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Google's Eric Schmidt to fly to North Korea tomorrow

Update Jan. 7 at 7:44 a.m. PT: Schmidt and Richardson have arrived in North Korea, according to the AP.

Despite the objections of the U.S. State Department, Eric Schmidt plans to leave for North Korea tomorrow.

Google's executive chairman is in Beijing and scheduled to depart on a commercial flight for a four-day humanitarian mission to the reclusive country, according to an Associated Press report. Schmidt is part of a delegation led by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

CNET has contacted Google for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

The U.… Read more

Lifelens malaria app wins Microsoft 'Imagine Cup' grant

After taking second place in the 2011 Imagine Cup finals, Team Lifelens of the U.S. is one of four teams from around the world to win a $75,000 Imagine Cup grant, Microsoft announced today at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The Lifelens project is run by students at universities across the country who have been working since November 2010 on an app that can image malaria cells for fast diagnosis right there on the phone, sans Internet.

The premise is straightforward. Apply a blood sample to a slide with a dye that only malaria … Read more

Awards go to groups bringing power, homes, health to the poor

A group working to save land in Namibia, projects bringing power to Indian villages and building earthquake-resistant homes in Indonesia, the maker of a single-use syringe, and a group that uses technology in classrooms in India were the winners of the Tech Museum awards held Wednesday.

The Biomass Energy Project, Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia won the 2008 Intel Environment Award. The group converts invasive bush into clean fuel. It employs 15 people at a biomass processing plant that uses a high-pressure extrusion process to create an economically viable alternative to firewood, coal, and charcoal. The fund is working to … Read more