Bing, the new Microsoft search engine can be transformed into a porn site.
The new Microsoft search engine, Bing, which has just been released this morning, can be transformed into a porn video site in few clicks. »»
India's flag landed on Moon
At 8:34 pm Indian time Friday night (1504 UTC), India became the fourth country to land its flag on the Moon. The unmanned lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 ejected its Moon Impact Probe, which hurtled across the surface of the Moon at 1.5 kilometres per second (3000 miles per hour), and successfully crash landed near the Moon's south pole. Besides carrying three important scientific instruments, the lunar probe also carried the image of the Indian national flag, painted on all sides. »»
SpaceX rocket successfully orbits on fourth attempt
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) successfully launched and sent into orbit a Falcon 1 rocket, which was launched yesterday at 23:15 UTC from the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. »»
Chinese astronaut walks in space
A Chinese astronaut became Saturday the first astronaut from his country to walk in space when he left his space craft for a total of fifteen minutes. The entire event, which marks a new stage in China's space program, was broadcast live on national TV. »»
Stressed plants produce aspirin-like chemical
Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research have found that stressed plants produce an aspirin-like chemical, methyl salicylate. Methyl salicylate is also known as oil of wintergreen. This a semi-volatile plant hormone was detected in the air above the plants in the experiments conducted in a walnut grove near Davis, California. According to the scientists the chemical may be a sort of immune response that help protect the plants. »»
First Google Android phone unveiled, will be available soon
The first phone that runs on Google Android was unveiled today by T-Mobile. The announcement of this new handset, named the T-Mobile G1, was made in an event run by T-Mobile USA which took place today. »»
Australian frog is rediscovered after 17 years
A species of treefrog that was three years from being declared extinct was found in July in the tropical northeast of Australia. »»
Website of Bill O'Reilly, FOX News commentator, hacked in retribution
According to document-leaking website Wikileaks.org hackers bypassed security at BillOreilly.com, the official website of Fox News Channel commentator Bill O'Reilly, exposing personal information of the site's users in a document posted on the Internet. »»
Two largest known prime numbers discovered just two weeks apart, one qualifies for $100k prize
Two new records for the largest known prime number have been set, both breaking the 10 million digit threshold. On August 23, Edson Smith, a systems engineer for the Program in Computing laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles in California, United States, confirmed the primality of the number through his work as a volunteer in the distributed computing project known as the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, or GIMPS. This new prime qualifies GIMPS for a $100,000 award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), offered to the first person or group to discover a prime number of 10 million digits or more. According to GIMPS' prize agreement, $50,000 will be given to the UCLA Department of Mathematics, $25,000 will be given to charity, $20,000 will be split among previous discoverers of Mersenne primes, and GIMPS will keep the remainder for funding and other uses. Smith, who was contacted by Scientific American by phone, said that the discovery was "quite unexpected." »»
NASA considers continuing shuttle use after 2010
Michael Griffin, administrator of the American space agency, NASA has ordered a study into considering the possibility of continuing the usage of the Space Shuttle, a space vehicle that takes astronauts to the International Space Station. The agency originally planned to retire all shuttles in 2010 after mission STS-134, but concerns over staff job losses that were created by the Space Shuttle program caused Griffin to order the study. The space crafts have been in use since 1981 and it's replacements, the Ares rockets, will not be in use until 2015 causing a 5 year gap where NASA will have no manned space flights, which is the reason the agency is considering extending usage for five more years, when the vehicles can be immediately replaced by their successors. »»
73M-year-old fossilized fish found in Canada
Scientists of the British based Royal Society released a paper August 1, 2008 which studied Cretaceous era fossil finds found at the northern area of Devon Island in the 1980's. Nunavutospongia irregulara is the name of the new species of sponge found, released by Proceedings B the Royal Society's biological research journal. »»
Staffs for US presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama caught making questionable edits to Wikipedia
Wikinews has determined through an investigation that the staffs for 2008 United States presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have been spending some of their time making questionable edits to Wikipedia, the open content online encyclopedia. The investigation also found that Obama's campaign staff seems to be removing more questionable edits more often than they are making them. McCain's campaign staff in most cases is removing unflattering information in certain articles. »»
Ariane 5 rocket launches Superbird 7 and AMC-21 satellites
At 20:44 GMT on Thursday, an Ariane 5ECA rocket lifted off from ELA-3 (Launch Area 3) at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, carrying the Superbird 7 and AMC-21 satellites for the Space Communications Corporation (SCC) of Japan and SES Americom respectively. Just under thirty minutes later, AMC-21 separated from the upper stage of the carrier rocket into a geostationary transfer orbit, marking the successful completion of the launch. »»
Falcon 1 rocket fails during third launch attempt
A SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket has failed during its third attempt to reach orbit. Over four years behind schedule, the rocket lifted off from Omelek Island, part of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, at 03:34 GMT this morning, carrying three technology development satellites, and the ashes of 208 people, including astronaut Gordon Cooper, and Star Trek actor James Doohan. According to a statement issued by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the first and second stages of the rocket failed to separate, making this the third consecutive unsuccessful launch for the Falcon 1, which is yet to conduct a successful mission. Musk described the failure as a "big disappointment". »»
Potential Wikia mass exodus
Recently Wikia, a commercial company co-founded by Jimmy Wales and Angela Beesley, announced that it would be making changes in the appearances of its wikis, specifically making advertising more prominent. This change to mix advertising directly into the content has lead many Wikia hosted sites to begin discussions regarding leaving Wikia hosting for their own. As Wikia's business model hinges entirely upon user-generated content, large numbers of sites leaving could leave Wikia in financial trouble. Wikia has recently lost a couple of editors and some Janitors as well because of this. »»
NASA to extend the Phoenix probe mission by 5 weeks
The Phoenix probe that was sent to Mars has had its mission extended. Part of Phoenix's mission was to chemically analyze soil samples, and to confirm the presence of water ice. The ice was confirmed by the use of an instrument that can identify vapours; it was heated until it melted at 0°C (32°F), the melting point for water. »»
Kosmos-3M launches final SAR-Lupe satellite
A Kosmos-3M carrier rocket has successfully launched the SAR-Lupe 5 satellite, the fifth and final member of the German SAR-Lupe surveillance satellite system. The rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia at 02:20 GMT this morning. The SAR-Lupe system uses Synthetic Aperture radar (SAR) to detect objects on the ground, even when it is too dark or cloudy for optical reconnaissance. »»
Human cells grow blood vessels in mice
Researchers in the United States reported Saturday that cells from human bone marrow, blood and umbilical cords successfully grew into blood vessels after being placed in mice. The group at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston stated that the human cells, referred to as "progenitor cells", connected to the circulatory system of the mice. The team, lead by Harvard associate professor of medicine Joyce Bischoff, reported their findings in the journal Circulation Research, published by the American Heart Association. »»
Zenit-3SL rocket launches Echostar XI satellite
At 05:20:59 GMT 16th of July, the Echostar XI satellite was successfully launched into a geosynchronous transfer orbit atop a Zenit-3SL carrier rocket. Launch occurred from the Ocean Odyssey launch platform in the Pacific Ocean. The launch was conducted by Sea Launch, a partnership between companies in Norway, Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Echostar XI separated from the Block DM-SL upper stage of the carrier rocket at 06:21:00 GMT, one hour and one second after liftoff. It was confirmed 11 seconds later. »»
American pioneering heart surgeon Michael E. DeBakey dies at age 99
Michael Ellis DeBakey, world renowned heart surgeon has died in Houston, Texas at the age of 99. »»
Chaotic first day for iPhone 3G
Apple's new 3G iPhone was introduced to consumers in 21 nations on Friday, but its first sales day was marred by minimal supplies and sluggish phone activations. »»
UK mathematician Nick Higham wins Fröhlich Prize
The London Mathematical Society annouced this week that the Fröhlich prize has been awarded to Professor Nicholas Higham FRS, of the School of Mathematics, University of Manchester, in recognition of his leading contributions to numerical linear algebra and numerical stability analysis. »»
40th Ariane 5 rocket launches ProtoStar-1 and Badr-6 satellites
An Ariane 5ECA rocket has successfully launched two satellites. The European carrier rocket lifted off from ELA-3 (Launch Area 3) at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, South America, at 21:47 GMT this evening, carrying the ProtoStar-1 and Badr-6 spacecraft. »»
Chinese Wikipedia unblocked by government
According to reports, the government of China has stopped restricting access to the Chinese Wikipedia in some parts of the country starting on July 3. »»
Search-and-rescue dog that found 9/11 survivor to be cloned
A German shepherd who recovered the last survivor of the September 11, 2001 attacks is to be cloned. His owner, former Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada police officer James Symington, entered an essay writing contest about why his dog should be cloned. »»
The North Pole may possibly be ice free by summer
The National Snow and Ice Data Center based in Boulder, Colorado that there will be a 50% chance that the already thin ice on the North Pole will melt away this September as a result of the on-going global warming. »»
Asteroid slammed into Mars' northern hemisphere
An asteroid the size of Pluto slammed into the Northern hemisphere of Mars creating the Borealis basin, based on the latest survey of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Global Surveyor. »»
Proton rocket launches Prognoz satellite
At 23:59 GMT yesterday, a Russian Proton rocket, with a Block DM-2 upper stage, launched from Site 81/24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, placing a Prognoz satellite for the Russian Ministry of Defence into a geosynchronous orbit. Prognoz satellites are used for missile detection, as a defence against nuclear attacks. »»
NASA says Martian soil could sustain life
The scientists behind the Mars Phoenix Lander project announced that the soil on Mars was more alkaline than expected and could sustain life. »»
Brazilian tribe is neither a new discovery nor a hoax
In late May to early June of 2008, news broke that a previously undiscovered indigenous tribe had been discovered near the border between Brazil and Peru. Worldwide media was quick to publish the story and the accompanying photographs taken by José Carlos Meirelles. The photos showed people in full body paint aiming bows at the overhead aircraft from which the pictures were taken. Mister-info.com covered the story as well. »»
Technology giants battle for USB 3.0 standards
Even though the USB 3.0 standard, with transmission speeds nearing 5GB/s, has not yet matured and is not expected until 2009 or 2010, technology leaders Intel, AMD, and nVidia are battling to take the lead on the USB 3.0 specifications. »»
Phoenix lander confirms presence of water ice on Mars
For the first time ever, NASA has confirmed the presence of water ice on Mars. The Phoenix lander which landed on Mars on May 25, has confirmed to scientists that the white substance it found while digging a trench on June 15, is water ice. »»
Jason-2 satellite launched to measure sea levels
The Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM), or Jason-2, satellite, has been launched into low Earth orbit. A Delta II rocket carrying the satellite lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2W at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, United States, at 07:46 GMT this morning. Spacecraft separation occurred around an hour later, and the solar panels on the satellite have deployed. »»
NASA: White substance photographed by Phoenix lander on Mars 'must have been ice'
White 'chunks' that were photographed by the Phoenix lander on Mars on June 15 after digging a trench, have disappeared, leading scientists to believe they most certainly found ice on the Red Planet. »»
Kosmos-3M rocket launches six Orbcomm satellites
Six Orbcomm satellites have been launched by a Russian Kosmos-3M carrier rocket. Lift-off, from Site 107 at the Kapustin Yar launch site in South-West Russia, occurred at 06:36:28 GMT. This is the first orbital launch to occur from Kapustin Yar since April 1999. »»
Police charge Australian man over laser incident
A 19-year-old man from the Sydney, Australia suburb of Bella Vista has been charged with interfering with a crew member while in an aircraft after a laser stunned the crew of a police helicopter last night. »»
Scientists say genetic building blocks are from out of this world
A team of scientists from the United States, United Kingdom and the Netherlands have determined that chemicals in a meteorite that form the building blocks of DNA and RNA had formed before the meteorite fell to Earth. In a paper published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters on June 15, the team documents an examination of molecules found in the Murchison meteorite, fragments of which landed near the village of Murchison, Victoria in Australia in 1969. »»
Mozilla breaks new record for most downloads in 24 hours
Mozilla's new browser Firefox 3.0 has been downloaded over 8 million times in just under 24 hours. The Mozilla Foundation has encouraged users worldwide to download their latest browser in an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records, with what is referred to as Download Day 2008. The target of five million downloads was reached earlier on June 18, and with several hours to go, the seven million mark was reached as well. »»
Most complete dinosaur from Britain goes on display
Bristol, United Kingdom – The most complete dinosaur to be found in the United Kingdom has recently been put on public display. »»
Ariane rocket launches Skynet and Turksat spacecraft
An Ariane 5ECA rocket has successfully placed two communications satellites into Geosynchronous transfer orbit. Liftoff, from ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre occurred at 22:05:02 GMT this evening. »»
2008 Google Developer Day starts from Yokohama, Japan
2008 The 2nd-annual Google Developer Day started its tournament from Pasifico Yokohama, Japan as its first stage. According to Google, this programmer-based event is similar as Google I/O, the largest programming event only available in USA, held earlier on May 28 & 29 at San Francisco, California. »»
NASA's Phoenix Lander has an oven full of Martian soil
NASA's Phoenix Lander has begun to cook a scoop full of Martian soil. For reasons unknown to scientists, and after several seemingly unsuccessful attempts to break up the soil, a large amount was discovered to have passed though a screen leading to an on board oven. »»
Delta II rocket launches GLAST observatory
The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) satellite has been launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy carrier rocket. Lift-off occurred from Launch Complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United States, at 16:05 GMT. Spacecraft separation occurred about 75 minutes after launch, just before 17:20 GMT. The launch was reported to have been successful. »»
US energy department reveals world's fastest computer
The US Department of Energy yesterday unveiled the IBM Roadrunner, the world's fastest computer. The computer, which is designed to conduct virtual tests for nuclear weapons, is able to carry out 1,000 trillion (or 1 quadrillion) calculations in one second. »»
USA: Apple launches 3G iPhone and lower the price
Apple Computers today launched a 3G version of its iPhone device. Steve Jobs, the Apple Chief Executive Officer, announced the development at a developers' conference, where he promoted the iPhone by saying that, “just one year after launching the iPhone, we’re launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price.” »»
Long March 3B rocket launches Chinasat-9 satellite
A Chinese Long March 3B carrier rocket has launched the Chinasat-9 satellite. The rocket lifted off from pad 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 12:15 GMT this afternoon. Chinasat-9, also known as Zhongxing-9 and ZX-9, is a communications satellite, which will initially be used to relay coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games. The launch was conducted by the China Great Wall Industrial Corporation. »»
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft having trouble analyzing soil samples
NASA has stated that the Mars Phoenix lander is having trouble analyzing soil samples that its robotic arm is collecting. According to NASA, the soil appears to be too clodded to pass through screens on the way to Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA). »»
U.S. ISPs to test restricting heavy Internet users
On June 3rd, 2008, two United States Internet service providers (ISPs) announced they would begin tests to slow web access for their most active customers and charge them for extra speed. »»
Phoenix spacecraft makes first 'impression' on Mars
The robotic arm scoop on the Phoenix lander on Mars has made its first impression on the red planet, leaving behind a mark that resembles a human footprint. It began its first dig on the Martian surface on Saturday May 31 and the camera on board the arm caught an image of the first dig. »»
NASA says Phoenix spacecraft may have landed on ice
According to NASA, new images received from the Phoenix lander on Mars shows a possible layer of ice on its landing site. Scientists received the images on Friday May 30 from the craft's robotic arm camera. The image was taken on the fifth Martian day, or Sol 5. »»