Alex Torex Blog

SciTech oriented blog

AlphaDog Prototype

AlphaDog Proto – YouTube

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Robotics | Leave a Comment

Scientists solve riddle of why leaves change colour – only to fall off shortly after

Leaves changing colour before winter sets in and they fall is a familiar sight – captured here in the contrast between birch trees (yellow), beech (red) and evergreen pines in a forest near Gdynia in Poland’s Pomerania.

Scientists recently answered the question of why plants might expend energy producing red pigment in leaves – only for them to fall off.

Scientists solve riddle of why leaves change colour – only to fall off shortly after | Mail Online

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Evolution | Leave a Comment

In sfarsit, devenim o natiune. Am vazut luminita

Un lung sir de evenimente ma face sa concluzionez ca am iesit la liman. Nu, nu economic. Dar avem, in sfarsit, aproape o constiinta comuna, a natiunii noastre. Perceptii comune, idei comune, un mod comun de a privi evenimentele. Cei mai multi, nu toti. Adica, percep mult visata masa critica, de cetateni constienti si onesti, care deceleaza clar intre populism si realism, care au in fata ochilor si viitorul nostru comun, nu doar interesele momentului. Care n-au plecat urechea la chemarile opozitiei de a demola totul. Ca sa puna in loc ce si pe cine? Au inteles, spre deosebire de greci, ca de unde nu-i nici Dumnezeu nu poate da. Cat despre opozitie, n-ai cum sa-i pretinzi intelegere. Ca nu are de unde.

In sfarsit, devenim o natiune. Am vazut luminita – Opinii – HotNews.ro

September 30, 2011 Posted by | News RO | Leave a Comment

Amazon Silk is the First Step in Giving Mobiles Unlimited Computing Power

“The problem with mobile phones, says Allan Knies, associate director of Intel Research at Berkeley, is that everyone wants them to perform like a regular computer, despite their relatively paltry hardware. Byung-Gon Chun, a research scientist at Intel Research Berkeley, thinks that he might have the solution to that problem: create a supercharged clone of your smart phone that lives in “the cloud” and let it do all the computational heavy lifting that your phone is too wimpy to handle.

Cloning your mobile device in the cloud opens up wild possibilities that go well beyond simply speeding up your access to the web.

1. CloneCloud has the capability to calculate whether it’s faster and more power-efficient to run a process on a phone or to run it in the cloud and transmit the results to the phone.”

Amazon Silk is the First Step in Giving Mobiles Unlimited Computing Power – Technology Review

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Technology | Leave a Comment

Maruja Retana – Right Through Me (Official Music Video) [HD]

Maruja Retana – Right Through Me (Official Music Video) [HD] – YouTube

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Music | Leave a Comment

Maria Mena – Homeless

Maria Mena – Homeless – YouTube

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Music | Leave a Comment

Vitaminele şi comportamentul nesănătos

“Ai avut vreodată sentimentul, după o sesiune energică de exerciţii sau poate după o plimbare lungă, că ţi-ai câştigat dreptul la o felie enormă de tort sau dreptul de a te întinde leneş în faţa televizorului? Psihologii numesc acest lucru “efecte de permisiune”.

Un nou studiu a cercetat un fenomen similar, consecinţă a simplului act de a lua o pilulă cu vitamine.

Cercetătorii spun că descoperirea ar putea explica de ce creşterea explozivă a consumului de suplimente alimentare (aproximativ jumătate din populaţia SUA le consumă, conform unor date recente) nu a dus totuşi la o îmbunătăţire considerabilă a stării generale de sănătate. “

Vitaminele şi comportamentul nesănătos

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Healthy Life Style | Leave a Comment

Epigenetic clue to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

“TWIN studies have shown that people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have changes in gene activity caused by their environment. The finding provides the strongest evidence yet that such gene changes might cause the conditions.

Jonathan Mill at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, and colleagues scanned the genome of 22 pairs of identical twins – chosen because one twin in each pair was diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

As expected, the twins had identical DNA. However, they showed significant differences in chemical “epigenetic” markings – changes that do not alter the sequence of DNA but leave chemical marks on genes that dictate how active they are. These changes were on genes that have been linked with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.”

Epigenetic clue to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder – health – 30 September 2011 – New Scientist

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Genetics | Leave a Comment

Fostul ministru al Economiei Codrut Seres si 6 actuali si fosti sefi de la Hidroelectrica, trimisi in judecata pentru complot si subminarea economiei nationale

Codrut Seres, fost ministru al Economiei si Comertului, si 6 actuali sau fosti sefi din cadrul companiei Hidroelectrica au fost trimisi in judecata pentru complot si subminarea economiei nationale, anunta Directia de Investigare a Infractiunilor de Criminalitate Organizata si Terorism, intr-un comunicat. Ceilalti 6 inculpati sunt Pena Eugen, in varsta de 63 de ani – fost director general al S.C. Hidroelectrica S.A, Geormaneanu Victoria, in varsta de 63 de ani – fost director economic la S.C. Hidroelectrica S.A.,  Asan George Lavinius, in varsta de 53 de ani – director furnizare la S.C. Hidroelectrica S.A., Opris Nicolae, in varsta de 52 de ani – fost sef Serviciu Marketing -  Furnizare la S.C. Hidroelectrica S.A., Oprea Traian, in varsta de 60 de ani – director general la S.C. Hidroelectrica S.A. si Iosif Georgeta, in varsta de 55 de ani – director economic la S.C. Hidroelectrica S.A.

In vederea acoperirii prejudiciului, procurorii D.I.I.C.O.T. au dispus aplicarea sechestrului asigurator asupra mai multor autoturisme, imobile – locuinte si terenuri, precum si sume de bani apartinand inculpatilor, in valoare totala de aproximativ 6.000.000 lei, 400.000 Euro si 200.000 de dolari.”

DIICOT: Fostul ministru al Economiei Codrut Seres si 6 actuali si fosti sefi de la Hidroelectrica, trimisi in judecata pentru complot si subminarea economiei nationale – Anticoruptie – HotNews.ro

September 30, 2011 Posted by | News RO | Leave a Comment

RAGE – Jackal Canyon gameplay video footage looks fantastic

RAGE – Jackal Canyon Official Gameplay Trailer – YouTube

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Games | Leave a Comment

Difuzoarele miniaturale X-Mini Rave redau oriunde sunetul fidel și recepția radio FM – 189 lei

Noile difuzoare X-Mini Rave în formă de capsulă duc la un nou nivel calitativ sunetul redat de pe dispozitivele electronice portabile (telefoane, tablete, netbookuri etc). Claritatea și puterea audio sunt acompaniate de o nouă facilitate – receptorul RAVE intern care le permite utilizatorilor să asculte posturile de radio FM oriunde s-ar deplasa și fără a conecta difuzoarele la vreun alt aparat. Gadgeturile X-Mini Rave sunt disponibile în premieră pe piața românească prin VHCI Business Development, importatorul X-Mini în România.

MediaLOOK: Difuzoarele miniaturale X-Mini Rave redau oriunde sunetul fidel și recepția radio FM

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Gadgets RO | Leave a Comment

The Crowning Of A Champion : Web Browser Grand Prix 7: Firefox 7, Chrome 14, Opera 11.51

In the closest conclusion this series has ever seen, Mozilla is finally able to take the crown, earning its first Web Browser Grand Prix championship with Firefox 7. Although Firefox has two fewer wins than Chrome 14, Mozilla’s browser manages to earn three more strong finishes than Chrome, which we consider sealing the deal, if by only a hair.

Enjoy it while you can Firefox fans; Google doesn’t like to play second fiddle for very long. In fact, we wouldn’t be one bit surprised if a “minor” update that happens to contain a performance game-changer is pushed to Chrome within days (or hours) of this publication.

The Crowning Of A Champion : Web Browser Grand Prix 7: Firefox 7, Chrome 14, Opera 11.51

September 30, 2011 Posted by | IT | Leave a Comment

Kinect Project Merges Real and Virtual Worlds

KinectFusion, a research project that lets users generate high-quality 3-D models in real time using a standard $100 Kinect, was the star of the show at Microsoft Research’s 20th anniversary event held this week at its European headquarters in Cambridge, U.K. KinectFusion also includes a realistic physics engine that allows scanned objects to be manipulated in realistic ways.

The technology allows objects, people, and entire rooms to be scanned in 3-D at a fraction of the normal cost. Imagine true-to-life avatars and objects being imported into virtual environments. Or a crime scene that can be re-created within seconds. Visualizing a new sofa in your living room and other virtual interior design tricks could become remarkably simple.

3-D scanners already exist, but none of them approach KinectFusion in ease of use and speed, and even desktop versions cost around $3,000.

“In the same way that products like Microsoft Office democratized the creation of 2-D documents, with KinectFusion anyone can create 3-D content just by picking up a Kinect and scanning something in,” says team member Steve Hodges.

The first public unveiling of KinectFusion at the SIGGRAPH conference in Vancouver in August triggered huge excitement.

Kinect Project Merges Real and Virtual Worlds – Technology Review

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Technology | 1 Comment

Eoliana SF lansată în România. Levitează magnetic şi merge aproape fără vânt

Potenţialul eolian al României a atras atenţia unei companii amerciane care vrea să ne vândă centrale eoliene desprinse parcă din filmele SF. Pentru a produce electricitate, ele folosesc un principiu similar celebrului tren Maglev, inventat de savantul Nicholas Tesla.

Eoliana SF lansată în România. Levitează magnetic şi merge aproape fără vânt – portalul de business MONEY.ro

September 30, 2011 Posted by | Gadgets RO | Leave a Comment

Syndicate Announce Trailer HD

Syndicate Announce Trailer HD – YouTube

September 29, 2011 Posted by | Games | Leave a Comment

Toxic – un film romanesc despre alimentatie

“Adevarul este TOXIC!

Un film marca prof. dr. Mencinicopschi, alias Dr. Menci, realizat de Andrei Sota.

TOXIC – dezvaluie adevarul despre alimentele pe care le consumam zilnic, prezentat intr-o viziune
proaspata si nonconformista. “

Toxic on Vimeo

September 29, 2011 Posted by | Health - Nutrition | Leave a Comment

Computer model reveals what would happen if humans became immortal

“On a strictly individual level, you’d assume that the immortals would do better than the mortals. After all, they remain healthy indefinitely, and they don’t have to worry about anyone else growing so sick or feeble that they become a burden. But Martins ran the simulation over many generations, and this meant the mortals had a chance to keep breeding. After all, the mortals had to keep reproducing, or else their population would die out.

As the environment changed, some of the mortal offspring were mutated or otherwise became better adapted to their surroundings. The mortals eventually became dominant over the immortals, who were increasingly ill-adapted to their altered environment. Worse, because most immortals still weren’t dying off, they had no room to reproduce and replace the now ill-adapted members with younger, potentially fitter children.

Obviously, since this is just a computer simulation, it can’t be considered “proof” of why and how aging evolved. But it complicates a theoretical framework that has generally considered aging strictly an unwanted side effect of other, more advantageous adaptations. It’s also a reminder that evolution really does operate on a species-wide, multi-generational scale, and that natural selection is more than willing to sacrifice the fittest individuals — after all, what could seem more fit than an immortal? — in the name of a healthier species overall.”

Computer model reveals what would happen if humans became immortal

September 29, 2011 Posted by | Evolution | Leave a Comment

Interviu: Gheorghe Mencinicopschi – “Scapa cine stie”

“AC: Care este greșeala esențială pe care o facem în alimentație?

GM: Nu vă lăsați cumpriși de mrejele confortului! Bolile civilizației moderne sunt și boli generate de un confort morbid. În sensul în care nu mai vrem nici să urcăm scările – dacă se strică liftul e maaaare tregedie. Și ne-am dat pe mâna procesatorilor – pentru că am devenit prea comozi, nu mai vrem să ne preparăm deloc mâncarea. Ne găsim mereu scuze că n-avem timp și mâncăm pe stradă, mâncăm uitându-ne la televizor, mâncăm și tot mâncăm și tot mâncăm, nu știm ce mâncăm și până la urmă, evident, ne îmbolnăvim. Suntem tributari dragostei noastre morbide pentru un confort excesiv. Uneori ne e o lene de ne doare, cum spune melodia aceea.

AC: Și dacă ar fi să ne dezvăluiți din secretele dumneavoastră pentru a avea o viață echilibrată și sănătoasă?

GM: Este foarte simplu: din 1972, când am intrat în câmpul muncii, am cam aceeași schemă a activității cotidiene. Mă trezesc la 5 de dimineața, mă culc la 10 seara. Mănânc foarte bine dimineața, sunt atent să mă hidratez cu apă, nu consum alcool în exces – foarte rar și numai câte un pahar de vin de foarte bună calitate, natural. De câte ori am ocazia fac și mișcare, nu merg la sală, dar ați văzut câte scări am de urcat aici la Institut, niciodată nu folosesc liftul. Nu fumez, n-am fumat niciodată. Din când în când beau și o cafea de bună calitate, dar de regulă beau ceai verde neîndulcit, mănânc alimente pe care mi le prepar acasă. În general nu mănânc în restaurante și alimente procesate. Mănânc fructele, legumele mai ales atunci când apar în sezon. “

Interviu: Gheorghe Mencinicopschi – “Scapa cine stie” | Alimentaţie sănătoasă fără E-uri

September 29, 2011 Posted by | Blogs RO, Health - Nutrition | Leave a Comment

Eating your greens alters your genes

“CONSIDER the Brussels sprout: small, unassuming and ostensibly good for you. This is no mere side dish. A landmark study suggests that this dinky member of the cabbage family – along with rice, broccoli and possibly all the plants you eat – changes the behaviour of your genes in ways that are new to science.

In what is the strongest evidence yet that the genetic material in food survives digestion and circulates through the body, fragments of plant RNA have been found swimming in the bloodstreams of people and cows. What’s more the study by Chen-Yu Zhang of Nanjing University in China and his colleagues shows that some of these plant RNAs muffle gene expression and raise cholesterol levels in mice. The discovery opens up a new way to turn food into medicine: we may be able to design plants that change our genes for the better.

The genetic material in question is microRNA – tiny strands of RNA between 19 and 24 “letters” or nucleotides long. It is found in almost all cells with a nucleus and travels from cell to cell in the blood. Zhang and his colleagues wondered whether all the miRNA strands in our blood are made by our cells – or whether some comes from our food instead.”

Eating your greens alters your genes – life – 29 September 2011 – New Scientist

September 29, 2011 Posted by | Health - Anti-aging, Health - Medical Science | 1 Comment

Cea mai silenţioasă maşină de spălat rufe, disponibilă în România

“Whirlpool a adus în România noua maşină Top Loader Green Generation care, datorită tehnologiei unice ZEN, este cea silenţioasă de pe piaţă, oferind cea mai bună clasă de consum, A++.”

Cea mai silenţioasă maşină de spălat rufe, disponibilă în România – Companii > Capital.ro

September 29, 2011 Posted by | Gadgets RO | Leave a Comment