ME

Holycow

Robosapien V2 (and Friends!)

The new Robosapien V2 looks fantastic. For just 200 bucks, the new bot will be able to track objects and movements, recognize objects and skin tones—all sorts of crazy stuff. Onrobo (another one of the new robot blogs, a trend I think is great) has details, as well as this first picture. Oh, and they have information about Roboraptor and Robopet, which the new V2 Robosapien can control (although they can be operated independently).

I think that this is nice because then if the Robosapien can control the small roboraptor and robopet then I might be able to get them to fetch me stuff.

Apple Gaming Rumor #174

MacWorld's still a month away, and we've already got rumors of of 100GB iPods, Ultra Thin MacBooks, and of course, the iPhone. But what of the old rumor that Apple's eyeing the video game market? Yep, They've got that too. What do they think? Unlikely. Apple's done well in their current markets of PC and digital music because they've been able to keep their ecosystem closed. iPod + iTunes and the fact that you can't build your own Mac are examples of control Apple has over their products. Apple doesn't need to rely so much on third party providers to sell their systems. If they get into the gaming arena, they're going to be at the mercy of game development studios to produce killer titles for yet another console in an already crowded horse race.
However, Prudential analyst Jesse Tortora says Apple's been hiring video game designers and thinking about entering the video game market sometime in the next few years. Tortora says the decision to enter may be based on how well the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles do as media hubs for the living room, something Apple's also trying to do with their upcoming iTV.

That's so cool because now if apple gets everything like that out then it would be like an apple world. But I don't think that they are going to have good games because to me games from square Enix and sony are really good and are almost unbeatable.

Major PS3 Firmware Update Coming March '07

Despite all Sony's talk about how the PlayStation 3 is supposed to be a media hub, there's been very little to show for it. We have standard trailers and movie playback, but even the Xbox 360 can do that. But come March '07, to coincide with the Europe launch, the PS3 is going to get a major firmware update. SCE's VP of Technology says there could be a utility to download third-party operating systems direction from the PS3. In addition, there are even more gaming features planned to be added with the update. Perhaps more PSP + PS3 integration? What we'd like is to just be able to play DivX and XviD files off a burned DVD directly from the PS3's interface.

I think this is unfair because why doesn't Sony take out the PS3 fully updated at first its just not fair. Now loads of people buy the PS3, but then in around 4 more months its nothing but garbage because there is this NEW PS3 which has 10x more features.
IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT

King Tut Died From Broken Leg, Not Murder, Scientists Conclude

King Tut probably died from a broken leg, scientists say, possibly closing one of history's most famous cold cases. A CT scan of King Tutankhamun's mummy has disproved a popular theory that the Egyptian pharaoh was murdered by a blow to the head more than 3,300 years ago. Instead the most likely explanation for the boy king's death at 19 is a thigh fracture that became infected and ultimately fatal, according to an international team of scientists. The team presented its results this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, Illinois. "I think it is the end of the investigation. … We can now close this file," said team leader Ashraf Selim, a radiologist at Kasr Eleini Teaching Hospital at Cairo University in Egypt.
But the research effort may add to rumors surrounding the infamous "curse of Tut."

Now I have been to Egypt and its has been said that Tuts helper (or someone like a helper) killed him with a smack on the head when Tut went hunting. I don't exactly know how someone can die with a thigh fracture.

Ancient Tsunami Smashed Europe, Middle East, Study Says

A massive tsunami smashed Mediterran-ean shores some 8,000 years ago when a giant chunk of volcano fell into the sea, researchers say. Waves up to 165 feet (50 meters) high swept the eastern Mediterranean, triggered by a landslide on Mount Etna on the island of Sicily, according to the new study. The research team says the natural disaster likely destroyed ancient communities, with a series of killer waves hitting the eastern Mediterranean coastline from Italy to Egypt. Italian researchers based their findings on geological clues and evidence of a hastily abandoned Stone Age fishing settlement in Israel. Maria Teresa Pareschi and colleagues at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Pisa estimated the tsunami's strength by modeling the impact of the landslide from Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe. The waves would have reached heights of about 165 feet (50 meters) off southern Italy, the team says, with a sea surge reaching 43 feet (13 meters) swamping parts of Greece and Libya. Smaller waves hitting coasts farther away would also have had devastating power, according to Pareschi, who led the study. "A tsunami wave height of a few meters can penetrate deeply inland," she said.

Well now I think that this is not cool because if this really happened then it could happen again and that wouldn't be so good.

Toxin-Free Cottonseed Engineered; Could Feed Millions, Study Says

A toxic chemical has been mostly removed from cottonseeds, potentially turning an underused agricultural product into a food source for hundreds of millions of people, according to a new study. "The world grows cotton for fiber not for seed," said Keerti Rathore, a researcher at Texas A&M University in College Station who helped spearhead the work. "Few realize, however, that for every pound [0.45 kilogram] of cotton fiber, the cotton plant produces 1.65 pounds [0.75 kilogram] of seeds that contain 21 percent oil and 23 percent of a relatively good quality protein." Now this is good because then companies or agribusinesses can get oil with all the cotton they farm.

I think this is good because yes the companies give us cheaper oil which is really good (for my mom).

DNA Varies More Widely From Person to Person, Genetic Maps Reveal

The genetic makeup of the human race is much more varied than previously believed, new research shows. Scientists say that surprisingly many large chunks of human DNA differ among individuals and ethnic groups. The research also suggests that humans have less DNA in common with chimpanzees, our closest living relative, than is widely supposed. The new findings, based on several studies, will have huge changes for research into deadly diseases, the researchers add.

This is not really good for us because then if we have less DNA then its not good also if we live now, soon enough we will create diseases far more complicated for scientists.

NASCAR Lab Tech on Pushing Limits of Speed, Safety

Gary Nelson, NASCAR managing director of research and development, supervises the center. His team uses a variety of means, including computer simulations and crash test dummies, in an endless quest to make a dangerous sport safer. One of your projects is a five-year plan to design "the car of the future." What does that involve? We've focused on the driver's space and what protects the driver: restraint systems, the seat, and the space around him. The [the size of a regulation NASCAR] car got a bit bigger. It looks the same, but just a few inches, from the driver's perspective, is a big deal. We fill that space with crushable material that absorbs some energy. If you think about passenger cars today, they have an air bag that acts as a pillow. There is no way to have an air bag that does what we need at racing speeds. But the theory of absorbing energy of the impact … would be a very good goal. Instead of a pillow between the driver and the wheel, we put protection [outside the cockpit] on the side, front, and back of the car. So when [the car] hits something, we're able to lengthen the time between [impact] and the car coming to a complete stop. It happens in an instant. We're talking about milliseconds. But if we can double the length of that instant, those extra milliseconds make a tremendous difference to what the driver feels.

I think its nice that there is someone who is trying to help the drivers when they crash because lots of people die because of this NASCAR racing (i like nascar).

For Dung Beetles, Monkey Business Is Serious Stuff

So the seeds of the Amazon's much-lauded biodiversity are spread around the rain forest, in many cases. And where there's monkey business, so too are dung beetles, according to Kevina Vulinec, an assistant professor of wildlife ecology at Delaware State University in Dover. The dung beetles, as their name suggests, make a living off other animals' waste. In the process they sow whatever seeds make it through the treasure-dropping animals' digestive tracts. "Dung beetles are essential to tropical biodiversity, and they may be more essential than we even know," said Vulinec, who studies the interactions between monkeys and dung beetles. His aim is to understand their roles in seed dispersal and thus tropical biodiversity. Of particular interest to Vulinec are the applications of this line of research to conservation efforts aimed at regenerating areas of the Amazon rain forest that have been cleared for agriculture and ranching.

I dont exactly believe that DUNG BEETLES are essential to the biodiversity its so dum. In the olden days dung beetles were destroying crops and the farmers didn't exactly get to do anything about it so it just isn't right.

Fruit Flies' Aerial Stunts Inspire Brain Study

Budding engineers often take apart common devices, such as toasters, and put them back together again to learn how the parts make up a working system. But budding biologists have a harder time using this approach—once a living organism is taken apart it usually can't be made to function again. Now, using modern genetic engineering techniques, researchers are able to turn biological components on and off, in effect removing parts to see how each one affects the whole system. "The more things you take apart, the more intuition you gain about the natural world," said Michael Dickinson, a professor of bioengineering and biology at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Dickinson studies fruit flies and how certain cells in their brains contribute to their ability to make rapid mid-air turns. The work, he says, has broader implications for understanding the complexities of the natural world. "In the end, you learn more than just how flies work," he said. "In figuring out how something as complex as a fly is put together, you gain insight into many complicated processes."

I think this is cool because if we can do this to ant brains then we might be able to do it to human brains and than we can create
a real human brain with all the stuff in it. Also we could use that process to make better eye site or make clogs in your brain to not become blogs.

New studies of Damascus swords are revealing that the legendary blades contain nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and other extremely small, intricate structures that might explain their unique features. Damascus swords, first made in the eighth century A.D., are renowned for their complex surface patterns and sharpness. According to legend, the blades can cut a piece of silk in half as it falls to the ground and maintain their edge after cleaving through stone, metal, or even other swords. But since the techniques for making these swords have been lost for hundreds of years, no one is sure exactly why these swords are so good.

I think this is cool because I bet the people who created the swords in those days they all probably didn't know that they were making something so small, sophisticated, and nano type.

Depleted Uranium

The military use of depleted uranium (Uranium is a naturally occurring heavy metal which is poisonous and weakly radioactive. Natural uranium is a mixture of three different forms of the chemical element) has generated considerable public controversy. DU is a chemically toxic and weakly radioactive substance. Its use on a battlefield can lead to it being spread over a wide area, and many have claimed that this has adverse health effects for those on the battlefield and those living or returning to live in an area where DU munitions have been deployed. In response to these concerns, the Royal Society convened an independent expert working group in 2000 to review the present state of scientific knowledge on the subject. The working group published reports in 2001 and 2002.

I think that this is bad because if the army or military keep on using it will get hurt and then because of that we could have a little crises in our hands.

Source: http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/

Genetics and health

It is hoped that advances in the field of genetics will help us understand how our genetic make up relates to the cause of human disease. In recent years the Society has been involved in a range of activities examining the role of genetics and human health, including public meetings and a national dialogue event. In 2005 the Society issued a report on pharmacogenetics, or personalised medicines, which is the study of how people's genetic makeup affects their responses to drugs. The study concluded that whilst they have a promising future but it will be another 15-20 years before their use is widespread because of the many gaps in our understanding of how genetics relates to the causes of disease.

It would be cool if we know how disease occurs from genetic stuff. I think if we find out how to do that then we will be able to save lifes.

Source: http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/

Nanotech: The Tiny Science Is Big, and Getting Bigger

After decades of hype, speculation, and multimillion-dollar laboratory research, the long-promised nanotechnology revolution is finally coming to a store near you. For proof, check out the transparent sunscreens, spillproof pants, and tennis rackets with extra pop now on sale. Nanotechnology gets its name from the nanometer, a unit of measurement that is one billionth of a meter. A human hair is about 20,000 nanometers thick. Scientists say materials and devices manufactured at the nanoscale promise to change life as we know it. "I'd say [nanotechnology] has the potential to be truly revolutionary," said Gregory Rorrer, a chemical engineer at Oregon State University in Corvallis. "That's why there's so much interest in it right now." Rorrer has a grant with the National Science Foundation of 1.3 million U.S. dollars. The grant is a small piece of the billions of dollars the United States government is funneling into research and development to spur the nanotechnology revolution.

I think this is amazing because then you can have really small mp3's or cellphones or even stuff like computers (which we kind of have already; imate) so i think this is going to be much much better.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/

Dolphin With Four Fins May Prove Terrestrial Origins

Japanese fishers have found an unusual bottlenose dolphin with an extra set of fins that could be an evolutionary throwback to the time when the marine mammals' ancient ancestors walked on land. The dolphin was captured alive off the southwestern coast of Japan on October 28. It was then shipped to the nearby Taiji Whaling Museum for study. "This is an unprecedented discovery, I believe the fins may be remains from a time when dolphins' ancient ancestors lived on land" says Seiji Osumi of Tokyo's Institute of Cetacean Research said in a weekend press conference. Scott Baker, associate director of the marine mammal program at Oregon State University in Corvallis, agreed, saying that "this certainly is direct evidence of evolution."

I think that its cool how water animals evolved from and. I also think that if the water animals or dolphins evolved from land then mabye before the stone age they were still there and the "cavemen" saw them.

In the picture Japanese fishers found a bottlenose dolphin with four fins instead of two. The extra hind fins (inset) are about the size of human hands and could be proof that the marine mammals first evolved from land animals.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/

Seafood May Be Gone by 2048, Study Says

According to the study, 29 percent of the seafood species humans consume have already crashed. If the long-term trend continues, in 30 years there will be little or no seafood available. The increasing pace of diversity loss, imperils the "ecosystems services" that many human populations depend on for survival. The research also found that biodiversity loss is tightly linked to less water quality, ocean dead zones, fish kills, and coastal flooding.

I think that this is bad because first we survive from coastel floods because of the fish and in the next 30 years I won't get any juicy fish.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com

Hubble Repair Mission Approved by NASA

NASA announced today that the U.S. space agency has found a way to safely service the aging telescope, which is famous for capturing spectacular images of the universe"We are going to add a service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope to the shuttle's manifest to be flown before [the space shuttle] retires," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said at an agency-wide meeting at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The mission, likely to come in the spring of 2008, will also allow astronauts to upgrade the "eye in the sky" with new camera equipment.

I think that it is good that NASA is repairing the hubble telescope because mabye if they didn't the hubble telescope parts could fall on the world or the whole thing could, and the other reason is that its made lots of good dicoveries so we should keep it for pride and honor.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/

"Cooler" Mice Live Longer, Study Finds

The newfangled mice are only slightly cooler than normal just 0.5 to 0.9 degree Fahrenheit (0.3 to 0.5 degree Celsius), an effect that occurs only during waking hours.But the temperature drop significantly increases the rodents' life spans, scientists say. They altered the male mice whic can now live 12 percent longer on average, while females can now live 20 percent longer than regular mice. To create the "cool mice," scientists used genetic engineering to fool the rodents' central thermostat, which is found in the hypothalamus region of the brain. By targeting a specific protein, the scientists caused a small cluster of neurons to heat up, duping the nearby thermostat to turn down the rodents' body heat. Despite lower body temperatures, the mice appear to be as physically active as, and eat the same amount of food as, normal mice.

Now I think this is cool because if the escientists could transfer this to the human brain then we could live 12 percent longer then our normal 70-80 years.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/

Global Cooling Chilled Super-Hot Oceans of Early Earth, Study Finds

Now, new geoloical data has comfirmed that complex life came after a period of global cooling which lasted over three billion years. Evidence proves that the world's oceans were once steamy cauldrons which came from the distribution of the element silicon in ancient rocks known as cherts. François Robert and Marc Chaussidon report that cherts formed from ocean sediments provide a kind of "paleothermometer" for seas during the Precambrian era. The Precambrian era is the vast stretch of time between Earth's formation more than 4.5 billion years ago and the rise of multicellular organisms about 600 million years ago.

I think that its pretty cool how at first the oceans were like boiling water or like a cauldron. Its also cool because thats how I think there were many detailed creatures on the earth and I also think its amazing how it took 3 billion years to cool all the oceans or mabye in those days ocean.

The picture is a cross-section of a chert sample from China, dated at 1.4 billion years old, shows the structures of silica at a microscopic scale. A new study of the silicon found in chert determined that a period of global cooling chilled the oceans of ancient Earth from temperatures as high as 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius) 3.5 billion years ago to 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) about 600 million years ago.

Source: http://www.news.nationalgeographic.com/

Element 118 Created

A team of Russian and American phycist say that they have created 3 atoms of a new Element. This yet to be named element is the heaviest yet, it has a nucleus of 118 protons and 176. Now to create the three atoms of element 118, the scientists took two whole months bombarding the californium with three billion billion ions.

I thought that this idea of creating 3 mere atoms wasn't so good because the scientists took 2 months. I also thought that it is a waste of money because three billion billion ions probably costs alot.

Source: http://www.news.nationalgeographic.com/

About This Blog

Welcome to my blog, this blog is about science or new things that man ar nature have done. I hope that you have a good time reading this blog and I hope that you leave lots and lots of helpful comments.