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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The Art of Surveillance

Cool Gallery Here- Surveillance as Art

Scientists dicover mummified dinosaur


Scientists on Monday announced the discovery of what appears to be the world's most intact dinosaur mummy: a 67-million-year-old plant-eater that contains fossilized bones and skin tissue, and possibly muscle and organs.

Preserved by a natural fluke of time and chemistry, the four-ton mummified hadrosaur, a duck-billed herbivore common to North America, could reshape the understanding of dinosaurs and their habitat, its finders say.

"There is no doubt about it that this dinosaur is a very, very significant find," said Tyler Lyson, a graduate student in geology at Yale University who discovered the dinosaur in North Dakota.

A Molecular map of aging


A new genetic database could help reveal why animals age so differently

Even closely related animals can have drastically different life spans, a fact that scientists have been puzzling over for years. Mice, which live about two years, got the short end of the longevity stick: their rodent cousin, the Southern flying squirrel, can live nearly 20 years. Chimps are 99 percent genetically identical to humans but live only half as long. Now a new resource could help pinpoint the genetic changes that underlie those differences.

In a study of mice, researchers at Stanford University and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) have generated a database that catalogues how gene expression--a measure of how active a gene is--changes in different parts of the body as the animals age. The researchers' findings suggest that different tissues age very differently, and this could help pinpoint when it is appropriate to use mice as a model of human aging--and when it's not.

Honda FCX Calrity has come up with a way to get around the problem of fueling its hydrogen cars—do it at home


It seems Honda is gearing up to be the one of the first major companies to bring a hydrogen fuel cell car to market -- their FCX Clarity is set to go to production in 2008, in a move they're hoping will break the catch-22 dilemma stopping motor companies from producing cars because there's no hydrogen distribution, and stopping fuel companies from distributing hydrogen because there's no cars that use it. To nurse consumers through the infancy of the hydrogen economy, Honda's also attempting to decentralize the production of hydrogen through their Home Energy Station unit, which sits outside your house and reforms natural gas to produce enough Hydrogen to power both the car and the home's energy needs at around 50% of the normal cost and with a 30% emissions reduction.

Of course, while California's Hydrogen Highway is a leading initiative in developing a hydrogen distribution infrastructure, fuel supply will still be a huge issue for the first generation of FCX owners. To ease this transition for early adopters, Honda decided to build a home-based hydrogen generation and fueling device -- which has evolved into an energy-saving power station for the whole home.

Running on a home's existing natural gas supply, the Home Energy Station IV produces and stores hydrogen, while providing heat, hot water and electricity to an average-size home.

The Home Energy Station IV can reduce both cost and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the consumer. Compared to the average U.S. consumer's home with grid-supplied electricity and a gasoline-powered car, a home using Home Energy Station IV to help produce heat and electricity and also to refuel an FCX Clarity can reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 30 percent and energy costs by an estimated 50 percent.

"Honda is striving to address the need for a refueling infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles," said Ben Knight, vice president of Honda R&D Americas. "The Home Energy Station represents one promising solution to this issue, while offering the added benefit of heating and powering the home more efficiently."

The natural gas is reformed to produce hydrogen, which is then run directly through to a fuel cell stack to generate electricity for the home and enough heat to run the hot water supply. When immediate consumption is not needed, the hydrogen is refined, compressed and stored in a large tank for later use, or to fill a hydrogen car like the FCX Clarity.

Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones - Mannish Boy - 1981

Chismillionaire's Monday deal of the week- a day late


Roadmaster 1.4" Keychain Photo Frame - 2-Pack - VKC140/ $29.99