Skin transformed into brain cells

Skin cells have been converted directly into cells which develop into the main components of the brain, by researchers studying mice in California.

via bbc.co.uk

Ok, so the research was performed in mice and there are many steps to complete before this could become a viable treatment in people, but what a great piece of work.

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Andrew Lansley bankrolled by private healthcare provider - Telegraph

The Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6989408/Andrew-Lansle... has a fairly damning report on Andrew Lansley from early 2010. Here's a snippet:

> John Nash, the chairman of Care UK, gave £21,000 to fund Andrew Lansley’s personal office in November. Mr Nash, a private equity tycoon, also manages several other businesses providing services to the NHS and stands to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Conservative policies to increase the use of private health providers.

Surely it can't be right for him to push through a bill that would massively benefit private healthcare providers while at the same time being funded by such a company? This sounds to me like a career-killing conflict of interest. At least we know now why he presses on with the bill despite opposition from all the major professional bodies.

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Sky to offer fibre optic Internet connections

The Verge have a report (http://www.theverge.com/hd/2012/1/31/2760677/sky-internet-tv-launch-2012) on Sky's new Internet TV product. It sounds cool, but the bit that sprang out at me was:

Sky also announced today that it will offer fiber broadband from April.

That's a service I'll be signing up to at the earliest opportunity (which I guess will be April).

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Solar Streetlights Generate Grid Juice

The report says:

These solar street lights can, appar­ent­ly, oper­ate entire­ly off the grid. But when they are con­nect­ed to the con­ven­tion­al elec­tric­i­ty grid, they can actu­al­ly sup­ple­ment that grid with renew­able ener­gy, above and beyond what they use to keep the lights on.

They might not return very much power to the grid but if they can provide a decent light without drawing from the grid they sound like a really good idea. 

Solar Streetlights Generate Grid Juice
http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/01/solar-streetlights-generate-grid-juice/

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So I've made it as far as the UAE...

But there's fog at Abu Dhabi so we've been diverted to a city on the other side of the country. As I type we've been parked on the runway for 30 minutes with no sign of movement. My flight to Manila leaves in just over two hours; will I make it? The only thing I'm sure of at the moment is that my plans for a relaxed layover in Abu Dhabi have been lost in the fog.

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The joy of Abu Dhabi airport wears thin

Don't get me wrong, the staff are polite and attentive, the chairs comfortable, the food good, the drinks flowing and yet, now that I've been here for four hours, I'm ready to leave. Comfortable though the chairs are, they are not conducive to sleep; I think I've slept for 3 hours in the last 28 so I'm quite keen to get on the plane to Manila.

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French plan financial tax

The BBC are running a story:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced plans to introduce a tax on financial transactions.
The 0.1% levy will be introduced in August regardless of whether other European countries follow suit.

The story is fantastically vague. It mentions stocks but it doesn't really explain how it will work or which financial transactions will be covered. Are they targeting professional traders or small savers? Will the tax cover all transactions processed by a bank or just those dealing in the sale of shares?

The tax will form part of a package aimed at encouraging growth and creating jobs, although it's hard to see how the economy can be taxed into growth. It will be interesting to see if they go ahead and what, if any, effect it has. Sarkozy seems to have forgotten, or maybe he'll explain later, that, ultimately, all financial transactions are done on behalf of individual people. Taxing the transactions might sting bankers and make good headlines in the short-term but it will also punish an awful lot of other people who wouldn't normally be described as wealthy but just happen to part of their savings (possibly pensions, for example) invested in stocks. 

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Desktops - Physical and Virtual

Nice article (http://www.coolhunting.com/culture/desktops.php) about the physical and virtual desktops of six creative people. It's quite interesting to see how people organise their workspaces. I can't stand clutter in my work area so some of these desktops (both sorts) would drive me up the wall.

For comparison, here is a photo of my physical and virtual desktops.

For the full article, check Cool Hunting: http://www.coolhunting.com/culture/desktops.php

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3D printer makers' rival visions of future

Objects can be created on a computer using free online software such as TinkerCAD or Google Sketchup, before being transferred to the Replicator on a SD memory card. Alternatively other people's designs can be downloaded from Makerbot's community website Thingiverse.

via bbc.co.uk

I have no need for something like this and neither the time nor the inclination (nor, I suspect, the requisite skills) to learn how to use it but what a fantastic tool! Apart from the ability to make tools and components on demand, imagine what a generation of 3D hackers might produce given the time? Let's hope these things make it into our schools in decent numbers.

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Jesus and Mo

via jesusandmo.net

For today, this is my favourite Jesus and Mo.

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Dolphin increasingly on the menu in poor countries

I don't like the idea of eating cetaceans, and the timing of this seems to be most unfortunate, given that anti-whaling campaigns are finally having an impact.

...the consumption of animals such as whales, dolphins and manatees is on the rise in poor nations.

Dolphin increasingly on the menu in poor countries
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328463.700-dolphin-increasingly-on-the-menu-in-poor-countries.html

(Sent from Flipboard)

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U.S. Customs Denies iPad Passport Scan Got Canadian Across Border

They said:

“The asser­tion that a trav­el­er was admit­ted into the U.S. using sole­ly a scanned image of his pass­port on an iPad is cat­e­gor­i­cal­ly false,” a U.S. Cus­toms and Bor­der Patrol (CBP) spokesper­son said

So you can't get across the US border with a scanned passport but wouldn't it be cool if you could? After all, a passport is simply a printed token bearing identity information that can be verified by comparison with independent records; holding that token on a smart phone might make a lot of sense.

U.S. Customs Denies iPad Passport Scan Got Canadian Across Border
http://mashable.com/2012/01/04/canadian-ipad-passport/

(Sent from Flipboard)

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This guy owns only 15 things

I quite like the idea of owning a small number of things but I don't think I could manage with only 15:

Andrew Hyde owns only 15 things:

   1.    Arc’teryx Miura 30 backpack
   2.    NAU shirt
   3.    Mammut rain jacket
   4.    Arc’teryx tshirt
   5.    Patagonia running shorts
   6.    Quick Dry towel
   7.    NAU wool jacket
   8.    Toiletry kit
   9.    Smith sunglasses
   10.    Wallet
   11.    MacBook Air
   12.    iPhone 3GS
   13.    NAU dress shirt
   14.    Patagonia jeans
   15.    Running shoes

This guy owns only 15 things
http://www.grist.org/list/2012-01-04-this-guy-only-owns-15-things

(Sent from Flipboard)

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LG Releases Pics of the World’s Largest OLED Screen

I want a screen like this, although 55" is a bit too large for our living room and I suspect the price will be extortionate.

LG Releases Gorgeous New Pics of the World’s Largest OLED Screen
http://mashable.com/2012/01/01/lg-worlds-largest-oled/

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Password Generator

Job done, my Password Generator site is now available. Built for my own amusement (and use) it generates random passwords of varying complexity using a database of English words mashed together with symbols, numerals and upper case substitutions.

Have a look, let me know what you think: www.myryama.co.uk/passwords

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Windmaker by Luc van Hoeckel | Design Milk

Not sure how practical this is, or how effective it might be, but it looks fantastic.

Full story: http://design-milk.com/windmaker-by-luc-van-hoeckel/

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Elevation Dock: The Best Dock For iPhone by Casey Hopkins — Kickstarter

via kickstarter.com

Apologies if I've mentioned this before, but if you've got an iPhone you should really have a look at this Kickstarter project that aims to build the ultimate dock. They look great. I've ordered one.

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