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Science & Technology

Bitcoin use in question after Silk Road drug bust

By MIKE YAMAKAWA | October 31, 2013

For two years, the Silk Road was an online, underground marketplace for narco-traffickers and other criminals: an eBay for customers interested in purchasing all sorts of illegal drugs and miscellaneous merchandise, including firearms and contract killers. While most commercial websites, such as Amazon, require some form of registration, the Silk Road didn’t require any personal information. The anonymity of Silk Road was the key to attracting thousands of criminals to the online market. Fortunately, after two years of operating in impunity, the FBI was able to shutdown the site on Oct. 2.

Google adds focus on sustainability, not productivity

By JOEL PALLY | October 31, 2013

The transformation in the mobile industry in the past eight years has been truly extraordinary. Phones have evolved from tools for simple telecommunications to mobile computing powerhouses. Mobile phone brands pride themselves on their commitment to continually to improve on their products; they manage to make their products slimmer, sleeker and faster year after year. And almost just as miraculously, demand in the mobile phone industry remains strong despite near market saturation in developed nations.

Mad scientists could create a new creature

By JOSH SCARALIA | October 31, 2013

The first successful instance of genetic modification came in 1973 when Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen successfully modified an E. coli to produce a Salmonella gene. Since then, the area of genetic engineering has taken off, producing new and different genetically modified organisms every year.

Bioethics Corner: Who is responsible for lowering healthcare costs?

By SAAD ANJUM | October 31, 2013

The Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Jon C. Tilburt et al., a former Greenwall Fellow at the Berman Institute, entitled “Views of US Physicians About Controlling Health Care Costs.” I sat down with Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD, an Assistant Professor at the Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, to talk about the results of the survey.

New prosthetics incorporate sense of touch

By JOSH SCARALIA | October 26, 2013

You’ve made it to the final round in a million dollar competition! There is one last challenge you must complete, and it seems elementary; they present two cups to you, and, while blindfolded, you must determine which cup has hot water and which cup has cold water. They blindfold you, and you put your hands out. You grab both cups and feel that one is hotter than the other. You have made your decision! Congratulations! You won!

Sunlight and wastewater could solve fuel crisis

By TONY WU | October 26, 2013

Many Americans are rather familiar with the current energy crisis. As the world population continues to grow, available fuel deposits and supplies continue to dwindle. Some estimate that the Earth will reach an energy shortage epidemic in the next 50 years.

Fruit flies are becoming the next TBI animal model

By REGINA PALATINI | October 26, 2013

Instead of studying burly 300 pound NFL linemen, a group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin – Madison (UM) have turned to an enormously different sized individual, the common fruit fly, weighing in at a little less than one milligram.

Curiosity rover confirms water in dusty Martian soil

By MELISSA STALEY | October 26, 2013

The Red Planet has long been the subject of many science fiction films and literature. Ideas of little green men and life on Mars have populated popular culture for centuries and are thought to be just the product human imagination and myth. After all, could the barren planet really be able to support life?

Apple stays competitive with new iPad updates

By SEAN YAMAKAWA | October 26, 2013

Three weeks ago, Apple announced to the world, “We still have a lot to cover.” With the iPads, Macbook Pros and Apple TVs all sorely needing a refresh to compete with other vendors, we were left to wonder what would be released. On Tuesday, we found out what Apple was up to.

Bioethics Corner: Can the government regulate your diet?

By SAAD ANJUM | October 26, 2013

The American Medical Association issued a statement that labeled obesity as a disease this past June. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the health consequences of this disease include: coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, endometrial, breast and colon cancers, hypertension and a host of other conditions.

MIT's M-block robots are capable of self-assembly

By SAMHITA ILANGO | October 18, 2013

Self-assembling robots are a new breed of a once thought to be impossible machine of another world. Not just hunks of metal and buttons that can pick up and drop objects, more than the robotic carpet cleaner Roomba, and well beyond the mechanic dance move from the 1960s, self-assembling robots have catalyzed a new generation of automatic devices.

Brain activity measured during real-life situations

By SEAN YAMAKAWA | October 18, 2013

We have always been baffled by the link between mind and brain. Even after dozens of years of research, people have not come to a general consensus on how the brain controls memories and thought. A team of researchers at Stanford University, however, recently made a breakthrough in this field in understanding how the brain acts in real-life situations.

Big Tobacco continues to have influence on market

By JOEL PALLY | October 18, 2013

When most think of the tobacco industry in this nation, they think of one that is in decline. While Big Tobacco held incredible amount of influence and controlled significant mindshare among the citizens of this nation, this no longer remains the case.

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