T-Mobile rolling out HSPA+ to 19 US cities on July 21st Unwired View Upload speeds go up to 5.7 Mb/s (again, theoretical), and some of the most recently launched phones can in fact use all of this bandwidth. ... |
Video-Capable E-Paper Hints At a Fun Ebook Reader Future [Epaper]
E-Ink has served Kindle users well for the past few years, but there's no way it's the e-paper endgame. Especially when this new tech from Nemoptic is video, touchscreen, and backlight-friendly. More »
Foot Bridge
My brother has a sports camp in the mountains of NH. He wants to build a footbridge (suspension) that spans approx. 50 feet, 5 to 8 feet above a creek, which is usually dry. I need a push in the right direction to start some R&D. Could any one help me with ideas? I'm thinking of 3 cable in a t
What’s Next In Body Washing/Soap Application Technology? Old Spice Answers [Old Spice]
Isaiah Mustafa, the shirtless Old Spice guy, answers our question: "will anything surpass the loofah as the predominant body wash-applying technology?" And he does it in such a way that it doesn't even matter what his answer is. [YouTube] More »
NRC Report on NASA Cost Control Issued
NASA Needs Integrated Strategy to Control Mission Costs, NRC
"NASA should develop a broad, integrated strategy to contain costs and maintain schedules as earth and space science missions are planned and designed, says a new report by the National Research Council. The report also calls on NASA, Congress, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to consistently use the same method to quantify and track costs."
Train Conductor 2 For iPhone and iPad Is Addicting, Chaotic Fun [IphoneApps]
If you've ever played Flight Control, Harbor Master, or the original Train Conductor, you'll love Train Conductor 2. If you haven't played any of those, you'll still probably love Train Conductor 2. It's a fast-paced, time management game. More »
Any Derating of Ampacity for Wiring In Sealed U/G Conduit
If the direct buried underground conduit with insulated conductors (carring more than two 120V,1phase lighting circuits) be sealed at the both ends (means air space between wires is locked w/o any breathing capability), would there be any derating of ampacity of current carrying conductors other tha
Study shows doctors often eschew watchdog role – Los Angeles Times
 msnbc.com | Study shows doctors often eschew watchdog role Los Angeles Times It's a topic that might not have been addressed back when they were in medical school, so they do not know how to handle it," said DesRoches, an assistant ... Study: Many docs don't blow whistle on colleaguesThe Associated Press Many doctors don't report on troubled colleaguesThe Associated Press 1 in 3 U.S. Docs Wouldn't Report Impaired, Incompetent ColleagueBusinessWeek EurekAlert (press release) -ModernMedicine all 254 news articles » |
GE and Yves Behar Unveil Charge-Stations for Electric Cars [Energy]
Today, GE has unveiled its long-awaited scheme for electric-car charging points, complete with a design by Yves Béhar's Fuseproject. The stations will drop the time required to charge a car down to as little as four hours. More »
Rubber Latex in Nanoform
A process has been described to prepare an aqueous suspension of rubber latex nanoparticles. What would be the practical applications of nanosized latex ?
NCBI ROFL: Nothing like a thin coat of earwax to keep the bugs away. | Discoblog
Earwax (cerumen) might be formulated into a safe and biodegradable insect repellent
“Some of the most common life threatening insect-borne diseases include malaria, leshmaniasis and yellow fever which can be prevented or treated with different non-therapeutic/therapeutic procedures such as use of mosquito net, insect repellent (IR), vector controlling strategies, vaccination and implementation of pharmaceuticals. Among these methods IR provides the cheapest and easiest one to use. Active ingredients of IR usually include N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET), botanical extracts and picaridin. However still some concerns remain e.g. DEET is not biodegradable, has side effects on skin, cardiovascular and central nervous system and is not applicable in under 3 years old children and animals.
Cerumen is produced by glands that are located on the outer third of the ear canal, has a characteristic of bitter taste and protection of ear which is known as IR, bactericide, fungicide and antivirus. It has lipidic and non-lipidic fractions; lipid fraction is consisted of squalene, cholesterol esters, wax esters, triacylglycerols, fatty acids, cholesterol, ceramides, cholesterol sulfate, and several unidentified polar components.
The authors would like to hypothesize an IR made from fatty acids and steroids of cerumen. Whereas masking skin odor and presenting a bad taste is the mechanism of action for IRs. Also fatty acids considered as major ingredient of Neem Oil as repellent, a screening of lipid fraction with the aim of discovering which components have the major effect is recommended.
The advantages of the proposed formulation will be easy of production, biodegradability and safety of use in adults, children and animals.
Beside, proteins and peptides in cerumen could be further analyzed in order to investigate a nontoxic multi-spectrum antibiotic; possessing bactericidal, fungicidal and antiviral activity.”
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Gregory F. Maxwell
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WTF is NCBI ROFL? Read our FAQ!
A Nerdy Wedding Ring (Full Of Memories) [Xbox 360]
Ray Arifianto, a software development engineer at Microsoft Game Studios, is getting married. He's got the nerdiest wedding ring to prove it. More »
Candidates for dean of Western Michigan University medical school to visit for … – Kalamazoo Gazette – MLive.com
 Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com | Candidates for dean of Western Michigan University medical school to visit for ... Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com KALAMAZOO — Western Michigan University medical school dean candidates who were winnowed from a field of 60 will be in Kalamazoo over the coming weeks for ... |
Question of the Day: How Much Are You Willing to Spend on Kinect and Its Games? [Qotd]
So the prices of Kinect games might be pretty high, and it's not entirely clear whether or not the hardware will come bundled with a game. Just how much are you willing to spend on Microsofts new peripheral? More »
HIGH TEMPERATURE ASTM A106
Who knows the initial high temperature to use the ASTM A106 tube? I can´t find that X°F or X°C.
Regards,
HTC 1 Concept Envisions Minimalism At Its Most Functional [Concepts]
HTC makes some beautiful phones, but designer Andrew Kim still sees room for improvement. The HTC 1 is his vision for a device with an even more refined and harmonious design. Can you spot the hidden kickstand? More »
Static Electricity Shock
I was polishing a piece of aluminum with a 6" cotton wheel mounted on a 1/2HP 120VAC motor the other evening. This device is plugged into a ground fault receptacle and has the case grounded. The polishing wheel was a 5/8 or 1/2" size mount, with a plastic bushing to allow it to fit the 1/2" shaft mo
Is Apple Silently Recalling the iPhone 4 Now? [Iphone 4]
We've received only one report, so take it with a hill of salt: A Gizmodo reader claims that, after Apple replaced his iPhone 4, he couldn't reproduce the sharp loss of signal. He says that the hardware seems slightly different: More »
July 13, 1977 – The New York City Blackout of 1977
On the day in engineering history, the Big Apple suffered an electrical blackout that shook the nation's largest city to its core. The outage began with a series of lightning strikes that crippled some transmission lines and overloaded others. By nightfall, human error and systemic failure dar
Dryden Seeks Ethnically Diverse Cylons
NASA DFRC Solicitation: Two Different Interactive Robots With Accessories
"NASA/DFRC has a requirement for (quantity 2) Interactive Robot Characters with accessories. The specifications are: Two different interactive robot characters will be required for usage with the varied targeted audiences. One male "wise-looking" robot such will be suitable for all audiences whereby a female of somewhat ethnic background may add additional comfort to a more diverse audience or when wanting a female to speak at an all female event. Both robots will offer voice modifiers to raise or lower their pitch, remote controls, batteries, chargers, voice hearing transceivers, MP3 player, instruction booklet, and warranty. Since the male robot will be used more often, he will have moving arms. Additional clothing is needed that can be worn by either robot includes a flight suit, lab coat, and astronaut suit and also where robots can be suited in any children's clothing to adapt to seasonal changes or target audiences."
Keith's note: Yesterday we learned about KSC's interest in buying a Welsh robot (complete with accent) to greet visitors. Today we learn that DFRC wants to procure a more ethnically diverse collection of droids, cylons, bots, etc. to interact with the public - one model that is "wise" and another model that is "ethnic" and "female" - and both can also act like "children". Alas, despite the focus on diversity, the male robot still gets to do more work than the female robot.
