Moments of Awareness

‘HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS’ The cartoon plays at 5:30 p.m. at Generations Plaza, Main and Idaho streets. Shown on the 25-foot inflatable movie screen generally used for CableONE Movie Night. CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING CELEBRATION Mayor Tammy de Weerd hosts the ceremony at 6 p.m. at Generations Plaza. Enjoy free hot chocolate and donuts, performances by local school choirs, the awarding of prizes in a holiday essay writing contest, and the arrival of a special guest who will assist with the lighting. via idahostatesman.com If you're in Meridian you might still be able to make these. :) Posted via email from Peace Jaway

Paul Peterson (of the StratoLoungers) shared this with me, and I'm sharin' it with you. Boy can sing (and he's funny, too :D). Posted via email from Peace Jaway

A new paper explains how they built the zombie insect By Stuart Fox Posted 09.24.2009 at 12:04 pm 10 Comments Remote Controlled Cyborg Beetle via Wired's Danger Room In January, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, told a stunned conference audience that they had managed to create a remote-controlled cyborg beetle by attaching a computer chip to the brain of a giant insect. Now, the paper explaining how they did it has been published in the journal Frontiers In Neuroscience , and they have released a video of the cyber-bug in action. Related Articles Network of Wi-Fi-Enabled Cyborg Insects Hunts Down WMDs Are We Being Watched by Flying Robot Insects? Darpa's First Robotic Ornithopter Hovers, Flies Like a Hummingbird Tags Technology , Stuart Fox , aviation , beetles , cyborg , darpa , insects , micro uav , remote control , science news , university of california berkel...

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 09.02.2009 at 3:30 pm 21 Comments The Annotated Hamburger Colin Smale; Schnare & Stief/Getty Images; illustration: Mitch Romanowski Design Most people don't think too much about bovine hurt when they chow down on a Big Mac or Whopper. But for those with moral pangs, scientists say genetic engineering might provide a solution, by creating pain-free animals that can satiate the human appetite without suffering. A paper published this month in the journal Neuroethics argues for minimizing animal suffering by creating beasts that lack the ability to sense pain. Related Articles Your Burger on Biotech Cloned Beef: It's What's For Dinner Study Deems Cloned Beef Safe Tags Science , Jeremy Hsu , animals , beef , burgers , cloned , cows , food , Genetic Engineering , pain , pain-free The argument is controversial. In 2006, researchers found six Pakistani children who felt...

James Owen for National Geographic News June 2, 2009 An experimental farm in Russia could soon be producing human breast milk substitutes following successful milking trials on mice, scientists report. Thanks to human genes spliced into their genome, the mice are the first genetically modified animals to produce lactoferrin. This human breast milk protein protects babies from viruses and bacteria while the infants' immune systems are still developing (get a quick genetics overview ). Enlarge Photo Printer Friendly Email to a Friend What's This? SHARE Digg StumbleUpon Reddit RELATED Stone Age Milk Use Began 2,000 Years Earlier "The Rise of Mammals" in National Geographic Magazine Glowing Animal Pictures The ...

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 07.20.2009 at 12:40 pm 3 Comments Three Noses Are Better Than One Cloned Labrador retrievers sniff for drugs at South Korea's Incheon International Airport AFP If you find an individual with exceptional talent, why not clone it? That's an idea that may no longer be confined to the realm of science fiction, at least for dogs. South Korea's customs service has now deployed the world's first cloned sniffer puppies for hunting smuggled drugs. Just 30 percent of natural-born sniffer dogs can normally pass the required training , but South Korean scientists hope that they can improve that to 90 percent by cloning best-of-breed dogs. Related Articles 9/11 Rescue Dog Cloned Drug-Sniffing Clones Face-Off: Should We Clone Fading Species? Tags Science , Jeremy Hsu , animals , clone , clones , dog , drugs , labrador retriever , puppy , sniffer , sniffing , toppy Six well-tra...

By Julie Beck Posted 10.21.2010 at 4:17 pm 6 Comments Rhinos' Horns Provide More Protection Than Ever, Thanks To GPS spbutterworth on Flickr Five South African rhinos have been outfitted with an extra layer of defense against poachers, thanks to a GPS chip implanted in their horns . The chips are inserted into a small hole drilled into the dead portion of the horn. Currently being tested in Mafikeng Game Reserve, the devices are connected to a cell phone system that allows game wardens to monitor the animals constantly and remotely. Different alarms can also be programmed into the device, sending alerts if the rhino begins running, if it leaves the reserve, or if it sleeps for an abnormally long time. If such an alarm goes off, park employees can track the rhino with GPS and find it quickly. There are plans to tag more animals in other nearby parks in the next few weeks. Poaching is still a hug...

By Clay Dillow Posted 11.22.2010 at 4:45 pm 59 Comments The Cosmic Microwave Background NASA The current widely-held theory of life, the universe, and everything holds that at some point roughly 13.7 billion years ago everything that now is was packed into a tight little package from which sprung the Big Bang, which violently hurled everything into existence. But 13.7 billion years to get to where we are isn’t enough for renowned physicist Sir Roger Penrose, and now he thinks he can prove that things aren’t/weren’t quite so simple. Drawing on evidence he found in the cosmic microwave background, Penrose says the Big Bang wasn’t the beginning, but one in a series of cyclical Big Bangs , each of which spawned its own universe. By Penrose’s estimation, our universe is not the first – nor will it be the last – to spawn from a dense mass of highly-ordered everything into the complex universe we see around us....

By Lizzie Schiffman Posted 12.01.2010 at 4:00 pm 5 Comments ReCell Spray-on Skin Grafts Photo courtesy of Avita Medical And to think we once thought spray-on bandages were revolutionary. Doctors at the University of Utah’s Burn Care Center are reporting success in their pilot project testing stem cell solutions sprayed directly onto burns. Combining a red-cell-free concentration of the patient’s own platelets and progenitor cells with calcium and thrombin, researchers created a solution that is sprayed on to burns topically. In tests, the spray has proven effective in the treatment of small burns and seems to improve the likelihood that a skin graft will take, which could carry positive implications for the application of this technology to other types of transplants . The University’s research in spray-on stem cells comes on the coattails of a similar U.S. clinical trial of Australian-based ReCell ...

The six-wheeled Covini C6W is heading to production By Dan Nosowitz Posted 12.02.2010 at 4:45 pm 12 Comments Covini C6W Covini The Covini C6W, from Italian maker Covini Engineering, has been in the works for 32 years. It has lots of nice racing parts--a 4.2-liter Audi V8, a fiberglass/carbon fiber body over a tubular steel frame, 434 horsepower, a top speed of around 185 mph--and two very unusual additions that make it stand out. Don't bother rubbing your eyes: This thing really does have six wheels. According to Jalopnik , the C6W is inspired by a 1976 race car with two sets of front wheels, designed to reduce drag and "increase air penetration." But those don't really factor into the C6W's design--instead, the extra two wheels provide better braking, grip, and absorption of frontal impact, and reduce risk of aquaplaning and deflated tires. They also greatly increase the amo...

via cnn.com Posted via email from Peace Jaway

By Rebecca MacKinnon , Special to CNN December 2, 2010 3:30 p.m. EST STORY HIGHLIGHTS Rebecca MacKinnon says many differ on whether media should publish WikiLeaks cables What's troubling, she says, is that Sen. Joe Lieberman can get Amazon to dump it from server She asks: What are private sector's responsibilities to prevent erosion of free speech? Writer: Future of free speech on internet turns on companies' accountability to public interest RELATED TOPICS Wikileaks.org Julian Assange Amazon.com Inc. Joseph Lieberman Editor's note: Rebecca MacKinnon is a Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, co-founder of the international bloggers' network Global Voices Online and a founding member of the Global Network Initiative . Her book, "Consent of the Networked," will be published late next year by Basic Books. (CNN) -- In the physical world, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ...

Advertisement 2 December 2010 Last updated at 06:20 ET Help Can wearing fur ever be guilt free? Young American fashion designers say you need not feel bad about wearing the fur of the Louisiana swamp rat, because it is being killed off anyway for nibbling away at the coastal wetlands. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports from New York. via bbc.co.uk No need to convince anyone of anything. Marketers know that if a person wants to wear nutria (or buy or use anything else), in a politically-correct world all they need is *an* argument, preferably a moral argument, since while people can be as thoroughly convinced that their own moral code is correct no one can prove that absolutely, so it can be bandied about until whatever the subject is is no longer popular enough to warrant arguing over, at which point people will simply move on the to next big debate, or until the argument's shift...

1 December 2010 Last updated at 10:42 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Botswana mulls legalising prostitution to fight HIV Botswana has one of Africa's most-advanced ARV treatment programmes Continue reading the main story Related stories Botswana country profile Botswana praised for Aids fight Hope out of pain: Botswana's Aids story Some politicians have called for Botswana to consider legalising prostitution to fight against HIV. Botlogile Tshireletso, a deputy minister, told the BBC it was time for the government to discuss the issue. Botswana, which has a high prevalence of HIV, has earned a reputation for being proactive in the Aids battle. But a BBC reporter says despite research that infection rates are worst along commercial truck routes, there is an unwillingness to legalise ...

2 December 2010 Last updated at 04:04 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Miscarriage 'raises heart risk' The causes of miscarriage are unclear Continue reading the main story Related stories Obesity is IVF miscarriage risk Miscarriage hurts next pregnancy Heavy exercise miscarriage link Having multiple miscarriages increases the risk of a heart attack later in life, according to researchers. The German study, published in the journal Heart, found that women who had more than three miscarriages had a five-fold increase in risk. The relatively young age of the women meant overall risk remained low, but miscarriages could alert doctors to future problems, the researchers said. UK specialists said that the reason for the link was still unclear. The study looked at more than 11,500 women a...

2 December 2010 Last updated at 04:57 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Africa 'can feed itself in a generation' By Neil Bowdler Science reporter, BBC News The new study says Africa could become a major exporter if leaders show political will A new book claims Africa could feed itself within a generation, and become a major agricultural exporter. The book, The New Harvest, by Harvard University professor Calestous Juma, calls on African leaders to make agricultural expansion central to all decision-making. Improvements in infrastructure, mechanisation and GM crops could vastly increase production, he claims. The findings are being presented to African leaders in Tanzania today. The presidents of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are holding an informal summit to discuss African foo...

1 December 2010 Last updated at 21:20 ET Share this page Facebook Share Email Print Coca leaves first chewed 8,000 years ago, says research By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News Continue reading the main story Related stories Peru 'rivalling Colombia' on coca Bolivia and Peru defend coca use Coca protest disrupts Peru power Peruvian foraging societies were already chewing coca leaves 8,000 years ago, archaeological evidence has shown. Ruins beneath house floors in the northwestern Peru showed evidence of chewed coca and calcium-rich rocks. Such rocks would have been burned to create lime, chewed with coca to release more of its active chemicals. Writing in the journal Antiquity, an international team said the discovery...

Ear relief: Congress acts to stifle loud TV ads (AP) – 3 hours ago WASHINGTON (AP) — Here's a message TV viewers may not want to mute: The days of getting blasted out of the easy chair by blaring TV commercials may soon be over. The House on Thursday gave final congressional approval to a bill that would prevent advertisers from abruptly raising the volume to catch the attention of viewers wandering off when regular programming is interrupted. The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said it was her own "earsplitting experiences" that got her involved, recalling how the ads "blew us out of the house" when she watched television, already set at a high volume, with her parents. But she said her office also has gotten many messages of support and that at home people come up to her in restaurants and supermarkets to ask how the bill is doing. "TV programs use a variety of sound levels to build dramatic effect. But advertisements have ...

via idahostatesman.com Posted via email from Peace Jaway

This week Venus will be at its brightest for many months to come and hit its peak as a brilliant jewel in the sky on Saturday morning. Due to a combination of its orbital path and amount of reflected sunlight, on Saturday (Dec. 4), Venus will shine so brightly it should be unmistakable to skywatchers with a clear morning sky. This sky map shows where to look to see Venus on Saturday morning. Venus is always the fourth-brightest object in the sky after the sun, the moon and the International Space Station. But it isn't always equally bright. [ Gallery: Venus photos from around the world ] As the Earth and Venus circle around the sun in their respective orbits, their changing geometry causes Venus' brightness to vary. As you might expect, it generally tends to be brighter when it is closer to Earth. However, this isn't always true because Venus is an "inferior" planet. Astronomers use "inferior" to mean "closer t...

Plants, Little Dude, Lisa & Dude's Mom See the full gallery on posterous Posted via email from Peace Jaway