Scientists devise a method to create waterproof, magnetic, and antibacterial paper
It may look and work like ordinary paper, but it’s a lot tougher than it looks
Thanks to scientists from the?Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, time may come when you don’t have to worry about spilling water on?books. The researchers have?come up with a way to make paper impervious not only to liquid but also to bacteria while retaining all of its papery properties ? you can still write and print on it like any other paper out there in spite of its super-paper capabilities.
So how does a seemingly normal piece of paper repel liquid and bacteria anyway? The magic happens at the molecular level. The scientists have devised a way so that particular nanoparticles wrap around each minuscule paper fiber like a shell. For instance, adding iron oxide nanoparticles makes the paper magnetic, while adding silver nanoparticles gives it the power to repel bacteria. The same process could also be used to create magnetic and self-cleaning paper, and paper that glows in the dark!
According to head researcher Dr. Roberto Cingolani, antibacterial paper has the potential to be widely used for food packaging and?medical applications. Fluorescent and magnetic paper could be used to make?currency, while waterproof paper could be used to print highly important documents like those that protect cultural heritage. If only the modified paper can also?play music, then it’ll be perfect!
[Image credit: Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia]
[via?Forbes]
This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca
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Amazing photo: Cargo vehicle docks with space station over Earth’s city lights (+video)
Last week astronauts delivered an incredible image of a robotic cargo vehicle docking with the International Space Station.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured an extraordinary photo of an unmanned European cargo ship as it docked to the orbiting outpost last week.
Skip to next paragraph The International Space Station video update for April 9, 2012.
The European Space Agency’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-3) launched into orbit on March 23, and arrived at the space station five days later, on March 28. The robotic cargo ship delivered about 7 tons of supplies, including water, oxygen, food, clothing, experiments and propellant.
The robotic ATV vehicles are designed to automatically dock to the space station. In this photo, the ATV-3 is approaching its parking spot at the Zvezda service module on the Russian segment of the orbiting complex.
The photo shows the ATV-3′s distinctive x-wing solar arrays bathed in light from the spacecraft’s sophisticated laser guidance system. The starry night sky and the glow of lights from Earth below make up the remarkable backdrop, as the two vehicles fly 240 miles (386 kilometers) above the planet.
American astronaut Don Pettit shared a version of the docking photo on Twitter the following day.
“ATV docks, breathing fire and bringing good stuff,” Pettit wrote under the name @astro_Pettit.
?The cylindrical spacecraft is 35 feet (10.7 meters) long and 14.7 feet (4.5 meters) wide. The 13-ton cargo freighter is disposable and will remain attached to the space station for up to six months before it is loaded with garbage and sent to deliberately burn up as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere.
While NASA reported a power issue on the ATV-3 last weekend and a communications glitch on Thursday (April 5), both issues have since been resolved, and all systems are functioning normally, agency officials confirmed.
The European ATV vehicles are typically named after prominent historical figures in astronomy or space exploration. The ATV-3 is named “Edoardo Amaldi,” after the famed Italian physicist who helped create the European Space Agency.
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The United Kingdoms Largest CSS & Team Fortress Gaming …
Sooooooo Lets have a CSS skinned fight night, there will be Bunnies, rabbits and a rather odd easter egg thing. See you there, This Sunday 8pm Css Main. Cawa
Lo all, its easter, the time when Rabbits are cute and cuddly and hens lay chocolate eggs, some times with yellow and white creamy stuff that tastes like a sugar explosion.
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Stocks set for ugly open following jobs report
Click the chart for more premarket data.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks were set to drop at the open Monday, as investors deal with the hangover from last week’s disappointing jobs report.
In addition, a higher-than-expected reading on inflation in China added to the worries.
However, tech shares may buck the trend. AOL (AOL) shares surged more than 30% in premarket trading Monday after the company said it agreed to sell more than 800 patents to Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) for about $1 billion in cash.
Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were down about 1%. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.
On Friday, the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 120,000 jobs in March, following three straight monthly gains of 200,000 jobs or more, a trend that economists expected would continue.
Although U.S. markets were closed in observance of Good Friday, U.S. stock futures were trading Friday, and they tumbled as investors expressed their disappointment in the jobs numbers.
Meanwhile, investors flocked toward the safety of U.S. government debt, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury notes to the lowest level in nearly a month.
But although Monday looks to be weak, Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners, said he did not believe the jobs numbers would prompt a dramatic bear run.
“This has been a very uneven recovery, and from time to time, this happens,” he said. “I think the declines will be contained.”
Cardillo added that he expected investors to be cautious ahead of the looming round of corporate results, which will begin coming in later this week.
With no major economic reports on tap for Monday, investors will be stuck digesting the dour jobs report and the decidedly mixed economic data that has been delivered in recent weeks.
Economy: The Chinese government reported Monday that inflation rose at an annual rate of 3.6% in March, higher than expected.
The report comes amid concerns over whether China will be able to ease back from the breakneck growth of recent years without experiencing a “hard landing.”
In the evening, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a speech in Stone Mountain, Ga., on “fostering financial stability.”
Following the disappointing jobs report, investors will pay close attention to any comments from the central bank chief on the current economic situation.
Companies: Shares of aluminum producer Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) were down 1.4% ahead of Monday’s open, with worries about the materials sector looming ahead of the latest round of corporate results. Analysts are predicting a 14.5% drop in earnings for the sector, according to FactSet.
Alcoa will report after the closing bell on Tuesday, marking the unofficial start of earnings season.
AT&T (T, Fortune 500) shares were down 0.5% ahead of the open. The company said Sunday that it had yet to reach a deal with its union on a new contract after the old one expired, but that workers would stay on the job while negotiations continue.
Beauty company Avon Products (AVP, Fortune 500) announced Monday that it had named former Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) executive Sheri McCoy as its new CEO. The company was in the news last week after it rejected a $10 billion takeover bid from industry rival Coty Inc.
World markets: Markets in Germany, the United Kingdom and France were closed for the Easter holiday.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei (N225) lost 1.5%, while the Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) slid 0.9%. Hong Kong was closed.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained against the euro and the British pound but fell against the Japanese yen.
Oil for May delivery slipped $1.62 to $101.69 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $13.10 to $1641.60 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 2.03%.?
First Published: April 9, 2012: 6:21 AM ET
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iPhone App: ?If Alarm Clock? Wakes You Based on Weather Alerts, Records Sleeping Habits and Generates Reports
There is no doubt the App Store is brimming with loads of intriguing apps for the discerning iPhone user. However, there are very few which impress you at first sight and force you to buy them… at any cost.
The “If Alarm Clock” is one such unusual app that seems to have become vastly popular among independent developers and rivals Twitter apps.
If you’re looking for a new alarm clock for your iPhone, you don’t have to look beyond the App Store. Of the, all, though, the “If Alarm Clock” stands in a league of its own, thanks to its special ability to wake you, according to the developers, either at pre-defined times or based on weather conditions or even earlier than a pre-set time.
The other feature that grabs your attention is its ability to monitor your sleeping periods and create a monthly report on your sleeping habits. It’s an ideal tool for those suffering from sleeping disorders and undergoing some rehabilitation program. Just place the iPhone on your bed right beside you and it cleverly monitors your movements.
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There is a downside, though. In order to enable your iPhone to monitor your sleep cycle, it needs to be kept unlocked, with the app open and screen active; this, naturally, leads to quick battery drain.
App Monitoring Weather alerts and setting the alarm accordingly – Photo: iTunes App Store
According to RedmondPie, the developer states the iPhone needs to be at least 75 percent charged to successfully monitor right through the night without completely draining its battery. Well, that doesn’t seem to be a great idea but we could leave the phone plugged in to bypass the drain problem.
App monitoring user movements to generate reports – Photo: iTunes App Store
“If Alarm Clock” is priced at $1.99 and it definitely gives you bang for your buck in comparison to the plethora of basic alarm clocks on offer from the App Store. The usefulness of the app depends on how much data you really do need to create or use. If nothing else, an alarm clock that wakes you based on weather alerts and helps you maintain a healthy sleep cycle is itself surely worth two dollars.
Download If Alarm Clock for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch [iTunes link]
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Facebook Buys Instagram For $1 Billion – Business Insider
Facebook just bought Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock.
Instagram is a mobile-only photo-sharing app.?It grew from 1 million users in January 2011 to 15 million in December 2011. It has 30 million users now.
What’s great about it is that it is very fast ? especially compared to Facebook.
With the Facebook iPhone app,?there are 6 screens a user has to go through before a user can actually take a picture.?With Instagram, there is one.
In February, we described Instagram as the biggest threat to Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg just announced the news on Facebook:
I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.
For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.
We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.
That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.
We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.
These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.
This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.
We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.
UPDATE: We’re hitting this story from all angles today. Here’s what you need to know:
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How The IPO Ruined Google
I?m a Google-phile. Or at least, I was. Lately, my gut?s felt a bit wobbly every time someone mentions the big G. Page, Brin and company have lost their focus. Once, they helped us all find the stuff we needed. Now, they spend their time in slap fights with Facebook. It?s almost like the Googlers are no longer in charge at Google. That?s because they?re not. The Google IPO put the company?s fate in the hands of investors. And it?s ruined the company. IPO-bashing is popular right now. But I?m not just jumping on the bandwagon here. The evidence is pretty damning: Pre-IPO, Google was laser-focused on being the best tool on earth for search-and-discovery, and they appeared unstoppable. Post-IPO, the company has lurched from one social media debacle to another.
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Funding needed for an Insurance Company that … – Curing Capital
?Insurance That Covers Your Investment
I know its hard to believe that there?will?soon be?an insurance company that protects and covers your entire investment, whether it be in an existing company or in an early stage company should they go out of business for any reason. This is about to be a?reality. Imagine?calling all?of your investors and telling them that the $50 million your about to put into 30 new exciting early stage company?s?will be totally be protected against?loss from business failure!? Now imagine contacting everyone you know that needs money, $250,000 to $5 million and telling them to go to?the featured company?s?web site, answer?the underwriting?questions about your company and then press the submit button. ??Shortly thereafter, you will get your approval letter online. Now, if you don?t?get a thumbs up immediately,?the Company will work with?your company to strengthen the identified weak areas of your submission plan so you can be given the go ahead.? Sales and?marketing support are usual weaknesses or?lack of?management experience, so they will?do everything possible to make sure each company becomes confirmed and?insured.
How big is this market?:?? The market is valued at up to $25 Billion, with little to no?competition.? The need for such a creative insurance program is overwhelming. With 160,000 new company?s looking for money in 2012, the featured Company expects to insure for funding between 250 to 500 company?s in it?s first year.
FDIC for Investors!
Tell me more:?? It?took?eight years (8) to produce and collect?enough data for executing this plan. The market is now ready. We have also completed an extensive feasibility and actuary study that was mandatory as part of the licensing requirement by the DOI, and valuation work for this new product market. The completed work on the proprietary database will allow this company to form alliances with several data providers, such as FICO, D&B and Equifax.
How does the process work?:??? If your Company is looking for equity or debt funding they will go through an evaluation process.?The process begins with a proprietary database of Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code companies covering the period from 1929 through today. The program identifies the critical success and failure outcomes for most U.S. business industries and issues over 150 qualifying questions about the business as part of the due diligence process. ??Other considerations reviewed in the final determination of whether or not the Company qualifies for the insurance are:?? Product, Business model, Marketing Plan, Management and Financial?s. From this electronic model, an initial premium is then calculated, evaluated and then may be underwritten, while being closely monitored by the featured Company for the life of the policy.
Their Main Policy Has Potential Underwriting?of $2.5-3.7 Billion Dollars in Risk Per Year
When you are given the green light , the company will underwrite this new form of insurance policy by insuring the business themselves and naming the investors as policy beneficiaries against certain types of business failures. The investor protection policy will insure debt or equity investments in both public and private business ventures, providing an unprecedented level of protection to investors, and facilitating a stable investment environment for the upstart, growth or newly public company.
Why hasn?t this been done before:????One of the issues was no one could figure out how to accurately quantify the risk involved and make investment insurance profitable, but now the program is completed and designed to allow insurance protection for?the investors against loss and providing companies the necessary capital for future growth. ?The program works similar to how the FDIC is implemented for Banks and also similar to how the FICO?system works for consumer loans. Bottom line is that the program/Fico and the FDIC all are designed to safely and profitably insure investors and/or lenders against risk of loss.
Facts
- 20 Million small firms in the U.S. and fewer than 3,400 receive venture capital.
- Insurance for investors and commercial lenders, to protect them against losses on their investment is a no-brainer.
- Each year over 120,000 new businesses are looking for capital and the company?s next 12-18 month goal is for a total?of 500 to have made it through their program.
- According to market research and industry sources including Thomas Registry, Dunn & Bradstreet and The Insurance
- Industry Association, the overall potential for small to medium new business insurance premiums are projected to be?over a $2 trillion dollar industry by the end of 2012.? Currently, not a single company covers this type of risk.
Management:
Founder, Chairman & CEO:? Over 30 years experience leading private and public companies in the technology, insurance and corporate finance sectors. Prior experience includes, Digiboard International Corp., Scriptel Holding, Inc., Greater Ohio Securities, Inc.,?Massachusetts Mutual and Penn Mutual Insurance company.
CFO: A licensed CPA in the State of Ohio for over 30 years and professional experience includes positions with Coopers and Labrador (now Price Water House Coopers) and real estate property management.
VP of Marketing: A seasoned veteran who as served as President/CEO/Director of 10 companies in his 32 years of business experience. Responsible for having Managed, Marketed and Funded a variety of companies. He was directly responsible for having raised over $100 million dollars in financing for these company?s as well as other business ventures. He has taken 3 companies public and served as President or CEO, running and managing the day to day operations of the 3 public companies.
CTO: A 20 year career as an Investment Banker who primarily focused on small businesses. Prior to joining the featured Company, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Investment Company where his expertise included specializing in asset management, distribution, training and business statistics.
DDO: Was the lead developer for military and commercial projects for over 13 years specializing in software development and engineering utilizes all applications of C, HTML, DHTML, Java Sever Pages, Java, ActiveX, Active Server Pages, COM, JavaScript, Vbscript, and XML technologies. Positions held: Research Scientist for Battelle Memorial Institute and as a Science Engineer for Ford Aerospace.
Opportunity:
This is a private program, not a government run program. That means that there will be competition, instead of a government-run monopoly and there should be big profits, particularly for those who get in early, thanks to the miracle of leverage.?? By law, Insurance Companies are allowed to write up to $3 dollars of insurance premiums for each dollar of stated capital. With $5 million in capital in the bank, the Company could write up to $15 million in premiums to start. This product will benefit every financial advisor as well as provide services unavailable until recently to their clients.
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Accused Afghan shooter’s lawyer wants military counsel fired
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The civilian attorney representing the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan villagers wants to replace the military lawyer assigned to the case after disagreements over how to handle his defense.
“You are fired, sorry, but we have much more experience than you,” Seattle-based John Henry Browne, the outspoken lawyer who has been the public face of the defense of Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said in an email to military lawyer Major Thomas Hurley.
The Army assigns defense counsel such as Hurley to soldiers facing court martial but defendants also have the right to hire additional civilian counsel, in this case Browne. Any change in military counsel would have to be approved by the Army.
Browne’s associate Emma Scanlan confirmed the decision, saying she and her boss looked forward to working with another lawyer. “We wish Major Hurley the best in his future endeavors,” she said by email. Hurley declined to comment.
Browne’s team wants to work with a military attorney with death penalty case experience, the email to Hurley from Browne, part of a chain obtained by Reuters, showed. Hurley has more than 60 military cases under his belt, with three involving homicide charges, but none were capital cases.
The decision comes after friction between the civilian and military lawyers over Browne’s aggressive media strategy, and each side has accused the other of not being team players.
“Major Hurley is not a team player and has no experience in murder cases, we do,” Browne wrote in a separate email to Reuters. “We have gotten 17 not guilty verdicts in murder cases and have gotten life verdicts in all our death penalty cases.”
For his part, Hurley said Browne was the one who was not playing his role on the team.
Last week, Browne unleashed a unilateral public attack on the way U.S. prosecutors are handling the investigation into the shooting and accused U.S. authorities of blocking access to potential witnesses.
There was also disagreement over the decision to put Bales’ wife on the Today show, where she said her husband showed no signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, potentially damaging Bales’ most likely defense.
Karilyn Bales also said her husband was ready to be deployed to Afghanistan, in the interview with Today’s Matt Lauer, parts of which were broadcast on March 25 and 26 on NBC.
Bales said she was not sure what post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms might be, but her husband did not have nightmares, trouble concentrating or display any erratic behavior shifts.
Such interviews “limit our options at trial or expose important witnesses to effective cross-examination that they would otherwise not have to face,” Hurley said in the email chain obtained by Reuters.
Browne told Reuters Karilyn’s ignorance of the signs of PTSD helped the defense, showing the extent to which soldiers try to keep the “hell of war” away from their families.
Bales, 38, has been formally charged with the murders of eight adults and nine children in a pre-dawn shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan on March 11.
The incident further eroded U.S.-Afghan relations already strained by a decade of war. He is awaiting mental evaluation at a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Bales, whose family hired Browne’s team, has the right to request new military counsel under the court martial system, so any request to replace Hurley will have to be confirmed by the accused soldier and approved by the Army.
(Reporting By Peter Henderson and Bill Rigby; editing by Todd Eastham)
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Woods club-kicking does not go unnoticed
Tiger Woods waits to hits out of a bunker on the 16th hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 6, 2012, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Tiger Woods waits to hits out of a bunker on the 16th hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 6, 2012, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Tiger Woods reacts to his tee shot on the 16th hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 6, 2012, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) ? Tiger Woods is subject to discipline by the PGA Tour for kicking his golf club after a poor shot at the Masters.
Whether he is fined is not likely to be known. The PGA Tour doesn’t comment on discipline.
Woods, after a bad miss with a 4-iron into the par-5 15th hole on Friday, hit a poor tee shot with a 9-iron on the par-3 16th. He let the club fall from his hands, then turned in anger and kicked it some 15 yards.
The tantrum received plenty of attention at Augusta National, and it prompted CBS Sports analyst Nick Faldo to say that Woods had “lost his game … and lost his mind.”
According to tour policy, players can be disciplined for conduct unbecoming a professional even at tournaments that are co-sponsored or approved by the PGA Tour, such as the major championships.
A person close to club operations said no one from the tournament had talked to Woods about his behavior in the second round. He spoke on condition of anonymity because club matters are private.
Woods was in the second-to-last group Friday, went straight to the practice range and had a morning tee time Saturday.
The PGA Tour has been criticized over the years for not disclosing fines.
John Daly told The Associated Press in December 2008 that he had been suspended for sixth months. Even then, the tour would not confirm it. Last year, the tour would not discuss whether Rory Sabbatini was suspended for his treatment of a teenage volunteer at Riviera and for getting into an argument on the golf course with Sean O’Hair.
A person close to Sabbatini later told the AP he had been suspended.
The tour has three categories of penalties ? minor (fines not more than $10,000); intermediate (fines between $10,001 and $20,000); major (in excess of $20,000).
Associated Press
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CARDIFF, Wales – Fans of Michael Jackson are gathering in Wales for a tribute concert that has divided the King of Pop’s fans and family ? a celebration of the late star’s life overshadowed by the Los Angeles manslaughter trial of his doctor. The genre- and generation-spanning lineup for the “Michael Forever” show at Cardiff’s [...]
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Days after it announced plans to provide passengers on select flights with access to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, there are reports that American Airlines is also looking to ditch paper flight charts in favor of a digital navigation map powered by an iPad app. According to AppleInsider, using an iPad would save space: flight [...]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) ? Jurors in the trial of an American mother accused of abusing her adopted Russian-born son were shown a videotape of her pouring hot sauce into the boy’s mouth. The footage, shot last October for an episode of the television talk show “Dr. Phil” that touched off a furor in the United [...]