Odd News

[Denny]

[Denny]

Science off the Sphere: Yo-Yos in Space

[Denny]

Johnny Depp Look (Edward Scissor Hands,Captain Jack Sparrow & Willy Wonka )

[Denny]

3D printer creates physical model of fetus for expecting parents

A Japanese clinic is offering parents-to-be the chance to hold their baby months before the child leaves the womb. Using a "Bio-Texture" process and MRI scans, the technology offered by Fasotec and Hiroo Ladies Clinic in Tokyo, Japan, creates a 3D model of the mother's fetus and womb.

The "Shape of an Angel" service costs 100,000 (about $1,276), not including the cost of the MRI.

"We actually got three expectant mothers to try this out. They said it felt great to see how their babies looked before birth, and to be able to actually hold the inside of their own body," Fasotec representative Tomohiro sh*t told DigInfo. "They also enjoyed looking at the model after giving birth, thinking, 'This is how my baby looked inside me' and recalling how it felt to be pregnant."

[Denny]

World Chef: Sushi chef finds success in Australian country town

SYDNEY (Reuters) - When Masaaki Koyama opened his sushi shop in Geeveston, a small town in southern Tasmania that survives mainly on lumber and apple growing, he had to step outside to offer samples to locals to encourage them to try his hand-made sushi rolls.

Now, three years later, his name is so well known on Australia's most southern island state that customers form snake-like, endless queues to buy his tasty delights.

Part of the success is the attraction of watching Koyama make some of the hundreds of rolls of sushi he prepares every day. He offers up to nine varieties of sushi, and miso soup laced with home grown vegetables and Inari (bean curd), stuffed with chopped beetroot, carrot and mushrooms, stir fried in sesame oil and mixed with sesame seeds and sushi rice.

[mutepointe]

Samuel Adams Crowdsourcing it's Next Beer
I thought this might interest you folks.

[Denny]

Mass of volcanic rocks floating off New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A mass of small volcanic rocks nearly the size of Belgium has been discovered floating off the coast of New Zealand.

The stretch of golf-ball-size pumice rocks was first spotted this week by a New Zealand air force plane about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) northeast of Auckland. The rocks stretch for about 26,000 square kilometers (10,000 square miles).

[Denny]

An Artificial Retina With the Capacity to Restore Normal Vision

ScienceDaily (Aug. 14, 2012) — Two researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have deciphered a mouse's retina's neural code and coupled this information to a novel prosthetic device to restore sight to blind mice. The researchers say they have also cracked the code for a monkey retina -- which is essentially identical to that of a human -- and hope to quickly design and test a device that blind humans can use.

[Denny]

Macabre Finds in the Bog at Alken Enge, Denmark: Skeletal Remains of Hundreds of Warriors Unearthed

ScienceDaily (Aug. 14, 2012) — A fractured skull and a thighbone hacked in half. Finds of damaged human bones along with axes, spears, clubs and shields confirm that the bog at Alken Enge was the site of violent conflict.

[Denny]

Renaissance Women Fought Men, and Won

ScienceDaily (Aug. 14, 2012) — A three-year study into a set of manuscripts compiled and written by one of Britain's earliest feminist figures has revealed new insights into how women challenged male authority in the 17th century.

[Denny]

Undead galaxy cluster spews 700 zombie baby stars A YEAR

Astroboffins have spotted a galaxy cluster that's breaking all the cosmic rules, including coming back to life to spawn stars at an enormous rate.

The Phoenix cluster is spewing out the celestial bodies at the highest rate ever observed for the middle of a galaxy cluster; it's the most powerful producer of X-rays of any known cluster; it's one of the most massive of its kind; and the rate of hot gas cooling in the central regions is the largest ever observed.

According to the scientists, the cluster is "experiencing a massive starburst" that's forming the equivalent of 740 Suns every year.

[Denny]

one for Izzy!

New family of spiders found in Oregon cave

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Amateur cave explorers have found a new family of spiders in the Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon, and scientists have dubbed them Trogloraptor — or cave robber — for its fearsome front claws.

The spelunkers sent specimens to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, which has the West Coast's largest collection of spiders. Entomologists there say the spider — reddish brown and the size of a half dollar — evolved so distinctly that it requires its own taxonomic family — the first new spider family found in North America since the 1870s.

[mutepointe]

An Artificial Retina With the Capacity to Restore Normal Vision

ScienceDaily (Aug. 14, 2012) — Two researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have deciphered a mouse's retina's neural code and coupled this information to a novel prosthetic device to restore sight to blind mice. The researchers say they have also cracked the code for a monkey retina -- which is essentially identical to that of a human -- and hope to quickly design and test a device that blind humans can use.

'Bout the time this all gets finalized, I won't care what I see anymore. Summa Beaches.

[Denny]

Facebook sued by Chinese firm over Timeline

Chinese web firm Cubic Network is set to sue Facebook for nicking the idea and name behind its Timeline feature, after being prompted to do so by some friendly US lawyers.

The Pinterest-like web start-up was founded four years ago by Harvard graduate Xiong Wanli, according to China Youth Daily (via MIC Gadget).

Xiong launched the Timeline feature on 9 February 2008, allowing users to display videos and images in chronological order.

[chas]

Husband and wife both drown trying to save dog