Eclectic junk from the four corners of the ‘Net. And pictures too!
Woohoo! It’s been close a few times but the ISS has managed to stay occupied with no vacancies for the last five years running. Lets hope for five years more and that NASA gets those heavy lifters off the ground so we can start doing more in space.
The International Space Station So Far: Five Years of Service, But Incomplete
A society of virtual “agents” – each with a remarkably realistic personality and the ability to learn and communicate – is being crafted by scientists from five European research institutes who hope to gain insights into the way human societies evolve.
Simulated society may generate virtual culture
(Thank you Agent Greg for this information)
With a conventional Nokia cell phone relaying GPS information to the tracking station, this home built high altitude balloon was successful in reaching over 66,000 feet and traveled over 60 miles! A tiny computer called a Gumstix that runs Linux was controlling two cameras that pointed down and at the horizon. The results were very impressive.
A trifle gory, but good news never the less. Researchers are now looking at freezing cancer cells within a lung and simply letting it be absorbed into the body. The surgery is less destructive than chemo or other techniques. Sounds good.
Direct Freezing Technique Brings Hope to Lung Cancer Patients
No winners yet. If you think you can build a device that will run up a teather at more than 1 m/s you might be able to win $50,000. Oh yeah, no batteries allowed and don’t even think about using gasoline ’cause it needs to run in space.
[via engadget]
NASA’s First Annual Space Elevator Competition ends with no winners
Ok, not quite ‘live’ but it offers the latest in Mars observations from the Odyssey spacescraft.