Volunteers wanted for simulated 520-day Mars mission – “Starting in 2010, an international crew of six will simulate a 520-day round-trip to Mars, including a 30-day stay on the martian surface. In reality, they will live and work in a sealed facility in Moscow, Russia, to investigate the psychological and medical aspects of a long-duration space mission. ESA is looking for European volunteers to take part…”

Cheesecake Is Like Heroin to Rats on a Junk-Food Diet – “The next time a friend says he’s addicted to bacon, you should know he probably isn’t joking. The brains of rats fed only on junk food—like bacon, Ho Hos, cheesecake, and sausage—look similar to the brains of heroin-addicted rats, according to new a study…”

The coffee-cup test – “In the deep ocean, the pressure is much higher than on the surface. In order to illustrate this, researchers onboard RV G.O. Sars put a coffee cup into the trawl and brought it down to 2300 meters depth…”

CarGo Vehicle – One Seater Car Concept for Inner City Deliveries – “From designer Adam Schacter comes a concept car innovation that comes to solve a number of problems facing the inner city delivery vehicles. The CarGo is a one sitter electric car with a capability for various configuration to address several delivery needs.”

Microsoft’s latest release is the best operating system on the market – “These are only quibbles, however, inconsequential defects in what’s otherwise a nearly flawless system. Indeed, the new Windows is not only the best operating system that Microsoft has ever produced. It is arguably the fastest, most intuitive, and most useful consumer desktop OS on the market today. Windows 7 edges out Snow Leopard—Apple’s latest Mac operating system—in several important ways and will leave any computers running an older version of the Mac OS in the dust…”

7 Things You Should Know About Upgrading to Windows 7 – “That’s a good indicator that a lot of people are upgrading, and we’re sure there will be even more that follow after consumers spread the word about the vast improvements in Windows 7 over its predecessors. Here’s a simple guideline of what you should know to ensure your upgrade process is smooth — from purchase to install…”

First look inside a Microsoft store:

Broadband in a backpack – “Wireless communication expert Mike Outmesguine has demonstrated an easy way to produce a “Network Relief Kit” – an ultra-portable method of connecting to the internet from almost any location in the world….”

How does the music-identifying app Shazam work its magic? – “Shazam—which launched in the United Kingdom in 2002 as a call-in service and became widely known in the United States last year when it hit the iPhone—solves the dilemma in a few clicks. Press a button on your phone, and in seconds you’ll get the artist and song title. Other than playing video games, it’s the most useful thing you can do on your phone…”

South Florida’s Latest Ponzi Schemer May Be The Most Brazen Yet – “NBC Miami tells the story of another alleged Ponzi schemer. Sean Healy is no Bernie Madoff but he may have walked off with $20 million from his clients most of which seems to have been spent on living an exceedingly lavish lifestyle…”

New TMOS screens may replace LCDs – “TMOS stands for time-multiplexed optical shutter, and it is a completely new technology for creating a TV screen. Its big advantage over an LCD TV screen is the fact that it is far more efficient in its use of light, which should lower the operating cost. It also has a long lifespan…”

Womb transplants ‘a step closer’ – “The first successful human womb transplant could take place within two years, British scientists have said…”

Hydrogen muscle silences the domestic robot – “IF ROBOTS are ever going to be welcome in the home they will need to become a lot quieter. Building them with artificial muscles that run on hydrogen, instead of noisy compressed-air pumps or electric motors, could be the answer….”

St. Louis baby teeth yield new findings on nuclear fallout – “But Tuesday, a New York-based research group released new findings that suggest male tooth donors who ended up with cancer as adults had double the amount of a radioactive isotope created by nuclear fallout than healthy donors who participated in the original St. Louis study. …”

Leaping wolf snatches photo prize – “A picture of a hunting wolf has won the prestigious Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009 award…”

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