X-Message-Number: 15590 Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2001 09:40:03 +0000 From: "Joseph Kehoe" <> Subject: snippets (off-topic) http://www.newscientist.com/dailynews/news.jsp?id=ns9999404 The first crack may have appeared in the theory that has ruled particle physics for 30 years - a whole new array of particles could result A particle known as the muon is ever-so-slightly more magnetic than predicted, physicists have reported. This apparently tiny discrepancy could knock a large hole in the current best theory of fundamental particles, the Standard Model. Some slightly off-topic news (nano,AI,Cyborg) skip now if it is of no interest to you. Some nano that may actually come to market in the next 2-3 years. http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/02/07/hong.kong.nano.idg/index.html Nanotechnology researchers at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) are creating some microscopic, ultra-thin, super-narrow and otherwise shrimpy things that may have big implications for information technology. Among the diminutive discoveries coming out of the physics department alone at HKUST are tubes just a few molecules wide, a microwave-absorbing sheet thinner than paper and a clutch that can stop and start a micro-motor without the need for tiny gears. These breakthroughs could make flat-panel displays cheaper, cell phones safer and microdrives more reliable, the researchers said in an interview Friday. Agents that evolve language - it is obviously fairly basic but it shows in principle that it can be done. Genetic Alg. and N Nets may turn out to be those advances that we pay no attention to now but in 30 years everyone will be asking how we missed their significance. http://www.eurekalert.com/releases/psu-thc020201.html University Park, PA --- An NEC Institute/Penn State study shows that computer programs, known as autonomous agents, not only can evolve their own language and talk with one another, but also can use communication to improve their performance in solving the classic predator-prey problem. Allowing direct cell to silicon communication. http://www.newscientist.com/dailynews/news.jsp?id=ns9999380 Electrical signals from human cells are coupled to silicon chips Living tissue has been hooked up to electronic circuitry by scientists in Germany. The technique could lead to implants that communicate with the body and hybrid sensors made from biological material and silicon. Joseph. ---------------------------------------------- Joseph Kehoe, MSc Raven Internet Technologies Ltd. ph: +353 503 52450 www.raven.ie Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=15590