Whacked on Goofballs

KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News

• Scientists identify first genetic variant linked to biological aging in humans February 8, 2010
  The risk of age-associated diseases including heart disease and some types of cancers are more closely related to biological rather than chronological age, European researchers have found, showing that telomere lengths depend on the presence of gene variants near a gene called TERC. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news184769662.html)
• By tracking water molecules, physicists hope to unlock secrets of life February 8, 2010
  Rockefeller University researchers have discovered how interaction between water molecules paves the way for understanding how water can be manipulated to facilitate or prevent substances from dissolving in it, an advance that could impact every corner of society, from reforming agricultural practices to improving chemotherapy drugs whose side effects arise […]
• U.S. Solar Market to Double in the Next Year February 8, 2010
  The United States is likely to be the world's largest market for solar power in a few years and this year's solar installations could double, reaching a gigawatt of capacity. The growth had several likely causes, including decreasing prices for solar panels and installation costs, and increasing state incentives. (Source: http://www.technologyrevie […]
• Pentagon Looks to Breed Immortal 'Synthetic Organisms,' Molecular Kill-Switch Included February 8, 2010
  Darpa is investing $6 million in a project called BioDesign to develop creatures that are genetically engineered to bolster cell resistance to death. (Source: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/pentagon-looks-to-breed-immortal-synthetic-organisms-molecular-kill-switch-included/)
• Parisian Love February 8, 2010
  Google's superbowl TV ad dramatizes the personal meaning of Web searching. (Source: )
• Picture of the day February 8, 2010
  Z. Hong Zhou at the University of California, Los Angeles and colleagues have shown that the RNA and proteins in the rabies and vesicular stomatitis viruses wind together in a precise order, starting at the top of the bullet form, to form two nested helices. (Z. Hong Zhou / Science) (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/gallery/dn15018-pick-of-the-pictures) […]
• Found: Hawking's initials written into the universe February 8, 2010
  The Wilkinson Anisotropy Microwave Probe (WMAP) team points out that if something as unlikely as Hawking's initials can be found in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data, the chances of finding other apparently improbable patterns may also be quite high, and asks readers to mark the shapes they find in the CMB image. "If you think you can see […]
• Unplugged: Goodbye cables, hello energy beams February 8, 2010
  Wireless power transmission, resonant magnetic coupling, infrared lasers are three methods of charging home appliances currently being researched, but safety concerns have been voiced. (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527461.300-unplugged-goodbye-cables-hello-energy-beams.html?full=true)
• Scientists make a leap in quantum computing February 8, 2010
  Princeton University and UC Santa Barbara scientists have succeeded in trapping one or two individual electrons to form spin qubits (quantum bits), allowing the electrons to behave quantum-mechanically for a long period of time. Previous experiments affected all the electrons uniformly in their immediate surroundings and were slow. The new method allows for […]
• Quantum photosynthesis February 8, 2010
  Physical chemist Gregory Scholes of the University of Toronto and his colleagues have observed that energy introduced to light-harvesting systems of two species of photosynthetic algae acted in a distinctly quantum manner, even at ambient temperatures. In these algae, bilin pigments, like other light-harvesting antenna molecules, absorb solar photons, which […]