Laser beams could be used to create rain

Firing laser beams into humid air could give scientists control over when and where rain falls, a new study claims

By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent

Researchers from the University of Geneva used lasers to create water droplets in the air, in a development which could eventually lead to man-made weather systems.

Although the technique, known as laser-assisted water condensation, does not work in dry air scientists were able to generate the droplets in very humid conditions over the Rhône river in Switzerland.

The drops created – just thousandths of a millimetre across – were nowhere near heavy enough to fall as rain but the experts hope that by making them hundreds of times larger they will be able to create or prevent rainfall in the right conditions.

The method works by firing laser beams into the air, creating nitric acid particles which draw water molecules together and stop them from evaporating, according to a study in the Nature Communications journal.

If the process is repeated in air currents that are blowing towards mountains, the researchers hope the air will cool enough that the droplets grow large enough to fall as rain.

Sony unveils world's first 3D head-mounted display that is as immersive as 'sitting in a cinema'

The HMZ device enables the wearer to experience cinema-like viewing, equivalent to watching a 750-inch screen from 20 metres away

By Graham Smith

Technology giant Sony has unveiled a head-mounted display that takes the wearer into a 3D cinema of videos, music and games.

The HMZ personal 3D viewer is being targetted at people who prefer solitary entertainment rather than sitting in front of a television with family or friends.

Resembling a futuristic visor, the £480 ($800) device is worn like a pair of chunky goggles and earphones in one.

The HMZ - which stands for head-mounted display - displays footage that is crystal clear.

It is equipped with two 0.7in high definition organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels and 5.1 channel dynamic audio headphone.

The gadget enables the wearer to experience cinema-like viewing, equivalent to watching a 750-inch screen from 20 metres away,

The music video on display at a Sony showcase for reporters in Tokyo was of a Japanese singer and was so clear that it felt like peering into a dolls house in which a real-life tiny singer is moving.

It seems unlikely that most people - or even technology enthusiasts - will want to buy a product that involves sitting alone and wearing a little helmet.

For this reason, the HMZ might not be Sony's long-awaited answer to Apple's iPod or iPad, but just another quirky device packed with cutting-edge technology that is headed for a limited niche following.

Nintendo's Virtual Boy, a 3-D wearable gaming machine that went on sale in the 1990s, bombed, partly because of the bulky headgear required as well as the image being all red.

Sony's latest product is far more sophisticated, delivering an experience that is as immersive as sitting in one of the best seats in a cinema.

It is not recommended for people 15 years old and younger because some experts believe overly stimulating imagery is not good for teenagers whose brains are still developing, according to Shigeru Kato, a Sony vice president.

On the plus side, consumers are growing more accustomed to 3D these days, with the arrival of 3D TVs and game machines.

The HMZ uses Sony's own OLED screen, a relatively new kind of display that relays superb image quality and colour, compared to the more prevalent liquid crystal and plasma displays used in laptops and flat-panel TVs.

Mr Kato said the major challenge had been making a very small display without compromising image quality.

The HMZ is set to go on sale in Japan on November 11; a U.S. and European release could come as early as Christmas.

Ahmadinejad: Iran is determined to eradicate Israel

Iranian president says those who are for humanity should also be for eradicating Israel, since the 'Zionist regime is a symbol of suppression and discrimination.'

By DPA

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was determined to eradicate Israel, ISNA news agency reported Thursday.

"Iran believes that whoever is for humanity should also be for eradicating the Zionist regime (Israel) as symbol of suppression and discrimination," Ahmadinejad said in an interview with a Lebanese television network, carried by ISNA.

"Iran follows this issue (the eradication of Israel) with determination and decisiveness and will never ever withdraw from this standpoint and policy," the Iranian president added in the interview with the Al-Manar network.

The remarks by Ahmadinejad came one day before the annual anti-Israeli rallies named Qods (Jerusalem) Day, which are held nationwide in Iran on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Ahmadinejad on Monday said that Iranians and Muslim nations worldwide should hold Qods rallies and show their willingness to dispose of this "infectious tumor and this regime full of rascality."

The Iranian president provoked international condemnation in 2005 when he said that Israel should be eliminated from the map of the Middle East and transferred to Europe or North America.

Hospital patients now being microchipped with "electronic tattoos"

by: Christina Luisa / natural news

(NaturalNews) Being microchipped is now being spun as a method of protecting the health of hospital patients. To help mask the practice of this bodily invasion with a trendy, high-tech appearance, microchipping sensors are being referred to as "electronic tattoos" that can attach to human skin and stretch and move without breaking.

Supposedly the comparisons of this hair-thin electronic patch-like chip to an electronic tattoo are being made because of how it adheres to the skin like a temporary tattoo using only water.

The small chip is less than 50 micrometers thick, which is thinner in diameter than a human hair. It is being marketed as a "safe" and easy way to temporarily monitor the heart and brain in patients while replacing bulky medical equipment currently being used in hospitals.

This device uses micro-electronics technology called an epidermal electronic system (EES) and is said to be a development that will "transform" medical sensing technology, computer gaming and even spy operations, according to a study published last week.

The hair-thin chip was developed by an international team of researchers from the United States, China and Singapore and is described in the Journal of Science.

The proven link between animal microchipping and cancer

Pet microchips have become increasingly common over the past few years. These chips are marked with a small barcode that can be scanned just like the tags on grocery items.

This seems to suggest that microchips are meant to turn the wearer into an object that can be tracked and catalogued. Once inserted in an animal, the chip stays there for the entirety of its lifetime and can be used to identify the pet if it should be found on the street or turned into a shelter. The subdermal chips are often recommended by vets and animal care experts as a way to ensure lost pets find their way home again.

But research suggests that despite their proclaimed usefulness, pet microchips may cause cancer. Multiple studies have clearly linked pet microchips with increased incidence of cancer and tumors in mice and rats.

In the past, public disclosure of these suggested links between microchipping and cancer in animals stirred widespread concern over the safety of implantable microchips in living beings. The animal microchip study findings that created such an uproar were so persuasive that Dr. Robert Benezra, head of the Cancer Biology Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, was quoted in an article about microchipping as saying, "There's no way in the world, having read this information, that I would have one of those chips implanted in my skin, or in one of my family members."

A 2001 study found that 1% of rats with implanted microchips developed cancerous tumors near the chip location. At least a dozen animal studies have been done between 1990 and 2007 and most concluded that microchips significantly increased the risk of cancer at the microchip site.

Soon we'll all have "cool electronic tattoos!"

All the electronic parts of the new EES chip are built out of wavy, snake-like components which allow them to be stretched and squeezed. They also contain tiny solar cells which can generate power or get energy from electromagnetic radiation. The sensor is mounted on to a water-soluble sheet of plastic and attached to the body by brushing the surface with water - hence the comparison to a temporary tattoo.

This new device being implanted in hospital patients certainly looks and acts like a microchip - yet it is persistently being referred to as an "electronic tattoo" in order to make the concept appear harmless, friendly - even trendy!

Invasive microchips - is the cost worth the convenience?

Scientists claim the supposed advantage of the EES chips is their ability to cut back on the bevy of wires, gel-coated sticky pads and monitors that are currently relied on to keep track of the vital signs of hospital patients. Apparently these traditional forms of bulky equipment and monitors are overly "distressing" to patients.

It appears scientists believe these new microchips are convenient enough that they outweigh the potential risks.

In test trials, the microchip was purposefully attached to the throat of a human and used to detect differences in words such as up, down, left, right, go and stop. Researchers used these functions to control a simple computer game.

Is the convenience of not having to manually operate equipment great enough to justify the implantation of an electronic sensor beneath the skin of humans? Would you trust a microchip to monitor your bodily functions without causing health hazards in the process?

The future of America: microchipped zombies

Researchers believe the technology could be used to replace traditional wires and cables, but this sounds remarkably like an excuse used to cover up the real truth: that this new microchipping method is a way to ensure all of us are eventually microchipped and able to be tracked and monitored. Soon, everyone will be required to wear chips or "tattoos" that prove they got their vaccinations, to link to health records, credit history and social security records.

If the government can require Americans to carry microchipped documents including your work, financial and health records, it seems it is only a matter of time before these chips will be implanted for the sake of "convenience" or "security." According to them, all of this is being done "for our own good."

Tim Cook has become world's most powerful gay man

By Sarah O'Carroll, Business Editor / news.com.au

NON-inclusive workplaces and a lack of role models are two of the biggest challenges for gay people looking to get ahead in the corporate world.

Not for too much longer, hope diversity activists, following the appointment of Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

Cook's rise to the top of the most valuable company in the world could well mean he has become the world's most powerful gay man.

Cook, who had been notoriously silent on his sexuality before being outed as gay earlier this year by tech media, was ranked number one in Out magazine’s Power 50 index in May, taking over the top spot from US talk show host Ellen Degeneres.

The 50-year-old engineer was noted as a "leader-in-waiting" after taking the CEO reins on numerous occasions while Jobs was on sick leave.

He joined Apple in 1998 and served as Chief Operating Officer responsible for the company's worldwide sales and operations.

He has been described in the past as the genius behind Jobs and a key to the success of Apple's operations. He will now be hailed as a role model for gay people in the corporate world.

"I think that it's a fantastic development," said Nareen Young, CEO of Diversity Council of Australia.

"What it reinforces is that gay and lesbian people are everywhere and the fact that they have are reaching the senior echelons of business is an achievement."

She added: "While there are a lot of role models out there, having a gay person at the helm of one of the world’s biggest companies might encourage people to come out who haven’t felt comfortable doing so in the past,” said Young.

Rodney Croome, spokesman of Australian Marriage Equality, said: “There are still many gay and lesbian people at high levels of the corporate world who are afraid to come out. Cook's appointment will help open the corporate closet."

When Cook arrived at Apple he was instructed with the task of cleaning up the manufacturing, distribution and global supply system.

Before Apple, he was vice president of Corporate Materials for Compaq and also spend 12 years with IBM which was named as Australia’s most gay-friendly employer at an awards ceremony in May.