China Boasts World's Fastest Supercomputer

BEIJING (AFP) – China is set to trump the US to take the number one spot for the fastest supercomputer ever made in a survey of the world's zippiest machines, it was reported Thursday.

Tianhe-1, meaning Milky Way, has a sustained computing speed of 2,507 trillion calculations per second, making it the fastest computer in China on a list published Thursday. But it is also 1.4 times faster that the world's current fastest ranked supercomputer in the US, housed at a national laboratory in Tennessee, according to the New York Times.

Tianhe-1 does its warp-speed "thinking" at the National Center for Supercomputing in the northern port city of Tianjin -- using mostly chips designed by US companies.
The Tianjin Meteorological Bureau and the National Offshore Oil Corporation data centre have both started trials using the computer. "It can also serve the animation industry and bio-medical research," Liu Guangming, the supercomputing centre's director, told state news agency Xinhua.

According to Jack Dongarra, a University of Tennessee computer scientist who maintains the official supercomputer rankings which are due to be released next week, the Chinese beast "blows away the existing number one machine". "We don't close the books until November 1, but I would say it is unlikely we will see a system that is faster," he told the New York Times.

It is not the first time, however, that the US has had its digital crown stolen by an Asian upstart. In 2002, Japan made a machine with more power than the top 20 American computers put together.

Japan is also working on a new machine called "K Computer" in a bid to take the supercomputing crown. Computer designer Steven J. Wallach is not overly worried by China's rise to computing superpower. "It's interesting, but it's like getting to the four-minute mile," he told the New York Times. "The world didn't stop. This is just a snapshot in time. "They want to show they are number one in the world, no matter what it is."

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The Number One way to Improve Your Memory

Memory loss is the single biggest fear for Americans over the age of 55. And it’s understandable: over 4 million currently suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and those numbers are expected to quadruple by 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Foundation. That may be why products promising to improve your brain function are flooding the market. Sudoku and crossword puzzles are said to improve memory association skills, though critics believe only when put to task by those puzzles. Ginkgo infused soft drinks line the grocery aisle, ever since the root was suggested to combat dementia (it doesn't). Even celery has been loosely linked to mental acuity. But the truth is there’s not enough hard evidence that any of these things really work.

In fact, there’s only one practice that’s been proven, without question, to preserve your memory: exercise. "Aerobic activities tend to show larger effects than non-aerobic activities," University of Pittsburgh psychologist Kirk Erickson tells Yahoo.

Working up a sweat helps your mind stay fit better than any crossword puzzle--unless you're doing that crossword on a treadmill.

The good news is that you don’t need to run a marathon. Just walking six miles a week can ward off memory disorders caused by aging, according to Erickson's research published this month in the medical journal Neurology. "It appears that if people start exercising their memory may improve and if you continue to exercise, that might delay, or offset, the age-related decline in memory," he explains.

And you don't need to lift any heavy barbells either. Erickson and his team monitored 300 senior adults over a period of 13 years, and found that those who walked between 6 and 9 miles a week—whether to work or with the dog--had half the brain deterioration of those who didn’t. "Exercise seems to enhance some of the more fundamental properties of our brain," Erickson explains. "It increases the growth of new cells and improves cellular processes associated with learning and memory." To put it simply, walking keeps your gray matter from shrinking. And the more matter, the more mind.

Another study published earlier this year suggests exercise can actually help your brain grow. A moderate workout may generate new brain cells. And not just any brain cells, but cells that specifically help to distinguish between memories, so each recollection stands out. It’s the kind of function you rely on every day, says Tim Bussey, one of the authors of the Cambridge University study. "[These cells help with] remembering which car parking space you have used on two different days in the previous week."

But exercise isn't the only way to keep tabs on your parking spot. There are some supplemental practices that doctors recommend in addition to a regular walk-a-thon. Diets rich in Omega fatty acids are instrumental in keeping your brain from aging. Two servings of salmon a week, provides ingredients that support brain tissue and enhance nerve cell function. Balancing fish with the other elements of a Mediterranean diet, like fruits and vegetables, has been found to lower the chances of cognitive decline. When it comes to memory retrieval, self-testing can be beneficial. In other words, pausing between paragraphs of an article and asking yourself to paraphrase the information, or repeat a fact. It can't hurt if that article is written in another language. Bilingualism, says one new study, helps ward off Alzheimer’s for up to four years. But it doesn't prevent the disease altogether. Your best

Fast Train Show China's Engineering Might

China rolled out its fastest train yet on Tuesday and announced that the Three Gorges Dam, the world's biggest hydroelectric project, is now generating electricity at maximum capacity — engineering triumphs that signal the nation's growing ambitions as its economy booms.

The successes demonstrate how, after decades of acquiring technology from the west, Beijing has begun to push the limits of its new capabilities, setting the bar higher on mega-projects as it seeks to promote the image of a powerful, modern China. But many of these initiatives have come at great human and environmental cost, and some have questioned whether the country fosters a sufficiently innovative spirit to compete on the next level.

Still in the works: more nuclear power plants, a gargantuan project to pump river water from the fertile south to the arid north, and a $32.5 billion, 820-mile (1,300-kilometer) Beijing-to-Shanghai high-speed railway that is scheduled to open in 2012.

"We are now much faster," Railway Ministry spokesman Wang Yongping said at Tuesday's inauguration of the super-fast line from Shanghai's western suburb of Hongqiao to the resort city of Hangzhou. "Now other countries are hoping to cooperate with us."

The train will cruise at a top speed of 220 mph (350 kph), making the 125-mile (200-kilometer) trip in 45 minutes.

China already has the world's longest high-speed rail network and aims to more than double its length to 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) by 2020.

Chinese companies are also vying for projects overseas, including in the U.S., which leads the world in freight railway technology but has almost no high-speed rail expertise. That's a mark of how well and quickly the technology has been adopted by Chinese companies, who have traditionally only been able to compete on price in bidding for railway and other basic infrastructure projects in the developing world.

Heavy Smoking Linked to Alzheimer's in Study

MONDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Heavy smoking in middle age seems to increase the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease or another dementia, a large new study suggests.

"We found that people who reported heavy smoking in midlife had more than a 100 percent increase in risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia," said lead researcher Rachel A. Whitmer, a research scientist in Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.

"We have known that smoking is a risk factor for cancer, stroke and cardiovascular disease," she said. "This adds to the evidence that what is bad for the heart is bad for the brain."

The report is published in the Oct. 25 online edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

For the study, Whitmer's group collected data on 21,123 ethnically diverse people in the Kaiser Permanente health care system who were surveyed between 1978 and 1985, when they were 50 to 60 years old.

During an average follow-up of 23 years, the researchers found that 25.4 percent were diagnosed with dementia, including Alzheimer's (1,136 people) or vascular dementia (416 people), which is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. Vascular dementia is caused by damage to the arteries in the brain.

Compared with non-smokers, those who smoked more than two packs of cigarettes a day in midlife had a "dramatic increase" in the incidence of dementia -- more than a 157 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and a 172 percent increased risk of developing vascular dementia, Whitmer's team found.

Former smokers and people who smoked less than half a pack a day did not appear to be at increased risk of Alzheimer's or vascular dementia, the researchers note.

The associations between smoking and dementia did not change even after adjusting for race or gender, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart attack, stroke or weight, they add.

A link between Alzheimer's and smoking has been shown before, but this new study pinpoints the specific risk for middle-age smokers for developing both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia, the researchers say.

Smoking, an established risk factor for stroke, may contribute to the likelihood of vascular dementia by causing small clots in the brain. Smoking also contributes to oxidative stress and inflammation, which may be linked to the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, the researchers say.

"The brain is not immune to long-term damage from smoking," Whitmer said.

Two smaller studies of predominantly white participants also suggested that mid-life smoking raised the risk of developing Alzheimer's, researchers noted.

Commenting on the new study, William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer at the Alzheimer's Association, said "this is a sound confirmation of something that's been known for a while."

Another expert, Dr. Samuel E. Gandy, the Mount Sinai Professor of Alzheimer's Disease Research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, said the findings are promising.

"Environmental factors in Alzheimer's disease have been long sought, and, until now, only head injury has emerged," Gandy said. "Unlike head injury, a tobacco smoking association is especially important because that is a risk that can be modified."

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Scariest Jobs In America 2010

Certain careers can be scary for many reasons and touch upon a variety of phobias, from the fear of death to the fear of performing in front of large crowds. Although these careers may not be scary to the people who do them on a daily basis, the general public certainly would not feel the same way.

1. Forensic Entomologist

Forensic entomology uses the study of insect and arthropod biology to criminal investigations, from death investigations to detecting drugs and poisons. Forensic entomologists can also be called in for "urban entomology," where pest infestations are the basis of litigation, or the scale of pesticide treatments can be understood.

"It's no surprise that Forensic Entomologist came out on top," says Tony Lee, publisher, CareerCast.com. "Forensic Entomologists carve up cadavers in search of crime scene clues, but with a unique twist — their specialty is not the bodies themselves, but the insects living inside the bodies. Forensic Entomologists can determine the time or place a crime occurred based on the type of beetles, flies or maggots living inside the victim."

Phobias include Necrophobia (fear of dead bodies), Entomophobia (fear of insects) and Hemophobia (fear of blood). Forensic entomologists get the top spot as scariest job, not for the danger associated with the profession, but for the intense, creepy-crawly nature of the work that would surely scare off most people.

2. Miner

Miners are tasked with extracting ore or minerals from the earth, which requires work in an often dangerous subterranean environment. With the recent rescue of 33 Chilean miners and several highly publicized fatal mine collapses and explosions, it's no mystery why miners have a scary job. The use of underground explosives, heavy machinery and the prospect of poor ventilation in some mines give potential workers numerous reasons to fear.

Claustrophobia (the fear of small spaces), Achluophobia (fear of darkness) and Mysophobia (fear of germs or dirt) are all fears associated with the mining profession.

3. Broadcast Tower Technician

The job of Broadcast Tower Technician is far scarier than other high-flying jobs such as sky scraper window washers. Recently, when a video of a technician free climbing the top portion of a 1763 foot broadcast tower (30 feet taller than the Sears Tower) went viral online, many people got a taste of just how scary this job can be. Broadcast towers, the tallest of which is the KVLY-TV tower in North Dakota at 2,063 feet, require manual maintenance, and technicians must physically climb to the top of the tower. Often, the only safety mechanism is a harness that can be connected to the tower's structure only when the technician is not ascending or descending.
The main phobias associated with this job are Acrophobia (fear of heights) and Astraphobia (fear of thunder and lightning), which are real fears for Broadcast Tower Technicians.

4. Bomb Squad Technician

Bomb squad technicians are tasked with controlling hazardous explosive devices — often in populated areas — and rendering them safe. Since even a small error could prove fatal and the job itself places workers in immediate danger, it's no wonder that bomb squad technicians are among the scariest jobs in America.
The profession was given center stage in the 2009 film "The Hurt Locker", but bomb squad technicians are not only confined to conflict zones. The LAPD, which employs 28 full-time bomb technicians on call 24 hours per day, responds to about 1,000 service calls each year, using special tools such as bomb suits, x-ray devices and bomb blankets. According to their website, approximately 22% of the calls they handle are live explosive devices, a scary prospect for even the most highly trained technicians. The closest major phobias are Nucleomitiphobia (fear of nuclear bombs) and Thanatophobia (fear of dying), although you would also expect most people to have a general fear of explosions.


5. Field Epidemiologist

Epidemiology is the study of disease in populations with the intent to understand, cure, and prevent infectious disease as they occur. Field Epidemiology, the application of epidemiological methods in non-clinical settings, is generally more risky than working in a traditional medical setting. Often putting themselves in close proximity to communicable and little understood diseases, doctors working as field epidemiologists certainly put themselves at risk, which would scare anyone with Mysophobia (fear of germs, contamination or dirt) or Nosophobia (fear of contracting a disease). Although scary for some, the work of field epidemiologists directly serves the greater good, working to build data on diseases in order to treat the cause and prevent outbreaks, which can happen both in urban areas and in poverty-stricken countries. Often putting themselves in close proximity to communicable and little understood diseases, doctors working as field epidemiologists certainly put themselves at risk, which would scare anyone with Mysophobia (fear of germs, contamination or dirt) or Nosophobia (fear of contracting a disease).

Although scary for some, the work of field epidemiologists directly serves the greater good, working to build data on diseases in order to treat the cause and prevent outbreaks, which can happen both in urban areas and in poverty-stricken countries.

Seven Basic Ways to Speed up your Computer

You may have heard some of these tips before, but actually taking the time to do them will save you time and frustration down the line.

1. Delete old files.

Run through your folders and delete any pictures or documents you don't need. Extra files take up extra space on the hard drive, and keeping your hard drive clear is the best way to keep the machine running smoothly.

Look for old homework, papers, reports, and downloads and delete everything you no longer need. Don't forget to delete temporary Internet files periodically. Here are instructions for removing them from your PC or Mac.

Upload your photos to Flickr and store them on CDs or an external hard drive so you can make more room on your hard drive.

2. Empty your trash or recycle folder.
The files you "delete" aren't actually gone until you delete them permanently from your computer's trash or recycle folder.

3. Delete programs you don't use.

It's easy to download a program, use it once and then forget it's there, but applications take up space on your hard drive. Look through your programs folder or start menu and get rid of everything you don't use.

4. Take note of what programs open when you start the computer.

A lot of programs and applications (especially Internet chat programs) are set to open automatically when you turn on your computer. Having too many open programs will slow down your machine, so make sure the only programs that are running are ones you're using.

To adjust what programs open in Windows, right-click on the start menu, click "Properties," choose to customize your classic start menu, and drag files out of the startup folder.

"If you have a lot of things running, that tends to slow things down," Matos said.

5. Keep your Internet router away from magnetic fields.

Keep your wireless Internet router away from other wireless communication devices like cell phones and cordless phones. Your connection will improve without the interference.

6. Shut it down – every night.

Try to shut your computer down on a daily basis. When your computer is turned off, the parts inside aren't running and won't wear down as quickly. Overall, you'll extend the life of your machine.

Running a computer all the time can cause a hard drive to break down, and the machine to stop working. You'll enjoy your computer longer, and it won't use up nearly as much energy when it's shut down.

"As long as your computer gets roughly two hours of rest time on a daily basis, that's what's important," Matos said. "Overnight would be ideal."

7. Run a disk cleanup or disk defragmenter.

These specific programs are for Windows, but other operating systems have similar options. Disk cleanup will delete temporary Internet files and cookies, leaving your hard drive clear – run this program once a week.

Defragmentation compresses your information and organizes it so your computer won't have to work as hard to load your files – run this program once a month. (Matos points out that if you aren't comfortable running these programs, Geek Squad can help.)

Powered Only by Himself - Student Flies Like a Bird

A Canadian university student has done what Leonardo da Vinci had only dreamt of: Piloted a human-powered "wing-flapping" plane! Called an ornithopter, and the inspiration for modern day helicopters, the machine was first sketched by da Vinci way back in 1485 and never actually built.

Todd Reichert, an engineering student at the University of Toronto, made history by sustaining flight in his ornithopter -- named Snowbird -- for 19.3 seconds and covering 475.72 feet. Snowbird is made from carbon fiber, balsa wood, and foam. The 92.59 pound vehicle maintained an average speed of 15.91 miles per hour.

Todd and his plane made the accomplishment on August 2, 2010, at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Tottenham, Ontario. The crew kept the achievement quiet for nearly two months to get the data finalized. Todd and some 30 other students had been working on the plane for 4 years.

The team went through 65 practice flights, and sadly, the aircraft will probably never be flown again.

Todd endured a year-long exercise program in which he lost 18 lbs. to prep for the flight. Because the plane has a wingspan of 104 feet -- which is comparable to that of a Boeing 737 -- the pilot had to pedal with his legs all while pulling on the wings to flap at the same time. And he had to do it fast enough to fly!

"Our original goal was to complete this sort of original aeronautical dream to fly like a bird," said 28-year-old Reichert yesterday. "The idea was to fly under your own power by flapping your wings."

The flight, witnessed by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, is the first officially confirmed flight in an ornithopter.

"Thousands of people have tried to do this for hundreds of years," said Reichert. "To be honest, I don't think it's really set in yet that I'm the one who has been successful. I was pushing with everything I had. When I finally let go and landed, I was hit with a breadth of excitement. It was pretty wild."

I bet it was, Todd!

Tigers could be Extinct within 12 Years

According to Ola Jennersten, head of the international nature conservation program at WWF Sweden, tigers could become extinct within 12 years but a top level meeting in Russia next month could help reverse the decline, nature conservation body WWF said on Thursday.

The organization is leading a global campaign to attempt to double the number of tigers by 2022, when the next Chinese calendar year of the tiger comes around.

WWF said that in the last century, illegal hunting, a shrinking habitat and the trade of tiger parts used in oriental medicine had sent the number of the big cats worldwide plunging 97 percent to around just 3,200 tigers today.

"Despite the gloomy figures, the situation is more hopeful than ever," Jennersten said, praising a political initiative of 13 'tiger states' and different bodies set to meet in Russia on November 21-24 in a bid to halt possible extinction of the species.

"This will be achieved through increased political involvement, focus on the tiger landscapes that have the greatest chance of long term retention of the tiger, and increased control of tiger trade," he said.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who in the past years has made a big show of his love for nature, publicly kissing animals and engaging in a string of stunts involving wildlife including tigers, is expected to attend the summit in Saint Petersburg.

WWF said some 1,800 tigers live in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, 450 live in Sumatra, 400 in Malaysia, 350 are spread throughout southeast Asia and around 450 live in the wild in Russia.

Tips on How to Save on Computers

1. Pick up a Refurbished Machine

Computer makers, including Apple, offload these items for highly discounted prices—often about 25 percent off—on their websites, says Brian Barrett, a reporter for the technology blog Gizmodo.com. "Like new models, these products usually carry a warranty,” says Barrett. "And they go through strict quality control, too."

2. Don't be Brand Loyal.

Most machines are similar to one another in terms of quality, including brands that you might not be familiar with, such as Asus and Acer, which can sell for hundreds of dollars less than leading names, says Dylan Tweney, a senior editor at the tech website Wired.com.

3. Skip the Extended Warranty.

If a desktop is going to break, it will probably do so within the manufacturer's warranty period. A laptop, however, is more fragile and often requires repairs later in its life, so a warranty good for three more years can save you money down the line. But don't buy it from a store or the manufacturer; get it from an independent provider, like Squaretrade.com. For example, you'll pay $130 at a retailer, but only $50 online. And consider getting a warranty with accident coverage. You'll pay 50 percent more for this protection, but you'll be covered if you drop your machine.

4. Don't Buy More Memory than you Need.

The minimum amount of RAM that comes with most computers is enough to handle basic tasks, such as e-mailing photographs and watching a video, says Barrett. If you need to perform more advanced functions, such as video editing, find out how much more memory you will need (the software should say how much is required), then upgrade at a lower cost (typically $50 to $200) after you buy your computer.