Engineers of the Future Design Star Trek-Inspired Tricorder Device

A group of college and high school students has designed a Star Trek-inspired sensing device that can beam environmental data to a smart phone. The team developed their project during a summer internship program run by the Wright Brothers Institute and the Air Force Research Laboratory. and shared their results at this fall’s World Maker Faire in New...

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Meningitis-linked U.S. firm not a drug maker in 2003 -report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Government health regulators in 2003 told the pharmacy now at the center of a deadly meningitis outbreak that its drug compounding activities did not constitute a manufacturing operation that would merit strict federal safety standards, a congressional report said on Monday.The report by the Republican staff of a U.S. House of Representatives...

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How To Tell If Gadgets Are Needlessly Complicated: The Mom Test

This is a rant, of the grumpy-old-man variety.Two weeks ago I was staying at my parents’ apartment because my home in New Jersey was without power, thanks to Hurricane Sandy. “Oh, Sonny, I’m glad you’re here,” my mother told me when I arrived. “I need you to help me set up the DVD player.”I love my mom to bits and pieces,...

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Canada seen needing to spell out rules for natural gas projects

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – The fate of a handful of liquefied natural gas projects planned for Canada’s Pacific coast may depend on the Canadian government‘s willingness to spell out rules for foreign investment in the country’s energy sector, according to a study released on Thursday.Apache Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Petronas, BG Group Plc and others...

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Malaysian charged with Facebook insult of sultan; sister says he’ll file police complaint

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The sister of a Malaysian man who has been charged with insulting a state sultan on Facebook says he is innocent and plans to lodge a complaint over his detention.Anisa Abdul Jalil, sister of Ahmad Abdul Jalil, says her brother was charged Thursday with making offensive postings on Facebook last month. She...

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Judy’s Garland’s Oz dress fetches $480K in auction

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The now-faded blue gingham dress Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” has sold for $ 480,000.Auction house Julien’s Auctions says the pinafore fetched the highest price of any item during a two-day auction of Hollywood memorabilia that attracted bids from around the world. The auction ended Saturday in Beverly Hills, Calif. Steve...

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Next-day discharge after C-section may be okay: study

(Reuters) – Some women who deliver their babies by cesarean section may be able to check out of the hospital the next day without raising their risk of problems, according to a Malaysian study.The study, which appeared in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, looked at 360 women in Malaysia, who were randomly assigned to go home either one or two days...

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Greek lawmakers back fresh cuts

11 November 2012 Last updated at 18:06 ETGreek lawmakers have approved a 2013 budget involving fresh spending cuts, despite mass public street protests. The budget was backed in by 167 votes to 128. The bill was a pre-condition for Athens to be granted a 31.5bn euro (£25bn; $ 40bn) EU/IMF loan necessary to stave off...

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BBC must reform or die, says Trust chairman

LONDON (Reuters) – The BBC could be doomed unless it makes radical changes, the head of its governing trust said on Sunday, after its director general quit to take the blame for the airing of false child sex abuse allegations against a former politician.Chris Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, said confidence had to be restored if the publicly funded corporation...

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SEC staffers used government computers for personal use: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Several U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staffers responsible for monitoring the markets and exchanges broadly misused computer equipment to download music and failed to properly safeguard sensitive information, a report has found.In a 43-page investigative report that probed the misuse of government resources, SEC Interim...

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