Mojave Spaceport update, teenagers don’t care, open-source hard-drive seismograph network, another fake Mars mission…

• 1 – Mojave Spaceport Gearing Up for SpaceShipTwo
  “The Mojave, California Spaceport is preparing to handle test flights of the SpaceShipTwo – a passenger-carrying suborbital craft…” Space tourism shows good signs of gathering pace.
  (tags: SpaceShipTwo spaceport Mojave Rutan Burt Composites Scaled tourism space)
• 2 – Feelings matter less to teenagers
  “Teenagers take less account than adults of people’s feelings and, often, even fail to think about their own, according to a UCL neuroscientist.” Yeah? Well, whatEVER. An IgNobel prize candidate, perhaps?
  (tags: adolescence changes neural consideration impact feelings emotions teenagers psychology)
• 3 – The Future of Nanoelectronics
  “New materials like carbon nanotubes will complement, not compete with, conventional silicon devices.” A notable lack of blue-sky hyperbole here. Good stuff.
  (tags: technology semiconductor synthesis nanoelectronics electronics nanomaterials nanotech)
• 4 – Now You See Me…
  Invisibility! Without a doubt, the military vaporware meme of the year so far. Here we go again…
  (tags: vaporware radar spectrum optical invisibility metamaterials technology military)
• 5 – Modern Humans, Not Neandertals, May Be Evolution’s ‘Odd Man Out’
  “New research suggests…that the line should extend from the common ancestor to the Neandertals, and Modern Humans should be the branch off that.” Just wait for the creationist mob to spin this one…
  (tags: paleontology branch unique derivation species tree family Neanderthal evolution human)
• 6 – Water Worlds in Known Planetary Systems
  “…according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder and Pennsylvania State, solar systems with hot Jupiters may well harbor Earth-like planets covered with deep oceans.” Intriguing stuff, and a boost for the SETI mob.
  (tags: cosmology astronomy alien life SETI Jupiter hot extrasolar planets Earth-like space)
• 7 – Hard drive wobbles track earthquake spread
  “Although experts say the technique is unlikely to replace standard scientific equipment, computer hard drives can provide rough estimates of the intensity and location of an earthquake and warn of an impending tsunami.”
  (tags: system warning tsunami Asia source open software seismograph monitoring eathquake drive disk hard)
• 8 – Climate change caused civilisation, scientist says
  “Severe climate change was the main driver behind the birth of civilisation, a scientist said yesterday.” Note for denialists and other loonies – that doesn’t mean the current changes are a good thing.
  (tags: resources exploit catalyst trigger civilisation change climate species human history anthropology)
• 9 – Sign Up for a Mission to ‘Mars’
  “Next summer, six scientists will get to travel to the desolate permafrost desert of the Arctic, live in a two-level metal can and only go outside wearing 40 pounds of faux spacesuit.” I wonder if this idea will really take off? (boom-tsssh)
  (tags: research capsule desert Arctic scientists simulated mission Mars space)
• 10 – The Turing Test Page
  Online round-up of material about the well-known but poorly-understood Turing Test.
  (tags: cognition science resource information intelligence artificial computers consciousness Test Turing)
• 11 – Kaoss pad guitar mod
  Man, if I had one of these, I might make the time to get my guitar out of the case once a week…
  (tags: effects electronics modification instrument music Korg pad Kaoss mod hack guitar Paul Les)
• 12 – Open a bottle of wine with a piece of string.
  Does what it says on the tin, er, bottle.
  (tags: trick string cork wine bottle open)