NASA divulga imagens do telescópio espacial James Webb

A agência espacial norte-americana NASA divulgou o conjunto das primeiras imagens coloridas do Telescópio Espacial James Webb na terça-feira, um dia depois de compartilhar uma imagem colorida de estrelas e galáxias mais profundas do cosmos do que nunca.

O presidente dos EUA, Joe Biden, disse que o telescópio oferece "uma nova janela para a história do nosso universo".

As imagens de terça-feira levaram semanas para serem renderizadas usando dados do telescópio. Eles mostram áreas do universo onde os pesquisadores irão focar futuras investigações científicas.

O telescópio de US$ 10 bilhões, o maior e mais poderoso já lançado no espaço, espia mais longe no cosmos do que qualquer outro antes dele.

Os cientistas descrevem o telescópio como olhando para trás no tempo. Isso porque ele pode ver galáxias tão distantes que a luz dessas galáxias leva bilhões de anos para chegar ao telescópio.

“A luz viaja a 186.000 milhas por segundo (299.000 metros). E essa luz que você está vendo em uma dessas pequenas especificações (na foto) tem viajado por mais de 13 bilhões de anos”, disse o administrador da NASA Bill Nelson, que participou do evento de segunda-feira. coletiva de imprensa junto com Biden e a vice-presidente Kamala Harris.

O telescópio Webb pode ver a luz que foi criada logo após o Big Bang, o ponto mais distante que a humanidade espiou no passado.

Sucessor do Telescópio Espacial Hubble, o Webb é cerca de 100 vezes mais sensível que seu predecessor de 30 anos. Também é capaz de usar o espectro infravermelho, enquanto o Hubble usava principalmente comprimentos de onda ópticos e ultravioleta.

O telescópio é tão preciso, disse Nelson, que os cientistas poderão ver a composição química dos planetas nas profundezas do espaço e determinar se eles são habitáveis ou não.

ÄVamos ser capazes de responder a perguntas que ainda nem sabemos quais são as perguntas“, disse ele.

Harris disse que o telescópio “aumentaria o que sabemos sobre as origens do nosso universo, nosso sistema solar e possivelmente a própria vida.”


First fertilised fish fossil found

A 375 million-year old fossilised umbilical cord indicates that placoderm, thought to be ancestors of modern fish, are actually closer to sharks and rays.  This requires changes to current theories of the evolution of vertebrate sexual reproduction.

The placoderm, a class of prehistoric fish known as the "dinosaur of the seas", dates back to the Devonian period, making the fossil the earliest known case of a vertebrate that gave birth to live young. It is also the only fossilised umbilical cord ever to be found.

Dr. John Long, Museum Victoria's head of sciences and the leader of the team examining the fossils, says the find "changes our understanding of the evolution of vertebrates".

He and Dr. Kate Trinajstic from the University of Western Australia were writing a paper on the fossil that was found during an Australian Research Council-funded expedition to the Gogo Formation, near the town of Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia. They decided to give the fossil one last inspection, at which point they discovered the embryo. According to the research team, this discovery pushes the known development of viviparity (animals giving birth to live young) back 200 million years, and also marks the earliest known development of internal fertilisation, a feature now found in sharks and rays.

Dr. Long gave the species the Latin name Materpiscis attenboroughi. Materpiscis derives from the Latin words meaning "mother fish", and attenboroughi was chosen in honour of Sir David Attenborough, who first drew attention to the Gogo region's possible fossils in a 1970s TV documentary.

The team's findings were published in the science journal Nature, and the fossil specimen will be on display at the Melbourne Museum.


Erstes befruchtetes Fischfossil gefunden

03.06.2008 – Eine 375 Millionen Jahre alte Nabelschnur gibt Hinweise darauf, dass die Panzerfische, bei denen man bisher davon ausging, dass sie die Vorfahren der modernen Fische seien, eigentlich den Haien und Rochen näher stehen. Die derzeitige Theorie der Entwicklung der sexuellen Fortpflanzung müsste somit umgeschrieben werden.

Die Panzerfische, eine Klasse prähistorischer Fische, die auch als „Dinosaurier der Meere“ bekannt sind, stammen aus dem Erdzeitalter des Devon. Somit handelt es sich bei dem Fossil um den ältesten bekannten Fall eines Wirbeltiers, das lebende Junge geboren hat. Außerdem ist es die einzige versteinerte Nabelschnur, die je gefunden wurde.

Dr. John Long, der wissenschaftliche Leiter des Museums Victoria und Leiter des Teams, das die Fossilien untersucht, sagte, der Fund verändere „unser Verständnis der Evolution der Wirbeltiere“.

Er und Dr. Kate Trinajstic von der University of Western Australia haben eine wissenschaftliche Arbeit über das Fossil geschrieben, das während einer Expedition zur Gogo-Formation in der Nähe der Stadt Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia gefunden wurde. Die Expedition wurde durch das Australien Research Council finanziell unterstützt. Als sie die letzten Untersuchungen an dem Fossil vornahmen, fanden sie den Embryo. Den Angaben des Forscherteams zufolge wird durch die Entdeckung die Entwicklung der Viviparie (Eigenschaft, dass Tiere lebende Tiere gebären) um 200 Millionen Jahre nach hinten verschoben. Weiterhin wird durch den Fund die erste Entwicklung interner Befruchtung gekennzeichnet – eine Besonderheit, die nun bei Haien und Rochen gefunden wurde.

Dr. Long gab der Art den lateinischen Namen „Materpiscis attenboroughi“. Materpiscis leitet sich von den lateinischen Wörtern „Mutter“ (mater) und „Fisch“ (piscis) ab, und „attenboroughi“ wurde zu Ehren von Sir David Attenborough gewählt. Er war der erste, der mit Hilfe einer Fernsehsendung aus den 1970er-Jahren die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Gogo-Region lenkte. Schon damals war er davon überzeugt, dass an diesem Ort Fossilien gefunden werden könnten.

Die Ergebnisse des Teams wurden im wissenschaftlichen Journal „Nature“ veröffentlicht. Das versteinerte Exemplar wird im Museum in Melbourne ausgestellt.


First images received from orbit around Mercury

The first images of Mercury taken from orbit around the planet have been received from NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) probe. The images come after the spacecraft entered an orbit around the closest planet to the sun on March 17.

After various system examinations, the first images from the spacecraft were sent at 0520 EDT (0920 UTC).

Before arriving in orbit around Mercury, the MESSENGER spacecraft was launched in 2004, passed by Mercury twice in 2008 and once more in 2009. MESSENGER is the first artificial satellite to be placed in orbit around Mercury. Because Mercury is the innermost planet in the Solar System, the sun's gravitational attraction altered the spacecraft's approach to the planet. Because of this, a series of several maneuvers over three years was required to put the probe in orbit.

Although MESSENGER is the first probe to enter orbit around Mercury, it is not the first to fly by. Mariner 10 was the first to do this when it made three passes during the 1970s.

NASA is continuing to release images taken by the spacecraft as they arrive at Earth. MESSENGER is scheduled to begin it's primary mission on April 4, consisting of various scientific and visual observations of the planet. Some of the scientific goals the probe is to accomplish are: determination of the geologic composition of Mercury, study of the planet's magnetic field and internal composition, and transmission of more than 75,000 images back to Earth.


La NASA divulga las primeras fotografías de Mercurio tomadas por la sonda espacial Messenger

La NASA publicó este miércoles las primeras imágenes de Mercurio tomadas por la sonda espacial Messenger. La visita a Mercurio es la más reciente realizada por la NASA; las labores de fotografiar ese planeta se extenderán durante un año.

El viaje realizado por la sonda duró en total seis años y medio, recorriendo así 7.900 millones de kilómetros. Finalmente, la Messenger ingresó en la órbita de Mercurio el pasado 17 de marzo.

Mercurio se une a Venus, Marte, Júpiter y Saturno, donde ya existen sondas espaciales enviadas por la NASA. Dentro de unos años se planea enviar a Neptuno y Urano.

En 2015 la sonda New Horizon entraría en la órbita de Plutón aunque este ya no es considerado un planeta.

La sonda Messenger entró en órbita finalmente luego de tres intentos en los úlimos tres años. Este logro permitiría a los científicos realizar exámenes detallados sobre el más pequeño de los planetas.

Mercurio experimenta temperaturas en el día que superarían los 800 grados Fahrenheit. Mientras que en la noche la temperatura caería a -150 grados.


С аппарата, находящегося на орбите вокруг Меркурия, получены первые снимки

Первые снимки Меркурия получены с автоматической межпланетной станции «MESSENGER», вращающейся вокруг планеты. Фотографии были получены после того, как космический корабль вышел на орбиту вокруг Меркурия 17 марта.

Перед тем как выйти на орбиту вокруг Меркурия, MESSENGER проделал долгий путь. Будучи запущенным в 2004, он дважды прошёл мимо Меркурия в 2008 и ещё 1 раз в 2009. MESSENGER — первый искусственный спутник Меркурия. Поскольку Меркурий — ближайшая к Солнцу планета, гравитация Солнца внесла свои изменения в процесс приближения космического корабля к планете. Таким образом, ряд манёвров в течение 3 лет был необходим для того, чтобы вывести на орбиту зонд.

Хотя MESSENGER — это первый искусственный спутник Меркурия, космические корабли уже пролетали мимо этой планеты. Первым аппаратом, пролетевшим мимо Меркурия, был Mariner 10: он 3 раза миновал эту планету в 1970-е.

NASA продолжает публиковать поступающие с аппарата снимки. 4 апреля MESSENGER должен начать свою собственно научную работу, включающую разнообразные измерения и съёмку планеты. В частности, он должен определить геологическое строение Меркурия, изучить магнитное поле и внутреннее строение планеты, а также передать на Землю более 75000 снимков.

30 марта 2011 года


First photo of a planet that orbits another sun

Scientists confirmed today for the first time ever, that astronomers photographed a planet orbiting a sun other than our own. Photographs were taken late last year by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, but it has taken since then to confirm that the body is indeed a planet — five times the size of Jupiter, the largest planet that orbits our own sun.

Extra-solar planets such as this have been detected before, but never by direct observation — their presence has always been inferred from aberrant behaviour of the star they circulate around.

"Among the most essential quests of modern astronomers, taking direct images of planets outside of our solar system is certainly up there among chart-toppers," says the ESO, in a press release given to verify the status of the object.

The newly imaged planet orbits a brown dwarf star known to scientists as 2M1207, at a distance that is nearly twice as far as that of Neptune from our own sun — making the planet much too cold for lifeforms such as those on Earth. Detection of Earth-like planets is still years away, according to the ESO, because they are too faint for current equipment to detect.

The scientists say that the planet presents a valuable opportunity nonetheless, as it is much younger than those in our own system, at only "a few tens of millions of years old".

"Moreover, as the first tens of millions of years are considered to have been a critical period in the formation of Earth and of our own solar system, the study of nearby young planetary systems provides astronomers with invaluable insight on our own origins."

Suns are understood to form when matter collapses strongly under its own gravity, while planets form later by accretion, in matter orbiting a sun.

Photographs of what was thought to be an extra-solar planet were announced earlier this month. However scientists now state that the size of that planet might be much larger than originally announced, thus allowing a chance that the object might instead be a small star.


Es confirma la primera observació d'un planeta extrasolar

Científics de l'Observatori europeu del sud van confirmar que la foto presa l'any passat mostra el primer planeta observat fora de el sistema solar. Es tracta d'un planeta extrasolar cinc vegades més gran que Júpiter que orbita al voltant d'una estrella llunyana del tipus nana marró, a una distància similar a la de Neptú pel que fa al Sol: l'estrella se situa a prop de la constel·lació d'Hidra.

Les fotos van ser preses amb un poderós telescopi situat al nord de Xile, pertanyent a l'Observatori europeu del sud. La confirmació es va obtenir gràcies a una seqüència de fotos que mostren el moviment gravitacional del planeta pel que fa a la seva estrella.

Des dels anys 1990 es tenen indicis de la presència de planetes al voltant d'estrelles, però fins ara no havia poguts ser observats. Aquest any, diversos grups d'astrònoms han anunciat també l'observació d'aquest tipus de planetes.


Se confirma la primera observación de un planeta extrasolar

Científicos del Observatorio europeo del sur confirmaron que la foto tomada el año pasado muestra el primer planeta observado fuera del sistema solar. Se trata de un planeta extrasolar cinco veces más grande que Júpiter que orbita alrededor de una estrella lejana del tipo enana marrón, a una distancia similar a la de neptuno con respecto al Sol: la estrella se ubica cerca de la constelación de Hidra.

Las fotos fueron tomadas con un poderoso telescopio ubicado en el norte de Chile, perteneciente al Observatorio europeo del sur. La confirmación se obtuvo gracias a una secuencia de fotos que muestran el movimiento gravitacional del planeta con respecto a su estrella.

Desde los años 1990 se tienen indicios de la presencia de planetas alrededor de estrellas, pero hasta ahora no había podido ser observados. Este año, varios grupos de astrónomos han anunciado también la observación de este tipo de planetas.


Confirmada primeira observação de um planeta fora do sistema solar

Cientistas do Observatório Europeu do Sul confirmaram que a foto tirada  ano passado mostra o primeiro planeta observado fora do sistema solar.

Trata-se de um planeta cinco vezes maior que Júpiter  que orbita ao redor de uma estrela longínqua do tipo anã marrom, a uma distância similar à de  Netuno em relação ao Sol.  A estrela se localiza perto da constelação de Hidra.

As fotos foram tiradas  com um poderoso telescópio localizado no norte do  Chile, pertencente ao observatório.  A confirmação se obteve graças a uma seqüência de fotos que mostra  o movimento gravitacional do planeta em relação   a sua estrela.

Desde os anos 90  se têm indícios da presença de planetas ao redor de estrelas, mas até agora não tinha sido possível observá-los.  Este ano, vários grupos de astrônomos anunciaram  a observação desse tipo de planeta.


First Swahili office suite released in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

On Monday, February 28, 2005, Jambo OpenOffice.org, the first Swahili office suite, was released at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The office suite was translated from the English version of OpenOffice.org, an open source suite based on Sun Microsystems' StarOffice. Jambo OpenOffice.org was translated by a multinational team including Swedish and Spanish programmers, as well as linguists from the University of Dar es Salaam. Monday's release included builds for Linux and Windows.

The office suite has four components: a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation creator, and a drawing program. The translation effort required translating 18,000 English strings, made up of one or more words, many of which have previously had no direct Swahili equivalent. As part of the translation, the team developed a glossary of 1500 technical words in Swahili. The office suite also includes a spellchecker with a lexicon of 70,000 words.

Swahili is not the only African language into which OpenOffice is being translated. According to Ethan Zuckerman, a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, OpenOffice is being translated into nine official languages of South Africa by Translate.org.za. The same organization is also supporting translation efforts to bring the software into the Rwandan language Kinyarwanda, and Hausa, a language spoken largely in Nigeria.

Swahili is spoken by approximately 55 million people worldwide, predominantly in East African countries, including Tanzania and Kenya.

Interview with the project coordinator

Replies to questions from Pingswept by Alberto Escudero-Pascual, March 3, 2005

The suite contains more than 99% of the strings in Swahili. The ones
that are left in English  (less than 100 strings out of 18,000) will
be worked out in the next release. Yes, this release is fully functional
in Swahili.

No alternatives. This is the first ever release of a word processor in Swahili.

I "expect" the software to get installed in all the primary schools of
the country. I also expect the software to be installed in the main
universities of the country and colleges. We have postive feedback
from them but this is a rather "political" decision out of my (our)
control.

The secondary schools have compulsory English so they might not want
to install it.

East Africa, ufff that is like asking what IT infrastructure is in the
whole Europe :-D
If you mean connectivity, all is satellite VSAT upstreams. Most of
the local loops in Dar are based on IEEE 802.11b. It is expensive for
most of the locals. But there is an Internet Exchange already in Dar es Salaam
where the ISP peer together. Things will always get
better. The software is placed in the IX.

The software will spread slowly, but I am sure that will spread.

The Tanzanian team will start translating OOo training documentation,
and next they will work with Firefox. A Linux desktop might come next
year.
I have no idea what will it take to translate Knoppix, but the
priorities should be in getting first a couple of good tools as
OpenOffice and Firefox and do loads and loads of training material in
Swahili.

I have developed an almost automatic version to update JambOOo 1.1.3 in
Kiswahili. The UDSM has access to one of the build servers. I expect a
new release of JambOO, maybe 1.1.4 with all the bug corrections in six
months. The next step is to migrate to OOo 2.0, I have no clear
picture of how that will happen.

Nope, the Win32 version was developed entirely in Sweden and Spain during
Christmas 2004 . The new build system does not require Visual Studio
to "update" the Swahili strings.

SIDA (Swedish International Cooperation Agency) has funded the
University of Dar es Salaam and the Institute of Kiswahili Research
for one full year. My company IT+46 also was funded by SIDA to support
the project technically.

IT+46 has contributed 50% of its working-time at no cost to the project.

Our plan was to be in Tanzania only six months and handle all the
technology and the training back to the university as we want them to
keep on with the development by themselves. Now, we are trying to find
similar projects that need support. There are many languages out there
after all.

Coverage of Linux release in December:

About the Visual Studio donation for the Windows build a few weeks ago:

Blog entry about workshop in Arusha:

Interview with Escudero from October 2004:

General background:

Older media coverage:

Related stories about Microsoft in Africa:


Equipe internacional lança primeira suíte de escritório em suaili

Segunda-feira, 28 de fevereiro de 2005, foi lançado  o Jambo  OpenOffice.org, a primeira suite de escritório em suaile, na Universidade de Dar es Salaam,  na Tanzânia. A suite de escritório foi traduzida da versão inglesa de OpenOffice.org (OO), uma suite de fonte aberta baseada em outra suíte de escritório conhecida como StarOffice, da Sun Microsystems. O Jambo OpenOffice.org foi traduzido por uma equipe internacional,  com  suecos e espanhóis, entre os desenvolvedores, e   lingüistas da Universidade de Dar es Salaam. A versão liberada segunda-feira incluiu versões para os sistemas operacionais Linux e Windows.

A suite de escritório tem quatro componentes: um processador de textos, uma planilha eletrônica, um criador de apresentações, e um programa de desenho. O trabalho  exigiu que  18 mil cadeias de palavras (strings)  inglesas,  compostas de uma ou muitas  palavras,  a maioria sem nenhum equivalente direto em  suaile, fossem traduzidas. Como  parte do trabalho de  tradução, a equipe desenvolveu um glossário de 1.500 palavras técnicas em suaile. A suíte de escritório também inclui um verificador de ortografia com um dicionário léxico de 70.000 palavras.

O suaile não é a única língua africana para a qual OpenOffice está a ser traduzido. Segundo Ethan Zuckerman, do Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society (Centro Berkman para Internet e Sociedade  da Universidade de Harvard), o OpenOffice está em processo de tradução para outras nove línguas oficiais da África do Sul por Translate.org.za. A mesma organização também apóia esforços de tradução para liberar o programa na língua Rwandan Kinyarwanda e Hausa, uma língua muito falada na Nigéria.

O suaile é falado por aproximadamente 55 milhões de pessoas no mundo inteiro, predominantemente em países da  África Oriental, entre eles a Tanzânia e o Quênia.

Respostas de Alberto Escudero-Pascual, líder do projeto de tradução,  a perguntas do wikijornalista  Pingswept , no dia 3 de março de 2005.

Pingswept — 100% da suíte  foi  traduzida para suaile agora?

Escudero — A suite contém mais de 99 % das palavras  em suaile. Aquelas que são deixadas em inglês (menos de 100 palavras entre 18 mil) serão traduzidas na próxima versão. Sim, esta versão  é totalmente funcional em suaile.

Pingswept — O que  gente que somente fala em  suaile  fazia  antes de ser lançada a versão de segunda-feira, quando precisava de um  processador de textos?  Existe  alguma outra alternativa?

Escudero — Nenhuma alternativa. Esta é a primeira versão que algum dia foi  lançada de um processador de textos em suaile.

Pingswept —  Qual é o grau  de utilização  que você espera para a suíte?   Que tipo de infraestrutura em informática existe no Leste da África?

Escudero —  "Espero" que o programa seja instalado em todas as escolas primárias do país. Também espero que o programa seja instalado na maior parte das universidades e faculdades. Temos recebido opiniões positivas deles,  todavia  isto é uma decisão "bastante política" que está  fora de meu (nosso) controle.

Nas escolas secundárias,  o inglês é obrigatório, portanto,  talvez elas não queiram  instalá-lo.

Quanto   à  África Oriental,  ufa!  É como perguntar sobre como é a infraestutura em informática na Europa inteira:-D Se você pensar em conectividade, tudo é feito por cadeia de satélites VSAT. A maior parte das redes locais em Dar são baseadas em IEEE 802.11b. Ela é cara para a maior parte das regiões. Todavia já existe uma  Internet eXchange   em  Dar es  Salaam   onde os  ISPs  trabalham juntos. As coisas  irão  sempre melhorar. O programa foi  colocado na  Internet exchange.

O programa  vai se propagar lentamente, mas estou  seguro que se espalhará.

Pingswept — O que vem depois? Quantos  palavras precisam ser traduzidas numa pequena distribuição Linux,  como Knoppix?

Escudero — A equipe tanzaniana começará a traduzir a documentação de treinamento do OO , e em seguida  trabalhará  com o Firefox. Um desktop Linux poderia vir no ano que vem. Não tenho nenhuma idéia sobre o que teríamos que fazer  para traduzir o Knoppix. De qualquer forma,  as prioridades devem ser primeiro obter  um par de  boas ferramentas como OpenOffice e Firefox e criar montes e montes de  material de treinamento em  suaile.

Pingswept — Como as  futuras versões serão compiladas depois de você  retornar à Suécia?

Escudero — Desenvolvi uma versão quase automática para atualizar JambOO 1.1.3 em Kiswahili. O UDSM tem o acesso a um dos servidores de construção. Espero uma versão  de JambOO, talvez 1.1.4, com todas as correções de bugs, em seis meses. O  passo seguinte  é  migrar para OO  2.0. Não tenho nenhuma idéia clara de como isto acontecerá.

Pingswept — Seria através de  uma cópia do Visual Studio  em Dar es Salaam?

Escudero — Não.  A versão Win32 foi desenvolvida inteiramente na Suécia e na Espanha,  durante o Natal de 2004. O novo sistema de construção não precisa do  Visual Studio para atualizar as strings  suaile.

Pingswept —  Como   o projeto foi financiado? Como as pessoas podem contribuir para este projeto, ou projetos semelhantes no futuro?

Escudero — A  SIDA (Swedish International Cooperation Agency,  ou Agência de Cooperação Internacional Sueca) financiou a Universidade de  Dar es Salaam e o Instituto da Pesquisa de Kiswahili durante um ano inteiro. A minha companhia IT+46 também foi financiada pela  SIDA para apoiar este projeto tecnicamente.

IT+46 contribuiu com  50 % do seu horário de trabalho sem qualquer custo adicional para o projeto.

Pingswept —  Quais são os  planos para IT +46?

Escudero — O nosso plano foi ficar  na Tanzânia só por  seis meses e passar toda a tecnologia e  treinamento para a  universidade, visto que desejamos  que eles continuem com o desenvolvimento por si  mesmos.  Agora, estamos tentando encontrar projetos semelhantes que precisam de ajuda técnica. Há muitas línguas lá fora, afinal.

Cobertura do lançamento Linux em dezembro:

Sobre a doação do Visual Studio para a construção da versão Windows,  algumas semanas atrás:

Blog sobre palestra em  Arusha:

Entrevista com  Escudero em outubro de  2004:

Informação geral:

Cobertura antiga pela mídia:

Histórias relacionadas da atuação da Microsoft na África:


Fishermen make "very rare" find in Siberia

In Siberia, fishermen made what experts are calling a "very rare" discovery. A complete and nearly intact skeleton of a mammoth has been found in Krasnoyarsk, Russia off the shores of a small lake. The skeleton became visible when waters from a recent flood receded.

"It happens very rarely. I've been in the area 14 years and this is the first time. The bones are usually spread around over a wide area. The find has retained a backbone, a skull with teeth and a tusk and other anatomic details," said Alexander Kerzhayev, deputy director of the museum and archeologist in Novoselovo, Russia.

Kerzhayev also said that the mammoth appeared to have lived until about 50-years old. "It was an adult mammoth, judging by the size of bones it was at least 50 years old," he added also saying the mammoth appeared to have died from being sick.

However, Kerzhayev also says that the museum does not have the resources to retrieve the remains and that "no one seems to care" about the discovery adding that small portions of the animal could be retrieved.


В Сибири найден скелет мамонта около Красноярска

В Сибири рыбаки сделали то, что эксперты называют «очень редким» открытием. Полный и почти неповрежденный скелет мамонта был найден около Красноярска на берегу маленького озера. Скелет стал видимым, когда отступили воды от недавнего наводнения.

«Это случается очень редко. Я живу в этих местах 14 лет, и это - первый случай. Обычно, кости скелета разбросаны на большом расстоянии друг от друга. В данной находке сохранился хребет, череп с зубами и клыком и другими анатомическими деталями», сказал директор музея и археолог из Новоселова, Александр Кержаев.

Кержаев также сказал, что, предположительно, мамонт прожил до 50 лет, буквально: «Судя по размеру костей, это был взрослый мамонт, ему было по крайней мере 50 лет». Предположительно, что мамонт умер от болезни.

Однако, А. Кержаев также говорит, что музей не имеет ресурсов, чтобы восстановить скелет, и что «никто не заботится» об этой находке.

24 мая 2006 года


Five anti-hail centres to be set up in Romania

As part of the National Anti-Hail Program, five centres that will help in hail protection and launch anti-hail missiles if necessary will be built in Prahova, Iaşi, Vrancea, Timiş and Mureş counties. The centre in Prahova county, just west of Bucharest, is almost finalised and may even be put into operation in this year's winter.

The National Anti-Hail Program was launched in 2000 and is due to be finalised in 2014. It seeks to better protect those areas of the country that are most affected by hail. The project needs investment of 10.9 million new lei (3 million euro), half of which have already been allocated, according to the project's co-ordinator, Stancu Samoila.


Cinci centre anti-grindină în România

Ca parte a Programului Național anti-Grindină, cinci centre vor ajuta la protecția împotriva grindinei și lansarea unor rachete anti-grindină dacă sunt necesare vor fi construite în județele Prahova, Iași, Vrancea, Timiș și Mureș. Centrul din județul Prahova, la vest de București, este aproape gata și poate fi folosit chiar din această iarnă.

Programul Național Anti-Grindină a fost lansat în 2000 și se preconizează a se finaliza în 2014. Acesta caută să protejeze mai bine zonele din țară care sunt cel mai mult afectate de grindină. Proiectul are nevoie de investiții de 10.9 milioane lei noi (3 milioane de euro), din care jumătate au fost deja alocați susține coordonatorul proiectului, Stancu Samoilă.


Flexible displays soon to be in production

Roll up displays for use in hand-held gadgets will be available for mass production by March 2007 according to co-developer Philips. Working with US based paper pioneer E-ink, Philips have developed a 13cm wide screen which is just 0.1 millimetres thick and can be rolled up so that it is only 15 millimetres in diameter.

The screen, which Philips hope to license to makers of in-car satellite navigation systems, mobile web browsers and smart phones, uses no back light and displays a monochrome image in four shades of grey as well as black and white. According to Philips the screen is able to give a “paper-like contrast”.

The screen consists of a backing layer of plastic film which contains a matrix of transistors. This is topped off with layer transparent “electronic ink” capsules and a layer of clear plastic. The capsules are approximately 50 micrometres in diameter and contain polarised black and white particles. Using the transistors, a pattern of positive and negative charge can be applied which manipulates the particles to form monochrome images.


2005/03/17: Hoprullbara bildskärmar på marknaden inom ett år

Bildskärmar till handdatorer som går att rulla ihop kommer att finnas på marknaden senaste mars 2007 enligt Philips, en av de som är med och utvecklar tekniken. Tillsammans med det amerikanska företaget E-Ink har Philips tagit fram en en 13 centimeter bred skärm som bara är 0,1 millimeter tjock och som hoprullad har en diameter på 16 millimeter. Företaget avsikt är att produkten ska användas till GPS-system i bilar och till mobiltelefoner.

Skärmen klarar av att visa svart och vitt och fyra nyanser av grått och ska enligt Philips kunna ge "en pappersliknande kontrast". Skärmen består av en plastfilm med en matris av transistorer under ett transparent lager av "elektroniska bläckkapslar" och ett genomskinligt plastlager. De 50 mikromillimeter stora bläckkapslarna innehåller polariserade, svartvita partiklar som med laddningar från transistorerna kan återge monokroma bilder.


Former Arizona Governor says he saw a UFO during the 1997 Phoenix Lights

Former Arizona Republican Governor Fife Symington III said that he had witnessed one of the "craft of unknown origin" during the 1997 Phoenix Lights event, but noted that he didn't go public with the information.  In an interview with the Daily Courier in Prescott, Fife said:

Fife also noted that he did request information from the commander of Luke Air Force Base, the general of the National Guard, and the head of the Department of Public Safety.  But none of the officials he contacted had an answer for what had happened, and were also "perplexed."

Frances Barwood, who was the former Phoenix city councilwoman in 1997 and who launched an investigation into the event,  said that out of the more than 700 witnesses she interviewed, "The government never interviewed even one."


前亚利桑那州州长称他在1997年凤凰城光点事件中目击不明飞行物

前共和党亚利桑那州州长费伏·森明顿称，他在1997年凤凰城光点事件中亲眼目睹了一艘“来历不明的飞船”，但他指出，他并没有公开这一信息。在接受普雷斯科特《每日信使》采访中，费伏说:

“这个飞行物很大，我也无法解释那是什么，也没人知道它是从哪里来的？但很多人都看到了，也包括我。我认为那不可能是灯光，因为它实在太对称了，这个物体几乎有一个不会发生改变的几何轮廓。”

费伏还指出，他确实向路克空军基地的指挥官、国民警卫队的高级将领和公共安全部门的负责人询问了相关的信息。但他联系的官员中，没有一个人能对所发生的事情给出确切的答案，各部门的人也对发生的事情“感到困惑”。

弗朗西斯·巴伍德是1997年凤凰城的前女议员，她对这起事件展开了调查。她说，在她采访的700多名目击者中，“政府从未询问过任何一个人”。


Fossilized remains of small dinosaur rediscovered in Canada

Scientists in Alberta, Canada have discovered a new species of dinosaur in remains left untouched for 25 years. The find has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The measurements put the fossil, the smallest discovered in North America, at one and a half feet (50 centimetres) tall, weighing in at an estimated 4 to 5 pounds (1.8-2.2 kilograms) when it was alive, about the size of today's modern domesticated cat. Scientists believe it ate things like insects and other smaller dinosaurs. It is estimated to have roamed earth during the late Cretaceous Period about 75 million years ago in what is known as present day Alberta.

The fossil was discovered in 1982 by Elizabeth "Betsy" Nicholls, a Canadian paleontologist who died in 2004. The fossils went largely unstudied since their discovery in the 80's and were later located in 2007 at an archive in the University of Alberta.

"Hesperonychus is currently the smallest dinosaur known from North America. [This] raises the possibility that there are even smaller ones [dinosaurs] out there waiting to be found," said Nick Longrich, paleontology research associate with the University of Calgary's Department of Biological Sciences, and one of the scientists publishing the report. He added that the creature spent most of its time on the ground.

Hesperonychus elizabethae is a species of the family Dromaeosauridae and is a cousin of Velociraptor . This fully feathered, warm blooded bird of prey was believed to have walked upright on two legs with claws like the Velociraptor. Its second claw was larger, giving rise to the name Hesperonychus which means "western claw." elizabethae was chosen in honor of Nicholls.


Restos fosilizados de pequeño dinosaurio redescubiertos en Canadá

Cientificos de Alberta, Canadá han descubierto un nueva especie de dinosaurio que ha permanecido escondida por cerca de 25 años. El descubrimiento ha sido publicado en Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Las medidas del fósil, el más pequeño descubierto en Norteamérica, son de 50 centímetros de alto; el dromaeosaurio pesaba alrededor de 2 kilogramos cuando estaba vivo, tamaño cercano al de una gato domestico. Los científicos creen que comía insectos y otros dinosaurios más pequeños. Se estima que vivió en el cretácico tardío, hace aproximadamente 75 millones de años.

El fósil fue descubierto en 1982 por Elizabeth Nicholls, una paleontóloga canadiense que murió en 2004. El fósil nunca fue estudiado desde su descubrimiento en los 80's hasta su redescubrimiento en un archivo de la Universidad de Alberta en 2007.

Según Nick Longrich, asociado de la división de investigación de paleontología del Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas de Calgary, y uno de los científicos que publicaron el reporte:

"Hesperonychus elizabethae" es una especie de la familia Dromaeosauridae y esta relacionado con el Velociraptor. Esta criatura, precursor de las aves de sangre caliente, caminaba en dos patas como el Velociraptor." El nombre Elizabethae fue escogido en honor de Nicholls.


Apró dinoszauruszra bukkantak Kanadában

Kutatók apró dinoszauruszra bukkantak a kanadai Albertában.

Kiderült, hogy az eddig talált Kréta korban élt legkisebb ragadozó dinoszauruszmaradványra bukkantak Albertából való kanadai, észak-amerikai kutatók.

Hat darab medencecsont segítette a faj megállapítását. Az apró fosszilis dinoszaurusz leletét különben nem most, hanem huszonöt éve fedezték fel, és ennyi éven át gyíkfajtának hitték. A lelet kb. akkora volt, mint egy kisebb tyúk, apró és tollas volt. Fűrészes fogai szakértők szerint a rovarok elfogyasztására alakult ki.

A Hesperonychus elizabethae faj a Dromaeosauridae, azon belül a Microraptorinae alcsalád Hesperonychus nemébe tartozik. Nevét 2004-ben meghalt kanadai paleontológusról, Elizabeth "Betsy" Nicholls-ról kapta, aki 1982-ben fedezte fel.

A madár kinézetű dinoszaurusz szoros rokoni kapcsolatban áll a Velociraptorokkal.


Restos fossilizados de pequeno dinossauro redescoberto no Canadá

Cientistas de Alberta, Canadá, haviam descoberto uma nova espécie de dinossauro que permaneceu escondido por quase 25 anos. A descoberta foi publicada em Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

As medidas do fóssil, os menor descoberto na América do Norte, são de 50 centímetros de altura, o dromaeosaurio pesava cerca de 2 quilogramas quando ele estava vivo, tamanho cerca de um gato doméstico. Os cientistas acreditam que comia insetos e outros dinossauros menores. Estima-se que viveu no final do Cretáceo tardio , aproximidamente cerca de 75 milhões de anos.

O fóssil foi descoberto em 1982 por Elizabeth Nicholls, uma paleontológica canadense que morreu em 2004. O fóssil nunca foi estudado desde a descoberta dos anos 80 até a redescoberta em um arquivo da Universidade de Alberta, em 2007.

Segundo Nick Longrich, um associado da divisão de investigação de paleontologia do Departamento de Ciências Biológicas de Calgary e um dos cientistas que publicaram o relatório:

"Hesperonychus elizabethae" é uma espécie da família Dromaeosauridae e está relacionado com Velociraptor. Esta criatura, precursor das aves de sangue quente, caminhava sobre duas pernas como o Velociraptor. O nome Elizabethae foi escolhido em homenagem ao Nicholls.


France secures site for 10 billion euro nuclear fusion research project

The European Union has won a years-long battle to host ITER, the 'next step' in nuclear fusion research. Nuclear fusion is the process that powers our sun, and could potentially lead to almost unlimited energy available on Earth.

The six partners in the international project — the European Union (through its suborganization EURATOM), the People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States - declared today in Moscow that the device will be constructed at Cadarache, in France. The other contender for the project was Japan.

Japan and the EU (as well as Canada until 2003) had fought a long and hard battle to secure the site of the experiment, seen as the next step towards nuclear fusion, until Japan finally withdrew its bid today.

Under the terms of the agreement, the EU will pay 50% of the construction costs of the 10 billion euro (£6.6bn) program costs, while Japan will gain 20% of the 200 research jobs that will be part of the project, but pay only 10% of the costs.

"We believe that the ITER project should start as soon as possible for the sake of mankind's future," said Nariaki Nakayama, Japan's science minister.

Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith, head of the of UK Atomic Energy Authority's (UKAEA) Culham division, responsible for the UK's thermonuclear fusion programme, said that "rapid construction of ITER will be a major step in the development of fusion as a potential large-scale source of electricity that will not contribute to climate change."

French environmental groups have shown dismay at the news of the siting decision. Mediane, one such group, said "We are against the project because it's very dangerous and will not create jobs in the region." A group of several French environmental groups, Sortir du Nucleaire (Get Out of Nuclear Energy), said ITER was dangerous as scientists did not know "how to manipulate the high-energy deuterium and tritium hydrogen isotopes used in the fusion process. ITER will never produce electricity. Maybe, well after ITER, another reactor in 100, 150 or 200 years will do so — but that's far from certain."

The JET nuclear fusion project in the UK has operated for twenty years and has used tritium for ten; it has a 100% safety record with no radiation ever being released.

ITER will follow on from the work of such experiments as the European JET, the Japanese JT-60u, and the American TFTR and DIII-D. It is not designed to produce electricity, but to research technologies that will allow a prototype nuclear fusion power plant — 'DEMO' — to begin construction in around 2030. The ITER program itself will last for thirty years — ten for construction, and at least 20 years of operation.

Nuclear fusion works by forcing the atomic nuclei — in this case isotopes of hydrogen, namely deuterium and/or tritium — to combine under great heat and pressure. The products of the reaction have a lower mass than the original reactants — releasing energy according to Einstein's famous equation of

E
=
m

c

2

{\displaystyle E=mc^{2}}

.

The fuel is derived from sea water, meaning that fusion is an almost limitless source of energy.

Nuclear fusion produces no waste products other than helium, and does not contribute to global warming in any way. Little radiation is produced by the reaction; a nuclear fusion power plant will take less than 100 years to become completely safe after decommissioning. Furthermore, fusion reactors have very little fuel inside them at any one moment — so therefore no chance of a 'meltdown' — and can shut down in seconds if the fuel supply is cut off.


Europa wird Standort des Kernfusionsreaktors „ITER“

Moskau (Russland) / Paris / Saint-Paul-lès-Durance (Frankreich), 28.06.2005 – Europa erhält den Zuschlag für den Standort eines der größten internationalen Forschungsprojekte der Gegenwart. In der südfranzösischen Ortschaft Cadarache wird der Kernfusionsreaktor ITER gebaut. ITER soll den Weg für die zivile Nutzung der Kernfusion ebnen.

Seit 2001 wurde über einen Standort für den ITER beraten. Bewerbungen lagen ursprünglich aus Frankreich, Spanien, Japan und Kanada vor. Nach einem Auschlussverfahren blieben 2005 nur noch der französische Standort Cadarache und Rokkasho-Mura in Japan übrig. Während die USA, Japan und Südkorea den Standort Rokkasho-Mura bevorzugten, stimmten die EU, China und Russland für Cadarache. Am 28. Juni 2005 entschieden dann die beteiligten Staaten den Testreaktor in Frankreich zu errichten. Sie unterzeichneten in Moskau eine entsprechende Vereinbarung. Bereits im November 2004 hatte der EU-Ministerrat einstimmig beschlossen, ITER nur in Cadarache zu bauen, notfalls auch ohne die Beteiligung Japans, Süd-Koreas und den USA.

Die Vorgeschichte: Bei Gesprächen 1985 zwischen Michail Gorbatschow, François Mitterrand und Ronald Reagan wurde eine Zusammenarbeit bei der Forschung beschlossen. Die ersten Planungen begannen 1988 im deutschen Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, die 1990 in einem ersten Entwurf eines Testraktors resultierten. Von 1998 bis 2001 wurde die Reaktorkonstruktion detailliert ausgearbeitet und abgeschlossen. Kanada stieg im Dezember 2003 aus dem Projekt aus, beabsichtigte aber einen Wiedereinstieg. Indien und Brasilien haben im Jahr 2004 ihr Interesse an einer Beteiligung signalisiert.

Die Kosten des Projektes sind indes beträchtlich. Rund 9,6 Milliarden Euro sollen in den ITER investiert werden, andererseits könnten bis zu 100.000 neue Arbeitsplätze durch den Kernfusionsreaktor entstehen. Der Baugebinn wird allgemein für 2006 erwartet, im Jahr 2015 soll der Forschungsreaktor in Betrieb gehen.


El ITER se construirá en Francia

Francia ha ganado una batalla de años para tener al ITER, el 'próximo paso' en la investigación sobre la fusión nuclear, en suelo propio.

La fusión nuclear es el proceso por el cual el Sol genera energía y podrá ser reproducido en la Tierra gracias al International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ("Reactor internacional termonuclear experimental"), lo que solucionaría la crisis energética mundial, pues la energía termonuclear es considerada la alternativa más confiable cuando el petróleo y los demás combustibles se agoten.

Los seis socios del proyecto internacional - la Comunidad Europea de la Energía Atómica (EURATOM), China, Japón, Corea del Sur, Rusia y Estados Unidos - declararon este martes en Moscú que el reactor será construido en la localidad de Cadarache, cercana a la ciudad de Marsella. Japón era el otro país que deseaba la sede, que hubiera sido en la localidad norteña de Rokkasho, pero finalmente cedió.

Según los términos del acuerdo, Francia deberá pagar el 50% del costo de la construcción, avaluado en 10 mil millones de euros, mientras que Japón obtendrá el 20% de los 200 trabajos de investigación que harán parte del proyecto, pagando sólo el 10% del costo.

"Creemos que el proyecto Iter debe empezar tan pronto como sea posible por el futuro de la humanidad", declaró Nariaki Nakayama, ministro de ciencia nipón.

El profesor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith, de la división de Culhan de la Autoridad de Energía Atómica del Reino Unido (UKAEA), responsable del programa de fusión termonuclear británico, dijo que la "rápida construcción del Iter será un paso importante en el desarrollo de la fusión como una potencial fuente de electricidad a gran escala que no contribuirá con el cambio climático".

Raymond Orbach, secretario de Energía de Estados Unidos, explicó que "el acuerdo multinacional será firmado a finales de año y el reactor termonuclear estará listo para 2014".

Yevgéni Vélijov, director del Instituto Ruso de Investigaciones Nucleares Kurchátov, dijo que el ITER es una variación perfeccionada del Tokamak, antiguo proyecto soviético, y explicó que "el reactor termonuclear utiliza la energía que se produce de la síntesis de núcleos de isótopos de hidrógeno en reacciones que transcurren en medio de plasma a temperaturas superiores a 150 millones de grados centígrados".

Los grupos ambientalistas franceses han mostrado su consternación por el anuncio del emplazamiento del reactor. Mediane, uno de ellos, declaró que "estamos en contra del proyecto porque es muy peligroso y porque no creará puestos de trabajo en la región". Un conglomerado de varios grupos ambientalistas franceses, Sortir du Nucleaire ("Salir de la energía nuclear"), dijo que el ITER es peligroso mientras los científicos no sepan "cómo manipular los isótopos de alta energía del hidrógeno, el deuterio y el tritio, empleados en la fusión. El ITER nunca producirá electricidad. Tal vez, después del ITER, otro reactor en 100, 150 ó 200 años lo haga, pero eso está lejos de ser seguro.".

Por su parte, el Primer ministro de Francia, Dominique de Villepin, considera que el ITER conllevará la creación de 4.000 puestos de trabajo en su país.

El proyecto nuclear británico JET ha operado por veinte años y ha empleado tritio por diez, y mantiene un récord de seguridad del 100%, sin huella alguna de radiación.

El ITER proseguirá a partir del trabajo de experimentos como el JET, el JT-60u japonés y los estadounidenses TFTR y DIII-D. No está diseñado para producir electricidad, sino para investigar acerca de tecnologías que permitirían la creación de un prototipo de planta de fusión nuclear - 'DEMO' - para el año 2060. El programa ITER durará 30 años, 10 de construcción y al menos 20 de operación, y tendrá una potencia de 500 megavatios.

La fusión nuclear funciona al forzar los núcleos de los átomos, en este caso los isótopos del hidrógeno llamados deuterio y tritio, a combinarse mediante un calor y presión intensos. Los productores de la reacción tienen una masa menor a la de los átomos originales, lanzando energía según la famosa ecuación de Einstein

E
=
m

c

2

{\displaystyle E=mc^{2}}

.

El combustible sale del agua del mar, lo que significa que la fusión sería una fuente casi ilimitada de energía.

La fusión nuclear sólo produce como desperdicio el helio y no contribuye al calentamiento global de manera alguna. La reacción produce algo de radiación: una planta de energía nuclear normal tomaría menos de 100 años para ser completamente segura luego de ser cerrada. Además, los reactores de fusión tienen poco combustible dentro de ellos, así que no hay posibilidad de un accidente nuclear, y pueden ser apagados en segundos si es cortado el suministro de combustible.


Le réacteur nucléaire expérimental « ITER » sera finalement implanté à Cadarache

C'est aujourd'hui que la décision sur le lieu d'implantation du réacteur nucléaire ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), le projet de fusion nucléaire expérimental a été prise. C'est finalement le site Français de Cadarache (Bouches-du-Rhone, à 70 km de Marseille) qui a été choisi par les différents partenaires: l'Europe, le Japon, Les États-Unis, la Russie, la Chine et la Corée du Sud qui s'étaient réunis à Moscou.

Depuis plus d'un an, l'emplacement du projet est à l'origine de nombreuses discordes au sein des partenaires. La Chine et la Russie soutenaient une implantation à Cadarache alors que les États-Unis et la Corée envisageaient le site Rokkasho-Mura, dans le nord du Japon. Au terme de nombreuses négociations, un accord a fini par être trouvé. Jean Jacquinot, ancien chef du département de recherche sur la fusion contrôlée du Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA) à déclaré qu'il s'agissait d'une « décision historique » et « d'une collaboration internationale exemplaire qui se met sur pied, pour répondre à un défi majeur pour la société au cours de ce siècle, celui de l'énergie ».

Le projet, vieux de 20 ans, fut proposé par Mikhaïl Gorbatchev à Ronald Reagan et à François Mitterrand. Il failli être abandonné au retrait des américains à la fin des années 1990 (qui y sont revenus en 2003).

Un traité international devra ratifier le projet (courant 2006) pour qu'une équipe puisse s'implanter à Cadarache et ainsi débuter les travaux qui devraient commencer en 2007. La version industrielle (commercialisable) ne devrait voir le jour qu'à l'horizon 2050. Des résultats seront néanmoins obtenus bien avant cette date. Les résultats qui concerne la faisabilité par exemple.


France, Germany officials warn against using Internet Explorer

Officials from France and Germany have warned people against using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, citing security holes, and encouraged users to find an alternate browser to surf the Internet.

The government agency Certa, which oversees cyber attacks and security, warned against using all versions of Internet Explorer. Officials from Germany had warned last Friday against the browser when malicious code was published on the Internet.

"Pending a patch from the publisher, Certa recommends using an alternative browser," Certa said in a statement.

Graham Cluley, from the security firm Sophos, said that the weakness had only been exploited in IE6, but he noted that "Microsoft themselves admit there is a vulnerability, even in IE8." He noted that, since more information into the malicious code is now available on the internet, hackers could alter the code to make it affect other versions of the browser.

The head of Microsoft's security and privacy department, however, commented that "the risk is minimal. There are very few of them out there," adding that in order for a computer to be infected by a virus, it would have to be running IE6 and be on a compromised website. "If you look at other browsers, it's likely they will have other vulnerabilities," he said to the BBC. "We feel strongly that IE8 is most secure browser on the market."

Microsoft encouraged users to upgrade to IE8, which they described as the "most secure browser on the market".

The firm is working on a patch to fix the problem, however, a spokesman said there wasn't any specific timeframe for its release.


Erneute Warnung vor Sicherheitslücke bei Microsofts „Internet-Explorer“

Berlin (Deutschland), 16.01.2010 – Das Bürger-CERT, ein Service des Bundesamtes für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, gab gestern eine Warnung vor der Verwendung von Microsofts Webbrowser „Internet Explorer“ wegen einer bisher nicht bekannten kritischen Sicherheitslücke heraus. Über manipulierte Webseiten könne es einem potentiellen Angreifer gelingen, über den Webbrowser schädlichen Code auf den Rechner des Benutzers zu laden und anschließend auszuführen. Betroffen sind die IE-Versionen 6, 7 und 8 unter den Microsoft-Betriebssystem-Varianten XP, Vista und Windows 7.

Die Sicherheitslücke war in der letzten Woche bekannt geworden, als Hacker auf Google und weitere US-Unternehmen Angriffe gestartet hatten. Das Bürger-CERT empfiehlt den Benutzern in Deutschland, zunächst auf die Benutzung von Microsofts Internet Explorer zu verzichten und zum Surfen im Internet alternative Browser zu verwenden, bis die Firma Microsoft ein Sicherheitspatch zu diesem Problem veröffentlicht hat. Dieses Sicherheitspatch sollte jeder Anwender des Internet Explorers aufspielen.


L'Allemagne et la France lancent des avertissements officiels contre l'utilisation d'Internet Explorer

Des instances officielles allemandes et françaises ont lancé des avertissements contre l'utilisation d'Internet Explorer, le navigateur internet de Microsoft. Citant des failles de sécurités, ces instances encouragent les internautes à utiliser un navigateur alternatif pour surfer sur internet.

Le Centre d'expertise gouvernemental de réponse et de traitement des attaques informatiques (CERTA) français, qui surveille les attaques cybernétiques, avertissait contre l'utilisation de toutes les version d'Internet Explorer. En Allemagne, les instances officielles, le Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, ont lancé l'avertissement vendredi contre le navigateur, quand le code malveillant a été publié sur Internet. « Dans l'attente d'un correctif de l'éditeur, le CERTA recommande l'utilisation d'un navigateur alternatif », a-t-il été indiqué dans le rapport du CERTA.

Graham Cluley, de l'entreprise de sécurité Sophos, minimise l'affaire. Selon lui, la faille avait été seulement exploitée dans IE6. Il a, toutefois, noté que « Microsoft a admis l'existence d'une vulnérabilité aussi pour Internet Explorer 8 ». Il ajoute que, depuis, plus d'informations sur le code malveillant est disponible sur internet, des pirates pourrait retravailler le code, de façon à affecter les autres versions du navigateur.

Le département de sécurité et de la vie privée de Microsoft a déclaré que « le risque est minime ». La firme ajoute que pour qu'un ordinateur soit infecté par un virus, il fallait utiliser Internet Explorer 6 et aller sur un site corrompu. Le département a confié à la BBC : « Si vous regardez les autres navigateurs, des chances existent pour qu'ils aient d'autres vulnérabilités ». Et de poursuivre : « Nous sommes convaincus qu'Internet Explorer 8 est le plus sécurisé des navigateurs sur le marché ». De ce fait, Microsoft encourage les utilisateurs à passer à la version 8, qu'ils décrivent comme étant « le plus sécurisé des navigateurs sur le marché ».

L'entreprise travaille actuellement sur un patch visant à résoudre le problème. Un porte-parole précisait qu'aucune date n'était prévue pour la sortie.


French inventor Franky Zapata successfully crosses English Channel on jet-powered hoverboard

This Sunday, French inventor Franky Zapata successfully crossed the English Channel on a jet-powered freeflight flying device propelled by turbines and attached to his feet, called Flyboard Air. The 22-mile (35-km) journey took 22 minutes with one refueling about halfway to Dover, England. This success came on the second attempt by the inventor to cross the Channel. This device was invented three years ago and could reportedly serve military assault or logistics purposes.

The flight started at 8:17 a.m. local time (0617 UTC) in Sangatte and finished in St Margaret's at Cliffe near Dover. Zapata flew across the water at over 100 mph (161 km/h). The inventor carried a backpack with kerosene (paraffin} and was escorted by three helicopters. Zapata also made one landing on a boat mid-channel to refill the kerosene fuel in his backpack, a process Zapata described as being tricky because the boat could not be kept still in the moving waters of the Channel.

"Once I managed to stick my heels into the boat, I knew I had done 90% of the work," Zapata told French news channel BFM TV.

Strong winds over the Channel presented difficulty during the crossing, Zapata said, adding it required much endurance to manage to stay airborne. "It's an isometric exercise for the thighs, so it burns — it's quite hard."

Upon arrival, Zapata told reporters, "We made a machine three years ago... and now we've crossed the Channel, it's crazy."

This was Zapata's second attempt to cross the Channel on the Flyboard Air.  On July 25, which was the 110th anniversary of the first plane flight across the Channel by pilot Louis Blériot, Zapata fell into the water after a low-speed collision with the resupply boat.

The inventor previously presented the device at the Bastille Day military parade earlier this year. In that instance, he had been holding a rifle in his hands to show the invention could be utilized for military purposes.

Franky Zapata also invented the original Flyboard, which is propelled by jets of water drawn up by a hose, unlike the Flyboard Air, which uses jets of air.


Франки Запата прекоси Ламанша с ховърборд

Френският изобретател Франки Запата стана първият човек в историята, прекосил Ламанша с ховърборд (летящ скейтборд). 40-годишният изобретател излетя сутринта в 06,17 часа по Гринуич от плажа Sangatte до Кале и кацна в Дувър, Великобритания за 25 минути.

Запата е бивш шампион в състезания с джет. Той се провали при първия си опит на 25 юли заради проблеми при презареждането. Опитът беше направен по случай 110 г. от деня, когато пионерът авиатор Луи Блерио създава първия самолет, с който прелита над Ламанша.

Първият опит за полет с Flyboard Запата, който е от Марсилия, прави преди три години. През 2018 г. френското правителство му предостави 1,3 милиона евро за развойна дейност, след като  са се опитали да го привлекат чуждестранни инвеститори. Според министър Флоранс Парли  машината може да бъде изпитана за различни цели, включително летяща логистична платформа или платформа за атака.

Първоначално Запата демонстрира платформата на парада на Деня на Бастилията в Париж, където заяви, че ховърборда "Flyboard Air" може да достига до скорост 190 километра в час и да лети в продължение на 10 минути.

4 август 2019


Изобретатель из Франции пересёк Ла-Манш на реактивной платформе

4 августа французский изобретатель Фрэнки Запата преодолел пролив Ла-Манш на построенном им флайборде (англ. Flyboard Air) с пятью реактивными двигателями.

Путь начал во Франции у Кале, с пляжа французской коммуны Сангатт, и финишировал в районе Дувре в Сент-Маргарет Бэй, Великобритания. Длительность перелёта длиной 35 км составила 22 минуты со скростью 170 км/ч.

Это первая попытка Запаты. Первая случилась 25 июля и закончилась неуспехом, тогда он упал с аппарата при попытке стыковаться с лодкой для дозаправки.

Пролив Ла-Манш имеет ширину в разных местах от 32 до 250 километров.

14 июля спортсмен сделал демонстрационный полёт на ховерборде во время парада в честь Дня взятия Бастилии.

Летающую платформу Flyboard изобретатель сделал сам. Она оборудована пятью реактивными двигателями, работающими на авиакеросине. Двигатели вместе с управляющим могут достичь скорости в 195 км/ч, без оператора до 400 км/ч. Аппарат может подниматься до 3-3,5 км.

5 августа 2019 года


Genetically altered mice are "superathletes"

Researchers at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio have announced the creation of transgenic mice with substantially improved athletic endurance, which live and breed longer and are more aggressive than genetically unmodified siblings, and are leaner despite consuming 60% more food. The mice have been dubbed "mighty mice" or "supermice" by the popular press and have been compared to cyclist Lance Armstrong.

The changes were created by adding an extra copy of a single gene, PEPCK-C.  This gene is already present in the mouse genome, but the modified gene is designed to be strongly active (transcribed) in skeletal muscle.  (The natural copy of the gene, most active in the liver, continues to function normally).  The gene mediates a crucial rate controlling step of gluconeogenesis and glyceroneogenesis, and its activity helps to allow energy production by the mitochondrial citric acid cycle.  In the transgenics, more energy is available to muscle through the burning of fatty acids, with much less production of lactate (a chemical that leads to sore muscles when one exercises).   This is not as major a change to the mouse genome as it might seem to the layperson. The PEPCK-C gene is already present in the mouse and a variety of natural mutations could likely cause similar results.  The study appears today in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in a paper with lead author Parvin Hakimi from the laboratory of Richard W. Hanson.

The altered mice can run at 20 meters per minute (0.75 miles per hour or 1.2 kilometers per hour) for up to six kilometers (nearly four miles) without stopping.  The average treadmill time for strenuous exercise on a 25-degree incline is 31.9 minutes, well in excess of the 19 minute average of unmodified mice.  Females can breed at two and a half years of age, whereas most female mice cannot breed after the first year.

A colony of 500 mice has been bred, starting from six independent germline transformations ("founder" mice).  The level of PEPCK-C in muscle is 9 units per gram of muscle as opposed to only 0.08 in normal mice.  Levels of triglycerides and the number of mitochondria are also increased.

Hanson said that he did not expect that the results would be applicable to humans due to both practical and ethical considerations in addition to the fact that the genes might not function the same way in humans.

This is not the first time that the press has dubbed a genetically modified mouse a "mighty mouse". Earlier scientists at John Hopkins University announced that they had made mice with massively increased muscle mass that were larger and stronger than their normal cousins.  These alterations increased strength rather than endurance through the genetic modification of myostatin and follistatin, or by injection of a soluble form of ACVR2B to block myostatin activity in normal mice.


Científicos crean súper ratones en laboratorio de Estados Unidos

Científicos de un laboratorio de Ohio, Estados Unidos aseguran haber creado una especie de ratones capaces de realizar tareas más rápido que los roedores comunes, lo que permitiría abrir una esperanza para la especie humana, mejorando su calidad de vida.

"Estos súper ratones esencialmente queman ácidos grasos para obtener la energía necesaria para estos esfuerzos produciendo a la vez muy poco ácido láctico" afirmó Richard W. Hanson, profesor de bioquímica en la universidad Case Western Reserve de Cleveland.

Las particularidades de estos ratones son que viven más, se mantienen en forma física y su vida es más extensa que la de un ratón común, pero también genera ciertos rasgos de agresividad en las hembras que pueden dar a luz, extendiendo su periodo de fertilidad desde un año hasta dos años y medio.

Una forma de demostrar este logro fue situar a ratones en una cinta para correr con una inclinación de 25 grados para determinar el consumo de oxígeno, el consumo de dióxido de carbono y otros factores que determinan el grado de esfuerzo físico. Esta correa aumentaba su velocidad en dos metros por minuto hasta que el ratón dejaba de correr. El ratón común corrió hasta 19 minutos, mientras que los "súper" ratones corrieron casi 32 minutos.

Ahora, los científicos se plantean el reto de trasladar estos avances al ser humano para poder combatir enfermedades y males como la obesidad infantil y así poder mejorar las expectativas de vida de las personas.


Cientistas americanos criam "super-rato" em laboratório

Cientistas de um laboratório de Ohio, EUA, asseguram ter criado uma espécie de rato capaz de realizar tarefas mais rápido que os roedores comuns, o que permitiria abrir uma nova esperança para a espécie humana  melhorar  sua qualidade de vida.

"Estes super ratos essencialmente queimam ácidos gordurosos para obter a energia necessária para estes esforços e produzem  muito pouco ácido láctico" afirmou Richard W. Hanson, professor de bioquímica na universidade Case Western Reserve de Cleveland.

As particularidades destes ratos são que vivem mais, mantêm-se em forma física e sua vida é mais longa do que a de um camundongo comum, porém também provoca casos de agressividade nas fêmeas que podem dar a luz, além de estender o seu período de fertilidade de um ano para dois anos e meio.

Uma forma de demonstrar a força dos ratos foi usar uma esteira com inclinação de 25 graus e determinar o consumo de oxigênio,  consumo de dióxido de carbono e outros fatores que determinam o grau de esforço físico. A esteira tinha a velocidade aumentada em dois metros por minuto até  o camundongo deixar de correr. O camundongo comum aguentou correr no máximo durante 19 minutos, enquanto que os "super" ratos correram por quase 32 minutos.

Agora, os cientistas propõem aplicar estes avanços ao ser humano e combater assim enfermidades,  a obesidade infantil e  melhorar as expectativas de vida das pessoas.

O estudo foi publicado no Journal of Biological Chemistry num artigo de Parvin Hakimi do Laboratório de  Richard W. Hanson.


Geneticists produce laser-activated killer mice

In research released on Thursday in Cell, scientists from Yale University report they managed to trigger instinctive hunting behavior in mice using optogenetics, a manner of priming cells within an organism's brain to switch on when exposed to a laser.

The research team used an engineered virus to target and alter specific sets of neurons. Then they fitted the mice with intracranial optical fibers so they could expose their brains to blue light at will. The system excited two different sets of neurons, both located in the amygdala, which is the part of the brain associated with emotion and aggression. One set stimulated prey pursuit behavior, such as stalking, and the other stimulated the animal to use its jaw and neck muscles. When exposed to the laser, the primed mice would first stalk and then pounce on and bite any object in their enclosure, even objects without any food scent or prey value, like sticks and bottle caps.

"We'd turn the laser on and they'd jump on an object, hold it with their paws and intensively bite it as if they were trying to capture and kill it," says lead investigator and Yale Associated Professor of Psychiatry Ivan de Araujo. The mice behaved normally at all other times.

The work was inspired by Araujo's desire to study natural feeding behavior, as opposed to animals passively munching on food pellets. The study covered many parts of the brain already known to be associated with feeding, and the results suggested some areas are associated with both hunting and feeding and others only with just one behavior. Stimulation of the periaqueductal gray (PAG) portion of the brain controlled stalking and stimulation of the reticular formation controlled biting. The researchers say this shows the amygdala is likely to control hunting and biting behavior across many or all jawed vertebrates. The experiments were funded by national research organizations in the United States and China and the government of Brazil.

The findings inspired comparisons by the research team and the press to zombies from The Walking Dead, especially since the behavior was more pronounced when the animals were hungry. Researchers noted the subjects did not attack any of the other mice. The scientists say this shows they were stimulating predatory behavior specifically and not making the animals generally more angry or aggressive.

However, the study did not state whether the laser resembled the light of a full moon.


Biologie : des généticiens réussissent à activer par laser l'instinct de chasse chez des souris

Publié le 20 janvier 2017   Dans le cadre d'une recherche publiée jeudi dans Cell, les scientifiques de l'Université Yale rapportent qu'ils ont réussi à déclencher le comportement instinctif de chasse chez des souris en utilisant l'optogénétique, une manière d'activer les cellules du cerveau d'un organisme lorsqu'elles sont exposées à un laser.

L'équipe de recherche a utilisé un virus conçu pour cibler et modifier des ensembles spécifiques de neurones. Ensuite, ils ont équipé les souris avec des fibres optiques intracrâniennes pour pouvoir exposer leur cerveau à la lumière bleue à volonté. Le système a excité deux ensembles différents de neurones, tous deux situés dans l'amygdale, qui est la partie du cerveau associée à l'émotion et l'agression. Un ensemble stimule les comportements de poursuite de proies, comme le harcèlement, et l'autre stimule l'animal pour qu'il utilise ses muscles de la mâchoire et du cou. Lorsqu'elles sont exposées au laser, les souris se mettent d'abord à guetter, puis bondissent sur n'importe quel objet dans leur enceinte et le mordent, même des objets sans aucune odeur de nourriture ou sans rapport avec une proie, comme des bâtons et des bouchons.

« Nous allumions le laser et elles sautaient sur un objet, le retenaient avec leurs pattes et le mordaient intensément comme si elles tentaient de le capturer et de le tuer », explique le chercheur principal et Professeur Associé de Psychiatrie à l'Université Yale, Ivan de Araujo. Les souris se comportent normalement en-dehors de l'expérience.

Le travail a été inspiré par le désir d'Araujo d'étudier le comportement alimentaire naturel, par opposition aux animaux mangeant passivement des boulettes de nourriture. L'étude a porté sur de nombreuses parties du cerveau déjà connues pour être associées à l'alimentation, et les résultats suggèrent que certaines zones sont associées à la chasse et à l'alimentation et d'autres seulement à un seul comportement. La stimulation de la substance grise périaqueducale (PAG) du cerveau contrôle le comportement de chasse et la stimulation de la formation réticulée contrôle la morsure. Les chercheurs disent que cela montre que l'amygdale est susceptible de contrôler la chasse et le comportement mordant chez beaucoup de vertébrés à mâchoires, voire tous. Les expériences ont été financées par des organismes de recherche nationaux, aux États-Unis et en Chine, et le gouvernement du Brésil.

La découverte a inspiré des comparaisons, par l'équipe de recherche et la presse, avec les zombies de The Walking Dead, d'autant que le comportement était plus prononcé lorsque les animaux avaient faim. Les chercheurs ont noté que les sujets n'ont attaqué aucune des autres souris. Selon eux, cela montre qu'ils ont stimulé spécifiquement le comportement prédateur et n'ont pas rendu, dans l'ensemble, les animaux plus en colère ou agressifs.

Cependant, l'étude n'a pas indiqué si les effets de la lumière du laser étaient semblables à ceux de la pleine lune.


Geneticistas produzem camundongos assassinos ativados por laser

Em pesquisa divulgada na quinta-feira na revista científica Cell, cientistas da Universidade Yale afirmam que conseguiram desencadear um comportamento agressivo em camundongos usando optogenética, uma forma de ativar células no cérebro de um organismo quando expostas a um laser.

A equipe de pesquisa usou um vírus criado para alterar conjuntos específicos de neurônios. Em seguida, eles adaptaram os ratos com fibras ópticas intracranianas para que pudessem expor seus cérebros à luz azul. O sistema excitou dois conjuntos diferentes de neurônios na parte do cérebro associada com emoção e agressão. Um conjunto estimulou o comportamento de perseguição, tal como a caça, e o outro estimulou o animal para usar seus músculos da maxila e do pescoço. Quando expostos ao laser, os camundongos primeiro se moviam silenciosamento como se caçando, em seguida, saltavam e mordiam qualquer objeto em seu recinto, mesmo objetos sem ser alimento ou presa, como tampas de garrafas.

"Quando acendiamos o laser e eles saltam sobre um objeto, prendiam-o com as patas e mordiam-o intensamente como se estivessem tentando capturá-lo e matá-lo", diz o pesquisador-chefe e professor de psiquiatria da Yale Ivan de Araujo. Os ratos se comportaram normalmente ao desligar o laser.

Os experimentos foram financiados por organizações nacionais de pesquisa nos Estados Unidos e China e do governo do Brasil.


German Wikipedia DVD on P2P networks

April 11, 2005  The German Wikipedia DVD is a popular item on European FTP sites.

The DVD project with Directmedia publishing GmbH was built from the March 3, 2005 database archive, and has been packaged as ISO image files to be made available online.

When the news was reported @ heise online, FTP requests to the University of Erlangen quickly overloaded the 622mbit connection server. The average load is still above 482.39 compared to 20 before the announcement.

In the afternoon, the FTP server Belnet joined in also hosting these files which can also be downloaded by using the peer-to-peer file transfer software Bittorrent.

The DVD image is 2.7 Gigabytes in size, and includes browsing software for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The download is large, but is also available from DirectMedia for about €10 on DVD - although their initial printing of 10,000 sold out within 3 days.

Stimulated by the success of this DVD project, several English news services have raised the question of when an English DVD of Wikipedia will be available.


Deutsche Wikipedia-DVD im Netz

Berlin (Deutschland), 12.04.2005 - Etliche deutsche FTP-Server bieten seit heute Spiegelungen der DVD-Version der deutschen Wikipedia-Seiten an. Die DVD wurde von der Firma „directmedia publishing GmbH“ erstellt und enthält die Volltextversion der deutschen Wikipedia vom 3. März 2005.

Das Abbild der DVD ist 2,7 Gigabyte groß und die darin enthaltene Software zur Recherche in den Artikeln lässt sich auf Microsoft, Mac OS X und Linux benutzen.

Seit dem 6. April 2005 ist auch eine Directmedia-DVD der Wikipedia auf dem Markt. Die DVD in der Ausgabe Frühjahr 2005 ist im Buchhandel und beim Verlag erhältlich: (ISBN 3-89853-020-5 - Verkaufspreis 9,90 Euro)

Die Dateien können von den FTP-Servern geladen werden sind aber auch in P2P-Netzen erhältlich:


Rośnie popularność niemieckiej edycji Wikipedii na DVD

Niemiecka edycja Wikipedii wydana na DVD rozchodzi się jak ciepłe bułeczki. Od dnia wydania (3 marca bieżącego roku) udało się już sprzedać 10 tysięcy egzemplarzy encyklopedii.

Doszło nawet do przeciążenia 622 mbitowych serwerów Uniwersytetu w Erlangen (patrz wykres). Aby wspomóc niemiecki serwer, sieć Belnet również udostępniła swoje łącza do pobierania obrazu ISO encyklopedii. Niemiecka Wikipedia jest również dostępna poprzez sieć p2p Bittorrent.

Obraz płyty DVD ma rozmiar 2,7 gigabajta i pozwala na przeglądanie zawartości płyty ze wszystkich systemów operacyjnych.

Niektórzy zaczęli zadawać sobie pytanie, kiedy w podobny sposób zostanie udostępniona angielska wersja Wikipedii.

Dla zainteresowanych podajemy sposoby pobrania niemieckojęzycznej wersji Wikipedii jako obrazy ISO:


German Wikipedia to be printed

The German online news site, Der Spiegel is reporting that "Zenodot Verlagsgesellschaft", the publishing house that has already been selling the German language Wikipedia on DVD, is interested in offering a printed version of the German Wikipedia. The work would be comprised of 100 volumes of about 800 pages each. Two volumes, at a price of €15  each, would be published every month starting in January of 2007.


La Wikipédia en langue allemande sera imprimée

Cet article mentionne la Wikimedia Foundation ou un de ses projets. Notez que Wikinews est un projet de la Wikimedia Foundation.

Publié le 27 janvier 2006

"Zenodot Verlagsgesellschaft", éditeur de la version DVD de la Wikipédia germanophone, souhaiterait distribuer une version papier de l'encyclopédie. Cela représenterait 100 volumes de 800 pages chacun, vendus à un prix unitaire de 15 euros. Deux volumes seront imprimés chaque mois à partir de janvier 2007.


Wikipédia em alemão deve ganhar versão impressa

Segundo o site alemão de notícias online Der Spiegel, a editora "Zenodot Verlagsgesellschaft",  que já está vendendo a versão em alemão da wikipédia em DVD, está interessada em publicar a versão impressa da mesma.

A publicação seria formada por 100 volumes, com 800 páginas cada um. A intenção é que a partir de janeiro de 2007 comecem a ser publicados os volumes, dois por mês, a um preço de €15 cada um.


Немецкая Википедия будет напечатана

С января 2007 года немецкое издательство «Ценодот» (Zenodot) начнёт выпускать Википедию в 100 томах. Каждый том будет содержать до 800 страниц и будет стоить 15 евро.

Это грандиозный проект, но никто не может поручиться, будет ли он успешным. Выпуск немецкой Википедии в печатной форме выглядит немного абсурдным. Википедия online быстро распространяется, легко доступна, может быть в любое время изменяться, редактироваться и улучшаться. В книжном варианте всё это невозможно.

План предложенный основателем Википедии Джимми Уэйлсом предусматривает впервые напечатать Википедию в Германии.

С 2007 года должны выходить два тома в месяц, которые могут быть предварительно заказаны по 14,90 евро за один том. Энциклопедия под именем «WP 1.0» будет состоять из 100 томов, по 800 страниц каждый. Последний том планируется издать в декабре 2010 года. В общей сложности все тома будут содержать около полумиллиона статей.

Издательство намерено привлечь к работе независимый научный совет, который должен будет перепроверять содержание. Как заявила представитель издательства Гертруд Гётц (Gertrud Götz), от работы этого совета получит выгоду и online энциклопедия, так как обнаруженные экспертами ошибки и неточности будут корректироваться также и в ней.

Издательство Ценодот уже в конце 2005 года начало выпускать отдельные брошюры по определённым темам. Это же издательство выпускает и Википедия-DVD.

Проект будет функционировать только в том случае, если найдутся люди, которые сделают предварительные заказы на полное издание, чтобы получать каждый месяц по два тома, объясняет издательство. Издательство намерено, открыто публиковать в интернете количество поступающих заказов, чтобы сделать этот проект прозрачным — «поддерживая этим принцип Википедии — свободный доступ к знаниям».

28 января 2006 года


Geysers of water on one of Saturn's moons

NASA has announced that the Cassini spacecraft has found what seem to be geysers spewing water on the moon Enceladus. The find raises the possibility of life on other planets, as liquid water is believed to be a requirement for life. "This marks the first time that scientists have seen evidence of water in liquid form so close to the surface on another body beyond Earth," said Cassini scientist Torrence Johnson. Although life may be found on the moon, most scientists concede that if Enceladus does harbor life, it probably consists of microbes or other robust organisms capable of living in extreme conditions. This latest discovery shows that life in other parts of the universe may be more probable than previously thought.

"We realize that this is a radical conclusion — that we may have evidence for liquid water within a body so small and so cold," said Dr. Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team leader at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado. "However, if we are right, we have significantly broadened the diversity of solar system environments where we might possibly have conditions suitable for living organisms."


Gejzery wody na księżycu Saturna

NASA ogłosiła, że sonda Cassini znalazła prawdopodobnie gejzery płynnej wody na księżycu Saturna Enculadusie. To odkrycie podnosi prawdopodobieństwo występowania życia pozaziemskiego, ponieważ płynna woda jest uważana za niezbędną dla istnienia życia na innych planetach. "Jest to pierwszy przypadek, gdy naukowcy znaleźli dowody wody w ciekłej formie tak blisko powierzchni innego ciała poza Ziemią." - powiedział Torrence Johnson, jeden z naukowców programu Cassini. Pomimo, że życie może być znalezione na księżycu, większość naukowców zgadza się, że o ile na Enculadusie jest życie, to składa się ono z prymitywnych organizmów zdolnych do życia w ekstremalnych warunkach.


Водяные гейзеры на одной из лун Сатурна

НАСА сообщает, что космический аппарат Кассини обнаружил нечто похожее на водяные гейзеры на спутнике Сатурна Энцеладе. Открытие повышает вероятность обнаружения жизни на других планетах, так как наличие жидкой воды — одно из необходимых условий возникновения жизни. «Впервые ученые получили ясные признаки существования воды в жидкой форме так близко к поверхности внеземного космического тела», — сказал один из участников программы Кассини Торренс Джонсон (Torrence Johnson). Хотя шансы обнаружить на этой луне жизнь возросли, большинство ученых считает, что даже если Энцелад стал прибежищем жизни, то скорее всего она представляет собой микроорганизмы или другие выносливые организмы, способные жить в экстремальных условиях. Последние исследования говорят о том, что жизнь в других уголках вселенной может быть гораздо более вероятна, чем предполагалось ранее.

«Мы понимаем, что свидетельства существования жидкой воды на столь малом и холодном теле — довольно радикальное заключение», — говорит руководитель группы обработки изображений Др. Кэролайн Порко из Института изучения космоса в г. Боулдер, штат Колорадо. «Однако, если мы окажемся правы, мы значительно расширим разнообразие околосолнечных сред, условия в которых приемлемы для существования живых организмов».

14 марта 2006 года


Откривени гејзири воде на Сатурновом месецу

NASA је објавила да је сонда Cassini највероватније нашла гејзире течне воде на месецу Сатурна Енцеладу. Ово откриће повећава могућност појаве живота ван земље јер се сматра да је течна вода неопходна за настанак живота.

"Ово је први случај, да су научници нашли доказе постојања воде у течном стању тако близу површини неког небеског тела изузев Земље." - рекао је Torrence Johnson, један од научника програма Cassini. Већина научника се слаже у томе да уколико на Енцеладу постоји живот, да се он састоји од примитивних организама способних за живот у екстремним условима.


Giant camel bones found in Syria

The skeletal remains of a giant camel were discovered in a Syrian desert. The fossils are estimated to have come from a camel that died about 100,000 years ago.

The bones were unearthed at al-Hemel, Syria, about 155 miles northeast of Damascus, by an archaeological team made up of both Swiss and Syrian people.

Apparently the Palmyra region of the Syrian desert "is the first origin of the camel," said Bassam Jammous, director general of the Antiquities and Museum Department.

A scientific name has not yet been agreed upon, but the joint Swiss-Syrian team has dubbed it the "Syrian Camel".
Jammous stated that the animal is thought to have been around 13 feet tall, twice that of an average-size modern day camel.

Some human bones were discovered nearby in 2005, while stone tools were found along with the camel bones recently.

Evidence from the fossils make it appear that they were not bred by humans, but this cannot be certain.


В Сирии найдены останки гигантского верблюда

Скелентные останки гигантского верблюда были найдены в сирийской пустыне. Предполагается, что останки принадлежат верблюду, умершему почти 100 000 лет назад.

Кости были извлечены в Эль-Хемеле, в 235 километрах от Дамаска, швейцарсикими и сирийскими палеонтологами. Верблюд более чем в два раза больше своего обычного сородича, его высота достигает более 3-х метров

Научное название верблюду ещё не придумали, но команда палеонтологов остановилась на «Сирийском верблюде» (Syrian Camel). Предположительно, родиной верблюда является Пальмира.

13 октября 2006 года


GNOME to be Ubuntu's default desktop environment, Canonical to stop investing in Ubuntu Phone

On Wednesday, Mark Shuttleworth, founder of the Ubuntu operating system, announced the open source OS will end its ties with the Unity8 desktop environment and that Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Long Term Service) will be shipped with the GNOME desktop environment by default. Unity has been Ubuntu's default desktop environment since it was released six years ago in 2011.

In his blog post, Shuttleworth explained growth of products are decided by the market and the community. Canonical, Ltd., the software company behind Ubuntu, could not gain investors from Unity8, Ubuntu Phone and the convergence shell. Instead, they are shifting their Ubuntu focus on to cloud and IoT (Internet of Things), which Shuttleworth notes finds application in "auto, robotics, networking, and machine learning".

Canonical — after making controversial desktop environment Unity the default — launched their own smartphone in 2013, called Ubuntu Edge, with a crowd funding campaign target of US$32 million but could not cross the US$13 million mark. A couple of years later, Canonical partnered with bq, Fairphone and Meizu to launch Ubuntu phones. Unity worked  for Ubuntu phones but did not perform well in the global market. "I'm not giving up! I will do my best to keep Ubuntu touch and Unity8 standing on both it's[sic] legs!", Ubports' developer Marius Gripsgård posted on his Google+ profile on Wednesday.

"The choice, ultimately, is to invest in the areas which are contributing to the growth of the company", Shuttleworth wrote in the blog. Following this announcement, GNOME tweeted, "Welcome back Canonical! Ubuntu 18.04 LTS to ship with GNOME by default!".

Currently, Ubuntu is available in various desktop environments like Ubuntu GNOME (GNOME), Ubuntu MATE (MATE), Xubuntu (XFCE), Kubuntu (KDE Plasma), Lubuntu (LXDE) and Ubuntu Budgie (Budgie), though Unity remains the default for the upcoming version, 17.04 (Zesty Zapus).


GNOME será el escritorio predeterminado en Ubuntu y Canonical deja de invertir en Ubuntu Phone

El miércoles 5 de abril, Mark Shuttleworth —fundador del sistema operativo Ubuntu— anunció que el sistema operativo de código abierto terminará sus lazos con el entorno de escritorio Unity8 y que Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Long Term Service) se distribuirá por defecto con el entorno de escritorio GNOME. Unity ha sido el entorno de escritorio predeterminado de Ubuntu desde su lanzamiento hace seis años en el 2011.

En su publicación de blog, Shuttleworth explicó que el crecimiento de los productos lo determina el mercado y la comunidad. Canonical Ltd., la empresa de software detrás de Ubuntu, no pudo ganar inversores para Unity8, Ubuntu Phone y la plataforma de convergencia. En su lugar, están cambiando el foco de Ubuntu en la nube y el Internet de las cosas (IoT por sus siglas en inglés), que Shuttleworth señala que encuentra aplicación en "auto, robótica, redes y aprendizaje de máquinas".

Canonical —luego de hacer el escritorio predeterminado al polémico entorno de escritorio Unity— lanzó su propio teléfono inteligente Ubuntu Edge en 2013, con una campaña de financiación colectiva o crowdfunding que buscaba recaudar 32 millones de dólares estadounidenses pero que no llegó a pasar de los 13 millones. Un par de años después, Canonical se asoció con bq, Fairphone y Meizu para lanzar teléfonos Ubuntu. Unity operó para teléfonos Ubuntu pero no tuvo un buen desempeño en el mercado global. "¡No me estoy rindiendo! ¡Haré todo lo posible para mantener en pie a Ubuntu touch y Unity8!", dijo el desarrollador de Ubports, Marius Gripsgård, en su perfil de Google+ el miércoles.

"La elección, en definitiva, es invertir en áreas en las que se contribuya al crecimiento de la empresa", escribió Shuttleworth en el blog. Tras este anuncio, GNOME tuiteó "¡Bienvenidos de nuevo Canonical! ¡Ubuntu 18.04 LTS será distribuido con GNOME por defecto!".

Actualmente Ubuntu está disponible en varios entornos de escritorio como Ubuntu GNOME (GNOME), Ubuntu MATE (MATE), Xubuntu (XFCE), Kubuntu (KDE), Lubuntu (LXDE) y Ubuntu Budgie (Budgie), aunque Unity permanecerá por defecto en la próxima versión 17.04 (Zesty Zapus).


GNU project releases new version of license to allow Wikimedia projects to switch to Creative Commons license

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has announced a new version of the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) which paves the way for the Wikimedia Foundation's (WMF) projects, including the popular Wikipedia, to switch to the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (CC-BY-SA) license.

The move was announced following discussions between the Wikimedia Foundation and the FSF.

Erik Möller, deputy director of the WMF, explained the reasoning behind this move. "The underlying motivation of this change is that CC-BY-SA is an easier-to-use license granting the same essential freedoms as the GFDL," he stated on the official Wikimedia blog. "It is also more widely used by other educational projects, and switching the license would allow Wikimedia wikis to freely share content with those projects."

Möller also state that "later this month, we will post a re-licensing proposal for all Wikimedia wikis which are currently licensed under the GFDL."

The change was made in section eleven of the license. It says that conversion to CC-BY-SA is only possible if:

The condition of the license allows for conversion to the CC license before August 1, 2009, although after that date it will  no longer be possible.

The Wikimedia Foundation formally decided to ask the FSF for the change in December 2007, with the approval of five of the six members of the Wikimedia board, with one member not voting.

Despite the support of the Wikimedia Foundation, some people have voiced their opposition to the move. On Advogato, Chris Frey sent an open letter to the chair of the FSF, Richard Stallman. "I am writing to express my disappointment with the Free Software Foundation regarding the recent release of the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3," he stated. "The new version 1.3 adds a new clause, section 11, which, according to the FAQ, allows wiki sites to relicense specific content from GFDL 1.3 to CC-BY-SA 3.0, for content added before November 1, 2008. They have this relicensing option until August 1, 2009. This, in my view, is a serious moral mistake and breach of trust. Even if this new clause does no harm, it is still the wrong thing to do."


La fondation Wikimedia passe sous licence Creative Commons

Cet article mentionne la Wikimedia Foundation ou un de ses projets. Notez que Wikinews est un projet de la Wikimedia Foundation.

Publié le 15 juin 2009
La Wikimedia Foundation bascule aujourd'hui tous ses projets frères sous la licence Creative Commons Paternité-Partage des Conditions Initiales à l'Identique (CC-BY-SA) version 3.0[1]. La licence GFDL continuera à être supportée.

Créée en 2001, Wikipédia n'a pas pu choisir la licence Creative Commons qui n'est apparue qu'en 2002. L'adoption de cette licence fournira une meilleure interopérabilité et assouplira les conditions de réutilisation des contenus de cette encyclopédie collaborative.
Force est de souligner que cette évolution garantit les mêmes libertés d'utilisation des contenus que la licence GNU. Près de 17 500 membres de Wikimedia se sont déclarés favorables à ce changement à 75,8 %.


Wikipedia cambia licenza

La notizia è stata divulgata ieri: Erik Möller, il Deputy Director di Wikimedia Foundation, ha annunciato la pubblicazione da parte della Free Software Foundation della versione 1.3 della GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL).

La modifica principale farà sì che i numerosi wiki che utilizzano attualmente la licenza GNU FDL, possano adottare la licenza Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, al fine di avvicinare, ed in un futuro uniformare, diversi concetti di copyleft.

Una decisione, quella della Free Software Foundation, che ha riconosciuto alla licenza Creative Commons dei principi a cui potersi ispirare, come la possibilità di copiare, di riprodurre, distribuire, comunicare al pubblico, esporre in pubblico, con le uniche restrizioni di attribuire la paternità dell'opera e derivarla con la stessa licenza.

Sue Gardner, della Wikimedia Foundation: «Siamo grati alla leadership della Free Software Foundation per aver intrapreso questo passo importante. Così FSF ha offerto alla comunità di Wikimedia l'opportunità di prendere una decisione sul licensing che premia il nostro comune impegno per la free culture, e sostiene nel miglior modo la missione e gli scopi di Wikipedia e dei progetti collegati».


Golfer sues law firm over Wikipedia article defacement

Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller wants to sue the anonymous person who vandalised his article in the Wikipedia encyclopedia, a website resource almost anyone can edit.

An IP address from Josef Silny & Associates, a Miami education consulting firm, wrote a biased paragraph about him creating uproar from the golfer. The entry was posted twice: once sometime last year, and again in December 2006. The paragraph was removed last month, and deleted from the article history by Danny Wool, a staff member of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Zoeller is suing Josef Silny & Associates to find out who added this text.

"The Zoeller family wants to take a stand to put a stop to this. Otherwise, we're all just victims of the Internet vandals out there. They ought not to be able to act with impunity," said Zoeller's attorney, Scott Sheftall.

The offensive edits, about which the suit is based, allegedly suggested that Zoeller admitted to consuming mass quantities of drugs and alcohol and beat his wife.

Through the court, Wikipedia can not be sued for a vandalous edit. The person or company, in this case, will be sued. In fact, the Wikimedia Foundation has not been contacted by Zoeller or his representatives about the lawsuit.


Giocatore di golf vuole denunciare alcuni editori di Wikipedia per diffamazione

Il giocatore di golf Fuzzy Zoeller vuole processare gli editori di Wikipedia che hanno vandalizzato la sua voce sull'enciclopedia libera che chiunque può modificare.

Un IP risalente a Josef Silny & Associates, una società di consulenza di Miami, aveva scritto un paragrafo non neutrale su di lui che ha destato lo scalpore del golfista. Il paragrafo era stato inserito due volte: una prima volta nel corso dello scorso anno, e quindi di nuovo a dicembre 2006. Il paragrafo non neutrale è stato rimosso il mese scorso. Zoeller vuole citare in giudizio l'azienda per capire chi aveva scritto quel paragrafo.

«La famiglia Zoeller vuole fermare questa azione diffamatoria. Altrimenti noi tutti saremo vittime dei vandali su internet. Costoro non possono agire nell'impunità» ha detto l'avvocato di Zoeller, Scott Sheftall.

Secondo la corte, Wikipedia non può essere citata in giudizio per modifiche vandaliche. Le persone o la società in questione, invece, possono essere perseguite.


Google introduces Google Buzz

On Tuesday, Google introduced a new service called Google Buzz, a new feature to share updates, photos and videos. The service is built into Gmail, which already has 176 million users, according to comScore. Buzz's features will be available on Android operating system based phones as well as the iPhone, allowing real-time updates.

Google hopes to integrate frequently visited sites like Picasa, Flickr, Google Reader, Twitter and YouTube, so users can stay connected to everyone via a single browser window.

Buzz has a built-in group of friends which are automatically selected including the people that the user communicates with most frequently via Gmail and Google Talk.

Google Buzz will be available as a mobile Web application, letting the user provide status updates by voice and geotagging their posts. Location-based updates can be read while one is using Google Mobile Maps. Posts by fellow users can be classified location-wise.

Google executives said that Buzz would help tackle the problem of information overload, as Google would apply its algorithms to help people find the information most relevant to them.

Facebook currently has more than 350 million active users worldwide. Google already has a micro-blogging site Jaiku, comparable to Twitter in terms of format. Orkut also has been one of Google's previous ventures in social networking. Google Buzz will look to compete with such sites.


Saját közösségi oldalt indított a Google

A Google az online irodai alkalmazások, térképek, operációs rendszerek után a jelek szerint a közösségi oldalak világára is rá szeretné tenni a kezét.

A 2000-es évek legdinamikusabb IT vállalkozása számára teljesen új fába vágta a fejszéjét. Bemutatta a Buzz névre hallgató közösségi szolgáltatást, közvetlen riválist állítva a Facebook és a Twitter számára. A Google ezzel egyrészt a közel 400 milliós felhasználói körre szeretné rátenni a kezét, másrészt az általuk naponta generált hihetetlen mennyiségű tartalomra, újabb stratégiai területen vetve meg a lábát.

A vállalat igen jó helyzetből indul, hiszen nem a semmiből kell építkeznie. Az általa eddig létrehozott számtalan web 2-es szolgáltatást és az összes eddigi fejlesztést belekombinálhatja lassanként a Buzzba, így igen vonzó felületet biztosíthat felhasználóinak. Nem véletlen, hogy a Buzz a már jól bevált Gmail levelezőrendszerről kezdi meg pályafutását, és később szinte minden vonzó fejlesztést könnyen belekombinálhatnak, a Google Earth-től az online szövegszerkesztésig. Mindezekkel a ma legjobban menő riválisok, a Facebook és a Twitter nem rendelkeznek, és kifejlesztésük beláthatatlanul sok időbe és hatalmas anyagi ráfordításba kerülne: vagyis gyakorlatilag lehetetlen.

A 170 milliós Gmail felhasználói bázisról induló Buzz tehát jelentős hátszéllel, szép kilátásokkal indul a harcba és számos újítás bevezetésére készül. Ezek egyike a hordozható eszközök fokozott támogatása; ez sem új terület, hiszen az Android mobil operációs rendszer is Google fejlesztés. Az egyelőre szárnypróbálgatásoknál tartó, de a közösségi oldalak gyakran átformálódó piacát valószínűleg újraíró Buzz a http://www.google.com/buzz címen próbálható ki.