Dinosaur Feathers Found Encased in Amber?

 

Seven dino-era feathers found perfectly preserved in amber in western France highlight a crucial stage in feather evolution, scientists report. The hundred-million-year-old plumage has features of both feather-like fibers found with some two-legged dinosaurs known as theropods and of modern bird feathers, the researchers said.

This means the fossils could fill a key gap in the puzzle of how dinosaurs gave rise to birds, according to a team led by Vincent Perrichot of the Museum für Naturkunde-Berlin in Germany.

The find provides a clear example “of the passage between primitive filamentous down and a modern feather,” said team member Didier Néraudeau of the University of Rennes in France.

The study team isn’t sure yet whether the feathers belonged to a dino or a bird.

But fossil teeth from two dino families thought to have been feathered were excavated from rocks just above the layer that contained the amber, Perrichot said.

“It is entirely plausible that the feathers come from a dinosaur rather than from a bird,” he said.

Paleontologists at the University of Rennes found the tiny feathers encased in a lump of amber, a fossilized tree resin, in a quarry in the Poitou-Charentes region of France in 2000.

The feathers’ central shafts, or rachis, are primitive and most closely resemble down feathers, the study team noted.

The feather filaments, or barbs, had yet to become fully fused at the base and—similar to modern down—they lacked hooklets known as barbules to hold the filaments together.

Source: nationalgeographic

Wasabi Silent Fire Alarm Alerts the Deaf with the Power of Scent | Inventor Spot

Might save some lives.

from inventorspot.com posted with vodpod

Chemical brain controls nanobots

A tiny chemical “brain” which could one day act as a remote control for swarms of nano-machines has been invented.The molecular device - just two billionths of a metre across - was able to control eight of the microscopic machines simultaneously in a test.

Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists say it could also be used to boost the processing power of future computers.

Many experts have high hopes for nano-machines in treating disease.

“If [in the future] you want to remotely operate on a tumour you might want to send some molecular machines there,” explained Dr Anirban Bandyopadhyay of the International Center for Young Scientists, Tsukuba, Japan.

“But you cannot just put them into the blood and [expect them] to go to the right place.”

Dr Bandyopadhyay believes his device may offer a solution. One day they may be able to guide the nanobots through the body and control their functions, he said.

“That kind of device simply did not exist; this is the first time we have created a nano-brain,” he told BBC News.  - bbc

Indian Man Has World’s Longest Ear Hair

A man in northern India has been recognized by Guinness World Records as having the world’s longest ear hair.The tufts coming out of the man’s ears measured more than 5 inches when he set the record in 2003.

The hair has now grown to nearly 10 inches. In fact, the hair is so long he has to shampoo and comb it.

Video: Nbc11

There is a commercial before the video, but the video is worth seeing

test post from a cell phone

The Interface is terrible

It’s Official: Clinton Lost Texas

The Texas Secretary of State is set to certify the official election results for the Democratic primary. As predicted, Barack Obama has beaten Hillary Clinton. While Clinton won the state’s popular vote, Obama racked up more caucus support, so that, now that the final tally is in, the Lone Star state’s delegate total reads:

Obama: 61 delegates from the popular vote + 38 delegates from caucuses = 99 delegates.

Clinton: 65 delegates from the popular vote + 30 delegates from Caucuses = 95 delegates.

So news people can now stop saying “two big wins in Ohio and Texas.” Big win in Ohio, sure, but not Texas.

A further analysis of the delegate race over at DailyKos reveals that Clinton’s supposedly big week has actually resulted in a net loss of 15 delegates to the front-runner. That’s right, Obama continued to widen his delegate lead, and will certainly add to that margin (as well as to his lead in the popular vote) after today’s contest in Mississippi. - news.aol

He does have very good teeth. Perhaps that’s how we could pick our next president, the person with the best teeth.

Dow Climbs 416.66 for Its Biggest Gain in Over 5 Years

On Tuesday, the Fed announced it would offer up to $200 billion in ultra-safe Treasury securities to the nation’s banks, including several major brokerage firms, in exchange for a variety of collateral options — including the very mortgage-backed securities that have caused the recent financial crisis.That means banks will be able to unload some of those soured assets, potentially freeing up money to keep the nation’s economic bloodstream flowing. It was the central banking move that many investors had been waiting for. - nytimes

Speeder Tasered by trooper on YouTube video gets $40,000 from state (with video)

…An internal UHP investigation also cleared the trooper.
Video of the trooper zapping Massey, taken by the trooper’s dashboard camera, came to prominence after Massey posted it on the Internet site YouTube. Since it was posted last year, it has been viewed more than 1.7 million times.
Massey’s attorney, Bob Sykes, said Monday the offer to settle the case was not the state’s first and that his client decided to take it.
Massey filed a lawsuit against Gardner in January alleging the trooper violated his civil rights when he zapped him during a traffic stop Sept. 14, 2007, on Highway 40 in Uintah County.

He was stopped for driving 61 mph in a 40 mph zone.
During the stop, Massey argued with Gardner about his speed and then refused to sign the citation. Massey then got out of his car and followed Gardner to his police car where he was asked to place his hands behind his back. When Massey refused, Gardner shocked him.
The suit said Massey fell screaming in pain after being shocked while Gardner taunted him by saying, “Hurts, doesn’t it?” Massey struck his head against the pavement and was zapped a second time because he was unable to immediately obey an order to turn over on his stomach, according to the suit.
“We thought the amount of force used was outrageous,” Sykes said Monday.
The settlement amount includes attorneys’ fees. The Attorney General’s Office says Massey has agreed to dismiss his lawsuit, all claims against Gardner and all potential claims against UHP, the Utah Department of Public Safety and the state. - sltrib

Warning: Video contains a real tasering with audio and is disturbing. I think they both screwed up. Cops get shot so if someone is reaching in his pocket when he is told to put his hands behind his back, he may get tasered. Taunting and tasering him the second time were mistakes.

I’ve been confronted with a hyped up cop before and it is really freaky! This one cop acted like he was on drugs. I was calm and honest and respectful, and he was saying things like, “Do you think I’m stupid?” How do you answer that one coming from a disgruntled guy with a gun!? “No, sir,” that’s how! He was getting more and more pumped up as he talked. The only thing that got him to back down was showing him my ID… next to the photo of a police officer in my family.

Ashcroft Defends Contract for His Firm

Former attorney general John D. Ashcroft defended a government-sanctioned contract yesterday that could earn his consulting firm more than $50 million, saying that nothing is improper about the selection made by one of his former U.S. attorneys.

Ashcroft has come under scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers since he accepted a no-bid contract to oversee the operations of a medical equipment company that is accused of giving kickbacks to doctors. He was chosen for the job by U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie of New Jersey, a Republican who once worked for him.

“There is not a conflict,” Ashcroft said. “There is not an appearance of conflict.”

His testimony to the House Judiciary subcommittee on commercial and administrative law marked his first appearance before Congress since he left his post as head of the Justice Department in early 2005.

Ashcroft, who sparred regularly with lawmakers during his four years as attorney general, joined fellow Republicans on the panel yesterday in lashing out at Democrats for questioning the propriety of the contract.

He also used the occasion to herald some of his accomplishments as attorney general, including a decline in crime rates and the creation of aggressive anti-terrorism programs.

Ashcroft is now a lobbyist who runs his own Washington consulting firm, the Ashcroft Group LLC, which was awarded a contract last fall to oversee the operations of Zimmer Holdings of Warsaw, Ind. The company, which is the world’s largest manufacturer of knee and hip implants, avoided prosecution for allegedly paying doctors to use its products, according to the settlement.

The deal is expected to earn Ashcroft’s firm $28 million to $52 million over 18 months, according to financial filings. -washpost

Angry Woman Sets 400 Cell Phones on Fire

An angry 37-year-old woman in China named Mrs. Wang set fire to over 400 cell phones after her husband walked out of their marriage. The couple had a joint-owned cell phone shop. After becoming upset about the situation Mrs. Wang decided to set their stockpile of over 400 phones ablaze inside her home.The collection of cell phones were worth 300,000 yuan, or about $42,000 USD.

Source: engadget via sciencenews