Space: Drought in Texas Uncovers Spherical Debris from Columbia Shuttle Disaster

Found: One of Columbia's 18 Tanks Nacogdoches Police Department via SPACE The ongoing drought in Texas has turned up new debris from the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster that killed seven NASA astronauts when the shuttle disintegrated upon re-entry over Texas and Louisiana. The spherical tank was found in an exposed part of Lake Nacogdoches about 160 miles northeast of Houston where it came to rest after the disaster eight years...

Computers: Biggest Hack in History: U.N. and 70 More Organizations and States Attacked Over Five Years

Hacked: Someone's Been Cyber Snooping on the UN Javier Carbajal via Wikimedia The biggest hack ever discovered has been exposed by McAfee, and the breadth and depth would be impressive it wasn’t so disconcerting: five years, at least 72 different governments, NGOs, and other organizations (including the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee) and reams and reams of secret data. Of course, McAfee believes there is...

Research: Archaeologists Use a Hacked Kinect To Create 3-D Scans of Dig Sites

Archaeology Dig Grand Canyon NPS via Flickr Archaeological digs are a painstaking process even after the earth has been excavated — artifacts must be carefully catalogued so researchers know exactly where they were found, which tells information about their past. On an upcoming dig in Jordan, a modified Kinect could serve as a 3-D scanner, making this process simpler — and decidedly more high-tech. Researchers hope students traveling...

Innovation: News Corp's 'The Daily' Has Its Own News-Gathering Aerial Drone, Which Is Drawing FAA Inquiries

MicroDrones' md4-1000 MicroDrones The U.S. military has drones, lots of them if the daily reports coming in from Afghanistan and Pakistan are any indication. And a handful of law enforcement groups--though less than would like--have a drone or two at their disposal. But on the domestic, non-security front, drones live a in a regulatory gray area. Hobbyists can use them, but commercial entities are not supposed to employ drones...

Innovation: Microwave Sensors Auto-Detect Bikes At Intersections, To Trigger Traffic Signals and Protect Cyclists

California Bike Commuters Bike commuters in San Jose, Calif., in May 2010. RichardMasoner via Flickr In most cities, bike commuters lucky enough to have their own lanes still cannot trigger traffic signals, forcing them either to wait for a car to pull up, or cross the street to push the crosswalk button. A microwave motion sensor can help by determining when bikes are present. The Bay Area town of Pleasanton, Calif.,...

Web: Germany Investigating Facebook Tagging Feature

BERLIN — A German regulator said Wednesday that he had asked Facebook to disable its new photo-tagging software, saying he was concerned that its facial recognition feature amounted to the unauthorized collection of data on individuals. Johannes Caspar, the data protection supervisor in Hamburg, who has been aggressive in investigating the online practices of companies like Google and Apple, warned that the feature could violate European privacy...

Tech News: South Korean Scientists Create Glowing Dog

Glowing Dog (illustration) SEOUL - SOUTH Korean scientists said on Wednesday they have created a glowing dog using a cloning technique that could help find cures for human diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Yonhap news agency reported. A research team from Seoul National University (SNU) said the genetically modified female beagle, named Tegon and born in 2009, has been found to glow fluorescent green under ultraviolet light if given...

Tech News: People From Northern Parts Of The World Have Bigger Brains

Brains LONDON - PEOPLE from northern parts of the world have evolved bigger brains and larger eyes to help them to cope with long, dark winters and dim skies, scientists said on Wednesday. Researchers from Oxford University studied the eye sockets and brain capacity of 55 human skulls from 12 different populations across the world and found that the further human populations live from the equator, the bigger their brains. It's not because they...

Tech News: Belgium UFO That Puzzled Nasa Was Polystyrene Fake

Triangle Belgium UFO BRUSSELS - AN UNIDENTIFIED flying object photographed high in the Belgian sky that puzzled even Nasa scientists turns out to have been a fake made out of foam, the man behind the hoax said on Tuesday. Though scientists pored over the picture of a triangular-shaped flying saucer with four lights, allegedly photographed in April 1990 by a young worker, the mystery remained intact until the man's revelation on the RTL-TVI network. Made...

Tech News: Alaska Scientists Make Squirrels Hibernate

A squirrel is pictured in Zeuthen, northeastern Germany. -- PHOTO: AFP WASHINGTON - SCIENTISTS in Alaska said on Tuesday they have figured out how to make squirrels hibernate, a process that could be used to preserve brain function in humans who suffer strokes or heart attacks. But the technique only worked in squirrels who were awakened by researchers during their hibernation season, not outside normal hibernation times, said the study...

Tech News: Walmart website adds movie streaming

Retail colossus Walmart on Tuesday added movie streaming to the offerings at its website. -- PHOTO: AP SAN FRANCISCO - RETAIL colossus Walmart on Tuesday added movie streaming to the offerings at its website. Viewing rights to films could be rented or bought at Walmart.com/vudu due to the integration of movie streaming service Vudu, which the US retailer bought in March of last year for a reported price of more than US$100 million ($120...