Next Up for Microsoft: Bring Internet to Everyone
REDMOND, Wash. — Three decades after Bill Gates dreamed of a PC in every home, Microsoft is partnering with governments around the world on a dream to get every home online.
Technology
Chernobyl Effects Could Last for Centuries
Nearly 25 years after the worst nuclear accident in history, new scientific findings suggest that the effects of the explosion at Chernobyl have been underestimated. Experts last month published a series of studies indicating that, contrary to previous findings, populations of animals decreased in the exclusion zone surrounding the site of the former nuclear power plant, and that the effects of radioactive contamination after the outbreak had been “overwhelming.”
New Hubble Observations of Supernova 1987A Reveal Composition of ‘Star Guts’ Pouring Out
Observations made with NASA’s newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope of a nearby supernova are allowing astronomers to measure the velocity and composition of “star guts” being ejected into space following the explosion, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. (more…)
Report: Discovery Networks Hostage-Taking a Rare Terror Event
U.S. Violent Terror Rarely Against Media, Capital; Rare for Environmentalists
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A new report by terrorism researchers at the University of Maryland concludes that the deadly hostage-taking incident at the Discovery Communications headquarters in suburban Washington, D.C. meets the criteria of a terrorist act – a rare one for media organizations and the nation’s capital region. Hostage-taking, though, is a familiar pattern in capital-region terror, the researchers add. (more…)
Cranberry Juice Shows Promise Blocking Staph Infections
WORCESTER, Mass. – Expanding their scope of study on the mechanisms of bacterial infection, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have reported the surprise finding from a small clinical study that cranberry juice cocktail blocked a strain of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from beginning the process of infection. (more…)
Are Wolves Saving Yellowstone’s Aspen Trees from Elk?
LARAMIE, Wy. — Previous research has claimed that the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 is helping restore quaking aspen in risky areas where wolves prowl. But apparently elk hungry for winter food had a different idea. (more…)
Volcanoes More Dangerous to Earth than Nuclear Bombs
Many still remember traffic jams in Europe, caused by the April eruption of Eyyafyatlayokudlya. Scientists around the world genuinely fear the catastrophic consequences of volcanic activity.
Bing Launches Search for World of Warcraft Gamers
*Bing launches a visual search gallery this week to help millions of World of Warcraft players find and learn about armor, weapons, and other in-game gear.*
REDMOND, Wash. — Bing launched a new World of Warcraft (WoW) visual search gallery on Wednesday, hoping to wow some of the game’s more than 12 million players.