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PhysOrg.com
New media turn Beijing Olympics into e-Games When Coroebus of Elis won the first Olympic sprint in 776 BC, the result was scratched on to parchment and read out in market places in the following days and weeks. Man versus machine poker re-match Polaris, the University of Alberta poker playing computer program, is heading to Las Vegas for a re-match against humans. Rocketing Through Water Swimmers around the world are breaking records this year like never before, including at this week's U.S. Olympic trials. Some attribute it to extensive training as athletes prepare to compete at this summer's games in Beijing. Others say one factor may be a new swimsuit ... a space-age swimsuit made of fabric tested at NASA. New technology may help Olympic sailing A team of researchers at the Ocean University of China has developed and tested a mobile lidar (light detection and ranging) station that can accurately measure wind speed and direction over large areas in real time -- an application useful for aviation safety, weather forecasting and sports. NBC offers wide online access for Beijing Olympics (AP) -- NBC is making more than 2,200 hours of live competition from Beijing available online, giving Olympic junkies more action than they could ever devour in a day. South African TB patients rampage (AP) -- Authorities increased security Friday at a tuberculosis hospital where patients with drug-resistant forms of the disease went on a rampage to protest prison-like conditions. Virgin Mobile to buy Helio for $39M (AP) -- Virgin Mobile USA Inc. is buying Helio LLC, a struggling cell phone carrier that was founded to bring the advanced features of South Korean phones to the U.S. market. Mechanism and function of humor identified by new evolutionary theory A new publication answers centuries' old questions regarding the mechanism and function of humour, identifying the reason humour is common to all human societies, its fundamental role in the evolution of homo sapiens and its continuing importance in the cognitive development of infants. Sony pledges return to glamour and profit (AP) -- Chief Executive Howard Stringer said Sony Corp. will win back its electronic leadership by improving its Internet-linked gadgets, wiping out losses in video games and TVs and pushing services and software, not just hardware. New study examines the validity of epo testing Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) is a genetically engineered hormone sometimes misused by high-performance athletes such as cyclists and marathon runners to boost their endurance. The potential misuse of the drug is detected in urine collected from athletes. Since the test was introduced in 2000, 33 labs around the world have been accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to administer the procedure. ... |