Information And Technology

Mac vs. PC: The stereotypes may be true

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 09:17:00 +0100

Remember those Apple ads that cast the Mac as a 20-something, self-satisfied hipster while the PC was portrayed by an older, square-looking guy in a brown suit?
Well, those characterizations, unfair as they may be, appear to have some truth to them.
An unscientific survey by Hunch, a site that makes recommendations based on detailed user preferences, found that Mac users tend to be younger, more liberal, more fashion-conscious and more likely to live in cities than people who prefer PCs.

Of the 388,000 Hunch users who responded to a question about computer loyalty, 52% identified themselves as PC people as opposed to 25% who said they are Mac devotees. Hunch then cross-referenced those responses with answers to other questions to draw cultural distinctions between the rival Mac and PC camps.
The results suggest Mac users can be seen, depending on your perspective, as bolder and more creative -- or elitist and more pretentious.

The report found that 67% of Mac users have a college or advanced degree, as opposed to 54% of PC users. Mac loyalists are 80% more likely than PC users to be vegetarians, and, unlike PC fans, would rather ride a Vespa scooter than a Harley.

PC users' tastes trend towards casual clothes, tunafish sandwiches, white wine, Hollywood movies, USA Today and Pepsi. Mac users prefer designer or vintage duds, hummus, red wine, indie films, The New York Times and (we're not making this up) San Pellegrino Limonata.

Mac users also are more likely to describe themselves as computer-savvy and "early adopters." PC users tend to describe themselves as better at math and less likely to throw frequent parties.
"I fit the typical Mac user on every count. Guess I'm not as unique as I thought. Depressing," wrote one commenter on Hunch's blog.

Since Hunch's first survey of Mac vs. PC users in November 2009, Apple has ridden the success of such high-profile products as the iPad and iPhone 4 to become the world's most highly valued tech company. Despite that hot streak, Hunch found that slightly more people in its new report -- 52%, up from 50% a year and a half ago -- now identify themselves as PC users.

Wanted for Theft: The Comet Sunday Stole from another star

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:58:00 GMT

It seems that our sun could be a cosmic thief who most of the comet was stolen from another star, a new study indicated.

Comets are small icy bodies that light up when they near the sun as solar ice they were a bright tail to create to evaporate.

new computer simulations of billions of comets crisscrossing the solar system indicate that most of them originate outside our local area, but it grabbed and pulled by the gravity of our sun later.

Scenario unlike the old model for the evolution of comets, which holds that most of our local comets come from the same area where the sun and planets formed. This region, known as the Oort cloud surrounding the solar system and extends far beyond Pluto.

According to researchers it Levison, an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, but "the standard model can not generate near the amount of comets we see."

"This model says that comets are the dregs of planet formation of our solar system and our planet's gravity boot them to a very great distance, fill the cloud," said Levison. Such a process tends to occur around other stars as well, with each giving rise to their own cloud of comet debris.

But the star may not have been at their initial cloud.

Like the other stars, the sun gave birth in the open star clusters are destroyed from time to time. The cluster usually contains between ten and a thousand stars jammed into a small space, an average radius is not much different from the Oort cloud today. Near the star in the group may have allowed the star to "steal" young comets from each other.

And the stars would not have been the greatest to the most successful thief. As the comet moves far enough away from the star and close enough to the sun, for example, can trap the sun's gravity, even if the parent star is much larger.

If it does not add

The distance of the Oort cloud from the ground makes it difficult to see - let alone pin down the exact number of comets contain. The number of comets that are derived from their observations of the comet, which lights when they passed near the sun.

But based on this data, Levison and his team said there was about 400000000000 comets floating just outside Pluto. For comparison, the conventional model predicts only 6 billion.

"This is ... a big difference," says Levison. "Too big to be explained by errors in the budget is not possible for us to much, so there must be something wrong with the model itself .."

Long period comet orbits that these findings appear to support. they are highly elliptical orbits take them far into the depths of space.

"So they could not have been born in orbit around the sun," says Levison. "They have now formed to other stars, and then here was hijacked."

Comets are generally considered a very good picture of the early solar system, because they spend most of their lives encased in ice. And if some comets come from outside our solar system, they can tell us about their parent stars, too.

"We have the orbits of comets can be studied and their chemical put in the context of and around their stars formed," says Levison. "It's exciting to think we have some" goods "we in the distant star us. Family."

Obama has proposed tax agreement announced unemployment benefits

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Tue, 7 Dec 2010 06:14:00 GMT

Barack Obama on Monday for a year or two percentage points while lowering the payroll tax, for 13 months during a period of two years, the Bush tax cuts and announced a deal with Republican leaders would extend unemployment benefits.

Both sides, the White House tried to reconciliation talks, including the Treasury Department and congressional leaders, including the provisions do not like each party, Obama Democratic leaders to discuss the proposed deal with reporters after a hastily arranged statement.

"It's not perfect," is Obama's 2009 students and their families, and businesses will continue to stimulate the bill contains tax relief for next year, whether you plan to eliminate all investments, he said. "We are looking for the American people to solve problems we can not play politics at a time."

Obama and resources set by the president, appointed by the president and Republican leaders say the federal deficit commission, the agreement now or in the coming years billions of dollars more than federal spending would add up to hundreds of low income must be controlled in federal debt.

Too many Democrats in Congress agreed to the demands of the Republican Party, said the deal with the first concern has been expressed.

"I'm not happy about it all. Commitment Before I kind of want to see all the details," said Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown CNN. Obama Republicans "moved" when asked, Mr Brown said: "I do not know that I crashed I thought he might have got a better deal .."

Vice President Joe Biden, the Senate Democratic leadership aide, according to one "defense agreement," Senate Democratic weekly policy lunch on Tuesday, will attend the Capitol.
Obama: 'Struggle' for doing something wrong
Tax cut extensions: 's do a deal
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* Tax Policies
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Houses, especially liberal Democrats, lame-duck session before the end of the rebel Congress to win approval for the plan would jeopardize the opportunity. With the Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of the year, Obama's people to act now to continue to launch more important political struggle, he said.

"I'm ready to let us continue the struggle within his own party and other parties know that some people," Obama said. "I like you save the form back to us in a devastating recession, I do not want to miss."

Will extend the effective tax rates for everyone because Republican leaders voiced support for the plan first.

"I have shown that administration of a tax increase to prevent the Democrats in Congress show the same openness about the optimistic," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said in a statement.

However, retiring Republican Senator George Voinovich of Ohio said that because the federal debt would increase the agreement calls for. Over expenditure

Agreement for the 2009 economic stimulus package Obama low-income Americans tax relief, "make work pay" points instead of two per cent reduction in payroll taxes, including temporary. A government source familiar with the talks one-year reduction in payroll taxes of about $ 1,000 to $ 50,000 will bring savings, he said.

Republicans as a privilege, a legacy of more than $ 5,000,000 worth of property taxes for two years at 35% settings. This figure is higher than previous estimates and now is $ 3,500,000 or more for property taxes on real estate is a compromise between the positions of Democrats and Republicans, said a senior government official.

Family income up to $ 250,000 per year for Democratic House of Representatives approved the measure to extend the Bush era tax cuts, they are negotiating with the White House, Congressional Republicans are satisfied with the previous Monday.

A Democratic congressional source told CNN, "We're rubber and the White House (Senate Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell, will not be an agreement between the cap." "We want to clarify it Do not support underrated .."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-California, and D-Maryland, to discuss the proposed agreement at the White House with Obama and Biden were among the Democratic leaders who attended the meeting.

According to a senior Democratic source, Biden, Obama and Democrats in Congress said the proposed deal is the best that I can do is come to expect.

Houses of the Liberal Democrats, all from 2001 and 2003 tax cuts Congress to accept a deal believed to be the most reluctant.

The Senate blocked from consideration by the mischievous acts of the Republic House, tax rates, making more than $ 200,000 per year for individuals and families earning more than $ 250,000 will lead to increase the level of 1990. $ 1,000,000 more than the Senate Republicans in what has been blocking a proposal similar to the levels set a high income tax rates.

Obama is for wealth to increase the tax rate, let the Democratic Republic of the plan is an extension of the effective tax rate would ruin the show said no.

"Willing to give both sides, without this there is no reason to believe that the stalemate continued in the years ahead," Obama said. "Is this tax is in the Bush tax cuts because of arrangements made in 2003 on January 1, 2001 and continue until will. I do not want to let that happen to the American people will have a terrible prospect."

extended unemployment benefits and tax credits announced the deal during two years of the Bush era tax cuts for everyone, just to extend the deal to reporters after he briefed senior government officials. In particular, will benefit directly to the interests of workers in 2011 showed that payroll tax cuts.

One top administration official, said, "We would like the most attractive economy in 2011, important tax relief for working families feel that if there is a chance."

Top senators from both parties extended unemployment benefits for all people with the possibility of an agreement linking the extension of lower tax rates other Sunday. Congress to reduce the national debt will continue to work on long-term plan.

Democrats, but as a nation with the election campaign of 2008, Obama promised higher taxes than working-class Americans face the need to avoid the costs agreement to protect tax cuts for rich people can not afford hundreds of billions of extra dollars. Republicans, the economy remains too weak to ensure that no one believes that a tax increase.

Earlier Monday, Obama will be deducted from wealthy Americans, not fiscal responsibility, and reaffirmed this stance in the GOP with the extension of unemployment benefits should be part of any deal, said Democratic leaders argued.

"Middle-class tax increase, would be very difficult, because only family labor, and he's now our economy will be an obstacle to find a compromise here," Obama in Winston-Salem, North Carolina told the audience.

"We want him 100% what I want or what the Republic should ensure that even if there is a solution," he said.

First Landing Photo: Secrets of the X-37B Aircraft Space Robot Land in California

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Sun, 5 Dec 2010 19:46:00 GMT

The mysterious U. S. Air Force's X-37B robotic spacecraft returned to Earth today (December 3) with a successful landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California before sunrise.
Air Force officials praised the successful landing X-37B unmanned spacecraft, although its mission remains shrouded in secrecy because of its classified nature. But Vandenberg's 30th Space Wing is not shy of breaking pictures of X-37B vehicle called the Orbital Test Vehicle 1. Looking at the first pictures below:
Nose to Nose: the space X-37B aircraft builder Boeing's released unmanned spacecraft just after landing on December 3, 2010.
spacecraft spent 220 days in space before gliding to a landing early morning at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Home Again: Although the nature of robots, spacecraft X-37B will receive a warm welcome from the crew at Vandenberg Air Force.
Here, if the vehicle appeared to survive after landing procedure on 3 December at 01:16 PT (0916 GMT).
Significant erosion, or changes in color can be seen on top of the thermal insulation blanket that spacecraft.
X-37B in Profile: An Air Force photographer snapped a profile view of the X-37B landing shortly after his 3 December.
X-37B is about 29 feet (9 meters) long and has a wingspan of more than 14 feet (4 meters) across. Standing over 9 1 / 2 feet (3 meters) tall and weighs 11,000 pounds (5,000 kg). For comparison: Two X-37B vehicle in rows on the back of the nose, could fit in the payload bay of NASA space shuttle. Boeing Phantom Works division in Seal Beach, Calif., the spacecraft.
This graphic SPACE.com X 37B illustrate the features and functions of unmanned spacecraft.
Up Close and Personal: A handler vehicle crews dressed in a suit to protect against hazardous materials (such as rocket fuel remaining) robotic spacecraft approaches the X-37B successfully landed after December 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Concept X-37B: This photo released by the Air Force, the spacecraft's nose mysterious X-37B as the recovery crew to take measurements and other readings to December 3 landed at Vandenberg. unique X-37B V-shaped "ruddervators" - which serves as a stabilizer tail - which looks and the air brakes deployed.
Payload Bay Door: Here is the spacecraft X-37B is seen in profile as a post-landing the job ahead. Logo Boeing and the Air Force plane was visible in the stomach can be reused. They appear between the line that describes the payload bay of the X-37B, which is the size of pickup truck beds and can hold experiments, small satellites and the solar panel array that is used for power generation.
Welcome Home: the space shuttle's cargo bay is the X-37B is clearly visible in side view, as the scale of the spacecraft relative to the human
X-37B began life in 1999 as a project of NASA, DARPA office and then transferred to the Pentagon in 2004. Air Force took over in 2006. The mission was launched on 22 April 2010. The purpose of the flight and the cost is classified.
Looking Up: The view side of the X-37B was taken by a photographer Boeing publicly grooved runways at Vandenberg Air Force Base in which robotic spacecraft landed today. Force Vandenberg workers replace hundreds of small steel plates on runwary to do harm to the band X-37B to avoid during landing, according to the Santa Maria Times newspaper.
Job well done: In the back of the first X-37B vehicle on Earth, the Air Force is now looking for the next launch. The Air Force ordered the construction of the two X-37B - the Orbital Test Vehicle 2 - for the mission to launch in spring 2011.

31 People Victims Killed and 166 Expressed Missing hit by a tsunami in the Mentawai Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:34:00 +0100

The death toll from tsunami in the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, increased to 31 people. While the victim missing to this day reached 166 people.

Manager Operations Control Center for Disaster Management (Ops Pusdal PB) West Sumatera, Ade Edward, say, until at 18:00 pm, the death toll reached 31 people. All the bodies have been found.

"In Muara Taikako, Sikakap increased two to five people were killed, in Silabu, North Pagai found one person dead, at Gobik, Bosuwa, South Sipora there are four people were killed and at Berilu, Bosuwa, South Sipora increased three to five people dead . While in New Muntai, Bulasat, South Pagai still four people killed and at Baleraksok, South Pagai, still 16 people who died, "said Ade to Tribunnews.com, Tuesday (26/10/2010).

In addition, as many as 166 people remain missing, 645 families are still displaced. The number of damaged buildings, namely 100 homes were severely damaged and is being. Victims seeking refuge among them, 150 households Sikakap residents, 150 residents Silabu, 45 KK residents Sinakok, South Pagai.

Planned. Vice President Boediono will visit victims of the tsunami and earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter Scale in West Sumatra. "Tomorrow, vice president plans to visit the Mentawai via Padang,"

Water Ice Common on Asteroids, Discovery Suggests

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Sat, 9 Oct 2010 14:28:00 +0100

Scientists have discovered water ice on an asteroid for the second time, suggesting that it is more common on space rocks in our solar system than previously thought.

Two research teams have found evidence of water ice and organic molecules on the asteroid 65 Cybele, just six months after discovering the same stuff on a different space rock — asteroid 24 Themis — for the first time. The results suggest that asteroids may have delivered much of these essential materials for life to the early Earth, the researchers said.

"This discovery suggests that this region of our solar system contains more water ice than anticipated," said Humberto Campins, of the University of Central Florida, in a statement. "And it supports the theory that asteroids may have hit Earth and brought our planet its water and the building blocks for life to form and evolve here."

A very thin layer

The researchers analyzed the sunlight bouncing off 65 Cybele, which has a diameter of about 180 miles (290 kilometers) and circles the sun in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

The teams used two different NASA instruments: the Infrared Telescope Facility atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The telescopes picked up the telltale signatures of water ice and complex organic solids on the space rock's surface, researchers said.

They didn't find great sheets of ice — the asteroid's ice layer is probably less than one micron thick, Campins told reporters today (Oct. 8) during the 42nd annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences in Pasadena, Calif.

The ice layer is probably also very unstable, Campins said, so it has probably only coated the space rock for a few thousand years or so. The research team isn't sure where it came from, but one possibility is the asteroid's subsurface.

If the ice did indeed migrate up from 65 Cybele's interior, the water could be primordial, Campins said — leftovers from the early stages of our solar system's formation. But that's just speculation at this point.

"We have a detection, and we're starting to figure out what the physical characteristics and abundance of this ice are," Campins said.

Changing our view of asteroids

The discovery of water ice on 24 Themis — announced in April 2010 by the same two research teams — changed many scientists' perspectives on asteroids. [5 Reasons to Care About Asteroids]

Asteroid 24 Themis resides in the same region of the asteroid belt as 65 Cybele. Many scientists had thought asteroids in this part of the belt were too close to the sun to carry water ice.

These asteroids may have been ice-covered long ago during the solar system's youth, the thinking went, but their surface water should have evaporated by now.

Finding water ice on such space rocks now, 4.6 billion years after the solar system's birth, suggests that asteroids may have delivered much of the water that fills Earth's oceans — and perhaps some of the complex organic molecules that served as the building blocks of life here, scientists have said.

Filling the oceans?

Earth has experienced a violent history, having been bombarded by space rocks throughout much of its life. In particular, a large rock is thought to have crashed into Earth some 4.5 billion years ago, knocking off a giant chunk of material that eventually became our moon.

At that point, the collision would have heated things up so much that any water on Earth would have been vaporized. So, how did the oceans form?

Comets hold a great deal of water ice, but they are not ideal candidates for filling up Earth's early oceans. Comet water tends to be of a different nature — its atoms are in a different configuration — than most of the water on Earth, scientists have said.

The new results strengthen the case for asteroids as water-bearers for the early Earth. In the solar system's early days, asteroids likely slammed into Earth far more frequently than they do today, researchers have said. If many asteroids were even just a little icy, the Earth could have received quite a drenching, they added.

The discovery may also be a boon to NASA's new space exploration program, which is aiming to send astronauts to visit a near-Earth asteroid by 2025.

The research has been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Source: www.space.com

Eau! 'Perrier Ocean' Could Give the Kick to Saturn Moon's Geysers

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Tue, 5 Oct 2010 20:11:00 +0100

The mysterious icy jets erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus may have their roots in a bubbly "Perrier ocean" flowing beneath the moon's frozen surface, a new study finds.

This salty subsurface sea could feed violent geysers on Enceladus, supplying them with water, gas, dust and heat before sinking back to the dark depths.

"The realization that there's a circulation system inside of Enceladus is something that's a new way of thinking," Dennis Matson, a researcher with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told reporters Monday (Oct. 4). "But as you know, Enceladus has unique properties."

Matson discussed the Enceladus find at the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences meeting in Pasadena, Calif.

Mysterious geysers on an icy world

The ice geysers of Enceladus were first spotted in 2005 by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which revealed jets of icy particles erupting from the moon's southern polar region. Enceladus is Saturn's sixth-largest moon.

The discovery jolted many astronomers — as did other evidence of a hot spot around Enceladus' south pole — showing that the small, frozen and presumably dead moon is geologically active.

More recent observations from Cassini have shown that the geysers are associated with Enceladus' "tiger stripes" — huge fissures in the moon's ice-covered surface.

Cassini has also found that the geysers contain water vapor, sodium salts, potassium salts and carbonates, suggesting that a sea of liquid water flows beneath the moon's icy crust.

The probe's observations revealed huge amounts of heat flowing through the tiger stripe region — about five times more heat per unit area than flows through Earth's geologic hot spot, Yellowstone National Park, scientists have said.

Such finds further intrigued scientists, but they didn't fully explain the fundamental nature of Enceladus' geysers or what was feeding them. The new results could help flesh out that explanation.

A heat-transferring sea

Matson and his colleagues came up with a computer model that accommodates much of what is known about the geysers of Enceladus. Their findings support the supposition that a salty sea flows under the moon's surface.

This ocean has gases dissolved in it, the theory goes. As the seawater flows up to and through the tiger stripe fissures, its pressure drops and the gases bubble up, Matson said — making the ocean fizzy, like Perrier. The relatively warm water and expanding gas feed the jets.

When the bubbles pop, they throw off a fine spray that contains salt and other materials, which Cassini spotted in Enceladus' plumes. Then the seawater, having dumped much of its warmth on the moon's surface ice, cools and sinks back through cracks, rejoining the ocean and its heat-transferring circulation system.

"Until now, how you got so much heat out was a big, big problem," Matson said.

The model doesn't require much dissolved gas in the "Perrier ocean" to work — only 1 or 2 percent, researchers said. And it explains the geyser phenomenon pretty well, including the ultimate source of some of the materials ejected in the plumes.

"A liquid ocean would be in contact with the rocky core" of Enceladus, said Linda Spilker of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cassini deputy project scientist. As it flows past that core, the sea could pick up elements like sodium and potassium, she added.

Source: www.space.com

Hamburg cell at heart of terrorist plot against Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Mon, 4 Oct 2010 13:30:00 +0100

Hamburg, Germany (CNN) -- A group of jihadists from the German city of Hamburg are alleged to be at the heart of the recent al Qaeda plot to launch co-ordinated terrorist attacks against European cities, according to European intelligence officials.

The plan prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a Europe-wide security advisory for Americans traveling in Europe.

Western intelligence officials say they learned about the plot when Ahmed Sidiqi, a German citizen of Afghan descent was arrested in Afghanistan in July and taken to the U.S. Airbase at Bagram for questioning. He has not been charged and intelligence sources in Germany say he is co-operating with the investigation.

In early 2009 Sidiqi and ten others left Hamburg for the tribal areas of Pakistan -- where most joined a jihadist group fighting U.S. and coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan, according to German intelligence officials.

Sidiqi told American interrogators that at least one member of his travel group was to be a "foot-soldier" in the plot, with other members of the group helping to plan the attacks, a European counter-terrorism official told CNN.

Sidiqi has been fully cooperating with American authorities, German intelligence sources say. Every day, they say, information emerges from Sidiqi which provides a "new piece to the puzzle." German authorities expect to be given access to Sidiqi in the next few days, according to the sources, and until they do so will not be able to verify his claims.

Over the weekend CNN spoke to Sidiqi's sister in Hamburg. She said his family were shocked by the allegations against him. She said that in 2009 Sidiqi told his family he was traveling to Afghanistan to start a new life there with his wife. They say they last heard from him shortly before his arrest when he phoned to tell them that he would soon be coming home because he missed his family, said his sister, who described him as a devout family loving man.

German officials say the Hamburg group were all recruited from the Taiba mosque in Hamburg. In the 1990s the same mosque -- then called Al Quds - was attended by the lead hijacker in the 9/11 attacks, Mohammed Atta.

A friend of Atta from those days has emerged as a crucial figure in the new plot, European intelligence officials tell CNN. Naamen Meziche, 40, a French citizen of Algerian descent, worked to persuade a number of young men praying at the Taiba mosque to fight Jihad, according to the officials. His whereabouts are unknown; he is thought to be in the Afghan/Pakistan border area. Meziche's wife told CNN that he was overseas.

According to a European counter-terrorism official, Meziche had longstanding connections to al Qaeda dating back to the 1990s, which he was able to rekindle once he arrived in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The group coalesced late in 2008, and most of them had left for Pakistan before authorities had a chance to prevent them, according to German intelligence officials, despite constant surveillance of suspected militants at the Taiba mosque.

The group used several different travel routes to get to Pakistan, some traveling overland through Iran and some traveling by air via the Gulf. Managing the logistics, according to German intelligence officials, was a man known as Asadullah M., 52, a Hamburg resident of Afghan origin. He is also thought to be in the Pakistani tribal areas along the Afghan border.

Eight members of the travel group, including two wives of the militants, eventually made it to the tribal areas of Pakistan, where they joined the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an Uzbek militant group with strong ties to al Qaeda, according to German intelligence officials.

One member of the group was Rami Makanesi, 25, a German of Syrian descent. Another was Shahab Dashti, a German citizen of Iranian descent. Late in 2009 he appeared in an IMU video. Wielding a knife and gun, he urged other Germans to join in the jihad against American forces in Afghanistan. Several other Germans appeared in the video and were filmed firing weapons in what appeared to be live fire exercises. Several scenes featured what appeared to be the group storming enemy positions with rockets and guns, the type of combat skills which Western counter-terrorism officials fear could be used in Western cities in a "Mumbai-style" attack.

In November 2008, an assault on hotels and other "soft targets" in Mumbai by members of Lashkar e Tayyiba -- a terror group based in Pakistan -- killed more than 160 people.

One European counter-terrorism official says Sidiqi told his interrogators that Meziche assumed a planning role in the new plot - assisted by Asadullah M - which Osama Bin Laden himself approved. Sidiqi said that Dashti, who appeared in the IMU video, was tasked to be a "foot-soldier" in the plot against Europe, a European counter-terrorism told CNN. German intelligence officials believe Dashti is still at large in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

Dashti, who previously had a Westernized lifestyle, started to attend the Taiba mosque in Hamburg after converting from Shia to Sunni Islam, in part, German intelligence officials believe, to distance himself from a domineering father. Family members reached by CNN over the weekend believe he was "fooled and tricked" by extremists into going to Pakistan. His wife traveled with him to Pakistan and is still believed to be in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.

The Imam of the Taiba mosque in Hamburg is Mamoun Darkazanli, a German businessman originally from Syria. The 9/11 Commission identified him as having links to al Qaeda financiers. In 2003 he was charged with membership of al Qaeda by Spanish authorities, but as a German citizen was not extradited. He faces no charges in Germany. Repeated attempts by CNN to reach Darkazanli for a response on the latest plot have been unsuccessful.

In the years after 9/11 the Taiba mosque became a magnet for al Qaeda sympathizers across Europe.

"They all wanted to come and pray where Mohammed Atta prayed," a German intelligence official told CNN. Hamburg authorities shut down the mosque a few weeks after Sidiqi was arrested.

The decision to shut the mosque was a difficult one, say officials in Hamburg, because the presence in one place of so many militants made it easier to monitor their activities. But they say the mosque had become a recruiting center for jihadists across Europe.

Several militants now back in Germany who failed to make it to Pakistan's tribal areas are of continuing concern to German intelligence services, who have kept them under observation.

"Their greatest enemy is the United States," a German intelligence official told CNN.

A recent report by Hamburg's intelligence services stated that 45 jihadists lived freely and openly in the city, from where they actively supported al Qaeda. High evidence thresholds under the German legal system have made it very difficult for authorities to make arrests, German officials told CNN. In addition to those actively supporting al Qaeda. another 200 Islamists living in the city are described as having "violent tendencies."

German intelligence officials told CNN that like many European cities, Hamburg faces a challenge from Islamist extremists, but that some cities, like London, face greater challenges. They say they are increasing resources to confront the problem of Islamist extremism. They say that radicalization is on the rise because of the growth of German-language extremist websites and the revolution in social media.

A senior German counter-terrorism source told CNN thats some 200 individuals have left the country since 9/11 to receive training with militant groups in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, and that dozens have returned. According to German intelligence officials, the uptick in U.S. drone strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan has not staunched the enthusiasm of German militants wishing to travel there.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com

Robotics Mint Cleaning Robot

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Sat, 2 Oct 2010 14:06:00 +0100

Robots are fast becoming a common feature in homes. Although they may not look like your usual robot, there are now such devices that can help on certain tasks around the home. One example would be the Mint Cleaning Robot from Evolution Robotics.

The Mint Cleaning Robot can clean your floor for you. It can do the task for as long as 3 hours for each charge. It features the NorthStar Navigation System that allows it to keep track of its movements to make sure that every area it is tasked to clean is well covered. It also features smart sensors that allows it to avoid stairs and area rugs. Its compact and square shape makes it able to clean corners and even hard to reach places.

The Mint Cleaning Robot makes use of microfiber cloth available in most stores to clean floors for dry sweeping or wet mopping. Its quiet operation allows it to work without causing any disturbance to the peace in your home. The Evolution Robotics Mint Cleaning Robot is available at the Mint Cleaner website for US$250.

A new proof of Icebergs in the Ocean Planet Mars Cold

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Fri, 1 Oct 2010 17:18:00 +0100

Ancient Mars once had surprisingly frigid primeval oceans complete with their own icebergs, new evidence suggests.

There are currently two leading ideas for what the climate of ancient Mars might have been like.

One is that it was cold and dry, contending that valley networks and other geological features suggestive of liquid water in Mars' past were essentially results of bursts of heat confined in space and time, suggesting that Mars could not have sustained oceans. The other is that Mars was once warm and wet, implying that it could once have supported lakes, seas and rainfall for long periods.

Now researchers have found evidence of icebergs on Mars, supporting a third idea of the Red Planet's ancient climate — that of a cold and wet Mars, governed by oceans or seas covered partly in ice, as well as glaciers and massive polar caps.

Boulder and craters

To peer into Mars' climatic past, scientists focused on the flat, smooth, featureless Martian lowlands, which some have equated to an ancient ocean basin.

However, images captured by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed the presence of boulders about 1.5-6.5 feet (0.5-2 meters) across, as well as chains of roughly one or two dozen craters measuring 330-1,300 feet (100-400 meters) wide scattered throughout the northern plains. Both these details are hard to reconcile with the notion of fine-grained sediments deposited on a deep ocean basin, and had been used to cast doubts on the concept of an ocean on Mars.

Now astrobiologist Alberto Fairen at the SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center and his colleagues suggest the presence and distribution of these boulders and chains of craters could have been caused by rock fragments carried by icebergs, a common process on Earth.

They suggest glaciers in the highlands could have eroded the terrain, transporting rock within them and on their surfaces. Armadas of icebergs would have formed at the edges of glaciers as they melted and broke apart, which could then float thousands of miles on the ocean before they disappeared, depositing rock downward.

Also, on Earth, when icebergs scrape against the ocean floor, they can rain boulders down in clumps, which could explain boulder clusters up to about a mile (1.6 km) wide that scientists have seen on Mars. In addition, when icebergs roll along the sea floor on Earth, they can generate strings of dents, perhaps explaining the chains of craters seen on the Martian lowlands.

Seas or oceans

If there were icebergs, then there were open and sizable bodies of stable liquid water on the surface of Mars, Fairen said.

"The size of the water bodies may have ranged from several local seas to a single hemispheric ocean, and they may have been continuous in time or episodic," he told SPACE.com.

Some might suggest that the scattered boulders were deposited by so-called periglacial processes, Fairen said — that is, processes that take place at the edges of glaciers. However, such processes cannot give a satisfactory explanation for the boulder clusters that HiRISE also saw, he noted.

Others have also suggested that the crater chains were formed by volcanic processes.

"But our analyses can discard this hypothesis, especially because all the craters within one chain are almost identical in shape and dimensions, and that's neither expected nor usual in a volcanic process, but is expected if all the craters in the chain are carved by the same iceberg," Fairen explained.

Fairen added that scour marks some 0.6 to 3 miles (1 to 5 km) long seen in the northern plains and Hellas Basin of Mars could be evidence of icebergs as well. These could have been carved by the keels of icebergs scraping against the ocean floor.

"The scours are the most clear evidence for icebergs that we are finding," he said.

Fairen and his colleagues detailed their findings at the 2010 Astrobiology Science Conference in April.

Israelis intercept aid boat to Gaza

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:50:00 +0100

The Israeli navy took over an aid vessel that attempted to sail to Gaza on Tuesday despite a blockade to the occupied territory, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said.

No one was injured when the navy took over and boarded the boat, named the Irene, and the navy was taking the boat to a port in Ashdod, the IDF spokesman said.

"The boarding of the yacht was without incident and no violence of any kind was used by neither the passengers onboard nor the Israel naval forces," the IDF said in a statement.

"Prior to boarding the yacht, the Israeli naval ships transmitted two warnings to its captain, making him aware that they are breaking both Israeli and international law. These warnings were ignored by the captain of the yacht and its passengers, who sailed further into the area under naval blockade."

The boat, named the Irene, set sail Sunday from Cyprus with 10 passengers and crew, including Jews from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Israel.

Organizers said the boat would attempt to reach the Gaza coast and unload its cargo of donated items as an act of both "solidarity and protest," calling for the Israeli blockade of Gaza to be lifted.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry had promised Monday it would tell the boat to dock instead at Al Arish port in northeastern Egypt near Gaza or at Israeli ports in Ashdod. If the boat refused, it would be intercepted and towed to Ashdod, said ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.

The boat's cargo includes children's toys, musical instruments, textbooks, fishing nets, and prosthetic limbs, the organizers said. They plan to deliver the goods to the Gaza Mental Health Program.

"Israeli government policies are not supported by all Jews," said Richard Kuper of Jews for Justice for Palestinians, one of the organizers. "We call on all governments and people around the world to speak and act against the occupation and the siege."

Police in Cyprus were not aware of the boat's departure, spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said.

Cyprus has a ban on vessels leaving the southern part of the island for Gaza. It was unclear from what part of the island the boat departed.

In May, Israeli forces intercepted an aid flotilla headed to Gaza from Turkey. Violence broke out, resulting in the deaths of nine people.

Wednesday, the United Nations' Human Rights Council concluded the Israeli forces committed serious violations of international law in the mid-sea interception.

The 56-page report described the circumstances of the deaths of "at least six of the passengers" as being "consistent with ... an arbitrary and summary execution."

Israel has maintained its troops used force on the activists in May after they were attacked by those on board one boat, but passengers on board that boat insist Israeli troops fired on them without provocation.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com

Facebook's Zuckerberg gives $100 million to Newark

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 21:51:00 +0100

The billionaire announced the grant on Friday on the Oprah Winfrey television show. He denied suggestions the timing was aimed at deflecting attention from a movie that depicts the 26-year-old in an unflattering light.

"I've had a lot of opportunities in my life, and a lot of that comes from ... having gone to really good schools. And I just want to do what I can to make sure that everyone has those same opportunities," Zuckerberg told Winfrey about his gift to a city once the backdrop for Philip Roth novels but more recently struggling with crime, corruption and decay.

On a conference call for reporters with Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Zuckerberg said he chose Newark -- a city to which he has no tangible connection -- after meeting Booker at a conference this summer.

He said he was simply impressed by the mayor's plans.

The gift brings together two of the Garden State's rising political stars from opposite sides of the political divide.

Youthful Democrat Booker is a former Rhodes scholar and Yale Law School graduate whose first run for mayor was shown in the Oscar-nominated documentary "Street Fight."

In less than a year as governor, Republican Christie has earned a reputation as a tough-talking politician who will do whatever it takes to get New Jersey's fiscal house in order, pushing through his agenda despite a Democrat-controlled legislature.

During Friday's conference call Christie called Newark "a city in desperate need of transformation."

Booker told Winfrey, "I think that Newark is going to change the paradigm for urban education."

As part of the deal, Christie will cede some control of the schools to Booker, including choosing a superintendent. Christie retains the right to take back control.

"He's investing in the vision that Cory has. I'm investing in Cory's vision as well. And together Mark and I are going to help Cory make sure we execute and implement that vision to improve the lives of the families in the city of Newark," Christie told reporters.

Zuckerberg's donation funds his Startup: Education foundation, which will disburse the cash. He said he hoped to be involved in many more charity efforts in the coming years.

Newark's 40,000-plus student school system is among the worst in New Jersey -- only 40 percent of students are able to read and write by the end of third grade. The state took control of the schools in the mid 1990s but the hoped-for improvement has failed to materialize.

Zuckerberg said the gift will come from the sale of shares of privately held Facebook, the world's No 1 Internet social network, and distributed to Newark over five years.

Facebook, one of the Web's fastest growing companies, was valued at $23 billion in June when private equity firm Elevation Partners invested $120 million in the company, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Booker said the deal came with clear benchmarks and told Zuckerberg to halt his donation if Newark falls short.

The grant is the largest yet for Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook in his Harvard dorm room in 2004. The social networking service now boasts more than 500 million members.

Zuckerberg, who reportedly still lives in a modest rental home in Palo Alto, California, and dresses in blue jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, is the 36th richest American with a net worth of $6.9 billion, according to Forbes.

"The Social Network," a movie about Facebook's creation, based on a book by Ben Mezrich, opens nationwide on October 1.

The movie depicts Zuckerberg as a socially awkward genius who is at times arrogant and ruthless.

Source: www.reuters.com

RIM and Samsung should avoid head-on Apple clash

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 11:57:00 +0100

A year ago, industry insiders debated whether a market existed for a device to bridge laptops and smartphones. Now, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and Research In Motion (RIM.TO) will be the latest to respond to Apple's gadget.

The iPad attracts many buyers with its sleek interface and i-Tunes music, video and software applications. Business people also use it as a portable display for presentations.

Ahead of BlackBerry maker RIM's expected unveiling of a tablet computer next week, analysts say RIM and its rivals will not succeed unless they offer lower prices or address a segment Apple has overlooked.

"We've yet to hear a convincing story about what the potential is beyond Apple," said CCS Insight analyst John Jackson. "The next successful tablet story will be one that doesn't try to take on Apple directly."

RIM plans to debut the BlackPad at a developers' conference starting Monday, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The device is expected to have a 7-inch touchscreen, which would be smaller than the iPad, and at least one camera.

It is expected to connect to the Internet via short-range Wi-Fi networks found in homes, offices and cafes. Outside Wi-Fi, the only way to connect BlackPad will be to tether it to a BlackBerry phone, according to the report.

It could appeal to cost-conscious customers reluctant to pay additional cellular service fees on top of their phone's data service charge. IPad users pay separate cellular service fees from $15 a month upward.

Several analysts said the lack of a direct cellular link would limit sales for RIM, which had 50 million BlackBerry users by the end of August.

The lack of a cellular service fee may also leave mobile network operators, RIM's main distributors today, without much incentive to promote the device.

"I have my doubts as to whether their tablet will succeed," said Morgan Stanley analyst Ehud Gelblum.

COURTING CONSUMERS

RIM has been successfully courting consumers with new BlackBerrys in recent years. But since businesses are key customers, RIM's best chance may be a tablet specifically for them, said Carmi Levy, an independent technology analyst.

"What I believe RIM is trying to achieve with the BlackPad is not to release a be-all end-all consumer product, but to release a very compelling enterprise product that also has crossover appeal to consumers," said Levy.

Aside from Apple and Samsung, RIM will also compete with rivals such as Dell Inc (DELL.O), which has developed at least two tablets, and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N) and Motorola Inc (MOT.N), which plan tablets for 2011.

Some analysts say Samsung's Galaxy Tab is the most credible iPad rival, given it is not only smaller but -- perhaps more importantly -- the Korean conglomerate has forged partnerships with the top four U.S. mobile carriers and with media companies which are providing programing for its Media Hub service.

Nick DiCarlo, Samsung's U.S. director of product planning, listed three features that trump iPad: cameras for two-way video chat, support for Adobe Systems Inc (ADBE.O) Flash software and a compact size that fits in a suit pocket.

"No one of them by themselves would be enough, but all together, they're special," DiCarlo said in an interview.

DiCarlo also pointed to Samsung's media partners: NBC Universal and Viacom's (VIAb.N) Paramount and MTV, which brings hit shows like Jersey Shore. Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) and CBS Corp (CBS.N) are also in talks with Samsung to provide video for Galaxy Tab, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

However, iPad is backed by Apple's long-established iTunes digital media store -- which has the industry's largest library of 250,000 mobile applications. Samsung is depending on Google Inc's (GOOG.O) far smaller Android software store.

Thus, pricing of the Galaxy Tab and its connection services will be crucial, according to analysts who say any iPad rivals need to sharply undercut Apple to entice consumers.

Samsung has not released U.S. pricing for the device as carriers will set the price. But if its suggested price in other markets is any guide, it looks like the device will be more expensive than iPad unless carriers subsidize it.

The company had said the suggested retail price in Finland will be 949 euros ($1,278), well above the iPad's $629 tag.

U.S. operators typically subsidize phones for customers who commit to long-term contracts. When carriers get exclusive rights to sell a device, they promote it more heavily.

But since the Tab will not be exclusive, Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart said no carrier will "spend outsized marketing budgets promoting Galaxy Tab because they're not likely to get outsized benefits."

DiCarlo said marketing will be a collaborative effort with carriers. And Dan Hesse, head of No 4 operator Sprint Nextel (S.N), indicated that Tab would be important to Sprint.

Hesse said it would be "very affordable" as he pulled out the gadget at an investor conference this week to show off how he easily he could fit it in his suit pocket.

Some say the real battle begins next year when Apple rivals have more time to respond to iPad, which went on sale in April. But Morgan Stanley's Gelblum said the consumer electronics market may not give somebody like RIM a second chance.

"They have to hit it in the beginning. They don't have enough goodwill out there to come out with half a product and then improve it over time. The market is moving too fast."

Source: www.reuters.com

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel fastest in second practice

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 23:03:00 +0100

Vettel and team-mate Mark Webber were comfortably faster than McLaren's Jenson Button in third.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, but the Spaniard had to abort his fastest lap after running wide.
Lewis Hamilton was fifth fastest for McLaren with Rubens Barrichello an encouraging sixth for Williams.
Despite being over a second slower than Vettel, Hamilton insisted the gap in performance was not as large as it might appear.
"I think we are reasonably close," said the Briton. "We are competitive and I think there is more time to find, so we'll keep pushing.

"We have a good package and they [Red Bull] are probably doing different things to us and we don't know what fuel level they're on. I hope we can at least challenge for the front row tomorrow."

Button was less optimistic.

"I don't know where our pace is but at the moment the Red Bull looks crazy quick," he said.

"It's a Friday though, and so you never really know how quick [they are]. It's unusual for them to show their hand so early."

Alonso said Ferrari would be able to 'fight Red Bull' during both qualifying and the race, while Vettel himself suggested rain could be a factor.

"It doesn't mean so much to be 'P1' today, but it's still good to be on top and we have good pace. The weather may bring a surprise though," he warned.

After the damp and changeable conditions of first practice, the session began with the track largely dry - though there were still damp patches off the racing line - and the teams focussed on making up for lost time.

Hamilton, who only completed nine timed laps during first practice, was quickly out with a one minute 51.7 seconds lap, almost three seconds faster than Webber's first practice time-sheet topper.

The McLaren driver was almost immediately trumped by team-mate Button, who became the first driver to dip under 1.50, and he was soon joined by Alonso.

Ferrari's initial test programme saw the Spaniard running an 'F-duct' while team-mate Felipe Massa ran without, and Alonso laid down a marker by recording consecutive fastest laps.

Jaime Alguersuari had a fortunate escape when his Toro Rosso emerged unscathed after the left rear tyre made contact with the barriers, but there were no such problems for the Red Bull drivers.

After Vettel had gone fastest with a 1.47.824, Webber relegated Alonso to third with a 1.48.584. Button was in fourth, the best part of a second slower than Vettel.

While Adrian Sutil broke the front left suspension on his Force India by bouncing the car over the high kerbs around the chicane, Hamilton and then Alonso split Vettel and Webber.

Button, driving in a more aggressive and hence slightly ragged style than usual, switched to super-soft tyres and went fastest with 1.47.690, but ominously, Alonso was still on the harder prime rubber when he produced 1.47.718.

Vettel followed Button in switching to the option tyres and became the first driver to dip under 1.47, while Hamilton, also now on soft rubber, was over a second slower.

As Vettel continued to raise the bar, Webber moved up to second, but was still almost a second slower.

Alonso, however, had yet to run on the option tyre, and when he finally did so he was faster than Vettel through the first sector of the lap and did a personal best in the middle sector.

But he then ran wide at Turn 17 and down the escape road at Turn 18, and an attempt to recover by reversing back out on to the circuit ended in an ignominious stall.

Marshals pushed the Ferrari back down the escape road, ending Alonso's session, while Red Bull and McLaren settled into race-preparatory long runs on heavy fuel loads.

Robert Kubica, tipped by some for a possible podium finish in Singapore, had his running time severely limited by a hydraulics problem. When the Pole did finally emerge an untidy end to his best lap left him only ninth fastest.

Lindsay Lohan go to jail again

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:51:00 +0100

Superior Court Judge Elden Fox ordered the 24-year-old actress, who was convicted in 2007 of drunken driving and cocaine possession, held without bail and set her hearing for October 22.

Spokesmen for the Los Angeles courts and its jails said Lohan would remain behind bars the entire time and would not be released due to overcrowding, as she has been in the past.

In August, the "Mean Girls" actress served two weeks of a 90-day jail sentence and 22 more days in a residential drug treatment program when a different judge ruled she violated probation for the same charge.

After being released from rehab, Lohan was subject to court-ordered drug tests. Late last week, Lohan sent out a series of messages on Twitter admitting she failed a test and saying she was working to overcome her substance abuse.

"Regrettably, I did in fact fail my most recent drug test, and if I am asked, I am prepared to appear before Judge Fox," Lohan tweeted last week.

On Monday, an arrest warrant was issued and Fox ordered she appear in his court on Friday.

Lohan attorney Shawn Chapman Holley was not immediately available to comment.

Websites around the world posted Lohan's mug photo, which showed the once promising star in an orange, prison-issued jumpsuit, a stark contrast to the sleek black designer jacket and white skirt she wore to court Friday morning.

TMZ.com said Holley told the celebrity news site outside the courthouse that Fox's decision was wrong, but independent attorneys said judges often denied bail in cases where a defendant violated probation.

"I don't see any way that is going to get changed," said Los Angeles defense attorney Steve Cron, who is not affiliated with any of the parties.

"She (Lohan) seemed from the beginning to have taken a very cavalier attitude that the rules don't apply to her, but when you violate probation, there are consequences," Cron said.

After bursting onto Hollywood's map in Disney movies like "Freak Friday" and "Herbie Fully Loaded," Lohan became a highly sought-after teenage star. She earned wide praise for her small part in director Robert Altman's "A Prairie Home Companion."

But soon after, Lohan began frequenting Los Angeles nightclubs and developed a reputation for partying. Her moves were documented nearly daily by the Hollywood paparazzi.

In May 2007, she crashed a Mercedes-Benz on the famed Sunset Boulevard. Police found cocaine in her car and arrested her on suspicion of drunken driving. Two months later, she was arrested again on similar charges.

Lohan pleaded no contest to two counts each of drunken driving and being under the influence of cocaine, and one count of reckless driving. She spent 84 minutes in jail, was released due to overcrowding and placed on three years probation.

Her probation was extended for a year after she missed some alcohol-education classes, and earlier this year, a judge found her guilty of violating probation by again missing such classes, leading to jail and rehab.

Spring occurred in Northern Titan

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:37:00 +0100

The clouds are clearing on Titan as spring takes hold in its northern hemisphere, signaling a shift in the weather patterns on Saturn's largest moon, a new study finds.

Titan is poised for a mostly sunny spring, one that will last seven Earth years, researchers have found. Seasons on Titan last so long because it takes the moon and Saturn about 30 years to orbit the sun

Scientists analyzed data from the last six years of observations by NASA's Cassini spacecraft to piece together how Titan's weather cycle works. They found that conditions have changed since August 2009 — when the sun was directly over Titan's equator during its latest equinox.

"The clouds at the south pole completely disappeared just before the equinox, and the clouds in the north are thinning out," study leader Sebastien Rodriguez of the Universite Paris Diderot said in a statement. "We are expecting to see cloud activity reverse from one hemisphere to another in the coming decade as southern winter approaches."

Rodriguez and his colleagues said their findings match predictions by computer models. They presented their results at the European Planetary Science Congress 2010 in Rome on Sept. 22.

On Titan, it rains methane

Titan and its weather have intrigued scientists for decades. Some think Earth resembled Titan before life took hold — only not nearly as cold. Titan's surface averages 290 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 179 degrees Celsius).

Titan has a thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere, and its surface features have been carved by the action of liquid hydrocarbons like methane, which is the chief component of natural gas here on Earth. Methane rain drizzles from Titan's clouds, pooling in frigid liquid lakes.

To better understand Titan's weather, Rodriguez and his team used data gathered by the Cassini spacecraft since July 2004. They studied about 2,000 cloud images Cassini snapped between then and this past April, when Titan's seven-year spring began in the northern hemisphere.

In Cassini's early images, clouds gather at Titan's north and south poles, as well as in a narrow belt in the southern hemisphere. But in recent images, with the northern spring taking hold, cloud cover has decreased substantially at both poles.

Seasons change on Titan

These findings match predictions by computer models developed by other researchers in the past. Rodriguez and his team combined those models with the actual Titan observations to understand Titan's evolving cloud patterns.

Different cloud-formation mechanisms are likely at work in the different hemispheres, the researchers said.

During the northern winter, ethane and aerosols probably stream down from high in Titan's stratosphere, generating clouds near the north pole. These clouds are made of ethane, and they form at altitudes of 19 to 31 miles (30-50 km).

In the southern summer, on the other hand, methane-rich air wells up from Titan's surface. This action forms methane clouds at middle to high latitudes, the scientists said.

As Titan's seasons turn, these cloud-formation actions and patterns may flip from one hemisphere to the other, the researchers said.

They can see for themselves.

In February the Cassini mission was extended to May 2017, meaning Rodriguez and his team can get cloud-cover data all the way from mid-winter to mid-summer in Titan's northern hemisphere.

"We have learned a lot about Titan's climate since Cassini arrived at Saturn, but there is still a great deal to learn," Rodriguez said. "With the new mission extension, we will have the opportunity to answer some of the key questions about the meteorology of this fascinating moon."

There is a Spectacular aurora at Saturn Shines

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:41:00 +0100

Earth isn't the only planet in the solar system with a dazzling northern lights show. A new video from Saturn shows spectacular aurora on the ringed planet, revealing new details about how the phenomenon works.

The Saturn aurora movie was made from images collected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) instrument.

"Cassini's instruments have been imaging the aurora in magnificent detail, but to understand the overall nature of the auroral region we need to make a huge number of observations -- which can be difficult because Cassini observation time is in high demand," said study leader Tom Stallard of the U.K.'s University of Leicester in a statement. "However, there are VIMS observations of numerous other scientific targets that also include auroral information. Sometimes the aurora can be clearly seen, sometimes we have to add multiple images together to produce a signal."

As a whole, the collection of observations should help build up a better understanding of how auroras happen across the solar system, he said.

Stallard will present preliminary results from his study at the European Planetary Science Congress in Rome on Friday (Sept. 24).

In the new Cassini video, the aurora can clearly be seen to vary significantly over the course of a Saturnian day, which lasts around 10 hours and 47 minutes. On the noon and midnight sides (to the left and right respectively) the aurora can be seen to brighten significantly for periods of several hours, suggesting the brightening is connected with the direction of the sun.

Other features can be seen rotating along with the underlying planet, reappearing at the same time and the same place on the second day. This suggests that they are directly controlled by the direction of Saturn's magnetic field, researchers said.

As with Earth's northern and southern lights, the auroras on Saturn are created when solar wind particles are channeled into the planet's magnetic field toward its poles. There, they interact with electrically charged gas (plasma) in the upper atmosphere and emit light.

However, aurora features on Saturn can also be caused by electromagnetic waves generated when its moons move through the plasma that fills the planet's magnetosphere.

To date, Stallard and his colleagues have investigated some 1,000 images from the 7,000 that Cassini's VIMS instrument has recorded of Saturn's auroral region.

"Saturn's aurorae are very complex and we are only just beginning to understand all the factors involved," Stallard said. "This study will provide a broader view of the wide variety of different auroral features that can be seen, and will allow us to better understand what controls these changes in appearance."

Japan will release their captain anglers who catch

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:32:00 +0100

Japan will free a Chinese fishing captain, whose arrest touched off a diplomatic storm between Beijing and Tokyo, Japan's coast guard said Friday.

"We decided to suspend the charges in consideration of the Japan-China relationship," said the Japanese prosecutor in the case.

In China, the captain's wife, Chen Tingting, said she was thrilled.

"We are so happy, we are just really very happy to hear the news," she said.

But she did not know when he would return home to Jinjiang city, in the southern province of Fujian.

Japanese officials gave no time frame for freeing the captain, but it could take several days, because of logistics.

China will send a chartered flight to pickup the captain, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website.

The captain was arrested on September 8 off the disputed Diaoyu Islands, in the East China Sea, after his vessel crashed into two Japanese patrol boats. He is accused of obstructing Japanese public officers while they performed duties.

"The Japanese side bears full responsibility for the current situation, and it shall bear all the consequences that arise," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Tuesday in New York, as China escalated demands for the captain's release. Wen was in New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

Word of his release quickly followed the arrest of four Japanese nationals in China. The four are being investigated for entering a military zone without authorization and videotaping military targets, Chinese state media said.

Neither country linked the captain's case with the arrest of the four Japanese nationals, however.

The four Japanese nationals were sent to China for a Japanese government project to reclaim World War II chemical weapons left by Japan's Imperial Army, their company said Friday. A Chinese national also is missing and presumed arrested with his Japanese co-workers on Wednesday in in northern Hebei Province.

They work for Fujita Corp., a mid-size Japanese construction company that Goldman Sachs Group acquired in April 2009.

Japan's foreign ministry officials said Friday that China had informed them of the arrests, but they had no information about any charges or why the Japanese nationals had been detained.

"Currently, the case is being investigated," is all that Chinese security authorities in Shijiazhuang said in a statement, the state-run China Daily reported.

But Beijing had plenty to say about Japan detaining the Chinese fishing captain. Japan illegally arrested him and his crew of 14, China said.

Beijing says the Diaoyu Islands and most of the South China Sea belong to China, disputing neighboring countries' claims. In Japan, the islands are known as the Senkaku. The clash over territorial waters and islands -- and the natural resources that go with them -- is a flash point in the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan earlier this month freed the fishing captain's crew. They flew back to China, and a substitute crew sailed their boat there.

China's foreign ministry said that Japan has "seriously damaged Sino-Japan bilateral relations" with the arrest of the captain and his crew.

In response, China halted talks with Japan about increasing civil flights and expanding aviation rights between the two countries. Officials and nationals on both sides also canceled trips to each other's nations.

President Obama Urges Arab Countries to Support Talks

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:02:00 +0100

Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly three weeks after Israeli and Palestinian officials resumed direct peace talks, Obama urged world leaders to make sure "this time is different" from previous failed efforts to end the six-decade conflict.

The U.S.-brokered talks are in danger of collapsing almost before they have begun because of the September 30 expiration of Israel's self-imposed, partial moratorium on new construction in Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank.

Israel's refusal so far to maintain the freeze and the Palestinians' threat to walk out if it does not have imperiled the negotiations, which aim to resolve the main issues in the conflict within a year.

"We believe that the moratorium should be extended," Obama said. "We also believe that talks should press on until completed ... Now is the time for this opportunity to be seized, so that it doesn't slip away."

In a somewhat subdued speech, Obama told Iran the United States remained open to diplomacy to resolve questions about its nuclear program -- which Washington believes aims to develop weapons despite Tehran's denials.

While Obama said the world economy had pulled back from the brink of depression, before starting talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao he said both the United States and China "have more work to do" to ensure balance, sustained economic growth.

Speaking to reporters as he and Wen began their meeting, Obama made no mention of the elephant in the room -- their sharp disagreement over the value of the Chinese currency.

Obama delivered his global message from the U.N. podium at a time when Americans are fixated by the sluggish U.S. economy ahead of November 2 congressional elections, in which voters are expected to punish his Democrats and reward Republicans.

ISRAEL ABSENT FOR OBAMA SPEECH

In a roughly half-hour address before the General Assembly, whose speakers on Thursday include the leaders of China, Iran, Turkey and Iraq, Obama devoted much of his time to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The U.S. president, who brought the two sides together in Washington on September 2 to restart direct talks after a 20-month hiatus, spelled out that Arab states must show Israel how much it has to gain from seeking peace.

Speaking in unusually blunt terms, Obama urged countries that have pledged to back the Palestinians to follow through with political and financial support and said they "must stop trying to tear Israel down."

"Many in this hall count themselves as friends of the Palestinians. But these pledges must now be supported by deeds," he said.

"Those who have signed on to the Arab Peace Initiative should seize this opportunity to make it real by taking tangible steps toward the normalization that it promises Israel," he added.

Alzheimer’s setback shows difficulty of drug development

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:13:00 +0100

Pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly recently announced that it would halt clinical tests for an experimental Alzheimer treatment. The drug’s failure was extremely disappointing, as it represented one of only five Alzheimer’s drugs under development to have even reached late-stage clinical trials.

Lilly’s announcement exemplifies the long odds that most drug researchers face in trying to identify cure’s for the world’s most debilitating diseases.

What needs to be addressed are the twin issues of drug development and regulatory science. Both are lagging.

Too many drug trials — almost 50 percent — are failing in the Phase III trial stage, the latest one because they are mired in regulatory treacle. This is an unsustainable economic model from an R&D standpoint, and the impact of Alzheimer’s on patients, their families, and American healthcare is devastating.

Better, more current and predictable scientific research and standards must be developed and devoted to streamlining the critical path. Investment in basic research is not enough. Specifically, new development tools, such as biomarkers, microarrays and other diagnostic tools, are needed to improve the predictability of the drug-development cycle and to lower the cost of research by helping industry identify product failures earlier in the clinical trials process.

A quarter-century ago, the success rate for a new drug used was about 14 percent. Today, a new medicinal compound entering Phase 1 testing — often after more than a decade of preclinical screening and evaluation — is estimated to have only an 8 percent chance of reaching the market. For very innovative and unproven technologies, the probability of a product’s ability to make it to the market is even lower. We must work together to turn that around.

When Thomas Edison was asked why he was so successful, he responded, “Because I fail so much faster than everyone else.” Consider the implications if the FDA could help companies fail faster. Using the lower end of the Tufts University estimate of the average pre-tax cost of new drug development, $802 million:

* A 10 percent improvement in predicting failure before clinical trials could save $100 million in development costs.
* Shifting 5 percent of clinical failures to Phase 1, the earliest stage, from Phase 3, the latest stage, reduces out of pocket costs for developers by $15-$20 million.
* Shifting of failures to Phase 1 from Phase 2, the middle stage, would reduce their out of pocket costs by $12-$21 million.

All of these dollars could then be reinvested in other innovative development programs for new life-saving medicines.

For all that modern science has to offer, developing new treatments is still very much an art, in which hunches, intuition, and luck play a critical role. The odds are long. But for more medicine that is affordable and innovative, we need up-to-date regulations that compliment the drug trial process in order to take these chances, which is precisely the mission of the FDA’s moribund Reagan-Udall Foundation. The failure of Congress to free-up the seed funding the foundation has called for in the 2007 FDA Amendments Act must be corrected.

Senator Ted Kennedy said the Reagan-Udall Foundation “will make new research tools and techniques available to the entire research community, shortening the time it takes to develop new drugs and reducing costs for patients.”

Shortly before his death, I had the privilege of a private meeting with Nobel Laureate Joshua Lederberg. The topic of conversation was the future of the FDA and the agency’s Critical Path initiative. We talked about the state of applied research, the prioritization of development science, biomarkers, and a host of other future-oriented issues. He talked. I took a lot of notes.

At the end of the meeting, he put everything into perspective in a single sentence. He leaned over the table and said, “The real question should be, is innovation feasible?”

Yes, it is. And the FDA should allow it to happen.

Source: www.reuters.com

Amazing Views of Jupiter and Uranus Thrill Skywatchers

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:57:00 +0100

The rare cosmic triple play of Jupiter, Uranus and the full moon this week is dazzling amateur astronomers with a bright night sky show.

"I never grow tired of viewing the planets," skywatcher Jimmy Eubanks told SPACE.com, adding that Jupiter is a longtime favorite. He photographed Jupiter and Uranus from his front lawn in Boiling Springs, S.C., on Monday (Sept. 20) during Jupiter's closest approach.

Jupiter, Uranus and the nearly full Harvest Moon met in a rare cosmic lineup late yesterday (Sept. 22), just two days after Jupiter made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 50 years. Wednesday night's sky show also occurred on the equinox, marking the official start of the fall season in Earth's Northern Hemisphere, and spring in the south.

If you missed the sky show, don't despair. Jupiter will continue to be a bright skywatching target for several weeks, according to the skywatching website Spaceweather.com.

Through a telescope, the brilliant bands of color from the turbulent atmosphere of Jupiter were unmistakable, Eubanks said. At the time, Jupiter was 3.95 astronomical units, or AU, from Earth. One AU is the average distance between Earth and the sun, about 93 million miles (150 million km).

"It's quite a surreal experience to view an object that is so far away and know that you are watching weather on another planet," Eubanks said. He used a Meade 8-inch SCT telescope to capture his photos.

In Arizona, amateur astronomers were also treated to clear skies, serving as the perfect stage for Jupiter and Uranus.

Photographer Jin Lu in Tempe did not expect a good view of the planets. The telescope he and his friends were modifying with a new camera wasn't ready yet. But he pointed his Nikon D90 camera with an 18-105 mm lens to see what he could see on Sept. 19.

The result, he said, was amazing.

"Jupiter, its moons and Uranus were just there," Lu said, adding that the weather was perfect for viewing. "The fourth moon, Europa, was too close to Jupiter and could not be seen."

Lu also snapped this long-exposure photo of Jupiter, which shows the planet's movement across the sky in front of a sea of stars.

In the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, Ariz., skywatcher Pat Jameson did not have a telescope, but still made a point to look for Jupiter after reading about its close approach on SPACE.com.

"I had never pointed binoculars at any celestial body other than the moon ... and I was stunned to see three pinpoints in a straight line through the middle of Jupiter," Jameson said, adding that it was clear they were Jupiter's moons. "Amazing, with all the ambient light of the city, I could still see them. How cool is that?"

Source: www.space.com

Microbes With the Right Stuff? Synthetic Life Could Make Mars Trips Easier

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:50:00 +0100

When packing for a manned mission to Mars or the moon, the best thing to bring may not be food or fuel, but specially designed organisms that can create those things for you.

Scientists are researching the possibility of engineering synthetic organisms that would use the resources available in the solar system to create the supplies astronauts would need to survive on another planet.

"Personally I'm interested in space settlement," said John Cumbers, a graduate student at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., who is researching synthetic microbes. "I think we have two choices: We can either go into space and be living inside a tin can, or we can be going into space and recreating in space some of the beauty of nature we have here on Earth."

Cumbers said he wasn't advocating terraforming, or completely restructuring the surface of a planet to mimic Earth, but rather using bioengineered organisms in a planned and contained way to make life easier in an alien environment.

"I think there's a lot that we can do that's productive with biology without having to release organisms in an unplanned fashion," Cumbers told Astrobiology Magazine.

The dangers of 'Frankenlife'

Even with careful planning, this concept could bring risks, as some experts warn against creating "Frankenlife" that could become an invasive species with unintended consequences for humans or the alien environment, including any native life.

However, other scientists advise reining in fears.

"I don't think this would be particularly hazardous," said Chris McKay, a planetary scientist at Ames who is not involved in Cumbers' project. "The sort of organisms that would be good at doing mineral extraction – acidophiles, for example -- are not the type of organisms that cause disease."

And, he said, these synthetic organisms would present no more risk of contaminating the search for alien life than would the normal microbes being carried by humans and spacecraft.

"In any case, we will have to learn how to tell the difference between contamination from Earth and alien life," McKay said.

Making life easier

To design an organism for use on another planet, researchers want to mix and match desired qualities from multiple species. For example, they might start with a species that can do something useful, such as processing materials into biofuels or food. But this species might not be fit for a harsh environment such as on the surface of Mars, where there is no atmosphere to block harmful ultraviolet radiation, and where temperatures can reach frigid depths.

To fix that problem, researchers might want to give that organism genes from extremophile life — species on Earth that are adapted to extreme environments and are well-suited to tolerate cold and resist UV radiation.

Scientists have already achieved some successes in this quest. Cumbers described an experiment in which researchers genetically engineered an E. coli bacterium to survive at lower temperatures than it normally does. They accomplished this by transferring into an E. coli cell the genes from a chaperone from a cold-tolerant organism found in sea ice. A chaperone is a protein that helps other proteins to fold correctly.

One goal that could prove useful for space exploration is creating a synthetic version of spirulina, a dietary supplement made from microscopic algae produced by cyanobacteria. Spirulina is a complete protein, meaning it contains all of the essential amino acids humans need in their diet. That makes it an ideal food to bring on a space mission.

But spirulina generally grows in open ponds in the warm waters of Hawaii – so adapting it to life on, say, the moon is an engineering challenge.

Packing for space

One reason bioengineered organisms are so appealing for space travel is that they could open up a lot of room in astronauts' suitcases. The more supplies space travelers can produce once they arrive at their destination, the less they have to pack on the spacecraft.

"For manned missions to the moon or Mars we're going to have to take nearly everything with us, at least at the beginning," Cumbers said. "If we have this new technology where we can take the complete genome of an organism and send it into space — and can have that single cell replicate from the resources it finds around it rather than resources we've taken with us — then we've started to tackle the problem."

Cumbers presented his work with Lynn Rothschild, his adviser at Ames, at the Astrobiology Science Conference in League City, Texas, in April.

Source: www.space.com

Bilingual NASA Chat: I'm a NASA Pilot (Yo Soy el Piloto por NASA)

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:42:00 +0100

Herman Posada sits at the controls and flies his airplane. But he's not in the airplane! He's at a ground station miles away, using a joystick and video monitors to control the vehicle.

Herman is a NASA research pilot who flies unmanned aerial vehicles. These remotely piloted, full-scale aircraft are used more and more for research into advanced aeronautics systems and for capturing images and data in dangerous conditions such as wildfires or hurricanes.

On Thursday, September 23, you can ask Herman questions in both English and Spanish about what it's like to fly these unique, full-scale aircraft.

NASA's Ikhana, an unmanned Predator B modified for non-military missions, carries instruments for environmental Earth science studies and is used for advanced aircraft systems research and technology development. The Global Hawk unmanned aircraft has been very busy this hurricane season, flown by Herman and another pilot into and above hurricanes to collect data.

How did Herman get interested in flying? What's different about flying unmanned aircraft compared to regular aircraft?

Join Herman on Thursday, September 23, at 3:00 p.m. EDT to ask your questions in both English and Spanish about his experiences as a NASA research pilot for unmanned aerial vehicles. To join the chat, simply come back to this page on September 23. The chat window will open at the bottom of this page starting at 2:30 p.m. EDT. You can log in and be ready to ask questions at 3:00 p.m.

See you in chat!

More About Herman Posada

Herman Posada is a research pilot in the Flight Crew Branch at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. He began his aviation career as a line mechanic and general aviation pilot. He flew a fixed-wing aircraft for Los Angeles traffic and aerial news organizations and piloted a number of other unmanned aerial vehicles, which took him on travel worldwide. He has more than ten years experience flying the Predator A MQ-1 and Predator B MQ-9 aircraft, including 300 hours as an instructor pilot. While Herman's parents are from Colombia, he was born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif.
Source:

Mars Rover Opportunity Approaching Possible Meteorite

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:29:00 +0100

PASADENA, Calif. -- Images that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took at the end of an 81-meter (266-foot) drive on Sept. 16 reveal a dark rock about 31 meters (102 feet) away. The rover's science team has decided to go get a closer look at the toaster-sized rock and determine whether it is an iron meteorite.

"The dark color, rounded texture and the way it is perched on the surface all make it look like an iron meteorite," said science-team member Matt Golombek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Opportunity has found four iron meteorites during the rover's exploration of the Meridiani Planum region of Mars since early 2004. Examination of these rocks has provided information about the Martian atmosphere, as well as the meteorites themselves.

The newfound rock has been given the informal name "Oileán Ruaidh" (pronounced ay-lan ruah), which is the Gaelic name for an island off the coast of northwestern Ireland. The rock is about 45 centimeters (18 inches) wide from the angle at which it was first seen.

Opportunity has driven 23.3 kilometers (14.5 miles) on Mars. The drive to this rock will take the total combined distance driven by Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, to more than 31 kilometers (19.26 miles).

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover mission for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004 for what was planned as a three-month mission. For more information about the mission.

Source:www.nasa.gov

Old, pressed flowers give climate clues

noreply@blogger.com (Information And Technology) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:19:00 +0100

Ecologists compared samples of early spider orchids, held in collections with notes showing the exact day in spring when they were picked in southern England from 1848-1958, and dates when the same flower blossomed in the wild from 1975-2006.

"Warmer years were associated with earlier flowering ... In both cases flowering was advanced by about six days per 1 degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) rise in average spring temperature," they wrote in the Journal of Ecology after cross-checking with local temperature records.

The match between higher temperatures and quicker flowering for both old and modern orchids showed for the first time that botanical collections could be a reliable source to study climate, even if temperature records were lacking, they said.

Vast numbers of specimens of plants and animals are in collections around the world, some of them dating back 250 years and long before there were reliable temperature records in many nations.

"It potentially opens up new uses for ... specimens -- this could provide us with long-term data about climate," said Anthony Davy, a professor at the University of East Anglia who was a co-author of the study led by colleague Karen Robbirt.

The U.N. panel of climate scientists said in a 2007 report that average world temperatures rose 0.7 degree Celsius (1.3 F) over the 19th century, mainly in recent decades due to a build-up of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.

Tree rings are among biological indicators of climate in past centuries, caused by natural swings. Manmade global warming is very likely to be the dominant cause of warming in the past half-century, according to the U.N panel.

The 77 pressed orchids, picked when in full bloom, had meticulous records of dates and sites. Early spider orchids have greenish petals and a purple-brown part which looks like the back of a spider.

Davy told Reuters that spring temperatures were the main factor determining flowering times for orchids -- rather than the length of daylight or the changing availability of nutrients.

He said one issue for future study was whether climate change might bring a mismatch between the appearance of flowers and insects vital for their pollination. Bees, for instance, might not be around when fruit trees are in bloom.

Source: www.reuters.com