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DailyTech – Scientists Discover Virus that Infects Other Viruses

The discovery began more than a decade prior when researchers found a massive parasite in an amoeba from a cooling tower in Bradford, UK.  The little creature was frozen, as it was thought to be run-of-the-mill parasitic bacteria.  However, upon closer inspection, years later the scientists recognized it as a virus, with a gigantic genome, capable of encoding over 900 proteins.  The virus was named Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus (for mimicking microbe).  It was over three times bigger than any previous virus.

The discovery brought great excitement to some nontraditional biologists who had long believed viruses to be living.  Says Eugene Koonin of the National Center for Biotechnology Information in Bethesda, Maryland, “It was the cause of great excitement in virology.  It crossed the imaginary boundary between viruses and cellular organisms.”

DailyTech – Stretchable Electronics Yield First Electronic Eyeball

Artificial eyeball could find its way into war robots and humans alike as a vision replacement or enhancement

DailyTech – Micron Unleashes Speedy Consumer SSDs

Micron’s new SSDs to offer blistering read speeds of 250MB/sec

DailyTech – Toxin in Soil May Mean no Life on Mars

The existence of a toxic chemical discovered in the Martian soil could reduce the chances of life being found on the planet.

DailyTech – Researchers Discover “Holy Grail” of Optical Computing.

New breakthrough allows light to be compressed much more readily

With the breakthrough, researchers were able to cut light down to fit into spaces a mere 10 nm, 20 times smaller than ever before.  The space was a mere five times the width of a single piece of DNA, a size previously thought infeasible to shrink light to.  Rupert Oulton, research associate in the group led by mechanical engineering Professor Xiang Zhang, stated of the discovery, “This technique could give us remarkable control over light and that would spell out amazing things for the future in terms of what we could do with that light.”

Source: http://www.transferjet.org/index.html

Tokyo, July 17, 2008 – Sony Corporation, Canon Inc., Eastman Kodak Company, Hitachi Ltd., Victor Company of Japan, KDDI Corporation, Kenwood Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Nikon Corporation, Olympus Imaging Corporation, Pioneer Corporation, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Seiko Epson Corporation, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, Toshiba Corporation today announced an agreement to form a consortium to develop specifications for interconnecting products using “TransferJet” a new interoperable wireless transfer technology that enables rapid transfer of high resolution video, music and images. The “TransferJet Consortium” (www.transferjet.org) plans to promote a wide range of products and services incorporating TransferJet technology with the aim of accelerating its adoption throughout the consumer electronics industry.

TransferJet wireless technology enables a high speed data transmission rate of 560Mbps, while eliminating the need for complex setup and operation. Directly touching two compliant electronic products together allows files to be transferred automatically, without the need for an access point. For example, touching a TV with a digital camera enables photos to be instantaneously displayed on the TV screen. Alternatively, downloaded music content can be easily enjoyed by touching a mobile phone to a portable audio player. TransferJet can be used as a universal interface across all consumer electronics devices.

The “TransferJet Consortium” will develop specifications and guidelines ensuring interoperability between products incorporating the technology, establish licensing schemes and administer the use of the TransferJet logo. The Consortium will also promote the advantages across industries and to consumers. Through these initiatives, the Consortium will aim to create and expand the market for TransferJet products.

http://www.ohmibod.com/indexJump.html

CatTrack – Track your cat via GPS and see what he’s looking at

http://www.mr-lee-catcam.de/index.htm

DailyTech – Phoenix Lander Confirms Ice on Mars

NASA confirmed that the Phoenix Mars Lander discovered ice on Mars. After making the important find, NASA also announced that funding to extend the mission has be put into place, which will allow an additional five weeks to be added to the original 90-day mission.

DailyTech – Golden Shellback Coatings Protect Electronics from Water

extra source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/22/golden-shellback-waterproofing-defies-water-reality/

The coating protects electronics exposed to water and can resist rain and humidity as well. Items protected with Golden Shellback Coatings are able to continue operating when submerged and can operate afterwards as well.

The coating provides a near hermetic seal that is uniform and protects the entire device. Details on how the coating is applied are scarce, but the Golden Shellback website does say that the coating is not a spray. The coating has to be applied in a piece of equipment. Inside the equipment electrical contacts are not coated, but the surfaces inside are sealed. This allows water to be able to run in and out of the device.

Golden Shellback Waterproof Coating from gCaptain.com on Vimeo

DailyTech – MIT Researchers Develop New Electrolysis Catalyst Material for Making Hydrogen

Researchers say in ten years the discovery could lead to homes that capture solar energy to make hydrogen for power

DailyTech – Microsoft Tricks Diehard XP Users Into Liking Vista with “Mojave” Ruse

Inspired by an employee email from Microsoft’s David Webster, the Vista team gathered over 120 XP users in San Francisco who were critical of Windows Vista.  After being questioned on video about their Vista impressions, Microsoft told them it was giving them a stunning opportunity — the chance to view their secret operating system they had been cooking up, codenamed “Mojave”.  The excited users showed great enthusiasm for the new operating system, with over 90 percent giving positive feedback of the 10 minute demo of the system.

The comic twist is that there is no “Mojave” and it wasn’t a pre-release version of Windows 7.  “Mojave” was simply a fictitious title applied to a standard Windows Vista install.  Interestingly, the XP users seemed utterly unable to recognize Vista or its features, despite criticizing it.  Remarked one user on the new features, “Oh wow!”

http://www.cuil.com/

DailyTech – Bioengineers Create Mini-Microscope

This minuscule microscope could fit comfortably in your pocket — or on a computer chip

The new microscope, which is planned to be used for field “systems on a chip” to test blood samples for malaria or check water supplies for giardia and other pathogens, was developed by engineers at California Institute of Technology (Caltech).  They predict the finished product will cost approximately $10 a unit, making it very affordable in the world of custom electronics.

DailyTech – Highly Directional Semiconductor Laser Promises Wide Ranging Advances in Photonics

New lasers could be used to detect chemical, environmental changes in the atmosphere.