MythBusters Talk Comic Book Myths, New Season, at San Diego Comic Con (Video!) – “We sat down with MythBusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage to talk about comic book and sci-fi-movie myths they’d like to put to the test—and what we can expect from next season. Plus, MythBuster Grant Imahara tells us how he upgraded his robot creation, Geoff Peterson, to iPad control…”

DIY Wearable Computer Turns You Into a Cyborg – “Magnusson has hacked a pair of head-mounted display glasses and combined it with a homebrewed machine based on a open source Beagleboard single computer. Packed into a CD case and slung across the shoulder messenger-bag style, he is ready to roll.. .”

How Can You Control Your Dreams? – “The ability to manipulate our dream worlds goes beyond the science fiction plot of the movie Inception. A dream expert from Harvard University explains how it works…”

Sprint To Release 3G-Enabling “Case” For iPod Touch – “Recently FCC documents revealed that Sprint is set to launch what appears to be a new case for the iPod Touch that would enable 3G networking on the Wi-Fi only device. Manufactured by ZTE and called the “Peel”, the case is essentially a MiFi like mobile hotspot that snaps on to an iPod Touch, giving it a network connection wherever you can get a Sprint 3G signal…”

NVIDIA GeForce GTX-460 Graphics Card & Starcraft 2 (play Starcraft 2 at maximum settings):

Honda Shows Off Its First Private Jet: Big Pic – “Honda has been showing off its first ever aircraft at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, saying that the jet should fly by the end of the year. The HondaJet is the first venture into aviation for Honda, more commonly known for its cars and motorcycles, with the brand saying that it incorporates many technological advances in aviation design…”

What the world doesn’t know about germ warfare – “Biology poses special problems for arms control because it can be “dual use.” Technology that offers the promise of improved human life — better vaccines, drugs and agricultural products — can also be used at some point to exploit human vulnerability to toxins and infectious disease. The Biological Weapons Convention did not prohibit the development of defensive measures, but the line between permitted defensive research and illicit offensive weapons can be very hard to discern. ..”

A peek inside the “secret, backroom” net neutrality meetings – “We’ve been following this story since late June, when the news first surfaced about these meetings. They don’t seem to be related to any single FCC proceeding. Rather, the focus is on some compromise deal on Internet nondiscrimination rules with which everyone can live, possibly enacted over on Capitol Hill, rather than via the Commission….”

Did emotions evolve to push others into cooperation? – “The next time you feel angry at a friend who has let you down, or grateful toward one whose generosity has surprised you, consider this: you may really be bargaining for better treatment from that person in the future. According to a controversial new theory, our emotions have evolved as tools to manipulate others into cooperating with us…”

Perpetual Motion Machine Due Diligence Documentation – “So now I’m reviewing a document which appears to be written to target a child, and is so laughable in its claims that it amounts to promising perpetual motion. What do I do? “

Competing with the Apple iPad is our top priority, says Microsoft – “Ballmer’s comments come just weeks after Microsoft shelved plans for a flagship, dual-screen tablet-style computer called the Courier. A special team within the company had been working on the secret prototype, but Microsoft announced that it would not be continuing with the Courier project, saying that it was just one of many ideas it was investigating, and that it had “no plans” to build the device at that time…”

Alligator Feeding ‘Frenzy’ Caught on Tape :

Rumors of a Google Nexus Two tip up – “Some believe, however, that plans for a Nexus Two were already so far advanced by the time Google decided to ax the project that it didn’t make sense to throw them out altogether. Indeed, there are those who say Google decided to push ahead with the Nexus two while still stopping the development of any future Nexus devices….”

Gallery: How to Build an Earthquake-Resistant Bridge – “In fact, engineers are designing the new Bay Bridge segments to withstand the largest earth movements predicted for the next 1,500 years. The specifications call for the bridge to be open to traffic within hours after such a massive quake, with minimal repairs required…”

Photosynthetic algae have been found inside the cells of a vertebrate for the first time – “Occasionally, researchers stumble across something extraordinary in a system that has been studied for decades. Ryan Kerney of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, did just that while looking closely at a clutch of emerald-green balls — embryos of the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum). He noticed that their bright green colour comes from within the embryos themselves, as well as from the jelly capsule that encases them…”

Will Facebook Ever Be Replaced? – “Internet start-ups don’t always enjoy a very long life span. Popular fads are created every day, and even though millions of people might be surfing over to the latest and greatest website this week doesn’t mean they won’t move on next week. Much to its credit, Facebook (which may not even qualify as a start-up any longer) has stood firm in the rapid river that is the modern social web and has grown into one of the most powerful web properties online. Could it be that Facebook has found a unique formula that protects them from obsolescence and makes it irreplaceable? We believe so, and today we explore several forces at work to keep Facebook at the forefront of our social-media minds for the foreseeable future…”

How to Access the Internet (A Guide from 2025) – “Welcome to the Internet! By following the simple rules below, you make sure your internet experience is smooth and risk free…”

How Banks Prey On Their Customers – “The banking industry, long accused of consumer abuse, now finds itself in the cross-hairs of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Signed into law by President Obama on July 21, the Act takes aim at a number of long-standing bank practices that many deem harmful to consumers…”

Not a Day Over Infinity – “In his remarkable Pulitzer Prize-­winning book, “The Beak of the Finch,” Jonathan Weiner followed Peter and Rosemary Grant, biologists who had spent years studying birds in the Galápagos Islands. Their work showed that finches evolve rapidly in response to changes in the food supply, a discovery that ran counter to Darwin’s idea that natural selection operates only very slowly. Weiner’s portrait of this scientific couple worked well as a narrative portal to that story of evolutionary biology. ..”

Google Code University – “This website provides tutorials and sample course content so CS students and educators can learn more about current computing technologies and paradigms. In particular, this content is Creative Commons licensed which makes it easy for CS educators to use in their own classes…”

Genome Surprise: Guinea Pigs Have Ebola! – “The ebola virus is one of the nastiest pathogens known to man. It corrodes blood vessels and stops clotting, leaving most of its human victims bleeding to death through their pores. And guinea pigs — along with opossums, wallabies and insect-eating bats — have it in their genes….”

Science literacy at risk of extinction – “Dr Foley says science literacy should be about people being able to use science in a number of ways. “One is to make good decisions when they are going to the polls… and be able to understand the issues which are also scientifically based – energy, food security, climate change, nanotechnology,” she said….”

Wireless, Implantable Glucose Sensor Could Revolutionize Diabetes Treatment – “A new, implantable sensor that wirelessly transmits blood-glucose data has the potential to completely change the way most diabetics control their disease…”

The robot that visits your cubicle – “When Trevor Blackwell, CEO of a company called Anybots, wants to know what his employees are up to, he sends a robot to their cubicles. “I can see if people are busy on something — and then won’t interrupt them,” he said this week. “Or, you know, if they’re doing something that looks interesting, or if they look stuck, I’ll have a conversation with them.”"

[[[Jump to - Interesting Reading #540 – Porsche hybrid, ATM “jackpotting”, New universe model, iPorn, incoming asteroid and much more…]]]