2006

iRobot delivers innovative robots that are making a difference in people’s lives. From cleaning floors to disarming explosives, we constantly strive to find better ways to tackle dull, dirty and dangerous missions - with better results.
Founded in 1990 by roboticists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, iRobot designs behavior-based, artificially intelligent robots. Powered by iRobot’s [...]

Vistasp Karbhari, a professor of structural engineering at UC San Diego, has developed fiber-reinforced polymer composites as strong, lightweight materials for aerospace, automotive, civil and marine applications, so he thought, “If they work so well in highway bridges, why not dental bridges?”
In a paper scheduled for publication in Dental Materials, Karbhari and Howard Strassler, a [...]

The happiest day of any woman should be her wedding day. But some ladies have a different opinion of what memorable should mean, and WOW, do they really take it to extremes sometimes. Today’s Warped site has some of those more memorable moments.
And The Bride Wore contains examples of strange, odd, and unflattering wedding accessories. [...]

“Nanoscale science and engineering promise to be as important as the steam engine, the transistor, and the Internet, and have the potential to revolutionize all other technologies” according to Neal Lane, former science advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton. “But that outcome is not guaranteed.”
Dr. Lane made his remarks today at a Project on Emerging [...]

Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University are using data mining techniques to identify perpetrators of fraud among online auction users as well as their otherwise unknown accomplices.
The new method analyzes publicly available histories of transactions posted by online auction sites such as eBay and identifies suspicious online behaviors and dubious associations among users.
Online auction sites [...]

They are something we all have used at one time or another. But have you ever wondered where they came from, and how they got to be so popular (and necessary)? Tune in to this Warped site and you get, as Paul Harvey says, the rest of the story.
75 Years of Band-Aid tells the story [...]

Hydrogen-powered cars that do not pollute the environment are a step closer thanks to a new discovery which promises to solve the main problem holding back the technology.
Whilst hydrogen is thought to be an ideal fuel for vehicles, producing only water on combustion, its widespread use has been limited by the lack of a safe, [...]

Imagine taking the entire collection of historical documents at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and storing it on a single DVD.
University of Central Florida Chemistry Professor Kevin D. Belfield and his team have cracked a puzzle that stumped scientists for more than a dozen years. They have developed a new technology that will [...]

Charting another industry first for computing enthusiasts, AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the AMD Quad FX Platform with Dual Socket Direct Connect (DSDC) Architecture, the first dual-socket, multi-core desktop PC platform designed to take advantage of the latest enhancements in Windows Vista Ultimate. As the supreme AMD platform for megatasking enthusiasts, the AMD Quad FX [...]

Jonathan Moreno discusses his new book, Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense (Nov. 2006/Dana Press) in a public lecture featuring Jennifer Bard, Professor of Law and Director of the Health Law Program, Texas Tech University; and, Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Senior Fellow of the Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania. [...]

Surprising findings from USC researchers show adult childrens’ sense of duty towards parents has grown stronger, not weaker over time
A new study from the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology found that the generation born in the 1950s and ’60s are more committed to caring for their aging parents than their own [...]

Today’s Warped site is a perfect example of a double entendre. If you are wondering what that means, you’ll just have to follow along. And I will bet once you get to the site, the majority of you will be wrong in what you are guessing the subject matter to be. So read on, dear [...]

“This study may help explain the link between dietary fat consumption and inflammation and could be one of the critical links between metabolism and immune responses,” says senior author Professor Charles Mackay, Director of Sydney’s Garvan Institute’s Immunology Program.
Our intake of fats (fatty acids) has changed dramatically over the last thirty years. At the same [...]

This holiday season, gift-givers may unwittingly give their favorite athlete a workout accessory that can double as a tracking device. Researchers in computer science and engineering at the University of Washington say there are serious privacy breaches posed by the gadget, which is marketed to runners but may be equally attractive to stalkers and thieves.
“It [...]

One of the most widely used inventions over the past 50 years has been the handheld calculator. Say what you want about it, this little gizmo has made our life so much easier. If you think I’m wrong, try taking a math class with a slide rule (remember those?). Many of the big names in [...]

ResearchChannel, the consortium of world-class universities and research institutions that provides audiences with the latest research developments and scientific thinking on a broad range of vital, contemporary subjects, announced today that it has entered into a relationship with Google Video, the first video marketplace where users can watch, share, buy or rent a wide range [...]

Starting today, online fans have the opportunity to give one aspiring yarn spinner a shot at storytelling stardom.
As part of the “What’s Your Story?” contest sponsored by The Moth and TNT on MySpace, the public is being invited to view the videos submitted by the three storytelling finalists and vote for their favorite before December [...]

If you are ever in Florida (near Miami), and if you are looking for a different and unusual place to visit, then this may just be the place for you. It is castle that was carved out of coral rock as a labor of love by the artist.
The site is called Visit Coral Castle. It [...]

Tell a friend you are buying them a nanotechnology gift for the holidays, and visions of Star Trek collectables or geeky electronic toys start to dance in their heads. But nanotechnology gifts can include everything from fleece jackets and gloves from the Lands’ End catalogue - with Nano-Tex Resists Static treatment - to an Apollo [...]

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Argonne National Laboratory, two of the nation’s premier research organizations, announced today a three-year collaborative agreement to conduct detailed analysis of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) aimed at assessing the commercial feasibility of this technology for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The EPRI and Argonne analysis will evaluate PHEVs, [...]