Google says the executive in charge of its popular Android software for smartphones and tablet computers is stepping down from the job. The unexpected change announced Wednesday marks the first time that the Android software has been overseen by someone other than Andy Rubin. He began working on the software at a startup that Google […]
Applications
Creating Indestructible Self-Healing Circuits
Imagine that the chips in your smart phone or computer could repair and defend themselves on the fly, recovering in microseconds from problems ranging from less-than-ideal battery power to total transistor failure. It might sound like the stuff of science fiction, but a team of engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), for the […]
Wireless spectrum crunch? Not so fast
While devices such as iPhones and tablets have no doubt put a heavy burden on wireless networks the wireless spectrum seems to be holding up well, according to a report. “Seven years ago the ITU predicted the world would need twice as much radio frequency spectrum as is allocated now, and that was even before […]
Yamaha to Pay $2.2 Million in Calif Anti-Smog Case
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California air officials say a Japanese producer of motorized vehicles will pay $2.2 million to resolve allegations that the company sold uncertified vehicles in California. The California Air Resources Board announced Monday that Yamaha Motor Corp. USA and Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. of Japan have agreed to a court-approved settlement to […]
Photos of the Day: Golfer Falls into New Sinkhole
One step onto a pocked section of a Southern Illinois golf course and the 43-year-old mortgage broker, Hank Martinez, plunged into a sinkhole. He landed 18 feet down with a painful thud, and his friends managed to hoist him to safety with a rope after about 20 minutes. In this cell phone image taken March […]
Stereotyping prime obstacle to women in commercial science
Female professors are almost 50 percent less likely than their male counterparts to be invited to join corporate scientific advisory boards (SABs) and start new companies mainly because of gender stereotyping, says University of Maryland researcher Waverly Ding, an assistant professor of management at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Beliefs that women lack […]
MO Golfer Survives Fall into IL Course Sinkhole
Mark Mihal was having a good opening day on the links when he noticed an unusual depression on the 14th fairway at Annbriar Golf Club in southern Illinois. Remarking to his friends how awkward it would be to have to hit out of it, he went over for a closer look. See the photos here. […]
Google Paying Bonuses Totaling $15M to 4 Top Execs
Google is paying nearly $15 million in bonuses to four of the Internet company’s top executives for their performances last year. Documents filed Tuesday disclosed Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt will get the biggest award at $6 million to supplement his estimated fortune of $8 billion. Schmidt served as Google Inc.’s CEO for a decade until […]
Biological Wires Carry Electricity
Slender bacterial nanowires require certain key amino acids in order to conduct electricity, according to a study to be published in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on Tuesday, March 12. In nature, the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens uses these nanowires, called pili, to transport electrons to remote iron particles or […]
An Alternative Energy Future
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will soon decide whether to approve hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the state. To date, no alternative to expanded gas drilling has been proposed. But a new study finds that it is technically and economically feasible to convert New York’s all-purpose energy infrastructure to one powered by wind, water […]