Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror

Submission + - Scientists crack 'entire genetic code' of cancer (bbc.co.uk)

Entropy98 writes: From the article: "Scientists have unlocked the entire genetic code of two of the most common cancers — skin and lung — a move they say could revolutionise cancer care.

Not only will the cancer maps pave the way for blood tests to spot tumours far earlier, they will also yield new drug targets, say the Wellcome Trust team. The scientists found the DNA code for a skin cancer called melanoma contained more than 30,000 errors almost entirely caused by too much sun exposure.

The lung cancer DNA code had more than 23,000 errors largely triggered by cigarette smoke exposure.

From this, the experts estimate a typical smoker acquires one new mutation for every 15 cigarettes they smoke.

Although many of these mutations will be harmless, some will trigger cancer."

Yet another step towards curing cancer. Though it will probably take many years to study so many mutations. My moneys still on viruses as the cure for cancer.

Security

Submission + - Domains May Disappear After Search 1

Ponca City, We Love You writes: "A perfect domain name pops into your mind, a quick check at your registrar reveals that the domain is available, you put off the registration a few minutes and when you come back to register the domain, it's taken by someone else. How much time has elapsed between the search and the attempted registration — in one case, less than 90 seconds. Daily Domainer has an interesting story alleging that there may be a leak that allows domain tasters to intercept, analyze and register your domain ideas in minutes. "Every time you do a whois search with any service, you run a risk of losing your domain," says one industry insider. ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC ) has not been able to find hard evidence of Domain Name Front Running but they have issued an advisory (pdf) for people to come forward with hard evidence it is happening. Here is how domain name research theft crimes can occur and some tips to avoiding being a victim."
Linux Business

Submission + - PC Mag slams Everex gPC (pcmag.com)

An anonymous reader writes: PC Magazine reviews the $200 Linux desktop wonder sold by Wal-Mart. This desktop sold out quickly and has been cited as proof that consumers are tired of the Windows tax and ready for Linux. Not so according to PC Magazine giving the gPC a 1.5 star rating. "The gPC is not the alternative to Windows or Mac OS X it's cracked up to be; it's very frustrating to use."
Announcements

Submission + - Jack Thompson Facing Disbarment Trial

pwizard2 writes: Controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson faces the start of an ethics trial this morning which could get him disbarred. Have we seen the end of his shenanigans, and is he finally going to see some long-overdue comeuppance?
The Military

Journal SPAM: Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy exercise 20

One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik." American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine sailed within viable range fo

The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Apple makes $831 on each iPhone 3

Ponca City, We Love You writes: "The New York Times reports that Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, has studied Apple's financial statement and come to the conclusion that AT&T appears to be paying Apple $18 a month, on average, for each iPhone activated on its network or up to $432 over a two year contract. This shows how much incentive Apple has to maintain its exclusive deal with AT&T rather than to sell unlocked phones or cut deals with multiple carriers. Last week Apple disclosed that 250,000 iPhones had been purchased but not registered with ATT that Apple thinks are being unlocked so Apple has now taken action to curb unauthorized resellers by limiting sales of the iPhone to two per customer and requiring that purchases must now be made with a credit or debit card — cash will not be accepted. The original story on what was happening to the unlocked phones was discussed on Slashdot."
Space

Submission + - Origin of cosmic rays explained ?

cats-paw writes: Cosmic rays are, well, cosmic, and their origin is something of amystery. Using measurements of the variability in X-ray emissions from a supernova, astronomers think they are very close to understanding how they are created.

Summary on NASA website

Abstract of the article in Nature

The key to the discovery seems to be an accurate measurement of the magnetic field of an object a few thousand light years away. Easy ! Wonder what took so long ?
Privacy

Submission + - CallerID spoofing to be made illegal (loc.gov) 1

MadJo writes: US Congress has just approved a bill that will make it illegal to spoof CallerID.
If someone is found guilty of spoofing his CallerID, he could face fines up to $10,000 per violation.

From the bill:

The amount of the forfeiture penalty (...) shall not exceed $10,000 for each violation, or 3 times that amount for each day of a continuing violation, except that the amount assessed for any continuing violation shall not exceed a total of $1,000,000 for any single act or failure to act.

Intel

Submission + - Theo de Raadt details Intel Core 2 bugs

Eukariote writes: Recently, Intel patched bugs in its Core 2 processors . Details were scarce, soothing words that a BIOS update was all that was required were spoken. OpenBSD founder Theo de Raadt has now provided more details and analysis on outstanding, fixed, an non-fixable Core 2 bugs. Some choice quotes: "Some of these bugs (...) will *ASSUREDLY* be exploitable from userland code.", "Some of these are things that cannot be fixed in running code, and some are things that every operating system will do until about mid-2008".
Toys

Submission + - Boeing's new 787 wings: Amazingly bendy (wired.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Boeing is making the wings of its new 787 out of carbon fiber instead of metal. That means the wings are so strong and flexible that they could bend upwards and touch above the fuselage — or come close. The company is expected to deliver the first 787 to All Nippon Airlines in May 2008. From Aviation Week:

Boeing has completed static testing of a three-quarter wingbox, but engineers are still considering whether to limit testing of the full wing to a 150% load limit held for 3 sec. of to continue bending it to see when it breaks. "There's a raging debate within the engineering team to see if we should break it or not," says [787 General Manager Mike] Bair.

The Internet

Submission + - Internet Tax Imminent?

jhigh writes: "Proposals to tax the Internet are gaining steam as state legislators see a giant pot of money just waiting to be dipped into. "At the moment, states and municipalities are frequently barred by federal law from collecting both access and sales taxes. But they're hoping that their new lobbying effort, coordinated by groups including the National Governors Association, will pay off by permitting them to collect billions of dollars in new revenue by next year.""
Power

Submission + - New Fuel Cell 2x as Efficient as Genererators (ecogeek.org)

Hank Green writes: "A new kind of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell has been developed that can consume any kind of fuel (from hydrogen to bio-diesel) that is over two times more efficient than traditional generators. Acumentrics is attempting to market the technology both to off-grid applications (like National Parks) and also for home use as personal Combined Heat and Power plants that are extremely efficient (up to two times less carbon-intensive than grid power.)"
Censorship

Submission + - Surprise arrest for online Scientology critic

destinyland writes: "An online critic of Scientology was confronted at a routine hearing Tuesday with surprise arrest warrants, and thrown into jail. Six years as a fugitive ended in Feburary. (After picketing a Scientology complex in 2000, he'd been arrested for "threatening a religion" over a Usenet joke about "Tom Cruise Missiles.") But 64-year-old Keith Henson had been out on bail, and was even scheduled to address the European Space Agency conference on Space Elevators. He's a co-founder of the Space Colony movement, and one of the original researchers at Texas Instruments. In this interview he discusses both space-based solar energy and his war with the Scientologists — just a few days before he was arrested and sent to prison."

Slashdot Top Deals

Maternity pay? Now every Tom, Dick and Harry will get pregnant. -- Malcolm Smith

Working...