Slashdot Mirror
Domain: rcn.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to rcn.com.
Stories · 10
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Pigeons May 'Hear' Magnetic Fields
ananyo writes "Individual neurons in birds' brains can relay crucial information about Earth's magnetic field, possibly providing the animals with an 'internal GPS.' Pigeons' remarkable navigational feats have long been pegged to the birds' ability to sense magnetic fields, but pinning down how they do so has frustrated scientists for years. Work published in Science (abstract) shows that individual cells seem to encode information on a magnetic field's direction, intensity and polarity. The work also suggests that these signals come from a part of the inner ear called the lagena, further complicating matters for researchers in the field. The Science paper comes just days after a report in Nature (abstract) revealed that cells in pigeons' upper beaks, previously thought to be magnetoreceptors, are actually immune cells called macrophages." -
Republican Robocall Pretexting Campaign
WCityMike writes, "In 53 Congressional campaigns across the country, including the Pennsylvania 6th, the Connecticut 4th, the North Carolina 11th, the New Hampshire 2nd, and the Illinois 6th and 8th (and possibly all races), the National Republican Congressional Committee is conducting a $2.1 million campaign to make it appear as if Democrats are spamming callers with telemarketing calls. The NRCC hired Conquest Communications Group to conduct a massive nationwide robocalling campaign with calls specifically scripted to appear as if they're coming from the Democratic candidate — in violation of FCC regulations on such 'robocalls,' which requires the identity of the caller to be stated at the beginning of the message [47 CFR 64.1200(b)(1)]. The call begins with 'Hello. I'm calling with information about,' and then says the name of the Democratic candidate. There is then a pause; if the recipient hangs up here, they will receive repeated calls back with the same message, potentially up to 18 times or more (according to one callee). If the callee doesn't hang up, they hear a smear message from the machine about the Democratic candidate. The NRCC thinks the legality of the calls is, conveniently, a 'complicated legal question that's not going to get adjudicated this weekend.'" Update 20:47 GMT by SM: Thankfully we all learned how to deal with these folks last week. -
'Bubble Boy' Cured by Gene Therapy in UK
DrKyle writes "Another child with "Bubble Boy" disease aka ADA-SCID (adenosine deaminase deficiency causing severe combined immunodeficiency) has been cured by transforming bone marrow stem cells with the functioning gene. Normally toxic levels of adenosine build up in T-cells killing off those important cells required for a robust immune system. While not the first person cured, another successful case of gene therapy goes a long way in encouraging goverments to continue to fund genetic research." -
Improvements on the Scientific Review Process?
myc asks: "A recent story has discussed the pros and cons of the publishing end of scientific literature, but what about the review end? I work in biology and recently have run into a slew of frustrations trying to get my work published. For instance, one really frustrating thing is, because of the need to keep the reviewers' identify confidential, communication between authors and reviewers is essentially one-way via the editorial office. When the reviewers encounter something that might be confusing to them in the manuscript, they take it as a negative, when really a very simple explanation from the authors would clear it up. After all, its the scientific content, not 1337 wr171ng skillz that is being reviewed. What are some of the frustrations you have come across when trying to publish your work, and have you any ideas on how to improve on the review process?""Another really frustrating point is many people feel that some papers are accepted on the basis of the reputation of the senior author and not purely on scientific merit (i.e., the burden of proof is lessened for established scientists), while the opposite is true for younger investigators (i.e., the burden of proof for novel findings may be higher, sometimes unreasonably so). One's scientific pedigree also helps, to a certain extent (if you trained with a big name, you are more likely to get published).
In the examples above, 2-way communication via anonymous email between the authors and reviewers might solve this particular problem; also, I think that if the identities of the reviewers are protected, why not the authors? Perhaps a solution to my second issue would be to have the author's names hidden from the reviewers until after the review process is complete." -
LinuxWorld Moving to Boston
DMCBOSTON writes " LinuxWorld will be at the Hynes Auditorium in Boston, moving from NY in 2005." I'll be doing a Slashdot BOF at what I guess will now be the last New York LinuxWorld at the end of January 2004. I'll be sad to see this show move, as I always enjoy NY immensely, and seek any excuse to go there. Boston is a whole different story ;) -
Why Laughter Is The Best Medicine
John writes "We know that laughter can be helpful in stressful situations, but researchers are discovering that laughter can do a lot more. When we laugh, we not only create an overall feeling of well-being for ourselves, but also release cells such as Gamma-interferon, T-cells and B-cells - all of which make disease-destroying antibodies. Not only are we releasing more of them, we are also making these crucial cells more active. Organisations such as Camp Quality have acknowledged this -- naturally, their slogan affirms that 'laughter is the best medicine.' Click here to read more." -
PC Cases with Side or Top Mounted Drive Bays?
Coplan asks: "I'm a computer musician, and I have a couple of those drive-bay interfaces in my computer. While it is nice to have such cables and ports easily accessible, they can easily get in the way on the front of your case. Ideally, the ultimate case would be one where there were drivebays on the sides or the top of the case for this purpose (or even a special shaped case). I'm not into modifying my cases with dremel tools and the like, but I havn't exactly found a commercially available solution either. I believe that someone in the slashdot community might have similar needs, and might have found such a solution. Does anyone have any recommendations?" -
RCN Cable Modem vs. Time/Warner's Road Runner?
Jeffrey Altman asks: "I'm moving into a new building in the middle of Manhattan which has been wired by RCN and Time Warner. I would have figured that I would have the full selection of choices available to me when choosing Internet access. However, that is far from the truth. Since RCN wired the building for telephone service, Verizon is unable to provide telephone service. This in turn has ruled out the ability to use any DSL service since all of the DSL providers must use Verizon-owned lines. (RCN is not required to allow third parties to use their internal wiring.) I would have prefered DSL, but I am stuck with a choice between RCN and Time Warner. Does anyone have any recommendations for which to choose?" -
Timex Sinclair ZX81 Back On the Market
Eugene Blanchard writes: "You still have the chance to purchase that Timex Sinclair ZX81 computer. Someone has kept a warehouse full of them. I had a few and thought that they would make a pretty good controller board with the Z80 processor. Now let's see if we can load Linux on them! " -
Looking For Wireless Handheld E-Mail And Web?
dspyder asks: "I'm currently looking for a good solution for wireless email and minimal Web surfing (stock quotes, weather, traffic, movie showtimes, driving directions?). Since it seems WAP is a ways off, I'm looking at other solutions. What other options are they for very small, portable and cheap wireless Internet and e-mail access from a pager-like device?? Or should I just wait for more WAP products and services to come out?? I really like the RIM device, and something along the lines of $50/mo for the GoAmerica service including rental (or lease or rent to buy) of the box would be an instant sale. Anyone know of anything?" There's a bunch of information in here on the subject. If your idea of networking is -not- sitting at your desk and twiddling thumbs while the mailer reloads...this topic may be for you."I see Blackberry has an offering but it appears to be e-mail only. It uses the RIM Interactive Pager from Research in Motion. It looks like you can use the same device and get Internet email service through RCN. Price is about $40-$45 including rental of the box? To get web access, it appears you can do it through GoAmerica but they make you buy the RIM box (about $299). Service is $60 per month, ouch! Service is provided by Bell Atlantic Wireless Data and coverage is excellent. I saw these guys and played with the unit at Sring Internet World last week and I really liked it but the cost is too prohibitive. Wolfetech also appears to support the RIM with their PocketGenie software and their service is only $29.95/mo but they don't say if that includes the wireless access or if that fee is just for their content.
I already have a Palm III so don't want to purchase a Palm VII because their service is pay per character only and the coverage is lousy. I would rather not get a Minstrel as it's too bulky and the coverage is lousy in my area. Although GoAmerica has a good deal on it at $99 and $49.95 for the service.
I would consider getting an Internet Ready phone, but my provider, Cellular 1 SF, doesn't offer any service. I don't want to switch to PCS because the phone quality is awful out here. The display on the phones is also really limiting.
There are services (usually free) that e-mail things to your text pager or text messaging cellphone, but I don't like the push model. Web Wireless Now has a neat hack, where you call a number and it picks up your caller ID and text messages you your preselected content but it seems really limited and I doubt it works when you're roaming. The added cost of the text messaging feature which could get expensive with heavy use."If there are any current users of these services, I'm sure there would be readers here interested if the assesments here match with your experiences. What other alternatives for wireless Web and e-mail access exist and what do you all think of them?