In-Vitro Muscle Cells, It's What's For Dinner
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Mick Darling's posterousAll my blogging in one spot. (mostly)In-Vitro Muscle Cells, It's What's For Dinner
wanzeo writes "Within the last decade, many of us have experienced the encroachment of ethics into our mealtime. Phrases such as vegetarian, vegan, organic, bST, GMO, etc. have become part of common grocery store advertising. The most recent addition to the list of ethically charged food is in-vitro meat, or meat that was cultured in a petri dish, and was never part of a live animal. The project has been brought to fruition by Mark Post, a biologist at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. Grown using animal stem-cells on a nutrient medium, the nearly see-through strips of muscle would need to be stacked nearly 3,000 times to approach the thickness of a burger. The practice promises to be more humane, sustainable, and efficient than conventional meats, with one analysis suggesting it would, 'use 35 to 60 percent less energy, emit 80 to 95 percent less greenhouse gas and use around 98 percent less land.' In a world where nearly half of all crop production is used to feed livestock, a move towards artificial meat may be inevitable."
Read more of this story at Slashdot. Ask Slashdot: Crowdfunding For Science — Can It Succeed?
jearbear writes "Can crowdfunding work for science? Having raised nearly $40,000 for scientific research in 10 days for projects as diverse as biofuel catalyst design to the study of cellular cilia to deploying seismic sensor networks (that attach to your computer!) to robotic squirrels, the #SciFund Challenge is taking off like a rocket. Might this be a future model for science funding in the U.S. and abroad? What would that mean?"
Read more of this story at Slashdot. Hack an Ikea Lamp into an Adjustable Computer Speaker Mount [Weekend Project' ]
If you're particular about where your computer speakers are placed for optimum sound and/or want to avoid cord clutter you can make flexible speaker mounts using two $9 Ikea TERTIAL work lamps. All you have to do is remove the light socket and wiring and attach the speakers to the lamp mount with screws. More »
Logitech drops Google TV![]() Logitech Chief Executive Guerrino De Luca says his company's dance with Google TV was a "big mistake" and says it will stop producing the set top box. The Verge website quotes De Luca as saying the introduction of the Logitech Revue with Google TV "cost us dearly" and when supplies are sold out, that will be it for the ill-fated venture. It is estimated that Logitech spent about US$100 million on the product and has little to show for it. While some other companies, notably Sony, are still selling Google TV boxes, the little Apple TV is still in stores and apparently satisfying buyers, even if it hasn't been a blockbuster hit either. The second-generation Apple TV, announced in September of 2010, has experienced much better sales success than the original model. The reason? Most likely it's because of the addition of other services like Major League Baseball and Netflix. Apple says it has sold more than 2 million of the units so far. Now rumors are flying that Apple will produce a complete TV solution, and quotes in the recent Steve Jobs biography have added to the speculation that something might be on the way. [via The Verge]
Logitech drops Google TV originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 13 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. 62 New Digital Media Resources You May Have MissedHere at Mashable, we’re always looking out for you (in a non-Big Brother way) so if your iOS 5 upgrade left you with a dead battery, you may have missed a feature or two. Never fear though, because we’ve gathered the weekly features right here for you. Google+ had a hot week with the launch of its new brand pages. Although it’s too early to tell what’s to come of it, we did learn what users felt was missing from the social network. The newest tablet to enter the competition was released by Nook, and it might give the others a run for their money. Looking for even more social media resources? We have everything you’re looking for below. Editor’s Picks
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Scientists make magic auto-origami using ink and light (video)
We've seen nano-origami and robo-origami, but nothing quite as rapid and simple as this. Researchers at North Carolina State University have figured out how to neatly fold plastic using infrared light and an inkjet printer. Deep black lines are printed onto the plastic sheets, which then absorb the light and cause the material to fold without anyone having to touch it. The wider the line, the greater the angle of each fold, so it's possible to set, say, a 90-degree bend for a cube or 120 degrees for a pyramid. What's more, by giving the lines different patterns, folds can be made to work in specific directions, potentially producing the most perfect, most hygienic bento box that's ever contained your lunch. Click past the break to watch the folding unfold.
Continue reading Scientists make magic auto-origami using ink and light (video) Scientists make magic auto-origami using ink and light (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | North Carolina State University | Email this | Comments
from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/11/scientists-make-magic-auto-origami-using-i...
How Trustworthy are Tweeters? Wellesley College Professors Receive $429k To Find Out
The Foundation has granted Wellesley $429,000 to develop an application that examines the origin, authenticity and trustworthiness of messages disseminated on social networks to help users make more informed decisions when determining whether or not information can be trusted. “Users leave a digital trace behind when they make an announcement,” said Eni Mustafaraj, a visiting assistant professor in the Computer Science Department at Wellesley, in a press release. “The application will follow those digital traces to determine whether a message sender is reputable, allowing the user to make a determination about whether a message should be trusted.” Mustafaraj and Panagiotis Metaxas, a fellow Computer Science professor and founder of Wellesley College’s Media Arts and Sciences Program, made headlines in 2010 when they released research showing how “Twitter-bombing” could manipulate Google real-time results, and how cyber attacks may have affected the Massachusetts senate election, allowing Scott Brown to win over Martha Coakley. Metaxas describes Twitter-bombing as creating a high amount of Twitter accounts and sending a large number — in that case, about 1,000 — tweets within a short period of time. After the 2010 study, the duo had planned to develop software that would allow users to identify spammers. As more politicians, celebrities, activists and media signed on to Twitter, however, and the site evolved, so did the researchers’ understanding of the platform. “Spam, itself, is multifaceted and ubiquitous,” Mustafaraj said. “Our focus is more on whether, at any given moment, a user should trust a piece of information that is being broadcasted by a Twitter account.” Trust will be measured by a combination of several factors, including: past history of the account; whether other Twitter users find the account trustworthy; whether a user has trusted information from the account in the past and have re-tweeted specific messages; or whether an identical piece of information is surfacing from different, independent sources. “It turns out spam accounts will rank very low, so they will automatically be classified as untrustworthy,” Mustafaraj said. This application will help social media users identify risks in a world where everyone can be both a producer and a consumer. To help students think about the risks, funding from the grant will also be used to develop an online course for undergraduate and high school students that examines sources and explains what critical thinking actually means in today’s highly interconnected world. Could we soon see a day where we could be saying “so long” to Twitter bots? from BostInnovation.com http://bostinnovation.com/2011/11/11/how-trustworthy-are-tweeters-wellesley-c...LG might show off Google TV hardware at CES
Turns out the Apple TV isn't the only one to see rehashed rumors making the rounds, as Bloomberg has dredged up "people with knowledge of the project" to say LG could show off hardware featuring Google TV at CES 2012. Of course, slow-to-materialize new software apparently put a stop to LG, Sharp, and Toshiba's plans at last year's show, leaving Samsung and Vizio alone to bear the flag. Making the timing of this rumor conspicuous however, is news of Logitech sitting out the next round of Google TV, the aforementioned Cupertino project, and Sony's promise of a "different kind of TV" floating around recently. Now that the Honeycomb update and Android Market access actually exist, Google's next big task is securing more partnerships for content and hardware -- we'll find out how successful it's been in January.
LG might show off Google TV hardware at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 11:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Bloomberg Businessweek | Email this | Comments
from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/12/lg-might-show-off-google-tv-hardware-at-ces/
How to Calibrate Your HDTV and Boost Your Video Quality in 30 Minutes or Less [Video]
Most HDTVs ship with default settings that are meant to look good in store showrooms, but more often than not, the default presets don't take into account how the TV will look in your home, how far away from it you'll sit, or what the normal lighting in your room will be like when you fire up a new movie or watch the big game. The result: A less-than-perfect picture from the device you spent hundreds of dollars on and spend hours in front of. Thankfully, with the right tools calibrating an HDTV to your viewing style is easy, and you can do it in less than a half-hour. More »
Facebook SlingPlayer revealed, proves you can't escape social networking (video)
Add another future platform for SlingPlayer to the pile, as the company recently showed off this quick demo of streaming video through Facebook. While the old Sling.com streaming still works just fine, this one adds some new social features to the mix. That will let viewers share the shows and what they enjoy watching easily while not-so-coincidentally making sure their friends know they're watching TV via Slingbox. There's no word on when this will actually hit the OpenGraph'd streets, but so far it's already in line behind players we've seen demonstrated but not yet released for Boxee and Google TV. Press play to check out the video and think back to a world where no one knew you were watching Law & Order for the eighth time today.
[Thanks for the video, Dave Zatz]
Facebook SlingPlayer revealed, proves you can't escape social networking (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 03:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink @MisterSling (Twitter) | Sling (Facebook) | Email this | Comments
from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/12/facebook-slingplayer-revealed-proves-you-c...
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