Thursday, May 29, 2008
A monkey's brain can control robots
"Monkeys have been able to control robotic limbs using only their thoughts, scientists report.
The animals were able to feed themselves using prosthetic arms, which were controlled by brain activity.
Small probes, the width of a human hair, were inserted into the monkeys' primary motor cortex - the region of the brain that controls movement.
Writing in Nature journal, the authors said their work could eventually help amputees and people who are paralysed."http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7423184.stm
Controlling fake limbs with your mind....I LOVE IT. It is great for people with prosthetic limbs. I am sure it will make life a lot easier for them. As for people with all limbs, it will just make them more lazy because they wouldn't have to use their real arms and legs anymore. Although I'm sure most people with their limbs in tact won't be going for fake limbs. I think this is the first step into the future of controlling things with our minds.
Has Russian oil output peaked?
"The Kremlin often touts Russia's image as an "energy superpower," but now the country's oil production is declining. Some say Russia may have already reached peak oil output.
Underscoring the urgency of the issue, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's new cabinet made its first order of business on Monday the approval of a package of measures to relieve the oil-production crisis.
As the world's second-largest oil exporter, Russia joins a growing number of top oil suppliers wrestling with how to address declining or peaking production. Like Venezuela and Mexico, Russia is heavily dependent on oil, which accounts for more than two-thirds of government revenue and 30 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Now, Moscow is trying to remedy a situation caused in part by outdated technology, heavy taxation of oil profits, and lack of investment in oil infrastructure."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080528/wl_csm/otapped
I guess this sucks for Russia. If their oil production has peaked, then that means they will be making less money. Not only that, they will have less power in the world. What sucks more is that our gas prices will probably go even higher!
Nude maid accused of really cleaning up
Authorities said the woman arrived at the home in a one-piece, light colored dress. She took off the dress and cleaned the house for $100-per-hour. Sheriff's office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said the man told deputies he left the maid alone in the bedroom to clean.
When the man's wife came home from vacation, she discovered $40,000 in jewelry missing from their bedroom.
Police are investigating."
I guess you should always keep an eye on the maid, whether she is naked or not. This guy and his wife are probably not on the best terms now...
800-word Harry Potter prequel to be auctioned
"An 800-word Harry Potter prequel is one of 13 card-sized works to be sold at a charity auction in the British capital. Waterstone's Booksellers Ltd. says the cream-colored A5 papers — each slightly bigger than a postcard — were distributed to 13 authors and illustrators, including the boy wizard's creator J.K. Rowling, Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing, novelist Margaret Atwood and playwright Tom Stoppard.
Rowling used both sides of her card to hand-write a prequel to her seven-book Harry Potter saga, while Lessing penned a story about the power of reading. Stoppard wrote a short mystery and Atwood was due to fill out her card remotely using a robotic arm controlled by computer linkup.
Other cards were completed by children's author Michael Rosen, illustrator Axel Scheffler, graphic novelist Neil Gaiman, Lisa Appignanesi, Richard Ford, Lauren Child, Irvine Welsh, Sebastian Faulks and Nick Hornby, who plastered his card with a collage."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_en_ot/harry_potter_prequel;_ylt=AiFXMw4l7uk4u.lF55NCwmGs0NUEI would love to own this prequel. I don't really know or care much for Harry Potter, but I do know when I see something worth a lot of money.
Robots that can roam Antarctica
"Robotic rovers have patrolled deep space and the deepest seas, but scientists are still struggling to create drones that can overcome the multiple challenges of exploring Antarctica.
Georgia Tech researchers think the SnoMote — a small robot designed like a snowmobile — will be able to deal with the nasty weather and with slippery terrain that constantly cracks and shifts.
They envision dozens of SnoMotes roving Antarctica's vast expanses to add to data already collected by satellites and a handful of weather stations and sensors."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_sc/tec_ice_robots;_ylt=Aqhc9OgAhrd2djjSSIAbaJhxieAA
This is a great advancement into the exploration of Antarctica. I'm not too interested in exploring Antarctica, but I'm sure people who are will love these robots. It can save humans from getting too cold and sick. We can now do more than we ever did.
Former spokesman bashes Bush in new book
"In a shocking turnabout, the press secretary most known for defending President Bush on Iraq, Katrina and a host of other controversial issues produced a memoir damning of his old boss on nearly every level — from too much secrecy to a less-than-honest selling of the war to a lack of personal candor and an unwillingness to admit mistakes.
In the first major insider account of the Bush White House, one-time spokesman Scott McClellan calls the operation "insular, secretive and combative" and says it veered irretrievably off course as a result.
The White House responded angrily Wednesday to McClellan's confessional memoir, calling it self-serving sour grapes."
This is politics, backstabbing and lying. If I were Bush, I would be pissed off right now. Maybe Bush did wrong things, but this guy was working for him as a close aide. Now he goes off and tries to make money off of his former boss. What a jerk. I guess the plus side to this is that we get to hear the truth, or at least the truth according to McClellan.