Category: News

The implants of the future will be powered by the energy sources already inside your body. Last week we saw scientists take a step toward this vision by developing a transistor that used the fuel from our cells (a molecule called ATP). And now, a French team has announced the development of a fuel cell that can use the glucose (sugar) inside an animal to produce electricity. Their paper is available free at the journal PLoS One.

The team surgically implanted the device in the abdominal cavity of two rats. The maximum power of the device was 6.5 microwatts, which approaches the 10 microwatts required by pacemakers [Technology Review].

Philippe Cinquin and his team created the cell, in which graphite electrodes are coated with enzymes that oxidize glucose to produce energy. Then connectors carry the electricity from the cell to whatever it’s powering.

Unfortunately, the enzymes used in past glucose biofuel cells were not suitable for implants, because they either required highly acidic conditions to work or were inhibited by a variety of ions found in the body. The newly developed devices lack these constraints and are the first functional implantable glucose biofuel cells, with prototypes in rats stably generating power for at least three months [Scientific American].

The great benefit of these systems would be that they are long-lasting and self-sufficient: Who wants to sit around while a pacemaker recharges, or be cut open so its battery can be replaced? That kind of durability, however, remains a ways away for these biofuel cells.

The technology could be used for a range of applications, such as neural and bone-growth stimulators, drug delivery devices, insulin pumps, and biosensors, says Eileen Yu, a chemical engineer at Newcastle University. But whether enzymes remain stable for a long period of time is a concern, she says [Technology Review].

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

[JURIST] Former Russian oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky [defense website; JURIST news archive] on Wednesday ended his two-day hunger strike after a spokesperson for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev [official website] indicated that Medvedev was familiar with a complaint Khodorkovsky made regarding the three-month extension of his detention. On Monday, Khodorkovsky sent an open letter to Russia’s Supreme Court [official website, in Russian] contending that Russian courts are ignoring recent changes in the law that allow people charged with economic crimes to be released on bail pending the outcome of their trials. Khodorkovsky indicated the goal of his hunger strike had been achieved [press release], stating:

In a situation when it is officially declared that President Medvedev is informed about the essence of the problem, I do not consider it necessary to insist on the form of discussion within government structures. I am convinced that now the position of Chairman of the Supreme Court, which he promised to inform to the public, as well as court decisions in particular cases, will reflects position of President of the Russian Federation as the author of the bill – the guarantor of rights and freedom of citizens of Russia.

He also indicated his hunger strike was to change the judicial system going forward and not his current situation.

Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev [defense website] are currently serving eight-year prison sentences after being convicted [JURIST report] in 2005 on fraud and tax evasion charges stemming from an attempt to embezzle and strip their Yukos [JURIST news archive] oil company of valuable assets. They are now charged with embezzling [JURIST report] USD $25 billion worth of oil produced by Yukos. The men have pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to the current charges, and face up to 20 additional years in prison if convicted. Khodorkovsky has previously criticized the Russian legal system, questioning the fairness of trials and expressing the need for widespread reform of the Russian court system [JURIST reports].

[JURIST] The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority [official website] on Wednesday ordered Internet service providers to block [press release] social networking site Facebook [website] in response to a competition created by a group of the website’s members entitled “Draw Muhammad Day.” The PTA issued the order following a decision by the Lahore High Court (LHC) [JURIST news archive] to block the website indefinitely after Pakistan officials learned the competition would take place on May 20. The court also ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [official website] to open an investigation into why the competition was created. The government initially planned only to block access to the group’s Facebook page, but after the LHC decision was issued, the Ministry of Information Technology [official website] immediately blocked the entire website.

Depicting the Prophet Muhammad is considered blasphemous by Muslims, and has been a source of international controversy since 2005 when a Danish newspaper published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in a series of cartoons [JURIST news archive]. Earlier this month, a Danish public prosecutor for the Utrecht District Court filed an appeal [JURIST report] against an April ruling [JURIST report] acquitting the Arab European League (AEL) of hate speech charges stemming from posting an inflammatory cartoon on their website insinuating that the Holocaust was fabricated. The court ruled that publishing the cartoon was not a criminal offense because it was intended to be a contribution to public debate regarding a perceived double standard in the distribution of the Danish Muhammad cartoons. The prosecutor is appealing in order to determine if the cartoon was “unnecessarily offensive,” stating that the court failed to rule on this issue. The prosecutor also found fault with the court’s agreement that the cartoon pointed out a double standard, saying that the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoon depicting Muhammad does not equate with the publishing of the AEL’s cartoon. The group depicted in the Muhammad cartoon was a “criminal group,” the prosecutor said, but the Jewish people “still have no share in the above social debate.”

We know how it is. You get to the hotel, turn on the lights in your room, and — gasp — instead of the soothing Rose Dust (14-1307) you expected, the walls are painted a hideous shade of Butternut (18-0830). And those sheets — are they really Fuchsia Red (18-2328)? If this has happened to you, there’s now an alternative, where every aspect of your lodging experience will be perfectly color-matched: The Pantone Hotel in Brussels, designed to “suit your savvy palette and colorful imagination.”

The hotel’s launch announcement bursts with colorful prose:

The guest rooms are works of art – white walls and bedding provide a clean, crisp canvas for saturated pops of vibrant color. Adding to the artistry, rooms feature photographic installations created by renowned Belgian photographer Victor Levy that include a spectrum of vibrant PANTONE Colors to create a unique ambiance in each room. The 59 affordably priced rooms and suites empower guests to transform their travels by selecting a room that complements their mood through color. The rooms and suites are patterned after one of seven distinct PANTONE Color palettes and include inviting bedding, LCD TVs and central air conditioning; many also offer unparalleled views of Brussels.

If that’s not enough, Pantone “color consultants are also available by appointment for informal color consultations or to present educational seminars on color psychology and trends.” But we know that what you really want is to step into that room, turn on the light, and gaze at those perfect Snow White (11-0602) walls.

Brussels Hotel – Pantone Hotel in Brussels Centre – Belgium [Official Site]

Tengo que reconocer que lo de la Chrome Web Store me ha sorprendido: una tienda de aplicaciones web. Esto de entrada puede resultar un tanto extraño, porque lo es, ¿compramos la aplicación Youtube, Google Maps o Flickr? ¿qué significa eso?. Si nos atenemos a lo que han explicado en la keynote del Google IO, pues básicamente dos cosas: que Chrome Web Store se encargará de la transacción / pago y se llevará presumiblemente una comisión por ello y que si usamos Chrome habrá atajos para acceder a esas aplicaciones. Y ya está. Son “aplicaciones web” normales, que se pueden acceder desde cualquier navegador y que utilizan las tecnologías estándar. Lo que no queda demasiado claro si Chrome es imprescindible para comprar y cómo se comprobará desde otro navegador que eres quien ha comprado.

El movimiento parece encaminado a coger algunas de las ventajas de las tiendas de aplicaciones – un administrador que garantiza las aplicaciones que hay, que les da visibilidad, las organiza y gestiona los pagos de los usuarios – pero evitando el inconveniente de que esté ligada a una única plataforma, y ahí toca mirar a Apple. Y es que Apple es el ejemplo paradigmático de plataforma cerrada y también de éxito de tienda de aplicaciones. Algo muy interesante de Chrome web Store es que se trata de aplicaciones que funcionan en Safari, por lo que Google abre una vía para desarrolladores que no quieren estar o son rechazados en la App Store de Apple, pero desean cobrar por uso, estar en un repositorio, etc… el desamor entre Google y Apple promete años de gestos de cariño como este.

Claro que el movimiento tiene al menos dos sombras iniciales. Una es la filosofía en sí, que viene a ser el crear un “punto de entrada al pago en la web” y que lo gestione – comisionando – Google. El otro viene dado por los límites del navegador frente a las aplicaciones nativas. Con Flash o sin Flash, usando Silverlight o partiendo de HTML5, las aplicaciones instaladas siguen permitiendo ofrecer una experiencia de usuario superior.

Dos bolas extras, relacionadas con Microsoft. La primera es que hace años apostaron por una “visión” del software más servicios, a la que podríamos asimilar todo lo que está ocurriendo con las aplicaciones en el móvil, que son nativas y se conectan a servicios online. El problema de Microsoft es que quienes están ejecutando bien esta idea son Apple y Android. La segunda tiene cierto componente irónico: hace un montón de años abandonaron el desarrollo de Internet Explorer al no encontrar negocio ni poder dominar los estándares de la web a pesar de su dominio. Si lo del Chrome web Store funcionase no dejaría de resultar curioso el hecho de que haya sido el último en llegar al mercado de los navegadores quienes apuntasen a su rentabilidad más allá del negocio de la publicidad en las búsquedas.

Republican Ross Garber, a well-known attorney, is now running for attorney general.

Garber, who defended the office of Gov. John G. Rowland during the impeachment inquiry in 2004, had stayed out of the race this year because his sister-in-law, Democrat Susan Bysiewicz, was in the race.

Garber, who ran previously for state treasurer in 2002 against Democrat Denise Nappier, took a shot at the incumbent, Richard Blumenthal.

“Connecticut needs an attorney general who will vigorously and diligently represent the state and its citizens, and who will do so without grandstanding or self-promotion.  I hope to be that attorney general,” Garber said in a statement. “As a lawyer who has spent his career representing individuals and businesses in their most important cases, I will be ready to do the job on day one.”

He added, “This is a challenging and exciting time in Connecticut.  I look forward to the chance to be the people’s advocate.”

Garber served as chief counsel to the governor’s office in 2004. As such, he represented the governor’s office during the impeachment inquiry. Rowland also had a private defense attorney, Willie Dow of New Haven, in that case.

In his last run for statewide office, Garber received 389,304 votes – compared to 527,216 for Nappier. He received more votes that year than any other Republican candidates for office, except the ticket of John G. Rowland and M. Jodi Rell.

Garber will be facing Avon attorney Martha Dean, who was also on the ballot in 2002. Dean ran against Blumenthal that year, and Blumenthal defeated her with 632,351 votes to 330,874. Dean defeated Blumenthal in her hometown of Avon by less than 400 votes, but she lost the statewide race by more than 300,000 votes.

Several other Republicans have expressed interest in the attorney general’s office this year, but the race is still wide open.

Republican fundraiser John P. Pavia III of Easton will make his final decision Friday, but he is leaning toward opting out of the race because of multiple business-related commitments that he must meet. He has not yet endorsed any candidate in the race.

“Ross will have as good of a shot as you’re going to have for entering the race two days before the convention,” Pavia said of Garber. “That’ll make a big statement and position him for the primary.”

One of the biggest questions in Connecticut politics is what is next step that Bysiewicz will take. Bysiewicz was stunned by the State Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling against her, and she is still trying to decide which office to run for.

While no final decisions have been announced, some insiders suspect that Bysiewicz will be running for state comptroller. The comptroller’s seat is open because Comptroller Nancy Wyman decided to run for lieutenant governor on a ticket with former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy.

When asked Wednesday by Fox 61 reporter Laurie Perez if she will run for comptroller, Bysiewicz responded, “I’m keeping open all the possibilities.” When asked if she might run for re-election for her own office as Secretary of the State, Bysiewicz answered the same way.

Bysiewicz told Perez that, based on the State Supreme Court’s interpretation of the law, Solicitor General Elena Kagan would not be “qualified to be attorney general in the state of Connecticut.”

Kagan is the former Harvard Law School dean and friend of President Barack Obama who has been nominated by Obama to fill the seat of John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court. Kagan has been criticized by some Republicans for having a thin resume.

Longtime Democratic activist Tom Swan, who ran Democrat Ned Lamont’s campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2006, said that Bysiewicz is “calling around asking for support for comptroller or Secretary of the State.”

Well that didn’t take long. Newzbin.com has shut down, just about six weeks after the High Court in the UK ruled against the Usenet indexing site. You had to see this coming.

The immediate reason for the closure was administration, which is sorta like bankruptcy here in the U.S. The court case against the Motion Picture Association drained the Web site dry, especially after being forced to pay the MPA’s court fees. resulting in the friendly “Newzbin Closed” message on the site today.

The site didn’t keep any logs to speak of, so if you were a member there’s no reason to freak out. I had a subscription once upon a time, and I’m not worried in the least.

There’s some sort of mystery regarding what happened to the site’s source code. Did someone steal it? Did a monster eat it?

There are, of course, plenty of other Usenet indexing sites out there, but Newzbin was sorta the elder statesman of the crowd. I mean, the .nzb files that people use to download from Usenet do stand for .NewZBin…

Even if all these indexing sites go under, I look forward to reading Usenet the old fashioned way: one group at a time, manually.

Here’s a surprising fact: 99% of intercontinental data travels through underwater cables (not satellites.) But a report by the IEEE says that those cables, which are essential to international commerce, are vulnerable to sabotage and in urgent need of securing. More »

Filed under: China, Etc., Videos, Hatchback, Humor, Geely

We hate to say this, but until now, we didn’t realize it was physically possible to do a stoppie in a subcompact car. We thought launching a vehicle onto its front rollers was generally left to the two-wheeled crowd, but a new video of the Geely Panda has officially proven otherwise. The company has let loose a video of a fleet of the tiny cutesy hatchbacks being flogged in the best way possible. Want to see a Panda do donuts in reverse? No problem. How about cruise along on two wheels? You got it.

We have no idea what the text in between the shots of the cars suffering the kind of abuse that only stunt drivers can inflict and video of the assembly line says, but that’s okay. We understand the cute-as-a-button Panda paw print, and, as you all know, hooning is a universal language. Besides, it makes us think of the old Isuzu I-Mark and various Saab stunt team exhibitions, and that can’t be all bad. Hop the jump to see the mad skills for yourself. Thanks for the tip, JPHyundai!

[Source: Geely via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Geely Panda gets to stuntin’

Video: Geely Panda gets to stuntin’ originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s a lot more to say on the topic of Blumenthal and the press, but a few commentators have begun to weigh in.

Colin McEnroe: Is that all you got?

The Laurel’s Kevin Hill: Plenty of blame to go around

Terry Cowgill: Blumenthal’s charm offensive protected him from criticism

NPR’s David Folkenflik: Media misspoke as well 

Quinnipiac’s Rich Hanley (via CT Mirror): Missed and misplayed

Social network service providers today are in a unique position. They are intermediaries and hosts to our communications, conversations and connections with loved ones, family, friends and colleagues. They have access to extremely sensitive information, including data gathered over time and from many different individuals.

Here at EFF, we’ve been thinking a lot recently about what specific rights a responsible social network service should provide to its users. Social network services must ensure that users have ongoing privacy and control over personal information stored with the service. Users are not just a commodity, and their rights must be respected. Innovation in social network services is important, but it must remain consistent with, rather than undermine, user privacy and control. Based on what we see today, therefore, we suggest three basic privacy-protective principles that social network users should demand:

#1: The Right to Informed Decision-Making

Users should have the right to a clear user interface that allows them to make informed choices about who sees their data and how it is used.

Users should be able to see readily who is entitled to access any particular piece of information about them, including other people, government officials, websites, applications, advertisers and advertising networks and services.

Whenever possible, a social network service should give users notice when the government or a private party uses legal or administrative processes to seek information about them, so that users have a meaningful opportunity to respond.

#2: The Right to Control

Social network services must ensure that users retain control over the use and disclosure of their data. A social network service should take only a limited license to use data for the purpose for which it was originally given to the provider. When the service wants to make a secondary use of the data, it must obtain explicit opt-in permission from the user. The right to control includes users’ right to decide whether their friends may authorize the service to disclose their personal information to third-party websites and applications.

Social network services must ask their users’ permission before making any change that could share new data about users, share users’ data with new categories of people, or use that data in a new way. Changes like this should be “opt-in” by default, not “opt-out,” meaning that users’ data is not shared unless a user makes an informed decision to share it. If a social network service is adding some functionality that its users really want, then it should not have to resort to unclear or misleading interfaces to get people to use it.

#3: The Right to Leave

Users giveth, and users should have the right to taketh away.

One of the most basic ways that users can protect their privacy is by leaving a social network service that does not sufficiently protect it. Therefore, a user should have the right to delete data or her entire account from a social network service. And we mean really delete. It is not enough for a service to disable access to data while continuing to store or use it. It should be permanently eliminated from the service’s servers.

Furthermore, if users decide to leave a social network service, they should be able to easily, efficiently and freely take their uploaded information away from that service and move it to a different one in a usable format. This concept, known as “data portability” or “data liberation,” is fundamental to promote competition and ensure that users truly maintains control over their information, even if they sever their relationship with a particular service.

Originária da Àsia, onde seu cultivo é conhecido desde a antiguidade, a berinjela é uma hortaliça citada em escritos da China e ìndia, onde é muito comum existindo em  diversos tons de roxo. Cientificamente conhecida como Solanum melongena, foi introduzida na Europa pelos Árabes a partir da pensínsula ibérica. No século XVI,  espanhóis e portugueses trouxeram´na na bagagem para o continente americano.

Existem vários tipos desse fruto que diferenciam-se pela sua cores,  sendo as mais comuns  as  vermelho escuro ou roxo, mas pode também ser branca, embora esta seja rara – existe um tipo de berinjela de cor branca, que é conhecida como planta-ovo, muito utilizada como planta ornamental. 

Uma pesquisa realizada no Instituto de Biociências da UNESP de Botucatu – São Paulo teria mostrado que a berinjela pode reduzir até 30% as taxas do colesterol. Um estudo clínico do Instituto do Coração de São Paulo não confirmou tais resultados; o trabalho publicado afirma que a berinjela não deve ser encarada como substituto da estatina. Ainda não se sabe qual o princípio ativo responsável pela redução das taxas de colesterol, mas os cientistas suspeitam de um alcalóide existente na berinjela.

Lost in the crush of Blumenthal news was this significant endorsement: Republican Peter Schiff has won the backing of the Connecticut Grassroots Alliance, a loose network of 28 conservative and Tea Party-affiliated groups.

“No candidate in America better understands the fiscal mess we are in than Peter Schiff,” Vivian Rockwell, cofounder of Distressed Patriots for America, said in a statement. “The Washington establishment pretends we can borrow our way out of debt. Peter Schiff knows we must face facts and cut spending. He has the courage and the financial expertise to tackle our economic woes.”

Schiff is clearly hoping to replicate Rand Paul’s stunning victory in Kentucky yesterday, though it has to be said that Connecticut and Kentucky are two very different states.

“Washington is filled with career politicians who have traded our constitutional principles for a couple of votes,” Schiff said in an email. “The American people are tired of it. Americans want to get back to the principles this country was founded on.”

Paul’s win is an example “of the enthusiasm and power of the Tea Party movement which focuses on these founding principles of lower taxes, less government and fewer regulations. Americans want a smaller government, and they are consistently sending that message with their votes,” Schiff said.

Using the version control visualization tool Gource, Daniel “Waferbaby” Bogan shows what seven years of source code commits to Flickr.com looks like. I love watching what I presume are major new features spin out into orbit. [Vimeo via @tomcoates] More »

What is it with various state Attorney Generals and their difficulty in understanding the law? And why is it that those same AGs always seem to be running for higher office when they do? We’ve already covered how Andrew Cuomo (who wants to be NY’s governor) appeared to ignore the law in bullying ISPs. And then there’s Richard Blumenthal (who wants to be one of the Senators from Connecticut) who continues to ignore Section 230 safe harbors for Craigslist in grandstanding against the company. Then there was South Carolina’s Harry McMaster (who tried to run for governor), who also ignored Section 230 in threatening to put Craigslist execs in jail.

Now we can add to the list Pennsylvania’s Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate), Tom Corbett, who apparently is so thin-skinned about people criticizing him, that he’s subpoenaed Twitter, demanding it reveal the “name, address, contact information, creation date, creation Internet Protocol address and any and all log in Internet Protocol address” of two anonymous critics who are using both Twitter and Blogger to criticize him.

One would assume that, as Attorney General, Corbett is familiar with the First Amendment. One would also hope that, as Attorney General, Corbett is familiar with the long list of decisions in the caselaw protecting the right of anonymity especially in situations where it involves criticizing a politician. Apparently not. Corbett also appears to be unfamiliar with the basic tenets of The Streisand Effect… and how trying to unmask these critics is only serving to draw significantly more attention to their criticism of him.

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Okay, okay, it’s not a huge phone launch by any means, but it’s always nice to see a few new colors in the BlackBerry pallet.  Shown off at WES 2010 last month, T-Mobile will be picking up the white BlackBerry Bold 9700, along with a fuchsia red Curve 8520.

Both the fuchsia BlackBerry Curve 8520 and the white BlackBerry Bold 9700 are available today in retail stores and online for $49.99 and $129.99 respectively (two-year agreement required).  In the same release, T-Mobile also informed us that OS 5.0.0.586 is available for the Bold 9700, which offers “general OS stability, improved call quality, trackpad performance, text messaging user interface improvements, as well as offer new features including mobile backup support.”  It can be downloaded at www.t-mobile.com/bbupgrade.

There you have it, new colors for your computing pleasure!  Give us a shout if you plan on purchasing one!

I’ve written about the misdeeds of Andrew Wakefield, the founder of the modern antivax movement, in the past — the links in this post will give you an idea of this guy. But I’m smart enough to know that I can write until I’m blue in the face about him, and the poison antivaxxers spread will still be accepted by people.

That’s why I’m glad there are different ways of getting the truth out there. One of them is in the form of comics; somehow, adding art to the discussion makes it easier to understand, and easier to absorb.

On his LiveJournal page, Tallguywrites has created a comic book style deconstruction of the Wakefield affair. I urge you to read the whole thing, and keep it in mind when some mouthpiece like Jenny McCarthy praises what Wakefield has done. What they tend not to mention is what the antivax movement has really done: erode deserved confidence in the medical system, help cause outbreaks of measles and pertussis, and put us all in danger of contracting preventable diseases.

Tip o’ the syringe to sydk.

Yesterday U.S. Senator Shelby requested a Gulf of Mexico fisheries disaster declaration from the Secretary of Commerce in the face of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
EDF fully supports this action and encourages U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to grant the request.
The Gulf coast economy is closely tied to the well-being of its oceans. The […]