The gene that makes us human has been identified

It's been dubbed neuropsin II, originated about 5 million years ago, and is only 45 amino acids longer than neuropsin I, which is found in various species of apes and monkeys.

Neuropsin II is being dubbed the 'cognition gene', and to make things even creepier, they have an experiment where they have spliced neuropsin II DNA in to some chimpanzees.

"The human and chimpanzee genomes vary by just 1.2 percent, yet there is a considerable difference in the mental and linguistic capabilities between the two species. A new study showed that a certain form of neuropsin, a protein that plays a role in learning and memory, is expressed only in the central nervous systems of humans and that it originated less than 5 million years ago. The study, which also demonstrated the molecular mechanism that creates this novel protein, will be published online in Human Mutation, the official journal of the Human Genome Variation Society. "

http://www.physorg.com/news97825267.html

Forcing subscribers to watch ads

Since ads are what purportedly pay for TV shows, it is not surprising that some company would eventually start disallowing users to fast forward through commercials. Apparently, they are also piloting a new system that will give people different sets of commercials every few days, to keep them 'fresh'. Seems pretty evil to me.

"SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Walt Disney Co.'s two big TV networks, ABC and ESPN, have struck a deal with cable operator Cox Communications Inc. to offer hit shows and football games on demand, but with the unusual condition that Cox disables the fast-forward feature that allows viewers to skip ads, according to a media report Tuesday."

This does not affect personal PVRs like replaytv or tivo, yet.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/video-on-demand-deal-bars-ad-skipping/story.aspx?guid=%7BD3E00E8E-DB73-4E1B-BCC8-2FDECF91CAE8%7D

Nifty light, is also a terrarium, and air filter

It does it all.

Carbon neutral, everything is recyclable and recycled, and it draws power for the LED from a solar panel.

From inhabitat.com:

"Combining LED lighting with indoor air purification using living plants, the fabulously innovative Green Light by Natalie Jeremijenko, Amelia Amon, Will Kavesh of the Experimental Design Lab is a chandelier, terrarium, and air filter all in one. The system brings clean air, light, AND greenery to your home- three things no one should live without."

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/05/07/green-light-botanical-lamp-and-air-filter/

Meditation: The key to improved attention?

"...a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that attention does not have a fixed capacity - and that it can be improved by directed mental training, such as meditation. "

In this study, subjects received 3 months of intensive training in Vipassana meditation. They then gave them the following test, with promising results.

"Volunteers were asked to look for target numbers that were mixed into a series of distracting letters and quickly flashed on a screen. As subjects performed the task, their brain activity was recorded with electrodes placed on the scalp. In some cases, two target numbers appeared in the series less than one-half second apart - close enough to fall within the typical attentional blink window.

The research group found that three months of rigorous training in Vipassana meditation improved people's ability to detect a second target within the half-second time window. In addition, though the ability to see the first target did not change, the mental training reduced the amount of brain activity associated with seeing the first target. "The decrease [of brain activity associated with the first target] strongly predicted the accuracy of their ability to detect the second target," Davidson says."

I wonder how much of their improvement has to do with practice and learning? The blurb does not mention whether there was a control group of subjects that also took these same tests over the same period of time, but did not get the meditation training.
Either way, this does indicate that attention is something that can be improved, whether it be from meditation, or simply practice of a task.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070507202029.htm

Solid Light for Tomorrow's Computers?

(Credit: Image courtesy of University of Melbourne) Quantum control: A potential design for a device which controls light. The block with the holes in it is a piece of diamond. The red spots are the particles of light 'stuck' in place, rather than roaming around freely.

A totally different way of thinking about light, but possibly a way to make quantum computers.

“Solid light photons repel each other as electrons do. This means we can control photons, opening the door to new kinds of faster computers,” says Dr Greentree. “Many real-world problems in quantum physics are too hard to solve with today’s computers. Our discovery shows how to replicate these hard problems in a system we can control and measure.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070506160623.htm

Emotional Mapping of Cities

(Pic): Artist Christian Nold demonstrates his system for detecting peoples' emotions while waking a neighborhood in San Francisco's Mission District.

Apparently, he's been doing this for 3 years, and his latest project is San Francisco. He's also made emotional maps of parts of Siena, Italy, Munich, and Germany. Here's his website.

How does he do it?

"First, he outfits volunteers with global positioning system devices and the sensors used in lie detector tests. Then, he sends his subjects out to wander their neighborhoods. When they return, Nold asks them to recount what they saw and felt when the polygraph recorded a quickened heartbeat or an elevated blood pressure."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/03/emotional.mapping.ap/index.html?eref=rss_health

World of Warcraft Rewards VISA Card

It's really here.

Not that much of a surprise (MAKE magazine speculated on this as early as 3/06), but this does indicate the growth of this target demographic, as well as the ability of credit cards to profess your individuality (and/or addictions).

Your REWARDS come in the form of game time.

I remember a few years back going to a local specialty bookstore and paying for a purchase with an amazon.com card. Definitely got some grumbling protests from the owners there.

Should be interesting to see the types of reactions WoW cardholders will get in every day life.

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/visa/