Hasta La Gadget!

Just in case GPS and GLONASS didn’t make for enough of an acronym soup, BAE Systems wants to add one more to the navigation broth. NAVSOP (Navigation via Signals of Opportunity) uses some of the basic concepts we know from cell tower triangulation and WiFi location-finding to lock down a position, but goes much further to geolocate from nearly anything that pushes out a signal, such as nearby radios and TVs. It doesn’t even need to know what kind of signal it’s looking at, and it can get its position in places there’s no GPS to work from, whether it’s in an urban canyon or the natural kind. BAE is most excited about the prospects of ending GPS jamming against soldiers and UAVs, once and for all: not only is the new technology mostly impervious to attempts to block its signal, it can use the jamming attempt itself to get the position fix. Thankfully, the company’s roots in defense aren’t precluding use for civilians, so there’s a chance that future smartphones might never have to use guesswork to get their bearings — provided that governments around the world sign off on the idea, that is.

BAE Systems’ NAVSOP does positioning without GPS, makes sure the only jammin’ going on is yours originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jun 2012 10:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(RNS) The news that Israel’s memorial to Holocaust victims had been grafittied in early June with bitterly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements was shocking.

More shocking still was the news that the three men arrested for the crime are Jewish.

How could Jews desecrate the memories of millions of fellow Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis?

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If there’s one thing we know about Lady Gaga it’s that she loves pasties. But she’s not the only one. The risque fashion trend has become a staple in many celebrity wardrobes.

Britney Spears and Pink have worn pasties while performing on stage, while Hayden Panettiere and Debra Messing and opted for some extra pasty coverage underneath sheer clothing.

Of course we can’t forget how it all started. You know what we’re talking about — Lil’ Kim’s infamous VMA ensemble.

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After working in a hospital for over a decade, I’ve been around many people that had major health problems related to smoking. Combine the health issues with the fact that smoking is just absolutely disgusting to me, I think everyone should stop smoking. Especially my UPS driver, who routinely delivers me packages that smell like a used ashtray.

My dad used to smoke so I can appreciate how hard it is for people to quit, though. Scientists have been working on a vaccine that is designed to flood the body with an antibody to attack nicotine as it enters the body, rendering it useless as a source of pleasure.

The researchers are conducting a study in mice and have found that the so-called smoking vaccine is up to 85% effective at blocking nicotine in a mouse brain. The researchers say years of additional research is needed before the vaccine can be tested on people.

“As far as we can see, the best way to treat chronic nicotine addiction from smoking is to have these Pac-Man-like antibodies on patrol, clearing the blood as needed before nicotine can have any biological effect.” The challenge according to the researchers has been to develop a vaccine that is able to produce enough antibodies to stop nicotine from entering the brain and delivering the effects smokers crave.

[via BBC]

JOHANNESBURG — In the six years he’s managed a sanctuary for abused and orphaned chimpanzees, South African conservationist Eugene Cussons is from time to time called on to comment when an ape elsewhere in the world attacks a human. Cussons says he could always pinpoint a moment of taunting or perceived aggression that could have set off the quick and powerful animals.

This time, though, the attack was at his own Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden in eastern South Africa. And Cussons, host of the Animal Planet show “Escape to Chimp Eden,” is without an explanation.

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