May 27, 2007 - The SynBio approach is onto something big—a new version of nanotechnology, which is the craft of manufacturing things at the molecular scale. SynBio’s plan is to capitalize on the fact that biology is already doing molecular fabrication all the time. What might happen if we repurpose biology to our own ends?
I read Douglas Hofstadter’s new book I am a Strange Loop, which argues that consciousness happens spontaneously after a system of dynamic patterns is sufficiently complex. Strange loops of self-awareness existing on multiple levels (as in Godel’s famous proof) create hallucinations of a hallucination, and so an “I” forms. Anyway, as I often do when reading nonfiction, I read a little bit more about the author, and was struck by Hofstadter’s law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s law(note this is recursive and paradoxical, which is Hofstader’s specialty). This turns out to be pretty well known among programmers where everyone has read Hofstadter’s Godel, Escher, Bach.
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia test-launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile Tuesday that is capable of carrying multiple independent warheads, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces said.
The missile, called the RS-24, was fired from a mobile launcher in northwestern Russia and its test warhead landed on target some 5,500 kilometres away on the Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, a statement from the forces said.
The new missile is seen as eventually replacing the aging RS-18s and RS-20s that are the backbone of Russia’s missile forces, the statement said. Those missiles are known in the West as the SS-19 Stiletto and the SS-18 Satan.
The statement said the RS-24 conforms with terms laid down in the START-I treaty and the 2002 Moscow Treaty, which call for a reduction in nuclear the warhead arsenals of Russian and the United States to 1,700 to 2,000 warheads.
The RS-24 “strengthens the capability of the attack groups of the Strategic Missile Forces by surmounting anti-missile defence systems, at the same time strengthening the potential for nuclear deterrence,” the statement said.
The new missile would probably be more capable of penetrating missile defense systems than previous models, according to Alexander Pikayev, a senior analyst at the Moscow-based Institute for World Economy and International Relations.
He said its development was probably “inevitable” after the U.S. withdrew from the Soviet-era Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty in 2002 in order to deploy a national missile defense shield.
Russia adamantly opposes U.S. efforts to deploy elements of a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The United States says the system is aimed at blocking possible attacks by countries such as North Korea and Iran, but Russia says the system would destroy the strategic balance of forces in Europe.
29/05/2007 16:00 MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia successfully test-launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia Tuesday, a press spokesman for the strategic missile forces said.
The RS-24 with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) warheads was launched from a mobile missile system at 2:20 p.m. Moscow time (10:20 a.m. GMT).
“The targets have been reached and objectives achieved completely,” Vadim Koval said, adding that the ICBM’s destination was a testing ground in Kamchatka, in the Far East.
Koval said the new ICBM met all international requirements in terms of strategic offensive arms reduction and was capable of avoiding missile defense systems and, consequently, would enhance Russia’s nuclear deterrent potential when deployed.
The test comes against the background of growing tensions between Moscow and the West regarding plans by the United States to deploy elements of its global antiballistic missile defense system in Central Europe.
Although Washington claims the move is needed to counter possible attacks from “rogue states,” Moscow has condemned the plans as a threat to its national security and a destabilizing factor for Europe.
A former spy’s excruciating death by radiation poisoning marks the beginning of an era of high-tech hit men who can kill from anywhere.
….Litvinenko claimed in a book, for instance, that the FSB was responsible for a series of apartment bombings in Russia in 1999. (The attacks were officially blamed on Chechen separatists, and Putin had used the incident to help justify a fresh invasion of Chechnya in that same year.) He investigated the 2006 murder of journalist and Putin critic Anna Politkovskaya. In February of this year, Alexander Gusak, Litvinenko’s old commanding officer at the FSB, accused him of having revealed to British authorities the identities of Russian agents. “I was brought up on Soviet law,” Gusak told the BBC’s Newsnight television program. “That provides for the death penalty for treason. I think if in Soviet times he had come back to the USSR, [Litvinenko] would have been sentenced to death.” A new law, adopted by the Russian parliament last year, authorizes the elimination outside Russia of individuals the Kremlin accuses of terrorism or extremism. Litvinenko openly worried that his life was in danger. He was right.
In my efforts to educate myself about how new technologies might impact on our economy and society, the author from whom I’ve learnt the most is unquestionably Vaclav Smil. Smil is a Professor in the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of Manitoba, but his writings cover the whole sweep of the interaction of technology and society. What I appreciate about his books is their emphasis on rigorous quantification, their long historical perspective and global span (Smil is an expert on China, among many other things), and their grounding in the things that matter - how we get the food we eat and the energy that underlies our lifestyles.
The ability to regenerate nerve cells in the body could reduce the effects of trauma and disease in a dramatic way. In two presentations at the NSTI Nanotech 2007 Conference, researchers describe the use of nanotechnology to enhance the regeneration of nerve cells. In the first method, developed at the University of Miami, researchers show how magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) may be used to create mechanical tension that stimulates the growth and elongation of axons of the central nervous system neurons. The second method from the University of California, Berkeley uses aligned nanofibers containing one or more growth factors to provide a bioactive matrix where nerve cells can regrow.
U.S. diplomatic and military officials remain perplexed and unsatisfied with China’s nonexplanatory responses to international protests regarding the Asian giant’s January anti-satellite (ASAT) ballistic missile test.
…Chilton voiced support for the Space Tracking and Surveillance System, a planned constellation of satellites for tracking missiles and re-entry vehicles through the boost, midcourse and terminal phases of flight that was formerly known as the Space Based Infrared System-Low. The system could provide better space situational awareness, he stressed to the congressional crowd.
He said U.S. efforts should concentrate primarily on boosting situational awareness because officials need to be able to know what is happening to U.S. satellites. Before officials can discern that one has been attacked, they need to rule out several other possible scenarios and even then they must be able to accurately identify who attacked the satellite, the four-star general said.
24 May 2007. The Phoenix has published a number of smears about sources of material published on Cryptome: Kevin Fulton, Martin Ingram, Sam Rosenfeld, and others who have exposed British murderous covert operations in Northern Ireland. Smears are common tradecraft of the spooks: a favorite is name an foe as a spy to breed suspicion and foster revenge killing. There are a dozen laughable errors in this hoot.
MOSCOW: The official considered to be a leading contender to succeed President Vladimir Putin criticized a landmark Soviet-U.S. arms treaty as being a “relic of the Cold War,” and promised that Russia would have a “sword” capable of piercing a U.S. missile shield.
During a two-hour news conference Wednesday, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov harshly criticized U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying that Moscow does not trust Washington’s claims that they are intended to fend off potential missile threats from Iran.
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