Dipping Electrodes in Carbon Nanotubes may improve ultracapacitors and batteries

 

Image sources: Wikipedia, TechnologyReview

Ultracapacitors are capacitors with higher energy density - typically hundreds of times greater than conventional electrolytic capacitors. They provide quick bursts of power and can be recharged infinitely without losing storage capacity, but at most they can only store a 1/10 as much energy as batteries. A new technique developed by Stanford University researchers enabled the use of new types of nanostructured electrode materials that store more energy. More details after the break.


In order to improve the their energy density, researchers have focused on the use of electrode materials with greater surface area - graphene and carbon nanotubes for example, which holds more charge-carrying ions. Based on the top right image, graphic A shows carbon nanotubes (CNT) while graphic D shows Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) or simply PEDOT. PEDOT nanofibers are produced from vanadium pentoxide nanofibers by a nanofiber seeding method.

The Stanford team led by Yi Cui and Zhenan Bao used composite electrodes made from graphene and manganese oxide. Manganese oxide is ideal due to its abundance and excellent cost-to-usage ratio, on top of high theoretical capacity to store ions for supercapacitors. Previously the idea was scrapped due to its low conductivity, which resulted in a difficulty of ion transfer. The researchers dipped the composite electrodes into either a carbon nanotube solution or a conductive polymer solution which provides a coating that improves the electrodes' conductivity by 20% and charge storage by 45%. Read the link below for the complete article.

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Invisibility Achieved through Mirage effect - Wonders of Carbon Nanotubes [Video]

Image courtesy Wikipedia

Carbon nanotubes are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical structure. These cylindrical molecules have extraordinary properties, opening doors to new advancements in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials science. Carbon nanotubes exhibit amazing thermal conductivity and mechanical and electrical properties. Scientists are now manipulating carbon nanotubes to form mirages which seems to make things disappear beneath it by refraction. Video and details after the break.

Sadly though, the current experimental project only works under water. The mirage effect comes from thermally modulated transparent carbon nanotube sheets. The manipulation of the sheet of nanotubes origin from photothermal deflection which induces sharp changes in both current and temperature, generating a rapid change of refractive index in the surrounding liquid or gas.



The original papers were published in IOP Science under the category of Nanotechnology on October 3 2011. Here is the abstract of the entire article.

The single-beam mirage effect, also known as photothermal deflection, is studied using a free-standing, highly aligned carbon nanotube aerogel sheet as the heat source. The extremely low thermal capacitance and high heat transfer ability of these transparent forest-drawn carbon nanotube sheets enables high frequency modulation of sheet temperature over an enormous temperature range, thereby providing a sharp, rapidly changing gradient of refractive index in the surrounding liquid or gas. The advantages of temperature modulation using carbon nanotube sheets are multiple: in inert gases the temperature can reach > 2500 K; the obtained frequency range for photothermal modulation is ~ 100 kHz in gases and over 100 Hz in high refractive index liquids; and the heat source is transparent for optical and acoustical waves. Unlike for conventional heat sources for photothermal deflection, the intensity and phase of the thermally modulated beam component linearly depends upon the beam-to-sheet separation over a wide range of distances. This aspect enables convenient measurements of accurate values for thermal diffusivity and the temperature dependence of refractive index for both liquids and gases. The remarkable performance of nanotube sheets suggests possible applications as photo-deflectors and for switchable invisibility cloaks, and provides useful insights into their use as thermoacoustic projectors and sonar. Visibility cloaking is demonstrated in a liquid.

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Steven Paul Jobs - Steve Jobs, co-founder, CEO and Chairman of Apple and Pixar Studios dies at the age of 56

"You've got to find what you love."

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and Pixar Studios, June 12, 2005.

The entire population of Earth was struck by a saddening blow as Steve Jobs, co-founder, CEO and Chairman of Apple and Pixar Studios passed away early morning of October 5, 2011, at the age of 56. Apple did not list a specific cause, but Steve has been fighting pancreatic cancer and related illnesses since 2003. His death followed shortly after the Let's Talk iPhone event, passed away in Palo Alto, California. He was the charismatic visionary of the future, reshaping what were computing and entertainment industries in our history books.

"Apple had lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," said Apple Inc. "Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will be the foundation of Apple." 

"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts." Apple's board of directors.

You may send you condolences towards Steve Jobs to the address rememberingsteve@apple.com.

Steve Jobs's presentations throughout the years has and had always been revolutionary and breath-taking. His immersive and powerful ways of conveying messages always brought a new light to Apple, every year, every event. His visions for the future are always mind-blogging and years after years, people's lives are changed because of Steve. Apple may or may not have the strongest hard/software point to start with, but Steve's marketing strategies and his understanding towards consumer's needs blows any other factors out of the way, taking Apple's products right into everyone's life. That's what Steve can do.

Steve might not be the typical Oxford PhD you might have guessed. He did not really graduate from any college or experienced any proper education process. The only reason he lives up to what he is today is based on what he believes in his heart. He realized his true interests and intentions in life and instantly fell in love with what he's doing. This contributes to his success through every stage of his life including the founding of Pixar Studios, which was eventually acquired by Disney, was one of his greatest visions of innovation towards man-kind - one of the most successful project being Toy Story. Back in 2005, Steve Jobs was present at a graduation ceremony in Stanford University. He then gave a speech regarding his life and provided three key stories to what he believes had shaped his figure today.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

Steve Jobs is truly a legend and a legacy. He saved Apple from dying about a decade ago. He changed the world, he changed lives. Now with his departure, his spirits and legacy are believed to be continued not only in Apple, but truly in our hearts. It is rare to have someone with such compelling intelligence standing life-like right among us, and it would be no one else now than Steve Jobs.

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Ford Escape Undergoes Revamp - drops Hybrid and V6 plans for Turbos

Image credit - USA Today

Cars are getting the futuristic looks going by the years - that doesn't necessarily leave out larger SUVs like the Ford Escape. The new revamped Ford Escape receives not only an amazing facelift, but also brand new turbos for the kicks. Details after the break.


The redesigned Ford Escape is due unveiling next month at the Los Angeles Auto Show will be ditching the initially planned hybrid and V-6 power for the addition of the new four-cylinder turbo engines. Even so, Ford announced there will still be options for hybrids such as the Focus C-Max hybrid providing 25% higher in fuel efficiency than the Escape's hybrid.

The next generation Ford Escape packs three four-cylinder engines will include 1.6L turbo to the US market, along with siblings of 2.0L and 2.5L - without the turbo. Ford claims the 1.6L direct-injection EcoBoost engine will provide higher mpg ratings even surpassing the current tests on the Ford Escape's hybrid. The same engine is already being used in the European Focus and C-max.

Image and source

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New Terran Unit for Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm Teased - Could it be a Terran Transforming Hellion?

No release date updates yet but a new Starcraft 2 Terran unit was teased and it will be available in Starcraft 2's expanded multiplayer mode. Details and picture after the break.

Image credits - IGN

This makes completely no sense to me, more like a super SCV with lasers and bazookas. Perhaps SCV gets a mech upgrade? Marines gets a prototype manned robot? The right arm certainly looks like a shield, but what's the thing protruding off the top? Fortunately, TheStarcraft2dude on Youtube has posted a video giving a probable illustration to the silhouette of the above figure. Watch the video to know more.



BlizzCon 2011 is expected to reveal what on Mar Sara this unit is, as well as further teases for any new upcoming units. If you had not realized, to play Heart of the Swarm you will need a copy of Wings of Liberty to begin with. Hopes are high on the expectations of 2012 release, but Blizzard still keep their mouths sealed.

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Urine is now the next generation fuel - for rockets

Image credit: NASA

For a typical space shuttle, each of the two solid rocket boosters on the space shuttle carries more than one million pounds of solid propellant, while the large external tank is loaded with more than 500,000 gallons of super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen - burned to form the fuel for three rocket engines. To remain in space, it has to achieve speeds about 28,000 kilometers/hour to remain in orbit. -source

Scientists are rediscovering methods to substitute the resources used in rocket engines - with urine. More information after the break.


Thought impossible? It is impossible as long as our urine is an alternate form of ammonia. Scientists have begun working on manipulating how bacteria which lived in absence of oxygen converts ammonium into hydrazine - a type of rocket fuel. This concept was first conceptualized in the 1990s when scientists discovered anammox, a type of microbe, for anaerobic ammonium oxidation. But the idea was eventually scrapped due to the insignificant results obtained.

Now what scientists are aiming is to achieve a much improved catalyst by understanding how hydrazine is made. Based on the same technology, millions of tons of ammonium has been produced from wastewater every year - enough to manufacture rocket fuel. The microbes are currently used in waterwaste treatment facilities. However, hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Hydrazine is used in various rocket fuels and to prepare gas precursors used in air bags, on top of being used within both nuclear and conventional electrical power plant steam cycles to control concentrations of dissolved oxygen in an effort to reduce corrosion.

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Something Big Is Coming - Samsung Unpacked, San Diego 2011

Samsung released a teaser video into what's coming up in San Diego next week. Speculations and rumours aside, this event features the handsome collaboration between Samsung and Google - could it very well be the Nexus Prime and the release of Ice Cream Sandwich? Find out within a week but before that, hop over the break for a short video released by Samsung.




A curved screen is all I can guess - the Nexus Prime. Something big is coming this October 11, so stay tuned for the "Google Episode" release. Judging by the fact that this is "Google's Episode", I believe Ice Cream Sandwich cannot be missed, but still no one's able to confirm this as of now. If you hadn't read the rumoured information of the Nexus Prime you can read it here and here. I will be trying to provide live updates as the event proceeds next Monday. Keeping fingers crossed!

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iPhone 4S - Specs and All You Need to Know

Let's Talk iPhone 2011 is now a history, but it's the same time for a new iPhone introduction. The iPhone 4S is an upgrade to the previous iPhone 4 in almost everything except cosmetically. I'd call it an upgrade as it doesn't really introduce any killer specs or visible changes on the outside. It shares the same shell as the iPhone 4, nothing more nothing less. You can read the entire live feed of the event here. Details after the break.

What you will get:

1. A5 Dual-core processor - similar to the iPad 2. Double the processing power, seven times the graphic.
2. An upgraded camera sensor with whole lot of advancements and features. You can read all of these here. Camera goes up to 8 Megapixels and records 1080p. Comes with more than a handful of technological improvements and software supports.
3. Supposedly 1GB of RAM, I have no information as of now.
4. SIRI personal assistant - the most intelligent smartphone personal assistant through voice command ever presented to date. Throw almost any commands at it and you will be granted an answer, and most of the time it carries out all the tasks for you.
5. AirPlay mirroring, iCloud and many other services.
6. HSPA+ support for both GSM and CDMA versions. No LTE support. Apple redesigned the network system. The antennas now automatically interswitch to obtain a better signal lock and call quality.
7. iOS 5 out of the box.
8. Verizon, AT&T and Sprint will all be getting iPhones.
9. New contract pricing. The phones will go on pre-order starting October 7. US, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France and Germany gets it on 14th. Rest of the world begins 28th to the end of the year.
10. And a considerable amount of disappointment.

Now if you have missed much of the information, remember you can always refer back to the live feed here.

Images credit : Engadget

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Let's Talk iPhone 2011 Keynotes - iPhone 4S, NO iPhone 5, iOS 5, iCloud and Tim Cooks, iPhone 4S Pricing and Availability Revealed

All times below are adjusted to GMT+8 time zone - Perth, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur etc.

Let's Talk iPhone event, Cupertino Campus, Oct 4 - Tuesday. Clock's ticking at 12.50AM, less than 10 minutes to the official launch of the event. Jump over the break for the complete live feed from the event.





1.00AM

• The presentation begins, as usual, with the giant Apple logo on screen.
• Tim Cooks takes the stage, expressing his love for Apple, his new position as the CEO, the changes and achievements over Apple in recent years and new stores which opened in LA and HK not long ago.
• Tim expresses the success of OS Lion, achieving 80% more downloads than that of Snow Leopard.
• Tim further expresses its success against Windows 7, which took a long time to reach the same goal.
• Tim emphasizes on the fact that many had been trying to copy the MacBook Air - which refers to none other than the Ultrabooks.
• The Year-over-year growth for PC remains at a low 4%, while Mac goes up to 23%
• iPod, the world leading music player launched in 2001 claimed 78% of music players worldwide - clearly the #1 music player in the world.
• Apple sold 45 million iPods in one year.

1.15AM

• iTunes - the #1 music store in the world, hands down at 16 billion songs downloaded.
• Tim begins to touch on the iPhone.
• iPhone shows a 125% annual growth compared to the 74% of smartphones.
• Mobile phone satisfaction chart - Apple tops it off at 70%, held second by HTC at 49%.
• iPhone is 5% of the overall mobile phone market. Tim hopes that all phones will move into the smartphone section - could this mean a cheaper iPhone is on the way?
• Tim now touches on iPad - it will be changing what the world does with it. Teachers, kids, parents and the likes. Even pilots, said by Tim.
• iPads are actually spreading to all corners of the world - hospitals, here, there and everywhere.
• iPad is the top selling tablet in the world, hands down.
• 250 million iOS devices are sold.
• Scott Forstall takes the stage.
• Since there are 250 million iOS devices sold, it's no doubt the top OS in the world.
• iOS dominates 61% of the mobile OS market.
• 500,000 apps on the app store.
• 140,000 and above for the iPad.
• Appstore experiences 18 billion downloads in mere 3 years - 1 b per month.
• Apple paid more than 3b for developers for apps.
• Apple created new app - called cards. You can now create cards on your phone and Apple takes cares of the rest, including printing and emboss. Various designs are available. Apple will even settle the mailing for you. Simple as that. All you need is to attach an address.
• Service begins 12th October.
• It's free.
• Now, iOS 5.
• Ten of the top 10 features.
• New notification center - separate notifications now pop up on the lockscreen, you swipe and go directly into it. 
• iMessage - messaging service between iOS users. You can sent text photos, video and much more.
• Reminders - You can customize your individual reminders on stuff to do, schedule and etc. They are location based integrated so you can use them depending on where you are.
• Deeper integration of Twitter.
• Newsstand - many new partners including top publishers have associated with it.

1.30AM

• Camera - integrated app launch, snapping photos with volume button, photo edit out of the phone.
• 67 million Game Center accounts.
• Reading list, tabbed browsing on the new Safari browser.
• Wireless synchronization with your PC/Mac and phone.
• iOS 5 begins rolling out on October 12.
• Eddy Cue is up and on iCloud.
• As you have already known, iCloud syncs all stuff among your iOS devices.
• It's free.
• You take a photo > goes to cloud > goes to all iOS devices under the same credentials.
• This includes documents.
• Apps included too.
• Backup on the cloud.
• Find my Friends - works something like Google Latitude. It's a location based programme which allows you to share your location and find your friends.
• Storage upgrades with an annual fee, starting off at 5GB. 10GB goes at $20 a year, 20GB for $40, 50GB for $100.
• iTunes matching system. If you have an iPad which has no music, just sync it to the cloud and you'll get everything - seamless.

1.45AM

• iTunes Match includes many other features such as immediate streaming, upgrades of matched songs, etc at the price of $24.99/year.
• October 12, restated.
• Commercial rolls.
• Now it's Phil Schiller's stage.
• He begins with the reintroduction of the iPod family.
• iPod Nano, launched last year - the interface is reduced to compact icons.
• The integrated Nike application tracks your walks and runs.
• Watches - going Disney? 
• $129 for 8GB, $149 for 16GB - just as we know it.
• iPod touch - most popular iPod.
• It has everything the iPhone has, except the telephony.
• It will run iOS 5.
• It's the #1 portable game player.
• The white iPod touch is confirmed. 8GB at $199.
• 32GB $299, 64GB $399 - beginning October 12.
• All we see is iPod shuffle nano and touch. Classic seems dropped.
• He said many had been trying to copy the iPhone 4.
• Phil is now confirming the iPhone 4S with A5 processor but remaining the same design.
• Dual-core graphics. 7x faster graphics.
• Mike Capps takes the stage - the president of Epic Games.
• He talks the Unreal Engine 3 - featured in Infinity Blade 2, the first installment earned $20 million in revenue.
• The visuals are shown off.
• Emphasizes on console-quality gaming.
• Epic shows off several scenes of Infinity Blade 2.
• Back to A5 talk - 2x Faster CPU.

2.00AM

• 8 hours of talktime, 14 hours of 2G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 9 hours of Wi-Fi browsing.
• Wireless system has been upgraded. It will now switch between antennas to get better call quality, or better signal lock.
• Maximum data speeds has been increased from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S - up to 14.4Mbps.
• 4G network. It is claimed that data even faster on the iPhone, with or without 4G.
• iPhone 4S will come in GSM and CDMA versions.
• Camera system. iPhone is the top uploader on Flickr.
• New camera sensor - 8 Megapixels up to 3264 x 2448 resolution. 60% higher resolution than the iPhone 4 of 5 MP.
• Improved sensor illumination - 73% more light. Think of what Exmor R does.
• Hybrid IR filter - better colour accuracy, more colour uniformity.
• Five element lens, 30% increased sharpness, f/2.4 aperture.
• Image Signal Processor enables face detection and 26% better white balance.
• The first photo could be taken within 1.1sec.
• Macro performance is increased.
• 1080p HD video recording.
• Video Image Stabilization and Temporal Noise reduction.
• AirPlay mirroring - think HDMI without wires (or wired if you desire).
• Shows off the new voice recognition service - Siri.
• Works just like the old voice recognition - hold Home button, Siri listens.

2.15AM

• Asked the iPhone a question, replied with very accurate answers accompanied with even more integrated information.
• Think of it as an Artificial Intelligence - you ask it a question, it responds you with appropriate answers. For example, stock market, restaurant, places, navigation and practically everything.
• Demonstration of the amazing Siri AI is shown off again and again. Why type when your voice does everything for you?
• You can reply messages, plan new schedules and appointments, update your calender - all with Siri.
• Siri isn't only your personal secretary, but also your listening encyclopedia.
• "Search wikipedia for Neil Armstrong" - it brings up the astronaut's profile. "Define mitosis" - it brings up the definition for you.
• Scott asks Siri "Who are you?", Siri says "I am a humble personal assistant." Humble indeed, when it certainly outsmarts any ordinary human.
• Scott off the stage, reinstating the featured Siri.
• Phil returns to the stage.
• You will need a working connection for sure to use Siri.
• Works out of the box and improves over time, learning your voice and commands. Works for English, French and German - more languages to come.
• iPhone 4S once again gets reemphasized.
• iPhone 4S gets another commercial run.

2.30AM

• The commercial shows off all the features previously mentioned. Still no pricing and availability news.
• The pricing for the iPhone 4S is revealed. 
• 16GB - $199, 32GB - $299, 64GB - $399.
• iPhone 4 goes 8GB - $99.
• iPhone 3GS -  Free. All on two year contract.
• Pre-orders start 7th October, Ships October 14th. US, CA, AUS, UK, France, Germany and Japan gets it on 14th.
• Oct 28th spreads 22 more countries, 70 countries by the end of the year.
• Tim reappears on stage and speaks several words of affections.
• No iPhone 5. 
• That's it - the end of Let's Talk iPhone. There will be no iPhone 5.

Several important images courtesy of Engadget.

Event ends at 2.38AM, GMT+8.

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Samsung Nexus Prime Reveals Its First Leaked Shot - HD Screen Confirmed

Full credits of the image and article to GSMArena.com, source here.

In less than 3 hours from now, Apple will be holding the Let's Talk iPhone media event but in all the hype of it, the true live shot of the Google Nexus Prime leaks. This time, it's personally from GSM Arena, so rumour or not - it's for you to decide. More details after the break.


The Samsung Unpacked event scheduled around next week is believed to be the proper unveiling of the Nexus Prime. If you hadn't heard of its recent rumours yet, they can be found under this entry here written a few weeks ago. Perhaps to catch some heat off the Apple's event, GSM Arena received a tip regarding the first proper leaked shot of the Nexus Prime.

The shot above may not be as you might have hoped for, but at least the HD resolution of 720p Super AMOLED display is confirmed on a 4.6" display, giving you all the awesome pixel depth of 320ppi. That's when Apple offers you IPS for 330ppi while you get Super AMOLED for 320ppi. It's not like we can tell the difference after 300ppi anyway, but still - previous Super AMOLED displays has been a static pixel build of 800x480 even on the Galaxy S2. *However, I am not certain whether the bottom bar for the screen is calculated into the total pixel count - for it certainly doesn't carry out any other functions much like in Honeycomb, so perhaps there is a possibility of the total screen estate being 4.65".

The 1184x720 pixels shown above only represent active pixels for operation - the Android notification bar and soft buttons on the bottom are not included. As presumed, the Nexus Prime will not include any hardware buttons which instead will be substituted by soft buttons within the screen. (I'd still prefer hard buttons though). The Nexus Prime is believed to be having the bragging rights of the first ICS device, so be patient and wait through one last week.

Source and credits.

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Kindle Fire Exceeds 95,000 Pre-Orders - Only the First Day

If you haven't heard of the Kindle Fire yet, you can read it right here. The Kindle Fire is the newest weapon to Amazon's armoury, and based on statistical reports on manufacturing costs Amazon is losing approximately $10 per tablet. Why, you may ask. If, the fact that Amazon is indeed losing money per slate is true, the main income in exchange would be the sales and services provided after sales. Read on for more information.


You might have known the trending price slashes of various tablets - the TouchPad, Flyer, and etc. Amazon took the risk (again if it is true) to manufacture the slates and sell them off lower than the manufacturing costs alone aims to prolong its business paradigm in continuous offerings of premium services and sales. But Amazon wouldn't be worried for its revenue - 95,000 pre-orders have been placed only on the first day. That's approximately one pre-order per second! Supposedly with this amount of slates on pre-order on the first day Amazon will gain a total of $950,000 revenue, regardless of the pricing of only $199.

Statistically, the Kindle Fire is notably a success as compared to all other Kindle products combined. According to eDataSource, the iPad racked a 350,000 sale on its first day, while the iPad 2 was reduced to 300,000 units sold. The Kindle Fire doesn't ship until middle of November so these figures could very well tighten up within the next two months. After all, who doesn't like a little market competency? Some people do not need the extra features a tablet offers, so this might be a decent choice as a little pocket companion for web-browsing, little entertainment features and more.

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Cilia within your nose reports how long have you been dead

Image source

Traditional forensic methods to identify the time of death was based on changes in body temperature or the rate of decomposition of body tissues but these values could be easily miscalculated as what was happening before the individual's death cannot be immediately confirmed. However, finger-like projections in the nasal cavity lining the walls will continue waving even after death. Reportedly, since these cilia will continue but gradually slowing in their movements, the time of death could be pinpointed more accurately. More after the break.


Nasal cilia are tiny projections originating from the olfactory bulb, and part of their major purpose is to sweep foreign substances which are beneficial to our respiratory off the nose and down the throat. Biagio Solarino of the University of Bari in Italy and his team speculated that cilia continue to wave even after its master's death. They took a scraping of the lining of the nose from 100 cadavers to examine the cilia and found the motility continues 20 hours after death, as observed. They hope to use cilia examinations to predict the time of death primarily due to the fact that the beating pattern slows gradually and besides being generally immune to environmental factors.

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Sprint Nextel Bets its Future on yet-to-be Announced iPhone 5

Is it really worth investing almost all your company can afford to in a product which hasn't even been revealed to the public? Sprint telecommunications thinks so. Having reported continuous losses, Sprint decided to invest 20 billion US Dollars at current exchange rate to purchase approximately 30.5 million iPhones for the next four years regardless of sale statistics. Details after the break.

Mr. Hesse told the board the carrier would have to agree to purchase at least 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years—a commitment of $20 billion at current rates—whether or not it could find people to buy them, according to people familiar with the matter. In order to keep the price people pay for the phone low and competitive with rivals, Sprint would be subsidizing the cost of each phone to the tune of about $500, which would take a long time to recoup even at the high monthly fees iPhone users pay.

This all-in investment from Sprint will either raise the company's income by a substantial  margin or it might be the end of what we'll hear of it. Sprint is the only carrier which provides true unlimited data plans, and with this partnership (or investment) it aims to rival against AT&T and Verizon. There has been a report stating that Sprint's verzion of the iPhone 5 will have LTE support rather than the normal 4G HSPA+ network which would be released globally.

I have been told that Sprint will be getting the iPhone 5 — yes the real iPhone 5, not the iPhone 4S — as an exclusive. And it will be a WiMAX device. AT&T and Verizon would launch the iPhone 4S and get the iPhone 5 sometime in the first quarter of next year as an LTE device. Globally, the iPhone 5 might be available as a 4G HSPA+ device.

Source

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Facebook Joins Alliances with Websense to Protect Users Against Phishing Websites

I've got to say this - right about damn time! You must have experienced your buddies on Facebook dropping weirdo statuses on walls of not only their own, but their friends as well. Your entire wallpage will be filled with more and more spams of irrelevant status updates which instigates other users into joining the "phishing" party. With the cooperation between Facebook and Websense, Facebook will now attempt to protect you from being a victim of phishing sites. Details after the break.


Previously Facebook has an integrated warning system activated when you attempt to leave Facebook after clicking on an external link, but years after years hundreds of thousands of users still fall for the temptation to know what's behind the phishing statuses and bam, there goes your account. Curiosity kills the cat. To counteract this issue, Facebook has decided to work hand in hand with Websense as an individual filtering purpose for all potentially harmful links.

The update is planned to roll out next week, and you will be prompted by a different warning message this time - not by Facebook, but by Websense itself. It will attempt to warn you if the site you're heading for is categorized as harmful or would it be safe to proceed. Well you still can opt to proceed to your final destination but always take extreme caution not to allow any 3rd party individuals or bots to gain access to your account. The after effects can be disastrous.

Through the alliance, Facebook aims to protect its users against scams that spread even faster than a wildfire once shared on the world's #1 social network. Best of all, you don't even need to pay for the service - it's always free from Facebook but still, the lack of transparency. Social networks are sites where information is spread so fast that it's almost impossible to effectively contain. Hopefully through this alliance the personal information of many Facebook users can be saved.

Source

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Battlefield 3 BETA Hacked - At the Risk of your EA Account

Don't look surprised, EA and DICE would've seen this coming. Having a trial-version or BETA-versions hacked is just as common as wiping dust off your table. Electronic Arts and DICE, seemingly outraged has lifted their banhammer and threatens to suspend any EA accounts and all associated games if you play on the hacked server of Battlefield 3. Details after the break.


The Beta version of Battlefield 3 was released exclusively in the US not long ago. The thing is, hackers had discovered a way to tweak the player cap on Operation Metro (one of the maps in beta which was showcased in E3 previously), raising it from 32 to 128. Now, DICE has acknowledged the hacking of the Beta version and has now issued a warning to all users currently still attempting or already managed to uncap the limitation.

If you were and are part of the hackers or even users alike, the risk of your EA account and all games and services associated to it will be suspended regardless of being legit or not. DICE rep has voiced that players should avoid the "temptation" and remain within official servers to prevent their accounts from compromised.

Now truth to be told, I'm of the opinion that this may be a little too overreacted. If hackers can get within the boundaries of modifying the game, that means certain exploitation has been found and hence could pretty well serve a bug discovery for EA. After all, Beta's were meant to be a trial designed to dig out any bugs, weren't it? I wouldn't want to explore a Beta only within specific limitations if I were you.

Source

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Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play gets all FOUR Top EA Games Free of Charge

You heard it right - the XPERIA Play gets all the top four highly acclaimed EA games free of any charges for months until January next year, regardless of carrier. No terms, no conditions; all you need is to own an X Play. What more could you ask for, granted the full PlayStation certified gamepad and controls, gaming could never be more immersive. After the break for more information.

Image source - Sony Ericsson

EA games don't really come cheap, let alone being free. You will not be needing any special permissions for these downloads - just pop up your Xperia Play, enter the gaming portal and begin the downloads. You're advised to perform the downloads over WiFi though, as these games are huge in storage. Have fun!

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Simulation of the Universe and Dark Matter - All in a Video

Image carries its own copyrights.

Our universe began with the Big Bang Theory which took place approximately 15 billion years ago. The Big Bang theory is the birth of the universe and all the elementary particles which exist throughout the universe - our Earth might or might not have all of these elements as it is only a spec of dust in the eye of the universe. It is the explanation to the formation of galaxies and various extraterrestrial bodies. Scientifically, based on changes in the light spectrum emitted by faraway objects, our universe is actually still undergoing enlargement.

Our universe is still undergoing its growth - think of it as a young child of 15 billion years old. Now, scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces ran a program known as the Bolshoi simulation code for 18 days on Pleiades, the seventh most powerful supercomputer in the world at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. Take it as taking 18 years to simulate on your average computer. The video below reflects the results.

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Bolshoi carries the meaning of "grand" or simply "great" in Russian - it took a total of four years to develop. The reason for this simulation is to track the progression of superstructures and bodies in space, enlightening how coronas of dark matter encircle galaxies in the wide cosmos to provide the gravity that holds them together. In put it in other words, this simulation is effectively a way to observe and comprehend movements and the physics of the superstructures and other objects within space. Shown below is the press release.

"The simulation corroborates the accuracy of models that astronomers have built to clarify how the Big Bang theory initiated the source of subatomic particles and galaxies that inhabit our growing universe," said Joel Primack, head of the simulation program at UC-Santa Cruz.

"In one sense, you might think the initial results are a little boring, because they basically show that our standard cosmological model works. What’s exciting is that we now have this highly accurate simulation that will provide the basis for lots of important new studies in the months and years to come," Primack said.

Astronomers have already estimated that dark matter accounts for more almost 80 percent of all matter in the universe.

"The simulation signifies the nature and power of another mysterious force identified as dark energy, which is also vital to the established development of space," Primack stated.

"These huge cosmological simulations are essential for interpreting the results of ongoing astronomical observations and for planning the new large surveys of the universe that are expected to help determine the nature of the mysterious dark energy,” said Anatoly Klypin, professor of astronomy at New Mexico State, who wrote the computer code for the simulation.

"We've released a lot of the data so that other astrophysicists can start to use it. So far it's less than 1 percent of the actual output, because the total output is so huge, but there will be additional releases in the future," Primack said.

Source of this article.

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What to Expect Tomorrow? Apple's Annual Media Convention at Cupertino Headquarters, Oct 4

No more rumours, no more speculations - this is it, the annual Apple media convention (although a little longer wait this time around) held at Apple's Cupertino Campus live tomorrow. Apple's top-notch secrecy has made any peeks into upcoming reveals almost impossible, hence rumours are flying all over the place regarding what Apple has up their sleeves in confronting the massive array of new devices of assorted operating systems available in the market and does it have enough firepower to mow down the highly successful Samsung Galaxy S2?

Image courtesy Wikipedia

What to expect at the media announcement tomorrow? Find out after the break.


New iPhones & Devices

Apple never misses an annual unveil without a brand new iPhone so obviously, this couldn't be missed. Speculations indicate the possibility of at least one iPhone, but there is the possibility of two as well. No one could really tell since Apple never leak their mouths but supposedly it will be the iPhone 4S and 5. Since the previous Apple's announcement in WWDC 2011, rumours and speculations have been flying all around regarding what might be the actual specifications of the new phones.

The iPhone 4S was initially believed to be the cheaper version of iPhone 4, however newer information reveals different information but most of these indicate that the iPhone 4S will run on the A5 dual-core processor with the upgraded camera sensor of 8MP, similar to what iPhone 5 will be getting. Other than that all other specifications would be rather identical to the current iPhone 4. The iPhone 4S will have a new networking chip allowing it to be used in conjunction with either GSM or CDMA networks, thus various carrier plans may be offered. Another rumour, on the other hand, states that this will be the only iPhone revealed this year - the iPhone 5 might have to grab its limelight some other year.

The iPhone 5 has been under heavy speculations for a long time. Recent image leaks from Cincinnati Bell indicates that the iPhone 5 will be granted a 4-inch screen alongside support for HSPA+ network (LTE was rumoured but pretty much ruled out now). It will share the same A5 dual-core processor as the iPhone 4S as well as the same camera sensor supporting up to 8MP. Other than that no detailed information was revealed. Further leaks of cases and the likes are giving iPhone 5 the impression of being even slimmer than the iPhone 4, on top of a larger edge-to-edge screen.

Another iPod Touch 4G clad in white might also surface under the same media convention, so be sure to watch out for it. The iPod Touch has been a great success, giving users the capability of a full iOS featured device with Retina display while omitting the telephony function at a much lower price tag.

Do note that the devices announced will not be available on shelves right away, as this is part of Apple's usual gap between the announcement and the time it ships out to stores.

iOS 5 & iCloud

There is no way you can miss this. Apple had previously claimed over 200 features incorporated in the upcoming iOS 5, bringing the integration of your phone even closer to your daily life. Major features such as drag-down notification screen (just like how it works on Android) allows users to customize weather and stock updates right out of the notification screen on top of revealing important notifications and information. With iOS 5 you can snap pictures with the volume key, the ability to jump right into the specific notification right from the lockscreen, iMessage which allows you to send message across iDevices free of charge and much more. Information regarding iOS5 features can be found all over the internet. There wasn't once Apple does not release an iPhoneX without its respective companion iOSX, so if the iOS 5 moves completely out of Beta tomorrow, expect the release of iPhone 5.

Now the iCloud isn't really anything new - it was revealed several months ago in WWDC and some features of it has already begun. iCloud was meant to be a full integration with various iDevices alongside Mac OS X. Cloud services are essentially storage or transfer over the internet which leaves no physical traces. Cloud backups are available as well, so even when you lose your iDevice or decide to change a new one, don't fret - all you need to remember is your credentials.

Tim Cooks, instead of Steve Jobs

The appointment of Tim Cooks as the new CEO of Apple was effective right from the moment Steve Jobs decided to step down from his position as he had announced that he could no longer meet his duties. Steve Jobs had been under various medical leaves, and Tim Cooks was the one mainly in-charge in his absence.

The event tomorrow is expected to be Tim Cook's brand new stage. However, he will not be the only person on stage as Scott Forstall, Senior Vice President of iOS Software and Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marking Phil Schiller will be expected as well, along with several developers of hardware/software alike. People around the globe are enthusiastically awaiting the media coverage tomorrow.

The launch of the media convention is imminent. Stay tuned for further updates on here, on Seednonym.com

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HTC Flyer Suffers Price Slash - Down to $299

Remember HP's TouchPad and the Grid Tablet? These are the trend starters of ultra price slashing action on tablets and we're not talking about mere 10 or 20 percent discounts. This time, BestBuy.com decided to drop the HTC Flyer's price by a margin of $200, all the way down to $299.


The HTC Flyer may not have the best of class features but at the price tag of $299 it's arguably one of the best 7-inch tablets still lying around. It runs the good ol' Gingerbread instead of Honeycomb but leaked screenshots of Honeycomb OS for Flyer probably grants the Flyer a new look some time in the near future -source. Its closest rival would be the recently announced Kindle Fire going at a price of $199 but do bear in mind that the Kindle Fire lacks a bunch of features of a standard tablet. Visit here for more information on Amazon's Kindle Fire.

In short, the HTC Flyer runs a single-core 1.5Ghz processor with 1GB of RAM and 16/32GB of on-board storage. It sports a 7" LCD of 1024x600 resolution at approximately 170ppi on 24-bit (16 mil colours). Two integrated cameras - 5MP for the back, 1.3MP for the front. Bluetooth 3.0, Sense 3.5 and all other HTC goodies come with the bundle. Click on the link down below to visit the purchase link directly.

BestBuy.com

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Artificial Leaf No Longer a Dream - Man-made Leaf Carries out Photolysis of Water

For decades scientists strove to mimic the reactions of photosynthesis without forking out massive amounts of expenses or resources with one major purpose in mind - to harvest raw materials from water primarily hydrogen. Hydrogen is the fuel of tomorrow as it is clean and doesn't produce any byproducts which are harmful to the environment after combustion. The major drawback, however, is the high costs necessary to mass produce hydrogen for industrial or automobile usage.

It certainly will look green for the lack of chlorophyll. The artificial leaf is capable of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen in light reaction of photosynthesis. Image by Dominick Reuter, courtesy MSNBC.

More information after the break.

One thing's for sure. The artificial leaf does not contain chlorophyll pigments as they're organic compartments of a leaf and cannot possibly be used in synthetic leaves. The only similarity is the logic behind light reactions whereby water undergoes photolysis into two raw materials - oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen can be recycled into the atmosphere while hydrogen, on the other hand, is stored for further usage. The goal of this project is to provide next-generation fuel in large scale to not only industrial purposes, but also for general public use.

This particular leaf is a silicon solar cell coated with catalytic materials on both sides. Once the leaf is placed in water under exposition to sunlight (simulated light works the same way) will start splitting water molecules into bubbles of oxygen and hydrogen. Below is an attached video of the artificial leaf experiment conducted by a team of researchers in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The video has no audio.



The interesting part of this project is that the artificial leaf is surprisingly cheap to manufacture as it only requires materials like silicon, cobalt, nickel and the likes which are abundant throughout the Earth. These materials will work in just ordinary water. Expensive alternatives for the catalysts such as platinum has been acquired, but not cost-efficient. This breakthrough was led by Daniel Nocera and his team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the first drafted report was submitted in the journal Science, back on Thursday.

Image courtesy WiredScience

Shown in the image above is the construction of the single slated artificial leaf. The build is sandwiched by a pair of catalysts with separators in the middle. Each catalyst carries different functions - the one in front is the primary catalyst, begins the cycle by breaking down H2O into hydrogen ions and raw oxygen. The ions then migrate to the back of the leaf and undergoes discharge, forming hydrogen gas.

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