Latest Gear Live Videos
Woman Sends Emails While Asleep
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Science,
We know an email addict when we hear of one. Seton Hall University published a study about a woman who was given Ambien (zolpidem) for her insomnia. Her doctor increased the dosage when she claimed it wasn’t lasting all night. The next day a friend of hers called and accepted an invitation to dinner by email that the woman could not remember. She also sent two more the same night. Lead author Dr. Fouzia Siddiqui claims that this is the first case of its Sleep Emailing and added that he was amazed at all the complex actions the woman would have to go through to write and send the emails. We’re not.
Read More 
| ABC News
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Venus, Jupiter and Crescent Moon In Alignment Tonight
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Science,
We were looking around to find you a fitting gift for today, and we found something that our readers can share and it doesn’t cost a cent. Beginning tonight, Venus, Jupiter and the crescent moon will join together. By Monday, they will be about 2º apart (about a finger’s width at arms length.) Check out the southwestern sky at twilight. You won’t even need a telescope or binoculars. Miss it and you will have to wait until Nov. 18, 2052 for the next occurrence, although Venus and the moon will pair up again New Year’s Eve.
(P.S. Happy Turkey Day!)
Read More | USA Today
DIY Plant Twitter Kit
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Misc. Tech, Science,
If you believe in the plant that has its own blog, then you might also like to know that you can get your plant to Twitter. A CERN scientist supposedly created this Plant Twitter Kit. Assemble it (some soldering required,) then connect it to your leafy friend and subscribe to its feed, and it will tell you when it needs water or complain if you give too much. We’re still not sure that the gadget will work, and it seems an overpriced $99.99, but hey, if it works on your philodendron, it may work on your puppy.
Read More | ThinkGeek
Richard Garriott Re-Enters Earth
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Science, Transportation,
Richard Garriott landed in a Soyuz capsule in Kazastan Friday with 2 cosmonauts after a fun 10 day trip to the ISS. Garriott, who followed in his father Owen’s footsteps, deemed the trip a success. “What a great ride that was,” said Garriott “This is obviously a pinnacle experience.”
The space tourist earned part of the $30 million ticket by testing a watch in microgravity (we wonder if it was a Timex) and conducting an experiment for a biotech company.
Read More | CNN
N55 Walking House
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smart Home, Science, Transportation, Videos,
This house can hustle. The Danish art collective N55 teamed with MIT to make a walking house. Standing 10 ft. high, it is both solar and wind powered, and features a living room, kitchen, bathroom, bed, wood stove and a computer for its leg control. They are hoping that the legs can be mounted under any structure and that modules can be linked for larger living spaces. One of the designers, Øivind Slaatto, plans to live in it in Copenhagen. What a great thing it would be if this prototype became real and could get out of the way of tornadoes, overflowing waterways, and nasty neighbors.
Read More | Telegraph
Buckypaper May Replace Heavy Metal
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: PC / Laptop, Science, Transportation,
Buckypaper may look like regular carbon paper, but is in actual fact Florida State University’s Ben Wang’s material that is 10 times lighter but up to 500 times stronger than steel when stacked and pressed. It has the capability of conducting electricity and dispensing heat. The material is made from tube-shaped carbon molecules 50,000x thinner than a human’s hair. Applications would include energy-efficient aircraft and cars, and more powerful computers. At this point buckypaper, which came out of the discovery of the buckyball (a form of pure carbon,) is only made at half of its strength and is very expensive to produce, FSU is planning to developing it commercially in the next 12 months, according to Wang.
Read More | CNN
Great World Wide Star Count
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Science,
The 2008 Great World Wide Star Count begins today. Amateur and pro skywatchers can go outside, check out a constellation, compare it with one of UCAR’s (University Corporation for Atmospheric Reasearch) charts, then report what you see online. Last year the event drew over 6,600 observations on 7 continents, and the project is hoping to double that amount this year. Running until November 3, the count helps scientists map pollution while forcing all of us to be able to identify something besides Orion.
Read More | UCAR
Vocal Joystick Needs No Hands
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Science, Storage,
The University of Washington has designed Vocal Joystick software to assist those with disabilities. “Ahh” means go northwest, “ooo” makes it go south, and “ohh” makes the cursor go southeast. Vowel sounds make circles, while the voice volume controls the speed. A simple clicking noise opens a link. The researchers have already tested their joystick at the UW Medical Center and are about to begin the next round. The system only needs a mic, a PC with sound card and a voice to operate.
Read More | Physorg
ASE Asks U.N. to Monitor NEOs
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Science, Transportation,
We really thought that this was one of those gag articles meant for April Fool’s Day. Researchers of the ASE (Association of Space Explorers) say that a killer asteroid may be coming in the next 15 years. Sure enough, not only does the organization exist, it has come up with a study that suggests that the U.N. assume responsibility in the way of a global information network using data from ground and space telescopes to let us know if/when the big one is coming. A second project should plan how to destroy or deflect it. NASA is currently watching 209 NEOs (Near Earth Objects,) although none of them are considered dangerous.
Read More | ABC News
Incident in LHC Causes Shutdown
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Science,
It seems that things are not so cheery with the LHC after all. There was a problem in sector 34 Friday, resulting in a helium leak. They believe that the source was a faulty connection between two magnets which may have melted, with the result being that CERN has shut down the device. They expect a minimum of 2 months worth of cooling off and repair. They also mentioned that no humans were at risk at any time, except for the ones who fell into the black hole (just kidding.)
Read More | CERN
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