Archive for July, 2014
Foxconn May Replace ‘iPhone 6’ Assembly Line Workers with ‘Foxbot’ Robots
July 7th, 2014Via: Apple Insider: During a recent shareholder meeting, president and CEO of Apple partner manufacturer Foxconn said his company plans to roll out robots on assembly lines responsible for products like the iPhone, possibly in time for production of the so-called “iPhone 6.”
Consciousness On-Off Switch Discovered Deep in Brain
July 6th, 2014Wow, you’ll love this one. Via: New Scientist: ONE moment you’re conscious, the next you’re not. For the first time, researchers have switched off consciousness by electrically stimulating a single brain area. Scientists have been probing individual regions of the brain for over a century, exploring their function by zapping them with electricity and temporarily […]
CIA Employee’s Quest to Release Information Destroyed Career
July 6th, 2014Via: Washington Post: His CIA career included assignments in Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq, but the most perilous posting for Jeffrey Scudder turned out to be a two-year stint in a sleepy office that looks after the agency’s historical files. It was there that Scudder discovered a stack of articles, hundreds of histories of long-dormant conflicts […]
“U.S. Scientist Creates Deadly New Flu Strain for Pandemic Research”
July 6th, 2014*wink* Via: Independent: A controversial scientist who carried out provocative research on making influenza viruses more infectious has completed his most dangerous experiment to date by deliberately creating a pandemic strain of flu that can evade the human immune system. Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has genetically manipulated the 2009 strain of pandemic […]
These Bricks Are Like Lego for Full-Sized Buildings
July 5th, 2014Via: Wired: A company called Kite Bricks is out to disrupt the construction business starting with the humble brick. Kite Bricks has developed “Smart Bricks” (S-Bricks) made out of high-strength concrete that can be used to make buildings rapidly, cheaply and energy efficiently. The bricks — which are patent pending — are much like Lego […]
Bee-Killing Pesticides in 51% of “Bee-Friendly” Plants from Garden Centers Across U.S. and Canada
July 5th, 2014Via: Friends of the Earth: Many “bee-friendly” home garden plants sold at Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) have been pre-treated with pesticides shown to harm and kill bees, according to a study released today by Friends of the Earth and allies. The study, Gardeners Beware 2014, shows that 36 […]
Shale: U.S. Surpasses Saudi Arabia as Largest Oil Producer in the World
July 4th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: The U.S. will remain the world’s biggest oil producer this year after overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia as extraction of energy from shale rock spurs the nation’s economic recovery, Bank of America Corp. said. U.S. production of crude oil, along with liquids separated from natural gas, surpassed all other countries this year with […]
Hospitals Are Mining Patients’ Credit Card Data to Predict Who Will Get Sick
July 4th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: Imagine getting a call from your doctor if you let your gym membership lapse, make a habit of buying candy bars at the checkout counter, or begin shopping at plus-size clothing stores. For patients of Carolinas HealthCare System, which operates the largest group of medical centers in North and South Carolina, such a […]
NSA Targets Tor Administrators and People Searching for Privacy Tools
July 3rd, 2014More: NSA Targets the Privacy-Conscious Via: ndr.de: The investigation discloses the following: Two servers in Germany – in Berlin and Nuremberg – are under surveillance by the NSA. Merely searching the web for the privacy-enhancing software tools outlined in the XKeyscore rules causes the NSA to mark and track the IP address of the person […]
U.S. Military Has Secretly Operated in Somalia Since Around 2007
July 3rd, 2014Via: Reuters: U.S. military advisors have secretly operated in Somalia since around 2007 and Washington plans to deepen its security assistance to help the country fend off threats by Islamist militant group al Shabaab, U.S. officials said. The comments are the first detailed public acknowledgement of a U.S. military presence in Somalia dating back since […]
