TFOT - The Future Of Things

Apple Readies New MacBook Air Batteries

Anuradha Menon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:41:46 -0500

Apple can only keep secrets so long, as its firmware often reveals what loose lips do not. Apple Insider noted today that the 625K update Mac OS X 10.5.7 for the MacBook Air contains firmware tweaks to the logic board that controls the power functions, thermal management, the sleep LED, and battery. Apple confirmed that the firmware update was to work with a new series of internal MacBook Air replacement batteries. Like the previous batteries, the new ones would not be user replaceable.

Mississippi River Delta to 'Drown' by 2100?

Anuradha Menon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:39:41 -0500

The Mississippi River Delta is drowning, according to new research that predicts the surrounding coastline will be inevitably reshaped in coming decades. "There's just not enough sediment to sustain the delta plain," said study author Michael Blum of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Deltas are coastal landmasses created from a river's sediment deposits as the water flows out to sea. The Mississippi River's delta plain, for example, includes the lacy "toe" of southern Louisiana.

An Alternative Way to Make Stem Cells

Anuradha Menon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:12:39 -0500

iZumi Bio, is pursuing a technology as new and full of promise as the lab itself--a technology that's moving faster than the company can fill its empty space. It revolves around induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells: adult cells genetically reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells, which can turn into just about any type of cell in the human body. Scientists have been talking about the medical promise of stem cells for more than a decade, even before human embryonic stem cells.

A Sneak Peek at Mozilla's Next Browser

Anuradha Menon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:52:25 -0500

Mozilla's Firefox 3.5 is off to a running start. The new browser, boasting significant speed increases and a host of added features, was officially released Tuesday morning. By mid-afternoon, the program had surpassed 1.6 million downloads worldwide and was steadily climbing, according to Mozilla's real-time tracking utility. While most of the tech world is busy getting to know Firefox 3.5, though, Mozilla's engineers are already deep into their next big project: Firefox 3.6, codename Namoroka.

Life of a Nematode

Sarah Gingichashvili — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:14:54 -0500

The "roundworms" or "nematodes" are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 80,000 have been described, of which over 15,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of described and undescribed roundworms might be more than 500,000. Unlike cnidarians or flatworms, roundworms have a digestive system that is like a tube at both ends. This video captures a few seconds in the life of a bacteria-eating nematode. (Source: Wikipedia/Don Edwards of the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Reserve)

Scientists Spot Debris from Colliding Galaxies

Ehud Rattner — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:52:16 -0500

An international team of astronomers has imaged new tidal galactic-debris, stripped away from colliding galaxies. These new images are of special interest, since they tell the ancient story of galaxies' collisions and the resultant starburst activities. According to the scientists, such astronomical events are important in order to understand how galaxies were �growing' in the early universe.

First Two-Qubit Electronic Quantum Processor

Anuradha Menon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:17:23 -0500

A team led by Yale University researchers has successfully implemented simple algorithms using a quantum processor based on microwave solid-state technology--similar to that found in computers and cell phones. The new processor is far from conventional, however, in that it uses the potent power of quantum mechanics to bring the dream of quantum computing a small but significant step closer to reality. The work was supported in part by the Yale Center for Quantum and Information Physics (CQUIP).

Extending the Shelf Life of Antibody Drugs

Anuradha Menon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:02:36 -0500

A new computer model developed at MIT can help solve a problem that has plagued drug companies trying to develop promising new treatments made of antibodies: Such drugs have a relatively short shelf life because they tend to clump together, rendering them ineffective. Antibodies are the most rapidly growing class of human drugs, with the potential to treat cancer, arthritis and other chronic inflammatory and infectious diseases. About 200 such drugs are now in clinical trials.

Saser - The Sonic Laser

Ehud Rattner — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:15:40 -0500

Scientists from the University of Nottingham have produced a new type of acoustic laser device, called Saser. It is a sonic equivalent to the laser, capable of producing an intense beam of uniform sound waves on a nano scale. The new device could have significant and useful applications in a variety of fields, such as computing and imaging.

New Intel SSDs In a Few Weeks?

Ehud Rattner — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:37:10 -0500

Intel may ship new SSDs within the next few weeks based on its 32nm NAND flash memory. Various reports today are pointing to rumors that Intel will be launching solid state drives (SSDs) based on the company's new 32nm NAND flash memory. Although the SSDs were originally scheduled to hit the market in Q4 2009, apparently the company bumped up the schedule with plans to release the new SSDs in just a matter of weeks instead; the company did confirm that it was ahead of schedule.