Logging The Cyber World

Tags: cosmo, god, physics, religion, stephen hawking, universe

God did not create the universe and the “Big Bang” was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book.

In “The Grand Design,” co-authored with U.S. physicist Leonard Mlodinow, Hawking says a new series of theories made a creator of the universe redundant, according to the Times newspaper which published extracts on Thursday.

“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist,” Hawking writes.

“It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

More on Yahoo News

Tags: community, facebook, facebook features, location based, twitter, twitter features

Facebook is expected to enable location sharing in its users’ News Feeds, a move that could automatically make the social network the dominant platform for location-based Web services. Twitter already has a geolocation feature that has been spotted in the wild. Meanwhile, social location upstart Foursquare will offer a free analytics tool and dashboard to give business owners information and statistics about visitors to their establishments. Google is also heavily invested in the future of location and social networking.

Facebook is expected to enable location sharing in its users’ News Feeds, a move that could automatically make the social network the dominant platform for location-based Web services.

A March 9 report in the New York Times cited sources saying Facebook would announce the news at its F8 developer conference, slated for April 21 and 22 in San Francisco.

More on eWeek.com

Tags: n. korea, nuclear test, underground explosion, underground nuke

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council swiftly condemned North Korea’s nuclear test on Monday as “a clear violation” of a 2006 resolution and said it will start work immediately on another one that could result in new sanctions against the reclusive nation.

Hours after North Korea defiantly conducted its second test, its closest allies China and Russia joined Western powers and representatives from the rest of the world on the council to voice strong opposition to the underground explosion.

After a brief emergency meeting held at Japan’s request, the council demanded that North Korea abide by two previous resolutions, which among other things called for Pyongyang to abandon all nuclear weapons and return to six-party talks aimed at eliminating its nuclear program.

It also called on all other U.N. member states to abide by sanctions imposed on the North, including embargoes on arms and material that could be used in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and ship searches for banned weapons.

More at Yahoo News

Tags: kiss chemicals, kisses, love, power of kiss, romance, saliva of kisses

CHICAGO – “Chemistry look what you’ve done to me,” Donna Summer crooned in Science of Love, and so, it seems, she was right. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a panel of scientists examined the mystery of what happens when hearts throb and lips lock. Kissing, it turns out, unleashes chemicals that ease stress hormones in both sexes and encourage bonding in men, though not so much in women.

Chemicals in the saliva may be a way to assess a mate, Wendy Hill, dean of the faculty and a professor of neuroscience at Lafayette College, told a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Friday.

In an experiment, Hill explained, pairs of heterosexual college students who kissed for 15 minutes while listening to music experienced significant changes in their levels of the chemicals oxytocin, which affects pair bonding, and cortisol, which is associated with stress. Their blood and saliva levels of the chemicals were compared before and after the kiss.

Both men and women had a decline in cortisol after smooching, an indication their stress levels declined.

For men, oxytocin levels increased, indicating more interest in bonding, while oxytocin levels went down in women. “This was a surprise,” Hill said.

Complete article at Yahoo News

Tags: Barack Obama, black president, inauguration, us president, washington d.c., white house

Barack Obama launched his presidency with somber yet confident tones Tuesday, telling a packed National Mall crowd the country will overcome its serious economic and international challenges.

“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real,” Obama said in his inaugural address. “They are serious, and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.”

Obama’s tempered optimism, however, was bookended by celebration in the Mall and across the country for the inauguration of the country’s first African-American president.

“This is America happening,” said Evadey Minott, a Brooklyn, New York, resident who witnessed the inauguration.

“It was prophesized by King that we would have a day when everyone would come together. This is that day. I am excited. I am joyful. It brings tears to my eyes.”

Read more @ CNN

Tags: articles, mac os x, market share, operating system, yahoo news

Apple’s share of the global operating system market is climbing steadily, and could top 8% this month, statistics from a Web metrics firm showed Wednesday.

The latest monthly numbers from Net Applications show that Mac OS X had 7.94% of the market in June. Considering that its share has been climbing an average of 0.18% a month over the last 10 months, Mac OS X could top 8% this month. In August 2007, the Apple OS had 6.18% of the market.

During the same period, Linux has also increased market share, rising to 0.8% of the market in June from 0.47% last August, according to Net Applications. Meanwhile, the global market share of Microsoft Windows has declined over the last 10 months. In June, Windows accounted for 90.89% of the market, down from 93.06%.

Complete article from Yahoo! News

Tags: buy, enemies, pantagon, satellite, spy, yahoo news

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon will buy and operate one or two commercial imagery satellites and plans to design and build another with more sophisticated spying capabilities, according to government and private industry officials.

The satellites could spy on enemy troop movements, spot construction at suspected nuclear sites and alert commanders to militant training camps.

The Broad Area Space-Based Imagery Collector satellite system, or BASIC, will cost between $2 billion and $4 billion. It would add to the secret constellation of satellites that now circle the Earth, producing still images that are pieced together into one large mosaic.

A single satellite can visit one spot on Earth once or twice every day. BASIC’s additional satellites will allow multiple passes over the same sites, alerting U.S. government users to potential trouble, humanitarian crises or natural disasters like floods.

From Yahoo! News.

Tags: global warming, iceberg, melting, news, north pole, polar bear, vanish

DailyTech has previously covered the frantic pace of melt in Greenland, which is accelerating, dumping vast amounts of water into the sea. Meanwhile, the North Pole has been steadily melting away as well. Fortunately, the North Pole ice is floating, and thus will not affect sea levels, but its dissolution is an important indicator of warming.

While some remain critical that global warming is occurring at all, the melting of the North Pole represents a sharp indicator against voices of doubt. Now scientists are predicting that a major milestone will be reached this summer or next — the disappearance of the North Pole’s ice cover during the Arctic Summer.

Full article here.

Tags: discovery, life on mars, mars, phoenix mission, red planet, Science

The Mars Lander’s mission on the fourth planet from the Sun is a dream come true for many scientists who have been trying for decades to prove that there is indeed water on Mars, and that where there’s water, there could be life.

NASA’s Phoenix lander recently discovered chunks of bright materials near the surface of the planet, which at a first glance appeared to be ice. Mission investigators were convinced: could it be anything else?

At the time, the answer would have been yes, as some feared those could have been in fact salt deposits. However, their complete disappearance in just days after they had been uncovered made it clear: it was water ice, as scientists confirmed last week.

Read the full article here.

Tags: auction, ebay, for sale, usher, yahoo news

From Sunday, June 22 for one week, Usher’s life is up for sale on eBay with the package including his $420,000 (US$397,000) three-bedroom house in Perth, Western Australia, a trial for his job at a rug store, his car, motorbike, clothes and even friends.

Usher, 44, told Reuters he had been inundated with emails from all over the world since he put his life up for grabs in March, largely from people supporting him but also from those who were asking for advice on how to change their own lives.

“I was taken aback by how much interest there has been and by the amount of people it has inspired and had an impact on,” said Usher who is hoping to raise up to $500,000 to fund a new life.

Complete story from Yahoo! News