Latest Microsoft browser challenges Google – “Microsoft released a web browser on Wednesday that includes a feature that could affect the advertising model of internet rivals such as Google…”

Look Closely, Doctor: See the Camera? – “PSYCHOSIS in the 21st century looks something like this: You think your every move is being filmed for a reality television show starring you, and that everyone in your life is an actor…”

Holy haemorrhage Batman! Wind turbines burst bat lungs – “Conservationists often object to wind farms because of the possibility that they could kill birds. But birds aren’t the only flying animals to be taken out by turbines – it turns out that bats often lose their lives too, and not in quite the way you might imagine…”

The monetary density of things – “It’s a common figure of speech to say that x is worth its weight in y, where y is usually (but not always) gold. But most of us don’t buy and weigh gold very often, so how do you connect that to real life? Does “worth its weight” in pennies or $100 bills make any more sense?”

U.S. Could Cut Fuel Use 50% by 2035 – “A new report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Energy Initiative predicts that a 30-50% reduction in fuel consumption is possible in the US over the next 25-30 years. Initially, this will be achieved through improved gasoline and diesel engines and transmissions, gasoline hybrids and reductions in vehicle weight and drag. In the longer term, the study concludes that plug-in hybrids and, later, hydrogen fuel cells may begin to have a significant impact on fuel use and emissions…”

Target settles suit with Nat’l Federation of Blind – “Target Corp. has agreed to pay $6 million in damages to plaintiffs in California unable to use its online site as part of a class action settlement with the National Federation of the Blind, a leading advocacy group for blind people…”

45th Known Mersenne Prime Found??? – “On August 23rd, a computer reported finding a new Mersenne prime to the server!”

How to Get the Most Out of Your Eccentric Programmer/”Genius” – “I recently posted about a set of programmer personality traits that I’d noticed. At first I thought they were relatively rare, but it seems to me much more prevalent than I’d thought– even the widely read Ruby blogger “raganwald” seemed to admit that he had many of the qualities I was describing…”

Origin of Nerves Traced to Sponges – “Sponges are very primitive animals. They don’t have nerves cells (nor muscles nor eyes nor a lot of other things we commonly associate with animals). So scientists figured sponges split from the tree of life before nerves evolved…”

The Amazing Rusting Aluminum – “Unless you are a representative of a national meteorological bureau licensed to carry a barometer (and odds are you’re not), bringing mercury onboard an airplane is strictly forbidden. Why? If it got loose, it could rust the plane to pieces before it had a chance to land. You see, airplanes are made of aluminum, and aluminum is highly unstable….”

Big step in tiny technology – “The St Andrews researchers have developed a way of forming an easily modified network of molecules over a large area – the chemical technique provides an advantageous alternative to traditional methods which become increasingly cumbersome at the ultrasmall length scale…”

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