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Large Hadron Collider completes three-year cycle, goes into long shutdown

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The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) completed its first three-year running cycle at 7:24am today, when its crew removed its beams and entered it into its first long shutdown period. Called LS1 (Long Shutdown 1), the LHC will undergo maintenance and consolidation work, enabling it to run at a higher energy when it is fired back up in 2015.
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NYT reviewer responds to Tesla accusations

Elon Musk , the chief executive of Tesla Motors, has now responded in detail to the account of my test drive of his Model S electric car, using the company’s new East Coast Superchargers, that was published in The Times on Feb. 10. His broadest charge is that I consciously set out to sabotage the test. That is not so. I was delighted to receive the assignment to try out the company’s new East Coast Supercharger network and as I previously noted in … Read More → "NYT reviewer responds to Tesla accusations"

World’s first bionic eye receives FDA approval

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This morning, I was speaking with Brian Mech, the vice-president of the medical device company Second Sight, when his land-line rang. Mech had just been telling me about the fifteen years his company has spent developing the Argus II, a retinal prosthesis that restores partial sight to people with a degenerative eye disease called Retinitis pigmentosa (RP). It had been a long process, Mech said, but he can count on one hand the number of days … Read More → "World’s first bionic eye receives FDA approval"

NYC mayor calls for 10,000 EV charging stations within 7 years

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In an effort to bolster the city’s friendliness towards electric vehicles, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is calling for 10,000 charging stations all across the city by 2019. Bloomberg mentioned the goal during his last State of the City address today, and he’s asking the city council to require landlords to make at least 20% of new parking spaces equipped for electric vehicles.
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Spanish scientists claim to have significantly improved GPS accuracy

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Millions of vehicles, smartphones, and other devices in use all around the world support GPS navigation capability today. People rely on this GPS capability every day to get around in unfamiliar cities and to find better routes in cities they are familiar with. A group of Spanish researchers has recently claimed that they have discovered a way to help improve GPS accuracy in cities by as much as 90%.
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Tesla releases driving logs contradicting NYT’s scathing review of Model S

Data released by Tesla Motors late Wednesday night directly contradicts a damning review of the automaker’s Model S sedan by The New York Times.

Tesla claims the data, pulled directly from the electric sedan’s on-board computer, proves that New York Times reporter John M. Broder never completely ran out of energy during his extended drive of the Model S, despite his account to the contrary.

Broder’s trip in the Model S began outside of Washington, D.C., ran … Read More → "Tesla releases driving logs contradicting NYT’s scathing review of Model S"

Finally! A fitness tracker that actually knows what you’re doing

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Self-quantification is awesome in theory, but the data and record-keeping, frankly, suck. Which is why I’m pretty pumped about the Amiigo fitness bracelet.

Because while it tracks your fitness activity, similar to a Fitbit, Jawbone Up, or Nike FuelBand, it also knows the difference between a sit-up and a push-up. In other words, it knows exactly what you’re doing, and it tracks it for you.

& … Read More → "Finally! A fitness tracker that actually knows what you’re doing"

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