national

Here's some bone-chilling news: The chance of breaking a bone increases significantly after age 50, especially for women. We know bones lose mass as they age. However, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says what makes them become brittle is more complicated than that.

Robert Ritchie, a materials scientist at the lab, is trying to figure out why bones break so easily in older adults. While a lot of work has been done looking at the loss of quantity of bone, Ritchie and his team are focusing on another issue: quality. Specifically, how bones deteriorate. SmartPlanet interviewed Ritchie … Read more

Wall Street banks and financial companies vulnerable to hackers from abroad are getting a helping hand in defense from the nation's top security officials.

The National Security Agency has been sharing key intelligence about foreign hackers with financial firms to help them combat cyberattacks, according to a story published yesterday by Reuters.

Citing interviews with U.S. officials, security experts, and defense industry executives, Reuters said that the effort is based on growing concerns in the U.S. over the damage that would result from financial sabotage. Envisioning several "worst-case scenarios," government officials point to the possibility … Read more

It seemed inevitable, and now it's here: 3D printing meets robots.

With the launch of My Robot Nation, which is taking place today in conjunction with Google's official re-launch of its Chrome Store, almost anyone can go online and create the droid of their dreams.

And it's just the start of what could be a revolution in consumer-focused 3D printed products.

My Robot Nation is from Kodama Studios, a Silicon Valley startup founded by two longtime video game industry veterans. The service offers a chance to craft your own robot design and have it quickly 3D printed … Read more

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will tap Nvidia chips to power what is expected to be one of the world's fastest supercomputers.

Oak Ridge's Titan supercomputer will eventually pack as many as 18,000 Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) and have the potential to deliver 20 petaflops of peak performance, making it one of the fastest computers in the world.

Last year, Nvidia made a splash when it announced that its chips were powering the Chinese "Tianhe-1A" supercomputer, which, at that time, became the fastest in the world. As of June, the Chinese system was ranked No. 2 in the world … Read more

The United States will likely fail to reach its long-term mandate for making advanced ethanol from trees, grasses, and crop waste unless producers innovate significantly, a scientific advisory group said yesterday.

The National Research Council's comments are the latest sign that backers of alternative fuels must wait longer for "next-generation" ethanol. Touted as the motor fuel of the future, it has struggled with high production costs and other setbacks.

"Absent major technological innovation or policy changes, the...mandated consumption of 16 billion gallons of ethanol-equivalent cellulosic biofuels is unlikely to be met in 2022," a … Read more

Imagine you referred to your supervisor as a "scumbag" in a Facebook post read by your coworkers. You might expect to be looking for a new job very soon thereafter, especially if your employer has a policy that prohibits making disparaging remarks about the company or posting anything about the organization or its managers without permission.

In a case involving Facebook posts by workers for an ambulance service, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined that the employee's name-calling was "protected activity" because it occurred away from the workplace and on non-work time.

The employer … Read more

There's a place where Wi-Fi and cell phones are non-existent. It's not in the middle of the rain forest or from a time long, long ago. It's in Green Bank, W.Va.

Green Bank may sound like geek hell, but it's heaven for people who believe electromagnetic radiation makes them sick. The BBC chatted with a couple of these refugees from technology and they described symptoms ranging from physical pain to fatigue.

"When I'm exposed to the cell phones, it hurts to think," Green Bank resident Diane Schou told the BBC. She describes herself as a "technological leper" who has found relief since moving from Iowa to West Virginia.

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity has been the subject of some controversy. The symptoms may feel very real, but a 2007 study led by Elaine Fox of the U.K.'s University of Essex showed that short-term exposure to a typical GSM base station-like signal did not affect well-being or physiological functions in sensitive or control individuals. … Read more

Oh please, don't try to take Jim Donio down memory lane again.

During an interview with Donio, president of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), I wanted to reminisce about buying the Clash's "London Calling" at the Tower Records store on Sunset Boulevard or discovering Caetano Veloso at the Virgin Megastore on San Francisco's Market Street. Donio smiled politely.

He well knows that in addition to owning property in some of America's most fashionable neighborhoods, traditional record stores once commanded prime real estate in the hearts of the country's most-devoted music fans. … Read more

On today's show, we discover the universe's biggest diamond floating out there in space. Plus, the FCC is investigating why cell phone networks went down during this week's East Coast earthquake, especially with Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast even as we speak. Our BOL PSA to you: text, don't call. And also, be safe. Plus, Pandora makes some money and the most awkward voicemail session ever.