Weblog : News From the Web

Sign language

Sign language puzzle solved

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (15) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have known for 40 years that even though it takes longer to use sign language to sign individual words, sentences can be signed, on average, in the same time it takes to say them, ...


Wikipedia

Report claims Wikipedia losing editors in droves

Technology / Internet

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (16) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- The findings of a Spanish study claiming that Wikipedia's editors are leaving at an alarming rate have been refuted by the Wikimedia Foundation and by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales.


Snowman

Scientists Create World's Smallest Snowman (w/ Video)

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (20) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- David Cox, a scientist in the Quantum Detection group at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK, is an expert in nanofabrication techniques. Recently, using the tools of his trade and ...


Nissan Leaf

Electric cars rolling out

Technology / Energy

created Dec 16, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (15) | comments 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- Electric vehicles are far from new, but we are still a long way from electric cars being the norm. Now two new electric cars may bring that goal a step closer.


Efforts to save endangered languages

Efforts to save endangered languages

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (14) | comments 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- There are an estimated 6,500 languages in the world, with around fifty percent of them endangered and likely to cease to exist by 2100, but efforts are now being made to save them from extinction.


Evidence unearthed of possible mass cannibalism in Neolithic Europe

Evidence unearthed of possible mass cannibalism in Neolithic Europe

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (12) | comments 8

(PhysOrg.com) -- Archaeologists studying a 7,000-year-old site in what is now south-west Germany have found evidence suggesting that more than 500 people may have been the victims of cannibalism.


baby walking

Why newborn babies can't walk

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 18, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (13) | comments 15

(PhysOrg.com) -- The first steps of an infant is a real milestone in the development of all mammals including humans, but little is known about why some animals can walk soon after birth, while others need ...


South China Sea Bridge

China Building 30-Mile Bridge Connecting Hong Kong to Guangdong Province

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 18, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 3

China Daily reports the commencement of the 30-mile Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the longest sea bridge under construction world-wide. The six-lane expressway will cut travel time from three-hours to around ...


Glasgow's joking computer

Glasgow's joking computer

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Glasgow Science Centre in Scotland is exhibiting a computer that makes up jokes using its database of simple language rules and a large vocabulary.


Hot electron solar cell

Hot Electrons Could Double Solar Cell Power Efficiency

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Dec 18, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (12) | comments 2

Scientists have experimentally verified a theory suggesting that hot electrons could double the output of solar cells. The researchers, from Boston College, have built solar cells that successfully use hot ...


Design chosen for British 1,000 mph car

Design chosen for British 1,000 mph car (w/ Video)

Technology / Engineering

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (12) | comments 8

(PhysOrg.com) -- A British team hoping to be the first to get a car to 1,000 mph (1,610 km/h) has made its final design selection. The six-tonne car, known as the Bloodhound, will be powered by a Eurofighter ...


New Intel products to be launched in January

Next-generation Intel products to be launched in January; Include first 32-nm Core i3, i5 processors

Electronics / Hardware

created Dec 18, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (12) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Intel has announced it will launch over two dozen new products next month, including new processors, chipsets, and a number of wireless components.


Japanese robot

Japanese Store Selling Custom-Made Robots That Look Like Their Owners

Electronics / Robotics

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (10) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Department store competition is fierce in Japan during the winter holidays, with every store trying to come up with the most attention-catching promotional campaign. This year, the department ...


Down Syndrome

Down Syndrome becoming more prevalent in the U.S.

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (9) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study, aimed at estimating the prevalence of Down Syndrome in newborns, children and teenagers in 10 areas of the U.S., has found an increase in prevalence of more than 30 percent over ...


Google Chrome

Google Chrome extensions to be officially released

Technology / Internet

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (9) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Google is expected to release its Extensions Gallery for general users of the new Chrome browser this week, possibly at the Add-On Conference on browser extensions to be held on December 11, ...