by The Wired News Staff
Thursday, 28 September 2006
The Case of the Missing Flying Foxes
Mood:
quizzical
Topic: Animals
Thousands of flying foxes -- a type of fruit bat -- fled Queensland, Australia just before Cyclone Larry hit in March. No one knows where they went. An investigation is ongoing.
While we're on the subject, check out how many different types of bats there are. We had no idea. Also, the flying fox was the subject of this Van Gogh painting:
Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Lion Mane Controversy Solved
Topic: Animals
Who knew lion manes were so controversial? A team of scientists spent seven years studying male lion's fur collars, finding that "wild lions generally develop manes in accordance with local climate regimes." Seems logical, but apparently the study corrects several misconceptions, including the assumption that the most virile males have the most impressive manes. The researchers found that lions develop increasingly luxurious manes into old age.
Friday, 1 September 2006
Global Warming Writ Large in Fruit Flies
New
genetic analysis reveals that the frequency of flipped chromosomes in a certain species of fruit fly corresponds with climbing temperatures. "It's a very clear signal that climate warming is going to have a big impact on our environment," says the co-author of a report in
Science that documents the change.
Thursday, 31 August 2006
Beware of Body Part Suppliers
The next time you need a new heart valve, consider the origin of the replacement tissue you will be given. For the second time this year, a company that provides body parts for surgery is being shuttered by the FDA over
safety breaches, including a failure to follow procedures intended to prevent bacterial contamination. Yikes.
Wednesday, 30 August 2006
World (of Warcraft) Weary
Mike Sellers at Terra Nova anecdotally documents
a growing ennui among World of Warcraft players, who are discovering that if you stay away from WoW for too long, you forget how to handle all the spells and weapons you've acquired for your level 37 warlock. Worse, you begin to wonder why you should care. This is why MMORPGs are doomed. The future is MMOFPS.
Tuesday, 29 August 2006
Yellow Candy of Death
A
new art installation (thanks
information aesthetics) by Caleb Larsen in Seattle has an algorithm trolling headlines for deaths and then dropping little yellow BBs onto the floor for each one found. The device uses Lego Mindstorms NXT to accomplish this. The timelapse movie of their accumulation is fascinatingly morbid.
Fighting Traffic Jams With RFID
A University of Texas researcher says she's found a way to make gridlock a thing of the past: Monitor drivers using GPS or RFID and impose a wireless highway toll on those motorists who drive at peak rush-hour times. According to computer models, the scheme would increase average travel speeds to 25 mph during rush hour.
Technology Review reports.
Google Donates CEO to Apple
Now Playing: Creeper Lagoon
Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, has made the short move from Mountain View to Cupertino to
join Apple's board of director's. I wonder if these two companies would be on such good terms if they didn't have a mutual hatred for the 'Soft to unite them. The new civil war looks to be fought between the Bay Area and Seattle, with poor defenseless Oregon stuck in between.
Monday, 28 August 2006
MySpace Goes to Print?
MySpace executives are floating the idea of a
MySpace magazine (thanks
StreetTech.com) as a possible expansion for the brand. My guess is they're waiting to hear what response they get from the community before committing to anything. My other guess is this is the first of many attempts - outside of advertising on the site - to cash in on what executives must feel is an untapped goldmine.
Terrorist Action in Second Life - No Big Deal
Rob Walker of murketing.com tries to get to the bottom of an 'armed' takeover of the American Apparel store in Second Life. It's unclear whether it was an honest attempt at making a political statement within the virtual realm, or simply a publicity stunt. Either way, it seems the issues it raises are far more interesting than the actual event, which may or may not have actually prevented anyone from entering the store who desired to do so.
One could imagine a bustling online store in Second Life that could be taken over by a similar group. Would this be different than hacking a web-based online store? In such a case, there might be real-world repercussions for those involved.
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