science – Page 218 – Skeptical Science

Measles

December 22, 2023May 8, 2011 by Dave

In the UK, the Thames Valley Health Protection Unit has issued a letter to the parents of every single child via the local Education Authorities because there has been an increasing number of cases of measles during 2011, especially among children. A similar rise has been observed in other countries in Europe, especially France, but also including Spain, Romania, Bulgaria and Germany. What has been happening is that folks have been away on vacation, and as a result their unimmunised children have been picking up measles, and then bringing it back.

In the US it is a similar story, they are on course to have its worst outbreak of measles in more than a decade. Travellers are catching the highly contagious illness while on vacation, then bringing it back to the U.S.

What is going on here?

Supermassive black hole rises and shines

November 10, 2013May 6, 2011 by Dave

Science News reports that Astronomers watch as wake-up call rouses slumbering monster … It’s unclear whether it was a stellar meal or simply gas that woke the sleeping giant. But astronomers say the ongoing outburst recorded by a spacecraft since March 28 is the first time scientists have witnessed the sudden activation of a dormant … Read more

Revolutionary new paper computer shows flexible future for smartphones and tablets

January 1, 2015May 4, 2011 by Dave

Queens University press release reports …

KINGSTON, ONTARIO – The world’s first interactive paper computer is set to revolutionize the world of interactive computing.

“This is the future. Everything is going to look and feel like this within five years,” says creator Roel Vertegaal, the director of Queen’s University Human Media Lab,. “This computer looks, feels and operates like a small sheet of interactive paper. You interact with it by bending it into a cell phone, flipping the corner to turn pages, or writing on it with a pen.”

Signs of dark matter from Minnesota mine

November 10, 2013May 4, 2011 by Dave

Ron Cowen reports in ScienceNews that there are Possible evidence for WIMPs reported, supporting claims of Italy-based experiment

An experiment in Minnesota is the first to bolster a long-contested claim that detectors a continent away have found evidence of particles called WIMPs.

WIMPs are theorized particles considered to be leading candidates for dark matter, invisible material believed to make up more than 80 percent of the matter in the universe. In the Minnesota experiment, called COGENT, a hockey puck–sized chunk of germanium deep in a former iron mine attempts to record rare collisions with WIMPS.

First-ever demo of a 3-D invisibility cloak for visible light

December 22, 2017May 2, 2011 by Dave

Joachim Fischer of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany will present the first-ever demonstration of a three-dimensional invisibility cloak that works for visible light at at 10:15 a.m. Monday, May 2 at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO: 2011), which runs May 1–6 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Wow … Harry Potter reality here I come … this sounds amazing. So here are some details.

iPhone 5 coming in September

May 29, 2016April 20, 2011 by Dave

OK, this item is here simply because I’m keen to get my hands on the next iPhone … the news is …

(Reuters) – Apple’s next-generation iPhone will have a faster processor and will begin shipping in September, three people with direct knowledge of the company’s supply chain said.

The production of the new iPhone will start in July/August and the smartphone will look largely similar to the iPhone 4, one of the people said on Wednesday.

The iPhone — introduced in 2007 with the touchscreen, on-demand application template now adopted by its rivals — remains the gold standard in the booming smartphone market.

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