make “nanobubbles” by zapping gold …

The Battery’s Dead: Scientists Invent Wafer-Thin Plastic that Can Store Electricity (Daily Mail)
February 6, 2010 – 10:34 pm | Comments Off

The battery, which has powered our lives for generations, may soon be consigned to the dustbin of history. British scientists say they have created a plastic that can store and release electricity, revolutionising the way …

Physicist Proposes Method to Teleport Energy (PhysOrg)
February 6, 2010 – 10:31 pm | Comments Off

Using the same quantum principles that enable the teleportation of information, a new proposal shows how it may be possible to teleport energy. By exploiting the quantum energy fluctuations in entangled particles, physicists may be …

China is Aiming at America’s Soft Underbelly: The Internet (Christian Science Monitor)
February 6, 2010 – 10:28 pm | Comments Off

Though America’s cybervulnerability has long been a concern of intelligence agencies, the Google episode has catapulted it to a national security priority. … Read more

Doctors Tout NanoKnife for Easy Tumor Removal (PhysOrg)
February 6, 2010 – 10:27 pm | Comments Off

A University of Miami doctor recently removed two cancerous tumors from a patient’s liver using only three needle-like probes, a computer and a powerful burst of electricity. … Read more

Arctic Ice Melting Faster than Feared (CBC)
February 6, 2010 – 10:25 pm | Comments Off

The head of the largest climate change study ever undertaken in Canada says the Arctic sea ice is thinning faster than expected. … Read more

Google Reportedly Plans Online Store (Boston Globe)
February 6, 2010 – 10:23 pm | Comments Off

Google Inc., aiming to expand beyond advertising tied to Internet search results, plans to start an online store that will sell business software developed by other companies, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday. …

Quantum Physics at Work in Photosynthesis (CBC)
February 6, 2010 – 10:20 pm | Comments Off

University of Toronto researchers have observed quantum mechanics, an endeavour usually reserved for the high-energy physics lab, working in the biological molecules that algae use to make food out of light. … Read more

Many Wired Chinese Unfazed at Possible Google Exit (Boston Globe)
February 2, 2010 – 1:35 pm | Comments Off

A world without Google? They can imagine it just fine in China. After all, it’s not like losing “World of Warcraft.” … Read more

In Winter’s Chill, Cold Batteries Mean Trouble for Plug-In Cars (PhysOrg)
February 2, 2010 – 1:32 pm | Comments Off

Nobody worried about cold-weather performance of electric vehicle battery packs when it was warm outside, but now that Old Man Winter has descended, the problem is beginning to surface. When cars have a range of …

The 2010 World Order: Lateralized, Trillionized, Infotoxicated … (E-Commerce Times)
February 2, 2010 – 1:31 pm | Comments Off

Once all processes are electronic, digitized, portable and in cyberspace, then what is the point of a regimented 9-to-5 Monday to Friday working society? Free at last! If everyone were working and thinking while connected …

Copenhagen – The Munich of Our Times? (BBC)
February 2, 2010 – 1:29 pm | Comments Off

The Copenhagen Climate Accord was a failure of historic proportions that is hardly worth the paper it is printed on, says Malini Mehra. In this week’s Green Room, she says climate negotiations need to adopt …

Use of Twitter, Facebook Rising Among Gang Members (Salon)
February 2, 2010 – 1:21 pm | Comments Off

Law enforcement officials say gangs are making greater use of Twitter and Facebook, where they sometimes post information that helps agents identify gang associates and learn more about their organizations. … Read more

China to Raise Resource Acquisitions as Car, Home Sales Jump (BusinessWeek)
February 1, 2010 – 9:25 pm | Comments Off

China, the world’s largest metal consumer, will add to last year’s record $32 billion spending on resource acquisitions as demand for iron ore, copper and oil soars with the fastest economic growth since 2007. Chinese …

Engineers Develop Cancer-Targeting Nanoprobe Sensors (PhysOrg)
February 1, 2010 – 9:24 pm | Comments Off

Scientists at UC Berkeley have created smart nanoprobes that may one day be used in the battle against cancer to selectively seek out and destroy tumor cells, as well as report back on the mission’s …