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Dutch architect to build house with 3D printer

“A Dutch architect has designed a house ‘with no beginning or end’ to be built using the world’s largest 3D printer, harnessing technology that may one day be used to print houses on the moon. Janjaap Ruijssenaars, 39, of Universe Architecture in Amsterdam, wants to print a Mobius strip-shaped building with around 1,100 square metres (12,000 square feet) of floor space using the massive D-Shape printer. The printer, designed by Italian Enrico Dini, can print up to almost a six-metre-by-six-metre square (20-foot-by-20-foot), using a computer to add layers 5-10 mm (a quarter to half an inch) thick.” Continue reading →

British scientists announce breakthrough in turning DNA into data storage

“Scientists in Britain on Wednesday announced a breakthrough in the quest to turn DNA into a revolutionary form of data storage. A speck of man-made DNA can hold mountains of data that can be freeze-dried, shipped and stored, potentially for thousands of years, they said. The contents are ‘read’ by sequencing the DNA — as is routinely done today, in genetic fingerprinting and so on — and turning it back into computer code. To prove their concept, the team encoded an MP3 recording of Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech; a digital photo of their lab; a PDF; a file of all of Shakespeare’s sonnets; and a document that describes the data storage technique.” Continue reading →

Central Banks Repatriate Gold: How Will This Affect Investors?

“Germany made an even bigger splash than Japan in the gold market recently with its surprise announcement last week that the Bundesbank would begin repatriating gold reserves held overseas. The central bank said it wanted to keep more than 50% of its gold reserves at home, up from slightly less than one-third currently. With that in mind, the Bundesbank will move all its gold reserves now held in Paris back to Germany, and reduce its reserves held in New York City. And Germany isn’t alone. There’s talk that the Netherlands and Azerbaijan will also repatriate gold reserves.” Continue reading →

ECB’s Weidmann: pressure on central banks risks FX competition

“Loading central banks with more tasks and pressing them to pursue more aggressive monetary policies could risk a round of competitive devaluations, European Central Bank policymaker Jens Weidmann said on Monday, citing pressure on the Bank of Japan. Weidmann is the latest in a string of policymakers worldwide to warn of the threat of a ‘currency war’ as central banks pump out cash to support their economies, reducing their value in the process.” Continue reading →

Google reports ‘steady increase’ in gov’t requests for user data

“Google on Wednesday reported a ‘steady increase’ in government requests to hand over data from Internet users in the second half of 2012. The Web giant’s semiannual ‘transparency report’ showed the most requests came from the the United States, with 8,438 requests for information about 14,868 users. In releasing details of requests in the United States, Google said 68 percent of the requests it received from government entities were through subpoenas, which ‘are the easiest to get because they typically don’t involve judges,’ according to Salgado.” Continue reading →

Library of Congress to archive Americans’ tweets

“The Library of Congress, repository of the world’s largest collection of books, has set for itself the enormous task of archiving something less weighty and far more ephemeral — Americans’ billions of tweets. The venerable US institution is assembling all of the 400 million tweets sent by Americans each day, in the belief that each of the mini-messages reflect a small but important part of the national narrative.” Continue reading →

EU panel seeks power to fine, censor and fire journalists

“A series of recommendations issued Monday (PDF) by the European Union’s ‘High Level Group’ proposes the establishment of ‘media councils’ in every member state that would be monitored by the European Commission and given the power to fine, censor and even fire individual journalists if deemed appropriate. Another recommendation pertaining to media councils advises that they be staffed ‘with a politically and culturally balanced and socially diverse membership,’ with lawmakers — not journalists or publishers — making the nominations.” Continue reading →

Forbes Deletes Popular Story Linking Psychiatric Drugs To Murders

“In 2000, New York legislators recognized the ubiquitous and unambiguous connection between violence, especially gun violence and mass murder, and the widespread prescribed use of psychiatric drugs. Since that time, there have been at least 12 additional high-profile mass murders linked to the use of psychiatric drugs, about one a year. And, in virtually every mass school shooting during the past 15 years, the shooter has been on or in withdrawal from psychiatric drugs. Here is a partial list of 24 such horrific events that occurred since 1998, not including the Virginia Tech shootings and the recent Sandy Hook shootings where the authorities continue to suppress information.” Continue reading →