Scientific American - Technology

Measuring Up: New NIST Director, Plus Big Budget Put Measurement Science in Public Eye

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed Patrick Gallagher as the 14th director of its National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) . Although the title may be new to Gallagher, NIST's mission of developing measurement science, standards and technology isn't. The 46-year-old physicist began his career in the organization's NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) in 1993 to pursue studies in neutron and x-ray instrumentation; in 2004 he became NCNR's director. [More]

National Institute of Standards and Technology - Technology - United States Department of Commerce - Patrick Gallagher - United States

Homes That Use Thermal Inertia to Maintain Comfortable Temperatures

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Dear EarthTalk: I recently saw a reference to “Enertia houses” that require little in the way of external sources for heating or cooling. Do you have any information on this housing design? --Alan Marshfield, via e-mail [More]

Business - Construction and Maintenance - Earth - Materials and Supplies - Building Types

Sinking Global Warming: Is There a Reliable Way to Track Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Levels?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:31:00 EST

The planet soaks up excess carbon dioxide via oceans, plants and soils, among other natural systems, locking away some of the greenhouse gases emitted by burning fossil fuels . In fact, every year these natural "sinks" absorb a larger and larger tonnage of emissions--but thanks to the increasing amount of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases dumped in the atmosphere by human activity, the proportion that is reabsorbed is beginning to dwindle, according to new studies. [More]

Fossil fuel - Greenhouse gas - Carbon dioxide - Global warming - Climate change

Embarrassing security leaks prompt bill to clamp down on government P2P use

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:07:00 EST

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networking has emerged as a vastly popular way for computer users to democratize the transfer of information, allowing faster and easier sharing of images, documents and other files without the need for a centralized server. Unfortunately, and ironically, P2P is a little too democratic for the U.S. government, which has been victimized several times by the public disclosure of sensitive documents via file-sharing networks. [More]

File sharing - Peer-to-peer - Federal government of the United States - U.S. government - Web Applications

Illuminating the Lilliputian: 10 Bioscapes Photo Contest Winners Revealed

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:31:00 EST

We are approaching the millennial anniversary of the first meaningful written description of how lenses and light could be used to magnify objects. It was in 1011 that Arab scientist Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) began writing the Book of Optics , which described the properties of a magnifying glass, principles that later led to the invention of the microscope. The entrants in the 2009 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition provide fitting tribute to nearly 1,000 years of making the invisible visible.

Optical microscopy, energized by generation after generation of technological advance, continues to furnish dazzling proof that beyond the resolution of the human eye resides a sweepingly large world of small things, both around and within us. The artistic beauty of the microcosm can be witnessed in these photographs of the beadlike band of toxin-carrying compartments on the tentacle of the Portuguese man-of-war, the gemlike quality of row on row of single-celled algae and the red-and-yellow patterning of a Triceratops bone, reminiscent of a loud necktie. A selection of winning and honorable mention images that particularly appealed to us at Scientific American follows.

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Light - Alhazen - Book of Optics - Optical microscope - Triceratops

BioScapes Photo Contest: 15 Honorable Mentions

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST

The entrants in the 2009 Olympus BioScapes International Digital Imaging Competition provide fitting tribute to nearly 1,000 years of making the invisible visible. These 15 photos were our staff favorites from the "Honorable Mentions" winners, listed in alphabetical order by photographer.

> 15 Scientific American Staff Selected Honorable Mentions [More]

Photographer - Photography - Art - Contests - Shopping

Beyond the Still: 6 Bioscapes Contest Videos

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:29:00 EST

The entrants in the 2009 Olympus BioScapes International Digital Imaging Competition provide fitting tribute to nearly 1,000 years of making the invisible visible. These six videos include one winner and five Honorable Mentions.

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Contest - Arts - Shopping - Videos and DVDs - Adult

Spirit rover's first dash for freedom is a short one

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:48:00 EST

A NASA rover mired in soft soil on Mars made its first escape attempt in months Tuesday, but the maneuver lasted less than a second before safety precautions shut it down. [More]

Mars - NASA - Mars rover - Spirit rover - Space

Hackers indicted for 12-hour ATM attack that netted $9 million

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:36:00 EST

One year after pulling off one of the most audacious cyber crimes in history --a 12-hour spree during which more than 2,100 cash-dispensing machines in at least 280 cities on three continents were drained of a total of more than $9 million--a group of hackers is facing dozens of years in prison and millions of dollars in fines. [More]

Automated teller machine - Prison - Business - Financial services - Banking Services

Will solar thermal heat up again?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:21:00 EST

Editor's Note: Scientific American 's George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels in Solar at Home (formerly 60-Second Solar). Read his introduction here and see all posts here .

It used to be that the term "solar panel" connoted a solar thermal panel, which uses sunlight to heat your house or tap water, as opposed to a photovoltaic (PV) panel, which produces electric power. These days, though, attention (not to mention sunlight) focuses on PV. Many people assume that solar hot water heaters are all well and good for, say, Israel , but ill-suited to high-latitude, cloudy, snowy climes such as the U.S. Northeast. But Scott Wilson of Olney, Md., begs to differ.

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Photovoltaics - Solar power - Solar thermal energy - Electricity - Energy

More important than Copenhagen? U.S.-China deal on energy and climate

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:31:00 EST

When the presidents of the two nations that are responsible for 40 percent of Earth's climate-changing greenhouse gases sit down to talk, big things can happen. In the case of Barack Obama and Hu Jintao on Monday and Tuesday, that meant flatly stating that emission reduction targets should be set at an international negotiation on climate change in Copenhagen this December, along with financial assistance figures to help poorer countries mitigate emissions and adapt to a changing climate. Oh, and the world should cut back on deforestation. [More]

Barack Obama - Climate change - Copenhagen - United States - Hu Jintao

E-Transportation Jump-Start: Coalition Seeks to Pave the Way for Electric Vehicles

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Although the widespread adoption of electric vehicles and their related infrastructure has always suffered from chicken-and-egg syndrome , Nissan and FedEx, along with several utilities and technology companies have formed a coalition to break the stalemate. At a press conference Monday in Washington, D.C., the Electrification Coalition announced its formation as well as a new 130-page report on the dangers of oil dependence, the benefits of electric vehicles, and ways to overcome roadblocks that have kept these vehicles from being deployed en masse. [More]

Electric vehicle - Technology - FedEx - Nissan Motors - Energy

For Sale: Human Eggs Become a Research Commodity

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Paying a woman for her eggs to use in stem cell research has been a bioethical no-no for years. But this past June, New York State decided to allow just that, becoming the first state to permit public money to be used in this way. The decision, which allows payment of up to $10,000, will likely jump-start donations--and thereby research. Many bioethicists, however, worry that the financial incentive could exploit women and compromise their health.

Ethical issues surround egg donation because the process is not without risk. It requires a series of hormonal stimulation injections as well as an invasive procedure to retrieve the eggs. The long-term health effects and risks of complication are not well known. A woman who provides eggs for research is “assuming unknown risk for unknown benefits,” says Debra Mathews, a geneticist at Johns Hopkins University. The lingering unknowns prompted the National Academy of Science to issue in 2005 nonbinding guidelines to prohibit payment (but allow direct reimbursement for expenses), as a means to protect underprivileged women in particular.

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Johns Hopkins University - Stem cell - New York - Bioethics - United States National Academy of Sciences

Eco-Dos: Green Beauty Salons and Hair Products Are a Growing Business

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Dear EarthTalk: As I understand it, hair salons are pretty toxic enterprises on many counts. Are there any efforts underway to green up that industry? --Paula Howe, San Francisco

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San Francisco - Shopping - Health - Business - Consumer Goods and Services

NASA prepares effort to free stuck Spirit Mars rover

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:59:00 EST

Six months after the Mars rover Spirit became trapped in a patch of soft soil, its controllers are preparing to send a set of commands that they hope will free the robotic explorer, NASA announced Thursday . [More]

NASA - Mars - Spirit rover - Space - Technology

NYC Fire Department tech in the hot seat as firefighters complain about being sent to wrong addresses

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

The New York City Fire Department is taking heat over the Unified Call Taking (UTC) system it implemented in May, with some criticizing the new dispatch technology and accompanying procedures as flawed and contributing to an increase in mishaps involving firefighters sent to incorrect addresses while fires raged nearby. [More]

New York City - United States - Health - Public Health and Safety - Government

Heavy Metal: Researchers Try to Get the Lead out of Piezoelectronics

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:50:00 EST

Gadget makers often rely on piezoelectricity --the ability that some solids have to produce voltage when pressure is applied to them--to power tiny embedded systems, such as a BlackBerry Storm 2's touch screen or a car's airbag sensor . Whereas lead-based compounds typically have the greatest piezoelectric potential, the heavy metal has fallen out of favor as device-makers push to eliminate it from all electronics in an attempt to reduce toxic waste . [More]

BlackberryStorm - Touchscreen - Embedded system - Piezoelectricity - BlackBerry Storm 2

Searching for Greener Gadgets: How to Size Up Energy Efficiency in Household Appliances

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Dear EarthTalk: I am considering upgrading some older appliances in my home. Where can I find information on which models are the most energy efficient? --Jonathan Duda, Olivebridge, NY

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Efficient energy use - Energy - Technology - Conservation - Organizations

New micro-mapping software lets travelers plot points of interest while they walk

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:21:00 EST

It seems there's an online community or social network for every facet of life these days. One area where this makes a lot of sense is in map-making, given how well locals know their own territory. This might explain why OpenStreetMap --a map of the world that can be edited by anyone with Web access--has expanded from 100,000 contributors in June to more than 180,000 (and claims to be adding 300 new mappers daily). [More]

Cartography - Social network - OpenStreetMap - Virtual community - Geographic information system

Solar sail concept, like a phoenix, may rise again

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:33:00 EST

It's only fitting that on what would have been Carl Sagan's 75th birthday, an organization started by the astronomer famous for his wondrous and elegant descriptions of the universe announced plans to test a wondrous and elegant way to explore the solar system and well beyond. [More]

Carl Sagan - Solar System - Astronomy - People - History