Aleks Insights

Ubuntu 9.10

2010-03-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

Check out the new release of Ubuntu; a true eye candy.

Ubuntu 9.10

Droid Apps

2010-01-19T23:39:00.001-08:00

A fast video of some of the apps available for free on the Android Market. If you have an android device make sure you take advantage of it.

Motorola Droid

2010-01-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

After giving the Android OS a spin, I must admit I have fallen in love with the software. The new release has vastly improved since its first release since Android 1.0. Furthermore, the vast availability of apps on the market makes the OS that much more appealing to the general public since it's open to any developer opening more doors for a wide range of programs hence full of potential. I personally believe that given enough time to cook, this can really be the killer that will take out of the market the currently leading touch-screen system on the market....yes, I'm talking about that one brand of the bitten fruit. Anyway if you need more info on the Android OS please visit the following links: http://www.android.com/

Surf's out???

2009-12-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

Today after an arduous day of work I opted to chat up my time with some of my buddies over at Google Wave. Then the unexpected happened: Oh behold the chill screen of death. It seems like Wave will have its ups and downs at any given time of the month or could it be moon related just like any other tide...? Well whatever it is it needs to get their act together because it would be disastrous if people were to rely as much as they do on other Google services just to find out that it needs maintenance...Bummer.

Patient HM & Dr A

2009-12-04T23:11:00.000-08:00

After a long and arduous journey of 50+ hours, Dr. Annese and his team of researchers completed the slicing of Pt. HM brain under the excited vigilance of hundreds of spectators that watched online as Dr. A sliced the last piece of HM's brain. These slides will aid on the digital mapping of HM brain for future generations' research and field work. Congratulations Dr. Annese and thank you for kindly sharing this wonderful moments with all of us. Truly admirable. Hope this inspired many others as it has inspired me.

Grand Finale.

The Credits.

Stem Cell Research Funds

2009-12-02T13:28:00.000-08:00

New stem cell lines approved for tax-paid research

December 2, 2009

(AP) -- Scientists can start using taxpayer dollars to do research with 13 batches of embryonic stem cells and the government says dozens more cell lines should be available soon, opening a new era for the potentially life-saving field.

President Barack Obama lifted eight years of restrictions on these master cells last spring. But $21 million-and-counting in new projects were on hold until the National Institutes of Health determined which of hundreds of existing stem cell lines were ethically appropriate to use.
"This is the first down payment," Dr. Francis Collins, NIH's director, said Wednesday as he opened a master registry. "People are champing at the bit for the opportunity to get started."
Thirteen stem cell lines - created by Children's Hospital Boston and Rockefeller University - are first on that list. Another 96 embryonic stem cell lines are undergoing NIH review, and 20 or more could get a decision by Friday, Collins said.
And researchers have notified the NIH that they may apply for approval of another 250 stem cell lines.
"The field has been waiting with bated breath for this announcement," said Dr. George Daley of Children's Hospital Boston, whose lab created 11 of the newly approved lines. He has about 100 vials of cells from each batch already banked and ready to ship to researchers around the country.
The numbers mark a big change from the Bush administration, which had limited taxpayer-funded research to about 21 stem cell lines, those already in existence as of August 2001. Scientists say newer batches were created in ways that made them far better candidates for successful research. Indeed, only one of the Bush-era stem cell lines is among the 96 now under consideration.
Wednesday's announcement means that researchers who were awarded $21 million in stem cell research grants earlier this year can start using the approved lines immediately, projects that include work to one day repair damaged heart tissue and grow new brain cells. Millions more in stem cell money is due out later this winter, funds from the economic stimulus package.

Embryonic stem cells can morph into any cell of the body, and scientists hope to harness them so they can create replacement tissue to treat, possibly even cure, a variety of diseases, from diabetes to Parkinson's to spinal cord injury.
Culling those cells destroys a days-old embryo, something many strongly oppose on moral grounds. But once created, the cells can propagate indefinitely in lab dishes.
Federal law forbids using taxpayer money to create or destroy an embryo. All the stem cell lines involved in Wednesday's announcement were created from fertility clinic leftovers - embryos that otherwise would have been thrown away - using private money. NIH is reviewing the rest to see if they also meet ethics requirements for use in taxpayer-funded health research. Among the requirements: That the woman or couple who donated the original embryo did so voluntarily and were told of other options, such as donating to another infertile woman.
Why do scientists need so many choices? It's not just to supply the demand of a growing field. There's a lot of variability from batch to batch in how the stem cells perform, Daley said. Some are better at turning into blood-producing cells than muscle-producing ones, for instance.
It has to do with the genetics of the original embryo, and probably also with the recipe used to create and nurture the stem cells - an environment that can trigger genes to switch on and off at different times, explained Daley, who has government funding to study those important differences.
©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

***Commentary on above articele:*** "About time Government and Tax payers got on board with this we all know it is bound to happen sooner or later so might as well do a through research in order to avoid more serious problems once is too late. Great job on this decision." -Aleks

New Roadblock for LHC

2009-12-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

LHC knocked out by ANOTHER power failure

'Birdy bread-bomber from the future' involved?

By Lewis Page From The Register

Posted in Physics, 2nd December 2009 10:00 GMT

Exclusive The Large Hadron Collider - most puissant particle-punisher ever assembled by the human race - has suffered another major power failure, knocking not only the atomsmasher itself but even its associated websites offline. The machine remains unserviceable at present. However its crucial cryogenics seem to have been unaffected, and no catastrophic damage is thought to have occurred.

No baguette visible this time.

News of the outage emerged when keen amateur LHC-watchers (at independent site the LHC Portal) noticed that most of CERN's web presence related to the Collider had disappeared. Presently much of it returned, and with it came an official account of events released by control-room staff.
It appears that a failure occurred at 01:23 Swiss time this morning in an 18,000-volt power line at the Meyrin site above the mighty collider's subterranean circuit. This caused a power cut across the site, shutting down the main computer centre among other things and causing an abrupt cessation of operations.
However according to CERN controllers and the publicly-viewable web readouts (now back online) the LHC's magnets stayed chilled down to their operating temperature, just 1.9 degrees above absolute zero - colder than deep space. This is critical, as re-chilling the magnets had they warmed beyond a certain point would have been a lengthy and involved process.
"Diesels cut in OK" noted the controllers, adding that the Meyrin site is now drawing limited grid power from an alternative connection via the Prevessin site. The boffins don't anticipate resuming operations until at least 18:30 local time today. They later supplied the pic above of the faulty high-voltage component believed to have caused the problem.
The exact cause of the fault remains to be established, though in a machine so complex a lot of routine teething troubles are to be expected. However, with interest in the LHC so intense, colourful speculation is to be anticipated.
"Maybe it was a birdy bread-bomber from the future," jokes Chris Stephens of the LHC Portal - referring to the well-known wingnut theory that that the mere possibility of the LHC unmasking certain phenomena engenders forces which act backwards through time to sabotage it before this can happen.
We ourselves find it hard not to suspect the involvement of some pan-dimensional police force, seeking to prevent humanity acquiring parallel-universe portal capability before we're ready to use it responsibly. ®

Obama On War Plan

2009-12-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, so Politics is not exactly my cup of tea but somehow these news seem a bit in-congruent to me. The same guy that was just awarded the Nobel Peace Price a couple months ago has decided to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan...? Seriously? Gimme a beak.

New Ships

2009-12-01T15:42:00.000-08:00

It seems like the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is ready to deploy their new high tech anti whaling vessels which promise to spare the lives of many many more whales destined to perish under the hands of those Japanese ships in search of the alluring whale meat.

Space Station Inhabitants

2009-12-01T00:56:00.001-08:00

Today I read that the space station shrunk its number of inhabitants to 2, it seem like eventually the real accomplishment will be to keep a moderate number of ppl on a newly established colony on the moon. Can't wait to see how many privately funded companies will get on-board to finance such undertaking.

Google Wave

2009-11-29T23:01:00.000-08:00

So after giving this new tool a test drive, it appears to me like it is indeed an awesome communication app. devised by our friends at Google. We got sharing enthusiasts very hyped up because of the immense possibilities that it brings to the table; however, there's a temporary flaw to our new network tool...there's not much of a network yet. It seems like we're yet to distribute the product to a larger number of users for this to be a feasible, usable and fun network experience.

QR code Vs. Augmented Reality

2009-11-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

Wonder which one will make it to the end and be a successful idea on today's market where communication is always progressing at the speed of light.... we'll see.