Apparently the revolution that was touch screens on mobile phones was not enough for some hardware developers. The device maker PLX Devices is now offering a headset called XWave that “can sense and detect human brainwaves, interpret them and connect it to everyday technology,” according to promotional material on their website.
“The human brain is the most powerful, complex thing in the universe, and for the first time, we’re able to harness its amazing power and connect it to everyday technology,” Lowchareonkul said. “With the development of 3rd party apps, the potential for innovation is limitless.”
Thus far, PLX is only offering apps that interact with the XWave for Apple mobile devices like the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The device itself looks like an ordinary headset for telephone operators, and its website claims that XWave is perfectly safe because it only “listens” to brainwaves and “does not transmit or send any signals.”
Full story at Tech Talk
Jan 19, 2011
Jan 18, 2011
What Did Iron-Age Beer Taste Like?
Six specially constructed ditches previously excavated at Eberdingen-Hochdorf a 2,550-year-old Celtic settlement, were used to make high-quality barley malt, a key beer ingredient, says archaeobotanist Hans-Peter Stika of the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart. Thousands of charred barley grains unearthed in the ditches about a decade ago came from a large malt-making enterprise, Stika reports in a paper published online January 4 in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.
Stika bases that conclusion on a close resemblance of the ancient grains to barley malt that he made by reproducing several methods that Iron Age folk might have used. He also compared the ancient grains to malt produced in modern facilities. Upon confirming the presence of malt at the Celtic site, Stika reconstructed malt-making techniques there to determine how they must have affected beer taste.
The oldest known beer residue and brewing facilities date to 5,500 years ago in the Middle East, but archaeological clues to beer’s history are rare.
At the Celtic site, barley was soaked in the specially constructed ditches until it sprouted, Stika proposes. Grains were then dried by lighting fires at the ends of the ditches, giving the malt a smoky taste and a darkened color. Lactic acid bacteria stimulated by slow drying of soaked grains, a well-known phenomenon, added sourness to the brew.
Unlike modern beers that are flavored with flowers of the hop plant, the Eberdingen-Hochdorf brew probably contained spices such as mugwort, carrot seeds or henbane, in Stika’s opinion. Beer makers are known to have used these additives by medieval times. Excavations at the Celtic site have yielded a few seeds of henbane, a plant that also makes beer more intoxicating.
“These additives gave Celtic beer a completely different taste than what we’re used to today,” Stika says.
Heated stones placed in liquefied malt during the brewing process -- a common practice later in Europe -- would have added a caramelized flavor to this fermented Celtic drink, he adds. So far, no fire-cracked stones have been found at Eberdingen-Hochdorf but they may have been used to heat pulpy malt slowly, a practice documented at later brewing sites, Stika says. He suspects that fermentation was triggered by using yeast-coated brewing equipment or by adding honey or fruit, which both contain wild yeasts.
Read more at Discovery News
How Astrology Is Like Racism
Astronomers have long dismissed astrology as unproven pseudoscience, and Kunkle’s observation -- though quite correct -- has been known for many centuries (the phenomenon is called "precession of the equinoxes").
The fact that many sun sign horoscopes are based on badly outdated information is troubling to many people, but what may be even more disturbing is astrology’s close similarity to racism.
The basic premise of astrology is that people who were born at certain times and places share specific, distinguishing personality characteristics. Libras like myself, for example, are said to be diplomatic, refined, idealistic, and sociable. Cancers are emotional, sensitive, and domestic. Those born under the Taurus sign are stubborn, analytical and methodical -- and so on.
Hundreds of millions of people read their daily horoscopes, or at least know something about their sun signs.
Astrology and racism share many of the same ideas. For one thing, in both cases a person is being judged by factors beyond their control. Just as people have no control over their skin color, they also have no ability to determine when and where they were born.
Both astrology and racial stereotypes are based on a framework of belief that basically says: "Without even meeting you, I believe something about you. I can expect this particular sort of behavior or trait (stubbornness, laziness, arrogance, etc.) from members of this particular group of people (Jews, blacks, Aries, Pisces, etc.)."
When an astrologer finds out a person’s astrological sign, he or she will bring to that experience a pre-existing list of assumptions (prejudices) about that person’s behavior, personality and character. In both cases, the prejudices will cause people to seek out and confirm their expectations.
Racists will look for examples of characteristics and behaviors in the groups they dislike, and astrologers will look for the personality traits that they believe the person will exhibit. Since people have complex personalities (all of us are lazy some of the time, caring at other times, etc.), both racists and astrologers will find evidence confirming their beliefs.
Read more at Discovery News
Sharks Are Color-Blind
Researchers in Australia, using a technique called micro-spectrophotometry, looked at the retinal cells of 17 species of shark caught off Queensland and Western Australia.
In all 17 species, the commonest kind of light receptors were "rod" cells, which are highly sensitive to light and allow night vision but cannot tell colors apart, they found.
Yet the sharks lacked cone cells, which respond individually to light at specific wavelengths. In human eyes, a variety of cone cells helps us to distinguish between colors.
In 10 of the 17 shark species, no cone cells were found at all. Cone cells were found in the other seven species, but they were all of a single type, sensitive to wavelengths of around 530 nanometres, which is green.
This retinal system means sharks are able to tell between shades of grey but, most probably, not between colors, say the investigators.
Monochromatic vision is very rare among land species, because color vision is a tool for survival in terrestrial habitats.
But it is less important in the marine environment, where colors are progressively filtered out at depth and survival depends on distinguishing contrasts, to determine whether a shape in the gloom is prey or predator.
Previous research has found that whales, dolphins and seals also possess green-sensitive cone cells, which suggests that these marine mammals and sharks arrived at the same visual design in parallel, says the paper.
Read more at Discovery News
Jan 17, 2011
Coriolis-like effect found 184 years before Coriolis
The cosmos loves irony. While trying to prove that the Earth is fixed in space, an Italian priest described something similar to the Coriolis effect – the slight deflection experienced by objects moving in a rotating frame of reference – nearly 200 years before mathematician Gustave Coriolis worked it out in 1835.
In 1651, Giovanni Riccioli published 77 arguments against the idea that the apparent motions of the heavens were due to the Earth's rotation and orbit around the sun. These included claims that Hell would be in the wrong place, aesthetic concerns over proportion and harmony, and more scientific approaches.
Now, Christopher Graney at Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky, has translated them from Latin, and discovered that Riccioli conjectured phenomena resembling the Coriolis effect.
Riccioli argued that if the Earth were rotating, the speed of the ground at different latitudes would be different, so cannon shots fired due north or south from near the equator would show a slight deflection east or west as the ground moved beneath them during flight. No such effect was known at the time, so he wrongly concluded that the Earth must be stationary.
In reality, the Coriolis effect is subtle, noticeable mainly in large-scale systems such as weather patterns and ocean currents.
Read more at New Scientist
In 1651, Giovanni Riccioli published 77 arguments against the idea that the apparent motions of the heavens were due to the Earth's rotation and orbit around the sun. These included claims that Hell would be in the wrong place, aesthetic concerns over proportion and harmony, and more scientific approaches.
Now, Christopher Graney at Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky, has translated them from Latin, and discovered that Riccioli conjectured phenomena resembling the Coriolis effect.
Riccioli argued that if the Earth were rotating, the speed of the ground at different latitudes would be different, so cannon shots fired due north or south from near the equator would show a slight deflection east or west as the ground moved beneath them during flight. No such effect was known at the time, so he wrongly concluded that the Earth must be stationary.
In reality, the Coriolis effect is subtle, noticeable mainly in large-scale systems such as weather patterns and ocean currents.
Read more at New Scientist
Cat ordered to do jury service
Anna Esposito, wrote to Suffolk Superior Crown Court in Boston, US, to explain that a mistake had been made, but a jury commissioner replied saying the cat, named Tabby Sal, "must attend" on March 23.
Mrs Esposito had included a letter from her vet confirming that the cat was "a domestic short-haired neutered feline".
Tabby Sal had been entered by Mrs Esposito under the 'pets' section of the last census. "When they ask him guilty or not guilty? What's he supposed to say - miaow?" She said.
"Sal is a member of the family so I listed him on the last Census form under pets but there has clearly been a mix-up."
Read more at The Telegraph
Mrs Esposito had included a letter from her vet confirming that the cat was "a domestic short-haired neutered feline".
Tabby Sal had been entered by Mrs Esposito under the 'pets' section of the last census. "When they ask him guilty or not guilty? What's he supposed to say - miaow?" She said.
"Sal is a member of the family so I listed him on the last Census form under pets but there has clearly been a mix-up."
Read more at The Telegraph
Argentina to create official UFO commission!
“Inexplicata has reported that the Argentinian government has made the decision to Create an Official UFO Commission.
According to multiple news agencies, a spokesperson for the Argentinean Air Force (AAF) confirmed on December 29th, 2010, that the decision to create a commission to record and investigate claims of unidentified flying objects in that country’s air space will be created. The AAF’s media consultant, Captain Mariano Mohaupt — who confirmed that the Air Force has already recorded the unexplained experiences of some of its pilots with what may allege to be visitors from OUT OF THIS WORLD — commented on the matter:
“The Commission for the Research of Aerospatial Phenomena is in the process of being formed… and now things will be perceived from the formal, professional standpoint, contributing toward our mission, which is to control our air space.”
The team would be multidisciplinary in nature, including meteorologists, flight controllers, pilots and radar specialists, and shall receive reports made by citizens regarding phenomena seen in space. ”
Read more at American Monsters
According to multiple news agencies, a spokesperson for the Argentinean Air Force (AAF) confirmed on December 29th, 2010, that the decision to create a commission to record and investigate claims of unidentified flying objects in that country’s air space will be created. The AAF’s media consultant, Captain Mariano Mohaupt — who confirmed that the Air Force has already recorded the unexplained experiences of some of its pilots with what may allege to be visitors from OUT OF THIS WORLD — commented on the matter:
“The Commission for the Research of Aerospatial Phenomena is in the process of being formed… and now things will be perceived from the formal, professional standpoint, contributing toward our mission, which is to control our air space.”
The team would be multidisciplinary in nature, including meteorologists, flight controllers, pilots and radar specialists, and shall receive reports made by citizens regarding phenomena seen in space. ”
Read more at American Monsters
Jan 16, 2011
Magician Paul Daniels sells thousands of pounds worth of props on eBay
Paul Daniels left television viewers baffled as he transformed girls into tigers, identified playing cards while blindfolded or pulled a wooden broom through his wriggling body.
But now the secrets behind his elaborate illusions are finally being revealed.
Daniels, 72, has put dozens of his stage props up for sale on eBay, the online auction site. He describes the objects in detail and promises that aspiring magicians who buy them will be able to carry out the tricks themselves.
The entertainer, who presented The Paul Daniels Magic Show on the BBC from 1979 to 1994, said people could purchase "a part of magic history" and added that many of the props had been used before him by other famous magicians, including David Copperfield.
Daniels is passing on his techniques despite remaining a member of the Magic Circle, the magicians' society which has the motto "Indocilis Privata Loqui" - "not apt to disclose secrets".
Under its rules, members who disclose magic secrets to non-magicians can be expelled.
The Magic Circle holds annual members-only auctions at its London headquarters for magicians to sell their old props. Last night a spokesman for the society said it was "a bit of a grey area" whether Daniels was flouting the secrecy code by selling to the general public.
The items for sale, with starting bid prices of up to £600, include:
"Doll to girl" cage: A toy tiger is put into the cage and a cloth pulled over it, when the cloth is whipped away there is a girl dressed in a tiger leotard inside the cage. A "girl to tiger" cage performs a similar trick but the other way around, starting with a girl and ending with a real tiger.
"Through the eye of the needle" equipment: A girl gets into a box and the entrance is sealed with a large Chinese coin with a small hole in the middle. Another box is put on the other side of the coin. "After waving a flag through a window in one box, the girl emerges in the other, having seemingly passed through the tiny hole.
"Magic assistant's revenge": A magician's assistant is strapped to a wooden frame, the magician grabs a curtain and begins to walk around the frame, but it is the assistant who brings the curtain back, and once the curtain has been removed it is the magician who is strapped up.
"Absolutely impossible playing card locator": A blindfolded magician stands behind a box, which has a see through front and holes for his hands in the back. A pack of cards is put in the box and an audience member names any card. Apparently without being able to see, the magician finds that card.
"Spirit painting" prop: A blank canvas is shown and signed, then a famous painting or picture is shown. By using the prop, made of solid oak, the picture appears on the original white, signed canvas.
"Broom through the body": A magician appears to pull the broom through their body, with both ends visible at all times.
Daniels, who has just finished performing in pantomime in Redhill, Surrey - playing King Crumble in Jack and the Beanstalk alongside his wife, Debbie McGee - said his decision to sell the old equipment was because it is "cheaper to remake stuff for shows than to store it" at his £2 million home by the River Thames in Berkshire.
Read moer at The Telegraph
Neanderthals were not ugly because of the cold, new research finds
Their prominent facial features have caused them to be cast as one of nature's less attractive creatures, but now one of the main scientific explanations for Neanderthals' large noses and jutting foreheads has been disproved.
For more than 150 years scientists have explained the reason for these facial differences to modern humans as an adaptation that allowed Neanderthals to live in the freezing conditions that gripped Europe during the last Ice Age.
They believed prehistoric human relatives had enlarged sinuses which helped to warm the air as it was inhaled.
New research that used three dimensional scans and X-ray images of Neanderthal skulls has revealed that their sinuses were no bigger than modern humans, Homo sapiens, who evolved in more temperate climates, and so played no role in increasing the size of their facial features.
The researchers behind the study claim the findings suggest Neanderthals, which died out around 30,000 years ago after surviving for more than 400,000 years, did not evolve to survive in the harsh frozen tundra of Europe but instead were better suited for living in warmer climates.
Dr Todd Rae, an evolutionary anthropologist at Roehampton University in London, said it was more than likely that Neanderthals lived in temperate refuges where they could forage for fruit and berries as well as hunting for meat.
He said: "The view that Neanderthals were knuckle-dragging cave men who scraped a living by hunting large mammals on the frozen wastes of the tundra has been around since they were first discovered because they were known to live at a time when Europe was in the grip of the last Glacial Age.
"As a result a lot of their physical traits have been attributed as adaptations that helped them live in the cold, even when it doesn't make any sense.
"Our findings show that their sinuses were no larger, relative to the skull size, than in Homo sapiens who lived in temperate climates. It suggests that Neanderthals evolved in much warmer temperatures before moving into Europe and then they moved south to avoid the glaciers.
"The picture of them as more of a temperate climate creature than one that lived in the cold fits the data much better."
The remains of Neanderthals are found across Europe and in western and central Asia. Recent research has started to dispel theories that they were a primitive form of prehistoric human and is instead revealed that they used sophisticated tool kits, cooked their food and may even have been able to speak.
Recent research examining the remains of plant matter in the teeth of a Neanderthal skull has also helped to dismiss the earlier beliefs that Neanderthals were predominantly meat eaters that hunted large Ice Age mammals. Instead they were revealed to have foraged for berries, grain and vegetables, which they often cooked.
There are a number of theories for what caused Neanderthals to eventually die out, including competition with our own direct ancestors Homo sapiens, climate change caused their food supplies to disappear, or even interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Dr Todd Rae, an evolutionary anthropologist at Roehampton University in London, said it was more than likely that Neanderthals lived in temperate refuges where they could forage for fruit and berries as well as hunting for meat.
He said: "The view that Neanderthals were knuckle-dragging cave men who scraped a living by hunting large mammals on the frozen wastes of the tundra has been around since they were first discovered because they were known to live at a time when Europe was in the grip of the last Glacial Age.
"As a result a lot of their physical traits have been attributed as adaptations that helped them live in the cold, even when it doesn't make any sense.
"Our findings show that their sinuses were no larger, relative to the skull size, than in Homo sapiens who lived in temperate climates. It suggests that Neanderthals evolved in much warmer temperatures before moving into Europe and then they moved south to avoid the glaciers.
"The picture of them as more of a temperate climate creature than one that lived in the cold fits the data much better."
The remains of Neanderthals are found across Europe and in western and central Asia. Recent research has started to dispel theories that they were a primitive form of prehistoric human and is instead revealed that they used sophisticated tool kits, cooked their food and may even have been able to speak.
Recent research examining the remains of plant matter in the teeth of a Neanderthal skull has also helped to dismiss the earlier beliefs that Neanderthals were predominantly meat eaters that hunted large Ice Age mammals. Instead they were revealed to have foraged for berries, grain and vegetables, which they often cooked.
There are a number of theories for what caused Neanderthals to eventually die out, including competition with our own direct ancestors Homo sapiens, climate change caused their food supplies to disappear, or even interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Read more at The Telegraph
God was behind Big Bang, pope says
“The universe is not the result of chance, as some would want to make us believe,” Benedict said on the day Christians mark the Epiphany, the day the Bible says the three kings reached the site where Jesus was born by following a star.
“Contemplating it (the universe) we are invited to read something profound into it: the wisdom of the creator, the inexhaustible creativity of God,” he said in a sermon to some 10,000 people in St. Peter’s Basilica on the feast day.
While the pope has spoken before about evolution, he has rarely delved back in time to discuss specific concepts such as the Big Bang, which scientists believe led to the formation of the universe some 13.7 billion years ago.
Researchers at CERN, the nuclear research center in Geneva, have been smashing protons together at near the speed of light to simulate conditions that they believe brought into existence the primordial universe from which stars, planets and life on earth — and perhaps elsewhere — eventually emerged.”
Read more at MSNBC
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