China launches unmanned spacecraft

The Shenzhou VIII blasted off from the Gobi desert in China's northwest at 5:58am (2158 GMT) before separating from its carrier rocket about 120 miles above the Earth, the state Xinhua news agency said.

It is due to join with the Tiangong-1 or "Heavenly Palace" experimental module in two days, in what would be the country's first space docking – a key step in China's ambitious space programme.

The ability to dock successfully is crucial to the success of China's plans to build a space station where astronauts can live for several months, as they do on the International Space Station.

The technology is hard to master because the two vessels, placed in the same orbit and revolving around Earth at 28,000 kilometres per hour, must come together progressively to avoid destroying each other.

China sees its space programme as a symbol of its global stature, growing technical expertise, and the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.

It began its manned space flight programme in 1990 after buying Russian technology and in 2003 became the third country to send humans into space, after the former Soviet Union and the United States.
In September 2008, the Shenzhou VII, piloted by three astronauts, carried out China's first spacewalk.
The launch of Tiangong-1 on September 29 – ahead of China's National Day on October 1 – was attended by Premier Wen Jiabao, while President Hu Jintao watched from a space flight control centre in Beijing.
But Beijing is playing catch-up in the space arena. The planned space docking will only emulate what the Americans and Russians achieved in the 1960s.
The Global Times newspaper said the benefits of China's investment in space technology were not yet clear, but that the country had "no choice" other than to pursue its exploration programme.
"As long as we are determined to rise in the world and pursue rejuvenation, we need to take risks. Otherwise China will be a nation with prosperity but subordinated to top powers," it said in an editorial on Tuesday.
But it called for a "well-balanced" approach to space exploration, saying the money spent might be more urgently needed elsewhere in China, where the World Bank says 150 million people are still living on less than $1.25 a day.
Xinhua said the docking would take place 343 kilometres above the surface of the Earth. The spacecraft will return to Earth after two docking operations.
If it is a success, China will launch another two spacecraft next year to conduct more docking experiments.
At least one will be manned, and two female astronauts are among those being trained for the mission, according to Xinhua. If they are chosen, they will be the first women China has sent into space.
Tuesday's launch was attended by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, as well as senior experts from the European Space Agency and the German Aerospace Center, Xinhua reported.
German and Chinese scientists will conduct joint life science and gravity experiments on the Shenzhou VIII, it said.
Before 2016, China plans to launch a space laboratory and by around 2020 hopes to have a space station in orbit capable of accommodating long-term stays in space, officials have said.
China's space station will be made up of the module, two laboratories, a cargo ship and a manned rocket, with a total weight of 60 tonnes, compared with 137 tonnes for the Russian station Mir and 419 tonnes for the International Space Station (ISS), state media have said.
The ISS began with the launch into orbit of the first station element, a Russian-built module, in 1998. The first full-time crew arrived two years later.

taken from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8861692/China-launches-unmanned-spacecraft.html

Juggalos classified as a gang in FBI report

Fans of notorious US hip-hop group Insane Clown Posse have been officially classified as a gang. A new FBI document has categorised the Juggalos as a "loosely-organised hybrid gang," citing the group's violence, criminal activity and "gang-like behaviour".
Fans of the Insane Clown Posse have called themselves Juggalos for more than two decades, developing a reputation for face-paint, Faygo soda, and a scepticism toward magnets. Although based in the United States – the ICP are from Michigan – it has become a worldwide movement; a UK Facebook group has more than 600 members.
Unfortunately for harmless fans of horrorcore rap, Juggalos are now officially "of concern to law enforcement," according to the FBI's 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report. Juggalos have been tied to a string of recent crimes, including a shooting in January and the assault of a homeless man last year. "Open source reporting suggests that a small number of Juggalos are forming more organised subsets and engaging in more gang-like criminal activity," the report alleges. "Transient, criminal Juggalo groups pose a threat to communities due to the potential for violence, drug use/sales, and their general destructive and violent nature."
Download the FBI report as pdf.
While the FBI report only mentions the Insane Clown Posse in a footnote, ICP are not just a soundtrack for the subculture. The group is named after an ICP song, The Juggla, and the Detroit-based rappers organise the annual Gathering of the Juggalos, which attracts more than 20,000 fans. Despite their scary reputation, the Posse has even been described as a Christian group. After a fan called Jacob D Robida shot his girlfriend in 2006, ICP's manager spoke out against such violence: "Anyone that knows anything at all about Juggalos knows that in no way, shape, or form would we ever approve of this type of bullshit behaviour," he wrote.
Although the FBI's gang designation is unlikely to have an immediate effect on ICP, its fans, or friends such as Jack White, many Juggalos are upset. In just a few days, more than 200 people have signed a petition asking the FBI to revise their decision. "Juggalos are a family that have each other's backs," explained a supporter based in Tennessee. "They're people who would die for somebody they haven't even met."

by Sean Michaels taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/nov/01/juggalos-classified-as-gang-fbi

Robot uses gecko power to climb walls

Inspired by the gecko, scientists have developed a tank-like robot that can scale vertical walls and crawl over ledges without using suction cups, glue or other liquid bonds to adhere to the surface. The 240-gramme (6.9-ounce) beast has tracks that are covered with dry microfibres modelled on the toe hairs of the gecko, which can famously zip up windows and along walls almost without effort.
The lizard does the trick thanks to millions of ultra-fine hairs called setae, which interact with the climbing surface to create a molecular attraction known as the van der Waals force.
Described on Tuesday in the British research journal Smart Materials and Structure, the robot's tracks are studded with mushroom-shaped caps of polymer microfibres just 0.017 millimetres (0.00067 inches) wide and 0.01mm (0.0004 inches) high.
By comparison, the human hair is around 0.1 mm (0.004 inches) thick.
"While van der Waals forces are considered to be relatively weak, the thin, flexible overhang provided by the mushroom cap ensures that the area of contact between the robot and the surface is maximised," said researcher Jeff Krahn of the Simon Fraser University at Burnaby, in Canada's British Columbia province.
"The adhesive pads on geckos follow this same principle by utilising a large number of fibres, each with a very small tip. The more fibres a gecko has in contact, the greater attachment force it has on a surface."
The tank-bot has a fore and aft section, each with two tracks, and an articulated joint in the middle to help it move from flat surfaces to corners.
A video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tont-BzM1II) shows it being put through its paces, climbing at speeds of up to 3.4 centimetres (1.4 inches) per second.
The gadget weighs 240g (eight ounces) but tests show that it could take an additional load of 110 grammes (3.14 ounces).
Still a small experimental design, the robot is attached to an umbilical cord providing power and control signals, but eventually will be kitted out with a battery and a computer brain to give it more autonomy, says the team.
If all goes well, dozens of applications lie ahead.
Wall-climbing robots could be used to clean windows, inspect buildings, crawl up pipes and help in search-and-rescue operations.
A team at Stanford University in California has been adopting a different approach, using gecko-like fibres on feet, rather than tracks, to help its robot climb.
But tracks, driven by belts, are likely to have the advantage because they have a simpler mechanical design, says Krahn.
Track power can be easily expanded -- like adding a locomotive to a train -- when a bigger load has to be taken, he adds.
"We unfortunately haven't as of yet calculated a cost for achieving a practical gecko robot as we are still in the prototyping stage," Krahn said in an email exchange.

taken from http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.35f5ae608a85881eeb1b91d9639d25f8.61&show_article=1

Seaweed skirts in Berlin fashion food show

Move over Lady Gaga and your meat dress. A Berlin museum is coupling haute couture with haute cuisine, spotlighting models draped in octopus tunics, seaweed miniskirts and chocolate dresses. The creations by Michelin-starred Austrian chef Roland Trettl, captured in around 50 sumptuous stills by his compatriot photographer Helge Kirchberger, blur the lines of sensual pleasure in a feast for the eyes and the palate.
The Fashion Food exhibition at the Communication Museum in the German capital to January 29 dissects "taste" and flamboyant fashion statements, as well as notions of consumerism and sustainability in a rich society.
"The images are not salacious or pornographic but they are erotic and provocative and raise questions," museum director Lieselotte Kugler told AFP, following an exhibition opening with two live models.
"This is also a celebration of food. When you think of all the food that is thrown away every year in Germany -- including 5,000 tonnes of bread -- everyone needs to consider how they approach food and how food is increasingly industrialised in our society."
While US pop provocateur Lady Gaga raised eyebrows at an awards show last year with a dress made entirely of raw beef, many of the confections here could add up to a balanced diet.
One work entitled "Russian Lardo" features a trouser suit sewn from lean bacon, a delicate black scarf made of squid ink pasta and a resplendent headdress woven from frisee lettuce, red chillies and Daikon cress. Another shows a male model in a salmon tank top and lettuce-leaf trousers.
"Most of the food was not simply thrown away," Kugler said of the photo shoots.
"The octopus is cooked three to four hours until it's tender and the pasta can be boiled. Then everyone sits down and has a feast."
Trettl and Kirchberger have pursued an on-again, off-again collaboration for about four years but the exhibition marks the first major presentation of their work to a broader audience.
They have published a book featuring many of the photographs in the show, complete with recipes and a foreword by the original high-fashion rebel, Vivienne Westwood.
"I would love to try them, but I hope someone else will prepare them," the British designer said of the cooking tips using ingredients from the clothing.
She compared the portraits to those of 16th century Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo who incorporated images of fruits and vegetables in his works.
In other head-turners, Trettl turned a mass of "calf net" -- fatty membrane from a calf's stomach -- into an elegant headscarf, paired with a prominent necklace made of quail eggs, and fashioned a sexy body suit from liquid dark chocolate, set against jewellery made of silver sugar pearls.
"Of course the chocolate had to simply be washed off when they were done, there was no salvaging it," Kugler said.
"You only have about two minutes to photograph it, with a crew of 20 people. After that, it starts drying up and flaking off. It is a unique work of art comprised of the food and the model, the material and the form."

taken from http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.7d8a2aaff1c6dfd828e23a2063da7642.361&show_article=1

Siberians share DNA with extinct human species

Researchers have found that people in East Asia share genetic material with Denisovans, who got the name from the cave in Siberia where they were first found.

The new study covers a larger part of the world than earlier research, and it is clear that it is not as simple as previously thought.

Professor Mattias Jakobsson, of Uppsala University in Sweden who conducted the study together with graduate student Pontus Skoglund, said hybridisation took place at several points in evolution and the genetic traces of this can be found in several places in the world.

He said: "We'll probably be uncovering more events like these.

"Previous studies have found two separate hybridisation events between so-called archaic humans - different from modern humans in both genetics and morphology - and the ancestors of modern humans after their emergence from Africa.

"There was hybridisation between Neanderthals and the ancestors of modern humans outside of Africa and hybridisation between Denisovans and the ancestors of indigenous Oceanians.
"The genetic difference between Neanderthals and Denisovans is roughly as great as the maximal level of variation among us modern humans."
The Uppsala scientists' study demonstrates that hybridisation also occurred on the East Asian mainland.
The connection was discovered by using genotype data in order to obtain a larger data set.
Complete genomes of modern humans are only available from some dozen individuals today, whereas genotype data is available from thousands of individuals.
These genetic data can be compared with genome sequences from Neanderthals and a Denisovan which have been determined from archeological material.
Only a pinky finger and a tooth have been described from the latter.
Genotype data stems from genetic research where hundreds of thousands of genetic variants from test panels are gathered on a chip.
However, this process leads to unusual variants not being included, which can lead to biases if the material is treated as if it consisted of complete genomes.
Prof Jakobsson and Skoglund used advanced computer simulations to determine what this source of error means for comparisons with archaic genes and have thereby been able to use genetic data from more than 1,500 modern humans from all over the world.
Prof Jakobsson said: "We found that individuals from mainly Southeast Asia have a higher proportion of Denisova-related genetic variants than people from other parts of the world, such as Europe, America, West and Central Asia, and Africa.
"The findings show that gene flow from archaic human groups also occurred on the Asian mainland."
Skoglund added: "While we can see that genetic material of archaic humans lives on to a greater extent than what was previously thought, we still know very little about the history of these groups and when their contacts with modern humans occurred."
Because they find Denisova-related gene variants in south east Asia and Oceania, but not in Europe and America, the researchers suggest that hybridisation with Denisova man took place about 20 million years ago, but could also have occurred earlier.
This is long after the branch that became modern humans split off from the branch that led to Neanderthals and Denisovans some 300,000 to 500,000 years ago.
Prof Jakobsson said: "With more complete genomes from modern humans and more analyses of fossil material, it will be possible to describe our prehistory with considerably greater accuracy and richer detail."
The findings were published in the online edition of the journal PNAS.

taken from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8861602/Siberians-share-DNA-with-extinct-human-species.html

Police seek Spiderman-clad robber

Moline police are looking for man dressed up as Spiderman in connection with a Sunday night gas station robbery.
Police say two men, one dressed in a Spiderman mask and wielding a foot-long machete, robbed the Shell Express Lane, 3759 41st St., at 6:56 p.m., according to witnesses.
The men fled westbound on 38th Avenue in a light-colored pickup truck, possibly a Ford F series, according to police.
Both men wore masks during the incident. The man wearing the Spiderman mask is described by police as being about 6 feet tall with a skinny build. He was wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt with red lettering possibly spelling out “GAP,” black pants, white tennis shoes and blue latex gloves.
The second man is described as 5-foot-8 with a heavy build, according to police. He wore a dark-colored sweatshirt with “Reebok” in green letters, black pants, black gloves and a black mask.

taken from http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-seek-spiderman-clad-robber/article_ff3ec796-040e-11e1-ae95-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1cT1YGgkM

Nasa examines 'tractor beams'

US space agency Nasa has funded a study of "tractor beams" to gather samples for analysis in future missions.

The $100,000 (£63,000) award will be used to examine three laser-based approaches to do what has until now been the stuff of science fiction.
Several tractor-beam ideas have been published in the scientific literature but none has yet been put to use.
Nasa scientist Paul Stysley says the approach could "enhance science goals and reduce mission risk".
"Though a mainstay in science fiction, and Star Trek in particular, laser-based trapping isn't fanciful or beyond current technological know-how," said Dr Stysley of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, whose group was awarded the research funding.
High-beam profile The team has identified three possible options to capture and gather up sample material either in future orbiting spacecraft or on planetary rovers.

The approach could be put to use in space and on planetary surfaces

One is an adaptation of a well-known effect called "optical tweezers" in which objects can be trapped in an area where two laser beams cross. However, this version of the approach would require an atmosphere in which to operate.
The other two methods rely on specially shaped laser beams - instead of a beam whose intensity peaks at its centre and tails off gradually, the team is investigating two alternatives: solenoid beams and Bessel beams.
The intensity peaks within a solenoid beam are found in a spiral around the line of the beam itself, while a Bessel beam's intensity rises and falls in peaks and troughs at higher distances from the beam's line.
Solenoid beams have already proven their "tractor beam" abilities in laboratory tests published in the journal Optics Express, but the pulling power of Bessel beams, presented on the preprint server Arxiv in February, remains to be proved experimentally.
In all three cases, explained Dr Stysley, the effect is a small one - but it could in some instances outperform existing methods of sample gathering.
"[Current] techniques have proven to be largely successful, but they are limited by high costs and limited range and sample rate," he said.
"An optical-trapping system, on the other hand, could grab desired molecules from the upper atmosphere on an orbiting spacecraft or trap them from the ground or lower atmosphere from a lander.
"In other words, they could continuously and remotely capture particles over a longer period of time, which would enhance science goals and reduce mission risk."

taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15535115