Archive for May, 2014
Scientists Create 1st Living Organism From Artificial DNA
May 7th, 2014Via: U.S. News and World Report: Move over, Frankenstein! Your 21st-century counterpart has just been announced. In true sci-fi fashion, a team of researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, Calif., has created a brand-new bacteria based on a genetic structure found nowhere on Earth. According to lead researcher Floyd Romesberg, the […]
“This Secret Fuel of the Economy, Rarely Missing and Little Noticed, Is Running Out”
May 7th, 2014Via: AP: For those who fear an overcrowded planet, this is good news. For the economy, not so good. We tend to think economic growth comes from working harder and smarter. But economists attribute up to a third of it to more people joining the workforce each year than leaving it. The result is more […]
Eyes Over Compton, “We Basically Kept it Pretty Hush Hush”
May 6th, 2014Via: The Atlantic: This is the future if nothing is done to stop it. In a secret test of mass surveillance technology, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sent a civilian aircraft* over Compton, California, capturing high-resolution video of everything that happened inside that 10-square-mile municipality. Compton residents weren’t told about the spying, which happened […]
Robots Are Caring for Elderly People in Europe
May 6th, 2014Via: Vice: Judging by recent surveys, most people seem to think that robots that are actually useful will lead to some sort of apocalyptic machine uprising. But look past the military bots and automated job-stealers, and one of the most obvious applications of a service robot is an entirely unthreatening task humans are increasingly failing […]
Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to NDAA Detention Power
May 6th, 2014Via: Antiwar: The US Supreme Court has further enhanced the administration’s ability to detain anyone, at any time, on any pretext today, when it refused to hear the Hedges v. Obama case, meaning an Appeals Court ruling on the matter will stand.
‘Bitcoin A Terrorist Threat?’
May 6th, 2014Via: International Business Times: After attracting attention from law enforcement, financial regulators and old-school Wall Street investors, bitcoin is now on the U.S. military’s radar as a possible terrorist threat. Friday was the deadline for submissions to a counterterrorism program seeking vendors to help the military understand state-of-the-art technologies that may pose threats to national […]
NATO Countries to Help Ukraine with PSYOP
May 6th, 2014Via: U.S. News and World Report: NATO countries may be ramping up their war of words in the coming weeks in Ukraine, where Russian propaganda flows freely into the east while ill-prepared security forces can’t even talk to one another. Multiple officials who spoke with U.S. News say planning is underway to bolster the Ukrainian […]
Norway: Oculus Rift Helps Norwegian Soldiers Drive Tanks
May 6th, 2014Via: Vice: As it usually happens, video games are designed to mimic real-world fighting. Now it seems the model’s being flipped on its head—the battlefield, for better or worse, is bearing an increasing resemblance to a game. Look at Norway, where the Army has started using Oculus Rift to drive tanks with increased visibility, according […]
Volvo Testing Self Driving Cars on Public Roads in Sweden
May 5th, 2014Via: Volvo: Volvo Car Group’s groundbreaking project ‘Drive Me’ – featuring 100 self-driving Volvos on public roads in everyday driving conditions – is moving forward rapidly. The first test cars are already rolling around the Swedish city of Gothenburg and the sophisticated Autopilot technology is performing well. An autonomous drive car was also shown in […]
Body of Missing New Jersey Banker Found in Hudson River
May 5th, 2014Via: New York Daily News: Nearly a month after Andrew Jarzyk went missing his family, at long last, has been given some amount of closure. The 27-year-old’s family has confirmed that a body found in the Hudson River on Monday is that of the Hoboken, N.J., jogger and banker who had been missing since the […]
