LATEST
An evil atmosphere is forming around geoengineering
17:30 21 July 2010 | 1 comment
Right-wing think tanks that deny climate change is even happening are advocating climate engineering to fix it. Don't heed them, warns Clive Hamilton
Twitter mood maps reveal emotional states of America
12:14 21 July 2010
How is the US feeling right now? The emotional words contained in hundreds of millions of tweets may hold the answers
Blood spatter model to help crime scene investigation
14:31 20 July 2010
Software could improve the speed and accuracy of blood ballistics interpretation at a crime scene
Navy laser roasts incoming drones in mid-air
14:41 19 July 2010 | 4 comments
A remote-piloted military aircraft meets a new enemy – a ship-mounted laser that can shoot it down
Green machine: A salty solution for power generation
13:28 19 July 2010
Put seawater and fresh water together and electricity flows – now schemes to do it on an industrial scale are beginning to show promise
Artificial gut frees sewage-eating robot from humans
12:34 19 July 2010 | 1 comment
A biomass-powered robot with a digestive system shows it can operate for a week without human help, by feeding, watering and cleansing itself
Brain implants evolved to use less energy
10:00 17 July 2010
A genetic algorithm has reduced the power demands of brain implants, and thus the need for operations to replace their batteries
Innovation: Google may know your desires before you do
16:38 16 July 2010
In the future, search engines could know what you want before you do – if you're willing to trust them with the details of your private life
Silicon chip speed record broken on a lead-coated track
12:00 16 July 2010
An atom-thick coating of lead allows electrons to travel around a silicon chip 20 times faster than usual
For insects, press print
11:28 16 July 2010 | 4 comments
With a 3D printer it's easy to fashion insect-like wings, the prelude to building the robotic spy that's high on the Pentagon's wish list
COMPUTING
Clouds add depth to computer landscapes
A single camera watching the shadows of clouds moving across a landscape can allow a computer to calculate topography
MUSIC
Computerised critics to find music you'll like
For music sites to be better at suggesting sounds we will like, their computers need to be able to tell trance from tango
FROM THE BLOG
PC giant warns of hardware trojan
13:15 21 July 2010 - updated 16:01 21 July 2010
Computer maker Dell says some of the motherboards in its consumer PCs carry malware that's beyond the reach of any antivirus software
SpaceShipTwo makes first crewed flight
13:00 19 July 2010 - updated 13:01 19 July 2010
Virgin Galactic's VSS Enterprise carries its first crew but remains safely attached to the mothership
Russian spooks could claim web chat for themselves
15:30 15 July 2010
ICQ, the instant messaging service, has been purchased by a Russian investment company - now its logs are legally open to the Russian secret service
