Scientists ponder invisibility cloak

WASHINGTON - Imagine an invisibility cloak that works just like the one Harry Potter inherited from his father. Researchers in England and the United States think they know how to do that. They are laying out the blueprint and calling for help in developing the exotic materials needed to build a cloak. The keys are special manmade materials, unlike any in nature or the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. These materials are intended to steer light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation around an object, rendering it as invisible as something tucked into a hole in space.

Why is Rupert Murdoch Sitting Next to the President???

Australian Prime Minister John Howard (L) toasts U.S. President George W. Bush (R) before an official dinner at the White House in Washington May 16, 2006. Also pictured at the table with Bush are media baron Rupert Murdoch (2nd L) and the wife of the prime minister, Janette Howard (2nd R). REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Pyow pyow pyow . . . hack hack hack hack! Let's get out of here (in monkey talk) - World - Times Online

It seems that human beings are not the only ones who are able to string sentences together MONKEYS are able to string together a simple “sentence”, according to research that offers the first evidence that animals might be capable of a key feature of language. British scientists have discovered that the putty-nosed monkey in Nigeria pictured above sometimes communicates by combining sounds into a sequence that has a different meaning from any of its component calls, an ability that was thought to be uniquely human. Although many animals communicate with one another using calls that have a particular meaning — usually a warning signifying the presence of a certain predator — none has been known to combine these alarm calls into sequences similar to those of human language.

Funding And Bureaucracy, Not Access To Journals, Are Chief Obstacles To Scientific Productivity

ScienceDaily: Funding And Bureaucracy, Not Access To Journals, Are Chief Obstacles To Scientific Productivity The single most important issue obstructing the productivity of biomedical scientists today is the culture of research funding. This finding challenges the belief of some that the lack of "open access" to journal content is a major barrier to scientific productivity.A survey of 883 biomedical scientists -- in Europe and North America - commissioned by the Publishing Research Consortium found that aside from lack of resources, a 'stop-go' funding culture prohibits scientists from initiating new ideas, choosing research projects that contrast with funders' priorities, and recruiting and retaining qualified staff.