universe

Pew pew! From disc drives to sci-fi shooters, we live in a world full of laser beams. And a special laser made waves in the world of medical research this week. Developed by laser applications researchers from the University of Tennessee's Space Institute, it could one day find use as a weapon against cancer.

Known as a femtosecond laser, the high-speed light pulses at one-quadrillionth of a second; when fine-tuned, the powerful beam can be used by doctors to detect, map, and nullify cancerous tumors. … Read more

LA JOLLA, Calif.--Cottages shouldn't stick out way over the edge of buildings, but when they've been picked up by mysterious forces and dropped out of the sky, that's exactly what can happen.

Welcome to Korean artist Do Ho Suh's "Fallen Star," a small, New England-style house that was unveiled in June atop -- and well out beyond the roof of -- the Jacobs Engineering School building at the University of California at San Diego here.

I've come to explore "Fallen Star" as part of Road Trip 2012, and though I'… Read more

This week, after 20 years at Columbia Journalism School (one as a student, 19 as a professor and seven as a dean), I changed jobs. 

I have joined the office of Provost John Coatsworth, who is the highest academic officer of Columbia University. I will be the CU's first Chief Digital Officer, focusing on online learning and social- and digital media.

I will still continue to teach a few classes at the Journalism School, but my priority is going to be dealing with all the dramatic opportunities and challenges in the world of online education. Several units of … Read more

This is an update of a deal I posted earlier this year.

My Logitech Harmony One remote control has outlasted two TVs and one DVR. After a good three years of use, I can say without a doubt that it's my favorite clicker ever.

CNET agrees with me, calling it "arguably the best consumer remote control currently available" in its review.

Unfortunately, Logitech still sells it for $200, which is not much less than when it first debuted years ago. But for a limited time, and while supplies last, Radio Shack will set you up with a … Read more

The use of drones is taking off in America.

Local governments and private businesses see them as a cheap and effective way of maintaining an eye from the sky.

But will the drones be fully under their control?

A college professor and his students say not necessarily.

A civilian drone aircraft was "hijacked" by Professor Todd Humphreys and his graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin.

They were able to hack into the drone's GPS signals.

Later, in an exercise done in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security at White Sands, N.M., they … Read more

LOS ANGELES--I'm sitting across from a soldier named Garza, trying to get him to open up about why he got caught drinking and driving.

This is a serious offense in the military, and Garza could lose his rank, if not get kicked out of the Army altogether. And it's my job as his superior officer to try to understand that Garza -- who used to be among the best in his unit -- may be struggling with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

This, of course, is a simulation. I'm not in the military, and Garza doesn'… Read more

Brainiacs at Rice University today debuted a spray-on lithium ion battery that they say could be applied to nearly any surface. You read that right -- a paintable battery.

The paint contains layers, each representing a necessary component of a conventional battery -- current collectors made in part from purified single-wall carbon nanotubes, a cathode, an anode, and a polymer separator -- as described in a report published today in Nature authored by Rice graduate student Neelam Singh and her team. Spraying the painted battery is a multilayer process, but when you're done, you have a covered surface that stores energy and discharges it when needed -- that is, a battery. … Read more

Comcast has agreed to pay $800,000 to settle a Federal Communications Commission probe into the cable giant's broadband marketing practices after its merger with NBC Universal.

The settlement came after an FCC investigation found that Comcast representatives were not adequately marketing its standalone broadband service, a violation of a condition for the carrier's merger with NBC Universal that required Comcast to "visibly offer and actively market" the standalone Internet service for three years.

"Today's action demonstrates that compliance with commission orders is not optional," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. &… Read more

Patent lawsuits seem to be getting more common -- continually there are daily headlines of this company suing that company over intellectual property rights.

A new study released today confirms that lawsuits are increasing and says the overall cost of these cases in the U.S. was $29 billion in 2011.

The study, which was put out by Boston University, specifically looks at "non-practicing entities" (NPE), or "patent trolls." How these trolls operate is by buying and licensing patents without making the products of their own. Many major tech companies, like Apple, Google, and Samsung, have been criticized … Read more