5:29 PM
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/13/darpa_mad_scientist_base_boost_plan/
Maryland is lobbying to become the Silicon Valley of cybersecurity--that is really smart due to its proximity to DC and the huge increases projected for cybersecurity funding in the future:
http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/maryland-lobbies-be-silicon-valley-cybersecurity-006643
China and India are actively pursuing technology that would enable them to destroy satellites. The US already has this technology, but the US military and economy rely on satellites more than any other country so anti-sat technology from other countries is a big concern:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/china-and-india-pursue-anti-satellite-kill-technology
British company's terahertz scanner is a possible solution to privacy concerns about body scanners. Instead of producing images of the naked body, their scanner shows absorbance data that identifies things like metals and explosives. One concern that this scanner (and all the other full body scanners) are that their terahertz radiation could damage DNA, so some people are urging more study on that issue:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/13/terahertz_scan/
A group of scientists from the US and Jamaica actually warned in 2008 that a major earthquake was overdue in Haiti along the fault that devastated Haiti yesterday:
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/01/massive-earthquake-hits-haiti.html
African countries not only do not have the money to get their airport security to the new requirements for flights to the US, they do not have the money to adhere to the old airport security standard!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-africa-airpots-0110-01jan11,0,2408804.story
Lead is known to be toxic to humans, which is why chemists have been studying why ancient Egyptians used lead to make eyeliners with medical properties. The study found that at low dosages lead does not kill skin cells...instead, low-doses of lead results in the production of a molecule that activates the immune system! So, lead-based eyeliner can limit bacterial growth around the eye:
http://www.rdmag.com/News/2010/01/Materials-Leaded-makeup-kept-the-eyes-of-ancient-Egyptians-healthy/
Sprint dropped the price of mobile WiMAX by another $10 (their $10 cut in 5 months) and is rumored to be partnering with Wal-Mart to sell WiMAX in Wal-Mart stores soon:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-drops-price-mobile-wimax-plan-another-10/2010-01-13?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
The success of Avatar has prompted movie studios to plan to release 3-D versions of past hits, with the Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings series coming out in 3-D soon:
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6982297.ece
Chinese developer wanted to find an alternative to the environment-unfriendly lithium-ion batteries used in cell phones, so he modified his phone to use a bio-battery powered by Coca-Cola:
http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/modified-nokia-cell-phone-runs-on-coca-cola-20100112/
78-year-old Florida grandmother was accidentally put in jail for 15 days...she was in jail for having a suspended license even though her license was not suspended!
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/1420180.html