science

In a new book, teleportation is categorized as a mere "Type I impossibility"--meaning it doesn't defy the laws of physics and given the state of today's technology, could be realized within 100 years. Want to know what else physicists are saying is "someday possible," "somewhat impossible," and "totally impossible," given current scientific knowledge?

Read the full article on MSNBC: "Mission not-so-impossible"

You may be surprised to learn that a molecule 2 billionths of a meter across can be programmed to dispatch and command machines. Scientists at Japan's International Center for Young Scientists have created a molecule of duroquinone fitted with "docking stations" where nanomachines can attach and receive instruction from a molecular CPU (central processing unit). It's not the fastest computing molecule, but it's the only one that can act as a dispatcher to 16 other molecules simultaneously.

Read the full story at BBC News:"Chemical brain controls nanobots"

Along with all the apparent benefits of electric cars, their possible drawbacks are also gaining attention. In some circles, it's the science that's controversial; in others, it's the funding for the research. On LiveScience the argument is about whether electric cars could strain the water supply due to their use of electricity...Wait, what?

Read the full story, and enjoy a good argument, on LiveScience: "Electric Vehicles Could Strain Water Supplies"

Raise your hand if you read Gödel, Escher, Bach as a young geek. You might be interested to know that the Pulitzer-winning author, Douglas Hofstadter, has returned to your old favorite subjects after 28 years of writing on other areas of physics. The new book, I am a Strange Loop, is an "intellectual autobiography" of sorts, chronicling the evolution of his own thought and the influence of the earlier ideas on other strains of society.

Read the whole story on Time for CNN: "The year of mathemagical thinking"

Already in use by movie animation studios and astronauts in training, tactile technology is taking off. Touch screens, cell phone vibrations, and joystick shudders are just barely the beginning. From device interface to complex surgery, haptics translates human touch into electronic action.

For a broad introduction to haptics, read the Popular Mechanics story here: "How haptics will change the way we interact with machines"

Personal gene-mapping services are coming to market at a surprising rate. You can now have your own genome mapped by any number of small companies, for purposes of ancestry research, amusement, medical diagnosis, or criminal investigation. When did all these operations spring up, who's funding them, and exactly how many different ways can you pitch the same product?

Read the full story on MSNBC: "Genes 'R' Us: The new dot-coms?"

Who wants to believe? TechCrunch reported Monday night that Steven Spielberg is developing a new social network where people can talk about their encounters with the paranormal and extraterrestrial.

Spielberg, creator of sci-fi classics like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Men in Black, and the War of the Worlds remake a few years ago, is reportedly himself a believer in paranormal phenomena. In creating a social network for fellow enthusiasts as well as people who claim to have encountered the otherworldly, Spielberg is tapping into a lifelong passion.

But its exact ties to tech and entertainment are … Read more

Every March, my PIM alerts me to call up a decades-old research paper by a computer scientist named J.C.R. Licklider. In a piece I wrote last year, I called Licklider perhaps the most important computer theorist you've never heard about.

So while this effort on my part remains woefully inadequate, it's more important than ever to spotlight the man and his work. This month marks the March 1960 anniversary of the publication of "Man-Computer Symbiosis" and I recommend it to anyone not familiar with the paper. This was one of those "present at … Read more

Science can produce some very cool things on the Web. One of them being this ridiculously useful Web version of the periodic table of the elements--a staple for chemists and scientists at large. The chart, found at Ptable.com, is completely dynamic, letting you adjust nearly every aspect of the data to see what each element does at various temperatures, and even turn back the hands of time to see which parts of the chart were missing before being discovered by scientists.

The table is hooked up directly to Wikipedia, letting you view the encyclopedia entries as small pop-ups that … Read more