Mainstream News

Swiss solar-power plane set for trans-US flight

"The experimental Solar Impulse plane, which has made several trips since its maiden flight in 2009, will take off on May 1st on a transcontinental tour split in five stages. 'We are ready to do this flight across America,' said Solar Impulse co-founder Andre Borschberg during a press conference at a hangar in Mountain View, near San Francisco. A non-stop flight would take approximately three days travelling at the aircraft's cruising speed of around 43 miles (70 kilometres) per hour. 'We have limited ourselves to fly a duration maximum of 24 hours,' said Borschberg, who will share the piloting duties with Solar Impulse president Bertrand Piccard." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss solar-power plane set for trans-US flight

New space race: Putin unveils $50 billion drive for Russian supremacy

"President Vladimir Putin on Friday unveiled a new $50 billion drive for Russia to preserve its status as a top space power, including the construction of a brand new cosmodrome from where humans will fly to space by the end of the decade. Fifty-two years to the day since Yuri Gagarin became the Soviet Union’s greatest hero by making the first human flight into space, Putin inspected the new Vostochny (Eastern) cosmodrome Russia is building in the Amur region of the Far East. Putin said that Russia hoped to have the first launches from Vostochny in 2015 and the first manned launches in 2018." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew space race: Putin unveils $50 billion drive for Russian supremacy

Scientists create ‘superbrain’ by connecting thoughts of two rats

"Scientists on Thursday said they had enabled a rat to help a fellow rodent while the animals were a continent apart but connected through brain electrodes. With electrodes imbedded in its cortex, a rat in a research institute in Natal, Brazil sent signals via the Internet to a counterpart at a university lab in Durham, North Carolina, helping the second animal to get a reward. The exploit opens up the prospect of linking brains among animals to create an 'organic computer,' said Brazilian neurobiologist Miguel Nicolelis. It also helps the quest to empower patients stricken with paralysis or locked-in syndrome, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScientists create ‘superbrain’ by connecting thoughts of two rats

Venezuela inmates open jailhouse nightclub

"Venezuelan inmates have opened their own nightclub and hosted friends and family at an inaugural bash complete with strippers and a light and sound show, a newspaper reported Saturday. The so-called 'Yacht Club' at a prison on Margarita Island in the Caribbean boasts 'professional sound, spectacular lights, air conditioning, strippers, bad girls and all the toys,' the inmates wrote in an invitation to their opening night gig, according to the El Universel newspaper. The party was attended by friends and relatives of the detainees, who publicized it through messages on social media, the newspaper reported." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVenezuela inmates open jailhouse nightclub

Samaritans in Taiwan turn plastic junk into items for the needy

"At the station operated by Taiwan’s largest charity group Tzu Chi Foundation, hundreds of volunteers help sort and recycle plastic waste along with used glass bottles and electronic appliances. Tzu Chi runs 5,400 recycling stations across Taiwan with the help of more than 76,000 volunteers and has distributed more than 460,000 blankets made from plastic bottles since 2007 for relief use at home and abroad. For the volunteers in charge of crushing the plastic bottles, who are from two nearby nursing homes for the mentally ill, the recycling work has also become part of their therapy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSamaritans in Taiwan turn plastic junk into items for the needy

Peru’s engineers ‘make’ their own drinkable water in response to shortages outside of Lima

"The fresh, pure water on offer along a busy road in this dusty town some 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Lima, has been extracted, as if by magic, from the humid air. Within the enormous, raised, double-paneled billboard inviting all takers is concealed a tube, wires and mechanical equipment that draws the water from the air and purifies it. Inhabitants from far and wide who flock here toting liter bottles and buckets say this purified water is a wonderful alternative to the stagnant well water that used to be the only water source for many in this town." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeru’s engineers ‘make’ their own drinkable water in response to shortages outside of Lima

Estonia launches national car-charging network

"Estonia’s reputation as one of the most wired-up countries in Europe has been boosted further with the opening of what is being billed as the world’s first nationwide electric car charging network. The network of charging points, which was opened officially on Wednesday but has been running for several months, uses direct current (DC) to charge cars in less than 30 minutes, rather than the alternating current (AC) technology used by most which can take up eight hours to recharge a car’s battery. There are believed to be around 650 electric cars in Estonia, more than 500 of which were Mitsubishi i-MiEVs given to social workers by the government in 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEstonia launches national car-charging network

American teenager designs compact nuclear reactor

"The American teen, four years after designing a fusion reactor he planned to build in the garage of his family’s home, has designed a small reactor capable of generating 50-100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power as many as 100,000 homes. The reactor can be made assembly-line style and powered by molten radioactive material from nuclear weapons. The relatively small, modular reactor can be shipped sealed with enough fuel to last for 30 years. His reactors are designed to spin turbines using gas instead of steam, meaning they operate at temperatures lower than those of typical nuclear reactors and don’t spew anything if there is a breach." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerican teenager designs compact nuclear reactor

Flamboyant Australian tycoon unveils plan for Titanic replica

"Flamboyant Australian tycoon Clive Palmer unveiled his plan Tuesday for building a perfect replica of the Titanic — plus a lot of extra lifeboats. More than a century after the original, supposedly unsinkable ocean liner hit an iceberg and went down in the North Atlantic, Palmer thinks the time has come to complete the unfinished journey to New York. Featuring the same rigid divisions as in 1912 between first, second and third class, passengers will eat either in an ornate dining room or at a long common table. Passengers in the luxury section will enjoy the identical grand staircase and reproductions of the original Titanic’s Turkish bath and swimming pool." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlamboyant Australian tycoon unveils plan for Titanic replica

Special Privilege: Beyonce, Jay-Z Cuba trip was OK’d by US Treasury Dept

"Beyonce and rapper husband Jay Z visited Havana last week on a trip that was fully licensed by the United States Treasury Department, according to a source familiar with the trip, reports Reuters. The longstanding U.S. trade embargo against Cuba prevents most Americans from traveling to the island without a license granted by the U.S. government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpecial Privilege: Beyonce, Jay-Z Cuba trip was OK’d by US Treasury Dept