Shiny objects found on the surface of Mars may, in fact, be native to the planet. Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory team sent commands to the Mars Curiosity Rover today to pick up a bit of the reflective stuff and, if all goes well, perform its first analysis of the landscape since landing.

JPL says it will send commands to Curiosity today and will later analyze the scoop using “ … Read More → "Mars Curiosity Rover to scoop up and analyze shiny Mars material"

The X1 is focused on either helping or hindering a person’s legs, depending on its job description. When it’s set to inhibit, the X1 resists movement and could … Read More → "NASA exoskeleton suit is half way to Iron Man"

Last week, Mark told you about a giant eyeball that washed up on the beach in Florida. Today, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released their preliminary analysis of who that eyeball once belonged to and how it likely ended up becoming the temporary toast of the Internet.

The Deep Sea News blog called it last week, but the official word from the experts is that this was the … Read More → "A closer look at that freaky, giant fish eye"

Lets face it, its rare we see a government goal reached on time, let alone early. Not too long ago, the Danish Government announced an ambitious goal to reach 200 megawatts of solar capacity by 2020, and as of last week, they have already met it! The country is currently installing an average of 36 megawatts of solar panels each month. At this rate, their resulting capacity by 2020 will be over five times the original … Read More → "Denmark hits 200 megawatt solar capacity goal 8 years ahead of schedule"

Amazon is considering a bid for Texas Instruments’ mobile chip business unit. The Next Web noticed that an Israeli news site, Calcalist, reported on Monday that the deal is in advanced negotiations and will be valued at billions of dollars; TI’s market cap is currently $32.35 billion. Texas Instruments’ OMAP line of chips powers various phones, ereaders and tablets, but the company has been steadily losing ground to other chip makers in this market, such as Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Samsung. TI will reportedly keep its other lines of business … Read More → "Why Amazon might buy TI’s mobile chip business"

Here’s some footage from the camera on Felix Baumgartner’s chest during his record-breaking jump from Space to earth. via Kottke

… Read More → "Suit cam view of Felix Baumgartner’s jump"

In the past couple years, we’ve watched IBM’s supercomputer Watson mature at an alarming rate. A mere concept birthed five years ago, the cybernetic prodigy is now Jeopardy! champ and doctor in training. Up next? Cross-industry and consumer applications in the cloud and ultimately your pocket.

This is the age of big data and, with Watson’s help, big answers—lightning quick.
via Singularity Hub

Read More → "IBM’s Watson expands commercial applications, aims to go mobile"

Do you hate it when people complain? It turns out there’s a good reason: Listening to too much complaining is bad for your brain in multiple ways, according to Trevor Blake, a serial entrepreneur and author of Three Simple Steps: A Map to Success in Business and Life. In the book, he describes how neuroscientists have learned to measure brain activity when faced with various stimuli, including a long gripe session.

“The brain works more like a muscle than we thought,” Blake says. “So if you’re pinned in a corner for … Read More → "Listening to complainers is bad for your brain"

Some pretty amazing photos of the Space Shuttle in the streets of Los Angeles yesterday:

The space shuttle Endeavour is on its last mission today, a 12-mile creep through Los Angeles city streets on a 160-wheeled carrier. It is passing through neighborhoods and strip malls, headed toward its final destination, the California Science Center in South Los Angeles. At times, the shuttle has barely cleared trees, houses and and street signs along a course heavily prepared … Read More → "Space Shuttle on the streets of Los Angeles"

He did it! That crazy awesome Felix Baumgartner jumped off the edge of the space, from 127,000 feet of altitude all the way back down to Earth, breaking some world records in the process. Watch as he jumps of the capsule. It’s a frightening, adrenaline-fueled, historic moment.
via Gizmodo

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