More... drag mouse Next Tab Forward Page Bottom Toggle Bookmarks Close Tab Back Page top The "Starving Student" hybrid headphone amplifier The "Starving Student" hybrid headphone amp is the result of my effort to design the simplest cheapest tube hybrid headphone amplifier possible. Think "Millet hybrid" on a starving student budget. For more info examples etc. please check out the Starving Student amp thread on Head-Fi.

I'll be building one of these @ hacdc this week.

--timball

Starving Student hybrid

Two monkeys with tiny sensors in their brains have learned to control a prosthetic arm with only their thoughts, using it to reach for and grab food and even to adjust for the size and stickiness of morsels when necessary, scientists reported Wednesday.

OMFG the robot future is here.

--timball

Monkeys Control a Mechanical Arm With Their Thoughts - NYTimes.com

We present a prototype system that can be used to capture longitudinal socialising processes by recording people's encounters in space. We argue that such a system can usefully be deployed in prisons and other detention facilities in order help intelligence analysts assess the behaviour or terrorist and organised crime groups, and their potential relationships. Here we present the results of a longitudinal study, carried out with civilians, which demonstrates the capabilities of our system.

Frighteningly bad science.

The idea was that these two physicists wanted to help figure out a way to track prisoners who might be up to no-goodery. Ideally they'd put RFID's into every prisoner's ass and then watch and track the no-gooders. Then after some statistical modeling magic they'd be able to know that prisoner A spends a lot of time humping prisoner B.

That's all fine and dandy, but the PoC implemented about wasn't tested in prisons. It was tested on the the people who live in and around the town of Bath, UK using the resident's bluetooth devices. They have plots and models in their paper showing off some awfully frightening ideas.

So their original idea has nothing to do w/ the implemented idea except for all the spying.

--timball

[0804.3064] Intelligence gathering by capturing the social processes within prisons

I love arxiv. This is a blog that sort of treats arxiv like a journal club.

--timball

the physics arXiv blog

Don Herbert, Mr. Wizard, has passed away at age 90.

2nd most important science guy in my life when I was a kid... the most important thing was the giant woolly mammoth in the lobby of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. If you put the handset to your ear the mammoth would tell you all about itself AND what new things there were to see at the museum.

--timball

RIP Mr. Wizard

This course provides a comprehensive and concise review of the neurosciences, with special emphasis on recent and important developments in the field. Topics include basic neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuroendocrinology, neurochemistry, and neurogenetics. The course is intended for clinical psychologists as well as graduate physicians and residents in neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

Video, slides, and transcripts are freely available.

There are a few other seminars you might want to check out, as well:

Introduction to the Art of Venture Valuation

In this e-seminar, Professor Oren Fuerst of Columbia Business School will provide an overview of the main methods of valuation and then demonstrate some of the adjustments that are typically necessary for early-stage technology companies or projects. The e-seminar includes video, audio with slides, case-study examples of valuation, and an interactive final exercise.

Mathematics of Finance

Professor Mikhail Smirnov's Mathematics of Finance is a two-part course on the basics of probability and finance. This course requires a solid understanding of calculus.

In the following lessons, we will explore the notions of derivatives, futures, and options, as well as theories of volatility, arbitrage, and hedging. We will describe and apply the Black-Scholes formula for pricing options and the theory of Brownian motion as it applies to calculating price and risk.

Small Wonders: The World of Nano-Science

The nanoscale, just above the scale of an atom, is the place where the properties of most common things are determined. It is here that the disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering meet and conspire. In this e-seminar, Professor Horst Stormer magnifies the wondrous nano-world and reveals its enormous potential to shape our future.

Basic and Clinical Neurosciences

This is an updated scan of the Prefatory Matter (Title pages, Table of Contents, Preface by Madras Library Association, Foreword by Sir P.S. Sivaswamy Aiyer, Introduction by Mr. W.C. Berwick Sayers), Chapter 1: The First Law, Chapter 2: The Second Law and Its Struggle, Chapter 3: The Second Law and Its Digvijaya, Chapter 4: The Second Law and Its Implications Pages, Chapter 5: The Third Law, Chapter 6: The Fourth Law, Chapter 7: The Fifth Law, Appendix, and Index, from S.R. Ranganathan's The Five Laws of Library Science, Madras Library Association, 1931. Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (1892-1972) was a pioneer in the field of Library and Information Science. S.R. Ranganathan’s The Five Laws of Library Science, the main premise of which is "books are for use," is arguably the most influential work in LIS to date. © Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science (SRELS). Permission for non-profit use granted by SRELS. To purchase reprints of this work, please visit Ess Ess Publications at http://www.essessreference.com/

Ranganthan's 5 laws were:
1. Books are for use.
2. Every reader his or her book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The Library is a growing organism.

--timball

DLIST - The Five Laws of Library Science

Indian scientists say coffee protects mice from radiation and could work the same way in humans.

Researchers at India's Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) discovered mice injected with caffeine survived high doses of normally lethal radiation.

Although the study was limited to animals, Kachadpillill George, the head of the research team, believes the findings could have implications for humans.

"It does suggest that coffee might have some beneficial effects in protecting against radiation," he told New Scientist magazine.

News in Science - Coffee could provide shield from radiation - 25/06/1999

Emory University psychologist Drew Westen put self-identified Democratic and Republican partisans in brain scanners and asked them to evaluate negative information about various candidates. Both groups were quick to spot inconsistency and hypocrisy -- but only in candidates they opposed.

When presented with negative information about the candidates they liked, partisans of all stripes found ways to discount it, Westen said. When the unpalatable information was rejected, furthermore, the brain scans showed that volunteers gave themselves feel-good pats -- the scans showed that "reward centers" in volunteers' brains were activated. The psychologist observed that the way these subjects dealt with unwelcome information had curious parallels with drug addiction as addicts also reward themselves for wrong-headed behavior.

I want the paper.

Study Ties Political Leanings to Hidden Biases

flynn23 wrote:
This week's episode of scienceNOW is probably the best yet. Hydrogen fuel cells. Supercomputing art projects. And proof of global warming!

I caught this show sans tivo and it was infact fantastic.

RE: NOVA scienceNOW