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KURZWEILAI.NET NEWSLETTER

NEWS
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The Faculty Is Remote, but Not
Detached
New York Times Mar. 9, 2008
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College instructors are
increasingly using online distance
learning tools such as streaming
video that remote students can view
online, virtual worlds, and Web
forums. Nearly 3.5 million students
were taking online courses in the
fall of 2006, and more than
two-thirds of all higher-education
institutions have online offerings
in some...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8158&m=37740



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Gauging Age of Universe Becomes
More Precise
New York Times Mar. 9, 2008
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The universe is 13.73 billion years
old, give or take 120 million years,
astronomers said last week. WMAP
cosmic microwave fluctuations over
the full sky using five years of
data. The colors represent tiny
temperature fluctuations of the
remnant glow from the infant
universe.(WMAP Science Team) That
age, based on precision measurements
of...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8157&m=37740



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Individual Protein Membranes Can By
Studied One by One With Nanosized
Tool
Azonano.com Mar. 7, 2008
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Researchers at Rockefeller
University have now created a
nanoscale tool capable of encasing
single membrane proteins from living
cells. It will allow investigators
to individually stimulate these key
proteins with specific molecules and
signals in order to precisely define
the biological reactions that
result. The researchers think it
will...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8156&m=37740



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Newly defined signaling pathway
could mean better biofuel sources
PhysOrg.com Mar. 6, 2008
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A newly defined biochemical pathway
in plants may provide the scientific
tools to design plants that will
yield larger quantities of
alternative transportation fuels
than currently can be produced,
according to Purdue University
researchers. They discovered that a
protein called "SPIKE1" directs the
protein signaling pathway. SPIKE1 is
a master...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8155&m=37740



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Language of a fly proves surprising
PhysOrg.com Mar. 8, 2008
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Los Alamos, Princeton University,
and Indiana University research
fundamentally alters earlier beliefs
about how neural networks function
and could provide the basis for
intelligent computers that mimic
biological processes. The
researchers developed a novel way to
view the world through the eyes of a
common fly and partially decode the...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8154&m=37740



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Revenge of the Experts
Newsweek Mar. 6, 2008
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The individual user has been king
on the Internet, but the pendulum
seems to be swinging back toward
edited information vetted by
professionals. Cases in point:
Google's Knol, a Wikipedia-like Web
site produced by "authoritative"
sources; BigThink.com, a "YouTube
for ideas," with polished video
interviews with public
intellectuals; and Mahalo,...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8153&m=37740



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Should every computer chip have a
cosmic ray detector?
Technology/New Scientist blog Mar. 7, 2008
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Intel has been awarded a US patent
for building cosmic ray detectors
into every chip to avoid "soft
errors" caused by electrons
displaced by cosmic rays. When
triggered, it could activate
error-checking circuits that refresh
the nearby memory, repeat the most
recent actions, or ask for the last
message from outside circuits to be
sent again....
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8152&m=37740



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From Zittrain to Aristotle in 600
words
openDemocracy Mar. 6, 2008
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The Net is in danger: the openness
that allowed it to flourish sows the
seeds of its closure, says Jonathan
Zittrain, Visiting Professor for
Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at
Harvard Law School and the Chair in
Internet Governance and Regulation
at Oxford University. Pragmatic,
expert-driven communities "got
things done" on the Net, from the...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8151&m=37740



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Coming Soon: Nothing Between You
and Your Machine
New York Times Mar. 9, 2008
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A new kind of immersive visual and
auditory experience on the Web is
emerging, fueled by hardware
innovations (Wii, iPhone, multitouch
displays, etc.) and more powerful
programming tools, like PicLens,
which offers a small icon cue inset
in each Web photo that lets users
know they are on a site that can be
browsed with the software....
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8150&m=37740



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AP probe finds drugs in drinking
water
AP Mar. 9, 2008
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A vast array of pharmaceuticals
--including antibiotics,
anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers
and sex hormones -- have been found
in the drinking water supplies of at
least 41 million Americans,
heightening worries among scientists
of long-term consequences to human
health, an AP National Investigative
Team has found. The source:
unmetabolized...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8149&m=37740



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New security camera promises to
protect, not reveal your body parts
Network World Mar. 9, 2008
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ThruVision is developing a camera
that passively images objects that
emit Terahertz, or T-rays. T-rays
are "black body" radiation (between
microwave and infrared on the
spectrum) naturally emitted from all
materials, including people. The
camera collects these naturally
occurring T-rays and processes them
to form images that reveal concealed...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8148&m=37740



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Solar-power paint lets you generate
as you decorate
New Scientist news service Mar. 7, 2008
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A consortium led by Swansea
University, UK, is developing
solar-power paint could allow roofs
and walls of buildings to generate
electricity. The paint will be based
on dye-sensitised solar cells. While
less efficient than conventional
cells, dye-based cells do not
require expensive silicon and can be
quickly applied as a liquid...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8147&m=37740



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Assembly technique for tiny wires
may eventually help detect cancer
and other diseases
Nanowerk News Mar. 7, 2008
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Bottom-up manufacturing may hold
the key to production of tiny
medical devices capable of testing
for multiple molecules like viruses
or cancer markers, according to Penn
State researchers. In bottom-up
fabrication, researchers manufacture
nanowires using inorganic or organic
material. They then attach probe
molecules to the wires, and attach...
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Quantum dot memory may be 'Holy
Grail' of computing
New Scientist news service Mar. 7, 2008
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Technical University of Berlin
research shows that memory-based
quantum dots can provide the best of
both worlds: long term storage like
flash memory with write speeds
nearly as fast as DRAM. They
demonstrated that it is possible to
write information to quantum dots in
just 6 nanoseconds. But the physical
limit of the write time for quantum...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=8145&m=37740



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Brain Enhancement Is Wrong, Right?
New York Times Mar. 9, 2008
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Debates in Nature magazine and The
Chronicle of Higher Education have
focused attention on the ethics of
the use of cognitive enhancers....
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