AT&T Hacker 'Weev' Sentenced to 3.5 Years in Prison

Wired News - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 3:57pm
A hacker charged with federal crimes for obtaining the personal data of more than 100,000 iPad owners from AT&T's publicly accessible website was sentenced on Monday to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Categories: Science

Sequester Takes Bite Out of NASA Employees' Travel

Space.com - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 3:56pm
NASA employees will have to miss many of their usual conferences.
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New Curiosity 'safe mode' status expected to be brief

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 3:11pm
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is expected to resume science investigations in a few days, as engineers quickly diagnosed a software issue that prompted the rover to put itself into a precautionary standby status over the weekend.
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Ask Slashdot: Which Google Project Didn't Deserve To Die?

Slashdot - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 3:11pm
Nerval's Lobster writes "When Google announced the shutdown of Google Reader, its popular RSS reader, it sparked significant outrage across the Web. While one could argue that RSS readers have declined in popularity over the past few years (in fact, that was Google's stated reason for killing it), they remain a useful tool for many people who want to collect their Web content—articles, blog postings, and the like—in one convenient place. (Fortunately for them, there exist any number of alternative RSS readers, some of which offer even more features than Google Reader.) This wasn't the first time that Google announced a project's imminent demise, and it certainly won't be the last: Google Buzz, Google Health, Google Wave, Google Labs, and other software platforms all ended up in the dustbin of tech history. So here's the question: of all those projects, which didn't deserve the axe? If you had a choice, which would you bring back?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



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Scientists to Unveil New Planetary Science Discoveries This Week

Space.com - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 3:03pm
Nearly 2,000 scientists at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference this week will reveal the latest finds on the moon, Mars and the solar system.
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U.S. Quietly Ends Iraqi Police Training, Its Last Major Baghdad Project

Wired News - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 3:00pm
So much for training the Iraqi police. Less than two years and $700-plus million after taking over police training from the U.S. military, the State Department pulled out its last cop trainer on March 1.
Categories: Science

Depression stems from miscommunication between brain cells; Study challenges role of serotonin in depression

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:53pm
A new study suggests that depression results from a disturbance in the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other. The study indicates a major shift in our understanding of how depression is caused and how it should be treated. Instead of focusing on the levels of hormone-like brain chemicals, such as serotonin, the scientists found that the transmission of excitatory signals between cells becomes abnormal in depression.
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Researchers trap light, improve laser potential of MEH-PPV polymer

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:53pm
Researchers have come up with a low-cost way to enhance a polymer called MEH-PPV's ability to confine light, advancing efforts to use the material to convert electricity into laser light for use in photonic devices.
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Self-assembled nanostructures enable a low-power phase-change memory for mobile electronic devices

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:53pm
Nonvolatile memory that can store data even when not powered is currently used for portable electronics such as smart phones, tablets, and laptop computers. Flash memory is a dominant technology in this field, but its slow writing and erasing speed has led to extensive research into a next-generation nonvolatile memory called Phase-Change Random Access Memory (PRAM), as PRAM's operating speed is 1,000 times faster than that of flash memory. Scientists have now developed a phase-change memory with low power consumption (below 1/20th of its present level) by employing self-assembled block copolymer silica nanostructures.
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Links between lifestyle and risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:51pm
Researchers have found a link between several lifestyle factors and pre-existing conditions, including smoking cigarettes and diabetes, and an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
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Blind flies without recycling: How Drosophila recovers the neurotransmitter histamine

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:51pm
In the fruit fly Drosophila, the functions of the three enzymes Tan, Ebony and Black are closely intertwined -- among other things they are involved in neurotransmitter recycling for the visual process. Researchers showed for the first time that flies cannot see without this recycling. Their analysis of the enzyme Black also raises new questions as to its function.
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Breakthrough in electricity storage: New large and powerful redox flow battery

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:50pm
More and more electricity is being generated from intermittent sources of power, such as solar and wind energy. Powerful electric energy storage devices are necessary to level out corresponding irregularities in the power supply. Scientists have recently made an important breakthrough with the development of a redox flow battery that reaches stack power up to 25 kW, with a cell size of 0.5 square meters. This is eight times larger than the previous A4-sized systems.
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Significant contribution of Greenland's peripheral glaciers to sea-level rise

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:49pm
Glaciers at the edge of Greenland which are not connected to its huge ice sheet, or can be clearly separated from it, are contributing to sea-level rise much more than previously thought. Scientists have found that, though these peripheral glaciers make up just 5 to 7 percent of total ice coverage on the land mass, they account for up to 20 percent of the rise in sea level created by the region's melting.
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Antarctica's first whale skeleton found with nine new deep-sea species

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:49pm
Marine biologists have, for the first time, found a whale skeleton on the ocean floor near Antarctica, giving new insights into life in the sea depths. The discovery was made almost a mile below the surface in an undersea crater and includes the find of at least nine new species of deep-sea organisms thriving on the bones.
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Community approach effective in fight against diabetes

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:47pm
New research shows that a diabetes prevention program led by community health workers is effective at reducing blood glucose and potentially reducing diabetes over the long term.
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It's in the cards: Human evolution influences gamblers' decisions

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:47pm
New research suggests evolution, or basic survival techniques adapted by early humans, influences the decisions gamblers make when placing bets. The findings may help to explain why some treatment options for problem gamblers often don't work, the researchers say.
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Astrocyte signaling sheds light on stroke research

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:47pm
New research suggests that modifying signals sent by astrocytes, our star-shaped brain cells, may help to limit the spread of damage after an ischemic brain stroke. The study in mice determined that astrocytes play a critical role in the spread of damage following stroke.
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Cigarette relighting tied to tough economy

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:47pm
In what is believed to be a first of its kind study, researchers have found that a trend of smokers relighting cigarettes is related to economic factors, and the practice has implications for tobacco dependence treatment and policy.
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Model allows engineers to test fuel systems on computers

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:47pm
Engineers will be able to design better fuel systems for everything from motorcycles to rockets faster and more inexpensively because of a new mathematical fuels model.
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More parents say they won't vaccinate daughters against HPV

Science Daily - Mon, 18/03/2013 - 2:47pm
Parents are increasingly concerned about potential side effects, a new study shows.
Categories: Science