The Intelligence² Debate – Stephen Fry (Unedited)
Stephens speech from the Intelligence Debate held last year.
Via Daily Motion (Thanks Mattis)
Stunning new Hubble images of spiral galaxy
The galaxy, titled NGC 4911, lies more than 320 million light-years away in the “Coma Cluster” of about 1,000 galaxies and islands of stars similar to the Milky Way. Nasa said the stunning long-exposure picture, titled “Island Universe”, shows the “majestic face-on spiral galaxy” in the northern constellation Coma Berenices amid a sea of stars.
The “natural-colour” image, released by the space agency combines data from 2006, 2007, and 2009. A high resolution copy of the image has also been released.
Using Hubble’s brand new Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys, it required 28 hours of exposure time. The long wispy formations, seen along the “arms” of the main galaxy, are a result of the nearby galaxy passing “perilously close to each other”.
“The high resolution of Hubble’s cameras, paired with considerably long exposures, made it possible to observe these faint details”, a Nasa spokesman said.
Article by Telegraph
Electron spin technology demonstrated for the first time
We’ve long known that encoding data using electron spin could revolutionize computer performance – and now it’s been successfully demonstrated for the first time ever.
Ohio State researchers built a simple device as a test case for the new field they call “spintronics.” They took a thin, organic-based magnet and layered it with iron-based magnets, then connected two electrical leads. They then managed to successfully record data on the device and – here’s the critical part – retrieve the data simply by controlling electron spin within the magnetic field. That’s the first time spintronics has been used to successfully store and retrieve data, but the researchers are confident it won’t be the last.
So how does spintronics work? Basically, electrons can be polarized so that they have a particular directional orientation, much like a bar magnet. These orientations are known as spin, and an electron can either be polarized so it’s “spin up” or “spin down.” Storing data with spin would effectively double the amount of data a computer could store, as two pieces of data could be stored on an electron instead of just one, which is the case with current electronics.
But the advantages of spintronics don’t stop there. As data density increases, so too would processing speed. And one of the biggest causes of heat in current circuit boards – the movement of electrons – would be eliminated entirely, which would mean huge energy savings and thus require smaller batteries to do the same amount of computing work.
more at i09
Oldest house in Britain discovered to be 11,500 years old
The home is so old that when it was built Britain was still part of Continental Europe. The circular structure near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, which dates back to the Stone Age 8,500 years BC, was found next to a former lake.
The house predates the dwelling previously thought to be Britain’s oldest, at Howick, Northumberland, by at least 500 years. The team said they are also excavating a large wooden platform made of timbers which have been split and hewn. It is thought to be the earliest evidence of carpentry in Europe.
Dr Chantal Conneller and Barry Taylor from the University of Manchester have been working with Dr Nicky Milner from the University of York at Star Carr since 2004. The house was first excavated by the team two years ago.
According to the archaeologists, the site was inhabited by hunter-gatherers from just after the last Ice Age, for between 200 and 500 years.
More at the Telegraph
Incredible Miniature Sculptures Carved From Pencil Tips
“Here at Inhabitat we are often impressed by innovative new applications for everyday materials, but artist Dalton Ghetti’s tiny sculptures carved out of the fragile tips of pencils have truly knocked our socks off! From a miniature bust of Elvis Presley wearing shades to tiny hammers and old boots, his work is mind boggling. Get ready to be amazed by this unbelievable artwork!
Ghetti, who is originally from Brazil, uses his little lead canvases to explore all types of subjects. Getting familiar with Dalton’s technique makes the work even more interesting, as he refuses to work with a magnifying glass, and only uses three tools – a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He explains his process: “I use the sewing needle to make holes or dig into the graphite. I scratch and create lines and turn the graphite around slowly in my hand” ”
See the full gallery at Inhabitat
Poo-powered car seen on the streets of Bristol
“A “poo-powered” VW Beetle has taken to the streets of Bristol in an attempt to encourage sustainable motoring. The Bio-Bug runs on processed methane gas generated as part of the raw sewage treatment process. Wessex Water engineers estimate the yearly waste from 70 average households would generate enough gas to run the car for 10,000 miles (16,100km).
Despite being powered by fuel created from sewage, the car does not smell unpleasant. “It performs like a normal car – you wouldn’t know it was powered by biogas,” a company spokesman said. To use biogas as vehicle fuel without affecting vehicle performance or reliability the gas needs to be treated to remove the carbon dioxide content. GENeco, part of Wessex Water, imported specialist “cleaning” equipment to treat the raw methane generated at the sewage treatment works in Avonmouth.
The spokesman added: Our site has been producing biogas for many years which we use to generate electricity to power the site and export to the National Grid. “With the surplus gas we had available we wanted to put it to good use in a sustainable and efficient way. “We decided to power a vehicle on the gas offering a sustainable alternative to using fossil fuels which we so heavily rely on in the UK.”"
Read more at BBC News (Thanks Tracey)
The Brain’s Secret to Sleeping Like a Log
“In this clamorous modern world, heavy sleepers have an advantage: They can snooze despite noisy neighbors and car alarms, and they’re capable of conking out on a red-eye flight to awake refreshed and smiling.
But how do these sound sleepers do it? According to a neuroscience study published today in Current Biology, they’re blessed with a type of brain activity that may essentially block out noise.
Sleep researchers from Harvard Medical School performed a slightly torturous experiment on 12 healthy volunteers. On their first night at the sleep lab, the subjects’ brain waves were monitored via electroencephalography (EEG), but they were otherwise left in peace. That night, the researchers measured one particular sleep phenomenon: the brief bursts of high-frequency waves known as “sleep spindles.” On the following two nights, the researchers did their best to replicate a really irritating night’s sleep.
“The volunteers would come in and we’d show them this luxury environment with a queen bed and comfy sheets, but there are these four very large speakers pointed straight at their heads,” said study coauthor Jeffrey Ellenbogen.
The sleepers were then exposed to a steady stream of auditory assaults. Each sound — whether it was a phone ringing, an animated conversation, or a jet engine — would be played quietly at first, and then gradually cranked up until the patients’ brain waves showed a disruption to the sleep pattern. After a few seconds of quiet, the researchers cued up the next sound and the process began again.
The results showed that patients with more frequent sleep spindles were better able to tolerate noise; it took higher-decibel sounds to disrupt their sleep patterns. Ellenbogen says this gives researchers a new predictive power.
“If you know how many spindles a person is producing and compare them to others, you can predict who among them will run into trouble when it comes to blocking sound during sleep,” he said.”
Read more at Wired (Thanks @sonofsam83)
Saturn Moon Loses Its Ring, Gains a Mystery
“Until this week Saturn’s small moon Rhea was the only known solid space object thought to have a ring. (Other known ringed bodies, such as Saturn, are mainly gaseous.) But a new study of optical images has failed to detect any signs of structures encircling the natural satellite.
Rhea orbits within Saturn’s magnetic field, which creates a bubble of charged particles—ions and electrons—around the planet. During a 2005 flyby of Rhea, scientists working with NASA’s Cassini spacecraft expected to see a dip in their readings where the moon’s surface intercepted the particles. The craft’s readings did show the moon’s wake, but they also revealed several unexpected dips in particle detections just outside the moon’s diameter. The best possible explanation seemed to be that something physical—a ring of debris around Rhea—was blocking the ions and electrons from reaching Cassini.
However, analysis of images taken by Cassini between 2008 and 2009 failed to turn up any evidence for rings around the Saturn moon. (See pictures of Saturn and its moons.) “We’re pretty confident that there is no solid material orbiting the moon,” said astronomer Matthew Tiscareno of Cornell University in New York. Tiscareno and his team analyzed 65 Cassini images of Rhea, some of which were taken with the sun behind the craft and some with the sun more or less in front of Cassini. “Those two geometries probe different particle sizes, because dust tends to scatter light forward whereas larger particles tend to reflect light backward,” Tiscareno explained. Instead, the pictures showed nothing illuminated around Rhea, disproving the ring hypothesis—although the new study doesn’t shed any light on what was responsible for the 2005 observations.”
Read more at National Geographic (Thanks @moonylein)
Brian Blessed to voice TomTom SatNav systems
“Bushy-bearded bellower Brian Blessed is probably the last person you’d think of taking on a long road trip, but it turns out 25,000 people petitioned to have his dulcet tones guide them around the twisty roads of Britain.
The Yorkshire-born thespian, who cut his teeth on the BBC’s Z Cars before taking his booming personality to the stage as British and Shakespearean monarchs, is probably known more for his gigantic voice, than his acting chops.
That’s exactly what lead Stewart Gore to mock up some potential navigation phrases, and start up the Facebook group “get Brian Blessed to do a voice over for my SatNav”. TomTom said it would negotiate with Blessed if the group reached 25,000 members, which it recently achieved.
Now the voice of The Duke of Exeter, Richard IV, Captain Hook, Caesar Augustus and Henry VIII has agreed to record the lines, and is apparently “absolutely thrilled to bits.”
Blessed joins a fleet of celebrities who have already given their best “turn right here” and “you have reached your destination” speeches, including John Cleese, Homer Simpson, Knight Rider’s KITT, several Star Wars characters and, every one’s favourite, Dora the Explorer.
Brian Blessed’s booming vocals will be available for download on your TomTom from October.”
Read more at Wired (Thanks @XxLadyClaireXx)
Lightning in slo-mo
“This fantastic footage of a lightning storm was filmed at 9,000 frames a second and then played back real slow.”
Via Sunday Mercury (Thanks @XxLadyClaireXx)
