Weird Underwater Waves Spotted from Space

Weird Underwater Waves Spotted from Space - In the ocean, there are more waves than meet the eye.

Below the whitecaps breaking on the sea surface, so-called internal waves ripple through the water. These waves can travel long distances, but rarely does evidence of their existence surface — unless you're looking down from space, that is.

This photograph, taken on Jan. 18 by a crewmember on the International Space Station, shows internal waves north of the Caribbean island of Trinidad, as featured by NASA's Earth Observatory. From space, the appearance of the waves is enhanced due to reflected sunlight, or sunglint, aimed back at the space station, making the waves visible to an astronaut's camera.

 

LiveScience.com/NASA Earth Observatory - This photograph, taken on Jan. 18 by a crewmember on the International Space Station, shows internal waves north of the Caribbean island of Trinidad. 

The most prominent waves can be seen in the upper left of the photograph, moving in from the northwest due to tidal flow toward Trinidad, according to the Earth Observatory. Another set can be seen moving in from the northeast, likely created at the edge of the continental shelf, where the seafloor abruptly drops off, the site reported.

Internal waves are seen throughout Earth's oceans and atmosphere, according to MIT's Experimental and Nonlinear Dynamics Lab. They are created by differences in density of water layers (from changes in temperature or salt content, for example) when that water moves over a feature such as an underwater mountain or a continental shelf. The waves are huge, with heights up to 100 meters (about 330 feet) and widths that span hundreds of miles, according to a 2010 MIT press release on a new method for studying the waves.

A plume of milky sediment can also be seen moving to the northwest in the photograph. The sediment is carried by the equatorial current, which flows from east to west, starting in Africa, and is driven toward the Caribbean by strong easterly winds, according to the website. ( LiveScience.com )

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Neanderthals Died Out Earlier Than Thought

Neanderthals Died Out Earlier Than Thought - Neanderthals may have died out earlier than before thought, researchers say.

These findings hint that Neanderthals did not coexist with modern humans as long as previously suggested, investigators added.

Modern humans once shared the planet with now-departed human lineages, including the Neanderthals, our closest known extinct relatives. However, there has been heated debate over just how much time and interaction, or interbreeding, Neanderthals had with modern humans.

The last Neanderthals had passed by southern Iberia quite earlier than previously thought, approximately 45,000 years ago and not 30,000 years ago as it has been estimated until recently. The new finding casts doubt on the theory that modern hu

To help solve the mystery, an international team of researchers investigated 215 bones previously excavated from 11 sites in southern Iberia, in an area known as Spain today. Neanderthals entered Europe before modern humans did, and prior research had suggested the last of the Neanderthals held out in southern Iberia until about 35,000 years ago, potentially sharing the region with modern humans for thousands of years.

Their data suggest that modern humans and Neanderthals may have actually lived in the area at completely different times, never crossing paths there at all. Even so, these findings do not call into question whether modern humans and Neanderthals once had sex — the findings simply indicate this interbreeding must have occurred earlier, before modern humans entered Europe.

"The genetic evidence for interbreeding — 1 to 4 percent Neanderthal DNA in present-day modern humans — suggests that interbreeding probably occurred before the period we are looking at in the Levant, the region around Israel and Syria, when modern humans first migrated out of Africa," researcher Rachel Wood, an archaeologist and radiocarbon specialist at Australian National University in Canberra, told LiveScience.

Dating bones

Scientists discover the ages of artifacts and fossils using a variety of techniques. For instance, radiocarbon dating determines the age of biological remains based on the ratio between the carbon isotopes (atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons) carbon-12 and carbon-14 it holds — this proportion changes as radioactive carbon-14 breaks down while stable carbon-12 does not. Researchers can also look at the layers of soil and rock in which objects are found — if these layers were not disturbed over the years, then objects in the same layer should be the same age.

The investigators concentrated on collagen, the part of bone most suited for radiocarbon dating. Only eight of these bones from two sites in Spain — Zafarraya Cave and Jarama VI — had enough collagen for analysis. 

One bone, which came from a wild goat, was found in Zafarraya Cave in a similar layer as Neanderthal fossils. The bone was previously estimated as 33,300 years in age. However, using an ultrafiltration technique that cleansed the bone of modern carbon impurities that can give inaccurate younger dates, they found the bone was more than 46,700 years old.

"Our work suggests that at present, it is unlikely that Neanderthals survived any later in this area than they did elsewhere in mainland Europe," said researcher Thomas Higham at the University of Oxford in England.

The most surprising thing "was the enormous difference that the ultrafiltration dating made to the chronologies of the sites we looked at," Wood said. "At other sites in Europe, we have seen that this improved method of dating bone makes a difference, making old bones older. However, we do not normally see such consistently large differences. This is probably because the preservation of the organic materials — bone and charcoal — that are normally radiocarbon dated is really poor in warm climates like southern Spain."

Analysis of the remaining samples revealed they were at least 10,000 years older than previously estimated. Instead, they were close to or more than 50,000 years old, the upper limit for radiocarbon dating.

When Neanderthals died out

"Our results cast doubt on a hypothesis that has been broadly accepted since the early 1990s — that the last place for surviving Neanderthals was in the southern Iberian Peninsula," Wood said. "Much of the evidence that has supported this idea is based on a series of radiocarbon dates, which cluster at around 35,000 years ago. Our results call all of these results into question."

These findings suggest modern humans and Neanderthals might not have interacted in this area. In northern Iberia, about 150 miles (250 kilometers) north of Jarama VI, past research suggested modern humans were only present starting about 42,000 years ago. These new findings hint that modern humans and Neanderthals did not coexist for millennia as before thought, and did not live side-by-side. 

"The results of our study suggest that there are major problems with the dating of the last Neanderthals in modern-day Spain," Higham said. "We now have to look very cautiously at the model of late Neanderthal survival in southern Iberia and focus our efforts on more rigorous dating programs."

One site, Cueva Antón in Spain, did seem as young as previously thought. However, it remains uncertain whether the artifacts there are linked with Neanderthals — they may belong to modern humans.

The researchers caution they are not definitely saying that there were no Neanderthals in southern Iberia after 42,000 years ago. "What we have is a gap where we have no reliable radiocarbon dates. There might have been Neanderthals or modern humans or both or neither," Wood said. Also, "there are several circumstances which could have obscured later interbreeding events in Europe, so it is not possible to say, for example, that at one time there was not more Neanderthal DNA in Europeans." ( LiveScience.com )

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Dinosaur Footprints Lifted from NASA's Backyard

Dinosaur Footprints Lifted from NASA's Backyard - A chunk of stone bearing dinosaur footprints has been carefully lifted from the grounds of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., scientists report.

The dino tracks, thought to have been left by three separate beasts more than 100 million years ago, were discovered by amateur paleontologist Ray Stanford in August 2012.

The feature that first caught Stanford's eye was a dinner-plate-sized footprint of a nodosaur, a tanklike dinosaur studded with bony protuberances that roamed the area about 110 million years ago during the Cretaceous period (the period from 145 million to 65 million years ago that was the end of the Mesozoic Era). This particular lumbering leaf-eater must have been moving quickly across the prehistoric mud, as its heel did not sink deeply into the ground.

The 12-inch-wide footprint belonged to an armored, tank-like plant-eater.

The dinosaur footprints were encased in a field jacket, which is much like a cast that a doctor would place on a broken arm or leg. This field jacket consisted of many layers of burlap soaked in plaster, with metal pipes added to act like splin

A closer look at the site revealed two more prints. Stephen Godfrey, a paleontology curator at the Calvert Marine Museum, who was contracted to preserve the find, said he suspects one was left by an ornithopod, possibly from the iguanodontid family, which were large vegetarian dinosaurs with birdlike, three-toed feet that walked on its hind legs. Another smaller footprint found superimposed over the nodosaur track is thought to be from a baby nodosaur, perhaps trying to catch up to its parent, according to a statement from NASA. 

The stretch of ground containing the prints measured about 7 feet long and 3 feet across at its widest point (2 meters by 0.9 meters). After making a silicon-rubber cast of the dino tracks, the team covered the find in plaster-soaked burlap, much like an orthopedic cast, to reinforce the slab and protect it from damage during the big move. Altogether, the stone slab, the protective jacket and surrounding soil weighed about 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms), and it was successfully pulled out of the ground last month.

For now, the prints are being stored at Goddard until further scientific study is possible. The wonder of the discovery has not been lost on space scientists at Goddard, who often find themselves studying starlight as old as the dinosaurs.

"One of the amazing aspects of this find is that some of the starlight now seen in the night sky by astronomers was created in far-distant galaxies when these dinosaurs were walking on mud flats in Cretaceous Maryland where Goddard is now located," Jim Garvin, Goddard's chief scientist, said in a statement. "That starlight (from within the Virgo Supercluster) is only now reaching Earth after having traveled through deep space for 100 million years." ( LiveScience.com )

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What about all the other people in Galilee?

Wait, Was Jesus a Homophobe? - What about all the other people in Galilee? - A gay Ohio teen is suing his high school after school officials prohibited him from wearing a t-shirt that said, “Jesus Is Not A Homophobe.” First Amendment aside, is the shirt accurate?

Yes and no. While it’s reasonable to assume that Jesus and his fellow Jews in first-century Palestine would have disapproved of gay sex, there is no record of his ever having mentioned homosexuality, let alone expressed particular revulsion about it. In Leviticus, the Old Testament declares it “an abomination” for a man to lie with a man; the punishment was death. It’s possible that attitudes would have been less draconian in Galilee, the region in northern Israel where Jesus spent most of his life, since it did have a reputation for political autonomy. Still, Jews of the time tended to be less sexually permissive than either the Romans or the Egyptians, so same-sex relationships probably would have been kept quiet.

For all that, Jesus’ best-known pronouncement on sexuality comes from the Gospel of Matthew, in which he merely condemns divorce except in cases of adultery. He also exempts eunuchs from the requirements of traditional marriage—a passage traditionally interpreted as referring to celibacy, though a few scholars take it as a sign of tolerance toward homosexuals as well. Never in the Bible does Jesus himself offer an explicit prohibition of homosexuality.

The Judaea of Jesus’ time was ruled by the Romans, who, like the Greeks before them, accepted homosexual relationships in some contexts but not others. The key was sexual dominance: The Romans thought no male citizen should allow himself to be penetrated by another man, but they didn’t have a problem with citizens who sodomized their male slaves or the occasional prostitute. Both Greek and Roman cultures frowned on effeminacy, but that referred not so much to homosexuality as to men who were dainty in appearance or preferences, including those who preferred courting women to manly arts such as politics and war.

Even if Jesus viewed homosexuality as a sin, he had a penchant for reaching out to sinners rather than shunning them. Criticized by the Pharisees for dining with tax collectors, he likened sinners to lost sheep; the goal was to bring them back into the fold. Not all of Jesus’ followers took such a tender view, however. In Romans I, Paul denounced gay sex as unnatural—an egregious example of pagan decadence—and said it would bring the wrath of God. ( slate.com )

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Pocket Particle Accelerators Could Bring Safer Nuclear Power to Neighborhoods

Pocket Particle Accelerators Could Bring Safer Nuclear Power to Neighborhoods - A wee particle accelerator in the English countryside could be a harbinger of a safer, cleaner future of energy.

Nuclear energy has wrought havoc in Japan and controversy throughout Europe and the U.S. The new particle accelerator concept would instead be based on thorium, a radioactive element that is much more abundant, and much safer, than traditional sources of nuclear power.

Some advocates believe small nuclear reactors powered by thorium could wean the world off coal and natural gas, and do it more safely than traditional nuclear. Thorium is not only abundant, but more efficient than uranium or coal -- one ton of the silver metal can produce as much energy as 200 tons of uranium, or 3.5 million tons of coal, as the Mail on Sunday calculates it.

Pocket-sized particle accelerators like EMMA -- the Electron Model of Many Applications -- could bring safer nuclear power to neighborhoods.

The newspaper took a tour of a small particle accelerator that could be used to power future thorium reactors. Nicknamed EMMA -- the Electron Model of Many Applications -- the accelerator would be used to jump-start fissile nuclear reactions inside a small-scale thorium power plant.

Thorium reactors would not melt down, in part because they require an external input to produce fission. Thorium atoms would release energy when bombarded by high-energy neutrons, such as the type supplied in a particle accelerator.

Providing that stimulus is one obstacle to building small thorium reactors -- but a new generation of accelerators like EMMA, and someday potentially even smaller, luggage-sized ones -- could do the job.

EMMA is the first non-scaling, fixed-field, alternating-gradient (NS-FFAG) accelerator, qualities that make it easier to operate and maintain, more reliable and compact, more flexible and more efficient, according to British researchers. Other particle accelerators use alternating electric fields, which require special safety measures to guard against microwave exposure, for instance. EMMA's alternating magnetic field gradients are a more efficient and cheaper way to accelerate particles to higher energies.

EMMA operates at operates around 20 MeV, or 20 million electronvolts, a paltry amount for an atom accelerator. The Tevatron, for instance, accelerates particles to 1 tera-electron volts. The Large Hadron Collider is designed to speed them to 7 TeV. But thorium reactors would not need such high energies to initiate fusion.

British scientists are already working on a successor called PAMELA, the Particle Accelerator for Medical Applications, which will be used to treat cancer.

Click through to the Mail for a full tour of EMMA, its sister apparatus ALICE (Accelerators and Lasers In Combined Experiments), and a description of British efforts to produce thorium power. ( foxnews.com )

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Human cell becomes living laser

Human cell becomes living laser - Scientists have for the first time created laser light using living biological material: a single human cell and some jellyfish protein.

"Lasers started from physics and are viewed as engineering devices," says Seok-Hyun Yun, an optical physicist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who created the 'living laser' with his colleague Malte Gather. "This is the first time that we have used biological materials to build a laser and generate light from something that is living." The finding is reported today in Nature Photonics 1.

Building a laser requires two things: a lasing material that amplifies light from an external source (a 'gain medium') and an arrangement of mirrors (an 'optical cavity'), which concentrates and aligns the light waves into a tight beam. Until now, the gain medium has only been made from non-biological substances such as doped crystals, semiconductors or gases, but in this case the researchers used enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) — the substance that makes jellyfish bioluminescent, which is used extensively in cell biology to label cells.

Microscope image of a living laser in action. Due to the irregular internal structure of the cell, the laser spot has an apparently random pattern.

The team engineered human embryonic kidney cells to produce GFP, then placed a single cell between two mirrors to make an optical cavity just 20 micrometres across. When they fed the cell pulses of blue light, it emitted a directional laser beam visible with the naked eye — and the cell wasn't harmed.

The width of the laser beam is "tiny" and "fairly weak" in its brightness compared to traditional lasers, says Yun, but "an order of magnitude" brighter than natural jellyfish fluorescence, with a "beautiful green" colour.

Illuminating biology

Yun and Gather have some broad and speculative ideas about how the technology might be used.

They suggest that biologists could turn cells of interest into lasers to study them. The light produced has a unique emission spectrum related to both the structure of the cell and the proteins inside it. "By analysing the pattern you can get some idea of what is happening inside the cell," says Yun.

The researchers also suggest possible medical applications. Doctors today shine lasers into the body to gather images or to treat disease by attacking cells. Yun thinks that lasers could instead be generated or amplified inside the body, where they could penetrate the relevant tissues more deeply. But more work is needed first — including developing the laser so that it works inside an actual living organism. To achieve this, Yun envisages integrating a nano-scale optical cavity into the laser cell itself. Technologies to make such cavities are emerging, he says, and once they are available they could be used to create a cell that could "self lase" from inside tissue.

Experts praise the work as interesting and creative. "It is kind of neat," says Michael Berns, a biomedical engineer at the University of California, Irvine. "I have been working on cells and lasers for 40 years, and I don't think I would have thought of this."

But he says that the technique might more feasibly be used to study individual cells than for medical applications. He points out that external light is needed to stimulate the laser action, which would be difficult in the body, potentially limiting the technique to thin-tissue systems or cells in culture or suspension. ( nature.com )

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Has equality destroyed your sex life?

Has equality destroyed your sex life? - A controversial book claims feminism and the rise of ‘new men’ have killed off women's libidos...

Corporate lawyer Amy, 38, goes to work in killer heels and a pencil skirt, commands a mega-salary and has a team of assistants at her beck and call.

‘At work, I’m always the one in control and I admit that I like it that way. It’s exciting and it’s sexy being an Alpha woman,’ she says.

But when it comes to her partner Max, who is also a lawyer, albeit with a less high-profile job, she often finds herself feeling confused about who calls the shots — especially when it comes to sex.

Bad romance: Equality has left many women turned off by men who expect them to be dominant in the bedroom

‘When I get home, I no longer want to be the power broker, the one who’s always in charge and in control. I need to be wooed and seduced, and to feel that Max has power over me,’ she says.

‘Sometimes he fulfils the role, but sometimes he doesn’t and I feel disappointed. It does make me wonder why I’m reluctant to take the initiative in bed when I’m confident and in charge at work.’

Amy’s desire to be dominated in the bedroom certainly appears to be at odds with her behaviour at work, but does it follow that if you’re adept at giving orders in the office, you’ll want to bark orders between the sheets as well?

According to the authors of an explosive new book, A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What The World’s Largest Experiment Reveals About Human Desire, the answer is a resounding ‘No’.

Using the internet, neuroscientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam analysed half a billion sexual fantasies, preferences and practices, then correlated their findings with animal behaviour studies and the latest findings in neuroscience, to come to the very non-PC conclusion that when it comes to sex, women are wired to find sexual submission arousing.

And that gender equality, far from liberating women sexually, actually inhibits desire.

‘If you feel compelled to approach sex with the same gender attitudes as the working world, it’s going to be difficult to be aroused,’ says Ogas.

Feminism, to put it as bluntly as these two do, is bad for sex, and is the prime reason why increasing numbers of women are seeking help for problems associated with low libido.

Nearly half a century on from the start of the Swinging Sixties and the birth of modern feminism, these pronouncements come close to heresy. But do these well-qualified scientists have a point worth paying attention to?

Girl power: But feminism is bad for sex according to researchers

According to Ogas and Gaddam, we can learn some important lessons about female sexual behaviour from observing rats in the laboratory.

They insist that if you put a male and female rat in close proximity to one another, the female will start to come on to the male, performing actions associated with sexual interest — running and then stopping to encourage the male to chase her.

But after a bit of kiss-chase, the female rat stands still, adopting a submissive stance until the male takes action. They also claim that almost every quality of dominant males — from the way they smell to the way they walk and their deep voice — triggers arousal in the female brain, while ‘weaker’ men, who are not taller, have higher voices or lower incomes, excite us less.

What they seem to be suggesting is that the cavemen were right all along and that what women really want is to be dragged by the hair, all the while feigning reluctance, by macho men waving clubs.

When I put this proposition to my friend Katie, 42, who runs a successful event planning business and is married to Geoff (who gave up a job with the police force that he hated and is doing a stint as house-husband, looking after their sons, aged three and six), she blushed with embarrassment.

Taking the lead: But many women would prefer men to make the first move (posed by models)

‘It seems so disloyal to admit this because Geoff is so lovely in every way. He’s brilliant with the children, he does all the shopping and cooking, but the truth is I’m just not turned on any more,’ she says.

‘He knows how tired I am at the end of the day, and though he’s just being considerate, instead of asking me if I’m in the mood for sex, I long for him to be a bit masterful and say: “I want you. And I want you now.”

‘On the few occasions when we do make love, the only way I can get excited is by having a lurid fantasy about being taken by force by a man in uniform.’

Psychotherapist and author Phillip Hodson thinks Katie’s response is not as strange as it appears.

‘In her rational, conscious mind, a woman might tell herself she has worked hard and fought for independence, and no man is going to tell her what to do in or out of bed,’ he says.

‘But she may have been raised with different expectations of the male role, and find it difficult to express herself sexually and emotionally with a man who earns far less than her or who is sexually less confident.’

As further evidence for their theory, Ogas and Gaddam cite the continuing popularity of erotic fiction. Certainly, if you were to judge by the still booming sales of Mills & Boon novels you would find it difficult to disagree.

Three million books a year are sold in Britain alone by these purveyors of not-too-naughty erotica. For best-selling novelist Jilly Cooper, this is no surprise.

‘Men are so beaten into submission these days. They’re so weak and worried and confused that one simply has to reach into romance novels to find a proper hero,’ she says.

Ogas and Gaddam’s findings have hit a nerve, but they don’t take account of all the reasons a woman might suffer loss of libido — from tiredness to financial worries or constant rows.

As for female sexual fantasies, the counsellor and psychologist Linda Young offers a word of caution.

‘The kind of guy that stars in a woman’s sexual fantasy is not necessarily the same one who shares her values or shares parenting,’ she says.

NOT IN THE MOOD

More than a quarter of women over 35 never have sex, according to research

‘And, yes, women — including feminists — are often aroused by “bad boys”. But to say feminism is causing loss of desire is misleading.

'Feminism is about social, economic and political equity, and is independent of what turns someone on in a bedroom or a fantasy.’

There is plenty of evidence to counter the claims made by Ogas and Gaddam. One major study, involving 27,500 people conducted in 29 countries by the University of Chicago, showed that men and women aged 40-plus reported less satisfaction with the quality of their sex lives in countries where men have a dominant status over women, such as the Middle East.

In relationships based on equality, couples reported sexual lives more in keeping with both partners’ wishes.

This certainly holds true for Bill and Dana, in their 50s and married for the second time. ‘In my first marriage I was the little wife, bringing up the children, doing the housework and looking after my husband’s every need,’ says Dana.

‘He expected sex on demand, but took no interest in pleasing me.

‘When I went back to college as a mature student, I met Bill. We shared interests and eventually began an affair. For the first time I felt free to express myself sexually. Sometimes he’s in charge; sometimes I am. Sometimes it’s wild, sometimes it’s gentle. But always there’s a sense of mutuality. ’

This is a view echoed by Phillip Hodson: ‘There is no reason why each of you can’t be sometimes dominant, sometimes neutral, sometimes submissive. What makes for successful long-term sexual relationships is that you can surprise and delight one another.’

Women are still coming to terms with the incredible pace of change in their lives over the past half-century. To admit to sometimes having fantasies of submission is nothing to be ashamed of.

Even if you’re a feminist. It’s all part of desire’s rich tapestry. And there’s nothing remotely wicked about that. ( dailymail.co.uk )

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Is Boston in danger?

Radioactive rain from Japan: Is Boston in danger? - Small amounts of radiation are found in rainwater from California to Massachusetts. Does it pose a health threat?

Trace levels of radiation have been detected in samples of rainwater in Boston. Researchers say it's almost certainly coming from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was severely damaged by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami earlier this month. Is the contamination bad enough to pose a health concern here in the U.S.? Here, a brief guide:

The city of Boston covered by an early spring fog: Very low levels of radiation have been detected in samples of rainwater in Boston. Photo: CC BY: Derek

Just how radioactive is this rain?

Not very. Only trace amounts of radiation have been detected. Radiation from natural sources, such as the sun and uranium in rocks, can be 100,000 times higher. Plus, Massachusetts authorities didn't find radiation in the air near the spot where they detected radiation in rainwater. Tests by the Environmental Protection Agency have found radiation in rainwater at dozens of other testing sites — including in California and Nevada — but the levels there are also extremely low.

Does this pose a health risk?

No. "We're talking about many orders of magnitude below what we would consider a risk," says Nevada radiation physicist Eric Matus, as quoted in The Wall Street Journal. Massachusetts health authorities say kids can still play safely in the rain, pets can still drink rainwater, and people can continue eating vegetables from their gardens.

Could the danger rise if Japan's nuclear crisis gets worse?

Maybe a little, but not much. Scientists believe the radiation we're seeing now was probably emitted when Japan's crisis was at its worst. Iodine-131, the radioactive isotope detected in the rainwater samples, has a half-life of just eight days, so any current contamination will soon dissolve to an undetectable level. And a nuclear engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that even if the Japanese plant experienced a complete meltdown, radioactive rainwater would be unlikely to pose a health threat in Massachusetts.

Are we even sure the radiation is coming from Japan?

Yes — scientists have little doubt the contamination drifted across the Pacific from Japan. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio found trace amounts of iodine-131 that match what was leaked from the damaged Fukushima reactors. Indeed, the scientists were expecting radioactive rain from Japan, says Case Western professor Gerald Matisoff. "We knew that the weather pattern was bringing it in this direction." ( theweek.com )

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Your computer will get to know all about you

Your computer will get to know all about you - Microsoft's head of research says that computers of the future will recognise you and be more intuitive than ever - Microsoft’s Kinect accessory for the Xbox gaming console sold eight million units in 60 days – in a radical new approach to gaming, it uses a camera simply to “read” a user’s movements and insert them into a video game. “You are the controller” is the slogan, and, in short, the device allows people to take up bowling, tennis and much more, simply by standing in front of their TV screens.

That, however, is only half the story: according to Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s Chief Research and Strategy Officer, the Kinect way of working offers a taste of how we will interact with computers. It is, he says, a “natural user interface” that, along with voice, will redefine the future of computers. Increasingly autonomous computers, Mundie suggests, will complete tasks that humans will think too mundane.

For once, too, this may not be the spin of a giant corporation: when Kinect launched, it was immediately seized upon not just by fans, but also by a community of computer scientists keen to hack into its inner workings and repurpose the device. That meant that 3D image capture – and of course Star Wars light sabres – were immediately demonstrated on YouTube in a way that Microsoft had never intended. Now the company says not only that hacking is acceptable, but it’s gone so far as to produce a developers’ kit for amateurs and researchers, while also working on a version for commercial organisations.

Mundie, speaking to The Daily Telegraph on the 20th anniversary of Microsoft’s research department, says that it’s his job to “look three to 20 years out from today”. He says that when Bill Gates founded the company, he’d always realised how important it was that it had a long-term view. “It helps us weather the storms,” says Mundie, “and from time to time we inject new capabilities that take the products forward by a significant leap. Sometimes one of those leaps is so new and significant that it is disruptive and opens up a new market. Kinect would be a good example of that”. Although he stops short of saying that he’s known Kinect was the future for decades, it’s a clear – and plausible – implication.

According to Mundie, however, the idea of “gesture, touch and voice” as a new, default way of controlling complicated machines is only a means to an end: “For a long time, the computer has been used as a tool. We have been trying to work out how to make it more like a helper, so that it acts with a degree of autonomy, understands you, and starts to become intuitive.”

The nearer future, however, is likely to see computers simply “complete tasks autonomously,” says Mundie. “In the same way as when you have a team of people and you ask them to do a task, and then they complete it autonomously.”

People’s meaning and intention, in fact, is the bigger challenge, rather than getting computers to help. “As an individual sometimes it is appropriate to speak, sometimes to nod your head, sometimes both at the same time. It’s situational,” says Mundie. “What we’ve been working on is how to map better what you’re thinking to what the computer understands. Traditionally that’s been by typing or clicking with a mouse but some people find that difficult.” He compares the process of learning to play a video game with learning a musical instrument, and says that the natural user interface will eliminate some of that tedious process.

To make the most of this new vision, Mundie says we’ll start to think of computers on a small, mobile scale, via laptops and PCs and then on a larger, room-size level. “People will,” he says, “interact on the walls. We are already seeing this through things like telepresence. There will be screens that people carry around with them and unroll and use them on the wall.”

That may sound implausible. In fact, however, Mundie suggests that the technology we’re using will become increasingly inconspicuous, even though “moving forward there will be more robust identity mechanisms” to protect security.

“Software’s role is to make complicated things easier,” he says. “Sometimes in the process software itself gets more complex, but it’s a balance. The bulk of humanity wants simple, then humans evolve to the next level too.”

For some, the prospect of hidden computers on every surface may not be terribly enticing. But as Mundie puts it, “Microsoft really did change the planet. And we are just getting warmed up. There is more opportunity for world changing things now than ever before.” ( telegraph.co.uk )

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I'm bats about you! Scientists find nocturnal mammals form long-lasting relationships just like humans

I'm bats about you! Scientists find nocturnal mammals form long-lasting relationships just like humans - Bats make lifelong friendships just like humans, according to scientists.

The nocturnal creatures - the only mammals that are able to fly - keep family and friends close, a five-year study of over 20,000 roosting observations in Germany has concluded.

Their social structure is so strong it resembles that of elephants, dolphins, some carnivores and certain non-human primates including chimpanzees, all of whom can maintain enduring friendships.

Social structure: Like elephants, dolphins, some carnivores and certain non- human primates including chimpanzees, bats can maintain enduring friendships

Professor Gerald Kerth of Greifswald University, and a team of researchers said their study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, provides new insights into complex animal societies.

They said: 'Our study reveals a multi-level social structure in wild bats, which resembles that of elephants, dolphins and some primates, including humans, who keep social relationships despite their regular splitting and merging into a variable number of groups.'

All the wild bats were marked with small microchips, allowing for the recording of their daily roosting behaviour with automatic data loggers.

This revealed surprisingly stable social sub-units in which both related and unrelated females formed long-term social bonds.

The researchers said: 'The observed multi-level bat society resembled that of elephants and some primates, raising questions about the link between social complexity and cognitive abilities.'

They said elephants, dolphins, as well as some carnivores and primates maintain social links despite their frequent splitting and merging in groups of variable composition, a phenomenon known as 'fission-fusion'.

Information on the dynamics of social links and interactions among individuals is of high importance to the understanding of the evolution of animal sociality - including that of humans - but detailed long-term data on such dynamics in wild mammals are scarce.

But their study of two bat colonies found individuals of different age, size, reproductive status and relatedness maintain long-term social relationships.

The researchers said: 'In the larger colony, we detected two stable sub-units, each comprising bats from several family lineages.

'Links between these sub-units were mainly maintained by older bats and persisted over all years. Moreover, we show that the full details of the social structure become apparent only when large datasets are used.'

They added that the stable multi-level social structures in bat colonies resemble that of elephants, dolphins and some primates.

The researchers said: 'Our findings thus may shed new light on the link between social complexity and social cognition in mammals.' ( dailymail.co.uk )

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Combination Lock Tricks

Combination Lock Tricks - A combination lock is a type of lock that is opened with the correct alignment of specific symbols, usually numbers or letters. There are several varieties, including wordlock combination locks, rotating disk locks and the most common, single-dial locks. Single-dial locks are well known to almost anyone that possessed a personal locker in high school. It can be easy to forget the combination, but there are ways to open these mechanical contraptions without it.

A classic combination lock

Master Lock Shortcut

A master Lock combination lock requires three specific numbers to open, with 40 numbers from which to choose.

According to Master Unlocked, "For each of the 40 possible third (last) numbers, Master Lock only assigned 10 first numbers and 10 second numbers. The possible first numbers are the last number and 9 other numbers, spaced equally, 4 apart, on the lock dial. The possible second numbers are half way between the possible first numbers."

It turns out there are actually only 64 possible combinations for the 1500 series of locks, all of which can be entered sequentially in a matter of minutes. This makes it much easier to discover your lock's forgotten combination, and leaves the bolt cutters out of it.


Pepsi Can Key

If you don't feel up to using math to open your combination lock, a small piece of aluminum does the trick. Using a pair of scissors, cut a triangular piece of aluminum out of a soda can. It needs to be roughly the same size and shape as a guitar pick. Wrap the metal point-downwards around the left-hand shaft of the curved metal hoop on the combination lock. Push the point down into the lock. Get some pliers to push the metal a little farther, and then rotate the metal around the shaft towards the inside of the hoop. Pull the hoop and your lock is open.

This works because the aluminum slides between the piece of metal holding the hoop in place. This method works for most types of single-dial combination locks.


Rotation Reversal

Master Locks are opened with a right-left-right combination. This is to say, the user turns the dial right to arrive at the first number, left to arrive at the second number, and right to arrive at the final number. It is possible to use a left-right-left combination instead.

The combination numbers will be different, and the only way to discover the left-right-left combination is through trial-and-error. It is helpful to know that the first number will be larger by a few numbers, the second number will be smaller by a few, and the final number will be the same. ( eHow.com )

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Mutant mosquitoes: Malaysia release of genetically modified insects sparks fears of uncontrollable new species

Mutant mosquitoes: Malaysia release of genetically modified insects sparks fears of uncontrollable new species - Malaysia has released 6,000 genetically modified mosquitoes into a forest in the first experiment of its kind in Asia aimed at curbing dengue fever.

The field test is meant to pave the way for the official use of genetically engineered Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes to mate with females and produce offspring with shorter lives, thus curtailing the population.

Only female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes spread dengue fever, which killed 134 people in Malaysia last year.

Malaysia has released 6,000 genetically modified Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes into a forest in a bid to curb rates of dengue fever

However, the plan has sparked criticism by some Malaysian environmentalists, who fear it might have unforeseen consequences, such as the inadvertent creation of uncontrollable mutated mosquitoes.

Critics also say such plans could leave a vacuum in the ecosystem that is then filled by another insect species, potentially introducing new diseases.

A similar trial in the Cayman Islands last year - the first time genetically modified mosquitoes have been set loose in the wild after years of laboratory experiments and hypothetical calculations - resulted in a dramatic drop in the mosquito population in a small area studied by researchers.

Government authorities have tried to allay the concerns by saying they are conducting small-scale research and will not rush into any widespread release of mosquitoes.

The Malaysian government-run Institute for Medical Research said it released about 6,000 non-biting sterile male lab mosquitoes in an uninhabited forest area in eastern Malaysia on December 21.

Another 6,000 wild male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were also placed in the area for scientific comparison, it said in a statement.

The plan has sparked criticism by some environmentalists, who fear it might have unforeseen consequences, such as the inadvertent creation of uncontrollable mutated mosquitoes in the section of Malaysian forest

The institute provided few details of the experiment, but said it was 'successfully' concluded on January 5, and that all the mosquitoes were killed with insecticide.

It was not planning to release any more mosquitoes until it had analysed the results of the lab mosquitoes' life span and extent of their dispersal in the wild.

It was the first such trial in Asia, an official in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to make public statements.

In the Cayman Islands, genetically altered sterile male mosquitoes were also set loose by scientists in a 40-acre region between May and October last year.

By August, mosquito numbers in that area dropped by 80 per cent compared with a neighbouring area where no sterile mosquitoes were released.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said last year the project was an 'innovative' way to fight dengue after a lack of success in campaigns urging Malaysians to keep neighbourhoods free of stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed.

The number of dengue-linked deaths in Malaysia increased by 52 per cent last year from 88 deaths in 2009. The total dengue infections rose 11 per cent from 2009 to more than 46,000 cases last year.

Dengue fever is common in Asia and Latin America. Symptoms include high fever, joint pains and nausea, but in severe cases, it can lead to internal bleeding, circulatory shutdown and death. There is no known cure or vaccine. ( dalymail.co.uk )

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Where do athletic and artistic abilities come from?

Where do athletic and artistic abilities come from? - With phrases like "gifted musician", "natural athlete" and "innate intelligence", we have long assumed that talent is a genetic thing some of us have and others don't.

But new science suggests the source of abilities is much more interesting and improvisational. It turns out that everything we are is a developmental process and this includes what we get from our genes.

A century ago, geneticists saw genes as robot actors always uttering the same lines in exactly the same way, and much of the public is still stuck with this old idea. In recent years, though, scientists have seen a dramatic upgrade in their understanding of heredity.

They now know that genes interact with their surroundings, getting turned on and off all the time. In effect, the same genes have different effects depending on who they are talking to.

Malleable

"There are no genetic factors that can be studied independently of the environment," says Michael Meaney, a professor at McGill University in Canada.

"And there are no environmental factors that function independently of the genome. [A trait] emerges only from the interaction of gene and environment."

This means that everything about us - our personalities, our intelligence, our abilities - are actually determined by the lives we lead. The very notion of "innate" no longer holds together.

"In each case the individual animal starts its life with the capacity to develop in a number of distinctly different ways," says Patrick Bateson, a biologist at Cambridge University.

"The individual animal starts its life with the capacity to develop in a number of distinctly different ways. Like a jukebox, the individual has the potential to play a number of different developmental tunes. The particular developmental tune it does play is selected by [the environment] in which the individual is growing up."

Is it that genes don't matter? Of course not. We're all different and have different theoretical potentials from one another. There was never any chance of me being Cristiano Ronaldo. Only tiny Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance of being the Cristiano Ronaldo we know now.

But we also have to understand that he could have turned out to be quite a different person, with different abilities. His future football magnificence was not carved in genetic stone.

Doomed

This new developmental paradigm is a big idea to swallow, considering how much effort has gone into persuading us that each of us inherit a fixed amount of intelligence, and that most of us are doomed to be mediocre.

The notion of a fixed IQ has been with us for almost a century. Yet the original inventor of the IQ test, Alfred Binet, had quite the opposite opinion, and the science turns out to favor Binet.

"Intelligence represents a set of competencies in development," said Robert Sternberg from Tufts University in the US, in 2005 after many decades of study.

Talent researchers Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Kevin Rathunde and Samuel Whalen agree.

"High academic achievers are not necessarily born 'smarter' than others," they write in their book Talented Teenagers. "But work harder and develop more self-discipline."

James Flynn of the University of Otago in New Zealand has documented how IQ scores themselves have steadily risen over the century - which, after careful analysis, he ascribes to increased cultural sophistication. In other words, we've all gotten smarter as our culture has sharpened us.

Most profoundly, Carol Dweck from Stanford University in the US, has demonstrated that students who understand intelligence is malleable rather than fixed are much more intellectually ambitious and successful.

The same dynamic applies to talent. This explains why today's top runners, swimmers, bicyclists, chess players, violinists and on and on, are so much more skilful than in previous generations.

All of these abilities are dependent on a slow, incremental process which various micro-cultures have figured out how to improve. Until recently, the nature of this improvement was merely intuitive and all but invisible to scientists and other observers.

Soft and sculptable

But in recent years, a whole new field of "expertise studies", led by Florida State University psychologist Anders Ericsson, has emerged which is cleverly documenting the sources and methods of such tiny, incremental improvements.

Bit by bit, they're gathering a better and better understanding of how different attitudes, teaching styles and precise types of practice and exercise push people along very different pathways.

Does your child have the potential to develop into a world-class athlete, a virtuoso musician, or a brilliant Nobel-winning scientist?

It would be folly to suggest that anyone can literally do or become anything. But the new science tells us that it's equally foolish to think that mediocrity is built into most of us, or that any of us can know our true limits before we've applied enormous resources and invested vast amounts of time.

Our abilities are not set in genetic stone. They are soft and sculptable, far into adulthood. With humility, with hope, and with extraordinary determination, greatness is something to which any kid - of any age - can aspire.( bbc.co.uk )

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