Technology

A congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council finds serious deficiencies in the nation's forensic science system and calls for major reforms and new research. Rigorous and mandatory certification programs for forensic scientists are currently lacking, the report says, as are strong standards and protocols for analyzing and reporting on evidence. And there is a dearth of peer-reviewed, published studies establishing the scientific bases and reliability of many forensic methods. Moreover, many forensic science labs are underfunded, understaffed, and have no effective…

How many arms does a spiral galaxy have? Can you spot a galaxy with a central “peanut” bulge?  How about a galactic merger?   You won't need a towel to write an astronomical 'Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy', just a computer.    Answers to these and other strange questions will be provided by worldwide web users in an online citizen science project called Galaxy Zoo 2, which launches today. The new initiative is a follow-up to the highly successful Galaxy Zoo project that enabled members of the public to take part in astronomy research online. By working together, they…

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There are some big things happening this week so I will just take a minute to fill everyone in.   Of course, you must know by now Darwin Day is tomorrow and we are doing everything we can to boost understanding and acceptance of evolution by hosting a community-wide event.    You can reach it through us here or by going to www.darwinday2009.com.     If you know people who are writing good stuff on Darwin or evolution, tell them to put the badge on their site so we see/get a notification and we'll include them. <br /> <a href="http://www.science20.com/…

What does uncovering the true authorship of plays attributed to Shakespeare have to do with identifying our genetic ancestors or classifying new life forms? All involve the comparative analysis of long sets of data and all will benefit from a unique new analytical tool developed by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Sung-Hou Kim, a chemist who holds a joint appointment with Berkeley Lab's Physical Biosciences Division and UC Berkeley's Chemistry Department, led the development of a technique called "feature frequency profiles" (FFP), that makes it possible to compare,…

Wondering what's going on with the LHC, or whether AI will ever evolve? Wonder no more. LHC decision expected Monday: A final decision on the exact date to switch it back on is expected following a meeting on Monday. CERN researchers have been in talks this week about when to re-start it, what caused the melt-down in the first place, and how to prevent future incidents. CERN hopes the machine will be up and running in time to deliver the first batch of data for experts to begin experiments by the end of the year. Scientific Blogging bloggers have varying opinions on how the LHC will affect…

If Google is hoarding all of the information in the world, I want in on some of it.  Lured by the siren song of  the new ocean features in Google Earth 5, I took the plunge.  Embarked upon my maiden voyage.  Threw myself in with the sharks.  Ran out of sea cliches.  Downloaded Google 5 in all of its beta-riffic glory.I turned to their  user guide, hoping to take the software for a proper spin through their “Five Cool Easy Things You Can Do In Google Earth”.  Google’s cool thing the first: Find your location.  Um, Goog?  I can see my house…

Sensors able to identify individuals’ brain patterns and heart rhythms could become part of security systems which also use more traditional forms of biometric recognition, thanks to pioneering work being done by European researchers.  Since 9/11, the need to secure important facilities from terrorist attack has become a top priority around the world. And one of the keys to this is making sure the right people are allowed into sensitive areas and the wrong people are kept out. A range of technologies and systems have been deployed in the past few years, but the more successful they are…

Electronic implants that dispense medicines automatically or via a wireless medical network are on the horizon and Australian and US researchers warn of the security risks that will follow. With the advent of personalized medicine, advances in diagnostics and the miniaturization of sensors and control systems for delivering drugs automatically, the Remote Intelligent Drug Delivery System (RIDDS) may soon be a reality. Such devices, implanted under the skin, would remove the inconvenience of manual drug delivery. By connecting a RIDDS to a wireless medical control center wirelessly patients…

Now instead of just picturing the ocean while sitting in my cubicle, I can actually see it! You've all likely heard about Google 5.0. One of my favorite parts is Google Ocean - check out these blurbs on You Tube. Apparently only 5 percent of the ocean floor has been mapped in any detail, and less than 1 percent of the oceans is designated marine protected areas, according to the LA Times story. You can also see the surface of Mars and the effects of global warming on Earth. And for hikers, EveryTrail created content using the new Google Earth Touring feature. More on Google Ocean,…