Archive for July, 2009
Smart Talk on the ‘Intelligence Explosion’
Scientists attending the conference were “impressed and alarmed” at recent advances in artificial intelligence. They spoke of how Predator drones, which are manufactured by San Diego-based General Atomics, are becoming more and more adept at killing …
Read More..>>Music Weekly: The Big Pink and the XX
We’re back! Well, sort of. After a month-long break (yes, it took us that long to get over Glastonbury), Alexis Petridis sits in Paul MacInnes’s chair to bring you a new bands special to kick off August. We begin with feedback-loving group the Big …
Read More..>>NASA Panel: U.S. Goal Should Be Deep Space Missions, Not Landings
A panel examining the future of the United States’ human spaceflight program will suggest that the Obama administration may want to skip the part about landing on other worlds. That could, panel members said Thursday, enable the National …
Read More..>>Fill ‘er up … in space?
An artist’s conception from 1971 shows an orbital fuel depot in action. The panel reviewing NASA’s long-range plans is giving a new boost to the old idea of setting up orbital fueling stations for spaceflight. If the space agency and the White House …
Read More..>>Movie Stars
Afghan Star Documentary follows an ‘American Idol”-style TV show in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Director Havana Marking understands that voting for a singer may be a silly form of democracy, but it still counts. Take the teenagers. In English …
Read More..>>Guardian Hack Day 2: Projects for your consideration
The Guardian held its second hack day bringing together journalists and developers from inside and outside the company to see what they could create in 24 hours. It’s a beer and pizza-fueled burst of creativity and no small amount of frivolity, and …
Read More..>>Laser image aimed at achieving 85 percent reduction in costs (PhysOrg)
An innovative laser imaging technique, developed with funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), could cut more than 7,700 man hours from the manufacturing cycle of the VIRGINA-Class Submarine (VCS).
Read More..>>Shooting ‘Hurt Locker’ brought reality to the fore
Brian Geraghty, who lived in Pittsburgh as a youngster, plays his character in “The Hurt Locker” as an “Everykid” who just wants to get out of Baghdad alive. Talk about the real deal. Actor Jeremy Renner, recalling scenes shot over a week in the …
Read More..>>Robotics insights through flies’ eyes
Specific flight patterns are simulated by controlling optical “flux fields” presented to the fly. Credit: Max-Planck Institute for Neurobiology To understand how a fly’s tiny brain processes visual information efficiently enough to guide its …
Read More..>>Micro flying robots can fly more effectively than flies
Engineers have long been stymied in their attempts to fabricate micro aerial robots that can match the amazing flight capabilities of nature’s most advanced flying insects – flies. Such robot flies – if they could be made efficient enough for long …
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