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Report: NASA should focus energy on billion-dollar telescope

Report: NASA should focus energy on billion-dollar telescope

According to a two-year study titled The Astro2010 Decadal Survey “New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics", a 5-foot (1.5-metre) field-of-view device due to launch in 2020 should be a top priority for space agency astronomers because of its ability to find close habitable planets and test the boundaries of physics.

US Energy Dept. alters FutureGen plans in Illinois

The U.S. Department of Energy last week dropped its long-running plans to build a futuristic power plant in eastern Illinois and said it will instead use the site for the storage of carbon dioxide produced by another power plant across the state. The decision to radically change the so-called FutureGen project appeared to take many of those who were involved with it by surprise. The entire project is expected to cost $1.2 billion.

Data release dilemma has implications for all rapidly developing fields

In the first comprehensive examination of its kind, Washington University in St. Louis researchers explain that the U.S. government must weigh the rights of researchers, also called data producers, against those of data users. The scientific community needs the latest data as soon as possible in order to drive further research. But researchers may want time to prepare for publication and apply for patents.

Europe adopts new code of conduct for researchers

The upcoming European Science Foundation’s World Conference on Research Integrity will highlight the new framework, which addresses good practice and bad conduct in science. The effort at self-regulation of existing ethic codes will span 30 countries.

Feds to require select-agent overhaul

An Executive Order issued in early July by the Obama Administration will reclassify biological select agents and toxins in the biggest overhaul in seven years.

Worldwide R&D expenditures top $330 billion

About 40,000 companies received questionnaires from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008. The results from this report, the first of its kind to gauge R&D performance on a global scale, show that the U.S. economy supports a higher level of domestic R&D ($234 billion) than some had thought.

IRI names new chairman, honors aeronautical innovator

In addition to naming James Scinta of ConocoPhillips Company to the leadership position of the board of directors, the Industrial Research Institute, an association of companies and labs that fosters innovation, also honored longtime aviation entrepreneur and engineer Linden S. Blue with a 2010 Achievement Award.

Report: Bioscience employment scored gains in the face of recession

Report: Bioscience employment scored gains in the face of recession

According to a report from Battelle and the Biotechnology Industry Organization that analyzed the health of the bioscience industry in the U.S. from 2001 to 2008, employment was robust (1.42 million jobs) even as the most widespread economic recession in a generation took shape.

Too risky to phone ET? Too late, NASA's tried it

Stephen Hawking made news this week with his cautionary stance on reaching out to extraterrestrial intelligence. Putting himself in their shoes, the physicist speculated that the first such beings we encounter would probably have more interest in conquering and colonizing than in learning about humans.

Reinventing technology assessment for the 21st century

The authors of a new report from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars claim that the ability to estimate the social, ethical, legal, and economic impacts of emerging technologies and science is missing from our national perspective. They advocate the creation of a new institution that would assess national technology capability.

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The irresistability of the end

The irresistability of the end

What is it about doomsday scenarios? Every once in a while, it seems, the general public can’t get enough of predictions about impending disaster. And the most recent spate of disaster ruminations seems more pervasive than ever.

Premature death notice

Premature death notice

Earlier this week, Wired editor Chris Anderson declared the death of the Web and the rise of everything else (on the Internet). It was a bit like twittering the death of your favorite celebrity on Twitter, except in this case it’s the one loved by billions.

Multimedia

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CC Radio - Episode 46

Post-Doctoral Fellow at CC Department of Bioethics Part of Academy Award-Nominated Documentary. For transcripts of this and other NIH Clinical Center podcasts, visit http://www.cc.nih.gov/podcast/

CC Radio - Episode 45

Clinical Center Studies Noninvasive Imaging of Heart Failure. For transcripts of this and other NIH Clinical Center podcasts, visit http://www.cc.nih.gov/podcast/

New To Market

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Spindle company to adopt wireless maintenance system
Spindle company to adopt wireless maintenance system

GTI Spindle Technology is partnering with InCheck Technologies to demonstrate InSite – a new online wireless predictive maintenance system – at a conference at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago, Ill., Sept. 13-18. InSite provides data collection, storage, and processing facilities for condition and performance monitoring.

Small USB box provides plug-in modules, 200 kS-s and isolation

The DEWE-50-USB2-8 from Dewetron incorporates real plug-in signal conditioning modules for low and high voltages, strain, pressure, acceleration, sound, temperature, force, and more. It can be used in demanding high voltage environments safely.

Tools & Technology

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Fused silica capillary tubing
Fused silica capillary tubing

Delivering reliable operation in demanding conditions, Fiberguide Industries introduced its new line of fused silica capillary tubing.

High-temperature protective coatings

Aremco Products, Inc. offers the Corr-Paint line of protective coatings—suited for protecting metals, graphites, and refractories used in ovens, boilers, furnaces, heaters stacks, and heat exchangers to 2500°F.

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