Archive for the 'Journalism' Category
Foiljet MR1 hydrofoil: the motocross bike for water
• March, 2009Foiljet MR1 hydrofoil: the motocross bike for water February 10, 2009 The Foiljet MR1 is a new personal watercraft concept that takes the best features of a motocross bike and jetski, throws in two hydrofoils plus a silent, energy efficient electric motor to create what would have to be a surefire recipe for outrageous fun. The design looks something like a motocross bike, but instead of wheels there are beams with small hydrofoil wings mounted at the ends that can be raised or lowered. The…
Solar power plant goes hybrid
• March, 2009Solar power plant goes hybrid An Israeli company wants to prove it doesn’t need constant sunshine for a solar power plant to make non-stop electricity to power off-grid communities.
Earth’s Cracks May Contribute to Global Warming
• March, 2009Earth’s Cracks May Contribute to Global Warming Michael Reilly, Discovery News Whether devastating faults, dank caves or mud cracks on a drying desert plain, Earth’s surface is riddled with fractures. Now a new study had found that the cracks exhale large quantities of gas, perhaps enough to affect global warming. Noam Weisbrod of Ben Gurion University of the Negev and a team of researchers monitored a crack about 2 meters long (6.5 feet) and 1 meter (3.3 feet) deep for two years in the Negev…
British and French nuclear subs crash
• March, 2009British and French nuclear subs crash By TOM NEWTON DUNN Defence Editor Published: 16 Feb 2009 BRITISH and French nuclear submarines which collided deep under the Atlantic could have sunk or released deadly radioactivity, it emerged last night. The Royal Navy’s HMS Vanguard and the French Navy’s Le Triomphant are both nuclear powered and were carrying nuke missiles. Between them they had around 250 sailors on board. Calls have today been made for an urgent inquiry in to the international incident. A senior Navy source…
Satellite debris watched closely
• March, 2009Satellite debris watched closely Marcia Dunn ASSOCIATED PRESS Thursday, February 12, 2009 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists are keeping a close eye on orbital debris created when two communications satellites — one American, the other Russian — smashed into each other hundreds of miles above the Earth. NASA said it will take weeks to determine the full magnitude of the unprecedented crash and whether any other satellites or even the Hubble Space Telescope are threatened. The collision, which occurred nearly 500 miles over Siberia…
New Biomaterial Helps Bones Heal
• March, 2009New Biomaterial Helps Bones Heal Wendy Zukerman A synthetic biomaterial that encourages the body to create bone could be the answer to successful bone grafts and treating bone disease, say Australian researchers. Cameron Lutton of Queensland University of Technology (QUT) said the biomaterial activates the initial stages of bone healing. “The biomaterial interacts with blood and mimics early bone healing events,” said Lutton. After a bone is broken, there is a fast inflammatory response where blood clots and specialized cells are quickly attracted to the…
Cloaking device may make cell phone static vanish
• March, 2009Cloaking device may make cell phone static vanish By Julie Steenhuysen A new light-bending material has brought scientists one step closer to creating a cloaking device that could hide objects from sight. Beyond possible military applications, it also might have a very practical use by making mobile communications clearer, they said on Thursday. “Cloaking technology could be used to make obstacles that impede communications signals ‘disappear,’” said David Smith of Duke University in North Carolina, who worked on the study published in the journal Science.…
British diplomats to visit detainee at Guantanamo
• February, 2009British diplomats to visit detainee at Guantanamo LONDON (Reuters) British officials are en route to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay to visit Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who has been held there for five years, the Foreign Office (FCO) said on Saturday. “The visit will make preparations for his return, should the ongoing U.S. review into Guantanamo Bay detainees confirm a decision to release him,” an FCO statement said. “The team includes a doctor, who would take part in any return, so that he…
Odd Planet Reaches Searing 1,200 Degrees
• February, 2009Odd Planet Reaches Searing 1,200 Degrees Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Astronomers have found a planet with a galactic case of hot flashes. In just six hours, this planet four times the size of Jupiter heats up by more than 1,200 degrees, according to a study published in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature. “It’s the first observation of changing weather” on a planet outside our solar system, said study author Gregory Laughlin, an astronomy professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He used…
30 Mummies Found in 2,600-Year-Old Tomb
• February, 200930 Mummies Found in 2,600-Year-Old Tomb By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Writer Feb. 9, 2009 A storeroom housing about two dozen ancient Egyptian mummies has been unearthed inside a 2,600-year-old tomb during the latest round of excavations at the vast necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo, archaeologists said Monday. The tomb was located at the bottom of a 36-foot deep shaft, said Egypt’s top archaeologist, Zahi Hawass . Twenty-two mummies were found in niches along the tomb’s walls, he said. Eight sarcophagi were also found…
HIV Mutates to Death With New Drug
• February, 2009HIV Mutates to Death With New Drug Eric Bland, Discovery News Feb 9 2009 HIV is notorious for its ability to mutate and evade drugs designed to destroy it. Now scientists are testing a new drug that actually speeds up that rate of change in the hope that the deadly virus will mutate itself to death. “The HIV virus is so dependent on mutation that it really lives on the edge of existence,” said John Reno, Chief Operating Officer for Koronis Pharmaceuticals, the company developing…
Toyota to launch pure electric car in U.S. by 2012
• February, 2009Toyota to launch pure electric car in U.S. by 2012 By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent DETROIT (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said it would launch an all-electric car for city commuting by 2012 in the United States as part of its plan to speed up the introduction of green cars as its global sales falter. The FT-EV concept made its debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Sunday, where the world’s top automaker is also unveiling two new gasoline-electric hybrid…
Google quietly declares email war on Yahoo
• February, 2009Google quietly declares email war on Yahoo By Jennifer Martinez and David Lawsky Many people have sent an email while angry, exhausted, inebriated or just by mistake that they later regretted. Now, Google has a way to help protect you (and others) from such a faux pas. As part of its quest to attract users to its Gmail service, the Internet search company has introduced dozens of features, including one that, after a certain time, makes a user solve a math problem before sending an…