Imagine a future without batteries. But in the same future, your cell phone charges in minutes and stays charged for weeks. Thanks to the world’s first silicon power cell, this future might not be so far away—and graphene is helping us get there. Read more…
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This Graphene-Coated Silicon Power Cell Signals a Battery-Free Future
Researchers at Finland’s Tampere University have identified a set of viruses they believe to be responsible for Type 1 diabetes , and they have formulated a vaccine for it that has had promising results in mice. The enterovirus in question attacks the pancreas, and is similar to the virus that causes polio. They’re forming a research syndicate to raise the €700m needed for human trials. Researchers have looked at more than a hundred different strains of the virus and pinpointed five that could cause diabetes. They believe they could produce a vaccine against those strains. ”We have identified one virus type that carries the biggest risk,” said professor Heikki Hyöty. ”A vaccine could also protect against its close relatives, to give the best possible effect.” Finnish team makes diabetes vaccine breakthrough ( via /. )
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Promising work on diabetes vaccine
A Snowden leak, discussed in detail in Der Spiegel , shows how the NSA broke into the email servers of the Mexican president Felipe Calderon’s public account, and used that access to wiretap the president, cabinet members, and senior diplomats. The NSA described the program, called “Flatliquid” as “lucrative.” A second program, “Whitetamale,” also spied on senior Mexican politicians (including presidential candidate Peña Niet), targeting efforts to change the country’s disastrous War on Drugs. Rousseff believes Washington’s reasons for employing such unfriendly methods are partly economic, an accusation that the NSA and its director, General Keith Alexander, have denied. Yet according to the leaked NSA documents, the US also monitored email and telephone communications at Petrobras, the oil corporation in which the Brazilian government holds a majority stake. Brazil possesses enormous offshore oil reserves. Just how intensively the US spies on its neighbors can be seen in another, previously unknown operation in Mexico, dubbed “Whitetamale” by the NSA. In August 2009, according to internal documents, the agency gained access to the emails of various high-ranking officials in Mexico’s Public Security Secretariat that combats the drug trade and human trafficking. This hacking operation allowed the NSA not only to obtain information on several drug cartels, but also to gain access to “diplomatic talking-points.” In the space of a single year, according to the internal documents, this operation produced 260 classified reports that allowed US politicians to conduct successful talks on political issues and to plan international investments. The tone of the document that lists the NSA’s “tremendous success” in monitoring Mexican targets shows how aggressively the US intelligence agency monitors its southern neighbor. “These TAO accesses into several Mexican government agencies are just the beginning — we intend to go much further against this important target,” the document reads. It goes on to state that the divisions responsible for this surveillance are “poised for future successes.” Fresh Leak on US Spying: NSA Accessed Mexican President’s Email [Jens Glüsing, Laura Poitras, Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark/Speigel Online]
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NSA hacked email of Mexican president and drug-war reformers
Sony has announced a couple of new cameras early this morning, including the A7 and A7R, both mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras with a twist that’s unprecedented for that type of device – a full-frame sensor is housed within each. That makes these the smallest, lightest full-frame cameras with swappable lenses to boast full-frame power, and with a 36.4 megapixel sensor on the A7R, and a 24.3 megapixel one in the A7. Of course, it’s the sheer size of those sensors that makes all the difference here. Full-frame blows away the APS-C and micro four thirds sensors found in most MILC systems, like Sony’s existing NEX line or the Olympus OM-D models, in terms of their ability to capture light and deliver better over all image quality through accurate and rich color and contrast capture. The new Sony A7R also omit an optical low pass filter, which results in better resolution and detail rendering. Both of these new cameras have a new BIONZ X processor, a hybrid AF system that uses both phase and contrast detection for quicker focus, an OLED Tru-Finder hybrid optical viewfinder and a 3-inch rear screen that can be tilted, another first for a full-frame. ILCE-7_tilt_low ILCE-7R_wSEL35F28Z_top ILCE-7_front ILCE-7_rear ILCE-7_wSEL2870_right View Slideshow Previous Next Exit Both camera models also boast both NFC and Wi-Fi for easy pairing and direct transfer of photos to devices, and they’re built for pros, with dust- and moisture-resistant magnesium alloy cases. They take a new full-frame E-mount lens, of which Sony is release five in time for launch, and they also work backwards with standard E-mount lenses designed for the NEX series, albeit with some cropping. There will also be an adapter for Sony’s A-mount lenses, which work with their non-mirrorless DSLR range. The A7R and A7 will both go on sale in December, for $2,300 and $1,700 for body-only, respectively. There will also be kits available with some of the new lenses. Sony’s new full-frame interchangeable powerhouses aren’t cheap, but they aren’t crazily expensive, either – on par with the new lower cost line of full-frame DSLRs, in fact. Sony has been absolutely blazing a trail through the digital photography world these past few years, with its RX- line of powerful pocket cameras , and even the innovative (if odd) Q- series cameraphone lens attachments . The A7R and A7 look to be a continuation of that trend, but we’ll reserve final judgement until we get some hands on time with these new photographic monsters.
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Sony Unveils Beastly And Beautiful A7 And A7R Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras
Research from UC Berkeley’s Kater Murch and team has allowed fine observation of a quantum waveform collapse. Observing single quantum trajectories of a superconducting quantum bit , published in Nature , describes the experiment, which used indirect observations of microwaves that had passed through a box containing a circuit where a particle was in a state of superposition, allowing the researchers to view the collapse in slow-motion.
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Researchers get slo-mo footage of the collapse of a quantum waveform
Some images of what’s alleged to be Android 4.4 appeared over the weekend, with screen captures of a phone supposedly running the new KitKat release giving us a look at what may be Google’s ever-so-slightly redesigned new mobile OS. Read more…
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Alleged Android 4.4 KitKat Images Suggest a Flattened, 2D Design
As the Snowden leaks about NSA surveillance continue to trickle out, it’s easy to miss the fact that the NSA is now releasing hundreds of pages of damning documents about its activities.
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NSA reveals that it illegally gathered thousands of phone records, to the appalled astonishment of FISA court judge
There have been rumors for about a month that the iPhone 5S home button is going to be ringed in silver. Clayton Morris even told This Week In Tech that he was “unequivocally” sure about the change , and that the home button would otherwise have the same concave design. Other leaked photos have supported the rumor, though as usual their authenticity is somewhat questionable. Read more…
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Will There Be One Ring To Rule the 5S Home Button?
According to a report in Der Spiegel , the NSA has cracked the protection on Android, iOS and Blackberry devices, and can access protected files, including contacts and location history.
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NSA secretly broke smartphone security
Using images captured at a variety of wavelengths by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Orbiter, Riding with Robots creator Bill Dunford has crafted a composite image of the Red Planet’s south polar cap that’ll make you stop and stare. Read more…
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The Southern Pole of Mars is more beautiful than we ever imagined