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Sunday, June 30, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Obama says climate change is make-or-break issue
President Barack Obama wipes sweat from his head during a speech on climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. Obama is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Barack Obama wipes sweat from his head during a speech on climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. Obama is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
FILE - In this May 21, 2013 file photo, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz speaks after being sworn in as Energy Secretary, at the Energy Department in Washington. Moniz says coal will continue to play a role in meeting America?s energy needs even as the Obama administration seeks to reduce carbon emissions and combat global warming. In an interview with The Associated Press, Moniz refuted claims by Republicans and even some coal-state Democrats that the president?s climate plan would cripple the coal industry. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
President Barack Obama gestures during a speech on climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. Obama is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is trying to frame climate change as a make-or-break political issue, urging Americans to vote only for those who will protect the country from environmental harm.
He says people in the United States already are paying a price for climate change, including in lost lives and hundreds of billions of dollars.
"If you agree with me, I'll need you to act," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. "Remind everyone who represents you, at every level of government, that there is no contradiction between a sound environment and a strong economy ? and that sheltering future generations against the ravages of climate change is a prerequisite for your vote."
In his remarks released Saturday but recorded at the White House before his trip to Africa, Obama is trying to persuade the public to help sell his climate change plan for him.
That plan, released last week, is bypassing Congress after years of efforts to get lawmakers to pass legislation to deal with the issue.
At the core of Obama's plan are new controls on new and existing power plants that emit carbon dioxide, heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. The program is intended to boost renewable energy production on federal lands, increase efficiency standards and prepare communities to deal with higher temperatures.
None of the measures in Obama's plan requires congressional action.
Republicans and some Democrats have denounced the plan as a job-killing "war on coal," and opponents could try to undercut Obama's plan or hinder it through legal action if Americans don't seem to be on board.
"The question is not whether we need to act. The question is whether we will have the courage to act before it's too late," Obama said.
Obama has also pledged that the U.S. will lead other nations in a "coordinated assault" to reduce pollution. But he acknowledged Saturday in a town hall meeting with young people in Johannesburg that the U.S. and other wealthy countries must shoulder a disproportionate part of the burden.
His proposal to cut off U.S. subsidies for coal-fired power plants overseas, for example, includes exemptions for the poorest countries where no better technology is available.
"The United States cannot do it by itself," Obama said in South Africa. "I expect it's going to be your generation that helps lead this, because if we don't, it's going to be your generation that suffers the most."
In the Republican address, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas says there are troubling, unanswered questions about the implementation of Obama's health care law.
"We must put an end to the fear and uncertainty," Roberts says. "Those 'bumps' and 'glitches' the president talks about? It's a train wreck, folks, and we have to get America out of the way."
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AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
___
Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
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Friday, June 28, 2013
U.S. citizen killed in Egyptian violence: officials
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - A U.S. citizen was stabbed to death in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Friday during clashes between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Mursi, a doctor and three security officials said.
A U.S. embassy official said: "The U.S. embassy has heard of the reports of the death of an American citizen and is seeking to confirm them."
The young American man died from a wound to the chest, said General Amin Ezzeddin, a senior Alexandria security official. Another man, an Egyptian, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.
The violence erupted when anti-Mursi protesters tried to storm offices used by Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, a city on Egypt's Mediterranean coast. The American had been recording the events by camera.
"There were two deaths - an Egyptian, and an American who was wounded during the events. He was filming," Ezzedin said.
"He was wounded during his presence in the events and the clashes. He was wounded in the chest, he fell unconscious, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital," he told Al Jazeera's Egypt news channel.
The account was confirmed by Ibrahim al-Roubi, head of the emergency unit in the Alexandria health department, and by two other security officials.
(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh and Abdel Rahman Youssef; editing by Andrew Roche)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-citizen-killed-egypt-violence-officials-190115008.html
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Avengers-style Helicarrier is still pie in the sky
June 28, 2013 ? Physics students calculate the four-propeller powered giant aircraft seen in the Avengers would not be possible with modern technology
One of the most impressive features of last year?s blockbuster smash The Avengers was a gigantic flying aircraft carrier powered by four immense propellers.
But could the four-propeller ?helicarrier? ? owned by Marvel comics? spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D ? actually work in reality?
According to University of Leicester physics students, the answer is no ? as we currently cannot make propellers capable of spinning fast enough to hold the 1,900 ft vehicle aloft with only four sets of blades.
The group of fourth year MPhys students published their findings in a paper entitled Helicarrier: Highly Feasible or Hollywood Hijinks? in the latest volume of the University of Leicester?s Journal of Physics Special Topics.
The journal is published every year, and features original short papers written by students in the final year of their four-year Master of Physics degree.
The students are encouraged to be imaginative with their topics, and the aim is for them to learn about aspects of publishing and peer review.
Marvel Comics? intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D uses the Helicarrier as its airborne headquarters.
In the 2012 film, S.H.I.E.L.D agent Nick Fury and superheroes Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor board the Helicarrier as they try to track down the powerful Tesseract device.
The students found that an object the size of the Helicarrier would need to propel its four sets of 30 metre blades at 324 rotations per minute to keep its huge mass ? estimated at 400 million kilograms - in the sky.
This is faster than the maximum speeds achieved by propellers on modern helicopters. Helicopters with 16.5 metre propeller blades rotating at maximum engine power are only capable of reaching speeds of 258 rotations per minute.
As a result, the Helicarrier would struggle to keep afloat with the mere four propellers shown in the film ? especially as one of the propellers is blown up by Hawkeye during an explosive fight scene.
The group consisted of final year MPhys students Ashley Clark, 22, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Kate Houghton, 22, from Sidcup, London, Jacek Kuzemczak, 22, from Lincolnshire and Henry Simms, 22, from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
Kate Houghton, the lead author of the article, said: ?To make the Helicarrier more feasible, several sets of smaller blades would be required. It is also likely that conventional engines used today would need to be redesigned to be more powerful and efficient. Another option would be to reduce the Helicarrier in size, since fewer small, less powerful propellers would be required.
?New films today often use special effects and contain far-fetched, futuristic machines. We found it very interesting to investigate the possibility of some of these vehicles becoming a reality in the future. It was also an excellent excuse for a film night!?
Henry Simms said: ?The Journals of Special Topics module was different to most of the other modules because we were able to choose what topics we researched and investigated. We enjoyed working in groups, writing a series of short articles and reviewing each other?s work because it gave us a great insight into how the scientific community works together to publish scientific papers.
?The module improved our ability to work as a team - and having to come with original ideas provided us with a new challenge. It was a great experience, as skills learned through this course will help anybody like myself pursuing a PhD and scientific research.?
Course leader Dr Mervyn Roy, a lecturer at the University?s Department of Physics and Astronomy, said: ?A lot of the papers published in the Journal are on subjects that are amusing, topical, or a bit off-the-wall. Our fourth years are nothing if not creative!
?But, to be a research physicist - in industry or academia - you need to show some imagination, to think outside the box, and this is certainly something that the module allows our students to practice.
?Most of our masters students hope to go on to careers in research where a lot of their time will be taken up with scientific publishing - writing and submitting papers, and writing and responding to referee reports.
?This is another area where the module really helps. Because Physics Special Topics is run exactly like a professional journal, the students get the chance to develop all the skills they will need when dealing with high profile journals like Nature or Science later on in life.?
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/rNezF28GC2s/130628091957.htm
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How Translation PMs Can Generate Sales | Localisation Sales ...
Translation PMs are some of the most overworked, yet most under-utilized resources in any translation company. What can I possibly mean by under-utilized? ?Project managers are crazy busy managing resources and meeting client deadlines with constantly-changing variables. ?How can they be under-utilized? ?While it?s true that most translation PMs are crazy-busy, I sometimes wonder whether they are simply busy doing things that could be automated (file management) or whether some of their time could be freed up to move the business forward by helping to generate additional revenue.
Project managers in sales? ?This isn?t as ludicrous or scary (to PMs) as it sounds. ?I?m by no means advocating that PMs become part of the outbound sales team, cold calling and prospecting for new customers. ?What I am suggesting is that translation companies and their PMs capitalise on their, sometimes very strong, relationships with customers to generate incremental revenue.
Why?
Project managers tend to have a stronger relationship with the customer than sales people. ?After all, these are the people who DELIVER. ?These are the people with whom the customer is in frequent contact throughout the course of a project. ?Relationships develop, customers share what?s going on in their professional and personal lives, perhaps even information about company initiatives and changes well before they happen?information that any sales person would love to know, but can?t know because they are not intimately involved in the day-to-day communication regarding projects.
Unfortunately many project managers simply don?t realise the importance of the information customers share, because they are generally not trained to see business (sales) opportunities and are too busy trying to deliver. ?This is a shame, since expanding relationships with existing customers is so much easier than winning new ones (about 50% easier). ?Maybe it?s the fragmented nature of our customer?s companies, but customers themselves don?t always realise the importance of the information they share either, when if they were aware, they would be happy to recommend our services or go to bat for us with co-workers in need of translation services. ?It?s up to us to listen to what customers say and connect the dots to new business potential. ?PMs are usually in the best position to do this.
I?m really not advocating that PMs become sales people. ?But I do advocate they become more commercially aware and learn to recognise sales opportunities when they present themselves. ?They don?t have to close the deal themselves, but merely communicate it to the correct sales person. ?In a time when we all want to increase revenues more quickly, doesn?t it make sense to capitalise on relationships we already have that offer shorter sales cycles and an increased probability of closure?
So what am I suggesting? ?What can PMs do to spot sales opportunities?
1) ?Think! ?Does the current project imply future projects? ?If it?s a contract translation, what happens when the contract is won? ?Marketing materials? ?Website?
2) ?Do customer comments suggest additional business? ?When a customer mentions a merger or acquisition, this could suggest business opportunities. ?If they mention a new product that is outside their division or product group, it could also suggest additional revenue opportunities. ?Ask the client about it. ?Depending on their answer, you may want to get your sales team involved to pursue it.
3) ?Does your customer complain about internal problems that affect translations? ?Or conversely do you complain about things the customer does that hinders your ability to deliver? ?Both of these can be sales opportunities. ?Customer problems suggest opportunities. ?Make your sales colleagues aware of these problems and offer to discuss potential solutions. ?Sales people are not always equipped to do this themselves and will appreciate your insights. ?Perhaps the two of you together can present the new solution to the customer.
This all sounds great, but PMs must have some kind of motivation beyond altruism to add this to their list of things to do.
It?s management?s responsibility to make this happen.
Here are 7 things you can do to encourage PMs to take on some limited sales responsibility.
1) ?Recognise you?re probably not getting as much revenue from existing clients as you think.
2) Remember that incremental business from existing customers is far easier and faster to win than finding and developing new customers.
3) Provide training to PMs so they know how to recognise sales opportunities.
4) Free up PM time that is wasted managing files and doing things that don?t directly improve project delivery or the bottom line.
5) ?Foster collaboration between sales and PMO to handle referrals and other internally-generated opportunities.
6) Rethink compensation. ?PMs deserve recognition for uncovering opportunities just as much as sales people do for closing them. ?Cross-departmental team incentives are something to consider, since the PMs role is bound to increase as customers demand more insight and specific knowledge to solve their problems. ?Much of this expertise lies in the PMO organisation, not sales.
7) Never underestimate the power of Sales/PMO collaboration. ?Opportunities uncovered by PMs have helped me close well over $750k in sales that I otherwise might not have won on my own. ?Fortunately they were rewarded right along side me for their contributions.
We need all the sources of revenue we can find. PMs can be a crucial one!
?
Source: http://www.l10nsalesandmarketing.com/archives/2075
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
Rudd to be sworn in as Australian prime minister
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Kevin Rudd will be sworn in as Australian prime minister on Thursday, three years and three days after he was ousted from the nation's leadership in an internal government showdown.
Julia Gillard tendered her resignation as prime minister to Governor-General Quentin Bryce Wednesday night after losing a ballot of ruling lawmakers to Rudd 57 votes to 45.
Bryce revealed she took late night legal advice on whether she should swear Rudd in as her replacement.
A minority government such as Gillard led has not been seen in Australian federal politics since World War II and the ruling Labor Party's leadership change has raised unique constitutional questions.
While Rudd has the support of his party, he does not necessarily have the support of a majority of lawmakers in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
He could face a vote of no confidence before Parliament adjourns Thursday night for what is likely to be the last time before elections.
Gillard had set Sept. 14 as the election date. But Rudd has given no indication of whether he would stick with that timetable.
A loss of a no-confidence motion could trigger an election as early as Aug. 3.
Acting Solicitor-General Robert Orr wrote to Bryce that Rudd should be commissioned as prime minister.
Bryce's secretary Stephen Brady wrote that she wants an assurance from Rudd " that he will announce his appointment at the first possible opportunity to the House of Representatives on order to give the House the opportunity for whatever, if any, action it chooses to take."
Wednesday's leadership ballot was forced by government lawmakers hoping to avoid a huge defeat in upcoming elections.
Gillard lacked Rudd's charisma, and although many Labor lawmakers preferred her style, her deepening unpopularity among voters compelled a majority to seek a change ahead of looming elections.
Labor depends on independents and a minor party for its fragile ruling coalition, but Rudd appeared capable of retaining it after two independent lawmakers who did not back Gillard's government said they would support his.
Rudd gave no indication of new policy directions or when he expected Australians would go to the polls.
"In 2007, the Australian people elected me to be their prime minister and that is a task I resume today with humility, with honor and with an important sense of energy and purpose," he said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rudd-sworn-australian-prime-minister-233011428.html
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Tim Cook's new compensation plan bets long on AAPL
Over the last week Apple announced changes to CEO Tim Cook?s compensation. The changes are quite non-standard and there has been much discussion on the topic. Here?s the situation: Cook was granted one million restricted stock units after taking the CEO job. Some people incorrectly call these stock options. They aren?t the same thing but it doesn?t matter for this discussion. So, what's changed and what does it all mean for Apple investors?
Originally, Cook was to get half a million shares in August 2016 and another half a million shares in August 2021. The value of the stock would only depend upon the stock price, but either way he?d get all one million shares so long as he stayed in the CEO position. Makes sense right? Long term compensation has always been popular for executives.
Well, as the story goes, Cook wanted to tie his compensation more directly to the stock?s actual performance. But he didn?t want to do this in a way that gave him more potential upside. That would seem greedy. So he proposed that the board of directors measure Apple?s stock performance against the S&P 500 and grant him the full one million shares only if Apple performs in the top third of all companies that make up this index.
Interesting.
Some have said Steve Jobs would never do this. That may be true. Maybe it isn?t. Who cares.
Cook?s potentially taking a significant hit to his total compensation between now and 2021. He?s also tying his compensation to votes cast by Wall Street. I say this because the stock trades based on actual buying and selling of shares, which I think of as voting with your wallet. Some have said Steve Jobs would never do this. That may be true. Maybe it isn?t. Who cares. Steve was a brilliant man, and perhaps the best tech CEO that ever lived. We all wish he was still here. Regardless, Cook makes his own decisions and we should simply ask ourselves if this decision makes sense.
Apple says it is leadership by example. I agree. I don?t think Cook is tying himself to the short term whims of Wall Street. In fact it?s quite the opposite. He?s tying himself to the long term performance of Apple stock. Notice they phrase ?long term?.
Cook?s stock grants will be measured against a 3-year average of Apple versus the S&P 500. Each year he?ll get a grant of stock dependent upon that rolling 3 year performance. In the end, after the vesting period is complete, Tim Cook?s stock compensation will have been significantly tied to the performance of the stock over about an 8-year period.
I don?t think Cook is tying himself to the short term whims of Wall Street. In fact it?s quite the opposite. He?s tying himself to the long term performance of Apple stock.
That?s light years on Wall Street. Most money managers can?t fathom the idea of thinking beyond the next couple of quarters. To tie your stock compensation to an 8-year period of time is not saying ?I?m going to make decisions that please Wall Street?. Not even close.
Cook is wealthy. He doesn?t need the money. But still, people tend to be greedy and I applaud him for doing what he?s done. It makes sense. It probably doesn?t change much but it?s a great signal to the market that he?s committed to long term stock performance.
The only way I can see this logically being spun in an negative way is if Cook?s real plan is to leave prior to August 2016. If that happens he?d get a good chunk of stock vesting before the original planned vesting date. But I don?t believe he?s going anywhere, and I think making that argument would be a huge stretch.
Well done, Mr. Cook. This is a non-standard way to behave, and it?s a very shareholder friendly move.
     |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/3Kv3V1Yj4M0/story01.htm
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Taptu
Taptu is a free online RSS feed reader that also has apps for Android, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, and Nook. Taptu's identifying feature is that it combines RSS with a magazine-like layout and the option to include feed content from big-name media outlets and your own private social media streams (similar to Feedly, Flipboard for iPad, and the like). You can add vertical columns that hold customized feed streams, much in the way Tweetdeck lets you sort your feeds and alerts into columns. Taptu offers a few great customization features, including the ability to color-code feeds. But the service has wrinkles, enough to put me off from using it as my replacement to Google Reader (I chose G2Reader for personal use). If you like magazine-style content and are stuck on having native mobile apps, though, Taptu could be the right way to go.
Signing Up
Using Taptu requires integrating it with an existing account: Google, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. I'm completely turned off by services that don't allow a simple email or username and password sign up, seeing as I don't know exactly how much of my personal information the service is going to take from my other accounts.
To test the app, I caved and gave it access to my Google account. It connected to find my Google Reader data, although it doesn't automatically display it. Rather, Taptu has you build your feed display from a long list of options, which include an existing Google Reader material you may have, but also incorporates news sites, online magazines, and a whole host of options. You end up selecting which feeds from all these choices you'd like to see in your primary display area. Each item can be color-coded, a nice touch in my book, although folder organization is missing entirely. Instead, you have vertical columns of streams, and my only problem with that is they are harder to organize and see at a glance than a simple folder with items inside it.
Visuals
Taptu definitely has a flashier look than simple RSS feed readers such as The Old Reader, G2Reader, Feedly, or SwarmIQ. It's much more akin in design to something like Flipboard or Pulse.
I can appreciate that some people prefer a graphically rich design, but I almost think of products like these as being something different than RSS feed readers. While I enjoy Flipboard for browsing leisurely from time to time, that's not how I interact with RSS feed content, which instead keeps me abreast of trends. I tend to follow blogs primarily, and I watch a few news sites but mostly to browse headlines, wherein the simplicity of RSS makes sense. I'd rather see a few lines of text when scrolling headlines than glance at inches upon inches of highly designed graphics.
Another flaw: Taptu shows you two share buttons, one at the top left on the banner bar (see the slideshow), and one on the top right of each post, which makes it confusing to know what exactly you might be sharing from the leftmost button. (Answer: Despite their different locations, the both only share the immediate post.)
While testing the app in the Chrome Web browser on Mac OS X, I hit a few instances of buggy displays when trying to connect to my social media feeds (see the slideshow for an example). A pop-up display looked like it was supposed to prompt me to sign into the account in question, but it showed up (multiple times) as translucent or not fully rendered.
These are the kinds of issues and inconsistencies that need to be ironed out before I would seriously consider using Taptu on a regular basis.
Is Taptu for You?
Taptu can't import OPML files, and that was as big a turn-off for me as the inability to sign up using a username and password. A spokesperson from Taptu confirmed that users will not be able to import Google Reader data after July 1, and it's not clear to me whether existing Google Reader integration will continue to work either (it all depends on whether Taptu is pulling data from your Google account all the time or if Taptu imported the data behind the scenes for you).
The free service offers plenty, and could make for a great app to have if you like magazine-style content and exploring online articles more than browsing top headlines and trends from your own tightly managed set of feeds. I also like that Taptu really pushed mobile apps to market, as an increasing number of users rely on their mobile devices more than desktop and laptop computers. Taptu needs to focus more on fixing and improving what it already has on offer rather than beefing up new tools and features. There's still a good deal of ironing that needs to be done, particularly with the interface, to make Taptu more usable and straightforward.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/kp0rfRYw6fk/0,2817,2420938,00.asp
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Al-Qaida said to be changing its ways after leaks
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. listens to testimony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, by National Security Agency (NSA) Gen. Keith B. Alexander during the committee's hearing regarding NSA surveillance. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. listens to testimony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, by National Security Agency (NSA) Gen. Keith B. Alexander during the committee's hearing regarding NSA surveillance. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. intelligence agencies are scrambling to salvage their surveillance of al-Qaida and other terrorists who are working frantically to change how they communicate after a National Security Agency contractor leaked details of two NSA spying programs. It's an electronic game of cat-and-mouse that could have deadly consequences if a plot is missed or a terrorist operative manages to drop out of sight.
Two U.S. intelligence officials say members of virtually every terrorist group, including core al-Qaida, are attempting to change how they communicate, based on what they are reading in the media, to hide from U.S. surveillance ? the first time intelligence officials have described which groups are reacting to the leaks. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak about the intelligence matters publicly.
The officials wouldn't go into details on how they know this, whether it's terrorists switching email accounts or cellphone providers or adopting new encryption techniques, but a lawmaker briefed on the matter said al-Qaida's Yemeni offshoot, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, has been among the first to alter how it reaches out to its operatives.
The lawmaker spoke anonymously because he would not discuss the confidential briefing by name.
Shortly after Edward Snowden leaked documents about the secret NSA surveillance programs, chat rooms and websites used by like-minded extremists and would-be recruits advised users how to avoid NSA detection, from telling them not to use their real phone numbers to recommending specific online software programs to keep spies from tracking their computers' physical locations.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said there are "changes we can already see being made by the folks who wish to do us harm, and our allies harm."
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Tuesday that Snowden "has basically alerted people who are enemies of this country ... (like) al-Qaida, about what techniques we have been using to monitor their activities and foil plots, and compromised those efforts, and it's very conceivable that people will die as a result."
At the same time, NSA and other counterterrorist analysts have been focusing their attention on the terrorists, watching their electronic communications and logging all changes, including following which Internet sites the terrorist suspects visit, trying to determine what system they might choose to avoid future detection, according to a former senior intelligence official speaking anonymously as a condition of discussing the intelligence operations.
"It's frustrating. You have to start all over again to track the target," said M.E. "Spike" Bowman, a former intelligence officer and deputy general counsel of the FBI, now a fellow at the University of Virginia's Center for National Security Law. But the NSA will catch up eventually, he predicted, because there are only so many ways a terrorist can communicate. "I have every confidence in their ability to regain access."
Terror groups switching to encrypted communication may slow the NSA, but encryption also flags the communication as something the U.S. agency considers worth listening to, according to a new batch of secret and top-secret NSA documents published last week by The Guardian, a British newspaper. They show that the NSA considers any encrypted communication between a foreigner they are watching and a U.S.-based person as fair game to gather and keep, for as long as it takes to break the code and examine it.
Documents released last week also show measures the NSA takes to gather foreign intelligence overseas, highlighting the possible fallout of the disclosures on more traditional spying. Many foreign diplomats use email systems like Hotmail for their personal correspondence. Two foreign diplomats reached this week who use U.S. email systems that the NSA monitors overseas say they plan no changes, because both diplomats said they already assumed the U.S. was able to read that type of correspondence. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss their methods of communication publicly.
The changing terrorist behavior is part of the fallout of the release of dozens of top-secret documents to the news media by Snowden, 30, a former systems analyst on contract to the NSA.
The Office of the Director for National Intelligence and the NSA declined to comment on the fallout, but the NSA's director, Gen. Keith Alexander, told lawmakers that the leaks have caused "irreversible and significant damage to this nation."
"I believe it will hurt us and our allies," Alexander said.
The leaks revealed that the NSA was scanning the worldwide use of nine U.S.-based Internet service providers, including Google, Yahoo, Skype and YouTube.
"After the leak, jihadists posted Arabic news articles about it ... and recommended fellow jihadists to be very cautious, not to give their real phone number and other such information when registering for a website," said Adam Raisman of the SITE Intelligence Group, a private analysis firm. They also gave out specific advice, recommending jihadists use privacy-protecting email systems like TOR, also called The Onion Router, to hide their computer's IP address, and to use encrypted links to access jihadi forums, Raisman said. While TOR originally was designed to help dissidents communicate in countries where the Internet is censored, it is facing legal difficulties because criminals allegedly have used it as well.
"Criminals are doing well without things like TOR," said Karen Reilly, a spokeswoman for TOR. "If TOR disappeared tomorrow they would still have secure, anonymous access to the Internet. ... Their victims would not."
Other analysts predicted a two-track evolution away from the now-exposed methods of communication: A terrorist who was using Skype to plan an attack might stop using that immediately so as not to expose the imminent operation, said Ben Venzke of the private analysis firm IntelCenter.
But if the jihadi group uses a now-exposed system like YouTube to disseminate information and recruit more followers, they'll make a gradual switch to something else that wasn't revealed by Snowden's leaks ? moving slowly in part because they'll be trying to determine whether new systems they are considering aren't also compromised, and they'll have to reach their followers and signal the change. That will take time.
"Overall, for terrorist organizations and other hostile actors, leaks of this nature serve as a wake-up call to look more closely at how they're operating and improve their security," Venzke said. "If the CIA or the FBI was to learn tomorrow that its communications are being monitored, do you think it would be business as usual or do you think they would implement a series of changes over time?"
The disclosure that intelligence agencies were listening to Osama bin Laden drove him to drop the use of all electronic communications.
"When it leaked that bin Laden was using a Thuraya cellphone, he switched to couriers," said Jane Harman, former member of the House Intelligence Committee and now director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center. "The more they know, the clearer the road map is for them."
It took more than a decade to track bin Laden down to his hiding place in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by following one of those couriers.
___
Follow Kimberly Dozier on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kimberlydozier
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Efficient production process for coveted nanocrystals
June 25, 2013 ? A formation mechanism of nanocrystalline cerium dioxide (CeO2), a versatile nanomaterial, has been unveiled by scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
The research results were published in the scientific journal Chemistry -- A European Journal. This finding potentially simplifies and alleviates the existing synthetic processes of nanocrystalline CeO2 production.
Nanocrystalline CeO2 particles are widely used, for example, in catalysts for hazardous gas treatment, in electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells, in polishing materials for advanced integrated circuits, in sunscreen cosmetics, and in such medical applications as artificial superoxide dismutase. Current industrial syntheses of nanocrystalline CeO2 are based on sol-gel processes followed by thermal treatment and/or the addition of accelerant reagents. Any further improvement of the synthetic strategy for CeO2 nanocrystals requires a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in their formation at the atomic scale.
Dr. Atsushi Ikeda-Ohno from the University of New South Wales, Australia, together with Dr. Christoph Hennig from the HZDR opted for a sophisticated multi-spectroscopic approach that combines dynamic light scattering and synchrotron-based X-ray techniques. These complex investigations involved the use of two world-leading synchrotron facilities of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France and SPring-8 in Hyogo, Japan.
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For the first time ever, the scientists were able to perform an in-situ observation of nanocrystal evolution. So far, little has been known of the formation mechanism of metal nanocrystals; mainly because appropriate analytical techniques were lacking. The most widely used techniques for metal nanocrystal research are electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. They are powerful enough to visualize the appearance of nanocrystals and to acquire their lattice information, but they are not applicable to the solution state where the evolution of metal nanocrystals occurs. "To probe the formation of nanocrystalline CeO2 in an aqueous solution, we combined different spectroscopic techniques, including dynamic light scattering, synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and high energy X-ray scattering," says Dr. Atsushi Ikeda-Ohno.
The information the researchers obtained is fundamental to simplifying and alleviating the synthetic process of CeO2 nanocrystals. They revealed that uniformly sized nanoparticles of CeO2 can be produced simply by pH adjustment of tetravalent cerium (Ce(IV)) in an aqueous solution without subsequent physical/chemical treatment such as heating or adding accelerant chemicals. The produced CeO2 crystals have a uniform particle size of 2 -- 3 nanometers, irrespective of the preparation conditions (e.g. pH and type of pH adjustment). This particle size is exactly in the range which is interesting for industrial applications. A key finding is that mononuclear Ce(IV) solution species do not result in nano-sized CeO2 crystals. The prerequisite is the presence of oligomeric Ce(IV) solution species, such as dimers or trimers.
"We're indeed very glad that our multi-spectroscopic approach is also applicable to any other research on metal nanocrystals. That's why this study contributes to an emerging research area on metal nanocrystals in a broader context," says Dr. Christoph Hennig. "And the HZDR's own measuring station at the ESRF provides the best possible opportunities for this research area of metal nanocrystals which directly contributes to industrial applications."
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Russia rejects US demand for Snowden's extradition
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday, June 25, 2013. Lavrov on Tuesday bluntly rejected U.S. demands to extradite National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, saying that Snowden hasn?t crossed the Russian border as he seeks to evade prosecution. Sergey Lavrov insisted that Russia has nothing to do with Snowden or his travel plans. Lavrov wouldn?t say where Snowden is, but he angrily lashed out at the U.S. for demanding his extradition and warnings of negative consequences if Moscow fails to comply. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday, June 25, 2013. Lavrov on Tuesday bluntly rejected U.S. demands to extradite National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, saying that Snowden hasn?t crossed the Russian border as he seeks to evade prosecution. Sergey Lavrov insisted that Russia has nothing to do with Snowden or his travel plans. Lavrov wouldn?t say where Snowden is, but he angrily lashed out at the U.S. for demanding his extradition and warnings of negative consequences if Moscow fails to comply. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
FILE - In this June 21, 2013 file photo, a banner supporting Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, is displayed at Central, Hong Kong's business district. The Hong Kong government says Snowden wanted by the U.S. for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs has left for a "third country." The South China Morning Post reported Sunday, June 23, 2013 that Snowden was on a plane for Moscow, but that Russia was not his final destination. Snowden has talked of seeking asylum in Iceland. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday, June 25, 2013. Lavrov on Tuesday bluntly rejected U.S. demands to extradite National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, saying that Snowden hasn?t crossed the Russian border as he seeks to evade prosecution. Sergey Lavrov insisted that Russia has nothing to do with Snowden or his travel plans. Lavrov wouldn?t say where Snowden is, but he angrily lashed out at the U.S. for demanding his extradition and warnings of negative consequences if Moscow fails to comply. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
Light shines through a cabin window on seat 17A, the empty seat that an Aeroflot official said was booked in the name of former CIA technician Edward Snowden, during Aeroflot flight SU150 from Moscow to Havana, Cuba, Monday, June 24, 2013. Confusion over the whereabouts of National Security Agency leaker Snowden grew on Monday after SU150 Aeroflot flight filled with journalists trying to track him down flew from Moscow to Cuba with the empty seat booked in his name.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, right, greets passersby from the balcony of the presidential palace during the weekly, The Change of the Guard, in Quito, Ecuador, Monday, June 24, 2013. The Ecuadorian government declared Monday that national sovereignty and universal principles of human rights would govern their decision on granting asylum to Edward Snowden, powerful hints that the former National Security Agency contractor is welcome despite potential repercussions from Washington. Correa said on Twitter that "we will take the decision that we feel most suitable, with absolute sovereignty." AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia's foreign minister bluntly rejected U.S. demands to extradite National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, saying Tuesday that Snowden hasn't crossed the Russian border.
Sergey Lavrov insisted that Russia has nothing to do with Snowden or his travel plans. Lavrov wouldn't say where Snowden is, but he lashed out angrily at Washington for demanding his extradition and warning of negative consequences if Moscow fails to comply. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Moscow to "do the right thing" and turn over Snowden.
"We consider the attempts to accuse Russia of violating U.S. laws and even some sort of conspiracy, which on top of all that are accompanied by threats, as absolutely ungrounded and unacceptable," Lavrov said. "There are no legal grounds for such conduct by U.S. officials."
The defiant tone underlined the Kremlin's readiness to challenge Washington at a time when U.S.-Russian relations are strained over Syria and a Russian ban on adoptions by Americans.
U.S. and Ecuadorean officials said they believed Snowden was still in Russia. He fled there Sunday from Hong Kong, where he had been hiding out since his disclosure of the broad scope of two highly classified U.S. counterterror surveillance programs. The programs collect vast amounts of Americans' phone records and worldwide online data in the name of national security.
Kerry said Tuesday that although the United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, he called on Moscow to comply with common law practices between countries where fugitives are concerned.
"I would simply appeal for calm and reasonableness. We would hope that Russia would not side with someone who is 'a fugitive' from justice,' " Kerry said at a news conference in Saudi Arabia.
Lavrov claimed that the Russian government found out about Snowden's flight from Hong Kong only from news reports.
"We have no relation to Mr. Snowden, his relations with American justice or his travels around the world," Lavrov said. "He chooses his route himself, and we have learned about it from the media."
Snowden booked a seat on a Havana-bound flight from Moscow on Monday en route to Venezuela and then possible asylum in Ecuador, but he didn't board the plane. Russian news media have reported that he has remained in a transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, but journalists there haven't seen him.
A representative of WikiLeaks has been traveling with Snowden, and the organization is believed to be assisting him in arranging asylum. The organization's founder, Julian Assange, said Monday that Snowden was only passing through Russia and had applied for asylum in Ecuador, Iceland and possibly other countries.
A high-ranking Ecuadorean official told The Associated Press that Russia and Ecuador were discussing where Snowden could go, saying the process could take days. He also said Ecuador's ambassador to Moscow had not seen or spoken to Snowden. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
Ecuador's foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, hailed Snowden on Monday as "a man attempting to bring light and transparency to facts that affect everyone's fundamental liberties."
He described the decision on whether to grant Snowden asylum as a choice between "betraying the citizens of the world or betraying certain powerful elites in a specific country."
State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. had made demands to "a series of governments," including Ecuador, that Snowden be barred from any international travel other than to be returned to the U.S. The U.S. has revoked Snowden's passport.
"We're following all the appropriate legal channels and working with various other countries to make sure that the rule of law is observed," President Barack Obama told reporters.
Some experts said it was likely that Russian spy agencies were questioning Snowden on what he knows about U.S. electronic espionage against Moscow.
"If Russian special services hadn't shown interest in Snowden, they would have been utterly unprofessional," Igor Korotchenko, a former colonel in Russia's top military command turned security analyst, said on state Rossiya 24 television.
The Kremlin has previously said Russia would be ready to consider Snowden's request for asylum.
The state ITAR-Tass news agency cited unidentified sources as saying that Snowden hasn't applied for a Russian entry visa and can't cross the border without it. It said that he has remained in the transit zone of the Sheremetyevo airport.
Legally, an arriving air passenger "crosses the border" after clearing immigration checks.
The Interfax news agency, which has close contacts with Russian security agencies, quoted an unidentified "well-informed source" in Moscow as saying Tuesday that Snowden could be detained for a check of his papers if he crosses the Russian border. The report could reflect that authorities are searching for a pretext to keep Snowden in Russia.
Snowden is a former CIA employee who later was hired as a contractor for the NSA. In that job, he gained access to documents that he gave to newspapers the Guardian and The Washington Post to expose what he contends are privacy violations by an authoritarian government.
Snowden also told the South China Morning Post newspaper in Hong Kong that "the NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cellphone companies to steal all of your SMS data." He is believed to have more than 200 additional sensitive documents in laptops he is carrying.
Some observers said in addition to the sensitive data, Snowden's revelations have provided the Kremlin with propaganda arguments to counter the U.S. criticism of Russia's crackdown on opposition and civil activists under President Vladimir Putin.
"They would use Snowden to demonstrate that the U.S. government doesn't sympathize with the ideals of freedom of information, conceals key information from the public and stands ready to open criminal proceedings against those who oppose it," Konstantin Remchukov, the editor of independent daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, said on Ekho Moskvy radio.
Putin has accused the U.S. State Department of instigating protests in Moscow against his re-election for a third term in March and has taken an anti-American posture that plays well with his core support base of industrial workers and state employees.
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Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Spanish investors to berate Bankia executives at annual meeting
By Jes?s Aguado
MADRID (Reuters) - Thousands of ordinary investors who lost money when Spain's Bankia had to be bailed out barely a year after its stock market listing intend to protest at the lender's annual general meeting on Tuesday.
Shareholder activist groups have hired buses to the meeting in Valencia, in eastern Spain, and have berated Bankia executives for failing to book a larger venue.
The government had pitched Bankia's public offering as the solution to Spain's banking ills when it was listed in 2011.
But hundreds of thousands of small investors lost their money when near-collapse forced Spain to seek European funds to rescue its banking system. Bankia received 18 billion euros (15.5 billion pounds) of the 42 billion euros in May.
Another 300,000 people who bought complex financial products marketed by Bankia are still trying to calculate how much they lost.
The hybrid debt and preference shares they bought between 2007 and 2010, before Bankia was created from the merger of seven former savings banks, were swapped last month for ordinary shares at an average discount of 38 percent in an attempt to help them recoup some of their losses.
But these new shares have since tumbled by more than 50 percent and some analysts believe they could fall another 25 percent from the 0.59 euros per share they were trading at on Monday.
Many of the investors are suspicious of an arbitration process that the government set up to help some of them get their money back if they can prove the bank did not properly explain the risk to them.
"Now that we've been made forced shareholders after the debt swap, we want to defend the right of people with a limited financial culture who didn't know what they were sold," said Roberto Serrano Luch, chairman of ADA Bankia, a group of shareholders created earlier this year.
While Bankia has sold assets, closed branches and returned profit in the first quarter, Spain's banks are still struggling in an economy weighed down by debts from a long-bust housing boom and by government cost-cutting.
Bankia may have to set aide more money to cover potential risks on its refinanced and restructured loans after the Bank of Spain published new, tougher rules on how banks should account for these portfolios in April.
However, Bankia Chairman Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri is widely expected to reaffirm the bank's annual profit target of 800 million euros at the meeting, sources close to the lender said.
(Writing by Julien Toyer; Editing by Fiona Ortiz/Ruth Pitchford)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spanish-investors-berate-bankia-executives-annual-meeting-075245041.html
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Edward Snowden heads for asylum: Why Ecuador?
Edward Snowden, who leaked information about top secret NSA surveillance programs, reportedly is headed to asylum in Ecuador. US officials still hope to prosecute Snowden on espionage charges, but that may be difficult given US relations with Ecuador.
Journalists stand next to the Ecuador Ambassador's car while waiting for the arrival of Edward Snowden, the former NSA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping US surveillance programs, at Sheremetyevo airport, just outside Moscow Sunday.
Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/AP
EnlargeThe saga and travels of Edward Snowden took another turn Sunday with reports that he is headed for asylum in Ecuador.
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Why Ecuador?
Most obviously, the South American country is friendly to WikiLeaks. That?s the whistleblower organization whose founder Julian Assange has spent the past year holed up in Ecuador?s embassy in London, trying to avoid questioning about alleged sexual offenses in Sweden.
WikiLeaks has been instrumental in spiriting Mr. Snowden out of Hong Kong ? reportedly en route via Moscow and Havana to a place of more permanent refuge in Ecuador with a WikiLeaks official accompanying him.
Ecuador's ambassador to Russia said he expected to meet Snowden in Moscow on Sunday, Reuters reports. What?s more, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has good ties with WikiLeaks and is in a politically confident mood after his recent landslide re-election.
Along with Cuba and Venezuela (which had been thought to be Snowden?s ultimate destination) Ecuador is a member of ALBA ? the??Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America? ? an alliance of leftist governments in Latin America that pride themselves on their "anti-imperialist" credentials.
US officials had been scrambling to bring Mr. Snowden back to the United States for prosecution on charges of espionage following his leaking of details about top secret National Security Agency surveillance programs targeting telephone and Internet metadata, including some data on US citizens.
In a criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., Snowden was charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person. The latter two offenses fall under the US Espionage Act and can bring up to 10 years in prison.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/NVxjLJix-Yw/Edward-Snowden-heads-for-asylum-Why-Ecuador
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Syrian al-Qaida branch claims suicide attacks
US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, U.N.'s special representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov, from left to right, pose prior to a second meeting on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at the United Nations (UN) office in Geneva in a bid to organize the conference on Syria. (AP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini, Pool)
US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, U.N.'s special representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov, from left to right, pose prior to a second meeting on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at the United Nations (UN) office in Geneva in a bid to organize the conference on Syria. (AP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini, Pool)
BEIRUT (AP) ? A Syrian branch of al-Qaida on Tuesday claimed responsibility for what the group said were suicide attacks on security compounds in Damascus that killed at least five people, while troops fought rebels on the edge of the capital in the latest surge of violence in the Syrian capital.
The claim by Jabhat al-Nusra ? the first in months ? came as the U.N.'s special representative trying to end Syria's civil war said hopes for convening a peace conference next month are fading.
The Nusra Front has emerged as the most effective fighting force on the side of the opposition fighting to oust President Bashar Assad. The group has previously claimed car bombings and attacks on government soldiers and its fighters have been leading other rebels groups in battles for military bases in the north much of which is under control of the opposition.
The group's affiliation with al-Qaida, however, has significantly contributed to the reluctance of the opposition's Western backers to arm the rebels with heavier weapons.
More than 93,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011. It started as peaceful protests against Assad's rule but turned into a civil war after some opposition members took up arms to fight the government's harsh crackdown on dissent. Since then, radical groups like the Nusra front have gained influence on the battlefield as opposition's political leadership struggles to unify its ranks.
The conflict has taken increasingly sectarian tones with Sunni Muslims dominating rebel groups fighting against Assad's regime, which is predominantly Alawite, an offshoot sect of Shiite Islam.
Even the most modest international efforts to end the Syrian conflict have failed.
In Switzerland, U.N.'s special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, told reporters he still hopes a second round of international negotiations to find a political solution to the conflict can be convened in Geneva ? but not until later in the summer.
"Frankly now, I doubt whether the conference will take place in July," he said, noting that the Syrian opposition is not meeting until early July and probably would not be ready.
"Since our previous meeting here on the 5th of June, the situation on the ground in Syria has hardly improved. It is still relentless destruction, killing, more suffering, more injustice, and more uncertainty for the future of the Syrian people," Brahimi said.
Brahimi was mediating a meeting between the U.S. and Russia, which are at loggerheads over the conflict.
Russia supports the regime and Washington has backed the opposition, which insists Assad should relinquish power before any talks with Damascus can take place. Assad has repeatedly dismissed demands to leave power and said he has the right to run for another term in next year's presidential elections.
Jabhat al-Nusra claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks in Damascus in a statement posted on a militant website, warning Assad that his "criminal regime" should know that its fighters "do not fear any confrontation with the enemies."
The group said it had sent seven suicide bombers wearing Syrian military uniforms to break into a police station in northern Damascus and a security compound in a southern district of the capital. The group also posted several pictures claiming to show the attackers. Their faces blurred, the men are seen wearing military uniforms and holding Kalashnikovs as they sit on the ground with Jabhat al-Nusra black banner hanged behind them.
"The criminal and traitor regime should know that Sunni people stand on solid ground and brave men who do not fear any confrontation with the enemies...and they are ready to sacrifice their blood in order to protect the souls and honor of their people," the statement said.
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Monday, June 24, 2013
Eternal Sunshine of the Bionic Mind: Prosthesis Could Restore Memory
NEW YORK ? In the film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," the characters undergo a scientific procedure to erase their memory. But what if instead of erasing memory, you could restore it? One neuroscientist aims to do just that.
Theodore Berger of the University of Southern California is developing a prosthesis to restore memory, by replacing a circuit in the brain's hippocampus. Berger described the device at the Global Future 2045 International Congress, held here June 15-16. Already successful in rats and monkeys, the prosthesis is now being tested in humans.
Memory machine
The hippocampus, a brain structure tucked deep in the brain's temporal lobe, converts short-term memories to long-term ones. Epilepsy or other neurological disorders can damage the hippocampus, preventing a person from retaining new memories. [5 Crazy Technologies That Are Revolutionizing Biotech]
The device Berger and his colleagues are developing could replace parts of a damaged hippocampus, and even enhance an intact one. A tiny chip of electrodes implanted in the hippocampus records signals representing a short-term memory; the signals are sent to a computer that mathematically transforms them into a long-term memory; and signals representing the long-term memory are sent to a second set of electrodes that stimulates another layer of the hippocampus.
The point of the device is not to identify individual memories, but to learn how they are transformed into long-term memory. "It's like learning rules for translation," Berger said, adding that the memories are like words, and the mathematical transformation is like a translator.
Berger's team tested the device in rats trained in a simple memory task. Each rat (with the prosthesis) was placed in a chamber with two levers. First, the lever on just one side was presented, and the rat would push it. After a short waiting period, the levers on both sides would appear, and if the rat pushed the opposite lever from the one it pushed before, the rat got a sip of water. Performing the task successfully required the rat to remember which lever it pushed originally.
To test their memory prosthesis, the researchers injected some of these rats with a drug that impaired the rats' natural memory function, and tested the animals in the lever experiment. The rats were still able to push the correct lever to receive their drink, suggesting they were able to form new memories. In other words, the rats' brain implant was remembering for them.
Remarkably, the researchers found that the prosthesis could enhance memory function in rats even when they hadn't been given the drug that impaired their memory.
Replacement recall
Berger's team found that the device was similarly effective when they tested it in monkeys. The researchers are now running a human trial on patients with epilepsy. They haven't gotten much data yet, Berger said, but he thinks it will be fascinating.
Figuring out how to mathematically transform a short-term memory into a long-term one is a major challenge, Berger said ? you only have one shot at getting it right.
The brain's adaptability, or plasticity, is going to be hugely important for the device's effectiveness in humans, Berger said. "There's going to be more influence of the human on the device than the device on the human."
Ultimately, the hope is that memory prostheses could restore or enhance human memory. But the philosophical implications of meddling with memory are immense: If humans could control memories, could they also alter them? Could memories be decoded and used as evidence in a courtroom? And could people erase memories and replace them with new ones altogether? For now, at least, these are questions for the future.
Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitterand Google+.?Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on?LiveScience.com.
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eternal-sunshine-bionic-mind-prosthesis-could-restore-memory-142110542.html
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AOL Reader: Simple, Fast, But Hardly Groundbreaking
With Google Reader ready to tap out, it seems like everyone is keen to throw their hat into the feed reader ring. The latest offering is from AOL and it's simple, fast and lacking any unique features?though that's not necessarily a bad thing.
A simple RSS reader, it seems designed to make the transition from Google as straightforward as possible. Housed within a browser window, it's simple, unfussy and certainly looks quite a lot like Google's old faithful?though it's a little more cluttered and has dark and light themes. You're essentially looking at a column full of folders and viewing pane. And an ad. Obviously.
There's a neat tagging function to collate articles, which could prove useful, and you can choose exactly how things are displayed from a selection of different views, like in Feedly. It's also apparently rather speedy, refreshing quickly and loading articles in a snap. A couple of things do suck, though: there's no automated Google Reader import function, so you're going to have to download an import an OPML file, and there's no search function whatsoever.
All in, it seems like a perfectly respectable light reader?just with nothing setting it apart from the crowd. But in what looks set to be a tough fight, it's not obvious how AOL's effort will beat the likes of Digg or Feedly. But hey, give it a try?its simplicity might be just what you're after. [AOL Reader via Verge]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/aol-reader-simple-fast-but-hardly-groundbreaking-554993248
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