Texas: “Undetermined Amount of Explosives” Reported Missing from Halliburton
April 27th, 2015Via: News West 9:
A report of missing explosives was made to Odessa Police on Thursday morning.
Odessa Police tell NewsWest 9, the Odessa Police Department Bomb Squad Unit was made aware of an undetermined amount of explosives that were reported missing from Halliburton.
The explosives were supposed to be transported from a Halliburton yard in Ector County to a location in Reeves County.
Officials say it is unknown if the explosives were misplaced or stolen from Halliburton.
The explosives are described as oilfield igniters that are approximately 2” in length and a 0.5” in diameter. There is no printing on them to indicate that they are hazardous.
Mindfulness Therapy as Good as Medication for Chronic Depression
April 26th, 2015Via: Reuters:
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) may be just as effective as anti-depressants in helping prevent people with chronic depression from relapsing, scientists said on Tuesday.
Depression is one of the most common forms of mental illness, affecting more than 350 million people worldwide. It is ranked by the World Health Organization as the leading cause of disability globally.
Treatment usually involves either medication, some form of psychotherapy or a combination of both. Yet many patients fail to get better and suffer recurring bouts of illness.
MBCT was developed to help such people by teaching them skills to recognize and respond constructively to thoughts and feelings associated with relapse, aiming to prevent a downward spiral into depression.
In the first large study to compare MBCT and anti-depressants, researchers found little difference in outcomes.
U.S. Troops in Ukraine
April 26th, 2015Via: Reuters:
As the crisis in Ukraine drags on, U.S.-Russia relations continue to deteriorate. The United States has just taken a step that risks bringing that relationship to a new low.
As part of its effort to support Ukraine, the U.S. military recently sent 290 troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade based in Vicenza, Italy, to train the Ukrainian National Guard.
Tiny Robots Climb Walls Carrying More Than 100 Times Their Weight
April 25th, 2015Via: New Scientist:
‘High Level’ of Radiation Detected in Tokyo Park
April 25th, 2015Via: BBC:
Japanese authorities have detected an unusually high level of radiation around playground equipment in a Tokyo park, report local media.
The park, in the Toshima ward in central Tokyo, has been fenced off.
Authorities recorded up to 480 microsieverts per hour at one spot – nearly half the recommended annual limit of exposure for a person.
The incident comes days after a drone with traces of radiation landed on top of the prime minister’s office.
The drone at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office was discovered on Wednesday morning, carrying a small bottle with the radioactive symbol.
Tests found it was carrying a small amount of radioactive caesium, reported Kyodo news agency.
Japan’s NHK reported that local officials had received a call about suspected radioactivity at the Tokyo park on Wednesday.
Following two rounds of testing, officials found high levels of radiation on a section of the playground equipment.
Mysterious X-37B Military Space Plane to Fly Again Next Month
April 25th, 2015There’s still no solid information about what it’s doing.
Via: Space:
The United States Air Force’s X-37B space plane will launch on its fourth mystery mission next month.
The unmanned X-37B space plane, which looks like a miniature version of NASA’s now-retired space shuttle orbiter, is scheduled to blast off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 20.
German Intelligence Helped NSA Spy on European Politicians and Defense Contractors
April 24th, 2015Via: Ars Technica:
Germany’s intelligence service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), has been helping the NSA spy on European politicians and companies for years, according to the German news magazine Der Spiegel. The NSA has been sending lists of “selectors”—identifying telephone numbers, e-mail and IP addresses—to the BND, which then provides related information that it holds in its surveillance databases. According to the German newspaper Die Zeit, the NSA sent selector lists several times a day, and altogether 800,000 selectors have been requested.
“Not Science Fiction”: Miami Police Implements Pre-Crime System
April 23rd, 2015Via: Miami Herald:
Armed with high-tech software and years of crime data, Miami police believe they will soon be able to stop crimes by predicting when and where they will occur.
It sounds a little like something out of a science fiction novel, but the department is in the process of adopting a system called HunchLab that produces maps showing small areas where specific crimes are likely to be committed during shifts. The probability program is a geographical version of “predictive policing” software, which more departments are using — even if, in the words of one supportive cop, it’s “kind of scary.”
Similar algorithm-based programs have been credited with lowering crime rates in cities around the country, and some South Florida departments recently have adopted their own systems. In Miami’s case, the department is funding the implementation of HunchLab and other software programs with a $600,000 federal grant doled out by the Bureau of Justice Assistance to encourage smart policing tactics.
Head Transplant Doctor: Creating Immortality Is the Goal
April 23rd, 2015Via: Independent:
The Italian doctor who has claimed that he could transplant a man’s head onto a donor’s body has said that he could do much of the procedure in less than an hour.
The procedure — which Canavero has admitted is just a first step towards his ultimate aim of creating immortality — will see a man’s head removed and placed on a donor’s body.
That will see the man’s head get cooled down — as it is when doctors operate on some parts of the brain — and switched onto the different body. Doctors will then have a few minutes to attach the blood vessels and the whole thing will take less then an hour, Canavero said.
After that, the full joining process could take up to 24 hours. Canavero said that it would be carried out by a team of doctors to ensure that none of them got tired, and that doctors and surgeons from around the world had enquired about joining that team.
Canavero said that he will explain the procedure in depth at a neurosurgeons’ conference on June 12. “I’ll prove it is totally possible to all the sceptics there,” he told Mail Online.
Chinese Scientists Admitted to Tweaking Genes of Human Embryos for First Time
April 23rd, 2015Via: Business Insider:
A recent biotech discovery — one that has been called the biggest biotech discovery of the century — showed how scientists might be able to modify a human genome when that genome was still just in an embryo.
This could change not only the genetic material of a person, but could also change the DNA they pass on, removing “bad” genetic codes (and potentially adding “good” ones) and taking an active hand in evolution.
Concerned scientists published an argument that no one should edit the human genome in this way until we better understood the consequences after a report uncovered rumors that Chinese scientists were already working on using this technology.
But this new paper, published April 18 in the journal Protein and Cell by a Chinese group led by gene-function researcher Junjiu Huang of Sun Yat-sen University, shows that work has already been done, and Nature News spoke to a Chinese source that said at least four different groups are “pursuing gene editing in human embryos.”
