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Working with wireless power specialists LaserMotive, Lockheed Martin has successfully completed preliminary tests of a new laser refueling system that extended the flight time of its Stalker unmanned aerial drone to over 48 hours. More »
from Gizmodo
Whether it’s on two wheels, under cover or across the cruel watery mistress, Google Maps wants to get you there. But what about the long, arduous pedestrian plod? Well, from today, 44 African nations will never need to put a foot wrong, thanks to the introduction of walking directions to their web and mobile versions of the mapping service. The search giant is keen to remind you that the new feature is still in beta, so if you end up somewhere else, you might need to rely on other methods to find out where you are.
from Engadget
Like big sodas, paper ticket stubs may soon become a thing of the past in New York. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that, come next month, its employees will begin trials of a smartphone-based ticketing system aboard the Metro-North Railroad. While the grand experiment is currently closed to the public, it’s said that railroad workers will use their Android, BlackBerry and iPhone handsets to purchase rail tickets, which may then be validated directly from their smartphone. During the trial, the new system will be compared to the current purchasing scheme that combines both ticket machines and on-board purchases. Should everything prove successful, the MTA will expand the Metro-North’s new system to all-comers. Transit-minded folks will find the full PR after the break.
[Image credit: Masabi (Flickr)]
from Engadget
The first successful vaccines, like Jenner’s smallpox vaccine and the first Salk vaccine against polio, were based on viruses that do not cause illness or severe symptoms. Vaccine development has since shifted largely to the use of proteins that are used by the disease-causing agents, but there are still some cases where a dead or attenuated virus is the most effective method of generating immunity.
The use of viruses for vaccines, however, has always come with a bit of a concern. When it comes to viruses, one-in-a-million events happen all the time, and evolution gives any viruses used in vaccines a lot to work with: many related viruses in the wild, and animal genomes that are littered with pieces of former viruses. Now, researchers have discovered a case where two different agricultural vaccines have recombined to create a new, virulent strain of the disease they were intended to prevent.
In poultry, a form of herpesvirus (gallid herpesvirus 1) causes a respiratory disease that is sometimes fatal; even if it doesn’t kill the animals, it causes a reduced egg production. As a result, several vaccines have been developed against the virus responsible, based on attenuated forms that do not cause serious illness. Three of these vaccines are approved for use in Australia: two based on viral strains that are present in Australia, and a third developed against a strain common in Europe.
from Ars Technica
Researchers have built the first organic LED (OLED) that is controlled by the spin of the charge carriers running through the device, paving the way for future OLED devices to offer increased brightness. Though rumors say Samsung will release a 55-inch OLED TV this fall, don’t expect a spin-OLED on the market soon. This prototype orange OLED only works at temperatures below -33°Celsius (-28°Fahrenheit).
OLEDs contain layers of organic polymers sandwiched between two electrodes. (Organic here refers to molecules containing mostly carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, like those in our bodies.) These polymers act like semiconductors, so applying voltage across the sandwich generates electrons at one electrode, and their positive partners, called “holes,†at the other. These electrons and holes travel along the polymers, smashing together when they meet. This collision pumps energy into the molecule. It loses that extra energy by emitting light.
But there’s a catch. Polymers only emit light when the spins of the electrons and holes are arranged in particular combinations. Think of spin as a tiny bar magnet inside the electrons and holes. When two spins meet, the north poles of each spin can point the same direction, or they can oppose each other. Both of these combinations can create light, though whether or not they both do it in the same organic semiconductor depends on the individual polymers.
from Ars Technica
This story was produced by the Center for Investigative Reporting. Learn more at www.cironline.org. Contact the reporter at gwschulz@cironline.org.
In their unending battle to deter illegal immigration, drug trafficking and terrorism, U.S. authorities already have beefed up border security with drug-sniffing dogs, aircraft, and thousands more agents manning interior checkpoints.
Now, the US Drug Enforcement Administration has decided it wants more, and the Justice Department agency doesn’t care whether someone has even set foot in Mexico.
from Ars Technica
Filed under: Technology, Videos, Toys/Games
It is evident even with the most realistic car games that crashes have mainly been left off of the realism menu. Sure, hit a wall or another car and there will be some damage and crumpling, but it usually doesn’t look like a genuine car crash. A start-up company called BeamNG is working to change that, developing a physics modification for the Cry Engine 3 to create wrecks that appear to be lifted from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash-test video.
They team has been at it for a while, and the latest multicore version shows off one- and two-car collisions that feature shattering glass and more realistic deformations. They’re still at work on it and have promised more improvements, but the video belowshows off just how real things are about to get in the world of video games. Well, once a game maker decides to use the Cry Engine 3 for a driving game, that is…
from Autoblog
