Archive for September, 2015
Half in U.S. Continue to Say Gov’t Is an Immediate Threat
September 21st, 2015Via: Gallup: Almost half of Americans, 49%, say the federal government poses “an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens,” similar to what was found in previous surveys conducted over the last five years. When this question was first asked in 2003, less than a third of Americans held this attitude.
Low Profile Solar Panels for People Living in Vans
September 21st, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Cops are the biggest problem for people who live in vehicles. Normal solar panels on a van would be a dead giveaway that someone doesn’t have a mortgage or a landlord. Check out this couple’s almost invisible installation of three Renogy 100 watt flexible solar […]
Artificial Leaf Harnesses Sunlight for Efficient Fuel Production
September 20th, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — I like reading the artificial leaf news, even though there are always tall hurdles ahead of the technology becoming practical. In this iteration of the artificial leaf, for example, the system only works for about 40 hours. I wondered how much money was being spent […]
Flying Robots Replace Oil Roughnecks
September 20th, 2015Via: Bloomberg: Oil rig inspection is a dangerous business. Traditionally roughnecks dangled from a wire, in gale-force winds if needed, to manually log wear and tear on the girders. Assessments include giant chimneys — called flare stacks — that belch fire during million-dollar-a-day shutdowns. Increasingly the industry has found that swapping abseiling humans for small […]
Apple Meets California Officials to Discuss Self-Driving Car
September 19th, 2015Via: Guardian: Apple executives have discussed their plans for an “autonomous vehicle” with officials at California’s department of motor vehicles (DMV), the Guardian has learnt. According to documents obtained by the Guardian, Mike Maletic, a senior legal counsel at Apple, had an hour-long meeting on 17 August with the department’s self-driving car experts Bernard Soriano, […]
Japan Curtails Its Pacifist Stance
September 19th, 2015Via: The Atlantic: Seven decades after its surrender ended World War II, Japan took its most significant step away from the pacifist foreign policy that shaped 70 years of its post-war history. … The bill passed on Friday does not change Article 9’s language. That would require a constitutional amendment and two-thirds support in both […]
Cyborg Insects
September 19th, 2015Via: Vice: I asked Anthes why she thought the military was so keen to work with insects. “I’d imagine there are several reasons,” she said. “Firstly those creatures are simpler to work with, biologically speaking. It’s much easier to commandeer an insect’s nervous system than a dog’s or a human’s. But also, for the specific […]
75% in U.S. See Widespread Government Corruption
September 19th, 2015Via: Gallup: Three in four Americans (75%) last year perceived corruption as widespread in the country’s government. This figure is up from two in three in 2007 (67%) and 2009 (66%).
Scientists Claim They Have Grown Human Sperm in the Lab
September 19th, 2015Via: Independent: Human sperm cells have been made in the laboratory for the first time by culturing immature cells taken from the testes of infertile men. The breakthrough promises to help young boys made sterile by cancer treatments and adult men who cannot make their own sperm, scientists have claimed. The sperm cells made in […]
Analysis of Antidepressant Paxil Finds Data on Teen Risk Was Held Back
September 18th, 2015Via: Reuters: A medical journal criticised British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday for delaying access to key data from a trial of its antidepressant paroxetine (Seroxat, Paxil) that would have shown earlier that it is neither safe or effective in adolescents. The widely used medicine is linked to an increased risk of suicide in young people […]
