Hubble discoveres oxygen and water on the moon

The Hubble Space Telescope has detected oxygen-rich minerals on the moon that might someday help astronauts become more self-sufficient in space.

The first high-resolution ultraviolet (UV) images ever taken of the moon have identified several promising deposits of ilmenite. The mineral could provide a crucial oxygen source for future manned lunar missions.

Ilmenite is composed of titanium and iron oxide, or rust, and contains oxygen that is relatively easy to extract.

Titanium oxide is found on Earth in mountain ranges and sedimentary deposits. On the moon, the compound could be converted for use in breathing apparatus and for producing power sources such as rocket fuel.

Tracking Code Discovered in Color Printers

It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but it isn't. The pages coming out of your color printer may contain hidden information that could be used to track you down if you ever cross the U.S. government

Last year, an article in PC World magazine pointed out that printouts from many color laser printers contained yellow dots scattered across the page, viewable only with a special kind of flashlight. The article quoted a senior researcher at Xerox Corp. as saying the dots contain information useful to law-enforcement authorities, a secret digital "license tag" for tracking down criminals.

Check the full story at Washington Post

Professor Testifies Of Doubts About Darwin

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution came under sustained attack in federal court here Monday as biochemistry professor Michael J. Behe argued that the theory fails to account for the complex biological machinery that scientists find in the corners of the human cell.

Behe, who teaches at Lehigh University, is one of the intellectual founding fathers of "intelligent design," which holds that aspects of life are so complex as to be best explained as the work of a super-intelligent designer.

PSP Gets TV Streaming Capability

Sony Computer Entertainment released its latest firmware update for the PSP the third such patch in two months in Japan, bringing the portable to version 2.50. While the upgrade to version 2.00 brought with it significant features such as an official web browser, wireless photo sharing, wallpaper support and more, 2.50 includes a few interesting upgrades as well, the most noteworthy being support for Sony's "LocationFree" streaming option.

Video content streaming anywhere
Through this feature PSP owners will now be able to stream video content to their PSPs anywhere in the world, as long as they have access to a broadband Internet connection and Wi-Fi. In order to take advantage of this service, PSP owners will need to purchase a separate LocationFree base station, which is available in America here.

Check the full story at BusinessWeek

Review of the iPod video

Apple unveiled the widely expected video iPod but surprised investors and analysts with a deal with Walt Disney Co., which owns the ABC network, to sell television shows that can be watched on the new iPod.

"It cooks, it cleans, it gets you dates, it doubles as a Ginsu knife. OK, maybe not. But it plays music and shows pictures. And now, yes, ladies and gentlemen, it plays video!"

HP recalls 135,000 laptops not to harm its customers

HP recalls 135,000 laptops over fire alarm

An overheating problem in batteries used in some HP laptops can cause their casings to melt and even catch fire. The problem lies in the battery packs, which can overheat and melt their plastic casings and, in a few cases, even catch fire.

It clearly reminds me about the recent talk with the leadership course trainer. He gave us couple of examples, when overemphasaizing the customer safety and recalling tons of items actually helped sales. Just because customers trust the company, who can recall 135,000 laptops to prevent customer accidents.

Black hole helps spawn stars

This artist's depiction, provided by NASA, demonstrates what scientists believe is happening very close to the Sagittarius A* black hole in the Milky Way. The supermassive black hole is surrounded by a disk of gas (yellow and red). Massive stars, shown in blue, have formed in this disk, while small disks represent where stars are still forming. Results from the Chandra X-ray Observatory show that stars have formed locally in this disk, rather than being deposited there by a star cluster. The mysterious black hole has helped give birth to a new generation of stars, new observations suggest. (NASA, CXC, M. Weiss / AP)

Astronomers peering through NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory announced Thursday that they believe the black hole at the center of the Milky Way helped create new stars, not just destroy them.

This Jekyll-and-Hyde nature suggested by the new finding may help scientists understand the physics of black holes, said Sterl Phinney, a professor of theoretical astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, who was not part of the study.

"Massive black holes are usually known for violence and destruction," said Sergei Nayakshin of the University of Leicester in England, who made the discovery. "So it's remarkable that this black hole helped create new stars, not just destroy them."

Researchers have debated why large stars can orbit so close to massive black holes. Black holes are believed to be the invisible remains of collapsed stars. Their gravitational pull is so powerful not even light can escape.

The latest discovery suggests the thick discs of gas orbiting black holes counteracts their huge gravitational pull, protecting stars as they form.

Check full story at Xinhua or timesunion.com