Archive for May, 2013
Israeli Aircraft Bomb Target in Syria
May 4th, 2013Via: New York Times: Israel aircraft bombed a target in Syria overnight Thursday, an Obama administration official said Friday night, as United States officials said they were considering military options, including carrying out their own airstrikes. American officials did not provide details on the target of the Israeli strike. But in late January, Israel carried […]
RoboBee
May 3rd, 2013It requires a tether for power and control, but who knows how long that constraint will last… Via: Christian Science Monitor: The successful controlled flight of the tiny RoboBee – designed by a team at Harvard – represents a key step in the development of insect-size drones with a range of potential uses. A robotic […]
‘Counterinsurgency Methods Used to Fight Gang Crime’
May 3rd, 2013Via: CBS: Massachusetts State Trooper Mike Cutone realized that the methods of the insurgents he combated as a Green Beret in Iraq were similar to those used by the Springfield gangs. “Insurgents and gang members both want to operate in a failed area,” he tells Stahl, referring to the breakdown in cooperation between the citizens […]
Scientists Have Created Hybrid Viruses That Could ‘Cause a Global Pandemic Killing Millions of People’
May 3rd, 2013Via: Independent: Senior scientists have criticised the “appalling irresponsibility” of researchers in China who have deliberately created new strains of influenza virus in a veterinary laboratory. They warned there is a danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic […]
Digital Camera System Based on Insect Eyes
May 3rd, 2013Via: The Verge: Samsung may claim its smartphones are inspired by nature, but researchers at the University of Illinois are taking that concept much farther — they’ve designed a new digital camera system that draws from the eyes of insects. The system, which relies on a large range of miniscule focusing lenses and detectors arranged […]
Printable ‘Bionic’ Ear Melds Electronics and Biology
May 3rd, 2013Creepy pic at link. Via: Physorg: Scientists at Princeton University used off-the-shelf printing tools to create a functional ear that can “hear” radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability. The researchers’ primary purpose was to explore an efficient and versatile means to merge electronics with tissue. The scientists used 3D printing of […]
Montana: 559 Pounds of High Explosives Stolen from U.S. Forrest Service Bunker
May 2nd, 2013Via: KPAX: The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office are asking for help from the public in gathering information about the theft of approximately 559 pounds of high explosives from a USFS explosives bunker located near Red Lodge. A press release from the […]
Florida: Teen Faces Felony Charges for High School Science Experiment
May 2nd, 2013Via: Riptide: Kiera Wilmot got good grades and had a perfect behavior record. She wasn’t the kind of kid you’d expect to find hauled away in handcuffs and expelled from school, but that’s exactly what happened after an attempt at a science project went horribly wrong. On 7 a.m. on Monday, the 16 year-old mixed […]
FinFisher Now Used in 36 Countries
May 2nd, 2013Via: Quartz: A new report from Citizen Lab, a Canadian research center, shows surveillance software sold by FinFisher, a “governmental IT intrusion” company owned by the UK-registered Gamma International, is now active in 36 countries. That’s up from the 25 countries reported two months ago. Gamma’s product, which it sells exclusively to governments, infects computers […]
U.S. Banks to Send Checks for $3.6 Billion in Foreclosure Settlement
May 2nd, 2013Via: AP: The nation’s largest banks will begin sending payments this week to millions of Americans who may have been wrongfully foreclosed on during the housing crisis. A total of $3.6 billion in cash will be distributed to 4.2 million borrowers who lost their homes or were at risk of foreclosure, the Federal Reserve and […]
