[Hat Tip: Tangled Up in Blue Guy]We are going to have the coolest Senator!
Daily Archives: January 8, 2008
Smallpox vaccine alternative identified
University of California, Irvine infectious disease researchers have shown the effectiveness of a potential alternative to the existing smallpox vaccine that can replace the current biodefense stockpile for this lethal virus.
Are you a wanker?
Intelligence Tests … Could this be true?
Wait, Don’t Vote Yet!
If you are in New Hampshire, you must read this latest important political news before going to the polls… Continue reading Wait, Don’t Vote Yet!
U2 can be like Bono
Eco-friendly cotton from Africa is making its way onto the backs of U2 fans across the world, thanks to a new partnership between Hard Rock International and the ethical T-shirt company edun LIVE. Founded by U2 frontman Bono and his wife Ali Hewson, edun contributes proceeds from the sale of its 100% African cotton tees to the Conservation Cotton Initiative (CCI), a program run by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). CCI helps lift African farmers out of poverty by providing education on proper land management, organic cotton growing techniques, and wildlife conservation.
Edward Burtynsky: TED Prize wish: Share the story of Earth’s manufactured landscapes
Accepting his 2005 TED Prize, photographer Edward Burtynsky makes a wish: that his images — stunning landscapes that document humanity’s impact on the world — help persuade millions to join a global conversation on sustainability. Burtynsky presents a riveting slideshow of his photographs, which show vividly how industrial development is altering the Earth’s natural landscape. From mountains of tires to rivers of bright orange waste from a nickel mine, his images are simultaneously beautiful and horrifying
Cave Bears More Carnivorous Than Previously Thought
From a University of Bristol Press Release: “Rather than being gentle giants, new research reveals that Pleistocene cave bears, a species which became extinct 20,000 years ago, ate both plants and animals and competed for food with the other contemporary large carnivores of the time such as hyaenas, lions, wolves, and our own human ancestors.” Continue reading Cave Bears More Carnivorous Than Previously Thought
Jimmy Wales: How a ragtag band created Wikipedia
Jimmy Wales assembled “a ragtag band of volunteers,” gave them tools for collaborating, and created Wikipedia, the self-organizing, self-correcting, never-finished encyclopedia of the future. Here, he explains how the collaborative approach works, and why it succeeds. Along the way, he debunks some controversies, explains the “neutral point-of-view policy” and why it is non-debatable; and details the Wikipedia governance model: a democracy with a bit of aristocracy and some monarchy thrown in.
Continue reading Jimmy Wales: How a ragtag band created Wikipedia
Richard Baraniuk: Goodbye, textbooks; hello, open-source learning
What if Napster stocked textbooks? Engineering professor Richard Baraniuk talks about his vision for Connexions, an open-source system that lets teachers share digital texts and course materials, modify them and give them to their students — all free, thanks to Creative Commons licensing.
Continue reading Richard Baraniuk: Goodbye, textbooks; hello, open-source learning
Robots would need these
Because the can’t drive…
GM Envisions Driverless Cars on Horizon from PhysOrg.com
(AP) — Cars that drive themselves – even parking at their destination – could be ready for sale within a decade, General Motors Corp. executives say.[…]
Deep Sea Evidence of Major Volcanic Eruptions
Pumice is rock that is ejected from a volcano, and has so much gas trapped in it that it can float. So when a pumice-ejecting volcano (not all volcanoes produce pumice) goes off near a body of water, you can get a raft of rock floating around for quite some time. By and by, water replaces the gas within the rock and it sinks. Like a rock. So, you can get layers of pumice on the bed of lakes, seas and oceans. A forthcoming paper in Deep Sea Research I describes two such pumice deposits of “Drift Pumice” in the Indian Ocean. Continue reading Deep Sea Evidence of Major Volcanic Eruptions
Happy Birthday Stephen Hawking
