NIST postdoctoral researcher David Hanneke at the laser table used to demonstrate the first universal programmable processor for a potential quantum computer.
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the first “universal” programmable quantum information processor able to run any program allowed by quantum mechanics — the rules governing the submicroscopic [...]

Cynomolgus macaque. New research in these primates suggests that a gene delivery strategy that produces follistatin can improve muscle mass and function.
A study appearing in Science Translational Medicine puts scientists one step closer to clinical trials to test a gene delivery strategy to improve muscle mass and function in patients with certain degenerative muscle disorders.

The IMaX instrument not only depicts the solar surface, it also makes magnetic fields visible; these appear as black or white structures in the polarised light.
The Sun is a bubbling mass. Packages of gas rise and sink, lending the sun its grainy surface structure, its granulation. Dark spots appear and disappear, clouds of matter dart [...]

The Webbook from Litl
This is the Webbook from Boston-based Litl. It is the combination of netbook and photoframe. Powered by 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, and comes with HDMI output, 1GB of RAM, 2GB of flash memory, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, a webcam, mic, and speakers.
 

After throwing your laptop, charger and spare battery into your travel bag as you head out the door, suddenly you don’t feel so mobile anymore. One solution is to rely more on your iPhone for basic business tasks, such as grabbing data from your company’s computer systems, managing a Web site and even viewing, editing [...]

Cassini-Huygens swings by Earth and accelerates towards Saturn.

When Europe’s comet chaser Rosetta swings by Earth on Nov. 13 for a critical gravity assist, tracking data will be collected to precisely measure the satellite’s change in orbital energy. The results could help unravel a cosmic mystery that has stumped scientists for two decades.

Yellow jewelweed (impatiens pallida) appears to have the ability to recognize ‘relatives’ from ’strangers’ and then shift resources for growth to benefit relatives.
Although plants have the ability to sense and respond to other plants, their ability to recognize kin and act altruistically has been the subject of few studies. The authors explored kin recognition in [...]

Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopy of this inconspicuous blue object.
Astrophysicists at the University of Warwick and Kiel University have discovered two earth sized bodies with oxygen rich atmospheres — however there is a bit of a disappointing snag for anyone looking for a potential home for alien life, or even a future home for ourselves, [...]

This photograph shows a female of an as yet un-named boneworm in the genus Osedax, which has been carefully removed from the whale bone in which it was growing.
It sounds like a classic horror story — eyeless, mouthless worms lurk in the dark, settling onto dead animals and sending out green “roots” to devour their [...]

Artist’s impression of a baby star still surrounded by a protoplanetary disc in which planets are forming.
A ground-breaking census of 500 stars, 70 of which are known to host planets, has successfully linked the long-standing “lithium mystery” observed in the Sun to the presence of planetary systems. Using ESO’s successful HARPS spectrograph, a team of [...]

SFFaudio has just announced their 4th Annual Make an Audiobook, Get an Audiobook Challenge. They have twenty Science Fiction and Fantasy titles of public domain and Creative Commons novels that they’d like to see freely available as audiobooks on the internet. They’re looking for participants to commit to recording and editing the sound files and [...]

Gene targets of FOXP2.
If humans are genetically related to chimps, why did our brains develop the innate ability for language and speech while theirs did not?

Mobile phones and other cordless telephones have a biological effect on the brain, according to new research.

A study at Örebro University in Sweden indicates that mobile phones and other cordless telephones have a biological effect on the brain. It is still too early to say if any health risks are involved, but medical researcher Fredrik [...]

Pacific ocean. Did water come from ice-covered asteroids that may have reached the Earth around one hundred million years after the birth of the planets?

Contrary to preconceived notions, the atmosphere and the oceans were perhaps not formed from vapors emitted during intense volcanism at the dawning of our planet. Francis Albarède of the Laboratoire des [...]

Stefanie Milam, Michel Nuevo and Scott Sandford.
NASA scientists studying the origin of life have reproduced uracil, a key component of our hereditary material, in the laboratory. They discovered that an ice sample containing pyrimidine exposed to ultraviolet radiation under space-like conditions produces this essential ingredient of life.

Electron beam freeform fabrication process.
A group of engineers working on a novel manufacturing technique at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., have come up with a new twist on the popular old saying about dreaming and doing: “If you can slice it, we can build it.”

SimplicITy computers have a basic start screen with just six options
An easy-to-use computer that helps older computer users surf the internet has been unveiled.  The PC, which has just six main buttons on the desktop, was unveiled by former Blue Peter Presenter Valerie Singleton yesterday.
 

The Human eye
Autism affects an estimated 1 in 150 children today, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. Despite its widespread effect, autism is not well understood and there are no objective medical tests to diagnose it. Recently, University of Missouri researchers have developed a pupil response test that [...]

Schematic diagram to show how the mechanical advantage and active muscle volume in the dinosaur hind limb were reconstructed.
Were dinosaurs “warm-blooded” like present-day mammals and birds, or “cold-blooded” like present day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond deciding whether or not you’d snuggle up to a dinosaur on a cold winter’s evening.

Swift X-ray observations of galaxy NGC 5408 indicate its ultraluminous X-ray source undergoes periodic changes every 115.5 days.

While astronomers have studied lightweight and heavyweight black holes for decades, the evidence for black holes with intermediate masses has been much harder to come by. Now, astronomers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., find [...]

Text messaging on a mobile phone.

The world record for fastest text message typing is held by a 21-year old college student from Utah, but his dexterous digits could mean serious injury later on. Most adults aged 18-21 prefer texting over e-mail or phone calls, and ergonomics researchers are starting to wonder whether it’s putting the [...]

When a fetus is smaller than expected for the number of weeks of pregnancy, due to associated problems like a poorly developed heart, health concerns as severe as brain damage can result.
When a fetus is smaller than expected for the number of weeks of pregnancy, due to associated problems like a poorly developed heart, health [...]

This male Hetaerina damselfly from the occisa species has red spots at the base and tip of its wings but no black pigmentation.
Why do so many animal species — including fish, birds and insects — display such rich diversity in coloration and other traits? In new research, Gregory Grether, UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary [...]

A highly focused laser beam (at right) is used to apply mechanical force (shown as a double headed arrow) to a microsphere (white) coated with histocompatibility protein.

The immune system’s T cells have the unique responsibilities of being both jury and executioner. They examine other cells for signs of disease, including cancers or infections, and, if [...]

Unlike humans, zebrafish are able to regenerate amputated appendages.
The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine — the ability to “grow back” a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease — has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this seemingly magic process are still poorly understood.