Nybble 2008.05.13

N Y B B L E   M O N T H L Y   N E W S L E T T E R
A Free Ezine about Anything Tech and Everything Else
2008.05.13 Issue No. 200

Caught in a traffic jam and watching the sea of red in front of me, it
occurred to me that since the invention of the brake lights, it hasn't
changed much through the years, apart from the introduction of a third
one. Instead of merely being on or off, wouldn't it be nice if brake
lights come in analogue? Depending on how hard the brake pedal is
pressed, the intensity of the brake light varies. If it's a constant
yellow, that means the car in front is slowing down to a halt. If it
jumps from yellow to orange to red, that means the car in front is
braking really hard, and you should be doing the same.

I'm thinking car manufacturers should also install front brake lights.
Sometimes when I want to change lanes, I can't tell for sure if the
car behind me will let me cut in, or will he suddenly speed up to
close the gap. With front brake lights, I can be certain that he's
slowing down, and I can shift lanes safely. Good ideas, huh?

By the way, this is the 200th issue of Nybble. We've come a long way,
baby.

Have an answer, comment, suggestion, or violent reaction? Send them my
way by clicking on Reply or join nybbletalk@yahoogroups.com to discuss
a topic. If you think Nybble is good enough, do tell the tailgaters
about it. Thanks.

_________TABLE OF CONTENTS_________
* 'Youngest Planet' Discovered
* Cup of Coffee a Day Keeps Dementia Away
* Fastest Computer Chip on Earth
* Flowers Less Fragrant
* Smallest Transistor in the World
* Hard Drive with 256-Bit AES Encryption
* Japan Starts Invasive Brain-Machine Interface Research
* Fastest and Cheapest Broadband in the World
* Nybblets
* Likeable Links
* Questionable Question
* Quotable Quote
* Trivial Trivia
* Laughable Laugh

_________'YOUNGEST PLANET' DISCOVERED_________
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7326318.stm

A UK team of astronomers has detected an embryonic planet outside our
solar system that could be less than 2000 years old. The ball of dust
and gas, which is in the process of turning into a Jupiter-like giant,
was detected around the star HL Tau. The disc is unusually massive and
bright, making it an excellent place to search for signs of planets in
the process of formation. The researchers say their picture is one of
a proto-planet still embedded in its birth material.

Using the Very Large Array (VLA) of radio telescopes in the US, the
researchers studied the system at emission wavelengths specifically
chosen to search for rocky particles about the size of pebbles. The
presence of these pebbles is a clue that rocky material is beginning
to clump together to form planets. In the UK, scientists used the
Merlin radio telescopes based on Jodrell Bank in Cheshire to study the
same system at longer wavelengths. This allowed them to confirm the
emissions were from rocks and not from other sources such as hot gas.

Research leader Dr Jane Greaves said the planet's growth may have been
kickstarted when another young star passed the system 1,600 years ago.
If the proto-planet is assumed to be the same age as the star it
orbits, this would be some one hundred times younger than the previous
record holder, which is confirmed to be 10 million years old.

_________CUP OF COFFEE A DAY KEEPS DEMENTIA AWAY_________
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7326839.stm

A study done by a US team for the Journal of Neuroinflammation
suggests that coffee may cut the risk of dementia by blocking the
damage cholesterol can inflict on the body. The drink has already been
linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

In experiments on rabbits conducted by the University of North Dakota,
just one daily cup of coffee can protect and strengthen a vital
barrier between the brain and the main blood supply. this "blood brain
barrier" is a filter which protects the central nervous system from
potentially harmful chemicals carried around in the rest of the
bloodstream. Other studies have shown that high levels of cholesterol
in the blood can make this barrier "leaky". Alzheimer's researchers
suggest this makes the brain vulnerable to damage which can trigger or
contribute to the condition.

In the experiments, after 12 weeks of a high-cholesterol diet, the
blood brain barrier in those rabbits given caffeine was far more
intact than in those given no caffeine. More research to be done to
determine whether the same effect could be seen in humans.

_________FASTEST COMPUTER CHIP ON EARTH________
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/09/BUBI10258F.DTL

IBM Corp. began shipping high-end computers built around the fastest
chip on Earth, a microprocessor that can carry out up to 5 billion
instructions per second, surpassing the speediest competing processors
built by rivals like Intel or Sun Microsystems. The new IBM processor,
called the Power6, was designed to run big-ticket, water-cooled
machines that drive corporations or tackle scientific problems, but
slower versions of this same family of chips are already being used in
inexpensive, consumer devices like the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox
and Sony PlayStation. Comparing clockspeeds, the
5-billion-instructions-per second Power6 processor from IBM would beat
such rivals as the 3.73 gigahertz Pentium Extreme and the 2.4
gigahertz UltraSparc T2 from Sun.

IBM Chief Technology Officer Bernard Meyerson makes an example to
explain how fast the Power6 is. In less time than it would take a beam
of light to travel from your knuckle to your fingertip, the new IBM
chip would complete one task and start looking for the next. Light
would presumably have to travel more than a finger's length to get
each task done on the slower processors from Intel and Sun - and at
billions-of-cycles per second, slow is a bit of a misnomer.

_________FLOWERS LESS FRAGRANT_________
http://www.livescience.com/environment/080411-pollution-flowers.html

Researchers at the University of Virginia completed a study suggesting
that flowers do not smell as sweet anymore, as pollutants from power
plants and automobiles destroy flowers' aromas. The scent molecules
produced by the flowers readily bond with pollutants such as ozone,
which destroys the aromas they produce. So instead of wafting for long
distances with the wind, the flowery scents are chemically altered.

According to the study, the scent molecules produced by flowers in a
less polluted environment, such as in the 1800s, could travel for
roughly 1,000 to 1,200 meters [3,300 to 4,000 feet]; but in today's
polluted environment downwind of major cities, they may travel only
200 to 300 meters [650 to 980 feet]. With flowers no longer
advertising their presence over as large an area, pollinators are
forced to search farther and longer to pick up the hint of their
scent. They may also have to rely more on their sight than what they
smell. The finding could help explain why some pollinators,
particularly bees, are declining in places such as California and the
Netherlands.

_________SMALLEST TRANSISTOR IN THE WORLD_________
http://snipurl.com/28ktw

Researchers from the University of Manchester, UK, have created
transistors one atom thick and ten atoms wide. They were carved from
graphene, predicted by some to one day oust silicon as the basis of
future computing. Silicon cannot form stable structures below 10
nanometres in size, and today's newest chips already have features
just 45 nm across. Graphene, a material made from flat sheets of
carbon in a honeycomb arrangement is a leading contender. The UK team
have now used it to make some of the smallest transistors ever - only
1 nm across that contain just a few carbons rings.

Graphene's carbon-carbon bonds are among the strongest in nature, and
its honeycomb-like structure allows electrons to travel very rapidly.
At the nanometer scale, "quantum dots" of graphene trap electrons
thanks to quantum effects. Applying a magnetic field to the smallest
dots lets current flow again, making a switchable transistor. The
smallest dots that worked as transistors contained as few as five
carbon rings – around 10 atoms or 1nm wide. There are other kinds of
prototype transistors in this size range, but they usually need
supercooling using liquid gas. The new graphene devices work at room
temperature. Another advantage is that graphene transistors were made
in the same way that silicon devices are, by etching them out of
larger pieces of material.

_________HARD DRIVE WITH 256-BIT AES ENCRYPTION_________
http://www.pclaunches.com/hard-drive/fujitsu_to_launch_worlds_first_320_gb_25_hard_drive_with_aes_256bit_encryption.php

Fujitsu unveils its 2.5" 320GB hard disk drive with automatic
hardware-based encryption to effectively secure data against theft or
loss. According to Fujitsu, the MHZ2 CJ series is the first hard disk
drive in the world to support the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard
(AES). The drive implements the AES hardware encryption directly into
the processor chip of the hard disk drive, resulting in more robust
security and faster system performance than software-based encryption.
The built-in AES automatically encrypts all data when storing it on
the hard disk drive and decrypts the data when read. Unlike
software-based encryption, the key does not reside in the computer's
memory. This makes it more resistant to attack and imposes no
processing overhead on the CPU, optimizing system performance.

The MHZ2 CJ also comes with 7200-rpm rotational speed, and a 3.0 Gb/s
Serial ATA interface. The new series of drives for computers and
external storage devices will be available at the end of May 2008.

_________JAPAN STARTS INVASIVE BRAIN-MACHINE INTERFACE RESEARCH_________
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/04/japan-cyborg-research-enters-the-skull/

Researchers at Osaka University are stepping up efforts to develop
robotic body parts controlled by thought, by placing electrode sheets
directly on the surface of the brain. This marks Japan's first foray
into invasive (i.e. requiring open-skull surgery) brain-machine
interface research on human test subjects. The aim of the research is
to develop real-time mind-controlled robotic limbs for the disabled.
Although brain waves can be measured from outside the scalp, a
stronger, more accurate signal can be obtained by placing sensors
directly on the brain — but that requires open-skull surgery, making
it more difficult to recruit volunteer test subjects.

The researchers, who have filed a license application with the Osaka
University Hospital ethics board, are working to enlist willing
subjects already scheduled to have brain electrodes implanted for the
purpose of monitoring epilepsy or other conditions. The procedure,
which does not involve puncturing the cortex, places an electrode
sheet at the central sulcus, a fold across the center of the brain
near the primary motor cortex (which is responsible for planning and
executing movements). To date, the researchers have worked with four
test subjects to record brain wave activity generated as they move
their arms, elbows and fingers. Working with Advanced
Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), the
researchers have developed a method for analyzing the brain waves to
determine the subject's intended activity to an accuracy of greater
than 80%. The next step is to use the data to control robot arms
developed by the University of Tokyo's Department of Precision
Engineering.

_________FASTEST AND CHEAPEST BROADBAND IN THE WORLD_________
http://snipurl.com/28kuk

Broadband over Powerline (BPL) provider Velchip Sdn Bhd has formalised
three major partnerships to advance the world's biggest BPL project
for 60 million users in Indonesia. BPL modems use existing electrical
power lines to deliver high speed Internet access and data transmission.
The first agreement was with investment firm Sarz Al Yahya
Corporation, which will inject project financing of US$14 billion.
Secondly, the company signed with US-based satellite infrastructure
provider STM Networks Inc. who will use five satellites to provide
communications services. Thirdly, a 100-year agreement was exchanged
with Nadhlatul Ulama Indonesia and Manhad Islam Hadhari, the
Indonesian clients responsible for the network of mosques that will be
converted during the BPL project.

According to the company's chief executive officer Suhaimi Abdul
Rahman, the US$14 billion "Smart Mosque" project will be rolled out
over three years in Indonesia and will link together 400,000 mosques
and serve 60 million users. This project will offer users unlimited
high speed Internet connection of 224Mbps (megabits per second) at a
cost of only around RM5 (US$1.58) per user per month, which is the
fastest and cheapest in the world.

_________NYBBLETS_________
* pizza.com domain name sold for US2.6m
* ISPs have been using deep-packet inspection to spy on the
communications of more than 100,000 US customers
* Mater Dei High School's entry at this year's Shell Eco-marathon
Americas traveled 2,843.4 miles on a single gallon of gasoline
* Malaysian candidates for national youth posts required to have
blogs to introduce themselves and their programs
* 92.3 percent of all email sent globally during the first three
months of 2008 was spam
* The US will soon be collecting the DNA of anyone who is arrested by
a federal law enforcement agency and any foreigner who is detained
* PETA offering $1 million to the "first person to come up with a
method to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat at
competitive prices by 2012"

_________LIKEABLE LINKS_________
GraphJam: Pop culture for people in cubicles
http://graphjam.com/

FireFTP - The Free FTP Client for Mozilla Firefox
http://fireftp.mozdev.org/

Picasa Help
http://picasa.google.com/support/?fulldump=1

Gmail Help
http://mail.google.com/support/?fulldump=1

_________QUESTIONABLE QUESTION_________
If you can hear the ocean in a seashell, why is it that you can't hear
the forest in a pinecone?

_________QUOTABLE QUOTE_________
The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of.
~ Blaise Pascal ~

_________TRIVIAL TRIVIA_________
Who made the foot twelve inches?
If the arm of King Henry I of England had been 42 inches long, the
unit of measure of a "foot" today would be fourteen inches. But his
arm happened to be 36 inches long and he decreed that the "standard"
foot should be one-third that length: 12 inches.
Source: Arcamax Trivia

_________LAUGHABLE LAUGH_________
"How long have you been driving without a tail light?" asked the
policeman after pulling over a motorist.

The driver jumped out, ran to the rear of his car and gave a long,
painful groan and put his face in his hands.

He seemed so upset that the cop was moved to ease up on him a bit.

"Come on, now," he said, "you don't have to take it so hard. It isn't
that serious."

"It isn't?" cried the motorist. "Then you know what happened to my
boat and trailer?"

_________DOWNLOADABLE DOWNLOAD_________
AVG Free Anti-Virus 2008
http://free.grisoft.com/

iPod Gym Stretching Exercise Videos
http://somatotype.net/iPod_Gym/Stretches.html

Free Printable Paper
http://www.printablepaper.net/

That's all for this week. Nybble is and will always be a work in
progress. Please do send me your comments and suggestions on how to
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