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Michael Cooney

US National Climate Service to monitor world of climate change

National Climate Service would bring together climate data from NOAA and other researchers
Submitted by Layer 8 on Mon, 02/08/10 - 10:14pm.

After almost a year or so of wrangling, the US government today said it wants to set up a National Climate Service that is designed to meet the burgeoning demand for climate information. 

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NASA Pluto mission only just beginning

NASA Hubble pictures will help guide Pluto-bound New Horizons satellite
Submitted by Layer 8 on Fri, 02/05/10 - 6:07pm.

NASA's Hubble telescope this week got some great pictures of our most distant planet Pluto, showing what space agency researcher's<

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US developing extreme digital forensic wizard

DARPA’s Cyber Genome Program could collect, trace and identify all things digital
Submitted by Layer 8 on Thu, 02/04/10 - 5:58pm.

Can anything you create digitally - software code, e-mail or documents - be traced back to you like so much DNA from a crime scene?  Research scientists at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) seem to think so as they announced this week the $43 million Cyber Genome Program it hopes will develop technologies that will help law enforcement types collect, analyze and identify all m

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NASA may transform but major problems remain

NASA needs to overcome key business issues, GAO report finds
Submitted by Layer 8 on Thu, 02/04/10 - 5:14pm.

In announcing its 2011 budget this week, the government proposed making some sweeping changes to NASA.  But no matter how radical any NASA shift might be, the space agency needs to address some common, and long-standing challenges if it expects to truly move toward the future. 

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Courts move to ban juror use of Blackberry, iPhone, Twitter and Facebook

Expect further restrictions and outright bans on use of smartphones, social sites when on jury duty
Submitted by Layer 8 on Tue, 02/02/10 - 5:28pm.

If you think you're going to use your spanking new iPhone to entertain yourself next time you're on jury duty, think again.  Judges are going to take an even dimmer view of jury member use of Blackberry, iPhone or other electronic devices as a judicial policy-setting group has told district judges they should

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NASA satellite to send avalanche of hi-res Sun shots

NASA’s Solar Dynamics satellite will deliver tons of high resolution images of the Sun.
Submitted by Layer 8 on Tue, 02/02/10 - 5:13pm.

NASA next week will launch a satellite that the space agency says will scrutinize the Sun and send back "a prodigious rush of pictures" about sunspots, solar flares and a variety of other never-before-seen astrophysical activities. 

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Military's robotic pack mule comes to life for $32M

DARPA robot should carry 400lbs over any terrain in any weather
Submitted by Layer 8 on Mon, 02/01/10 - 3:12pm.

What kind of robot will automatically follow a leader, carry 400 lbs of military gear, walk 20 miles in all manner of weather and go 24 hours without refueling?

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Venerable B-52 bomber gets network centric

Legendary bomber getting up-to-date network capabilities
Submitted by Layer 8 on Fri, 01/29/10 - 4:14pm.

One would guess that when its designers saw their first B-52 fly in 1954, they never envisioned nor worried about it being part of network centric warfare.  They might not have guessed the B-52 woul

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NSF earmarks $30M for game-changing Internet research

Internet security a prime factor in future research developments
Submitted by Layer 8 on Thu, 01/28/10 - 1:57pm.

So you want to build a better Internet? The National Science Foundation today said it would spread $30 million over 2-4 projects that radically transform the "Net through new security, reliability and collaborative applications. 

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Mars to show off in night sky, not because of NASA

Mars and Moon to show off in January nighttime sky dance
Submitted by Layer 8 on Wed, 01/27/10 - 5:38pm.

Mars has gotten a ton of attention lately with all of NASA's red planet satellite and rover maneuvers, but

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Slick algorithm helps spot tech trouble in everything from networks to satellites

Outlier Detection Algorithm could let operators keep a system performing even while it's failing
Submitted by Layer 8 on Wed, 01/27/10 - 4:47pm.

Researchers say they have developed an algorithm that can be run against a variety of systems including cars, power plants, satellites and networks that would let users spot and fix problems faster.

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IBM, researchers get 24M DOE supercomputer hours to develop controversial lithium air battery

IBM is a big proponent of the oft-controversial lithium-air battery
Submitted by Layer 8 on Wed, 01/27/10 - 3:54pm.

The Department of Energy and IBM are serious about developing lithium air batteries capable of powering a car for 500 miles on a single charge - a five-fold increase over current plug-in batteries that have a range of about 40 to 100 miles, the DOE said. 

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NASA test drives all-composite prototype spacecraft

NASA experiments with lighter, stronger composite spacecraft materials
Submitted by Layer 8 on Mon, 01/25/10 - 10:01pm.

With an eye toward building safer, lighter and tougher spacecraft, NASA said today its prototype space crew module made up of composite materials handled tests simulating structural stresses of launch and atmospheric reentry. 

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How will NASA defend Earth against killer asteroids and comets?

Report outlines NASA's option in discovering, defending against hazards from space
Submitted by Layer 8 on Fri, 01/22/10 - 6:18pm.

Combinations of space- and ground-based telescopes may be the most economically palpable defenses NASA can mount against asteroids and comets heading toward Earth, but there are more advanced defenses involving spacecraft and nuclear

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NASA Mars rover Opportunity grinds "cool" rock

NASA rover Opportunity trundles toward huge crater
Submitted by Layer 8 on Thu, 01/21/10 - 9:47pm.

While its sister rover Spirit has garnered most of the attention lately, NASA's other Mars traveler,  Opportunity is chewing up

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Military wants protection from laser weapons

Laser weapon programs challenge security
Submitted by Layer 8 on Thu, 01/21/10 - 11:41am.

The US military, one of the world's largest developers of laser-based weapons is looking to develop technology that protects its own systems from the same weapons. 

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NASA wants your Mars photo target ideas

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will take public photo suggestions
Submitted by Layer 8 on Wed, 01/20/10 - 7:53pm.

It may be the ultimate point-and-shoot camera. NASA today said it would begin soliciting public photo shoot suggestions for the cutting edge camera onboard its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.  

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Brain drain; admin failures threaten FCC role

GAO report critical of FCC decision-making process
Submitted by Layer 8 on Wed, 01/20/10 - 3:18am.

The Federal Communications Commission has brain drain and administration problems that could decrease its effectiveness at a time when advanced service technologies such as wireless and broadband present significant regulatory challenges.  

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FBI begins flashing world's largest mugshots

FBI’s Times Square criminal billboard one of 1,500 across US
Submitted by Layer 8 on Fri, 01/15/10 - 10:13am.

The FBI said it will today begin flashing criminal's mugshots on an electronic billboard amongst the dazzling light show that is Times Square in New York City. 

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DARPA wants crowdsourcing applications to fly small satellites

DARPA envisions millions participating in satellite app development program
Submitted by Layer 8 on Thu, 01/14/10 - 1:03pm.

Seems like the folks at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) were bitten by the crowd-sourcing bug.  The military research outfit is looking to groups "numbering in the hundreds, to thousands, to possibly millions of people worldwide" to develop what it calls crowd sourcing algorithms to discover new applications for its diminutive Synchronized Position, Hold, Engage, and

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About Layer 8
Layer 8 is written by Michael Cooney, an online news editor with Network World