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Updated: 10 hours 52 min ago

Mass Extinctions Change the Rules of Evolution

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 19:00
A reinterpretation of the fossil record suggests a new answer to one of evolution's existential questions: whether global mass extinctions are just short-term diversions in life's preordained course, or send life careening down wholly new paths.


First Look: Official Twitter App for iPad Feels Smooth as Butter

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 19:00
The official Twitter app for iPad is finally here, and star developer Loren Brichter has polished yet another gem. Twitter for iPad sports a really elegant interface that's significantly faster and more intuitive than competing Twitter clients we've tested (such as Twitterific and Tweetdeck).


Fujitsu ScanSnap Counts Quality Over Quantity

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 18:33
Fujitsu's scanner is your new (albeit bulky) buddy if you want high-quality images. The sturdy document feeder gets pages in straight, so you get them out right.


Chrome 6 Arrives, Just in Time for Cake

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 18:31
Google is celebrating the second birthday of its Chrome web browser with the release of Chrome 6. Among the new features are an updated user interface, auto-fill for web forms, extension syncing, increased speed and numerous bug fixes.


How Apple Just Disrupted the Cable Guys

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 18:11
People in Silicon Valley have focused on the set-top box as the lever to attack the cable industry. Cable boxes blow, but that's a losing battle. So why is Apple TV different? Because Steve Jobs has not just created a new set top box. He's actually created a whole new media ecosystem built around the mobile phone.


Two-Wheeled Zerotracer EV Is a Wild Ride

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 18:07
It looks like a motorcycle, it performs like a Lotus and it's racing around the world.


String Theory Finally Does Something Useful

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 18:00
String theory has finally made a prediction that can be tested with experiments — but in a completely unexpected realm of physics: quantum entanglement.


Ancient Nubians Made Antibiotic Beer

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 17:30
Chemical analysis of the bones of an ancient Sudanese Nubians who lived nearly 2,000 years ago shows they were ingesting the antibiotic tetracycline on a regular basis — likely from a special brew of beer. The find is the strongest yet to support that antibiotics were previously discovered by humans before Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.


Samsung Introduces Its 7-Inch Tablet to Rival iPad

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 17:06
Samsung has announced the launch of a tablet that could become the first major Android-powered challenger to the Apple iPad.


Heavy European Snowfall Caused by 'Weather Collision'

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 17:00
The uncharacteristically snowy weather that hit Northern Europe and North America in the winter of 2009 to 2010 was caused by a rare combination of two separate weather oscillations in the Atlantic and Pacific, claim meteorologists.


'Earth One' Reboots Superman's Roots for the iGeneration

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 17:00
Superman is a surly noob searching for reality in the digital age in J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis' update of the superhero's origin story. Who knew the Man of Steel would miss the musty Daily Planet more than the rest of us?


Vets Get Ecstasy to Treat Post-Traumatic Stress

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 11:00
Two psychiatric experts think the way to treat troops returning home with PTSD: Have them undergo intensive psychotherapy while they're rolling on ecstasy.


Sept. 2, 1969: First U.S. ATM Starts Doling Out Dollars

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 11:00
Six weeks after landing men on the moon, Americans take another giant leap for mankind with the nation’s first cash-spewing, automated teller machine.


FaceTime Lets You Share Your Point of View

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 11:00
Video calls aren't for people to see you — they're for people to see what you see.


Electric Kettles Are Steeped in the Future

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 11:00
Blazing fast (four minutes and nine seconds!), streamlined and full of highlights, Cuisinart's PerfecTemp puts its kettle competition to shame.


Blackjack Whiz Riffs on Fantasy Sports, Statgeeks and Yahoo

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 11:00
A Q&A with Jeff Ma, the former leader of the infamous MIT Blackjack Team that took Vegas for millions in the mid-'90s. Now a successful entrepreneur and author, Ma talks about his love of fantasy sports, selling his company Citizen Sports to Yahoo (and why he didn't join them), and how young statgeeks can make their way in a sports industry dominated by traditionalists.


Exclusive Gallery: 1983 Nintendo Family Computer Teardown

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 04:00
In 1983 Nintendo released the Famicon console. Now 26 years later we tear it apart to see what makes it tick.


Google Testing Out Full-Featured Google Apps

Thu, 09/02/2010 - 03:00
There's a sign of hope for frustrated Google Apps users who feel left out of getting all the cool toys regular Google users get: Google is inviting select users this week to test out Apps with all the bells and whistles.


Best Sci-Fi Books for Kick-Starting Your Brain Fry

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 22:52
Want to start reading some science fiction, but aren't sure where to begin? This introductory sci-fi literature syllabus is just for you.


Furor Erupts Over the Role of Self-Sacrifice in Evolution

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 22:00
A furor has broken out among biologists over ant specialist E.O. Wilson's latest attack on a concept used to explain the origins of self-sacrifice in the dog-eat-dog world of evolution.