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November 2008
- Tech Predictions—From 1968
  
  DVice | Nov 20, 08 7:31 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - In 1968 a science fiction writer made some predictions about what 2008 might look like on Nov. 18, 2008. Take a step back into the future with this list from Sci Fi: Online shopping: Long before Al Gore invented the Internet, he predicted shoppers would pay their bills and get their goods electronically. The rise of home computing: "The single most important item in 2008 households is the computer.” Laptop/tablet computers (and email): Ditch that dusty attaché case and start using your portable "TV screen." More »
- Scientists Snap First Images of New Planets
  
  Space.com | Nov 13, 08 3:55 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Scientists have photographed planets outside our solar system for the first time, Space.com reports. One team captured images of a three-planet system orbiting a star in the Pegasus constellation, while another group snapped a planet rotating around the star Fomalhaut. The planets can't support life or little green men, but one astronomer says the photos are “a crucial step on the road to the ultimate detection of another Earth." More »
- Frozen Mice Cloned; This Guy Next?
  
  Reuters | Nov 4, 08 9:20 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Japanese scientists have succeeded in cloning mice frozen as long as 16 years, leading them to predict that the technique could be used to resurrect the likes of woolly mammoths. The researchers found that frozen brain cells worked best, though brain cells haven’t worked when cloning live mice, and the nuclear transfer technique worked even though the cells had burst. More »
- Silver Screen's Ray Guns Become Battlefield Reality
  
  Economist | Nov 2, 08 2:16 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Ray guns aren't just for Flash Gordon anymore, the Economist reports. The US military and defense contractors are experimenting with “directed energy” weapons systems on the battlefield and in labs, most of which help troops zap unexploded bombs and incoming fire. One model, the Zeus, is designed to more effectively and safely destroy explosives that menace troops in modern combat zones. More »
October 2008
- UK Team Revs Plans for 1000mph Car
  
  Independent (UK) | Oct 23, 08 4:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A team of British engineers is planning to build a car that could reach up to 1000mph and pulverize the team’s own land speed record of 763mph, reports the Independent . The toughest part of building Bloodhound, as the car is called, will be raising the needed $20 million—and figuring out how to stop the thing from going airborne. More »
- Trick Telescopy Aids in Search for Alien Life
  
  Wired | Oct 13, 08 2:03 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Telescope technology currently in the works will use light measurements to search for planets beyond our solar system whose orbit around a star means they could support life, Wired reports. The system, called nulling interferometry, uses tiny mirrors that move at atomic levels to combine the power of several telescopes, creating a device that could see a quarter on the moon. More »
- Space Tourist Video Gamer Blasts Off
  
  Reuters | Oct 12, 08 4:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - US video game magnate Richard Garriott blasted off into space today aboard a Russian rocket—and all it cost him was $35 million. The "space tourist" was cheered on by his father, a one-time NASA astronaut, Reuters reports. "I can see he is really enjoying it like a little kid in a candy shop," said Garriott's girlfriend. The craft is already in orbit and will dock with the International Space Station in two days. More »
- Flying Cars? Yep (and Sooner Than You Think)
  
  LiveScience | Oct 11, 08 6:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Flying cars aren’t the stuff of science fiction anymore. A small California company called Moller is already producing a run of its M200 Neuera, an ethanol-powered two-seater straight out of the Jetsons, LiveScience reports. The car is expected to land next year, and carry a price tag south of $100,000. It’s all the work of Paul Moller, an engineer who’s made the flying car his lifelong obsession. More »
September 2008
- Internet Hookup Would Make Appliances More Efficient
  
  GigaOm | Sep 25, 08 9:09 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Electric bill breaking the bank these days? Your fridge might be able to help, when developers start bringing Internet-ready appliances to market, GigaOm reports. Proactive dashboards could control energy usage to save money and conserve by telling wired appliances to reduce power during certain time periods without human input, and download new settings to lessen consumption. More »
- Scientists, Artists Dominate MacArthur 'Genius' Grants
  
  New York Times | Sep 23, 08 2:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Of the 25 recipients of this year's MacArthur Foundation "genius award," 13 are scientists and eight are artists, the New York Times reports. This year, they are “people working on the very edge of discovery and people at the edge of a new synthesis,” says the foundation’s president. Among the winners: Tara Donovan, sculptor of drinking straws and paper clips Alex Ross, New Yorker music critic Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian novelist More »
- Our Economic Cure? Innovation
  
  BusinessWeek | Sep 14, 08 1:37 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Democrats and Republicans do have something in common: Both parties are wrong on how to resuscitate the flat-lining US economy, Michael Mandel argues in BusinessWeek . Tax cuts or increased government spending aren’t the cure. “Innovation is the best—and maybe the only—way the US can get out of its economic hole,” Mandel insists, adding that money alone isn’t enough. More »
- Experiment Raises Hope of Solar Power From Space
  
  Space.com | Sep 13, 08 10:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An experiment in beaming solar power has raised hopes that humanity can harness huge amounts of solar energy from satellites, Space.com reports. Researchers sent the energy about 90 miles between two Hawaiian islands via radio waves. The transmission of energy a hundred times further than earlier experiments proves the concept can work, said the former NASA scientist behind the test. One hurdle: Only a small fraction of the energy survived the transmission. More »
- Candidates Should Be Talking Innovation, Not Abortion
  
  New York Times | Sep 7, 08 5:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - If America hopes to keep its economy strong, our next leaders need to prioritize support for innovation, writes Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times . “The ability to create the new products and services that people want” is key to “growth, prosperity, environmental sustainability and national security,” a tech researcher tells Friedman. But the American drive to invent is “not being supported and nurtured as needed in today’s super competitive world,” Friedman notes. More »
- Two Cloned Dogs Have Pups
  
  AFP | Sep 5, 08 2:23 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Snuppy, the world’s first cloned dog, is now part of another milestone, AFP reports. South Korean researchers said today that Snuppy mated with a cloned female to produce a litter of 9 puppies—the first offspring of two cloned canines. “This shows the reproductive ability of a cloned dog,” said the triumphant lead researcher. The team plans similar breeding experiments with its cloned wolves. More »
- Twitter Outgrows Narcissistic Phase
  
  Ars Technica | Sep 4, 08 3:59 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Don't write off Twitter as a mere time-wasting self-promotion toy, David Chartier writes in Ars Technica. Users have adapted the microblogging tool to business, government, and even art, pushing 140-character posts beyond "what I had for lunch today." Some innovative Twitter accounts include Comcast, which tracks customer service issues, and an Arizona police department that reports important bulletins in real time. More »
August 2008
- Cross-Country Hydro-Car Tour Wraps Up In LA
  
  Reuters | Aug 25, 08 5:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A fleet of hydrogen-powered cars wrapped up a 31-city cross-country US tour in Los Angeles this weekend, Reuters reports. The first such trip by zero-emission vehicles aimed to promote the cars, supplied by nine automakers, and the need for more accessible zero-emission fuel. The US has 60 hydrogen stations so far but drivers have easy access to only two. More »
- NY Sushi Sleuths Uncover Fishy Tricks
  
  New York Times | Aug 22, 08 3:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two New York City high school students used DNA testing to uncover a bait-and-switch scam in local restaurants and fish markets, the New York Times reports. Fish being sold as prized white tuna turned out to be the much more common—and cheaper—Mozambique tilapia, while red snapper proved to be anything from cod to endangered Acadian redfish. More »
- Are Cloned Puppies Worth the Risks?
  
  Wired | Aug 20, 08 2:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Canine cloning looks set to become big business but critics warn that deformed and diseased failures could outnumber the tail-wagging successes, Wired reports. Cloning fails far more often than it succeeds, and dogs are notoriously hard to clone. A Humane Society report earlier this year charged that "serious animal suffering and disreputable activities" lurk behind pet cloning. More »

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Stories

Tech Predictions—From 1968

Scientists Snap First Images of New Planets

Frozen Mice Cloned; This Guy Next?

Silver Screen's Ray Guns Become Battlefield Reality

UK Team Revs Plans for 1000mph Car

Trick Telescopy Aids in Search for Alien Life

Space Tourist Video Gamer Blasts Off

Flying Cars? Yep (and Sooner Than You Think)

Internet Hookup Would Make Appliances More Efficient

Scientists, Artists Dominate MacArthur 'Genius' Grants

Our Economic Cure? Innovation

Experiment Raises Hope of Solar Power From Space

Candidates Should Be Talking Innovation, Not Abortion

Two Cloned Dogs Have Pups

Twitter Outgrows Narcissistic Phase

Cross-Country Hydro-Car Tour Wraps Up In LA

NY Sushi Sleuths Uncover Fishy Tricks

Are Cloned Puppies Worth the Risks?