research

Navy picks companies to build T-Craft model

The U.S. Navy has selected two companies to develop a Transformable Craft capable of ferrying heavy tanks from ships at sea, through the surf, and onto beachheads around the world.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) wants a T-Craft that does 40 knots, carries at least six tanks, and is able to survive 57-knot winds and 60-foot waves. It must also mitigate wave motion, to allow the transfer of vehicles from one ship to the other while rocking on the high seas.

To accomplish that, the companies Alion Science and Umoe-Mandal will need to develop and deploy some combination … Read more

Study: Parents sweat online predators, social sites

Two-thirds of parents say that they are uncomfortable with their children participating in online communities, and roughly half of them say that online predators are a threat, according to a new study from the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School for Communication. The group has conducted an annual review of the effect of Web technology on America since 2000 by interviewing the same 2,000-plus people around the country. But this was the first year it asked about perceptions of predators and social sites.

Jeffrey Cole, director of the center, said that despite those concerns, parents' … Read more

RenGen: a generation of cultural consumers?

Isn't it interesting how trends are made? "One of the things I like about trends is that they seem so easy -- Blue is the color of 2008! GenY likes health food!" observes Stacey Gillar. Coupling the disparate ("Chic Trash"), pushing an already extreme concept to the extreme ("Radical Transparency"), or simply announcing the advent of something "new" ("Nouvelle Vague," "Nouveau Niche," etc.) are some of the flourishing categories. Or you simply repackage an old concept.

"RenGen," short for Renaissance Generation and the title of … Read more

Ig Nobel Prize publisher to go free online

The Annals of Improbable Research, best known as the host of the Ig Nobel Awards, will now offer a free online version of its journal.

The Ig Nobel Prizes ceremony, an annual event held at Harvard University and parody of the Nobel Prizes, honors discoveries in science and technology that "first make people laugh, and then make them think."

Past winners include: Mayu Yamamoto of the International Medical Center of Japan who invented a way to extract vanilla fragrance and flavoring from cow dung; an Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, who invented a chemical weapon that … Read more

LIBS sniffs out explosives

A simple and inexpensive analytical technique has made it possible to detect explosives from up to 60 feet away, a desirable commodity in an age of IEDs and suicide bombers and one that may become commercially available in the near future.

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Maryland has developed a system that detects explosive residues, using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to identify the elemental composition of molecules. Refinement and standardization of this technique would fill a growing security and military need, researchers say.

"Currently there are no proven technologies that can accomplish residue explosives detection at … Read more

JetBlue to start testing in-flight e-mail, IM next week

If there were snakes on this plane, you could IM your friends and tell them.

Low-cost airline JetBlue has equipped one of its Airbus A320 planes with an onboard wireless network and has forged partnerships with Yahoo and BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion to give passengers access to the companies' e-mail and instant messaging functions while in the air. The airline considers the plane, nicknamed "BetaBlue," to be an early-stage test as the company explores expanding in-flight communication options.

Passengers won't be able to surf the full Web. But if they bring Wi-Fi-equipped laptops along, they can … Read more

Widely used chemical may affect breast development

File this one under: Yet another depressing study about the potential dangers we are exposed to on a daily basis.

In an experiment, lactating rats were fed butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), a widely used chemical used in pipes, vinyl floor tiles, and carpet backing. Their rat babies ingested the BBP via breast milk. Researchers then discovered that the chemical induced changes to the baby female rats' mammary tissue.

Read the full story on PhysOrg.com: "Household chemical may affect breast development."

Study predicts rise of 'circular entertainment'

A new study from Nokia predicts that by 2012, a quarter of all entertainment will be created, edited, and shared within peer groups rather than being generated by traditional media.

Jointly conducted with the trend research firm The Future Laboratory, Nokia's study asked trend-setting consumers from 17 countries about their digital behaviors and lifestyles. The company also used information gathered from its 900 million customers as well as views of leading industry analysts.

"From our research we predict that up to a quarter of the entertainment being consumed in five years will be what we call 'circular.' The … Read more

Chimps smarter than humans?

Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won. It was a five-year-old chimp named Ayumu who received the top score.

Read the full story at MSNBC.com.