http://science.slashdot.org/ News for nerds, stuff that matters en-us Copyright 1997-2012, Geeknet, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2012-02-10T18:46:27+00:00 Geeknet, Inc. help@slashdot.org Technology 1970-01-01T00:00+00:00 1 hourly http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicslashdot.gif http://science.slashdot.org/ http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/UONGrqB_08U/nasa-wants-green-rocket-fuel coondoggie writes "NASA is looking for technology that could offer green rocket fuel alternatives to the highly toxic fuel hydrazine used to fire up most rockets today. According to NASA: 'Hydrazine is an efficient and ubiquitous propellant that can be stored for long periods of time, but is also highly corrosive and toxic.' It is used extensively on commercial and defense department satellites as well as for NASA science and exploration missions."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=NASA+Wants+Green+Rocket+Fuel%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FwoFpO1"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F10%2F0354257%2Fnasa-wants-green-rocket-fuel%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/10/0354257/nasa-wants-green-rocket-fuel?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/10/0354257/nasa-wants-green-rocket-fuel?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/_Y_Y6cwXLWUDWS9iIouljuZQOIs/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/_Y_Y6cwXLWUDWS9iIouljuZQOIs/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/_Y_Y6cwXLWUDWS9iIouljuZQOIs/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/_Y_Y6cwXLWUDWS9iIouljuZQOIs/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/UONGrqB_08U" height="1" width="1"/> samzenpus 2012-02-10T08:32:00+00:00 nasa save-the-earth-before-you-leave-it science 146 146,142,118,99,38,25,18 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/10/0354257/nasa-wants-green-rocket-fuel?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/E_o1EN5jwqA/the-himalayas-and-nearby-peaks-have-lost-no-ice-in-past-10-years-study-shows DesScorp writes "A story from UK's Guardian reports on a study of ice levels from the Himalayas area, and finds that no significant melting has occurred, despite earlier predictions of losses of up to 50 billion tons of ice. 'The very unexpected result was the negligible mass loss from high mountain Asia, which is not significantly different from zero,' said Professor Jonathan Bamber, who also warns that 8 years simply isn't enough time to draw conclusions. 'It is awfully dangerous to take an eight-year record and predict even the next eight years, let alone the next century,' he said." Readers have sent in a few other stories today relating to melting (or persisting) ice around the globe; read on for more.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=The+Himalayas+and+Nearby+Peaks+Have+Lost+No+Ice+In+Past+10+Years%2C+Study+Shows%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FzLktpB"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F09%2F2152204%2Fthe-himalayas-and-nearby-peaks-have-lost-no-ice-in-past-10-years-study-shows%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/2152204/the-himalayas-and-nearby-peaks-have-lost-no-ice-in-past-10-years-study-shows?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/2152204/the-himalayas-and-nearby-peaks-have-lost-no-ice-in-past-10-years-study-shows?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/l1UAncppPd1C--GAO5NUp13wDs0/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/l1UAncppPd1C--GAO5NUp13wDs0/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/l1UAncppPd1C--GAO5NUp13wDs0/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/l1UAncppPd1C--GAO5NUp13wDs0/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/E_o1EN5jwqA" height="1" width="1"/> timothy 2012-02-09T22:27:00+00:00 earth antifreeze-be-damned science 340 340,334,265,223,82,46,31 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/2152204/the-himalayas-and-nearby-peaks-have-lost-no-ice-in-past-10-years-study-shows?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/RCfaiVqAxMk/mild-electric-shock-to-brain-may-boost-spatial-memory An anonymous reader writes "A mild electrical shock to the brain before learning a new task may enhance memory, researchers reported on Wednesday. A team of neuroscientists demonstrated that electrical stimulation to a critical junction in the brain appeared to boost memory in a few patients with epilepsy, a surprising finding that have implications for Alzheimer's disease treatment."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Mild+Electric+Shock+To+Brain+May+Boost+Spatial+Memory%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FxrnRVx"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F09%2F2032204%2Fmild-electric-shock-to-brain-may-boost-spatial-memory%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/2032204/mild-electric-shock-to-brain-may-boost-spatial-memory?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/2032204/mild-electric-shock-to-brain-may-boost-spatial-memory?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/Pnb7SNTKOA3L-zv_8LeyEPGTgzg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/Pnb7SNTKOA3L-zv_8LeyEPGTgzg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/Pnb7SNTKOA3L-zv_8LeyEPGTgzg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/Pnb7SNTKOA3L-zv_8LeyEPGTgzg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/RCfaiVqAxMk" height="1" width="1"/> timothy 2012-02-09T20:33:00+00:00 biotech now-where-was-I? science 64 64,63,50,34,8,5,3 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/2032204/mild-electric-shock-to-brain-may-boost-spatial-memory?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/aa1O700Jz88/therapy-over-ip-draws-the-young-isolated Lucas123 writes "Psychiatrists say VoIP technology is more popular with patients than even in-person therapy when it comes to counseling &mdash; especially for their younger patients who are less intimidated by it. Along with many patients who like the convenience, telepsychiatry is a necessity for others who live in rural areas or are in, prisons, nursing homes or hospital ICUs. 'We've had just over 60,000 patient encounters. To my knowledge, only six have refused to be seen via teleconferencing,' said Dr. Avrim Fishkind, an emergency psychiatrist. 'We're tailor made for telemedicine because we don't check people's livers. We just talk.'" I wonder whether Eliza can be sued for practicing medicine without a license.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Therapy+Over+IP+Draws+the+Young%2C+Isolated%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FzZSKCt"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F09%2F1521235%2Ftherapy-over-ip-draws-the-young-isolated%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/1521235/therapy-over-ip-draws-the-young-isolated?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/1521235/therapy-over-ip-draws-the-young-isolated?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EYno7QzaWZl0whmJ6_fFF4gx1i4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EYno7QzaWZl0whmJ6_fFF4gx1i4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EYno7QzaWZl0whmJ6_fFF4gx1i4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EYno7QzaWZl0whmJ6_fFF4gx1i4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/aa1O700Jz88" height="1" width="1"/> timothy 2012-02-09T15:57:00+00:00 internet how-does-therapy-over-ip-make-you-feel? science 93 93,93,75,60,14,6,2 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/1521235/therapy-over-ip-draws-the-young-isolated?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/TGG04nOu6K0/three-unexpected-data-points-describe-elementary-school-quality garthsundem writes with a link to his story in Wired, according to which "Test scores and student/teacher ratio are nearly meaningless. But three new numbers do describe school quality: 1. (Test Scores/Parent Education): How do scores outpace expectations? 2. Test Score Growth: Any single score can be socioeconomics, but growth is due to the school. 3. (Teacher Salary*%Highly Qualified/Teacher Age): The best teachers will become highly qualified early, and will gravitate toward the best paying jobs." These factors seem to be at least interesting starting points; if you've shopped around for elementary schools, what else did you consider?<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Three+Unexpected+Data+Points+Describe+Elementary+School+Quality%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fxo7zXZ"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F09%2F159200%2Fthree-unexpected-data-points-describe-elementary-school-quality%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/159200/three-unexpected-data-points-describe-elementary-school-quality?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/159200/three-unexpected-data-points-describe-elementary-school-quality?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/XXOnOE9TNfU5leNZgmhhar6Ahmo/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/XXOnOE9TNfU5leNZgmhhar6Ahmo/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/XXOnOE9TNfU5leNZgmhhar6Ahmo/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/XXOnOE9TNfU5leNZgmhhar6Ahmo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/TGG04nOu6K0" height="1" width="1"/> timothy 2012-02-09T15:15:00+00:00 education real-estate-value-is-a-simpler-proxy news 318 318,316,249,211,55,31,23 http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/159200/three-unexpected-data-points-describe-elementary-school-quality?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/SiIPyMDHq1E/the-lack-of-scientific-philanthropy-in-japan ananyo writes "The University of Tokyo this week unveils the Japan's first institute named after a foreign donor: the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe. The announcement adds Norwegian philanthropist Fred Kavli's name, along with a US$7.5-million endowment, to one of Japan's most successful institutes. The new center marks a turning point for Japan: to date, the country's universities and research institutes have long had to make do with few philanthropic donations. Strict laws governing university finances, and the lack of a philanthropic tradition, have discouraged the gifts that serve Western institutions so well. To get around the laws, instead of handing the endowment over to the institute, the Kavli Foundation will continue to manage the sum, giving the institute the return on the funds."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=The+Lack+of+Scientific+Philanthropy+In+Japan%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FwAkm2C"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F09%2F0144208%2Fthe-lack-of-scientific-philanthropy-in-japan%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/0144208/the-lack-of-scientific-philanthropy-in-japan?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/0144208/the-lack-of-scientific-philanthropy-in-japan?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/iTyNVMT7RR8iFzFPZVrkyTd6YO0/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/iTyNVMT7RR8iFzFPZVrkyTd6YO0/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/iTyNVMT7RR8iFzFPZVrkyTd6YO0/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/iTyNVMT7RR8iFzFPZVrkyTd6YO0/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/SiIPyMDHq1E" height="1" width="1"/> samzenpus 2012-02-09T08:00:00+00:00 japan no-science-for-you science 99 99,91,66,52,21,15,12 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/0144208/the-lack-of-scientific-philanthropy-in-japan?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/UgodvWj0DPY/what-scorpions-have-to-teach-aircraft-designers First time accepted submitter elloGov writes "The north African desert scorpion, Androctonus australis, is a hardy creature. Most animals that live in deserts dig burrows to protect themselves from the sand-laden wind. Not Androctonus; it usually toughs things out at the surface. Yet when the sand whips by at speeds that would strip paint away from steel, the scorpion is able to scurry off without apparent damage thanks to the unique structure of its carapace. Dr Han Zhiwu of Jilin University and colleagues have found that surface irregularities based on the scorpion's exoskeleton could substantially minimize atmospheric dust damage to aircraft."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=What+Scorpions+Have+To+Teach+Aircraft+Designers%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fzj0Ygk"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F09%2F0030258%2Fwhat-scorpions-have-to-teach-aircraft-designers%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/0030258/what-scorpions-have-to-teach-aircraft-designers?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/0030258/what-scorpions-have-to-teach-aircraft-designers?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/AVvkWY7MaobX4FdbKoJbmUb20QM/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/AVvkWY7MaobX4FdbKoJbmUb20QM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/AVvkWY7MaobX4FdbKoJbmUb20QM/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/AVvkWY7MaobX4FdbKoJbmUb20QM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/UgodvWj0DPY" height="1" width="1"/> samzenpus 2012-02-09T03:00:00+00:00 transportation taking-the-sting-out science 123 123,119,88,66,31,20,11 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/09/0030258/what-scorpions-have-to-teach-aircraft-designers?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/akk_R22hiB8/the-science-fiction-effect Harperdog writes "Laura Kahn has a lovely essay about the history of science fiction, and how science fiction can help explain concepts that are otherwise difficult for many...or perhaps, don't hold their interest. Interesting that Frankenstein is arguably the first time that science fiction appears. From Frankenstein to Jurassic Park, authors have been writing about 'mad scientists' messing around with life. Science fiction can be a powerful tool to influence society's views &mdash; one scientists should embrace."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=The+Science+Fiction+Effect%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FxTNY67"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F08%2F2319239%2Fthe-science-fiction-effect%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/2319239/the-science-fiction-effect?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/2319239/the-science-fiction-effect?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zxKWMFv0aZ5GlUq9RcbfvT_q95w/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zxKWMFv0aZ5GlUq9RcbfvT_q95w/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zxKWMFv0aZ5GlUq9RcbfvT_q95w/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zxKWMFv0aZ5GlUq9RcbfvT_q95w/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/akk_R22hiB8" height="1" width="1"/> samzenpus 2012-02-09T01:00:00+00:00 books I-want-my-flying-car news 202 202,201,146,121,52,34,24 http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/2319239/the-science-fiction-effect?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/WUZsALhwmXw/if-youre-fat-broke-and-smoking-blame-language First time accepted submitter derekmead writes "A Yale researcher says that culture differences how much money we save, how well we take care of ourselves, and other behavior indicative of taking the long view, are all based on language. His study argues that the way a language's syntax refers to the future (PDF) affects how its speakers perceive the future. For example, English and Greek make strong distinctions between the present and the future, while German doesn't, while English and Greek speakers are statistically poorer and in worse health than Germans. (The study includes a broader swath of languages/nationalities, but that's a start.)"<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=If+You're+Fat%2C+Broke%2C+and+Smoking%2C+Blame+Language%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fy4D8t9"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F08%2F216258%2Fif-youre-fat-broke-and-smoking-blame-language%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/216258/if-youre-fat-broke-and-smoking-blame-language?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/216258/if-youre-fat-broke-and-smoking-blame-language?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/wJX2lYUG3JRDAXcVWqgDV79T1R4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/wJX2lYUG3JRDAXcVWqgDV79T1R4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/wJX2lYUG3JRDAXcVWqgDV79T1R4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/wJX2lYUG3JRDAXcVWqgDV79T1R4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/WUZsALhwmXw" height="1" width="1"/> samzenpus 2012-02-08T22:28:00+00:00 science he-cannot-speak-it-good-like-we-do science 297 297,297,238,188,41,25,17 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/216258/if-youre-fat-broke-and-smoking-blame-language?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/cSb3vs2PDqc/virtual-reality-helmet-designed-for-deep-space-surgery pigrabbitbear writes in with a link about a virtual reality helmet designed to help people deal with medical emergencies in space. "Humans are pretty fragile. A bad break in your hip can mean surgery and months of rehab. That's pretty bad, but what if you fall and break your hip on the Moon, or even Mars? You'd be hundreds of thousands or millions of miles from a fully stocked hospital and a surgeon with steady hands. There's the option of doctor-assisted surgery from Earth &mdash; a fellow astronaut performing the surgery with remote assistance from a doctor via video link. But the lengthy communications delay make this a poor option anywhere further than the Moon. Luckily for our Mars-bound descendants, the European Space Agency has a solution: an information-loaded assisted reality helmet that will let anyone identify and perform minor surgery to repair injuries."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Virtual+Reality+Helmet+Designed+For+Deep+Space+Surgery%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fw7o5iy"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F08%2F188251%2Fvirtual-reality-helmet-designed-for-deep-space-surgery%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/188251/virtual-reality-helmet-designed-for-deep-space-surgery?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/188251/virtual-reality-helmet-designed-for-deep-space-surgery?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/M-sh_baiBgirXKH079HKFHRT7AM/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/M-sh_baiBgirXKH079HKFHRT7AM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/M-sh_baiBgirXKH079HKFHRT7AM/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/M-sh_baiBgirXKH079HKFHRT7AM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/cSb3vs2PDqc" height="1" width="1"/> samzenpus 2012-02-08T19:22:00+00:00 mars wearing-the-doctor-hat science 82 82,82,62,53,16,4,1 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/188251/virtual-reality-helmet-designed-for-deep-space-surgery?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/b8l_off01og/new-technique-promises-much-faster-hard-drive-write-speeds MrSeb writes "Hold onto your hats: Scientists at the University of York, England have completely rewritten the rules of magnetic storage (abstract; full paper paywalled). Instead of switching a magnetic region using a magnetic field (like a hard drive head), the researchers have managed to switch a ferrimagnetic nanoisland using a 60-femtosecond laser. Storing magnetic data using lasers is up to 1,000 times faster than writing to a conventional hard drive (we're talking about gigabytes or terabytes per second) &mdash; and the ferrimagnetic nanoislands that store the data are capable of storage densities that are some 15 times greater than existing hard drive platters. Unfortunately the York scientists only detailed writing data with lasers; there's no word on how to read it."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=New+Technique+Promises+Much+Faster+Hard+Drive+Write+Speeds%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fx4dcNQ"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F08%2F1352234%2Fnew-technique-promises-much-faster-hard-drive-write-speeds%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/1352234/new-technique-promises-much-faster-hard-drive-write-speeds?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/1352234/new-technique-promises-much-faster-hard-drive-write-speeds?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DBoTIkQ3oFeAyRmwAUMRo9osqxk/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DBoTIkQ3oFeAyRmwAUMRo9osqxk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DBoTIkQ3oFeAyRmwAUMRo9osqxk/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DBoTIkQ3oFeAyRmwAUMRo9osqxk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/b8l_off01og" height="1" width="1"/> Unknown Lamer 2012-02-08T14:37:00+00:00 storage sharks-in-my-drives hardware 148 148,145,109,81,30,19,10 http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/1352234/new-technique-promises-much-faster-hard-drive-write-speeds?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/orWqK7b1AbY/study-online-dating-makes-people-picky-and-unrealistic New submitter garthsundem writes with this tale of digital love: "A newly published meta-analysis of over 400 studies of online dating (PDF) shows both its popularity (second only to meeting through friends) and its impact. More online daters report seeking a 'soulmate' online, and do so by searching through the wealth of available profiles. Unfortunately soul-searchers focus on faults, both in viewing profiles and then also once dating in person, leading to quick exits when relationships inevitably get complicated."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Study%3A+Online+Dating+Makes+People+%22Picky%22+and+%22Unrealistic%22%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FzZ1kli"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F08%2F1324241%2Fstudy-online-dating-makes-people-picky-and-unrealistic%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/1324241/study-online-dating-makes-people-picky-and-unrealistic?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/1324241/study-online-dating-makes-people-picky-and-unrealistic?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/9z-nXHGm_vQrnXOp3FmzmTVv-nM/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/9z-nXHGm_vQrnXOp3FmzmTVv-nM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/9z-nXHGm_vQrnXOp3FmzmTVv-nM/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/9z-nXHGm_vQrnXOp3FmzmTVv-nM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/orWqK7b1AbY" height="1" width="1"/> Unknown Lamer 2012-02-08T13:55:00+00:00 science i-really-love-computers-like-really-really-like science 614 614,610,452,363,117,70,46 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/1324241/study-online-dating-makes-people-picky-and-unrealistic?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/-DpcYtMM3Ik/robert-boisjoly-dies-at-73-the-engineer-who-tried-to-stop-the-challenger-launch demachina writes "Robert Boisjoly has died at the age of 73. Boisjoly, Allan J. McDonald and three others argued through the night of 27 January, 1986 to stop the following day's Challenger launch, but Joseph Kilminster, their boss at Morton Thiokol, overruled them. NASA managers didn't listen to the engineers. Both Boisjoly and McDonald were blackballed for speaking out. NASA's mismanagement 'is not going to stop until somebody gets sent to hard rock hotel,' Boisjoly said after the 2003 Columbia disaster. 'I don't care how many commissions you have. These guys have a way of numbing their brains. They have destroyed $5 billion worth of hardware and 14 lives because of their nonsense.'"<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Robert+Boisjoly+Dies+At+73%2C+the+Engineer+Who+Tried+To+Stop+the+Challenger+Launch%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FzJOasJ"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F08%2F0651218%2Frobert-boisjoly-dies-at-73-the-engineer-who-tried-to-stop-the-challenger-launch%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/0651218/robert-boisjoly-dies-at-73-the-engineer-who-tried-to-stop-the-challenger-launch?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/0651218/robert-boisjoly-dies-at-73-the-engineer-who-tried-to-stop-the-challenger-launch?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/nJATI2UpSbjPCPATcZPxQwmkFxc/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/nJATI2UpSbjPCPATcZPxQwmkFxc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/nJATI2UpSbjPCPATcZPxQwmkFxc/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/nJATI2UpSbjPCPATcZPxQwmkFxc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/-DpcYtMM3Ik" height="1" width="1"/> Soulskill 2012-02-08T13:15:00+00:00 nasa rest-in-peace science 377 377,372,302,245,79,53,39 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/08/0651218/robert-boisjoly-dies-at-73-the-engineer-who-tried-to-stop-the-challenger-launch?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/Ymy5u3tJNTM/higgs-signal-gains-strength ananyo writes "Today the two main experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, submitted the results of their latest analyses. The new papers (here here and here) boost the case for December's announcement of a possible Higgs signal. Physicists working on the In the case of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment, have been able to look at another possible kind of Higgs decay, and that allows them to boost their Higgs signal from 2.5 sigma to 3.1 sigma. Taken together with data from the other detector, ATLAS, Higgs' overall signal now unofficially stands at about 4.3 sigma."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Higgs+Signal+Gains+Strength%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FwoXu1q"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F07%2F2253211%2Fhiggs-signal-gains-strength%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/07/2253211/higgs-signal-gains-strength?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/07/2253211/higgs-signal-gains-strength?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/1jEILWMJg1uNhsYO5nX4mJVqKUw/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/1jEILWMJg1uNhsYO5nX4mJVqKUw/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/1jEILWMJg1uNhsYO5nX4mJVqKUw/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/1jEILWMJg1uNhsYO5nX4mJVqKUw/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/Ymy5u3tJNTM" height="1" width="1"/> Soulskill 2012-02-07T23:26:00+00:00 science higgs-hulking-out science 188 188,177,130,105,46,28,23 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/07/2253211/higgs-signal-gains-strength?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/e7vbjI2Sv_A/mit-crowdsources-and-gamifies-brain-analysis MrSeb writes "There are around 100 billion neurons in a human brain, forming up to 100 trillion synaptic interconnections. Neuroscientists believe that these synapses are the key to almost every one of your unique, identifiable features: Memories, mental disorders, and even your personality are encoded in the wiring of your brain. Understandably, neuroscientists really want to investigate these neurons and synapses to work out how they play such a vital role in our human makeup. Unfortunately, these 100 trillion connections are crammed into a two-pound bag of soggy flesh, making analysis rather hard. Starting small and working its way up, MIT today launched Eyewire, a crowdsourced 'game' that tasks users with wiring up the neurons in a mouse's retina. A future stage of the game will get users to find the synapses, too."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=MIT+Crowdsources+and+Gamifies+Brain+Analysis%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FA30jJO"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F12%2F02%2F07%2F2234200%2Fmit-crowdsources-and-gamifies-brain-analysis%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="nobg" href="http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/07/2234200/mit-crowdsources-and-gamifies-brain-analysis?utm_source=slashdot&amp;utm_medium=googleplus" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.href,'', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><img src="http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png" alt="Share on Google+"/></a> </div></p><p><a href="http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/07/2234200/mit-crowdsources-and-gamifies-brain-analysis?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/8thI28WI1s6RPenhKIFpwPeN_r0/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/8thI28WI1s6RPenhKIFpwPeN_r0/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/8thI28WI1s6RPenhKIFpwPeN_r0/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/8thI28WI1s6RPenhKIFpwPeN_r0/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/e7vbjI2Sv_A" height="1" width="1"/> Soulskill 2012-02-07T23:07:00+00:00 science collect-12-brains-and-return-to-MIT-questgiver science 38 38,36,26,21,8,3,0 http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/02/07/2234200/mit-crowdsources-and-gamifies-brain-analysis?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed Search Slashdot stories query http://science.slashdot.org/search.pl