Once a year, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) holds the Scientific Day – a conference to present scientific research carried out in our programmes around the world.

This year the event will be live streamed on our website for the first time. Viewers around the world will be able to comment and contribute to discussions live via Twitter (#MSFSD) and a forum. 

More here via BBC

… Read More → "Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Scientific Day 2012: live stream 25th May 2012"

I haven’t read much by science fiction author Jack Vance, but the one or two books I read, long ago, I enjoyed greatly. One thing that stood out about Vance’s writing was the way he occasionally used fancy words combined with a deadpan delivery that would be very hard to imitate (“The Green Chasch loped up on their massive beasts, holding yellow and black flags afloat on their lances, signifying truculence and bellicosity. — Planet of Adventure“)
via Read More → "Jack Vance’s classic Moon Moth short story retold as a terrific graphic novel"

The inventor of the television remote control has died at the age of 96, his former employer has said.

Zenith Electronics said Eugene Polley passed away of natural causes on Sunday at a Chicago hospital.

His 1955 invention, Flash-Matic, pointed a beam of light at photo cells on each corner of the TV, turning it off and on and changing the channels.
via BBC

Read More → "TV remote control inventor Eugene Polley dies at 96"

Managing hardware and storage needs; building custom, in-house applications; making information accessible via the Web—such tasks are the mainstays of IT work, so mundane that they’re generally not worth talking about.

But science gives these routine tasks a fascinating twist. The hardware purchases support a compute cluster on the Caltech campus, while storage questions deal with the flood of data  from genome sequencing. The in-house software reconstructs the text of ancient manuscripts. And the Web app helps people around the world follow our solar system and the hardware we’ve sent out … Read More → "Coolest jobs in tech"

DNA, the strings of chemicals which define us, acts like a kind of read-only biological data storage device. Now, though, synthetic biologists have managed to turn DNA into a form or rewritable memory, just like that in our computers.

While it’s not the first rewritable biological storage system to be made—others have used proteins which bond to DNA to perform a similar function—it is the first time such an effect has been achieved in the DNA itself, and it could make synthetic digital cells a possibility.
via Read More → "Scientists turn DNA into rewritable memory"

In the shallow waters of Gijon harbour, in northern Spain, a large, yellow fish cuts through the waves.

But this swimmer stands apart from the marine life that usually inhabits this port: there’s no flesh and blood here, just carbon fibre and metal.

This is robo-fish – scientists’ latest weapon in the war against pollution.

This sea-faring machine works autonomously to hunt … Read More → "Robotic fish to patrol for pollution in harbours"

Did you sleep through the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket? 

Watch it here!

Over the next few days, the Dragon will orbit Earth and then begin its approach to the International Space Station. The craft will then undergo intensive sensor and flight system testing and, if that goes well, it will approach the ISS on Thursday for final tests. The big day comes Friday when, if absolutely everything has gone … Read More → "Launch of SpaceX Dragon 9 rocket"

California Senate Bill 1298 passed the State Senate today in a unanimous, bipartisan vote of 37-0, paving the way for safety and performance standards that cover autonomous vehicles operating on the state’s roads and highways.

The bill, authored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), is on its way to the State Assembly for consideration, and it’s expected to pass within the next month.

“Thousands of Californians tragically die in auto accidents each year,” Padilla said after the bill’s passage. “The vast majority of these collisions … Read More → "Google-supported autonomous-car legislation passes California Senate"

Ars Technica and others report on a cool miniature Android computer that can plug directly into your TV. The whole thing is housed in a 3.5-inch plastic case, weighs in at 200 grams, and measures roughly the size of a USB thumb drive (a tiny bit bigger, actually.) It’s being sold by Chinese retailers, and you can get yourself one online for the low price of $74 (or 5% off, if you order 5 or more).

Some specs for you (get ready for some alphabet soup): an HDMI port that plugs into your … Read More → "For $74, a mini-Android computer"