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Braking news: Particles from car brakes harm lung cells

Science Daily  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 05:00 PM EST   [*New!*]

Real-life particles released by car brake pads can harm lung cells in vitro. Researchers found that heavy braking, as in an emergency stop, caused the most damage, but normal breaking and even close proximity to a disengaged brake resulted in potentially dangerous cellular stress.

Sounds can penetrate deep sleep and enhance associated memories upon waking

Science Daily  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 05:00 PM EST   [*New!*]

They were in a deep sleep, yet sounds, such as a teakettle whistle, somehow penetrated their slumber. The 25 sounds were reminders of earlier spatial learning, though the research participants were unaware of the sounds as they slept. Yet, upon waking, memory tests showed that spatial memories had changed. Deep sleep, then, is actually is a key time for memory processing, the study suggests.

LUNCHTIME POLL: What’s Your Favorite Video Sharing Service

Mashable!  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:58 PM EST   [*New!*]

It’s Friday, people, which means that not only is it Follow Friday , it’s also time for the Lunchtime Poll ! Last week we wanted to know about your favorite news reader (or whether you use RSS at all). We’ll have the results for you later today, but let’s get a head start on the new poll: what’s your favorite video sharing service? We’ll start off with some responses from the staff here at Mashable, and let you fine folks have at it in the comments. Be sure to let us know along with your vote why you chose it as your favorite. We’ll post the results next week to show the zeitgeist from Mashable readers. Are you in? Let’s roll the question! What’s your favorite video sharing service? Mashable Faves Adam Ostrow: YouTube or Ustream. It’s all about the content. Pete Cashmore: YouTube. Sharon...

Flurry of IPOs signals IPO rebound to continue

Associated Press - Technology  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:38 PM EST   [*New!*]

NEW YORK (AP) -- The flurry of initial public offerings this week is confirmation that this fall's rebound in the market wasn't a fluke and sets the stage for more companies to raise money through IPOs in 2010. But the response to two of the newly public companies shows that investors continue to be careful about where they place their bets....

Signs That Swine Flu Wave Has Peaked in U.S.

NYT Science  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:38 PM EST   [*New!*]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said flu activity was declining in all regions of the country.

Panel Sees No Need for A-Bomb Upgrade

NYT Science  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:34 PM EST   [*New!*]

Amid concerns over an aging stockpile, federal advisers have concluded that programs to extend the life of the nation’s nuclear arms ensure their destructiveness for decades to come.

Re-start for 'Big Bang' machine

BBC News | Science/Nature  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:31 PM EST

The Large Hadron Collider experiment, designed to shed light on the cosmos, re-starts after 14 months of repairs.

Sci Fi Sausage, Beaker Bacon, Vat-Grown Veal, and Test Tube Tuna

Reason Magazine - Biotechnology  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:31 PM EST

Some musings on the glorious future of lab-grown meat , from the glorious future-oriented mag, H+: In-Vitro Meat will be fashioned from any creature, not just domestics that were affordable to farm. Yes, ANY ANIMAL, even rare beasts like snow leopard, or Komodo Dragon. We will want to taste them all. Some researchers believe we will also be able to create IVM using the DNA of extinct beasts—obviously, 'DinoBurgers' will be served at every six-year-old boy's birthday party. Humans are animals, so every hipster will try Cannibalism. Perhaps we'll just eat people we don't like, as author Iain M. Banks predicted in his short story, 'The State of the Art' with diners feasting on 'Stewed Idi Amin.' But I imagine passionate lovers literally eating...

The Serio speakers from Waterfall Audio are stunning (and expensive)

CrunchGear  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:30 PM EST

I’ve never heard of Waterfall Audio before. I think they qualify for one of my rules in the audio world though: if you’ve never heard of an audio company and they cost more than products from a familiar brand, it’s probably good stuff. Apparently the company made a name for itself a few years ago [...]

Stocks fall for 3rd day as dollar strengthens

Technology Trends  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:30 PM EST

The stock market ended a down week with light selling as investors grew uneasy about a rising dollar and spiking demand for the safest government debt.

Is that really a camera bag

Crave  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:30 PM EST

One photographer/blogger saw the need for a more fashionable alternative, and worked on a line of bags for female photographers who want both style and function.

Seesmic Launches Mobile Apps for Android and BlackBerry

Mashable!  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:28 PM EST

Hot on the heels of the launch of the Windows desktop app preview , Seesmic has brought its Twitter client to the mobile arena as well with the launch of clients for the Android and BlackBerry platforms. Both apps are available for free — get the Android version from the Android Market and the BlackBerry version by pointing your BlackBerry to Seesmic . We had a chance to test out the Android build on the Motorola Droid and came away impressed. The interface is well-designed and easy to use. Read on for our impressions and a demo video below. Four buttons at the top take you to timeline, replies, direct messages or profile views. Drilling down into an individual tweet allows you to reply, DM reply or retweet using the “original” RT style. Composing a tweet includes the ability to add location...

Windows 8 in 2012

CNET News.com  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:27 PM EST

It's not clear what Microsoft's desktop plans are, but the Windows Server team included slides at PDC suggesting a new major release coming around 2012.

Biz Break: Whole Foods CEO's plan for healthy workers; plus: Valley jobless rate rises

Mercury News  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:25 PM EST

Grocery chain Whole Foods will offer discounts to encourage employees to improve their health. The jobless rate rises in Silicon Valley even as the number of jobs edges higher.

Google to Alert Webmasters of New Software Versions

Top News - WebProNews  | Links  | Related | Nov 20, 2009 04:23 PM EST

Google is going to start letting webmasters know when the software they run on their site is outdated. Through Webmater Tools, Google will begin alerting users of new versions of software when they are released. 'One of the great things about working at Google is that we get to take advantage of an enormous amount of computing power to do some really cool things,' says Patrick Chapman of Google's Search Quality Team. 'One idea we tried out was to let webmasters know about their potentially hackable websites. The initial effort was successful enough that we thought we would take it one step further by expanding our efforts to cover other types of web applications—for example, more content management systems (CMSs), forum/bulletin-board applications, stat-trackers, and so on.' 'This time, however, our...