What can be learned from debating science with trolls

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/8/20/policy-politics/what-i-learned-debating-science-trolls?utm_source=exact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=870416&utm_campaign=cs_daily&modapt= / discuss science online climate change trolls Don’t feed the trolls education tactics bloggers journalists politicians attack science climate cancer research techniques comically simple emotionally charged evidence-free accusations scams fraud cover-ups common lack credibility accusations polarising debate reducing understanding scientifically incompetent ideologue science religion chairman Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council Maurice Newman old chestnut Australia’s Chief Scientist Ian Chubb online media recently experts Internet trolls experts professors academia contrarians contrarian views respected professors Harvard MIT Princeton science vitriol disconnected knowledge expertise expert opinion totally misrepresented remarkable confidence findings CSIRO’s John Church sea levels distortions variability this century may reduce warming degrees Celsius very small fraction of the warming human activity quote quoted correctly disagree with the vast majority of their equally qualified or more qualified colleagues scientifically illiterate minority of experts choosing experts agreeable conclusions scientific rigour media statement doctor shopping expert opinion misleading conclusions broken logic attacks on science employ flawed logic carbon dioxide CO2 emissions rapid climate change anthropogenic climate change climate change deniers anthropogenic global warming Minister Tony Abbott anthropic Galileo Italian scientist astronomer Galileo Galilei infamously persecuted politically powerful Catholic Church supported by observation Galileo Gambit debating technique perverts history defend nonsense vast majority of scientists minority promoting pseudoscience equated Galileo no scientific expertise ideological reasons attacking science consensus view of climate scientists tactic of trolls cranks /

With Tesla, the future of the burnout is safe — Jay Leno

Road & Track


Jay Leno's Garage (2012)
/ burnout burn out rubber lithium ion smoke LiIon battery cell electric vehicle EV car charge recharge range /

"Shock & kill" approach cures mice of HIV in world first

Credit: scottcamazine.com

One of the difficulties involved with treating AIDS is that the HIV virus, which causes the disease, is able to "hide" from treatment.

A new approach uses a combination of drugs, one of which provides a boost to the immune system, & others which flush the HIV virus from its hiding places. When flushed from their hiding places, the virus particles can be killed by the boosted immune system. Only tested in mice so far, but looks promising.

http://theconversation.com/shock-and-kill-approach-cures-mice-of-hiv-in-world-first-30528?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+18+August+2014+-+1858&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+18+August+2014+-+1858+CID_aabdaa5afc096b963dea579ebc7e8744&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Shock%20and%20kill%20approach%20cures%20mice%20of%20HIV%20in%20world%20first / combination of four drugs flush out HIV-infected HIV infected cells hidden reservoirs kill them boost to the immune system research published journal Cell scientists HIV cure research mouse mice infectious diseases unit The Alfred Hospital Professor Sharon Lewin significant step HIV cure research infected HIV virus hiding DNA immune system HIV latency patients anti-HIV drugs latent virus can persist indefinitely shock-and-kill research induced hidden latent viruses resurface using combination three drugs principle combination of drugs activate latent virus antibodies induce remission slightly artificial HIV-infected mouse model idea exploring test tube models HIV latency clinical trials clinical trials drugs treating cancer wake up latent virus infected cell wasn’t killed kill the cells researchers boosted mice’s immune systems using powerful antibodies broadly neutralising antibodies HIV-infected mice combination activating drugs antibodies keep the virus under control Scientia Professor of Medicine David Cooper, director of the Kirby Institute University of New South Wales NSW UNSW research represented important model difficult extrapolate results humans antiretroviral therapies within a day or two of infection low- and middle-income countries identified identify identification opportunistic infection tuberculosis amount of latent virus toxicity drug combination kick and kill flush and kill strategy /

Google smart contact lens to improve your health

Credit: Google/International Digital Times

New technologies require a new way of thinking. Computers have become so small that a computer in your phone is taken for granted. Wearable devices constitute another response. Adding computing power to an existing device, to produce the smart watch, was an obvious development. Less obvious was Google Glass. Now, Google hopes to use their smart contact lenses to improve health in many ways, including:

● monitor blood sugar level

● check blood alcohol level

● treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

● deliver drugs

● monitor glaucoma

http://www.idigitaltimes.com/articles/9400/20140117/google-contact-lens-amazing-5-ways-scientists.htm / diabetes patients Google’s smart contact lens project wearable technology test testing high-tech contact lens diabetes finger pricks glucose levels monitor diabetes patients’ blood-sugar level blood sugar reading patient’s tears smart device measure glucose levels miniature wireless chip glucose sensor embedded in the contact lens project Brian Otis Babak Parviz Google’s X department University of Washington professor Google Glass project founder research connected smart contact lenses U.S. Food and Drug Administration device prototype scientists investigated body fluids tears track glucose levels miniaturized electronics chips sensors antenna tiny wireless chip miniaturized glucose sensor Google Glass smartwatches wearable technology developments medicine public health consumer interest Google Glass Pebble smartwatch biometric technologies Touch ID finger prick testing light box external light sources reset patient circadian rhythm LED light-emitting diodes user's pineal gland stimulated non-image retinal pathway modulation seratonin control mood light box Jacksonville Florida patents technology distribute anti-inflammatory eye drops allergy dry eye sufferers monitor inflammation administer treatment inflammatory mediators irritant dilatation of blood vessels anti inflammatory therapeutic agents eye drops drug delivery emit medications treat painkillers antibiotics monitor glaucoma patients curvature of the eye /

Unlimited mile warranty for Tesla Model S 85 kWh

Credit: Tesla/Treehugger

Tesla warrants its battery pack for 8 years & unlimited distance. On the other hand, the drivetrain is covered by a four-year, 50,000-mile, limited warranty.

Until now.

In a post on the Tesla blog, CEO Elon Musk has extended the warranty on the drivetrain to match that on the battery pack. Hence the, "Infinite Mile Warranty", title on the Tesla blog post at:

http://www.teslamotors.com/en_AU/blog/infinite-mile-warranty / electric vehicle car EV BEV lithium ion LiIon battery Tesla Model S drive unit warranty guarantee increased match battery pack 85 kWh Model S most popular model 8 year infinite mile warranty both battery pack drive unit no limit number of owners warranty period warranty extension apply retroactively all Model S vehicles ever produced hindsight policy Model S program electric motor fundamentally more reliable gasoline engines fewer moving parts oily residue combustion products byproducts warranty policy investors shareholders moderately negative effect on Tesla earnings in the short term warranty reserves Tesla vehicle owners /

OM Audio levitating Bluetooth speaker

Credit: Engadget

It really is a magnetically levitating Bluetooth speaker. Battery power for the speaker itself, which can operate without the base. AC adapter for the base, which provides the magnetic levitation magic.

Manufacturer claims that the levitation is not just a gimmick — by eliminating the damping effect of contact with other objects, better sound is produced with a lower power requirement. This may contribute to the claimed battery life of 15 hours.



http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/12/levitating-bluetooth-speaker/

Speakerphone, Bluetooth 4.0, pair two for stereo, $179.

Pre-order at www.omone.com/om-one / levitating levitate levitation Bluetooth speaker OM Audio audio accessories Inearpeace earphones Mantra speakers novelty products OM One OM/One compact sphere magnetic base AC adapter integrated battery up to 15 hours continuous play microphone speakerphone early prototype sound quality compact Bluetooth speakers pair pairs pairing stereo audio levitating effect produce better audio lower-power driver absorb sound pre-order black white disco ball site ship first batch December /

A self-organizing thousand-robot swarm (video)

Credit: Mike Rubenstein and Science/AAAS/ Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

1K (1024), centimeter size robots, each capable of following some simple programming rules, & communicating with the others by infrared, can co-operate to form complex shapes.



http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2014/08/self-organizing-thousand-robot-swarm / thousand robot flash mob assembled Harvard University form sea star shape computer scientist command 1,024 little bots via infra-red light robots blink gradually arrange themselves five-pointed star letter K Kilobots simple robots three pin-like legs complex robot collaborate simple platform complex behaviors actions individual cells assemble intelligent organism starlings collective behaviour form a great flowing murmuration across the sky Kilobots demonstrate complexity can arise from very simple behaviors performed en masse computer scientists development of collective artificial intelligence AI two-dimensional image simple rules flock of birds wheeling across the sky individuals collective entity Radhika Nagpal self-organizing swarm Fred Kavli Professor of Computer Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences SEAS Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University biological systems large numbers collective entity biological collectives cooperation cooperating entities cells insects animals single task magnitude beyond the scale of any individual behavior colony of army ants social amoebas microscopic scale: when food is scarce fruiting body