Migrating Raelians and Killer Asteroids

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Source: The Scotsman Scientists believe that the asteroid known as Apophis, named after the Egyptian god of destruction, has a 1-in-45,000 chance of hitting the earth on 13 April, 2036; a close shave by astronomical measures. This has reawakened calls to develop plans for deflecting asteroids at high risk of hitting the earth.

Source: Religion News Blog The Raelians have decided that the Quebecois have been milked sufficiently and now plan to move south where the grass if greener. To that end, they have decided to put UFOland, their corporate headquarters, on sale for $2.95 million. If you've ever wanted your own theme park, complete with flying saucer, now's your chance. They plan to relocate to the southern United States.

Source: PhysOrg NASA and the ESA are considering Jupiter's moon Europa for the next robotic exploration mission because they believe the conditions are right for primitive life to have evolved. One earth, scientists have discovered that life can exist in the frozen ice of the arctic and antarctic ice sheets, living in brine channels. Life has also found to exist around deep-ocean thermal vents of sulphorous gas, requiring no sunlight for their survival. Europa is covered with a thick ice sheet that appears to hide a deep ocean. Tidal energy from Jupiter keeps it hot, and deep ocean hydrothermal vents may exist. They believe that all the components needed to evolve life forms have existed for more than 60 million years.

Source: EurekAlert! Scientists at the University of Southern California have developed at "superbot" composed of identical, independent robotic components. The modules can detach and reattach in a variety of configurations from a ring, to a snake, to a humanoid-like structure. The source has a variety of videos demonstrating the system in action.

Source: BBC Hospital technology has made a leap forward with the introduction of a rugged electronic clipboard for medical staff. The clipboard provides immediate access to patient records and allows them to be updated so that patient conditions can be accessed by anyone in the hospital as soon as they are entered. A barcode reader lets them scan in drug labels to ensure that they match what is prescribed, and an onboard camera allows them to include a visual record of the healing process. An initial test found that medical errors were reduced by over 30%.