Barcodes for the rest of us: Tiny labels could pack lots of information (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The ubiquitous barcodes found on product packaging provide information to the scanner at the checkout counter, but that's about all they do. Now, researchers at the Media Lab...

Porritt parting shot at ministers

The government is accused of failing to develop a green economy by its own outgoing adviser on sustainable development.

NYT: Will intelligent machines outsmart us?

NYT:  Alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control.

Meltdown 101: Package sizes at the grocery store

(AP) -- Your eyes are not deceiving you in the grocery store. Yes, your bag of Doritos just got bigger. No, the price didn't change.

Gordon Brown, scientists, poets, internet gurus ... and Cameron Diaz

E-China: The bicycle kingdom is going electric

SHANGHAI (AP) -- It's a simple pleasure, but Xu Beilu savors it daily: gliding past snarled traffic on her motorized bicycle, relaxed and sweat-free alongside the...

Optimistic Future For Agriculture Predicted

Dramatic price fluctuations, increasing demand, the food vs. fuel debate, and other events of the past year may have food producers wondering which way is up. Despite these recent uncertainties,...

Combustion Simulation: Digital Fireworks

Researchers have simulated autoignition in a turbulent flow using a supercomputer with up to 65,000 processors in one of the largest reactive flow simulations to date. The results could help...

Microchips to trace route of garbage

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 25 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they're tagging trash with microchips in hopes of finding better ways of handling what we discard daily.

El Salvador can produce biodiesel, says study

El Salvador has the right agricultural conditions to produce biofuel from sugar cane, a study by the Organization of American States has found.

Computer forensics links internet postcards to virus

Fake Internet postcards circulating through e-mail inboxes worldwide are carrying links to the virus known as Zeus Bot, said Gary Warner, director of computer forensics at the University of Alabama...

Dell settles federal discrimination suit for $9.1M

(AP) -- Dell Inc. said Friday it has agreed to settle a federal gender-discrimination class action lawsuit brought by former employees for $9.1 million.

Howard Engle dies at 89; lifelong smoker filed landmark suit against tobacco companies

His class-action lawsuit in Florida yielded a $145-billion judgment for other smokers and himself. It was the largest punitive damages award in U.S. history. Dr. Howard Engle, a Florida pediatrician and lifelong smoker...

Brooklyn man accused of buying and selling kidneys

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn called himself a "matchmaker," but his business wasn't romance. Instead, authorities say, he brokered the sale of...

Getting access to your medical records

If, like Rose Cohen, you have trouble accessing your medical records, there are steps you can take to remedy the situation.

Rift Among House Democrats Slows Health Bill

Dissension among Democrats over health-care policy flared anew on Friday as Henry A. Waxman threatened to bypass his own committee to speed passage of the bill.

American Chemical Society supports House increase in math, science funding

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2009 -- American Chemical Society (ACS) President Thomas H. Lane, Ph.D., today praised the House of Representatives for supporting a $5 million increase in funding...

Baboons "Raiding" Cape Town

As suburbs consume baboon habitat, the cheeky monkeys have been raiding homes and garbage bins for food, prompting residents to fight back—some with guns, others with community education. Video.

Privacy concerns over Google book project

Google's ambitious book scanning project, already facing anti-trust scrutiny and awaiting court approval, is also raising concerns among privacy advocates and civil liberties groups.

EU: Microsoft to Let Users Pick Browser

Antitrust Plan Marks "Big Step Forward in Addressing a Decade of Legal Issues," Company Says

Does Baseball's Future Lie In These Cold, Robotic Hands?

A robot pitcher faces off against a robot batter Right now the next baseball great may be warming up, not on a Little League diamond, but in a lab. Researchers at...

Japanese professor creates baseball-playing robots

(AP) -- Look out Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka. A pair of baseball-playing robots that can pitch and hit with incredible results have been developed in Japan.

Tricycling Robot Goes for Guinness Record on Endurance Racing Circuit

Sports cars have long tested their 24-hour endurance on the Le Mans racing circuit in France. Now a Panasonic robot named Mr. Evolta will try to claim the distance record for a remote-controlled...

Reflections on a "crackpot" post

PZ Myers sometimes gets a bit snooty over at his well-read Pharyngula Blog. For instance, in a recent posting, he dismisses Science Blog with this description: "it's a site that...

Server market woes likely to grow as year goes on

It was only a few years ago that the market for computer servers was one of the hottest in the tech sector as large corporations, most notably financial services companies,...

European body told to cut free

Review highlights hurdles faced by Europe's research council.

Thomson says it has reached deal with creditors

Struggling French media technology group Thomson said Friday it had reached a deal with its creditors that would allow for a 45 percent reduction in its debt.

Internet Groupthink Throttles Creativity

Social networking may inspire a lot of, well, nothing, because follow-the-crowd thinking trumps radical ideas.